Chapter 205 – Purification, Courtesy of Her Teammates

Qin Ling was about to contact the Countermeasures Bureau and begin negotiations when her phone rang.

It was Lin Xi.

Qin Ling nearly jumped out of her skin. “Lin Xi?! You broke out already?!”

“Broke out of what? I was never captured in the first place,” Lin Xi said. “Did you all get away? Thor and I are almost back at our Safe House.”

Qin Ling took a beat before confessing.

“We were about to blow up the Countermeasures Bureau headquarters to rescue you…”

“What?!”

Lin Xi froze. “You thought they’d taken me prisoner?”

“I wasn’t captured. I’ll explain what happened once we reach the Safe House.”

The next thing she heard was Qin Ling shouting for everyone to abort the rescue operation and retreat immediately.

…

At the ZERO squad’s Safe House, Lin Xi waited quite a while before her teammates finally returned safely.

“Lin Xi!”

Lu Yi launched herself through the air and caught Lin Xi in a crushing bear hug.

Lin Xi suffered a devastating blow from her own teammate.

“What was that about blowing up the Countermeasures Bureau?” Lin Xi asked. She peeled Lu Yi off herself, then stopped Shi Yu before she could deliver a second bear hug.

“We thought you and Thor had been taken inside,” Qin Ling said. “We’re just glad you’re both safe.”

Lin Xi felt exactly the same way. She was deeply relieved that all her companions had made it back.

“But even if Thor and I had been captured, you couldn’t just bomb the Bureau headquarters. Wouldn’t that make us actual terrorists?”

“Who cares?” Lu Yi said. “You’re justice. Protecting you means protecting justice.”

“Seconded,” Shi Yu said.

“That is so sappy, you two…” Qin Ling looked away. “I-I only did it because you risked everything to teleport from Point B to Point A and rescue us. I couldn’t turn around and abandon you after that. It wouldn’t be right.”

“One of our corporate values is ‘leave no one behind,'” Zheng Mo said.

Tears sprang to Lin Xi’s eyes at her teammates’ declarations.

“I’m going to die from how touched I am!”

“What’s wrong with Thor?” Qin Ling asked. “Is she hurt?”

Thor sat there in a daze, looking as if she had suffered a crushing defeat.

“She stole her… The Queen of Lust stole Master from us!”

Qin Ling and the others stared at her.

Lin Xi was momentarily speechless.

She tried to stop Thor, but it was already too late. Thor told them all about how the Queen of Lust had kissed Lin Xi.

The room erupted.

What had been a warm, tearful reunion between teammates instantly became Lin Xi’s interrogation hearing.

“Talk!” Qin Ling, now presiding as chief judge, demanded. “When did you start sneaking around with the Queen of Lust behind our backs?!”

“What exactly happened?!” Shi Yu, deputy chief judge, pressed.

“What does ‘stole her’ mean?” Lu Yi asked.

Thor continued to sulk. Captain Zheng Mo, meanwhile, sat up perfectly straight. The appearance of the Queen of Lust in Z City was a major incident.

Lin Xi began with how she had traveled from Point B and recounted everything through the Queen of Lust’s disappearance and her safe return with Thor.

“Finally, I want to emphasize one thing: I do not know the Queen of Lust at all!”

“If I’m lying, may five bolts of heavenly lightning strike me down!”

Thunder boomed outside beneath a perfectly clear sky.

For once, Lin Xi truly had nothing to say.

Well. This was awkward.

“Um…”

“Stop looking at me like that. I really don’t know her.” Lin Xi looked thoroughly aggrieved.

“I believe that you don’t know her,” Qin Ling said. “But she must know you. Otherwise, she never would have intervened to save you.”

“Well…” Lin Xi scratched her head. “I have a whole crowd of bizarre fans at school. Plenty of people know me. There’s no way to narrow it down from that alone.”

Qin Ling agreed. Trying to identify the Queen of Lust from that scrap of information would be a fool’s errand.

“I can’t believe even the Queen of Lust is into you,” Shi Yu said darkly. “You’re more of a Succubus than an actual Succubus.”

“The Succubus of Succubi,” Lu Yi concluded. “The Sleeping Pill of Sleeping Pills.”

Lin Xi said nothing.

“We don’t have the power to deal with the Queen of Lust anyway. Besides, she saved Thor and me, and she didn’t kill the Magical Girls. Honestly… she seems like a pretty decent person.”

“Decent?! What part of her is decent?!” Thor cried. “She is my mortal enemy!”

“Seconded,” Shi Yu said.

Now that Lu Yi understood what Thor meant by having Lin Xi stolen, she seconded the motion too.

Qin Ling joined them, though she insisted it had nothing to do with Lin Xi and everything to do with the threat posed by the Queen of Lust.

Zheng Mo remained grave.

“Master has been tainted by the Queen of Lust’s mana. We have to purify her!” Thor had finally thought of the one way to salvage the situation. “Master! Cuddles!”

“I’ll help purify Lin Xi too!” Shi Yu declared with righteous conviction.

“Cuddles? Yes!” Lu Yi loved Lin Xi’s particular brand of Sleeping Pill more than anything.

Qin Ling blushed furiously, her embarrassment reaching its limit.

“We have to see a rescue through to the end. So, to help purify Lin Xi… count me in!”

Zheng Mo wondered whether refusing to participate would make her look antisocial.

“Me too!” The young heiress raised her hand.

They surged forward together and pinned Lin Xi to the sofa.

“Nooooo!”

Before Lin Xi could react, Lu Yi pounced first.

“Cat-Style Purification!”

The Neko cheered as she frantically rubbed her nose and cheeks against Lin Xi’s chin and neck.

“That’s not enough to cover up that bad woman’s scent!” Thor shouted. “My turn!”

Cuddle-

“Lu Yi, Thor, that’s enough-“

Lin Xi tried to push the Neko and Dragon Princess away, only for Qin Ling to close in from the other side.

“I-I have to contribute to purifying Lin Xi too!”

Red to the ears, Qin Ling pressed herself against her.

Lin Xi’s head spun. All the strength drained from her body.

“Could everyone… leave me a little room?” Zheng Mo’s voice cut through the chaos.

At some point, the young heiress had stepped directly in front of Lin Xi. Even when cuddling, she intended to cuddle with elegance.

“Scientific Purification Method,” Shi Yu announced solemnly.

She cupped Lin Xi’s face and leaned in.

“Wait, Shi Yu! Cut the nonsense-“

Lin Xi’s protest was ignored.

Lu Yi suddenly lunged in and wrapped both arms around Lin Xi’s waist.

“Purification!”

“Fine!” Lin Xi finally surrendered. “But foreheads only, and no more than three seconds each.”

And so, throughout this profoundly unserious purification ritual, one purifying “rune” after another was stamped onto the center of Lin Xi’s forehead.

Lin Xi thought she might die of happiness.

As a side benefit, her teammates’ thorough purification added an entire year to her lifespan-and upgraded her Mega Fireball Spell into the Star-Grade Fireball Spell.

…