: A leader cannot desert his post.

dong dong dong-

A short while later, there was a knock on the door.

Wu An checked through the cat's eye and met the emerald eyes. The other person had transformed into Yin Xi, waving and grinning at him.

She really cares a lot. How does she even know the house number so accurately? Could she have really had someone kill her...?

Although Wu An was all alone, unlike people with complete families, when he was killed, not only his own photos but also those of his family members were all over the internet.

At most, only one face will fly.

But she still felt uncomfortable about having her information known so casually, especially since her identity was something she couldn't reveal.

"A cunning rabbit has three burrows. When I have money in the future, I'll rent three more houses and switch between them."

After making up his mind, Wu An opened the door. As soon as the door was opened a crack, Yin Xi's head came out, trying to peek inside.

What are you doing?

"You're struggling financially," she said with a malicious smile.

"I'm just short of money, not strapped for cash."

Originally, I could have earned a high salary by joining the Bureau of Statistics, but unfortunately, I am a man and would have failed the medical examination.

There are two ways to clear Wu An's name and get a government job: either have the Bureau of Statistics help her conceal the information, or force the Bureau of Statistics to keep quiet.

Compared to the latter, where one person single-handedly overthrows the administration, the former does show some promise.

Jin Yu, his nominal guardian, is the head of Changming City.

If I could please her and gain her enough trust, I wonder if I could get a job at the Bureau of Statistics without having to go through the vetting process.

That way, I can eat the government's food.

High salaries are just the tip of the iceberg.

I'll send her "Good morning, good afternoon, good night" messages later, and call her "Mom" a few more times.

She hadn't expected much of a witty reply today, but the other party responded quite seriously.

It's probably because that "Mom" brought her a good mood.

"I'm gone."

"Okay~"

As soon as Wu An stepped out, Yin Xi came close to him.

For some reason, she had a deep smile on her face, as if she had encountered something happy, which Wu An couldn't figure out.

There was also a hint of danger in the air...

Unconsciously, Wu An began to scrutinize Yin Xi, his gaze eventually settling on the two-petaled flower on her chest, while in contrast, there was only a solitary white flower on his own chest.

"Could it be...?"

Wu An walked ahead, his face darkening.

The so-called "leader" is someone who is capable, and the ability of a magical girl can be seen directly—just look at the number of petals.

There is no more authoritative indicator than this.

"It seems Yinxi saw my weakness and decided to rebel. Is she planning to overthrow her superiors... that's why she was laughing so mockingly..."

Wu An glanced back and met Yin Xi's smiling eyes, becoming even more certain of his guess.

"Tsk... Being a [leader] is really troublesome. Looks like I'll have to show my strength."

Although Li Huanhuan was included in the list of "Leaders", in the end, the "Leader" has the right to protect other magical girls, which means that they must be stronger than other magical girls.

She must be at least stronger than the magical girls who are willing to stay under her command.

Now that he is in decline, even his only remaining subordinate has begun to harbor disloyal thoughts.

It seems I need to show my strength today. If I don't, Yinxi might actually rebel.

This concerns the bonus from the [Leader] title and his own safety; Wu An will never allow such a thing to happen.

......

As midnight approached, the two stood on a pedestrian bridge. Wu An's expression was indifferent, while Yin Xi swayed gently, looking quite content.

The two were very close, their elbows almost touching, yet there was a slight air gap between them; a slight movement would allow them to touch each other's skin.

"I've been looking for it all night and still can't find it, hehe."

Yin Xi smiled and said, not looking at all frustrated.

Wu An felt she was being provoked, but he wasn't angry. He simply said calmly:

"If I say we'll meet, we will."

"Hehe, no one is that unlucky; even the magical girls in the Bureau of Statistics don't encounter disaster beasts as often as we do, if we were to run into one for three consecutive days."

Wu An remained silent, only glancing at the time. There was only half an hour left until midnight.

I was planning to hunt one down and then go back, but I've been unlucky and haven't caught anything yet.

As the number of people dwindled, the probability of encountering a calamity beast decreased, especially as the night grew quieter.

"There are only thirty minutes left. You're so sure about it, but I don't think it's possible."

Yin Xi suddenly leaned closer, her silver hair fluttering with her movements, tickling Wu An's nose. She raised her hand to push away the approaching magical girl, simply emphasizing:

"We'll definitely meet before midnight."

"Hmph~ You're so sure about it, how about we make a bet? We'll bet on whether we encounter the Calamity Beast before midnight. If we do, you win; if we don't, I win. The bet is simple: the winner can make one request of the loser, but it can't be too unreasonable."

Yin Xi stared intently into Wu An's purple eyes, unable to hide the smile in them; her beautiful face was now full of provocation.

No gambling is without darkness, but now is the time for her to uphold her dignity as a leader. How can a leader show weakness?!

If we back down now, given Yin Xi's unruly nature, even if we suppress her temporarily, she will definitely cause trouble later.

Wu An snorted coldly, "Why bother?"

"So how do you want to do it..." Yinxi's face showed some nervousness.

"If you win, you can make two requests; if I win, I don't want anything."

"Wow!" Yin Xi laughed heartily. "You're quite magnanimous."

"Because I won't lose, making a bet with no suspense is just bullying people." Why should a leader be so petty with his underling? He will subdue her with absolute magnanimity.

Wu An raised his head, and there was a hint of domineering majesty about him, which stunned Yin Xi.

Yin Xi hummed twice, snapping out of her dazed state. She glanced at the striking single-petaled flower on Wu An's chest, suppressing a laugh as she said seriously:

"Then so be it."

Yinxi spoke seriously, but she was secretly overjoyed.

Originally, I was just teasing Wu'an and didn't think she would agree to such a bet that she was bound to lose.

As a result, she not only agreed, but also went even further, so she couldn't blame herself.

Just thinking about what would happen next made Yinxi's mouth water. She quickly turned her face away to hide her embarrassment.

We should still be a little more reserved.

But unconsciously, he fantasized about how he would use those two conditions to coerce Wu'an.

After all, Wu'an has a high sense of self-respect, and she wouldn't take her words lightly. Perhaps if I made some unreasonable demands, she would bite her lip and accept them.

Half an hour should have passed quickly, but because she was so eager for the moment of victory, it became unbearable, making Yin Xi anxious and restless.

"How come there are still ten minutes left..."

She looked at the distant clock tower and complained, while stealing glances at Wu'an, trying to find some panic on her face.

Unfortunately, the other party remained calm and showed no signs of nervousness.

"You're quite composed."

Yin Xi couldn't help but make a sound to disturb him.

"The time hasn't come yet, what's there to be upset about?"

"Oh, really."

Wu An understands too much; in other words, he's too naive.

It was precisely because of her serious demeanor that Yinxi couldn't restrain herself.

Despite being a magical girl who transforms from a boy, she is inherently quite unconventional.

"Five minutes already~"

Yin Xi gently filed her nails, appearing relaxed on the surface, but inwardly she had been anxious for a long time.

"Noisy."

"Hmph! You might as well surrender obediently. Look how quiet the street is, there's no one here."

Without people, there is no gathering of evil thoughts, so how could calamity beasts come?

The probability of Wu An winning is less than one percent, let alone one ten-thousandth.

Surrender quickly and make yourself happy.

"Wait until midnight." Wu An's tone remained calm as he silently continued his cultivation.

"Oh! What can I say to you—"

Rumble!!!

A loud crash drowned out Yin Xi's tune, followed immediately by a cry for help echoing through the street:

"Help!! There's a monster here!!"

Yin Xi stiffly turned her neck toward the direction of the cries for help, her eyes becoming unfocused, while a dark shadow had already flown off toward the direction of the cries.

"It's fake, right..."

Incredulous murmurs drifted on the wind, carrying with them the scent of foul magic.