Chapter 42: Protecting the scumbag? Just chicken claw style!

The conversation in the storage room came to an abrupt halt.
The four magical girls stared blankly at the mission details, none speaking for a moment.

Wei Re and Xin Lü’s breathing hitched, their attention fixated on the phrase “deduction of two mission counts.”
Despite Jin Ling’s warning not to be swayed by the promise of wishes, for magical girls like them, desperate to accumulate mission counts to fulfill their desires, this penalty was a massive deterrent.

Ling Lan and Jin Ling, however, focused on something entirely different, mulling over the final note.
Treated as collaborators by the police?
Granted the highest operational authority?
The implications behind this were profound, pulling them into deep thought.
This meant the existence of magical girls would be semi-publicly integrated into official forces.
How exactly would they, as supernatural beings, work alongside the police and intervene in reality?
Was this trust, or a deeper test—or even exploitation?

“Wait, wait a second…” Wei Re asked, flustered, looking to the two calmest in the group.
“What do we do now? What’s this ‘death notice’ the mission’s talking about?”

Her question snapped the others back to reality.
Ling Lan and Jin Ling reached for their phones almost simultaneously.
There was no need to search deliberately—the internet had already exploded.
The moment they went online, news and social media notifications flooded in.
Screenshots of the blood-red titled livestream announcement dominated every social platform and news site.

[#Gan City Shocked by Live Murder Announcement!#]
[#Top Hacker Hijacks Entire Network, Declares Midnight Execution of Bullies for Victim’s Revenge!#]
[#Vigilante or Madman? Murder Announcement Ignites Citywide Frenzy!#]
[#Police Step In, Vow to Punish Livestream Broadcaster!#]

Countless video clips and screenshots spread like wildfire online.
The all-black livestream, the white humanoid silhouette covered in data noise, and that chilling death notice had become the hottest topic in Gan City tonight.
The comment sections were in chaos.

“Holy shit! This is badass! A real man!”
“Support! This is how you deal with scum like that! If the law can’t deliver justice, we’ll take it ourselves!”
“This is some top-tier hacker shit! Too cool! I’m in awe!”

Fervent comments flooded the internet.
Jin Ling scrolled through the information impassively, her finger tapping on a post that dug into the details.
The post meticulously listed the heinous acts of Zhang Biao, Li Qiang, and Ma Hua, identifying them as the main suspects in the recent horrifying school bullying and burial case.
When she saw the words “school bullying case” and “burial case suspects,” a heavy sneer and disgust crossed her sharp-featured face.
She turned her phone screen toward the other three.

“Look.”
“These are the ‘people’ we’re supposed to protect ‘at all costs.’”

Wei Re and Xin Lü leaned in, their faces draining of color.
The photos showed the three boys with arrogant, defiant smiles, starkly contrasted by another photo—the shy, posthumous portrait of the victim, Wang Guang.

“As expected…” Jin Ling let out a cold laugh, tinged with exhaustion and helplessness.
“It’s always like this.”
“The missions it assigns always have us protecting scum like this or doing their dirty work.”
“I’m starting to wonder what the point of being a magical girl even is.”

Ling Lan fell silent.
She stared at the white humanoid silhouette on her phone, her expression complex.

“If I had a choice, I really wouldn’t want to get involved in this.”
“If anything, I’m looking forward to seeing what methods the person behind this death notice will use to carry out their execution under the police’s heavy protection.”
Ling Lan rubbed her chin, her tone laced with intrigue.
“And I’m even more curious about how they managed to hack so many devices in such a short time to force this livestream.”
“This kind of technical prowess is beyond a regular hacker.”

Wei Re bit her lip, nodding vigorously.
“If they’re only targeting those three bullies for revenge, I’d support them a hundred percent! But… but if they harm innocent people too, I can’t agree with that.”

Xin Lü, who had been quiet, voiced her concern softly.
“But… it’s hard for them to avoid hurting innocents, right?”
“The police station is heavily guarded. Even with explosives, it’d be nearly impossible to target just those three protected people accurately.”
“If they end up hurting the police…”

That was the crux of the issue.
If innocent people were harmed, this so-called “just trial” would instantly become a terrorist attack.
The air fell silent again.
Yes, the logic was clear, but the mission loomed before them.

“No matter what, we have to go on this mission.”
Jin Ling spoke suddenly, cutting through their discussion.
Meeting their confused gazes, her tone was heavy.

“I don’t know if any of you have ever tried resisting the transformation device’s missions.”
“Don’t.”
She paused, enunciating each word.
“Because it will force you with pain—physical, mental, endless pain—until you give in and carry it out.”
“That kind of pain isn’t something words can describe. It’s like it’s acting directly on your soul, making you wish you could die on the spot.”

Ling Lan, Wei Re, and Xin Lü exchanged glances, seeing shock in each other’s eyes.
They genuinely hadn’t known that defying a mission would have such horrific consequences.
What the hell kind of system was this?
This deepened their bone-chilling doubts and resistance toward the transformation device and its so-called wish-granting.
This wasn’t a mission—it was a shackle, a curse!
For a moment, the three felt unprecedented doubt and fear about their magical girl duties.

“Then… then what do we do?” Wei Re was on the verge of tears.
On one side was their conscience’s condemnation; on the other, an inescapable mandate.
They were caught in an impossible bind.

“Simple.”
Jin Ling suddenly grinned, her smile wild and sly, a stark contrast to her earlier seriousness.
“We do the mission.”
“It only tells us to carry out the task. How we do it, and the outcome—that’s up to us.”
Jin Ling winked at the three, lowering her voice like a seasoned slacker sharing workplace tricks.
“Like slacking off at work.”
“We show up, we do the mission, but if we ‘unfortunately’ fail because we weren’t strong enough, they can’t blame us, right? Blame the opponent for being too powerful!”
“Sigh, we tried our best…”

Her words were like a ray of light breaking through the clouds.
Exactly!
Put in the effort, but not the results!
Wei Re’s eyes lit up.

“That makes sense!” She clapped her hands.
“We just need to focus on protecting the police and other innocents, making sure they don’t get caught in the crossfire!”
“As for those three scumbags…”
She didn’t finish, but her expression said it all.

Ling Lan caught on, a mischievous smirk spreading across her face.
Xin Lü let out a relieved breath, nodding softly.
This approach followed the mission’s orders, avoiding the pain of defiance, while holding to their moral底线.
Glancing at the time, there were two and a half hours left until the announced midnight.

“Let’s move.”
Jin Ling stood first.
“In the name of love and hope, may the Goddess of Flowers grant me strength!”
“Magical Girl Full Transformation!”

Four beams of light flashed, and the girls transformed, speeding toward the city police station.

Meanwhile, Bai Wanting stood on the open-air balcony of the hotel’s top floor, the night breeze tousling her long hair.
She didn’t look at her phone or follow any news.
She simply gazed at the city, illuminated by neon lights, a playful and expectant smile on her lips.
She knew full well that Gan City was now a swirling undercurrent of tension.
The curtain of a grand performance was being drawn open by her beloved Xiaoya in the most dazzling, elegant way.

Bai Wanting mentally reviewed the current situation with crystal clarity.
Tonight’s game had four players.
The first was her precious Xiaoya, the aggressor launching the “trial,” aiming to take the bullies’ heads.
The second was the official forces, represented by the city police, the defenders upholding order and rules, the main obstacle to Xiaoya’s actions.
The third was likely those meddling magical girls. Given the transformation device’s usual tactics, they’d surely be used as pawns, forced onto the board as the “interference” factor.
They might not know the truth, making their stance unpredictable—a major variable.
As for the fourth…
Bai Wanting raised a glass of red wine, gently swirling the crimson liquid, her eyes glinting with a dangerous, delighted spark.
The fourth was, of course, herself.
The hidden orchestrator, clearing obstacles for her Xiaoya, ensuring this “performance” ended perfectly.
The police would spare no effort in their defenses.
The magical girls’ mission would cause chaos.
Her Xiaoya needed to navigate the police’s heavy protection and the magical girls’ potential interference to achieve her goal effortlessly.
What a… spectacular show this would be.

Bai Wanting tilted her head back, draining the wine in one gulp, her gaze fixed on the deep night sky.
She knew that after tonight, Gan City would never be the same.