"I thought you had left." Qiao Xiaoqing hugged Kaguya warmly, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons.
"Sorry," Kaguya said apologetically, gently pushing Qiao Xiaoqing away. "I'm leaving. I came back this time to say goodbye."
"You're leaving?" Qiao Xiaoqing's eyes widened in surprise. "Where are you going? Are you going back home?"
"Yeah, sort of." Kaguya nodded lightly. The month had passed in the blink of an eye, and there wasn't much time left.
"Sort of?" Qiao Xiaoqing quickly said, "You're not thinking of leaving, are you? It's dangerous for a little girl like you to be out there alone. What if something happens like that time…"
Qiao Xiaoqing suddenly stopped mid-sentence, looking at Kaguya nervously. Seeing that Kaguya showed no unusual reaction, she relaxed, worried that mentioning this might remind Kaguya of the unpleasant events of that night.
"I won't let you go," Qiao Xiaoqing said seriously, grabbing Kaguya's shoulders. "Unless you can beat me, don't even think about leaving."
Qiao Xiaoqing didn't want Kaguya to leave not only because she liked her but also because Kaguya was such a beautiful and delicate loli. Alone outside, she would certainly attract the wrong kind of attention. Whether it was street thugs or those so-called gentlemen who were actually perverts, they might try to abduct the vulnerable Kaguya.
Working in the intelligence department, Qiao Xiaoqing had seen too many such cases. The fate of those pretty little girls was generally tragic, and surviving was already a stroke of luck. Many couldn't bear the torment and perished, which was all too common.
Seeing Qiao Xiaoqing resort to being stubborn, Kaguya felt both amused and slightly moved. Had they not known each other for only a short time?
"No matter what, I still have to leave in the end." Kaguya blinked her clear eyes and spoke calmly.
She definitely had to leave; it was impossible for her to stay here, and she couldn't stay here even if she wanted to.
"No matter what, I won't let you go," Qiao Xiaoqing said, mimicking Kaguya's words with a stubborn and resolute tone.
"Yeah, you're not going anywhere," a sudden voice broke into the room.
"Who's there?" Qiao Xiaoqing shouted, swiftly pulling out a handgun and aiming it at the source of the voice. At this moment, she displayed her well-honed skills, taking less than a second from drawing her gun to aiming, showing a level of professionalism not inferior to a special forces soldier.
"Put down your weapon," a large group of armed soldiers rushed in from outside, pointing submachine guns at them.
"Who are you?" Qiao Xiaoqing said in a deep voice, her face displaying a killing intent that belied her age, a cold gleam flashing in her eyes.
"Sorry, don't misunderstand," a middle-aged man with a scar on his face walked in, smiling as he spoke. "We just want to invite the little girl behind you to have a talk."
"What do you want to talk about?" Qiao Xiaoqing asked warily, keeping her gun trained on the man in front of her, her finger lightly resting on the trigger, ready to shoot at any sign of wrongdoing.
"You're Qiao Xiaoqing from the Fifth Division of the Intelligence Department, right?" The middle-aged man smiled slightly, "We're colleagues. We're from the Second Division. Here are my credentials." With that, the middle-aged man pulled out his ID from his pocket and handed it over.
Qiao Xiaoqing frowned slightly but did not lower her guard. With one hand holding the gun, she carefully took the ID with the other, glancing at its contents. Given her skills, she could easily determine its authenticity.
"I thought the Second Division was responsible for international strategic intelligence collection," Qiao Xiaoqing's clear eyes narrowed as she spoke in a deep voice, "That shouldn't have anything to do with a little girl, right?"
"You handle domestic intelligence collection, so it's understandable that you wouldn't know," the middle-aged man chuckled, "But I believe you've seen these documents." As he spoke, he handed two documents to Qiao Xiaoqing.
Qiao Xiaoqing took them and opened them, finding several photos inside. The first showed a petite silver-haired girl in a black Gothic dress wearing a fox mask, standing among shelves filled with various masks in what appeared to be a mask shop. The second photo was much blurrier, but it seemed to depict an airplane, and through the window, a figure in black wearing a mask could be discerned.
"What's your point?" Qiao Xiaoqing's pretty face turned somber as she asked in a deep voice.
"No particular point," the middle-aged man smiled, waving his hand dismissively. "There's another document you should look at."
Qiao Xiaoqing opened it and found the same photo she had seen earlier today. It depicted a silver-haired girl with bright eyes and a graceful figure—the same girl their superiors had ordered them to find.
Her brows furrowed deeply, and she suddenly turned to look at Kaguya, who stood quietly to the side, her face unperturbed. A thought struck her like lightning.
"You're saying…" Qiao Xiaoqing's eyes widened in disbelief.
"We can't be sure if there's a connection yet," the middle-aged man said, "But we'd like this young lady to assist us with our investigation."
"You must have the wrong person," Qiao Xiaoqing's face returned to calm as she spoke coldly.
"Our information has been verified through multiple channels. There's no mistake," the middle-aged man smiled slightly, "Moreover, our operation has already been approved by the authorities."
"I disagree. This falls under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Division," Qiao Xiaoqing said coldly, "You can't take her without orders from my superiors."
"Sorry, we've already received approval from the Military Commission," the middle-aged man said confidently with a smile. "This matter is now under the full jurisdiction of the Second Division."
"How can that be?" Qiao Xiaoqing was momentarily taken aback but quickly spoke in a deep voice, "I don't care. This is my home, and without my consent, no one can take her away."
"I hope you'll reconsider," the middle-aged man's face finally darkened, "You're obstructing our duties. Don't force us to take coercive measures against you."
"Do you not understand words?" Qiao Xiaoqing pointed her gun at the middle-aged man, her finger tightening on the trigger, "Get out."
The middle-aged man stared at Qiao Xiaoqing for a moment, seeing no fear in her eyes. He shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave.
"Alright, let's go," he ordered, and the armed soldiers followed him out. Within moments, only Qiao Xiaoqing and Kaguya were left in the room.
Qiao Xiaoqing let out a sigh of relief, relaxing as she smiled at Kaguya, "Well, little girl, you actually hid…"
"Bang!"
Before she could finish her sentence, a sharp gunshot echoed through the quiet night, sounding especially piercing.