Nan Zhiyi glanced at the sky with stars and moon hanging high, then looked at Hibiscus who seemed eager to try after returning the documents. So why? A deep question arose in her heart, but when it reached her lips, only one sentence remained:
"I wish you victory from the start."
"What are you saying? I'm not going to war. You should hurry home and rest." The girl waved goodbye.
Nan Zhiyi watched the silver-haired figure gradually disappear into the darkness beyond the streetlights. Though she wanted to ask what had happened during the day that made Hibiscus have to visit Changfeng Financial Group, knowing would only add unnecessary worry. Better not to worry blindly—if help was needed, her childhood friend would definitely speak up. In other words, this wasn't something she could interfere with. When it came to infiltration, it indeed required a time magic user.
She secretly resolved to achieve Three Awakenings as quickly as possible, or she'd fall further and further behind. Not for anything else, but at least to share some of the dangerous work.
Hibiscus didn't notice Nan Zhiyi's thoughts, simply using the cover of night to leap between rooftops toward her destination.
She certainly wouldn't accept the introduction letter Jin Yulu had brought earlier, but the information it revealed couldn't be ignored: Jin Changfeng was actually interested in folk remedy doctors?
Jin Ruochu's surgery probably wasn't going smoothly.
A world-class pharmaceutical enterprise with cutting-edge infection disease technology, secretly developing fusion treatments... Such a giant's arrogance was imaginable. Being able to write to a mere "Dr. Mu" definitely meant casting a wide net hoping to gather all medical resources possible.
Hibiscus feared the situation where Jin Ruochu's first surgery failed would still occur—perhaps she should ask the experts.
She shared the cause and effect and her concerns on the system Q&A interface. Netizens following the main post updates immediately understood which step the plot had reached:
【The original work indeed had a first surgery semi-mutation situation】
【At that time, because Jin Ruochu was approaching Magical Girl Awakening period with unstable magic power, rashly fusing Disaster Beast materials caused partial mutation. This was also the "misfortune" side of the strongest causal magic "Fortune and Misfortune" giving her the greatest torment during her ordinary human time. In a sense, it's an inescapable magic mechanism that could very well repeat again】
【That's quite bad, but also a good opportunity to recruit the protagonist. To take the world, it should be now】
【No one can confirm whether Manjusaka can smoothly overcome difficulties with Hyacinth's support. The plot has already changed, right?】
【Forget it, no need to worry about it. What OP needs most is information. @Hyacinth, fusion mutation is essentially Disaster Beast power going out of control. Don't hesitate—beat her up hard to suppress the mutated parts. She can regenerate and recover afterward. Treating the infection is most important】
【Honestly speaking, there's no choice now. Maintaining normal human form comes first. Don't worry about life threats—don't underestimate the strongest causal magic user】
Seeing these discussions, Hibiscus's heart tightened. Her intuition was right.
Poor child—Jin Ruochu, who clearly grew up with a golden spoon, was often in life-and-death situations. Sure enough, magic was a double-edged sword. The more powerful it was, the stronger its influence in all aspects. For instance, cases with certain latent awakenings from childhood were the most tragic. There would be many such magical girls in the future. So she should provide early treatment to accumulate experience, or there would be plenty of troubles ahead.
Beep!
[System Alert: Received suggestion "Ensure Jin Ruochu's Surgery Goes Smoothly" Reward: Large Mana Recovery Potion ×1, Jin Ruochu's affection activated]
Good grief, she hadn't guessed wrong.
Hibiscus tried accepting the suggestion and it automatically generated corresponding rewards, proving from the side that it was highly important and currently happening.
The situation no longer allowed her to hesitate—she had to act quickly. Actually, her recruitment of Jin Ruochu was also because of one thing: Jin Yulu would definitely awaken after some time. With this person's official background, it would be hard to hide, and she probably had considerable willingness to share intelligence. By then, magical girls were destined to enter official view.
Though there would be fairies descending later to attract firepower, having more people was always better.
"Let's go."
Hibiscus only felt at ease after changing into black clothes. As her control over magic power grew stronger, she could make water vapor swirl around her body to distort vision so her true form couldn't be distinguished—safer than before. Dark night with high winds—perfect for another visit.
The girl shot forward like an arrow toward the Changfeng Financial Group building. Though she could fly, it was better to conserve magic power. There was a possibility of combat later.
Her caution was correct. Sure enough, when she carefully examined the building, she discovered abnormalities. Why were there so many bodyguards and heavy security today specifically? Moreover, the Disaster Beast aura in the air was quite strong—there were probably fusers like Li Tian. Though most were likely small fry who could all be knocked down with one pressure wave.
Using time stop, Hibiscus easily entered the experimental park area.
On the open ground lay remains in layered transparent isolation covers. Looking closely, it was indeed the cat demon—this time the perpetrator had come to see the victim's corpse.
No wonder the aura reaction was strong.
Hibiscus couldn't forget how difficult that battle with it had been. Both sides naturally had strong Origin reactions to each other. In a sense, it was the first time she experienced life-and-death combat—that feeling of no retreat, only victory, was quite thrilling. Even thinking about it now made her heart race. Even lying there, it emanated pressure, making surrounding staff afraid to get too close.
At the same time, she heard researchers chattering: "The wound examination is simply terrifying—this thing looks like it was hit head-on by a train."
"The unknown killer who delivered the attack probably has body strength of the same level."
"What kind of monster would that be!"
"If the unknown killer can definitely beat a Vanguard Disaster Beast, it's like smashing military technology to bits. The higher-ups are considering finding this guy and opening dialogue."
"Using 'opening dialogue' is quite cautious. Could it be because our monitoring thinks it's a humanoid life form, so they're treating a dead horse like a living one? Well, as long as it can fight Disaster Beasts, even a demon doesn't matter."
"Don't underestimate the pragmatism above—otherwise human civilization would have been destroyed several times already."
...The researchers' whispers reached Hibiscus's ears.
Though she was in the open experimental area, all information was within sight, and every movement couldn't escape her perception. This was also good news: the authorities basically held a positive attitude. At least no hostility.
As netizens said, the Magical Girl of Light series intentionally downplayed such conflicts, more like a fairy tale background. The second half was questionable.
Hibiscus made several light leaps into the park area. Thanks to having obtained a setting collection map before, plus magical girl power, she easily reached the intensive care ward area.
Wait!
She sensed surging pressure from afar. It wasn't all from the Disaster Beast corpse but from someone else—a living person. It was Jin Ruochu, whose aura was rapidly climbing. The closed ward area was whipping up howling winds, carrying magic power that would immediately knock out any ordinary person who encountered it.
In moments, countless people fell to the ground sleeping, instead making the intruder stand alone. What kind of infiltration was this?
Boom——
The pressure climbed to unprecedented levels, stunning large numbers of staff, even materializing to destroy extensive equipment, just like when the Disaster Beast invaded.