Chapter 29: Too Many Moles, Meow?

A Traitor in the Ranks

“Written by someone you know?” Miss L rubbed her chin. “Your idol manager? Or some other staff member?”

“No way. No one else would know so much about my defeats by monsters. Whoever wrote it has to be someone close to me, someone who knows my magical girl career inside out!”

This made Mu Xingge even angrier. It felt like there was a traitor right beside her, but she couldn’t figure out who.

“So, if you catch them, what’s the plan?”

“Is that even a question?” Mu Xingge cracked her knuckles. “I’ll show them the limits of human endurance.”

If fans saw the sweet, cheerful Mu Xingge acting like this offstage, their idol image of her would probably shatter.

“Forget it, don’t dwell on it, Xingge. If it’s not explicitly about you, there’s no need to take it personally.”

Miss L adjusted her glasses. “Focus on preparing for tomorrow’s mission. If you’re suspicious of [Sirius], observe her during the task.”

“Hm, you’re right. I’m heading out.”

Miss L watched Mu Xingge wave and leave her office, then immediately texted Xiao Xi.

“Xingge’s getting suspicious. Be careful on your next mission.”

After sending the message, Miss L reflected on Mu Xingge’s words. She didn’t know who the novel’s traitor was, but her own actions kind of made her a mole too, didn’t they?

Sorry, Xingge. Looks like you’ve got a few too many moles around you.

Ambush at the Factory

The next morning, in an abandoned factory on the city outskirts.

“[Little Red Riding Hood], watch your back!”

Little Red Riding Hood spun around, but before she could act, Xiao Xi punched the monster lunging at her, then rushed in to finish it off, taking it down after a few intense exchanges.

Nearby, Mu Xingge casually waved her hand, sending out musical notes that shot beams of light, wiping out the remaining monsters.

“Okay, we’re done. You two alright?”

Their team was investigating the Mang Wolf Gang case. Cang Lang had finally woken from his villain transformation, and the Association had gotten some answers.

The large-scale monster attacks in the city weren’t their doing. The Mang Wolf Gang was just a group of pawns manipulated by someone else. According to Cang Lang, the mana containment devices that released the monsters came from a mysterious figure.

Cang Lang had never met them. Payments and devices were left at designated spots—like this abandoned factory.

That’s why Miss L sent Mu Xingge’s team to investigate. With Xiao Xi added, Miss L had decided to entrust the case to them. It made sense—Mu Xingge was Xiahai City’s only S-rank magical girl. Who else would get the job?

As expected, the factory was an ambush. At least a dozen D-rank monsters were waiting, though they were just small fry.

Honestly, Mu Xingge could’ve cleared them out in minutes, but she deliberately held back, fighting while covertly observing Xiao Xi.

Yet, [Sirius]’s combat was unremarkable. Her mana fluctuations were steady at about D+, and she struggled against the monsters.

If anything stood out, it was how protective Sirius was of Little Red Riding Hood, always fighting near her as if afraid she’d get hurt.

But Little Red Riding Hood had been injured in their last mission, so Sirius’s behavior was understandable. Mu Xingge could only say she was too team-oriented.

“Collect the monster seeds and let the logistics team handle cleanup,” Mu Xingge said, scanning the area. “Looks like we won’t find anything else.”

The enemy had anticipated their arrival and set a trap, so naturally, they’d left no clues.

Since monsters were formed from condensed mana, their mana didn’t just vanish upon defeat.

Most dissipated, but some coalesced into “monster seeds.” If left alone, these could re-form into monsters, so magical girls always collected them post-battle.

While gathering the seeds, Mu Xingge eyed the spiked gauntlets on Xiao Xi’s hands and asked casually, “So, those gauntlets are your weapon? Not bad, awakening your own weapon at D-rank.”

Every magical girl had a unique weapon, but newly awakened D-rank girls typically couldn’t manifest one—like Little Red Riding Hood.

So, the Association provided standard magic wands for low-rank girls to channel mana.

“Maybe I got lucky, haha…” Xiao Xi shrank back, her tone a bit guilty.

Mu Xingge shouldn’t notice anything. Some D-rank girls did awaken weapons, and Xiao Xi had controlled her mana output carefully.

Mu Xingge nodded, sensing Sirius seemed a bit intimidated by her. Was her S-rank aura too intense?

Reflecting, Mu Xingge realized her status could be overwhelming. Still, as teammates, she wanted to build rapport with both girls.

A magical girl team was a bond of fate—words A-Xing once said. Though that jerk vanished, Mu Xingge still believed it.

Softening her tone, she said, “You might want to learn some martial arts. Your fighting style leans toward physical attacks rather than big mana blasts.”

“If you have questions, ask me. Oh, let’s add each other as friends.”

Mu Xingge decided to act friendlier, pulling out her phone.

“Sure, Senior Mu Xingge,” Xiao Xi said without thinking.

She’d changed her number and accounts three years ago, so she wasn’t worried about Mu Xingge spotting anything.

“I’ll scan you.”

Mu Xingge leaned in to scan the code, but her eyes caught something.

“Hm, this group…”

Xiao Xi’s heart sank, and she instinctively pulled her phone back.

Oh no, she’d almost forgotten about the reader group!

It wouldn’t matter if someone else saw it—she’d named it “Send Me 50 for Crazy Thursday Insights Group” for a reason. But Mu Xingge was in the group and knew what it was for!