Magical Girl's Knight Brother

Chapter 553 Reunion of Old Friends

An aura, a mixture of heightened alertness and an barely suppressed, chilling fighting spirit, swept across the entire camp like a tangible wave. The air itself seemed to grow heavier.

The body controlled by Xiao Yue was the first to complete its posture adjustment, and its "gaze" immediately locked onto the familiar figure by the campfire—Tang Zijun. The throat simulator of the body emitted a low, steady, and excited inquiry.

"Tang Zijun? Is that you?"

"You are..." Tang Zijun looked at the "giant mantis" speaking to her not far away, and for a moment she couldn't quite figure out who was in this body. "It's me, it's me, don't you recognize me?"

"Why don't you introduce yourself? It's hard for me to guess what's going on with you right now."

Xiao Yue was slightly taken aback, then looked down at his current body, and immediately let out an extremely sharp explosion. Thanks to his shout, at least the agents around him who were not yet fully awake were all jolted awake. They looked at each other with great curiosity, while also observing themselves, filled with a sense of wonder about their new bodies.

Of course, the most important thing is that the analog signal audio that Suolin injected into their heads is playing.

[Identity confirmed: Tang Zijun.]

[A six-star privilege holder of the Demon Surveillance Bureau, codenamed "Dream Guest".]

[Mission environment confirmed: High-threat wasteland dimension; coordinates verified.]

[Proxy Vehicle Type 1 (tentative name) Synchronization rate: 87%, continuously optimizing. Warning: Unknown high-dimensional energy source detected (pointing to Scáthach), Threat level: Unknown (extremely high).] [Mission briefing loaded: Follow Dreamer's commands, establish an outpost, collect environmental data, and record the mission once a day (minimum 20,000 words required) (no duplicates allowed) (no copying allowed) (performance points will be deducted if the duplication rate exceeds 30%)... Mission priority: highest.]

In the camp, only the howling wind and the crackling of the energy campfire remained.

One hundred and seventeen pale warriors, like a silent legion crawling out of a hellish furnace, exuded a cold, efficient aura of slaughter. The previous "game" illusion vanished instantly before the six-star authority and mission briefing, like a thin mist in the sunlight.

Tang Zijun stood up and walked to the formation of soldiers who seemed to have been given a "second life." His gaze swept over every pair of eyes, like a general inspecting his soldiers. "Hello, comrades."

"Good morning, sir!" the group said in unison.

"Comrades, you've worked hard."

"It's not hard work!"

"How are you all doing?"

"cold!"

It was cold, as expected. A group of test subjects emerged wrapped in white sheets. They hadn't had time to think much before they ran, but now that their consciousness had entered, the feeling was unmistakable. "Well, the conditions are a bit harsh. I'll try to find a solution. Just hang in there for now. But don't worry, your bodies are quite resilient. You won't freeze to death. Even if you do, you won't die; you'll simply return to your original bodies."

"clear!"

Hearing the united voices of this group, Tang Zijun was filled with emotion. Finally, finally, she wasn't fighting alone this time. "The mission briefing is clear. I believe the Director and Deputy Director have already told you. The threat level in this dimension far exceeds expectations, as you see in the shadows." He slightly turned to indicate Scáthach's direction. "...This is one of the mission targets—'Queen of the Shadow Kingdom,' Scáthach. Extremely dangerous, she is listed as a top priority observation target."

Scáthach let out an extremely faint, ambiguous groan from the shadows, like ice shuttles colliding.

Tang Zijun ignored her and continued, "Your current bodies are special combat units, possessing basic survival and combat genes. Some of you are even from alien races. You have one night to conduct a final self-check of vehicle compatibility and an assessment of environmental adaptability."

"After tonight, you will officially become a part of this world. Execute the first phase of the reconnaissance mission—follow the local strongman, Old Chimney, southwards, mapping the terrain within a three-kilometer radius along the way. Mission codename: Expansion." "Yes, sir!" One hundred and seventeen voices, including men's, women's, and aliens', merged into a cold and resolute response, like the low rumble before a torrent of steel. As soon as the words fell, all the agents sprang into action. Their movements, though still carrying a slight mechanical stiffness, were incredibly efficient and orderly. Some began practicing basic movements like high leg raises and punches to test their coordination; others raised their scythe-like "arms" to simulate weapon handling; still others walked to the edge of the camp, their eyes scanning the dark outlines of the wasteland and the shadows of the rocks, calculating the limits of their vision.

Beside the fire, Scáthach's purplish-red gaze swept over the group of silent, efficient "puppet warriors" who had instantly entered work mode, before settling on Tang Zijun's tall, aloof back. She couldn't help but chuckle softly. "These are the 'warriors' you summoned from the real world's 'Internet'?"

She paused, then added, "I thought you were going to call those 'magical girls' over."

Tang Zijun didn't turn around, but simply watched the agents quickly get into focus, a hint of approval for their elite force flashing deep in his eyes. Then he turned around. "The magical girls' power isn't very effective here. Besides, if it's a matter of consciousness transmission, the Rainbow Crystal Flower can't be brought over anyway. I have better tasks for them."

"You mean..." Scáthach thought for a moment and then understood. "The dream world?"

Tang Zijun did not deny it. "The right task should be given to the right person. Letting the agents of the Magic Bureau handle the wasteland world is undoubtedly the most suitable. As for the power of magical girls, it is more suitable for the dream world." "You can actually travel freely between so many worlds... I underestimated you." Scáthach's lips curled up.

Tang Zijun smiled and was about to say something when she suddenly stopped and turned her gaze in another direction.

The reason was simple: two figures with extremely "unique" shapes were awkwardly moving towards Tang Zijun by the campfire. The one on the left was nearly two meters tall, and its overall outline resembled an enlarged mantis covered in a spiky shell. On its triangular head, a pair of compound eyes were frantically darting left and right, making a "clattering" sound as its joints moved.

"...Hey, Tang-ge?" The voice came from the speaker below the mantis-head head, tinged with embarrassment. "I forgot to introduce myself...I...I'm Xiao Yueming. The system randomly assigned me this role, I really didn't choose it myself! This look...it's pretty...pretty cool, huh?"

He tried to wave his massive scythe-like forelimbs in a gesture of friendliness, nearly slicing a weathered rock in two. Startled, he quickly clutched the "weapon" to his chest like a child caught doing something wrong. The one on the right, also nearly two meters tall, was completely different—a giant, walking tree-man covered in wart-like bark. Its torso was a thick, twisted tree trunk, its arms were gnarled branches, and its legs were tangled roots, making a dull "thump-thump" sound as it walked. Several clumps of moss, emitting a faint glow, stubbornly grew in the cracks of its bark, providing its own light source. Two bright, piercing eyes were embedded in its crown. "Sir," the tree-man uttered in a deep, drum-like voice.

"Zhang Wei, head of the Ice City operation, reporting for duty! This...this vehicle...it's quite environmentally friendly..." He looked down at his hand, made of branches and roots, then looked up at Tang Zijun. "It's just...the dexterity needs improvement...I almost tripped over it and fell flat on my face just now..."

His tone was filled with utter despair.

Tang Zijun looked at the "Zerg" and "Environmental Guardian" duo before him, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly. His gaze swept over Xiao Yue's awkwardly placed scythe and Zhang Wei's treant-like face, and he shook his head with a smile. "I was wondering why you two seemed so familiar. It's you two! I asked Suo Lin to ask Deputy Director Chang for some connections, and I thought I'd ask you two to help out. Hope I didn't bother you?" "No, no, no," the two quickly shook their heads and waved their hands.

The next moment, with a snap, Xiao Yue's sickle and pliers were embedded in Zhang Wei's tree trunk.

Scáthach let out a very soft chuckle from the shadows.

Tang Zijun couldn't help but facepalm. "Just a little longer, a little longer, so we don't mess up the mission."

At this warm moment of reunion with old friends...

Outside the camp, in the shadow of a huge weathered rock.

Leisen was holding his prized large-caliber pistol, leaning against the cold stone, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

He heard the commotion from the fire pit, but it was too far away and the wind and snow were too loud to hear clearly. He could only see that the pile of "corpses" that were standing still seemed to be... moving? It wasn't the kind of movement that Tang Zijun was controlling, but a more bizarre and comical "movement".

Leisen rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.

Then he witnessed a scene that he would never forget, a scene worthy of being written into wasteland legends.

Suddenly, the pale "corpses" that had been standing like wooden stakes all came to life in unison, their movements frighteningly synchronized. Then, they began to walk around the camp, some hopping and jumping, others throwing punches at the air, their actions incredibly bizarre.

"Alive?! Really... really alive?!" Leisen's eyes widened in disbelief, a chill running from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He had personally witnessed Tang Zijun use that black card to make a corpse sit up, but that was in a laboratory, and the movements were extremely stiff; they would even trip over each other while running. But the scene before him was more terrifying than the most ferocious horde of mutated beasts. At least mutated beasts were alive; these things... were resurrected from the dead. What made Leisen's scalp tingle even more was that he watched in disbelief as two of the "alien corpses," a large mantis and a tree-man, walked towards Tang Zijun, seemingly talking to him. After staring blankly for a moment, Leisen shuddered and shrank back.

He hadn't forgotten what Tang Zijun had told him before—that he shouldn't be surprised by anything he heard or saw.

Ok.

Don't be surprised.