"Hiss... haa—" As Xiao Qianxue tried to sit up, pain from her abdomen pinned her to the bed like a cold iron hand. Her small head tilted, trying to check the wound, while long gold hair spread like a quilt over her doll-pale body.
"Obviously I can’t see a thing..." Her view was a thicket of hair and bad angles, and her arms still trembled from the brutal recoil of the Naga Serpent God, reeds after a storm.
"Ah-la, Xiaoxue, you’re awake~" Hoshina’s virtual projection floated above her, lying face-down like a moon mirrored on water, their noses almost touching. "If it’s just treatment, why strip me?" Xiao Qianxue pouted, heat blooming across her cheeks, especially with that girl’s mischievous eyes roaming her.
"The combat suit was trashed. I’ll craft you a new one later." Hoshina cut off the topic like snipping a ribbon. "Your injuries were bad. Even your organs got scored." Her voice lost its playfulness, pink irises locking with gold like dawn meeting coin-light.
"It’s because you didn’t give me proper intel. Put my clothes back on, you perv!" Her voice stayed sweet but didn’t bend, a bell with steel inside.
"Don’t move now, or you’ll spoil the recovery. So, let me pick an outfit." The pink-haired phantom grinned, then with a crisp snap turned to starlight and vanished, like fireflies blown out. "Ugh... you’re bullying me!"
Bloo sat on the sofa, quiet as deep water, sipping tea. Since Hoshina went to check Xiao Qianxue, time had stretched like evening shadows. No idea what trick she was pulling.
"Bloo, we’re here!" Her voice rode out as the secret door slid open. Bloo tipped his head, gaze sliding under his shades, and saw Hoshina beside a hover-chair carrying Xiao Qianxue, floating on buoyancy like a leaf on air.
Her beautiful gold hair was tied into twin tails, draped front and back like twin streams. Her upper body wore an off-shoulder white crop top that stopped above her navel, and below was a black miniskirt sharp as a raven’s wing. Her legs were wrapped in mismatched black-and-white stockings, a chessboard of silk.
"Hoshina! Why’d you dress me like this!" Xiaoxue bristled, trying to brace up with both hands. Hoshina tapped a few keys on her virtual board, and the hover-chair hugged the golden girl tight, a soft trap of air and field.
"Nope, Xiaoxue. Wiggles will mess up the repairs." Hoshina floated primly, like a saint painted on glass, and they drifted toward Bloo in a slow tide.
"Mm... not bad." Bloo glanced up at the girl in the chair, then let his eyes fall back to the screen before him, calm as rain.
"Bloo actually said ‘not bad.’ Xiaoxue, look—my styling must be god-tier to make Bloo say those three words!" Hoshina buzzed with sudden joy, like a kite catching wind. Maybe it was the first time he’d said it.
"Hoshina, you baka!" Xiaoxue pressed down her skirt, cheeks apple-red, and shouted.
"Hoshina, cut it out. Business." Bloo took a sip of tea, steam rising like a small cloud.
"Okay, hmm... where do I start." The pink-haired girl folded away her playfulness like a fan. "Xiaoxue, what do you want to know about this mission?"
"Why didn’t you tell me they had another drug? And what is it?" Xiaoxue asked without hesitation, a small hand curling around the gold strand draped on her chest like a rope of sunlight.
"Not telling was to train your on-site reactions. From the fight, you used what you’ve learned." Hoshina paused, words settling like dust.
"If this were before, I could go fifty-fifty head-on with that beastman!" The golden girl bristled, pride like a blade.
"No, still hard. Its strength beat your post-transform state." Hoshina pulled a data line into the air, numbers glinting like frost. "With your toolkit, you could win, but it’d be mutual ruin."
She turned and conjured a big screen. On it, the black reagent from the base gleamed like ink. "This needs old lore. In the West, there’s an organization called the Black Church, arguably the strongest in the world now. Their leaders are made up of vampires and werewolves, night and fang."
"There’s really a group like that?!" The golden girl’s wonder flared, a gasp like a bird’s wing.
"Before Bloo and I defected, we heard rumors the Ouyang Clan had shady dealings with the Black Church. Didn’t expect them to be true." Hoshina studied the black vials, as if staring into a new moon. "The Ouyang Clan must’ve paid a heavy price, though no one knows what. Only the top two or three elders and the clan head know. So, this new secret base is staffed by their first-string, direct units."
"What is the Ouyang Clan trying to pull? This black reagent, and that drug to mass-produce ability users." The golden girl frowned, confusion like mist over water.
"No need to rush. We’ve already made their pot boil over." Hoshina’s tone softened, then sharpened. "We also took a vial of the black stuff. It’s already in the lab." Her brows knit in temper. "Bloo told you, but you still turned that rare werewolf to ash. How am I supposed to study that?"
"..." Bloo was a rock in a stream.
"Fine. Xiaoxue, heal up first. Come back in two or three days. By then, the reagent should have results. Bloo, see Xiaoxue back." She snapped her fingers, and her body scattered like glitter, gone on a breeze.
"Let’s go." Bloo set down his cup and walked out, steady as a lighthouse. The hover-chair followed, tracking him like a moon drawn by tide, gliding into the corridor.
A blue A5 rolled to a stop, purring like a cat. "This weekend, I’ll take Xiaoxue and Gu Wen to the amusement park!" Lu Ke hopped out of the sports car, excitement sparking like firecrackers, just as a blue Mercedes eased in and parked nearby.
"Whose car is that? Never seen it. And the color’s almost the same." Lu Ke halted, curiosity rising like smoke, wanting a look at the owner.
A blue-haired man in shades stepped out, walked to the passenger side, and opened the door. Sitting inside was— "Xiaoxue?!"
