Magical Girl Heavy Dependence

Chapter 25, Torture

Yan Xi made some inquiries on the old street and indeed someone said they had seen Qian Zhen.

She bowed to her neighbors in gratitude and turned away as they kindly saw her off.

Cheng Chen stood in the middle of the street, looking around with great interest at the surrounding scenery: the ruins overgrown with weeds, the dilapidated houses, and the simple people, all with a post-apocalyptic feel.

Yan Xi suppressed her anxiety: "I found out that Aunt Qian went inside, and my house is in that direction too."

"Oh, let's go."

Cheng Chen nodded and followed behind her without any thought, asking her all sorts of questions.

"You live here?"

"Um."

"It was damaged during a magical girl battle, wasn't it? It looks quite old. Didn't the city government rebuild it for you?"

"When this street was destroyed, there was no commercial insurance to cover the building damage." Yan Xi put her hands in front of her. "Besides, most of the residents moved away after it was destroyed, so there was no need to rebuild it. So many places are destroyed by fighting every year, how much money does the city have to rebuild them all?"

"Didn't you move?"

Yan Xi paused, turned around, and gave him a cold look.

Cheng Chen slapped his forehead and shrugged, "Sorry."

The two continued walking. On a weekday during the day, the old street was mostly inhabited by the elderly, women, and children. Every neighbor they met along the way greeted Yan Xi warmly.

"You seem to be quite popular on the street."

"It's all because of my grandma. She often helps people on the street and is very respected."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

After a moment of silence, Cheng Chen opened his mouth.

"Don't tell!" Yan Xi predicted in advance.

"Uh, you know what I'm going to say?"

"It's nothing more than saying things like, 'They're so popular, they're born to be idols.'"

How did you guess?

"At school, every teacher would encourage struggling students with similar phrases like 'You're very smart' or 'You'll have a bright future.'" Yan Xi left Cheng Chen with only her slender back view. "But I didn't join Yin Fu Entertainment voluntarily, so you don't need to comfort me."

"But I genuinely think you're suited to be an idol."

Yan Xi paused, turned her head, and her eyes became as stubborn as they had been yesterday.

"Producer, we've only known each other for a few days. I don't know you, and you don't know me. I know encouraging me is your job, but that doesn't mean I'll be happy to hear those self-righteous words of encouragement."

Cheng Chen put his hands in his pockets and grinned, "No wonder you fell out with your previous producer."

"What?"

"If you're not good at accepting other people's kindness, you'll have no friends."

"Thank you for your concern, producer, but I don't have any friends to begin with."

"Not a single one?"

"...Just one."

"Now..."

"We don't need a second one for now, thank you."

Cheng Chen grinned and sighed helplessly, "He doesn't hold back at all when he speaks; he really hits home."

Yan Xi paused for a moment, then turned and continued walking forward.

"Perhaps."

The conversation has come to an end.

As she walked a little further out of the old street, the number of ruins around her gradually increased, and her pace quickened.

As they approached the heart of the battle from years ago, Cheng Chen, lost in thought, suddenly stopped and said, "Wait."

"What's wrong?"

Yan Xi turned around and saw Cheng Chen pointing to the sky, "The person we're looking for is over there."

She suddenly raised her head, opened her eyes wide and looked up at the sky, only to see a small black dot weaving through the gaps in the clouds and disappearing into the distance at high speed.

The distance was already quite far, and although it was difficult to see clearly with the naked eye, Cheng Chen had no reason to lie to her.

"Producer, I'm going to chase after them."

She took out her magic wand and transformed. Her beautiful black dress clung to her shapely body, making her instantly radiant.

"Wait a little longer," Cheng Chen called out to her again.

Huiya turned around and asked anxiously what was wrong.

"You've come all this way, don't you want to go home and see your grandma first?" Cheng Chen asked, spreading his hands.

The black magical girl paused for a moment, the light around her faded, and she transformed back into Yan Xi.

She took a deep breath and lowered her head: "You're right."

The fact that she was arrested here proves that her previous guess was correct; Qian Zhen really was waiting for her at her house.

In that case, the most important thing to do now is to go home and check on Grandma's safety.

Yan Xi inwardly scolded herself for being impulsive again, while sincerely thanking Cheng Chen: "Producer, thank you."

"So you weren't always a little hedgehog after all," Cheng Chen laughed.

Yan Xi's pretty face fell. Before she could speak, Cheng Chen had already turned to the side and waved his hand.

"Go quickly and come back quickly."

He stood beside a pile of weeds on the street, picked up a straight wooden stick as if he were picking up a peerless sword.

Seeing this, Yan Xi gritted her teeth, then turned and ran home.

……

A car with the accelerator fully depressed drifted sideways and stopped not far from Cheng Chen.

The car door opened, and the driver threw his hands in utter dismay: "Where is everyone?!"

"I don't know, boss. Just two minutes ago, the drone was showing that we were here, but it seems there was an accident just now, and the signal has been completely lost."

The younger brother looked distressed and hung his head.

The man shouted angrily, "I don't care about your drones, I want people! People!!"

The younger brother ducked his head to avoid the spit, stealing a glance at Cheng Chen who was waving a stick.

"Should we ask someone?"

The eldest brother gave his younger brother a big slap, then walked towards Cheng Chen with a smile.

He expertly took out a cigarette and offered one to Cheng Chen.

"Hey bro, can I ask you something?"

Cheng Chen stopped what he was doing and revealed a sunny and cheerful smile: "You're too kind, brother. You've come to the right person."

When Yan Xi came out of her house and closed the door in a sullen mood, she saw three men who were tied up and writhing on the ground.

They were bound by the same technique she had seen used to restrain the "Blue Crocodile"—dozens of black arms bound people down like straps.

Cheng Chen stepped on one of their buttocks, grinning maliciously, "Don't you know that smoking is bad for your health?"

Yan Xi paused for a moment, then quickly walked over.

"It's him."

She gestured to Cheng Chen, indicating that this was the leader of the group she had met last night.

"interesting."

Cheng Chen grinned. "Isn't this a coincidence?"

Yan Xi took small, quick steps to his side and asked in a low voice, "Producer, what happened?"

"We have an ace rider delivering intelligence from afar, and we also have a vehicle." Cheng Chen kicked the boss's butt twice, and although the latter was terrified, he still smiled obsequiously.

Yan Xi frowned, stopped worrying, and instead asked, "So what should we do now?"

Her usual habit when faced with a problem is to just go for it head-on.

But I learned a harsh lesson today, so I secretly warned myself not to act impulsively.

It would be too brutal to just beat someone up and then interrogate them. She needs to learn a way of thinking that involves careful planning before taking action.

The producer was able to point out her mistakes so clearly, guide her here, and then magically catch the boss from last night. He must have planned this all along, right?

Cheng Chen flexed his wrists and, with Yan Xi secretly anticipating his response, began to speak:

"Give them a beating first, then ask them all the questions while they're beating them."

Yan Xi: "Huh?"

Lu Kai: "Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I'll tell you everything, sir!"

Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Chen was already ready to make his move. He had just found a perfect branch and was itching to test its quality.

Yan Xi stared in disbelief, feeling utterly bewildered.

Cheng Chen has no strategy whatsoever. Back when he was the Demon King, he was even more simple-minded than Yan Xi. Whenever he encountered danger, he would use his unparalleled talent to break through in battle and let the system give him extra points to rush through.

Beating someone up and interrogating them is one of the most complex operations he knows.

"Wait! The...the producer!?"

The girl never expected that she would one day be advising someone to calm down, and she quickly grabbed his hand.

Then he took out his magic wand and transformed.

"It's you!?"

Upon seeing the black-clad magical girl, Lu Kai's face changed drastically, and he immediately closed his eyes.

"Don't change! Don't change! I know the rules; I can't survive knowing who you are!"

Seeing this, Cheng Chen seemed to have rediscovered her former feelings and squatted down next to him: "If you know so much, I'll ask and you answer."

Before he could even ask, Lu Kai had already answered:

"We work for an unknown boss. He pays us, and we pretend to be people from the Holy Church Disaster Relief Institute to set up an office. Our main job is to investigate which families in the neighborhood have girls between the ages of twelve and eighteen, and then try to get their parents to sign contracts with us, handing the girls over to us, or to come to the office regularly as we require."

"My name is Lu Kai. I'm in charge of several residential areas near the subway station. Other people are in charge of other areas. I only know a few of them, and I can call them by name and recognize their faces."

"I don't know the boss's real identity; I've only met his secretary. The boss requires us to bring the girls who have signed contracts to the office at a fixed time each month, and this secretary will bring people to help them with physical examinations."

"After they find the girl they're looking for, they'll take her away to Longgang; there's probably a hideout there. Our office handled and registered a total of 223 girls; the list is on my office computer, but it was moved away last night when we evacuated!"

"By the way, the boss told us to move to a cold storage warehouse in Longgang, which might be his hideout."

In just five minutes, Lu Kai recounted all the information he knew, his motivations, including why the surveillance footage was leaked and why he sought out Qian Zhenquan.

Cheng Chen didn't have anything more to ask, so she hit him hard with a tree branch.

"I've told you everything I know, why are you still hitting me?" Lu Kai said, sounding aggrieved.

"Have you finished speaking? What should I ask?"

Cheng Chen stood up, pointed at him, and said to Yan Xi, "This is a typical example of 'turning the table when the boss picks up food' in the workplace. Don't learn from this."

……