Chapter 82 – Pulling the Trigger

Among the students who took leave from Z City No. 1 Middle School that afternoon was Magical Girl Xia Xun from the special honors class.

Unlike other students, who had to write a leave slip and hand it to their homeroom teacher, all Xia Xun had to do was send a message letting the teacher know.

For Xia Xun, taking leave was nothing out of the ordinary. Especially lately, with Dark Realm Disaster incidents breaking out so frequently, she had been asking for leave almost every day.

If she had to write a leave slip every single time, she could have bound them into a thick book by now.

However, she was not taking leave this afternoon to fight Dark Realm monsters. She was cooperating with Commissioner He from Shuguang Technology to catch the bank robbers.

According to Commissioner He, the trap had already been set. The company intranet had also confirmed that the robbers had taken the bait.

As Commissioner He put it, this operation would definitely round up all three robbers in one fell swoop.

Xia Xun prayed that things would really go the way Commissioner He said, that they could catch the robbers quickly and be done with this stupid mess.

She and Zhao Xing had been dragged in by Feng Yuanwei and Misaka Shirai from District 2 to help catch that Special-Grade Disaster who loved setting buildings on fire. They were already swamped as it was.

As she walked out of the school gate, she happened to see Lin Xi leaving school with her bag as well.

“Lin-” Xia Xun had just started to raise her hand and greet Lin Xi when her Captain, Zhao Xing, called.

Zhao Xing relayed He Mingyuan’s message, telling Xia Xun to get to the “trap” and take her position immediately.

In the thief-catching trap He Mingyuan had arranged, Xia Xun’s combat power was absolutely crucial.

Xia Xun complained, “I’m already on my way.”

“Besides, it’s not like we can guarantee the robbers will definitely make their move today.”

Xia Xun figured that for the next few days, she would have to follow He Mingyuan’s arrangements and camp out there.

There was nothing she could do. He Mingyuan represented Shuguang Technology.

By the time she hung up, Xia Xun had already missed her chance to greet Lin Xi.

“Sigh-“

“Catching robbers, catching a Special-Grade Disaster… This weekend, I am absolutely not working overtime. I’m inviting Lin Xi over to play games again!”

“And if possible, I’ll get her to stay the night…”

…

After leaving the school gate, Lin Xi got into Zheng Mo’s car with Shi Yu and Lu Yi.

On the surface, Zheng Mo’s car looked like an ordinary family sedan. In reality, it had been modified from an outrageously high-performance supercar.

“Put on your micro-earpiece.” Zheng Mo handed a micro-earpiece to Lin Xi and each of the other two.

The moment Lin Xi put hers on, she heard Qin Ling’s voice:

“Hello, Lin Xi, Shi Yu, Lu Yi. Good afternoon.”

“Where are you?” Lin Xi asked.

“I’m at Zheng Mo’s home, sitting in front of the computer and eating roast duck.”

Lin Xi and Lu Yi both swallowed.

The two of them were officially jealous of Qin Ling.

“Oh ho, I heard someone gulp,” Qin Ling said with a laugh. “Lin Xi, was that you?”

“Not me,” Lin Xi said. “It was Lu Yi.”

Lu Yi: “…”

“Enough chatting,” Zheng Mo said as she started the car. “Everyone, focus.”

“We’re going to rob a bank, not going on a field trip.”

“Roger that,” Qin Ling said. “When I make my comeback and become Captain, I won’t be as serious as Mo.”

She really can’t let go of this whole becoming Captain thing, can she… Lin Xi thought.

They had gone over the robbery process yesterday, but Qin Ling explained it again, placing special emphasis on the timing:

“You only have two and a half minutes.”

“Once you have the goods, evacuate immediately.”

“The moment your car starts moving, I’ll hack into the traffic management system and give you green lights all the way.”

“When that happens, Mo, just floor it and drive like hell.”

“Understood!” Zheng Mo opened the navigation. Destination: Jinrui Bank.

“Operation start!”

…

Zhao Xinning had also taken leave. She had left even earlier than Lin Xi and Xia Xun, asking for leave before the last morning class.

Carrying a case about the size of a violin case, she arrived early near Jinrui Bank.

Drawing on everything she’d learned from sniper movies, Zhao Xinning searched for a good sniping position.

She found one easily.

Right across from Jinrui Bank stood a seven-story department store.

The rooftop was the perfect sniper’s nest.

Zhao Xinning reached the roof in one breath. After finding a suitable spot, she crouched down, opened the case, and swiftly assembled the sniper rifle.

Once the gun was ready, Zhao Xinning aimed at the entrance of Jinrui Bank and adjusted the scope.

“Everything’s OK.”

Zhao Xinning held her sniping posture, like a tiger poised to pounce on its prey, quietly waiting for the target to arrive.

Through the scope, she could see everything in front of the bank with perfect clarity.

Before long, a white car slowly entered her field of vision.

After the car stopped, three doors opened at the same time.

“They’re here!”

Zhao Xinning took out her phone and slipped into character in a single second, crying for help in a trembling voice:

“Xi, I’m trapped by a Dark Realm monster in an alley on Commercial Street. I’m so scared…”

…

The moment Lin Xi’s phone rang, the others had just put on their black hoods and were opening the car doors to get out.

The ringtone startled everyone in the car.

“Why didn’t you turn your phone off?!” Shi Yu felt a headache coming on.

“I-I forgot…” Unlike the others, Lin Xi was still an unprofessional rookie. “I’ll turn it off right now.”

But when she saw that the call was from Zhao Xinning, Lin Xi didn’t turn off the phone. She answered it instead.

Zheng Mo: “…”

Shi Yu: “…”

Lu Yi: “…”

Qin Ling, who wasn’t on-site: “What happened???”

“Oh no!” Lin Xi’s face changed in horror. “Xinning is in danger!”

Lin Xi hung up, pulled off her hood, and was about to leave when Shi Yu grabbed her.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to rush over and save her.”

Lin Xi shook off Shi Yu’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

Zheng Mo also panicked. “Two and a half minutes. Our operation will be over in two and a half minutes. Once it’s done-“

“I can’t wait!” Lin Xi said with absolute resolve. “If I arrive even one second late and Xinning dies because of it, I’ll never forgive myself for the rest of my life.”

“What’s going on? Did something happen?” Qin Ling’s questions kept coming through the earpiece. “Who’s Xinning? Are we still robbing the bank or not?”

“We are!” Zheng Mo took Lin Xi’s hood. If Lin Xi wanted to leave, she couldn’t stop her, but the operation had already begun. There was no turning back now.

After leaving behind one last “I’m sorry,” Lin Xi removed her earpiece, got out of the car, and sprinted away.

Shi Yu gritted her teeth and punched the seat. “Without her, how are we supposed to melt the safe’s combination lock?”

“Change of plans,” Zheng Mo said with complete calm as the Captain. “We’ll have to spend an extra minute and have Lu Yi blow it open.”

“Got it!” Lu Yi replied.

…

“Haha-” Zhao Xinning was wild with joy. “Xi really does care about me the most. She went to save me.”

“Indeed,” Pluto’s voice sounded. “Everything is going so smoothly.”

“Now all that’s left is to see how accurate this gun is.”

“No problem. Absolutely no problem.” Zhao Xinning chambered a round and rested her finger on the trigger. “Hurry up and come out, Shi Yu, you damn bastard.”

A muffled explosion rang out from inside Jinrui Bank.

“Huh? Are they blowing up the vault???” Zhao Xinning was very surprised. “They’re bold, I’ll give them that.”

“She’s appeared!” Pluto suddenly cried. “Shi Yu has appeared!”

“I know-” The corner of Zhao Xinning’s mouth lifted as she aimed at the leftmost of the three people running out of the bank and pulled the trigger.

Bang!-

To Zhao Xinning, the gunshot sounded like the most beautiful music in the world, and she was utterly intoxicated by it.