Chapter 20: Just Thinking About What Comes Next Makes Me Want to Laugh
The weakness in her body wasn’t very obvious, much like the early stages of withdrawal. What tormented Lu Shan more was her psychological dependence on Dark Magic.
Monsters absolutely cannot leave behind Dark Magic; forcibly cutting off their absorption will only make them weaker and eventually lead them to starve to death.
Lu Shan couldn’t help but feel regretful. If only she could summon the courage to go out and hunt like those monsters in the association, she wouldn’t be in such a predicament now.
But she was not only timid about being pursued by the Magical Girls; as a medical student, she had seen many cadavers but still couldn’t get used to it. Even during her internship at the hospital, she dared not step into the morgue.
Perhaps this timidness made her unfit to be a doctor, but as a monster, she was even more unqualified.
Coincidentally, the person threatening her was equally unqualified.
Lu Shan arrived a bit later than Sumu, and by the time she reached the Snow King’s entrance, Sumu had already been sipping on lemon water for a while.
Looking up at the large milk tea sign and the adorably clumsy snowman, Lu Shan was puzzled as to why the other party chose such a casual place to meet.
At this hour, there weren’t many people passing by, yet the shop always managed to have three or five patrons inside. Didn’t they worry about being overheard?
Soon, she spotted Sumu by the window, and her breath caught.
After cheering herself up in her heart, Lu Shan still walked over and sat down opposite Sumu, her hands nervously rubbing her thighs while her lively amber eyes flickered restlessly.
Sumu also noticed Lu Shan, who was wearing a black hoodie. Although she had already formed some guesses about her appearance in her mind, seeing her in person still surprised her.
She looked even more frail than in the photos; compared to her monster form, she now resembled a black cat stripped of its claws and fangs, only able to whimper softly when faced with play.
Her features were particularly delicate and small beneath the shadow of her cascading hair, perfectly matching her palm-sized face. At this moment, her brows were lowered, not daring to meet Sumu’s gaze.
Just yesterday, she had acted so arrogantly, yet today she had turned timid. Could it be that becoming a monster actually affected one’s personality?
Looking at her closely, Sumu concluded that this person was indeed a genuine Female Demon.
Today, I, Sumu, am going to rid myself of the curse of the Female Demon and pass it on to the next person!
“Let’s get straight to the point.”
Sumu released the straw and coughed a few times before saying what she thought was a dominant line.
“L is nearby, don’t think about pulling tricks. You should know her methods.”
The ever-busy Luo Jialan had long noticed something was off with Sumu and was glancing in her direction from time to time. Upon seeing Lu Shan’s arrival, her suspicion deepened.
What’s this person up to?
Uncertain whether it was just her impression, Luo Jialan felt that Sumu seemed much more likable now than before.
Let’s just observe for now.
With this statement, Lu Shan’s pupils contracted, and she looked at Sumu in confusion. From her perspective, Sumu, being a monster, should be irreconcilable with the Magical Girls, and she should be more afraid of L.
“Let me clarify some misunderstandings. I am not a monster; I am a genuine Magical Girl.”
Sumu’s words left Lu Shan’s mind blank, and she gasped, covering her mouth in shock.
How could a Magical Girl possibly endure such heavy Dark Magic? Normally, she would have been corrupted and become a Witch by now.
However, the Sumu before her showed no signs of falling, and there was indeed no fluctuation indicating a monster core within her.
Magical Girls can sense monster cores only through the Dark Magic that they emit, but as fellow monsters, they can distinctly perceive this shared essence that exists between them.
At this moment, Lu Shan felt none of that shared essence.
During their first meeting yesterday, she had assumed Sumu was simply a monster and hadn’t paid attention to these anomalies, but now it seemed she had been mistaken all along.
If that’s the case, being summoned out this time must mean she was also going to be arrested.
Thinking of this, Lu Shan’s shoulders trembled slightly, leaving Sumu a little confused.
Am I that terrifying?
“Don’t be nervous. First, tell me your name.”
“I—I’m Lu Shan.”
“Alright, Lu Shan, you must be very worried about your account issue now. In fact, as long as you obediently follow my instructions from now on, nothing will happen to you.”
As Sumu said this, she felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that being able to say such coercive words smoothly surely must be the influence of the silver-haired Witch troubling her heart.
On the other hand, Lu Shan was already scared pale and speechless, feeling just as embarrassed as she had when she was executed.
But unfortunately, Mi Xian, I came here today for revenge against the monitor, so I won’t show any mercy!
“From now on, you must listen to me and act as an undercover within the monsters, but you can’t gain magic power like other monsters by invading.”
Lu Shan hesitated for a moment and then nodded repeatedly. After all, the current monster association was completely disorganized; despite being labeled as a collective, everyone was fighting their own battles, and there wasn’t even a recognized Monster King, so her constraints were almost zero.
Since the last Monster King disappeared, the monster association had long been infiltrated beyond recognition. It was estimated that nearly half of the monsters had already established connections with different human organizations.
It was like the Third Reich at the end of World War II; every trusted confidant of the little mustached leader had a spy certificate in hand.
Being an undercover is fine; perhaps Irina could even let her account pass this time and teach her some of those technical tricks online…
Seeing Lu Shan agree so readily, Sumu felt a bit unconfident, worrying whether she might fall into a trap, but after thinking repeatedly, she couldn’t find any flaws, so she decided to continue speaking.
“Secondly, you need to compensate me for my monitor!”
At those words, Lu Shan immediately felt a pain in her heart.
I broke her computer, right? I remember that one computer was pretty expensive… Did she say monitor?
That sounds familiar; what was it?
Seeing Lu Shan’s conflicted expression, Sumu quickly pulled up the interface of the monitor she had initially purchased and placed it in front of Lu Shan.
“Right now, it’s only four hundred, but when I bought it, I spent six hundred ninety-eight; you must pay me the original price.”
Staring at that price, Lu Shan was first astonished and then delighted.
She could manage over six hundred, after all, she had no extra expenditures; just nourishing her monster core with magic power was enough to satisfy her, and she didn’t need cosmetics or anything.
Whether as a Magical Girl or a monster, generally one wouldn’t need to worry about their appearance. With magic power nourishing them, at least their skin could remain smooth and tender.
The appearance of monsters is influenced even more by their will; even if others feared or hated them, it wouldn’t make them become completely unrecognizable.
Unless it was like Tang Nai, who left an unforgettable shameful memory on Lu Shan’s monster core, transforming her altered appearance into that of a catgirl.
Soon, Sumu’s account reflected seven hundred yuan. After happily confirming the payment, Lu Shan hesitantly asked:
“Uh, is there anything else?”
“Next, it’s very simple; just take a photo with me.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Shan sighed in relief. Looking at her lightened mood, Sumu suddenly understood Tang Nai’s twisted sense of humor.
Just thinking about what was to come made her unable to help but laugh.
