Magical Girl Fan Bingbing

Jiang Ran drank the slightly cool tea in her cup in one gulp, then stood up.

"I had a very pleasant chat with you today, and I hope we can continue to maintain a good working relationship."

Jiang Ran took the initiative to extend her hand and shake hands with the other shore flower.

"Me too. Your figure reminds me of an old friend." The other shore flower smiled and held Jiang Ran's small hand, her tone warm.

"Really? You must have misread it."

Jiang Ran remained noncommittal, but when she tried to pull her hand back, she found that the spider lily had already tightly gripped her fingers.

She looked up, and the red spider lily still had that same enthusiastic expression.

"Senior, Disaster Lord... that shouldn't be your real code name, right?"

Jiang Ran paused slightly with her other hand, but her face remained expressionless.

"I've looked through a lot of old files from the Demon Alliance era, but I haven't found any that match your profile, senior." Higanbana's smile grew brighter and brighter. "With your strength, it's unlikely you would have remained unknown during the Demon Alliance era."

Jiang Ran remained silent for a moment.

Why do you think that?

"I already said it, because you reminded me of someone I used to know."

"Who?"

The smile on the other side of the flower paused slightly. "It's not easy to confirm."

Her voice was lowered, carrying a subtle, alluring quality.

"Or... could you perhaps remove your preconceived notions, senior?"

For a fleeting moment, the air in the hall seemed to freeze.

When a magical girl transforms, she gains a cognitive filter magic, making it difficult for even her closest relatives to recognize her based on her face alone, unless she deliberately reveals some fatal flaw. This is a fundamental protective mechanism ingrained in every magical girl, designed to prevent unnecessary trouble for her and her family if her identity is exposed.

Getting a magical girl to voluntarily remove her cognitive filters is essentially equivalent to getting her to completely reveal herself to the other party.

This is a serious violation of the non-proliferation treaty between magical girls.

"Shouldn't you show some sincerity before making demands of others?"

She casually handed those words back.

The spider lily itself is also covered by a layer of cognitive filter; the stunning face that Jiang Ran sees now may not be the true appearance of the spider lily.

Jiang Ran didn't even believe that all the childhood stories the other shore flower had told about hiding in the shelter were true.

If a president reveals everything to a stranger he has only met a few hours ago, then he is not worthy of sitting in the main seat of the Demon Cultivation Association.

Upon hearing this, the red spider lily burst into laughter.

"Does Senior want to know the real me?" Her voice carried a hint of allure, and the hand that was holding Jiang Ran's fingers also restlessly rubbed them lightly. "Of course, but this occasion isn't quite right."

She leaned slightly towards Jiang Ran.

"I know a hotel with excellent service. Would you do me the honor of joining me tonight?"

As they spoke, a warm, fragrant breeze wafted over them, and the full bodies of the spider lilies completely blocked the overhead light, casting a dark shadow on Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran couldn't help but take a half step back.

"...No need, I have to go back and tutor my daughter tonight."

Jiang Ran directly brought up Jiang Li.

Although Jiang Li's grades have always been excellent and she has never needed tutoring, she has to be tutored tonight whether she wants to or not.

However, after hearing these words, the eyes of the spider lily instantly lit up.

"So you already have a family, senior? That's such a shame."

That's what she said, but Jiang Ran didn't hear a trace of regret from her at all.

With her other hand, Bi'anhua pulled out a small card, still warm from her body, and stuffed it into the pocket of Jiang Ran's denim shorts.

"This is my personal contact information. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything."

She made a phone call gesture, and Jiang Ran's hand, which had been clenched, was finally freed.

"goodbye."

Jiang Ran took a deep breath and walked out of the hall without looking back.

He didn't even glance at Moonlight and Sirius, who were guarding the door.

……

After leaving the Demon Cultivator's lair, Jiang Ran pulled the small card out of his hot pants pocket.

The card was a dark red with gold foil stamping, and only a mobile phone number was printed on it. There was no personal information on it. It had a delicate feel to it. She glanced at it and casually put the card back.

This woman... is not easy to deal with.

Jiang Ran mentally labeled the spider lily as dangerous.

The fact that she was able to establish a fully-organized demonic cult under the noses of the ten council members and remain infiltrated for so many years is enough to warrant our vigilance.

What really bothered Jiang Ran was the exchange just now.

Although Moonlight and Sirius's performances were somewhat immature, Jiang Ran had a feeling that the president of the Higanbana was unfathomable, and her strength was probably not far off.

Moreover, the other party likely has an inside agent within the Ten Councils; otherwise, it would be impossible for an underground organization like the Demon Cultivator Society to know so many of the Ten Councils' secrets. If the Demon Cultivator Society weren't so ruthless, Jiang Ran would even suspect that this organization was deliberately kept by the Ten Councils to fish for them.

After all, there are always some magical girls in this world who like to be free and unrestrained. Instead of spending a lot of money to keep an eye on these people, the ten councils might as well dig a fishpond and let all the opposition voluntarily jump into it, which would make it easier for them to manage them.

Jiang Ran sighed and temporarily suppressed these trivial thoughts.

At least in the short term, the interests of both sides are aligned, and the Demonic Cult is one of the few partners that can be cooperated with.

Jiang Ran took out her phone and sent a message to Leng Qiaoqiao, telling her that she had already spoken with the people from the Demon Cultivation Association and that the two sides could cooperate on some legitimate business matters.

This is a crucial step in determining whether Leng Qiaoqiao can safely get back on her feet, and it also determines whether Jiang Ran can completely launder the tens of millions of yuan in his own hands.

Once the Demonic Cultivation Guild's businesses are established, Leng Qiaoqiao can openly hold shares as an investor and receive dividends. At that time, the money in her hands will be truly clean money, and she will no longer need to use any official accounts to conceal it.

Jiang Ran needs a perfectly legitimate reason to provide Jiang Li with ample material resources to ensure her carefree life for the rest of her days.

Thinking of Jiang Li, Jiang Ran frowned again. This girl's recent behavior was really not right.

Not only does she get up early every day for training, but she also attends classes all day at school, and when she comes home at night, she still has dark circles under her eyes and is muttering about some detective game. It's really strange that a high school girl would get so into games.

But Jiang Ran had no intention of spying.

Girls at this age are at their most sensitive and their self-esteem is most easily hurt. Forcibly prying into their children's inner secrets under the guise of parental concern is not only useless, but can also easily trigger the most intense rebellious phase of adolescence.

Moreover...

Jiang Ran herself harbors just as many secrets as anyone else, and some of them she intends to take to her grave.

"Perhaps I should find an opportunity to be honest with her?"

Jiang Ran wasn't sure if Jiang Li could accept the fact that her biological father was actually a magical girl. Furthermore, the identity of Cang Xing Shi was rather sensitive, and revealing it might cause Jiang Li unnecessary trouble.

Once Jiang Li gets involved...

"Never mind, let's talk about it when I'm dead."

In the end, Jiang Ran shook her head.

……

Meanwhile, the Tianhai Municipal Public Security Bureau and the Mosu Management and Law Enforcement Detachment.

On Jiang Li's desk, a mountain of documents almost completely blocked her view.

This is the first time she has truly experienced what paperwork means since she joined the company.

After investigating most of the registered institutions in Tianhai City, the task force's progress remained pessimistic. All the anomalies with evidence pointed to economic crimes such as embezzlement, resale, and misappropriation, and had nothing to do with the victim himself.

Jiang Li poured herself a third cup of coffee, her fingers tapping absently on the pile of documents.

She leaned back in her chair, but her mind wasn't really on work.

After investigating the case intensively for more than ten consecutive days, and having to keep it a secret from Jiang Ran when she got home, Jiang Li felt that her mental state had been stretched to the limit.

Nuanyu had advised her several times to find an opportunity to be honest with her family. At first, Jiang Li refused to listen, but she has wavered in the last two days.

"I should tell my parents..."

She put the coffee cup on the table and mentally prepared herself.

If they want to use connections, then so be it. Jiang Li wants to see just how much influence her unremarkable father can pull off for her.

At most, she could reach the top of the ladder by getting to the city bureau chief, Ying Shi. But she's already a favorite of Chief Ying Shi, personally handpicked by him. Does she need her father to put in a good word for her?

Perhaps the speed at which her father pulls strings is slower than the speed at which Little Green Dragon improves on her own.

Thinking of this, Jiang Li's lips curled up slightly.

Once this case is resolved, she'll first consult with her mother, and the two of them will work together to put pressure on Jiang Ran. With the score at two to one, even if Jiang Ran wants to object, she won't be able to turn the tide.

As for now...

Jiang Li sighed and turned her gaze back to the pile of documents.

"I'll go back tonight and ask my dad if his idea is reliable or not," she muttered to herself, though she had already given up hope.

Just then, the door to the task force's office was pushed open.

Nuanyu rushed in carrying a document, looking excited, her light apricot-colored long dress billowing behind her.

"Little Azure Dragon, there's been progress!"

Jiang Li sat bolt upright in her chair. "What's the progress?!"

Under Jiang Li's anxious gaze, Nuan Yu sat down opposite her and carefully explained the whole story.

Officer Shen in the special task force is one of the three senior investigators that Chu Ying had previously assigned to Jiang Li.

Officer Shen is a veteran criminal investigator in his fifties, with over a decade of experience in both the Criminal Investigation Division and the Economic Crime Investigation Division. He is highly experienced and possesses exceptional professional skills. Although he is just an ordinary person without magic powers, and his combat abilities cannot compare to those of these magical girls, he is one of the deputy leaders of the entire task force, responsible for the specific case review work.

When Jiang Li goes out to investigate, she usually follows Officer Shen around to learn as much as possible. This senior colleague is one of her most trusted colleagues in the task force.

Today, Officer Shen is in charge of checking the warehouse of a top-tier hospital in the city.

Hospitals are always a key target for investigation, but their management structure is complex, and their accounts are much more disorganized than those of other organizations. Officer Shen initially just followed the procedures, pulling up and comparing the purchase and delivery records from the past few months, and discovered some minor issues with the accounts.

Based on his years of experience, he could tell at a glance that these minor problems pointed to internal corruption and had nothing to do with the person he was looking for.

Officer Shen had originally planned to simply record these minor issues according to procedure and hand them over to the Economic Crime Investigation Team.

But at that moment, an unexpected incident occurred.

"The medical system is currently cracking down on illegal drug sales representatives," Nuanyu explained to Jiang Li. "There's a lot of tension inside the hospital, everyone's on edge. Officer Shen, wearing his police uniform, was mistaken by the staff as someone sent from above to investigate the drug sales representative case."

"Then a hospital employee secretly followed Officer Shen into his small office where he was adjusting accounts and slipped a letter of complaint into his pocket."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li raised an eyebrow. "Reporting or something?"

"It's a report against several leaders in the hospital." Nuanyu opened the document in her hand. "The amount involved is over 100 million yuan, and the evidence is listed densely for more than ten pages. It's definitely a big case."

Cases of this scale are far beyond the scope of Officer Shen's investigation. Normally, he should have sealed the tip-off letter and handed it over to the Economic Crime Investigation Team.

But Officer Shen was, after all, a veteran detective who had spent over a decade in the criminal investigation team, and his sensitivity to cases was far greater than that of the average person. Before handing it over, he casually went through the evidence listed in the tip-off letter carefully.

Then he noticed a record related to magic essence.

"The whistleblower letter says that a certain leader of this hospital kept two sets of books, one for internal use and one for external use." Nuanyu's tone gradually became agitated. "The external books were for superiors and auditors to see, and after being modified many times, no major problems could be found."

"But the inner tents..."

"The internal records clearly state that this hospital leader recently purchased five bottles of high-purity magic essence from a person named Commissioner Lin at a price of 110 million per bottle."

This area doesn't match the outer tent at all, and Officer Shen also noticed this problem.

"He immediately had the hospital staff open the warehouse and personally inspect the goods, and what they found was a pleasant surprise."

"The purity recorded in the ledger doesn't match the purity of what's stored in the warehouse at all; what's stored there is 99% pure..."

"Dream Sapphire".

Jiang Li held her breath for a moment.

The term "Dream Sapphire" is a special name used within the Public Security Bureau to refer to the artwork of the disaster victim.

Because of its almost absurdly high purity, it exhibits a unique pale blue luminescence, like a tear of the ocean frozen in glass. Anyone who has seen it once will remember that color from the bottom of their heart.

The samples seized from individual sellers by the police have been carefully stored in the evidence archive. The fact that five complete bottles could be found directly in the warehouse of a top-tier hospital...

Jiang Li jumped up from her chair and grabbed Nuan Yu's arm. "Where is Officer Shen right now?!"

"We've already taken control of the hospital's key leaders, and they're heading to the bureau with the goods." Nuanyu was equally excited. After investigating for so long, she had finally caught the mastermind behind the disaster again.

Their approach to the case was not wrong.

Every contact leaves a trace!

Jiang Li's face flushed with excitement, but she had to force herself to calm down and took a deep breath.

"Senior Nuanyu," Jiang Li's voice was much calmer than before, "I'll personally go to the gate to greet Officer Shen. Prepare the interrogation room. This time, we absolutely cannot let the culprit escape from our grasp again!"

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Thanks to: Pine-scented Earwax, the Indian who loves coffee cookies, and Nicholas from the Explosive Gang.

Thank you to the three generous donors for your generous donations.

This book has been temporarily blocked for some well-known reasons. I am currently working hard to revise it, and I don't know if it will be released smoothly.

If it can be released, the subsequent plot may be adjusted to some extent, but it will not deviate from the original main storyline. It's just that some more sensitive content will be written less in the future.

thanks for your support.