Piercing sirens blared across Hong Kong City streets.
Hero Association vehicles weaved through the streets; almost all roads were under emergency control, and residents were warned not to go out, yet people seemed accustomed to it, even pulling out their phones to watch the commotion.
The blue Magic Girl flew leisurely through the air, keeping a close eye on the speeding car on the overpass.
Magic Girl Hai Lan Shi, along with her two companions, was performing a routine Hero Association task—apprehending criminals.
This was the most common work for the Hailanshi Team in Hong Kong City.
Due to Magic Girl Inari’s past activities, she had set up powerful magic barriers throughout Hong Kong City to prevent excessive Star Realm Magic infiltration, almost completely eliminating the growth of powerful Monsters in Hong Kong City.
This effectively reduced the strength of Hong Kong City’s Monsters; the Hailanshi Team could usually handle them easily alone, which directly led to her carelessness when she was attacked at Disneyland.
But precisely because of this, another troublesome problem emerged in Hong Kong City:
Star Realm Magic in the present world would not be obstructed by anything other than magic; if barriers prevented it from attaching to beasts or objects that could produce Monsters, it would always find somewhere to go.
Unbeknownst to when it started, a series of urban legends about 【Harvest Magic】 began circulating in Hong Kong City, the most famous of which was the rumor of “guardian stars randomly appearing throughout Hong Kong City.”
As a Magic Girl, Hai Lan Shi was well aware of the truth of this urban legend.
—It was true!
“Magic that can’t find a place to go and can’t naturally dissipate will accumulate, inevitably leading to unpredictable consequences, so Inari released Harvest Magic before her retirement, concentrating all the magic collected by the barriers.”
“Which means… forming artificial guardian stars.”
“And these guardian stars would scatter randomly throughout Hong Kong City; although the Hero Association was already trying to collect these scattered guardian stars, they would still be picked up by talented girls guided by the stars, thus becoming villainous Magic Girls.”
“This is why Hong Kong City produces so many villains.”
Hai Lan Shi recalled the team’s analysis of Harvest Magic from a long time ago and could only sigh helplessly, pulling out a magical megaphone from under her skirt and shouting at the speeding car on the overpass:
“Vehicle below, listen up! I am Magic Girl Hai Lan Shi, the Hero Association has locked onto your position, stop immediately and surrender, or we reserve the right to use force!”
The car did not stop; instead, a pistol emerged from the passenger seat and fired a few shots wildly into the air.
Hai Lan Shi silently extended her hand, and a magic shield easily blocked the bullet of a 9mm pistol.
“Oh… so troublesome…” Hai Lan Shi sighed helplessly.
“It’s always like this; we’re practically on top of them, why do they always insist on running away so stubbornly?”
Her scarlet Magic Girl companion beside her also showed a helpless expression and said to Hai Lan Shi.
Magic Girl 【Red Zircon】, at this moment, was leisurely following behind her captain, leeching off her flight magic, yawning, looking quite sleepy.
“Perhaps the guardian star they found this time is of very high quality, but I still don’t understand why guardian stars are so common with Observer Little Quartz; why do so many smugglers come to resell them?”
The light green Magic Girl also followed behind, leeching off the ride, and chimed in to Red Zircon beside her.
Magic Girl 【Gan Lan Shi】.
Only three members of the Hailanshi Team had come this time; one member with very poor mobility was stationed as a sniper on a distant rooftop because she was not suitable for a chase, but it seemed she had already gone home to rest.
The three looked down at the car on the overpass that turned into an underground tunnel, trying to shake them off, sighed, activated their respective flight magic, and followed closely.
—Apprehending smugglers, the mysterious daily routine of the Hong Kong City Team.
As Hong Kong City is a prosperous free trade port, smuggling crimes are naturally abundant, and coupled with Hong Kong City’s abundance of wild guardian stars, smugglers have set their sights on this lucrative business.
It is said that a guardian star can sell for a terrifying six or seven-figure price on the black market, which made Hai Lan Shi even consider intentionally selling her own guardian star and then getting one from Observer Little Quartz to supplement her household expenses.
A predictable chase unfolded in the underground tunnel of Hong Kong City.
The three Magic Girls followed closely behind the smugglers’ car; the thugs in the car constantly attacked them, but under the protection of Star Realm Magic, it was no different from a tickle.
Even without a magic shield, Hai Lan Shi felt that taking a bullet to the face wouldn’t be a problem.
But that would look terrible, so she decided against it.
…
The chase in the tunnel did not last long.
Two infantry fighting vehicles temporarily dispatched by the Hero Association blocked the way, and under the deterrence of the 30mm autocannon on the IFV, the smugglers’ car finally stopped.
The criminals watched in despair as the blue Magic Girl approached them step by step; the bullets from their pistols couldn’t even scratch the patterns on her magic dress.
“CRUNCH!!”
Hai Lan Shi walked to the car, reached out and detached the car door, tossing it behind her with a loud crash.
“I am Magic Girl Hai Lan Shi, an active Magic Girl in Hong Kong City. I have detected abnormal magic fluctuations in your car. Please cooperate with my inspection.”
Her blue magic staff pointed directly at the people in the car, and she recited her pre-prepared search lines.
The criminals surrendered, and the dozen or so guardian stars packed in bags in the trunk were all captured; the association reporter who came with the car immediately stepped forward to begin interviews, the scene brightly lit and bustling.
In the dark corner of the distant tunnel, pink Rabbit ears and gray wolf ears quietly peeked out, revealing two small heads.
Rabbit sneaking, Doggy sneaking.
“…What are they doing?” Cheshire Rabbit whispered to the little gray wolf beside her.
Magic Girl 【Fenrir】 hesitated for a moment and replied:
“I heard they’re investigating guardian star smuggling. They do this often.”
“Smuggling? This stuff can be smuggled?” Cheshire Rabbit said in surprise.
“Yes, guardian stars are quite valuable on the black market, and many people take risks trying to smuggle them out of Hong Kong City to make a big profit.”
Fenrir replied quietly,
“Actually, I’ve tried to collect them myself before, but… every time the Hero Association’s recovery personnel got there first…”
“…That’s very interesting information. I should note it down.”
Watching Hai Lan Shi and her two companions confiscate the smuggled guardian stars, Rabbit Girl silently pulled her head back, took out a notebook from her bunny girl outfit’s chest, and carefully wrote it down.
What? You ask where a bunny girl’s chest has space for a notebook?
Don’t ask; you don’t need to ask too many questions about magic.
Fenrir silently gazed at the backs of Hai Lan Shi and her two companions as they were interviewed by reporters, a glimmer of longing flashing in her golden wolf eyes.
When Xin Yuehu’s plan began tomorrow, she would be able to…
“…Hm?”
As if feeling the burning gaze from behind her, Hai Lan Shi looked back but saw nothing.
…It must be a misconception, right?
The girl muttered to herself, pretending nothing had happened.