Chapter 27 – Using Me as a Pawn, Are You?

Lin Xi wished she could just jump off the Ferris wheel and make a run for it with Zhao Xinning.

But if she actually jumped, she’d be nothing more than a pile of mush.

“Gah!” Lin Xi stamped her feet in frustration. “Why isn’t she picking up!”

“Maybe her phone is on silent in her bag?”

The cabin where Lin Xi and Shi Yu were sat had reached the highest point of the rotation.

She could see it clearly now-the Rakshasa Ghost that had appeared in the crowd hadn’t made a move to hurt anyone yet.

Zhao Xinning was neither too close nor too far from where the Rakshasa Ghost had manifested.

A Rank 4 Dark Realm Disaster, while not high in level, was absolutely lethal to unarmed civilians.

“Why isn’t anyone panicking?!” Lin Xi was stunned.

Shi Yu cut straight to the point. “Because we’re in an amusement park. The people passing by probably think it’s someone in a Rakshasa Ghost cosplay.”

Cosplaying as Dark Realm monsters was a common sight; there were even Dark Realm Monster Theme Parks. 

It could be said that humans had found every possible way to use Dark Realm monsters to make money.

Now that a real Rakshasa Ghost had appeared, and in an amusement park of all places, everyone mistook it for a professional cosplayer hired by the park. Some tourists were already crowding around this “pro cosplayer” to take photos.

“Shi Yu, blow its head off before it starts hurting people!” Lin Xi commanded.

“Easy for you to say,” Shi Yu aimed her gun and then lowered it again. “The Ferris wheel is moving, and there’s a crowd around the Rakshasa Ghost. If I fire, the one most likely to die is a human.”

“Besides, don’t forget that we’re both bank robbers on the run. Firing a gun here might draw unwanted attention to ourselves.”

Shi Yu had only taken out the gun as a precaution; she had no intention of taking the initiative to attack the Rakshasa Ghost.

“Ah! It’s moving!” Lin Xi saw the Rakshasa Ghost raise its sharp claws. “Why are those idiots around it still cheering?!”

The crowd was applauding the “professional cosplayer,” unaware that a fatal danger was about to descend upon their heads.

“Use your brain for a second,” Shi Yu reminded her. “Amusement parks don’t just have Dark Realm monsters; they have Magical Girls too.”

“Right!” Lin Xi had just added Xia Xun as a contact. She messaged Xia Xun directly, stating she had spotted a suspected Rakshasa Ghost and giving her the exact coordinates.

Before the call could even connect, Lin Xi’s heart tightened, and she cried out in alarm, “It’s too late! Miss Xia Xun-“

The Rakshasa Ghost swung its raised claws down heavily toward the nearest girl, who was currently holding up her phone to take a photo.

Would the girl be crushed to death?

Once she died, the surroundings would surely descend into chaos. Human fear and panic would only further stimulate the Rakshasa Ghost’s killing intent…

Lin Xi turned her head to look at Zhao Xinning, who was still waiting in the same spot.

Zhao Xinning had said she would wait there for Lin Xi and the others to come down.

“Xinning! Run!” Lin Xi screamed inside the cabin, waving her arms frantically.

The Magical Girl wouldn’t make it in time. Next, the Rakshasa Ghost on the ground would begin a brief massacre, and Zhao Xinning, who wasn’t far away, would very likely be caught in the crossfire.

“Stop wasting your breath,” Shi Yu raised her gun. “Save your energy to pray that my shot hits.”

Just as the Rakshasa Ghost’s claws were about to strike the girl and Shi Yu was about to pull the trigger, the creature’s movements seemed to hit a pause button. It suddenly became dead still.

In the next second, a thick layer of frost crawled over the Rakshasa Ghost’s entire body.

From mid-air, a young girl descended from the sky, treading upon steps of ice.

“Miss… Miss Xia Xun?!” Lin Xi stared blankly at the miraculous scene.

Shi Yu quickly holstered her gun. “Condensing the moisture in the air into ice steps to create a direct high-speed path for herself… as expected of the Magical Girl Xia Xun, known as the ‘Ice Sprite.'”

Lin Xi admitted she had vastly underestimated Xia Xun’s abilities.

She never would have imagined that Xia Xun would save the day in such a spectacular fashion.

“Shi Yu, if she ever finds out we were the robbers, do you think we can still get away?”

Shi Yu gave a faint smile. “I run faster than you. That’s enough for me.”

Lin Xi: “…”

She was currently both grateful to Xia Xun for the rescue and filled with a growing sense of dread toward this powerful Magical Girl.

Returning to the ground, Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Zhao Xinning was completely unharmed.

Compared to Lin Xi, the photographers who had just mistaken the Rakshasa Ghost for a cosplayer were pale-faced, looking like they had just narrowly escaped death.

They cheered for Xia Xun one after another, expressing their gratitude for the Magical Girl’s life-saving grace.

Xia Xun’s gaze swept through the crowd until she found the person she was looking for.

“Actually, everyone should also be grateful to one other person,” Xia Xun announced loudly. “If she hadn’t contacted me in time, I wouldn’t have known that a Rakshasa Ghost had appeared here.”

Immediately after, Xia Xun pointed toward the girl standing on the edge of the crowd. “She is the other hero who resolved this crisis-Lin Xi!”

All eyes turned toward Lin Xi.

The cheers and gratitude left Lin Xi feeling completely overwhelmed.

It wasn’t until Xia Xun walked over and extended her hand that she snapped out of it. “Thank you, Miss Lin Xi. Your early warning saved many lives.”

“Don’t be shy. This honor belongs to you as well.”

Lin Xi felt an indescribable surge of excitement as she took Shi Yu’s hand.

Wait, have I actually become one of the good guys?!

Between being a witch and one of the robbers, Lin Xi had never dreamed that she would one day be a hero.

Xia Xun told her that she would receive a “Z City Good Citizen” honorary certificate along with a five-thousand-yuan reward, which was Z City’s way of rewarding civilian heroes.

Lin Xi even took photos with Xia Xun and participated in interviews. Throughout the whole process, Xia Xun was clearly a pro, while Lin Xi was left dazed.

Being a hero involves so many miscellaneous tasks besides just saving people, yet Miss Xia Xun handles it all with such ease. She’s amazing… Lin Xi’s admiration for Xia Xun grew even deeper.

“Yo, our big hero is back.” Shi Yu’s tone carried a hint of teasing.

After Lin Xi was “captured” by Xia Xun, Shi Yu and Zhao Xinning had returned to the cafe where Lu Yi worked part-time to wait for her over coffee.

Shi Yu hadn’t come to the amusement park to play in the first place, and Zhao Xinning only wanted to hang out with Lin Xi. Consequently, the two girls, who had only recently met, tacitly agreed to wait in the cafe.

Upon seeing Lin Xi, Zhao Xinning cheered sincerely, “Welcome back, Great Hero Little Xi!”

Lin Xi scratched her head sheepishly. “Hero or not, I have to say, being a hero is exhausting.”

“Is that so? Miss Lin Xi, I suppose being a ‘villain’ is much easier, then?” Shi Yu gave Lin Xi a knowing look.

Taking advantage of the moment Zhao Xinning went to the restroom, Shi Yu gave Lin Xi a thumbs-up. “Good job. Try to build a good relationship with Xia Xun so we can extract important internal intelligence from the Countermeasures Bureau.”

Lin Xi stared at her, dumbfounded. “Wait, you want me to be a spy?!”

“What else?” Shi Yu shrugged. “Having you contact Xia Xun and then having you do the interview with her-those two moves were executed perfectly.”

“Dammit!” Lin Xi slammed her hand on the table and stood up. “You’re using me as a pawn, aren’t you?!”

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