“Bang bang bang bang bang bang!!!”
Dense gunfire, explosions, and shattering sounds wove together, and the entire warehouse floor trembled under the roar of heavy machine guns.
Nightingale crouched in the corner of a shelf, reloading her Glock with magic bullets.
A miscalculation!
She shouldn’t have let Hyacinth charge in directly. They were completely clueless about Xin Yuehu’s setup, which meant they had stepped directly into a firepower trap she had prepared.
…But it wasn’t that bad, actually?
Nightingale tried to peek out.
Hyacinth was being chased by Cheshire Rabbit, who was wielding a heavy machine gun. Although the bullets formed by magic couldn't penetrate her thick magical defenses, the occasional stray bullet that hit her still made her scream in pain.
“Ah hahaha, ah hahahahaha!!”
“Run, Hyacinth! Run faster!!”
“If you run too slowly… I’ll turn you into a sieve…!”
Amidst Cheshire Rabbit’s unrestrained laughter, Nightingale silently pulled her head back, unable to bear watching Hyacinth get beaten.
The difference in firepower between the two sides was too obvious.
Although both were firing magic bullets, this was essentially using firearms as wands, and the type of firearm directly determined the power of the bullets that could be fired.
The Viktor submachine gun Nightingale had given Hyacinth was simply no match for the 12.7mm caliber heavy machine gun in Cheshire Rabbit’s hands.
…What about Hellcat?
Nightingale tried to peek out again, searching for Hellcat and Iris’s positions.
From the beginning, Hellcat and Cheshire Rabbit had a clear division of labor: heavy firepower suppressed Hyacinth, who had the strongest firepower on their side, while Hellcat fully utilized her tactical agility to pursue Iris.
“…!”
“Bang bang bang bang bang!!”
Iris poked her head out from the corner, intending to counterattack, but was immediately spotted by Hellcat, who had been waiting with her gun aimed. The torrent of automatic rifle fire instantly engulfed Iris’s position, forcing her back into cover.
Actually, Iris’s firepower was quite fierce too; her sidearm was a .50AE Desert Eagle, but she seemed unaccustomed to such a small weapon.
This was evident from how she was continuously suppressed by Hellcat’s firepower.
Nightingale continued to retreat into her cover, lost in thought about life.
If this was Xin Yuehu’s FPS playground, then the three of them had probably stumbled into a boss battle right at the start.
…But why were they only suppressing Hyacinth and Iris, and no one was paying attention to her? Was her presence too low?
Nightingale felt a bit uneasy, and couldn't help but think of the “mole” Xin Yuehu had mentioned.
According to Xin Yuehu in the preview, there was an insider disguised as her familiar within the Magic Girl team. Could it be that all their plans were completely seen by Xin Yuehu, which was why she set up this ambush in advance?
But the top priority was to get out of here quickly! Never mind these thoughts!
Thinking this, Nightingale rummaged through her heavy satchel, pulled out a smoke grenade, pulled the pin, and shouted towards Hyacinth and Iris:
“Hyacinth! Iris! Smoke cover, retreat quickly!”
The smoke grenade landed at Cheshire Rabbit’s feet. Before the Rabbit Girl could react, her vision was instantly obscured by thick smoke.
The heavy machine gun lost its aim. The three, who had been pinned down by heavy fire, immediately seized the opportunity to retreat from the warehouse, not forgetting to throw another smoke grenade at the door.
…
Hyacinth leaned against the wall of the mall office, panting while replenishing her weapon with magic.
“That was terrifying. Where did Xin Yuehu and them get all this military hardware?”
“Who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if Xin Yuehu pulled out anything,” Iris sighed helplessly.
The girl looked down at the silver Desert Eagle in her hand.
…It didn’t feel as satisfying as a magic cannon, but at least it was more powerful than Hyacinth’s Glock.
“Yeah, God knows what’s gotten into her this time, pulling off this stunt.”
Hyacinth frowned, looking at her scarred clothes. She used magic to heal and repair them while also treating several scrapes.
Fortunately, Xin Yuehu hadn't forbidden them from using basic magic healing, probably for everyone’s convenience, Hyacinth thought.
Xin Yuehu had always seemed to be finding ways to entertain herself, and this time she just happened to find enjoyment in firearms and shooting, which was why she dragged so many people into her shooting playground?
It was hard to guess her true intentions, even this time…
…No, how could she put herself in that golden-furred fox’s shoes!
She was a big bad guy, and she absolutely couldn’t empathize with her! She had to firmly stop her from continuing to cause such lawless trouble in Hong Kong City!
Hyacinth huffily withdrew her magic, cocked her submachine gun, and said:
“We need to find a way to avoid direct conflict with them. Their firepower is too strong.”
“And our mission is to find the node of her bomb barrier and dismantle it as quickly as possible. We can’t waste too much time.”
Nightingale repeated the objective of the mission, but the three exchanged glances, none daring to say they could complete the task under such heavy firepower.
“But as long as we’re in a narrow space, Cheshire Rabbit’s heavy firepower won’t be as effective, right?” Hyacinth voiced her thoughts.
After all, the heavy machine gun’s size was a factor. In a relatively open terrain like the warehouse, it could exert terrifying suppressive power, but in a complex indoor corridor, it wouldn’t be as useful.
But where would that bomb barrier be located…
The office floor? The dining floor? Or the ground floor lobby?
Hyacinth recalled her magical perception of the surroundings as she ran to the warehouse floor. The barrier node was most likely in the basement or the underground parking lot.
That location was closest to the underground magic ley lines, making it the most suitable as an outer magic node!
“Let’s go, let’s investigate the parking lot. Her bomb barrier might be set up there!”
Hyacinth stood up, acting on her words.
But just as the three were about to leave and head towards the stairwell, a strange thin line suddenly flashed in Iris’s vision. She immediately grabbed Hyacinth, who was about to go forward, stopping her from proceeding.
“Watch your step!”
“?!”
Hyacinth froze, looking down.
A thin fishing line stretched across the corridor. If one didn’t look closely, it would be easy to miss it.
And in the corner of the wall where it extended… a grenade with its pin hooked by the fishing line was conspicuously stuck to the wall!
“Trip mine.”
Hyacinth murmured the name of the trap, her heart rate suddenly accelerating.
It wasn’t because of the fear of almost being ambushed, but because of a deep blue silhouette at the end of the distant corridor:
Hellcat, in tactical gear, leaned against the wall, smiling at her and making a shushing gesture.
Like a deadly hunter eyeing her prey.
“Go through stairwell two! Quick!”
Nan Xiaofeng immediately deployed, raising her gun and firing. A burst of magic bullets slammed into the wall Hellcat was leaning against, but failed to hit the Cat Girl, who had swiftly retreated into cover.
Fortunately, this office building had two stairwells.
Realizing that stairwell one was blocked by a trip mine trap, Hyacinth Squad immediately chose to retreat via stairwell two, not being completely cornered by the move.
…
The underground parking garage was dark and gloomy.
The three stayed close together, alert to their surroundings, moving step by step deeper into the garage.
A sense of tension enveloped Hyacinth’s heart.
The closer they got to the center of the underground parking garage, the more this inexplicably dense magic made her feel uneasy.
There was indeed a powerful barrier here… Did Xin Yuehu really set up a bomb barrier? Why would she do that?
“This way, the magic reaction is strongest in this direction.”
Relying on her keen perception of magic, Nightingale guided the three’s direction.
But as soon as they turned a corner, the silhouette of a Cat Girl leaning against a parking garage pillar not far away made everyone abruptly stop.
“Hellcat!”
Hyacinth raised her gun and aimed.
“Heh heh, you arrived faster than I expected.”
The Cat Girl smiled and straightened up, her black-painted HK416 automatic rifle hanging in front of her, looking at the three.
A clash of rivals!