Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 565 The Wolf Riders' Unknown Past

Deep within the Magic Bureau building, in a secret room heavily encrypted and filled with various sophisticated instruments and flashing data streams, the air purification system emitted an almost inaudible hum. The outside world was completely isolated; only the rhythmic flashing of indicator lights and the low, white noise of the server fans filled the room.

Chang Lei was slumped in a chair, his glasses reflecting the complex stream of data scrolling on the screen in front of him.

He had just finished a period of intense calculations and was now enjoying a rare moment of relaxation. He casually picked up a bag of puffed snacks with cartoon mecha designs printed on it, and crunched it down with a "crunch," the crisp sound particularly clear in the quiet room.

Qin Nan leaned against a control panel, fiddling with a miniature holographic projector that displayed a slowly rotating, cracked model of a wasteland planet. She wasn't wearing her signature delinquent outfit today, but rather a sharp black casual look that made her appear both capable and slightly playful.

"Hey, Lao Chang." Qin Nan gently nudged Chang Lei's arm with the holographic projector, his eyes gleaming with obvious gossip. "What do you think it would feel like to have your consciousness uploaded into another body?" Chang Lei mumbled, taking another bite of snack. "Hmm, what could it feel like? It's just like changing skin, like changing clothes, like a giant mascot costume." "Don't underestimate me." Qin Nan pouted, waving the holographic wasteland planet model in his hand. "That's changing bodies! Everything about you is replaced by another shell. How can that be the same as changing clothes?"

"They're pretty much the same. According to the data provided by Suolin, there isn't much difference between wastelanders and Earthlings. Their high physical fitness is mainly due to evolution caused by radiation and pollution," Chang Lei pushed up his glasses and continued.

"That's understandable. After all, the war waged by the gods of the era against humanity was practically a nuclear bombing. To be honest, those people who survived in such a radiation-filled wasteland are already superhuman." Hearing this, Qin Nan's eyes lit up even more. She turned off the holographic projection, leaned closer, and asked in a low voice, "Then... can I give it a try? I've wanted to visit the wasteland for ages. Xiao Man said the scenery there is amazing."

She made a "you know" gesture.

Chang Lei immediately looked around warily. Although he knew the room was absolutely safe, he still subconsciously lowered his voice. "Ancestor, can you shut up already? Do you really think that place is fun? Not everyone can drag their divine spark around like Tang Zijun. With your current strength, you'd be lucky to escape with your life. Didn't you see how strong those AIs are?"

"Tch, I'm not weak either!" Qin Nan pouted, a little disappointed. "I was just curious."

"Curious? I think you're missing Tang Zijun." Chang Lei shrugged and opened another bag of snacks.

"Who misses him!"

Chang Lei didn't point it out, only showing a knowing smile. "You know what, this really reminds me of those old days. Back when Tang Zijun was your age, she also wanted to experience a sweet romance."

"Really!?" Qin Nan's eyes widened, then she rubbed her hands together excitedly. "I never thought Tang Zijun had a young age." "He's only twenty-six now." Chang Lei chuckled.

"Tell me about it, tell me about it." Qin Nan seemed very interested, and Xiao Hui next to her also subtly moved closer.

Chang Lei shook his head helplessly as he looked at her excited expression.

"Actually, there's not much to say. It's puberty, the first stirrings of love. Beings with special powers always yearn for things they haven't had before, like love." After a moment's thought, Chang Lei continued, "I remember... it was about three months after I met Tang Zijun. Back then, he got involved with a guy called 'The Light Chaser.'" "The Light Chaser, that sounds like a song."

Are you still going to listen?

"Listen! Listen!" Qin Nan nodded repeatedly, indicating that she would not interrupt.

Seeing this, Chang Lei slowly spoke. "The Light Chaser, that thing isn't actually that strong, but its abilities are incredibly sinister; it specializes in manipulating people's emotions." The bright lights in the laboratory seemed to dim slightly, and Qin Nan's smile froze, realizing that this might not be a lighthearted coming-of-age story. "The Light Chaser somehow sensed Tang Zijun's...special fluctuations towards that girl." Chang Lei's voice was calm. "He set his sights on Tang Zijun, thinking it would be interesting to toy with the feelings of a companion who had fallen in love with a human, and then... he kidnapped that girl, not in the real world, but in the mirror dimension." Qin Nan held her breath, unconsciously tightening her grip on the gravity field generator in her hand.

"Tang Zijun panicked immediately." Chang Lei's narration became unusually concise, carrying a cold quality. "He used that power to chase after them. The process... was brutal. The mirror shattered, and the light and shadow were distorted. The Light Chaser wasn't very strong and was quickly killed by Tang Zijun."

"What about that girl?" Qin Nan asked cautiously.

"She's out, completely unharmed, physically." Chang Lei shook his head slightly. "Before he died, the Light Chaser activated his last ability. He can sever emotions, right? With his last strength... he didn't harm the girl's body, but precisely severed the budding affection she had for Tang Zijun, and it wasn't just her..." Chang Lei looked up at Qin Nan, his eyes filled with an indescribable helplessness.

"The entire campus."

"Everyone who knew Tang Zijun—teachers, classmates, even the old man at the gate—all the emotional connections they had with Tang Zijun, even the slightest bit of friendliness, familiarity, or closeness, were severed by the invisible 'light' emitted by that monster before it died."

"In the eyes of all the teachers and students, he became a completely 'invisible person.' It wasn't that they disliked him, but rather... a complete and cold indifference, as if he had never existed in this class or this school. Even when the teachers called roll, they would subconsciously skip his name. That feeling... was more terrifying than hostility."

The laboratory fell into a deathly silence.

Only the data stream scrolls silently on the huge screen.

Qin Nan was completely stunned. The gravity field generator in his hand fell onto the soft, sound-absorbing floor, making a slight sound.

She imagined the scene: Tang Zijun had done everything in his power to destroy the enemy and rescue the girl he loved. He walked out of the shattered mirror world, covered in wounds, only to be greeted not by concern and gratitude, but by countless cold eyes that seemed to look at a stranger—the girl's eyes were no longer shimmering with emotion, as if she had never known him.

"So," Qin Nan's voice was a little hoarse, "so Tang Zijun is only now..."

"He's actually been lonely for a long time." Chang Lei's voice was soft, but it struck Qin Nan's heart like a hammer blow. "That's normal. It's hard for people like us to truly become 'normal people.'" Chang Lei leaned back in his chair, looking up at the cold, integrated light source on the ceiling. "Since then, Tang Zijun has completely changed. He no longer tries to get close to anyone, pouring all his energy into mastering that power, into fighting those enemies. 'Liking'... for him, has probably become the most dangerous and useless luxury." "He personally saved that person, but forever lost the right to be close to her, and the warmth that existed in everyone's hearts." "So actually," Chang Lei turned to look at Qin Nan, "seeing how much you depend on him, I'm actually quite happy for him." "Ji?" Qin Nan was taken aback, then shrank back a little shyly. "Is that so?"

Qin Nan's mouth was slightly open, her gaze lingering on Chang Lei's face with a complex expression, as she tried to process the information about the young Tang Zijun.

In that moment of stagnation...

Woohoo! Woohoo!

A piercing, high-pitched spatial disturbance alarm abruptly shattered the laboratory's silence. The circular monitoring screen embedded in the wall was instantly filled with a blinding crimson, and the complex spatial coordinate parameters fluctuated wildly as if out of control. Almost simultaneously, in the central area of ​​the laboratory—a secure zone confined by a high-intensity energy field and originally used for small-scale spatial experiments—the air distorted violently, like the surface of a lake tossed with a boulder. *Whoosh!*

An irregular spatial rift with deep blue electric arcs flowing along its edges was forcibly torn open. Inside the rift, indescribable chaotic light swirled, emitting terrifying fluctuations that transcended the laws of physics. Data streams surged wildly across the screen, emitting piercing alarms!

"Spatial invasion?!" Chang Lei was jolted awake from his reverie, sitting bolt upright. Qin Nan also instantly entered battle mode, her hand already touching the rainbow crystal flower. However, before they could activate the Magic Bureau's defense protocol or call for backup...

Two figures emerged calmly from the chaotic rift, one after the other.

Leading the way was Tang Zijun, still dressed in her familiar attire, though she appeared travel-worn, her clothes seemingly still stained with the grayish-white dust characteristic of the wasteland. Close behind was Scáthach, her figure appearing silently like the closing curtain of night. Her deep black cloak remained motionless amidst the aftershocks of spatial turbulence, as if she existed independently of time and space. Her eerie purple eyes swept across the surroundings, carrying a hint of ancient indifference as if looking down upon the struggles of ants, and a barely perceptible curiosity. The instant they stepped completely out of the rift, the torn spatial rift seemed to be clenched tightly by an invisible hand. The eerie blue arcs of electricity instantly vanished, the swirling chaotic light collapsed inward, and the rift rapidly closed with a crackling sound.

The space returned to normal, as if the terrifying scene of space being torn apart was just an illusion. Only the faint trace of ozone in the air and a strange, cold, soothing sensation testified to what had just happened. Inside the laboratory, the glaring red alarm light was still flashing, and the sharp beeping continued, but Chang Lei and Qin Nan were completely frozen in place. Their gazes were instantly fixed on Scáthach.