Chapter 49: Transformer kills! Nationwide wanted order!

In the outskirts of Gan City, an abandoned factory stood under the cold moonlight, its broken windows casting mottled shadows on the dust-covered concrete floor.

After Lin Qingya ended her livestream, Jin Ling, Ling Lan, Wei Re, and Xin Lü quietly slipped away from the heavily guarded police station.
The midnight breeze swept through the factory’s crumbling walls, howling mournfully.

No one spoke.
The air was thick with a mix of shock, exhaustion, and confusion.
The events of the night still rattled their minds, each of them grappling with the impact of Lin Qingya’s earth-shattering livestream execution.

Qingya… she really killed people.
In front of the entire city—perhaps the whole world.

If I stand by and watch today, no one will raise a flag for me tomorrow.
If the law won’t judge you, I will! If the bigger picture spares you, I’ll kill you!

Even now, those deafening words echoed in their ears, striking their hearts.

Wei Re sat on an abandoned oil drum, hugging her knees, her face buried in her arms, her shoulders trembling slightly.
She didn’t know what she was feeling.
Should she feel satisfaction at the deserved deaths of those three scumbags, or worry for her best friend who’d stepped onto this irreversible path?

Ling Lan leaned against a graffiti-covered wall, arms crossed, her face cold and grim.
Xin Lü clung close to her, her expression full of unease.

Just as the oppressive silence threatened to swallow them whole, a low hum broke the stillness.

Buzz—
The transformation devices on all four girls vibrated simultaneously, unprompted.
A cold, mechanical voice sounded in their minds in unison.

[Temporary Mission Issued]
[Due to the failure of the “Protect Targets” mission caused by interference from an unknown force, no penalties will be applied for this mission.]
[New Long-Term Mission Issued: Locate and eliminate the murderer codenamed “White Shadow.”]
[Mission Reward: Each individual or team member who completes the mission will receive an additional two mission counts, totaling three.]
[Mission Scope: All 200 magical girls across all cities nationwide.]

The scarlet mission window shattered the silence!

“What the hell!”
Wei Re exploded first, her almond eyes wide with fury as she clenched her fists.
“What is this? A wanted order?!”
“Sending all the magical girls in the country to hunt down Snow White?!”

Ling Lan’s face darkened, the air around her dropping a few degrees.
“Daring to issue a kill order on our comrade—unforgivable.”
“Have these missions always been this vile? How did I not notice before?”

Xin Lü’s cheeks puffed out in anger, her voice trembling with a sob.
She’d never realized how sinister the transformation device could be!

Only Jin Ling remained calm, her anger not clouding her judgment.
She stared at the mission text, brows furrowed, her eyes glinting with thought.
After a moment, she spoke.

“Your white-clad magical girl comrade… her codename is ‘Snow White,’ right?”

Wei Re blinked, nodding instinctively. “Yeah, why?”

Jin Ling raised a slender finger to her temple, pointing out the strangest detail.
“Then why does the mission call her ‘White Shadow’?”

The question stunned the three, their fury momentarily paused.
Ling Lan quickly pulled out her phone, scrolling through posts and news online.
As expected, the internet was flooded with discussions about “White Shadow’s” trial tonight.
“I think… it’s because of this.”
She turned her phone toward the others, showing a viral forum post titled:

[“Vigilante White Shadow’s Night of Legend: Gan City Changed Forever!”]

Ling Lan explained, “Netizens have already given Magical Girl Snow White the codename ‘White Shadow.’ Every news headline is about ‘White Shadow’ now.”

Jin Ling’s eyes grew even more puzzled.
She crossed her arms, her delicate chin tilting slightly.
“That’s exactly the problem.”

Prompted by her words, Ling Lan’s expression shifted as she caught on.
Wei Re and Xin Lü exchanged confused glances, completely lost.
“What problem?” Wei Re asked, bewildered.

Ling Lan sighed at their cluelessness and explained.
“First, the timing of the mission is off.”
“It’s 12:47 a.m. now, almost an hour since Snow White dealt with those three scumbags.”
“The internet’s been buzzing, and the ‘White Shadow’ codename has spread everywhere, yet the transformation device only now sluggishly issues this kill order.”
“That’s illogical.”
She paused, her voice calm and clear.
“If the device’s goal was to protect those scumbags, it should’ve issued a pursuit order the moment Snow White took them from the safe room, not waited until they were dead and the internet had exploded to react and try to fix things.”

Jin Ling nodded approvingly, taking over.
“Exactly, that’s the first issue.”
“The second is the codename.”
Her gaze swept over the group, her voice cold and certain.
“This mission’s reward is absurdly generous—three mission counts total, enough to drive any magical girl desperate for a wish into a frenzy.”
“It’s clearly meant to put Snow White in mortal danger, baiting every magical girl in the country to hunt her down.”
“If they’re so determined to kill her, why not use her magical girl codename, ‘Snow White,’ for precision and lethality?”
“As fellow magical girls, at least the four of us know ‘Snow White,’ and you three might even know her civilian identity.”
Jin Ling scanned the group, her tone deliberate.
“Using ‘White Shadow,’ a codename born less than an hour ago online, how many magical girls would immediately connect it to her? It’s impossible to lock onto the target right away.”

Wei Re clutched her hair in frustration, struggling to process their complex analysis.
Oh no, I’m growing a brain.
“So… why is that?”

Jin Ling didn’t answer directly. Instead, she paced slowly, the cold moonlight edging her golden battle suit in silver.
“I’ve been wondering from the start.”
“Why didn’t Snow White receive the mission to protect the targets and could even act against it, publicly executing them?”
She stopped, turning to face them, her eyes burning with intensity as she voiced her original question.
“Now, it seems the only possibility is…”
“Snow White has, through some unknown means, temporarily broken free from the transformation device’s control, acting independently of its missions.”
“And the reason the mission uses ‘White Shadow’ instead of ‘Snow White’…”
Jin Ling paused, delivering a bombshell deduction.
“I suspect it’s because… the transformation device can no longer ‘define’ her existence.”
“It could only passively scrape information from the internet after she caused a societal phenomenon, using the newly coined ‘White Shadow’ to redefine her identity!”

Seeing Xin Lü and Wei Re still lost, Ling Lan thought for a moment and offered a simple analogy.
“It’s like a Death Note. You want to kill Detective L.”
“You only know their codename ‘L,’ not their real name or face, so you’re powerless.”
“That’s the situation now. The device wants to eliminate Magical Girl Snow White, but for some reason, it can’t access her ‘Snow White’ ID anymore.”
“So, it settles for the next best thing, using ‘White Shadow,’ the name netizens just created, to refer to her.”

“Oh!” Xin Lü blinked, finally getting it. “That’s how it is!”
Wei Re nodded too, catching on.
But as she followed the logic, a deeper question surfaced.
“So… the real issue is, why would the mission issuer, the one who contracts magical girls, not know the codename of one of its own?”

Jin Ling gave her an appreciative look, patting her shoulder.
“Smart!”
The question cut to the core, sending a chill of unease through everyone.
To put it bluntly, how could you not know the name of your own dog?
The truth behind this was terrifying to even contemplate.

“So… what do we do now?” Xin Lü asked, flustered.

Wei Re jumped in. “We have to warn Snow White! There are 200 magical girls nationwide! What if some reckless one ambushes her?”
She could already imagine how many would swarm like sharks scenting blood for those three mission counts.

Jin Ling shook her head, stopping her.
“No need to panic yet.”
A cryptic expression crossed her face as she looked up at the dark sky.
“Your comrade…”
“She seems to be protected by something terrifying…”