Chapter Seventeen: A Perilous Foe

As the two left the highway, the Disaster Control Bureau and the police gradually arrived at the scene.

From a distance, Ziyuan glanced briefly at the crowded gathering.

After obtaining the magic crystals, the two had left the highway and were now observing the situation from a well-positioned hillside overlooking the highway within the city.

“Shouldn’t we erase the magical traces?” Ziyuan asked.

“No need to worry—Susan’s on it,” Dongjun replied.

Dongjun, sitting nearby, was rapidly typing on his phone. “Her professional skills are impeccable; among the outer disciples, she’s one of the best. Not just the Disaster Control Bureau, but she has connections in other departments as well.”

“What are you sending?”

Dongjun immediately handed over his phone.

The phone was pink, adorned with a water-drop pendant, and the interface was flashy. Though Dongjun appeared mature and held considerable authority within the Azure Cloud Sect, in essence, he was a high school girl who loved all sorts of gaudy accessories.

The decorative stickers on the screen even left Ziyuan somewhat puzzled about how to operate it. Dongjun came over and tapped a chat application on the screen for her. “How did you exit? Looks like you accidentally tapped out. Here it is.”

The chat app was specially developed by Dongjun’s company, with servers overseas to avoid monitoring from the Disaster Control Bureau.

Azure Cloud Sect Internal Work Chat Group (No Idle Talk Allowed).

Dongjun typed: “@All members, disciples please note: the Witches’ Association has beaten us to seize three Miracle Seeds. These seeds are a crucial target for our Sect Leader. In the coming period, elevate surveillance of the Witches’ Association to top priority.”

Ziyuan’s number one fan replied, “Received.”

Sect Workaholic: “Received.”

Would rather be on vacation: “Received.”

…

Yueji: “Can obtaining the Miracle Seeds replace your position, Dongjun?”

Looking at the stream of “Received” replies below, Ziyuan naturally noticed the most prominent one and asked, “Who is Yueji?”

“That red-haired magical girl from before,” Dongjun sighed. “She was captured by the Witches’ Association but rescued when you cleared out one of their small branches. She’s been trying to replace me within the Sect and become your right-hand.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten.”

For Ziyuan, her focus was mainly on hunting disaster beasts for magic crystals. Occasionally, she would kill accomplices of these beasts on the side, but whether they belonged to the Witches’ Association wasn’t a concern.

“Her skills are quite suited for reconnaissance. She’s probably angling to take credit again. Besides promotion and getting closer to you, she wants nothing else. It’s really a headache.”

Though Dongjun said this, his expression didn’t look troubled but rather cheerful, as if it were no big deal. “But she’s especially useful. If it’s for your needs, she’s more proactive than anyone else. Unlike Qinghua, who slacks off every day yet demands a raise…”

Ziyuan wasn’t very interested in internal Sect affairs. As long as it helped her cultivation, the rest was irrelevant.

She scrolled through the chat logs, which were nearly all work-related messages.

“Don’t you want to send a message too?”

“No interest.”

“Just encourage them a bit,” Dongjun said, admiring Ziyuan’s face. No matter how many times, he found her stunning. “Everyone in the Sect respects you deeply. If you could motivate them, their performance on missions would improve.”

After a moment’s thought, she considered it. Just as she was about to type, the phone suddenly powered off.

Startled, Ziyuan shook the device instinctively. “Out of battery?”

“Uh, probably another power drain on the way,” Dongjun smiled wryly, retrieving the phone and pulling out another one from a small bag.

Ziyuan caught a glimpse of roughly a dozen similar phones inside.

The extravagance of the wealthy?

“You know my ability affects the surrounding air, lowering the temperature. After transformation, my body temperature stays low. Fruit phones drain power faster in the cold…”

So that’s why he bought so many. A straightforward and simple solution.

Ziyuan took the newly powered-on phone and immediately noticed the group chat looked unusual.

“Speculations on Ziyuan’s measurements and clothing combinations…”

Something was off. She checked the group name: Ziyuan Fan Tea Party.

“What kind of group is this?”

“Ah, ah, ah, wrong tap, wrong tap!” Dongjun panicked, snatching the phone and backing out. “This group was created by Sect disciples themselves and has nothing to do with me. I was worried they might disrespect you, so I sneaked in with a fake account to see what they were talking about…”

Each phone had a different phone number.

Regarding the previous group, Ziyuan didn’t care much. The Magical Girl Idol Project was popular now; having fans was normal.

She didn’t strongly identify with the Ziyuan persona, so discussions about her didn’t affect her much.

She just thought they were really idle; their workload must be insufficient, and competition within Azure Cloud Sect not fierce enough...

After switching groups, Dongjun handed the phone back. Ziyuan, uninterested, laboriously typed “Keep it up” and sent it, though it was from Dongjun’s fake account, so no one replied.

She handed the phone back to Dongjun and asked, “Did you get any info about the Witches’ Association’s operations?”

Dongjun explained in the group that “Keep it up” was sent by Ziyuan using her account.

When the chat grew lively again and Dongjun nodded in satisfaction, he put the phone away and replied, “The Witches’ Association’s movements are hard to detect. Even infiltrated disciples often can’t provide timely intel. But we can confirm a few points.”

“First, members of the Witches’ Association have infiltrated the Disaster Control Bureau and can access the Miracle Seeds. The Bureau’s recruitment is strict. Anyone with questionable background won’t pass the interview. So their inside man, like Susan, likely joined the Bureau with a clean record and was later turned by the Witches’ Association.”

Dongjun raised a second finger. “Second, they can create B-level disaster beasts. We’ve always known the Witches’ Association could make disaster beasts, but not their level. Now that we know they can produce B-level beasts, capturing their leader and seizing this ability is vital. Azure Cloud Sect desperately needs B-level disaster beast lamentation seeds.”

Hearing this, Ziyuan’s expression shifted slightly.

Mass-producing B-level disaster beasts’ lamentation seeds was enticing enough.

Although magical girls’ rank advancement was somewhat abstract and mostly related to willpower and spirit, it was well known that quantitative changes lead to qualitative ones.

With enough magical energy, promotion was only a matter of time.

Strength itself would bring strong will and resilience.

“Unfortunately, the three Miracle Seeds’ whereabouts are unknown. The B-level disaster beast they unleashed this time was just a distraction. The real Witches’ Association members probably fled with the seeds.”

Dongjun raised his chin with a hint of pride. “Daring to steal from Azure Cloud Sect, they’ll regret it!”

Ziyuan glanced at Dongjun. “I’ll leave it to you then. Susan said Hyacinth might have been turned by the Witches’ Association. Keep an eye on her and report to me anytime.”

“No problem.”

As Ziyuan spoke, she was about to cancel her transformation, but Dongjun quickly grabbed her wrist. “Wait.”

“What is it?” Ziyuan looked around. “No one’s here, right?”

“Let me watch a little longer…”

Dongjun didn’t dare say that outright. After a moment, he said, “Nobody’s around. I just wanted to mention a new nail salon opened in South Street with a promotion. Want to go together?”

Ziyuan gave him a look like he was a fool. “I’m a man.”

“You can do it as a magical girl. It won’t disappear after transformation.” Dongjun showed off the blue polish on his nails. “See? Pretty, right? But I’m thinking of switching to another set.”

The pale blue looked less flashy, like ice flowers—quite beautiful.

But the Sect Leader of Azure Cloud Sect just shook his head. “No thanks.”

“No problem. Just come with me to look. You don’t have to get it done. Maybe later if you’re interested.”

“No, I have class this afternoon.”

“You’ve skipped so many classes already… Fine, after class then.”

“You still haven’t finished today’s training plan. Find someone else.”

Watching Jiang Si unilaterally cancel his transformation and leave, Dongjun stomped his foot behind him.

“Blockhead!”

…

In a pitch-black room, a crystal flickered with a cold white light.

Taking off her glasses, a woman caressed the crystal. Dark magic seeped from her hands into it.

Soon, several figures in black robes appeared inside the crystal.

Gatherings of the Witches’ Association were always gloomy and pitiful.

“Did you get the Miracle Seeds?”

“Yes, but we can’t send them out yet. The Disaster Control Bureau is watching closely.”

“Can’t send them out?”

A tall woman with a twisted scarred face snarled hoarsely, “We lost a B-level disaster beast! And a core member! After all that cost, you say you can’t send them out? What good are you?”

“Cuckoo!” the central member scolded.

The middle person, evidently higher in rank, rebuked, “No one expected Azure Cloud Sect to act now, with both Dongjun and Ziyuan present. It’s not about Oleander—anyone sent would have had the same result.”

Though unwilling, the scarred woman fell silent.

A small girl on the right laughed crisply. “Jackal was killed trying to negotiate with Azure Cloud Sect. Now everyone should understand—there’s no cooperation option with them. They’re arrogant, even more so than the Disaster Control Bureau.”

The scarred woman nodded. “Yeah, if the benefits were enough, the Bureau would cooperate with us.”

She added, “The real question is, how did they get to Jackal? He’s a fusion disaster beast with magical pollution and sensing abilities. Even if they couldn’t beat him, Jackal should have escaped.”

“What if that Ziyuan herself is contaminated by disaster beast magic?”

“Nonsense! How could a magical girl polluted by disaster beasts still look like that? We’ve done so many experiments…”

“Silence.” The leader interrupted. “This isn’t the time to argue. Whether Azure Cloud Sect has counters to us can be discussed later. Now, the important thing is the Miracle Seeds. Oleander, when can you send them out?”

Placing her hands on the crystal, Oleander finally spoke, “About three days. The Bureau’s alert will last three days. After Susan loosens her guard, there’ll be a chance to smuggle out the seeds.”

“Three days? That’s a long time. Any chance of complications?”

“I temporarily returned the seeds to the safe room. They won’t suspect the seeds are still there.”

“Smart,” the team leader praised, then asked anxiously, “You mentioned a possible Azure Cloud Sect inside man in the Bureau. Any leads? Compared to the Bureau, Sect members are more dangerous.”

“None so far. There’s only one newcomer, Jiang Keke, with a clean background. Azure Cloud Sect wouldn’t send a magical girl now—it’d be too obvious. The others are long-time Bureau veterans, hard to verify.”

“Understood.” The leader smiled darkly. “Like you, no one expected you to join our Witches’ Association.”

Oleander said nothing, just rubbed the crystal.

About to end the conversation, she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, I forgot to report—when Jiang Keke arrived today, she brought her brother. He seemed strange.”

“What happened?”

Though the other two lost interest, the leader asked symbolically, “Anything special?”

“At the platform, he jumped six meters. Almost fell from the clouds. Susan suspects he’s one of us.”

“Usually, relatives of magical girls can absorb some of their magic, and some gifted ones improve their physical abilities this way.” The leader stroked his chin. “You should know this well. But falling from the clouds means he’s not just receiving magic from his sister but is contaminated by disaster beast magic.”

“He said he just encountered a disaster beast.”

“Do you believe that?” The leader scoffed. “We know better than anyone the state of disaster beast pollution. More likely, he’s becoming a vessel for disaster beast birth, hence the contaminated magic.”

Strong negative emotions nourish disaster beasts.

Their birth requires not only emotion and magic but a physical host.

Usually, animals like cats, bats, dogs, or occasionally plants serve as hosts.

This affects the disaster beast’s form, usually resembling animals.

But rarely, a person with intense negative emotions can become a host. Such beasts are extremely powerful.

Every time a human-hosted disaster beast appears, it causes tremendous devastation.

Since learning this from the Witches’ Association, Oleander couldn’t help but marvel that even the Disaster Control Bureau didn’t understand disaster beasts as well as they did.

They knew disaster beasts too well, making her wonder if the original source of disaster beasts might have come from the Witches’ Association.

“Oh? So the new magical girl’s brother has a high chance of becoming a disaster beast?” The scarred woman finally showed interest. “Turning magical girls’ relatives into disaster beasts is perfect. I can’t wait to see those pretentious girls break down!”

“Then it’s your task, Cuckoo—go capture him.” The leader smiled coldly. “Even if he can’t become a disaster beast, he can be used to threaten and control the new magical girl. While she’s still immature, maybe we can recruit her into the Witches’ Association.”

“Leave it to me!”

Oleander moved her lips but said nothing, sighing in pity for Jiang Keke. She shut off the crystal.

The room plunged into darkness.

Suddenly, someone opened the door and turned on a light. The room was instantly bright.

“Sis, why didn’t you turn on the light?”

“It’s more atmospheric—and saves power.”

…