Superman Termination Manual-Chapter 442 - 233: Shi Neian’s Brain Imaging Test

Accompanied by a shrill whistle, the dark green train burst through the time-space rift and brazenly intruded into the classroom, like a steel behemoth from the end of the last century squeezing out its head.

A moment later, the air currents it stirred still fluttered above the classroom, the disturbance not yet settled.

The three pumpkin heads on the ceiling were blown askew, swaying like kites. Through the vacant sockets and mouths, a warm orange glow spread downwards.

Looking at the brain imaging helmet on the conference table, the owl’s expression was quite grave.

It thought to itself, "Here it comes, it’s it again, the brain imaging helmet…"

Fortunately, it had anticipated this situation and had three contingency plans in mind.

Among these three plans, "witchifying Shi Neian to divert their attention" was the last resort and a necessary evil—because if something went wrong, the idea of letting Shi Neian infiltrate the Witch Church as a double agent would be ruined.

Thus, it was imperative to avoid this scenario at all costs.

"Please, if she blows her cover from the start, who am I going to find to replace my double agent?"

The owl thought, "Usually, we have Lao Ke working so hard as a double agent; there should be someone to share his burdens."

At this moment, Shi Neian looked visibly confused, clearly unaware of the helmet’s purpose.

"So, as usual, I’ll leave this matter to you, report back to me when I wake up."

Xizi Yue told Ash, then looked down at the file chart and left the classroom aboard the time-space train.

"That’s really cool." Shi Neian’s eyes widened.

"This is one of the Magic Girl trinity’s heads," the owl, for some reason, was oddly proud, perhaps because of an unresolved romantic fling with Xizi Yue during his childhood.

After the thunderous noise had passed, a long-lost silence enveloped the classroom. The pumpkin heads swayed and flickered in the wind, their ghostly lights blinking in and out.

Apart from the whooshing of the swaying pumpkin heads, the only sounds in the quiet classroom were the distant rumble of the elevated light rails and a series of "click-clack" noises.

Following the source of the sounds, one could see Ash’s fingers rapidly tapping on her smartphone screen.

She lowered her small face, slightly furrowed her brows, one hand clutching her shoulder while the other fiddled with the phone, click-clacking away, complaining to Xizi Yue, "Master, you used to oversleep every day, but just today you didn’t, making me lose face in front of the newbie! I even told her you wouldn’t come until the afternoon!"

Xizi Yue was still her usual self, as always, offering only a token response.

Before long, the chat box showed only Ash’s one-sided messages. It gave off the déjà vu of those typical ’goddess and lapdog’ conversations, where it was obvious at a glance who was the goddess and who the lapdog.

Ash exhaled deeply with her eyes closed, thinking to herself, one Xiaohongmao, one master, with them around, she would always be the embarrassment of the Magical Girl Alliance. Thankfully, when the comet reached Earth a year later, she could finally retire and stop suffering at their hands.

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"Put it on."

As she spoke, she pushed the brain imaging helmet across the table towards Shi Neian.

"Uh, how exactly do I wear this?"

Shi Neian asked listlessly as she held the helmet with both hands.

Xiaohongmao volunteered, "Senior, why don’t you let me handle this matter? I’ll report back to you later."

Hearing this, Magical Girl Ash glanced at her with some confusion and asked, very puzzled, "Why are you suddenly so enthusiastic? Didn’t you say that girls who grow up with trash can’t play with girls who grow up with silver spoons?"

"I think you almost scared her to death," Xiaohongmao whispered close to Ash’s ear.

"Quick, make a pitiful face," on the other side, the owl lifted its head and whispered to Shi Neian.

"Why?" Shi Neian asked, looking down at Kobe in her arms.

"Just do it! Don’t ask why; Xiaohongmao is helping you," the owl urged.

"Okay..."

As she spoke, Shi Neian raised her hand to support her chin, wrinkled her nose, and turned down her lips. She intended to look aggrieved, but paired with her dark circles, it gave off a vibe more like a mafia family matriarch provocatively sizing someone up.

"Maybe you shouldn’t try to be a double agent; your acting skills aren’t even close to a single hair on Ke Mingye’s head," the owl thought, unable to resist lifting its wings to cover its eyes.

Watching Shi Neian’s expression, Ash’s eyes twitched slightly, and then she whispered to Xiaohongmao, "Does she look like I scared her to death? She’s the one who’s closer to scaring me to death."

"Maybe she’s just not good at expressing herself," Xiaohongmao said seriously, resting her hand on her chin, "Senior, your aura is too oppressive. Let someone as amiable as me teach her how to use the helmet. You go back and rest."

"No way," Ash shook her head, "you just want to play with the helmet yourself. You even borrowed it for a day last time; I won’t let you succeed."

"Ah, so you’ve seen through me," Xiaohongmao sighed.

The first plan was a failure; Xiaohongmao couldn’t bluff her way through.

"Just put it on your head, and I’ll teach you how to use it," Ash said.

"Okay."

As she spoke, Shi Neian was about to place the helmet on her head.

At that moment, the owl narrowed its eyes slightly and lowered its beak, thinking it would have to launch Plan B and let Lord Kobe’s lackey save the day.

"Revive—! My Dice Monster!" it called out silently in its heart.

Just then, a noise came from outside the window. With a "pop," a white spider silk stuck to the newly repaired window, and then a gray humanoid figure descended from the sky, landing on the windowsill.

"Oh... my, why is there a window here? I seemed to remember that last time I had a secret meeting with Miss Ash, she smashed this window. Could that have been my illusion?"

While muttering, it carefully pulled the handle, pushed open the window, and then sat on the windowsill. As everyone watched, it dangled its legs leisurely and lifted an apple with its right hand.

"Long time no see... Miss Ash."

As it spoke, the strange thing bit into an apple it had stolen from who knows where. Amid the crunching sound, it cocked its head, its hollow eyes swirling with a profound light.

Shi Neian turned her head to look at it and asked gloomily, "Who is this now? A male magic girl?"

The owl was startled and thought to itself, "You don’t even recognize ’strange thing,’ Lord Kobe’s lackey—it’s a celebrity in this city."

So it asked, "Do you really not watch the news?"

Shi Neian glanced at the strange thing, covered his mouth with his hand, and said languidly, "It really is a magic boy. And so ugly too. I suggest banning men from transforming into magic girls in the future; it’s not too friendly to my eyes."

"Exactly, exactly, it’s a magic girl. You could try training a male magic girl yourself," the owl suddenly suggested, "but don’t lay a hand on Xiaohongmao."

"Ugh—"

Shi Neain retched, almost vomiting, and rubbed his dark circles to calm himself.

At that moment, Magical Girl Ash was startled at first, then the body leaning against the back of the chair slightly leaned forward, her eyes under the black locks of hair gradually cooling down.

"Strange, thing… "

She articulated each word as she pronounced the name of the grey humanoid.

Xiaohongmao looked at the strange thing.

She said indifferently, "Although you have helped me a few times, you’re not welcome here."

"Miss Ash, Miss Xiaohongmao, given our relationship, can we perhaps not have such a tense atmosphere in our conversation?"

The strange thing raised a finger, another hand pinching into an apple, leaving a fingerprint as juice splashed, "After all, I did help you once or twice, whether it was that time with your brother or the time with your sister. You might need my help again soon when those witches arrive."

"So, what are you here for?" Ash asked, "To seek credit? The Alliance only allows magic girls to join, not unidentified species like you."

"I just heard there was a newcomer in the Alliance, so I came to say hello."

As it spoke, it slightly curled a corner of its mouth, turning its head towards Shi Neian and waving the apple in its hand, "Hello, Miss Magic Girl with heavy dark circles. May I ask your last name?"

"Shi Neian."

"Shi Neian?" the strange thing paused, "A distinctive name."

Xiaohongmao applied learning in practice, immediately responding on behalf of Shi Neain:

"The ’Shi’ of ’display,’ the ’Nei’ of ’how could,’ the ’An’ of ’safety.’"

The strange thing rubbed its forehead and said, "Alright, Miss Shi Neian, I hope I didn’t scare you. Maybe we can have more interactions in the future, just like I do with Xiaohongmao and Miss Ash. I am a villain with charm and principles, only doing what I think is right, not necessarily evil or good things."

The owl’s eyes widened, looking at Xiaohongmao, then at Ash, and finally at the Dice Monster.

"Oh, my God… the Magical Girl Alliance is actually colluding with the big villain Dice Monster behind the scenes. My world view is shattered. This is simply abetting a tyrant, in cahoots with the enemy, morals declining—where is the natural justice, the rule of law?"

"Shut up, or I’ll roast you for dinner."

The gothic dress girl said coldly, picking up the umbrella leaning against the chair, its muzzle gleaming, no longer caring about her image in front of the newcomer.

The owl fell silent.

"This contracted beast is really interesting, the ones I usually meet are so wary of me," said the Dice Monster, turning its head to Ash, "Since I’m here, let me tell you a secret, Miss Ash, otherwise my visit would seem awfully cheap…"

"What secret?"

"There are too many people here, a secret should not be shared with most, shall we find another place to talk? Trust me, you won’t want to miss out on my information."

Having said that, the strange thing’s figure leaned backwards, plummeting straight to the ground next to the teaching building’s playground.

"Well done, strange thing, just like that, draw her away!" the owl internally shouted, as excited as if it had seen the national football team score a goal.

"Senior, do you want me to come with you?" Xiaohongmao approached Ash and whispered.

"No need. Stay here and take care of the newcomer registration," Ash said calmly, already leaping onto the windowsill, then lifting her umbrella, opening the canopy, swinging up a flurry of magic ripples, her skirt fluttering as she soared into the sky.

Meanwhile, the owl switched back to Ke Mingye’s body, using the chat panel to send a message to Cai Bing.

[Failed Man: The person is sent away, what now?]

[Failed Man: I need you to forge the usage record of the brain imaging helmet for me, then change the photos around to cover any loopholes.]

[Cai Bing: Easy peasy, I got a sample of the brain imaging helmet from the Anti-Superhuman Association in Japan, I already know how to crack this thing.]

[Failed Man: What now?]

[Cai Bing: Open the software I sent to your phone, then plug the USB cable into the port of the brain imaging helmet.]

[Failed Man: Okay.]

[Cai Bing: Wait.]

[Cai Bing: Although I checked, and that teaching building should have no active surveillance. But the magic pumpkin head above the classroom is very dangerous, Xizi Yue might be able to see your moves through it, just in case, find another place.]

[Failed Man: I know, I was just about to ask them to move to the corridor.]

The owl switched back to its own body, giving Xiaohongmao a look.

Xiaohongmao, picking up on the signal, walked unhurriedly towards Shi Neian and then took the brain imaging helmet from her hands.

"No need to test anymore?"

Shi Neian with hanging eyes, asked resignedly.

"The Dice Monster might have set up a trap nearby; we’re moving to a safer place first," Xiaohongmao said calmly. "Follow me."

As she spoke, she hugged the brain imaging helmet in her arms and turned to walk towards the corridor outside the classroom.

"Is this ever going to end, this spy business is so tough..."

Shi Neian sighed inwardly, then followed Xiaohongmao out of the classroom with a dejected step, carrying the owl.