Chapter 50: The Bracelet Fell Off, Meow?

A Race Against Time

“Sirius, I think the main monster is back there!”

“Little Red Riding Hood, wait a second…”

Watching Little Red Riding Hood dash toward the backstage, Xiao Xi’s heart raced with worry. She didn’t want her to act alone. However, the puppet monsters around Ye Xinglan still needed handling.

In her anxiety, Xiao Xi didn’t hold back. Consequently, she smashed the last few puppet monsters with one punch each, finishing them off swiftly.

Ye Xinglan raised an eyebrow. This magical girl seemed much stronger than expected.

Glancing at the stage, Xiao Xi noticed no more monsters were approaching. Instead, all the puppet monsters were converging toward the backstage. This could only mean one thing—Little Red Riding Hood might already be fighting the main monster!

Unable to escort Ye Xinglan out, Xiao Xi urged her to leave quickly. Then, she rushed to the stage to provide support.

A Suspicious Find

Watching the annoying magical girl’s retreating figure, Ye Xinglan pouted. Naturally, she had no intention of obeying. But before she could move to continue her search, something caught her eye on the floor.

A VIP seat bracelet?

Almost instinctively, Ye Xinglan picked it up. The flimsy paper bracelet had snapped into a long strip.

Casually inspecting it, her gaze froze on a pattern—a half-drawn chibi cat. Wasn’t that the one she’d sketched on Xiao Xi’s bracelet with an eyebrow pencil?

Why was Xiao Xi’s bracelet here? Had it been dropped and blown to this spot? Or…

Suddenly, Ye Xinglan recalled the VIP bracelet on that annoying magical girl’s wrist. She looked up, but Sirius had vanished from sight, making it impossible to confirm if it was hers.

Frowning, a suspicion began to form in Ye Xinglan’s mind.

Backstage Battle

Meanwhile, Xiao Xi barreled through the passage from the stage to the backstage, smashing every puppet monster in her path into fragments.

Logically, a monster capable of summoning D-rank minions should only be one rank higher, still within Little Red Riding Hood’s ability to handle. Nevertheless, Xiao Xi couldn’t shake her worry.

As if fate mocked her fears, a cry from Little Red Riding Hood echoed from backstage. Instantly, Xiao Xi’s heart tightened, and she shot forward like an arrow.

Kicking open the backstage door, Xiao Xi saw Little Red Riding Hood frozen in place, covered in small cuts. Opposite her stood a humanoid monster wearing a faceless mask.

The monster’s ten fingers were wrapped in magic-threaded strings, resembling a puppeteer. The cuts on Little Red Riding Hood were likely from those threads.

In an instant, Xiao Xi sensed the monster’s magical aura was beyond C-rank, verging on B-rank. No wonder Little Red Riding Hood couldn’t hold her own!

Years of magical girl experience told Xiao Xi why—the theater’s crowded audience, overwhelmed by fear and panic, had become the perfect nourishment, boosting the monster’s strength rapidly!

A Desperate Clash

As the puppeteer monster raised its fingers, Xiao Xi’s eyes widened. Transparent magical threads had formed a cage around Little Red Riding Hood.

The monster let out a muffled, mocking laugh, its hands lifting high, the threads glinting coldly under the incandescent lights.

“No!”

Xiao Xi knew if the puppeteer tightened its fingers, the threads could severely injure Little Red Riding Hood, even if they didn’t cut her apart.

It was too late to rush into the thread cage to save her. Thus, Xiao Xi launched herself forward, her burst of strength rivaling Mu Xingge’s, aiming a punch at the puppeteer’s hands.

As the puppeteer’s fingers clenched, Xiao Xi’s fist connected. The monster’s hands shattered, puppet fragments flying, and the magical threads dissolved. Little Red Riding Hood stood unharmed, though a new cut had appeared from the closest thread.

Just as Xiao Xi prepared to smash the puppeteer’s head, footsteps echoed from the staff passage.

“The magical aura’s coming from here! Hurry!”

The Association’s magical girl team had arrived. Quickly, Xiao Xi suppressed her magical aura, leaving the rest to the reinforcements.

Little Red Riding Hood exhaled, slumping to the ground.

‘That was close,’ she thought. ‘Thank goodness for Sirius.’ However, something felt off. The strength Sirius had just unleashed didn’t seem like a D-rank magical girl’s.

A Heated Exchange

After defeating the monster, the arriving magical girl team noticed a small argument brewing between the two early responders.

“Why were you so reckless? Couldn’t you wait for me to check things out together?”

“I-I didn’t think that far…”

Little Red Riding Hood shrank back. Sirius had only checked her injuries but suddenly got angry. Her wounds weren’t serious, so this left her confused.

“Sorry, Wolfie, I won’t act alone again.”

But why did Sirius’s scolding make her feel so timid? They were both rookie magical girls, after all.

Xiao Xi stayed silent, breathing heavily, her eyes fixed on the cut near Little Red Riding Hood’s chest, her brows furrowed tightly.

“Hey, come on, you’re colleagues. Talk it out calmly,” another magical girl mediated.

With a long sigh, Xiao Xi said no more.

Lingering Doubts

Meanwhile, outside the theater, Ye Xinglan paced irritably.

The Magical Girl Association’s reinforcements had forcibly escorted her out. Unable to resist, she could only wait outside.

Glancing at the VIP bracelet again, she recalled Xiao Xi wearing it when they left together.

And that annoying magical girl had just left when she found the bracelet nearby. Could it be a coincidence?

“Xinglan, over here!”

A familiar voice snapped Ye Xinglan out of her thoughts. Seeing Xiao Xi jogging toward her, she felt a wave of relief.

“You’re okay! Thank goodness!”

Joyfully grabbing Xiao Xi’s hand, Ye Xinglan’s gaze subtly flicked to her wrist—bare. Xiao Xi seemed oblivious to the missing bracelet.

Before Xiao Xi could respond, Ye Xinglan pushed her back, eyeing her suspiciously.

“Didn’t we leave together? Where did you go just now?”