“Did you find anything?” Guo Caitang asked Mo Fan.
“I have questioned the person who last saw the missing girl. She said she smelled a rotten odor also found in the cafeteria. I have basically determined that the cafeteria either has a panty-stealing pervert or a Magical Beast.” Mo Fan pushed back his glasses in a move that exuded wisdom, _How did Detective Conan put it… Oh right, there is only one truth!_
“Is that so. Then tonight, you’ll keep watch over the cafeteria. The rest of us will go to the teaching blocks, the Mingwen Mountain Park, dormitory, and the school field,” Guo Caitang replied, appearing somewhat arrogant.
“That… why am I not keeping watch over the dormitories? I heard that there are a few students who stayed behind. Why don’t you let me take care of their safety…” Mo Fan said.
“Just Feishi being there is enough.”
Mo Fan felt a headache coming on. Feishi looked like a weird uncle that would steal girl’s underwear. Having him keeping watch over the dormitories would result in the girls being in even more danger!
——
That evening, Mo Fan really was assigned to watch over the cafeteria.
The cafeteria of Mingwen Girls Middle School was immensely large, looking like a huge meeting hall. As this place could be considered an aristocratic school, a cafeteria this luxurious and spacious was well within reason. Unlike the cafeteria of Tian Lan Magic High; if you wanted to hide something there, then you’d be swept out by the aunties at the cafeteria.
The dark cafeteria only had a few spots illuminated by the lights in the distance, the chairs and tables were neatly arranged. Mo Fan was squatting in a corner daydreaming about the scene of young girls wearing their short skirts in summer, the sweet fragrances overflowing in the endless radiance of the springtime…
_Boom!_
_Booom!!!_
_Boom! Boom! Boom!_
The noise came from nowhere.
A lone spoon which was forgotten on a table was swaying and trembling as it slowly moved toward the edge of the table.
As the spoon fell off the table, it hit Mo Fan’s head. Mo Fan quickly grabbed the little spoon that had nearly exposed his location.
_What the Hell, who would be so bored as to leave behind their spoon after having an ice cream in the middle of the night, it almost exposed my location…_
_This cafeteria is really weird. Just what is the source of this trembling, it feels like there’s a construction team beneath me. Could it be that they’re building a prison basement? Lately, that kind of thing has been quite popular all across the country,_ Mo Fan stealthily stretched his head out as he looked around.
_Grrrroowlll…._
Suddenly, an extremely strange, deep noise came from the back of the kitchen in the cafeteria.
Following the noise, Mo Fan immediately smelled the rancid odor of rotten food. It was some chives, fishy-smelling meat, and salted vegetables.
_Shit, there really is a Magical Beast?_ Mo Fan tensed up.
Before he joined the City Hunter Team, Mo Fan had always thought that the city was a very tranquil and safe world. He thought Magical Beasts were just something the adults made up just to scare kids who refused to go to sleep. Who would’ve thought that the city actually had some Magical Beasts hidden away; what aunt Mo Qing said before was not necessarily fake!
Thinking back on it, it made sense. The city was so big, there were too many unknown places. If a Magical Beast really were to appear, and there were human lives involved, the police would still prevent the information from being leaked out and then proceed to resolve the matter in private. The effect of people panicking was far worse than the things that were happening.
Mo Fan grabbed a communication device, pressing down on it in his pocket.
This communication device was simple. It would notify his team members of his location and let them know that he had a situation.
The sound of a stomach growling resounded.
As he pressed the communication device, the thing that was behind the cafeteria kitchen acted as though it could feel the signal. A set of deep blue eyes oddly emerged behind the kitchen glass as they directly locked onto the person who let out the signal.
Its pupils were as big as a basketball, and the meat tissues around the eyes writhed as it turned around, raising goosebumps on his skin.
With the help of the reflection, Mo Fan was able to roughly see a silhouette.
_That’s a neck-?_
The neck was as big as a tree, it was hard to distinguish whether it was a neck or a head. In short, in the place where there should be a head was an eye as large as a basketball, and a mouth that was filled with rotten food.
_Shit, are these Magical Beasts equipped with a signal receiver? It could even sense when I sent a signal!_ , Mo Fan cursed to himself.
As soon as he sent a signal, the big-eyed neck monster immediately locked onto him. Not even those aliens in Hollywood had an amazing ability like that!
_Gugu!_
Suddenly, the big-eyed neck monster’s pupil looked as though it had condensed, he could see that its basketball-sized pupil was compressing.
As the building energy reached its maximum output, a red ray shot out from the monster’s pupil!
The red ray pierced through the glass window that separated the students and the canteen aunties, before piercing through the row of dining tables straight toward Mo Fan’s location!
Mo Fan nearly peed his pants.
_This thing doesn’t even greet me before attacking me! Its cold expression is like a cafeteria lady’s annihilating gaze when you hope she will give you a bit more meat…_
Fortunately, it was not Mo Fan’s first time dealing with a Magical Beast. Relying on his reflexes, he tumbled toward the cafeteria’s exit.
In the next second, Mo Fan’s hiding place was turned into a scorched black hole. If he hadn’t rolled away, then that hole would’ve been his chest!
As their Stardusts grew stronger, they would also change a Magician’s physique. Although these changes weren’t extremely evident, they were good enough for a Magician to dodge very evident attacks.
Mo Fan was also very clever. He had chosen a location near the exit from the beginning, and thus he was able to successfully leave the cafeteria with just that tumble and roll.
However, everything was not as simple as Mo Fan thought it would be. The large-eyed neck monster let out a screeching noise as it rushed out of the back of the cafeteria. Its massive eyes was once again condensing a red light.
Mo Fan glanced behind him and felt increasingly shocked.
_This thing’s attack frequency is too high, I can no longer dodge it!_
Mo Fan began to use his intent to activate the Magical Equipment imprint within his soul so he could call out the Bone Scythe Shield to shield him.
As Mo Fan was about to finish it, a clear voice called out from the distant basketball court. “Water Field, Dissolve!”
Following this, Mo Fan saw a stream of water forming in the air. This stream of water was as soft as a ribbon as it floated in front of him. However, it quickly formed into a concave shield.
After the red ray hit the water shield, it was completely neutralized. The red energy was immediately dispersed into countless droplets that sprinkled over Mo Fan’s feet.
Mo Fan immediately cancelled the activation of the Bone Scythe Shield. He turned his head around just in time to see the girl called Xiao Ke smiling sweetly toward him as she revealed two cute canine teeth.
_Xiao Ke? Lady, your timing is too good!_
____________________
Translator : Tofu
Editor: RED
*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes
*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap