Chapter 191 – Stop Harboring Feelings for the Enemy

“Huh?! What?!”

Lin Xi shot upright on the couch. “Thor was captured?!”

“How did this happen?”

“Why were the Magical Girls from both Districts 1 and 2 after her?”

The news report soon answered that question. The anchor gave a grand introduction to the third major contributor to the operation-the Teleportation Array.

To facilitate more efficient joint operations among Z City’s three districts and establish an integrated offense and defense, Dr. Vanessa of District 1 had built the Teleportation Array using the spatial ability of District 1 Magical Girl Su Tang.

The array had played an indispensable role in capturing the Special-Grade Disaster known as the Giant Dragon.

It had allowed the Magical Girls and Countermeasures Bureau personnel of Districts 1 and 2 to mobilize and launch a joint operation in record time.

The anchor proclaimed excitedly, “United in battle, seamless in offense and defense-they displayed their full might!”

Lin Xi, meanwhile, felt as though her heart had plunged straight to the bottom of an abyss.

Her phone suddenly rang.

It was Qin Ling.

“Lin Xi! Turn on the news. Something terrible has happened!”

“I’ve already seen it. I was just about to call you.” Lin Xi was beside herself with worry. There was no question about it-they had to rescue Thor.

Thor was a member of their ZERO team, and ZERO’s policy was simple: leave no one behind. They would never stand by and watch Thor be taken away.

Qin Ling told Lin Xi to hurry to the Safe House. She had already contacted Shi Yu, Lu Yi, and Zheng Mo. Once everyone arrived, they would pool their intelligence and work out a plan.

Qin Ling was calm and quick to respond.

Lin Xi, on the other hand, was nearly beside herself.

“Okay! I’m on my way!”

She dashed out the door.

…

Every member of the team except Thor had assembled in the Safe House conference room.

Shi Yu, Lu Yi, and Zheng Mo had only learned of Thor’s capture when Qin Ling called them. All three had rushed over immediately to discuss their next move.

Qin Ling had already gathered and organized every scrap of information available online.

“Thor encountered Misaka Shirai in District 2. If Misaka Shirai had been alone, Thor should have had no trouble escaping with her strength.”

“But Su Tang used the Teleportation Array to go straight to District 2.”

“The moment she arrived, the battle became completely one-sided.”

Everyone knew how formidable Chief Magical Girl Su Tang was. With her and Misaka Shirai working together, Thor had been unable to escape.

“Based on the information we have, Thor hasn’t been transferred to the Undersea Prison yet.”

Once she was locked inside the Undersea Prison, rescuing her would become far more difficult.

“But they won’t simply keep her in the District 2 Countermeasures Bureau’s jail, either. That would be too risky.”

“I think they must have a concealed location like a Safe House where they’re holding Thor while they guard against a rescue attempt.”

Qin Ling laid out their two immediate priorities.

First: find out where Thor was being held.

Second: prepare for action.

The moment they confirmed Thor’s location, they would move. They had to rescue her before she was transferred to the Undersea Prison.

“The Countermeasures Bureau’s internal network has layer upon layer of security. It’ll take me some time to get through it.” Qin Ling was already working to extract useful information from inside the District 2 Countermeasures Bureau.

Zheng Mo mobilized her heiress’s network of connections to see if she could find someone with ties to the District 2 Countermeasures Bureau.

Shi Yu and Lu Yi began sorting through their equipment. This rescue was bound to be a difficult one.

Lin Xi sank into a spiral of gloom… though she was still trying to think of a solution through it all.

She felt as if this were her fault.

If Thor had stayed home as usual, the Magical Girls could never have captured her.

The thought of Magical Girls suddenly brought Xia Xun to mind.

“Xia Xun should know where Thor is being held!”

“Thor has always been one of the targets Xia Xun and Misaka Shirai wanted to capture. Now that they’ve caught her, Xia Xun is bound to go and see what’s happening.”

“Mm. Xia Xun is our best opening,” Qin Ling said. “But stay calm. Don’t make your questions too obvious, or she’ll get suspicious.”

“I understand.” Lin Xi took out her phone and called Xia Xun.

Thor was a Special-Grade Disaster who had never harmed anyone. The Undersea Prison could not be allowed to become her final destination.

Lin Xi called twice in a row, but no one answered.

“Xia Xun must be at the Safe House where they’re holding Thor,” Qin Ling reasoned. “It would be perfectly normal for a place like that to block phone signals.”

She told Lin Xi to try again later.

…

Inside a District 2 Countermeasures Bureau Safe House, Thor sat obediently in a room, electronic cuffs around her wrists and ankles.

If she tried to break free by force, the restraints would explode.

She had been brought here immediately after her capture and granted the sort of accommodations normally reserved for only the most dangerous criminals.

Then the door opened.

Three girls walked in.

Thor knew one of them all too well.

“Long time no see,” Xia Xun greeted her. “I failed to kill you with that strike last time, and someone took advantage of the opening to rescue you. Heh. Looks like your luck has finally run out today.”

“Don’t celebrate too soon, Xia Xun,” Thor replied coldly. “My luck is only just beginning.”

Thor trusted that Master and her teammates were already working out how to rescue her.

Captured or not, she was perfectly calm.

“You know me? Well, I suppose it’s only natural that you’d recognize all three of us Magical Girls,” Xia Xun said. “Would you care to tell me your name, and who’s behind you?”

“I have nothing to say.” Thor kept her answer short. “I work alone. No one is behind me.”

She would never betray her companions.

“No one? Then who rescued you when you were critically injured last time?”

“When we met outside the Shuguang Technology Secret Laboratory, weren’t the people riding on your back your teammates?”

Xia Xun knew perfectly well that Thor was not alone.

“Especially that Super-Grade Disaster who uses Fireball.” That was the one Xia Xun most wanted to capture. “Tell me-is that person a man or a woman? Are they hiding somewhere in Z City disguised as an ordinary person? Where are they?”

Thor gave her the same three-word answer every time.

“I don’t know.”

“Answer our questions honestly, and we might arrange a comfortable cell for you when you reach the Undersea Prison.”

“Don’t waste your breath. I don’t know anything.”

“Oh? You’re awfully stubborn.”

“What? Are you going to torture me? I haven’t set any fires or killed anyone. You arrested me for no reason at all, so you’re the ones in the wrong!”

Xia Xun smiled. “The very existence of a Special-Grade Disaster like you poses an enormous threat to Z City’s peace and security.”

“There’s no room for negotiation. We’re taking you in.”

Thor asked, “In your eyes, are all Special-Grade Disasters and Super-Grade Disasters irredeemably evil?”

“You could say that,” Xia Xun replied. “Only after all of you have been captured, driven out, or eliminated can Z City develop in peace and safety. That is our mission as Magical Girls.”

“Good. Very good. I’m delighted you think that way.” Thor committed every word Xia Xun had said to memory. She would repeat it all to Lin Xi later.

She had to make Master understand that Xia Xun was the enemy-and stop harboring feelings for her.