Hero Association Headquarters, meeting room.
The atmosphere was as heavy as ever.
"...Red Zircon, did you find anything suspicious today?"
Hai Lan Shi spoke, trying to keep her voice calm.
The crimson Magic Girl paused for a moment, exchanged glances with Zi Ying Shi beside her, and replied:
"There was nothing unusual on my side. We entered the Music Plaza as planned, and the Hyacinth Squad infiltrated the music hall, but they were ambushed by Hellcat inside the hall."
"Zi Ying Shi and I were sniping from a high vantage point, but because Hyacinth and her team were trapped indoors by booby traps, we couldn't provide effective support."
"... (Nods)"
Zi Ying Shi nodded lightly, remaining silent, which was her usual quiet style.
"Our situation here is consistent with what Red Zircon said."
Hyacinth took over the conversation.
"When we entered the music hall, Hellcat had already set traps inside, but fortunately, Hellcat was the only one there at the time."
"Another pre-arranged ambush..."
Mai Sui gritted her teeth, her brows furrowed.
Not only Mai Sui, but Hai Lan Shi and Hyacinth's expressions were equally serious.
This music hall operation did not involve intense firefights like yesterday. Cheshire Rabbit and the gray wolf Magic Girl Fenrir didn't even appear; it was just Hellcat alone in the hall.
But even so, the widespread tripwires and booby traps still caused huge problems:
A landmine every two steps, tripwires at every corner, and laser booby traps behind doorframes and window frames. It would be hard for anyone to keep their composure.
Hyacinth felt she was being very polite by not cursing on the spot.
However, the booby traps were not the main focus of this meeting—as a summary meeting for the operation, the goal of this operational briefing was to uncover the "mole" within the team.
"The operation at Music Plaza was a last-minute decision yesterday. Logically, only those of us present knew about it."
"And even so, Xin Yuehu still set up traps in the music hall. How could she know our attack location so precisely?"
"It's now certain that there must be a mole among us."
After speaking, Hai Lan Shi sat up straight and looked around at everyone at the conference table.
Three members of the Hyacinth Squad, four members of the Maisui Squad, plus four from Hai Lan Shi's side. To find the one mole, disguised by Xin Yuehu's familiar, among these eleven people...
"I have an idea, I wonder if everyone is willing to hear it."
Suddenly, Iris spoke.
She was wearing her usual casual clothes, with a pair of round-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, the lenses reflecting light, making her look like Commander Ikari.
"We currently have too little information. Xin Yuehu always keeps our team's total number unchanged, which undoubtedly greatly increases the difficulty of finding the mole."
"Mai Sui, what do you think?"
Iris threw the topic to the always-silent Mai Sui, who nodded lightly, agreeing with her idea.
"That's right, it's very difficult to find the so-called mole when the team's numbers haven't decreased."
"But if Xin Yuehu really wants to stop us from dismantling the barrier, why doesn't she let us suffer casualties and withdraw? I don't understand the meaning of her doing this."
"Based on our experience, Xin Yuehu's actions cannot be approached with conventional thinking. She must be calculating something," Hyacinth interjected, her face filled with righteous indignation.
After a brief pause, Iris continued:
"So my idea is—since we temporarily don't have enough information to find the mole, why don't we deliberately create usable information?"
Deliberately create?
Hearing Iris say that word, everyone felt a bit confused, but then it dawned on them.
"That makes sense!" Lv Luo was the first to agree.
"We can split into teams like before, but don't tell each other! That way we can find out which team has the mole disguised by Xin Yuehu!"
"But that would be very dangerous, wouldn't it?" Hai Lan Shi immediately objected.
"Everyone has seen the terrifying firepower that Cheshire Rabbit displayed. Even Miss Hyacinth and her two teammates could only be suppressed and request support, let alone us few."
"Ah..."
Lv Luo had words on the tip of her tongue, but then she felt that Hai Lan Shi made a lot of sense, so she just pouted and thought silently.
"...In that case, let's split into two teams then," Mai Sui continued, offering her suggestion.
"The Hyacinth Squad will act alone, and I and the Hailanshi Team will form another group, with Zi Ying Shi and Red Zircon responsible for supporting Hyacinth and her team. We'll act independently. How does that sound?"
...
After some discussion, the action plan was decided.
Hai Lan Shi and Gan Lan Shi would act with the Maisui Squad. Zi Ying Shi and Red Zircon would continue to support the Hyacinth Squad. Both sides would not inform each other of their action plans, in order to identify the mole.
"So that means..."
"We're still acting as a group of five tomorrow, right?"
In the cafeteria, Hyacinth ate the Hero Association's food while looking at the two people across the table.
Meeting Hyacinth's gaze, Zi Ying Shi shrank her neck, nodded lightly, and shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice, pretending to be engrossed in eating.
"That's right, just like today, I'll be Zi Ying Shi's observer, guaranteeing that we'll provide you with perfect sniper fire support!"
Red Zircon smiled and gave a thumbs-up, full of confidence in her teammate.
This made Zi Ying Shi even shyer, almost shrinking under the table.
"But I'm quite curious, Miss Hyacinth, Xin Yuehu is already so powerful, how did you few manage to fight her back and forth in Rong City?"
"This..."
Praised by Red Zircon, Hyacinth's cheeks flushed slightly, and she giggled foolishly.
But just as she was about to tell the story of fighting Hellcat for three hundred rounds, Nightingale's perfectly timed retort instantly deflated Hyacinth:
"We fought for about three months in total, and we only won three or four times. We lost the rest of the time."
"Hey! Nightingale, why are you speaking such blunt truths!"
"Hehehehe..."
Iris laughed uncontrollably. Hyacinth angrily reached out to scratch Nightingale, who cleverly ducked behind Iris, giggling.
Watching the interaction between the three in front of her, Zi Ying Shi also uncharacteristically smiled, covering her mouth with a light chuckle.
After some playful banter, they returned to business.
"Where are we going tomorrow? Mai Sui and her team will probably start investigating from a northern scenic spot. What about us?" Nightingale took a bite of food and tilted her head, asking Hyacinth.
"Since we're splitting into teams, we'll go somewhere unexpected! It will definitely catch Xin Yuehu off guard!"
The sky-blue Magic Girl confidently spoke the name of the scenic spot:
"—Whale Monster Reef!"
...
"Whale Reef? What are they doing going to a place like that?"
At the same time, in a restaurant in Hong Kong City, Nan Jiayu curiously asked Su Tianqing beside her.
Su Tianqing shrugged.
"How would I know? It's the result of their own discussion. Mai Sui and her team, on the other hand, are starting their investigation from the northern art gallery. We might as well leave Mai Sui alone; I'll have my familiar retrieve the items."
"Eh... Is it really necessary to keep bothering Hyacinth and her team...? Won't it be a bit, a bit too much...?"
Xia Taotao said awkwardly, shrinking into a small ball.
"Because Miss Hyacinth's reactions are very interesting, Rabbit, don't you also find Iris's reactions very amusing?" Su Tianqing said with a smile.
"Then how about we go find Mai Sui and her team tomorrow? It's good to change things up occasionally, it's just that Mai Sui and her team's reactions might not be as interesting."
"Hmm... It's still Hyacinth."
Rabbit Girl replied with a wry smile.
The gray wolf Fei Yelan did not comment on this, only continued to eat.
The so-called "mole"... does it really exist...?