She was being hunted down, so she became a magical girl.

Yu Xiaqi wheeled herself to the center of the courtyard.

It's morning exercise time, and the children at the orphanage are stretching in the yard. The morning light shines on their skin, like a layer of beautiful gold dust.

Whenever Yu Xiaqi sees the children's energetic appearance, she feels full of energy herself.

Although she is unable to walk and her body is nearing death due to old age...

But if the children are alive and well, it means she is alive and well.

However, the children will eventually have to leave the orphanage.

Of all the children who left, she was most worried about Jiang Chenglian.

Yu Xiaqi knows a lot.

She knew that Jiang Chenglian had obtained a magical girl contract from a magical girl codenamed Shaohua, and she also knew that this fearless girl would eventually follow Shaohua down the path destined for sacrifice.

But she still hoped that Jiang Chenglian could live a good life, at least until he took over the mission of protecting the orphanage from her.

Speaking of Jiang Chenglian, that girl wrote me a letter last night.

Bathed in the warm sunlight, Yu Xiaqi took out the envelope and slowly began to read it.

Sister, I have successfully arrived in the lower city.

The downtown area was darker, more cramped, and even oppressively suffocating than I had imagined, but with the help of several new friends, I'm doing quite well and smoothly.

[Among them, the most formidable is Miss "The Color Loser".]

She is a powerful local magical girl from the lower city, and also a professional mercenary. "The Color Loser" was her codename during her mercenary days, so it doesn't sound very magical girl-like.

However, Miss Faded Beauty seems to have a strange possessiveness towards me.

[I plan to unite the magical girls of the Lower City to fight against the Celestial Will Group, but Miss Colorless doesn't approve of this plan and repeatedly hints that it's a path of no return.]

But while she said that, she also provided a lot of help with the plan, so it didn't seem like she completely disagreed with my ideas.

I pondered this contradiction for a long time and finally came to a very strange conclusion—

Miss Lost in Color doesn't disagree with my ideals; she just doesn't want me to be the one who sacrifices myself.

This is strange. I've only known her for a short time. Why would she do this? Sister, you've experienced more; perhaps you can help me figure out the reason.

Also, I received news about Brother Xu Ting.

My brother works as a mercenary in Hell City, and Miss Lost in Color knows him. She has promised to help me find my brother.

However, their connection wasn't strong, so they couldn't contact his brother immediately.

Anyway, after a while, I'll be able to reunite with Brother Xu Ting. Then I'll definitely bring him back to the orphanage so you can be reunited with him.

【I'm a powerful magical girl now, he can't defy me.】

Wishing you well.

Yu Xiaqi looked at the letter, her face filled with confusion.

"The one who has lost their color?"

She glanced at the children in the yard, then wheeled herself back to her room and hurriedly began writing a reply to Jiang Chenglian.

[Chenglian, the "Miss Lost in Color" you mentioned might be lying to you.]

[Please confirm again, does she really know Xu Ting?]

Is her code name really "The Color Loser"?

Yu Xiaqi wrote these sentences, and then her expression became even more solemn.

She pondered for several minutes before finally deciding to put pen to paper and write the following words:

"If there really is a code name called 'The Color Loser,' then it should belong to your brother."

......

Looking at the reply in his hand, Jiang Chenglian jumped up from the sofa.

What did my sister mean by that?

Is the older brother the one who "lost his color"?

Miss Faded Beauty lied to her?!

Jiang Chenglian's mind was buzzing. She was stunned by the shocking facts for several minutes before she began to sort out her thoughts again.

My sister isn't one to joke around in these kinds of situations, so she must have her reasons for saying that.

Xu Ting's brother has been anonymously sending money to the orphanage, so theoretically, his sister shouldn't know his code name.

But... my sister knows everything.

In other words, the "discolored one" is Xu Ting's brother.

Who is that Miss Lost Color?

Jiang Chenglian's mind was filled with all sorts of wild hypotheses. She took out her notebook and wrote down a bunch of random words, but in the end, she still couldn't figure out the facts.

Clearly, either my brain isn't working properly, or I don't have enough information right now.

Jiang Chenglian thought it was the latter.

So, she gritted her teeth, dialed the number of the woman who had lost her color, and asked the question she had been wanting to ask:

"Miss Lost Color..."

Are you a cyborg?

--"What?"

Upon receiving the call, Xu Ting realized that her sister had taken the wrong medicine that day.

She moved the communication terminal away, confirmed that the caller was her sister, and then continued:

"Of course not, why would you think that?"

"Um... it's just... I just feel that your father might not have had time to raise you or anything..." Jiang Chenglian's answer was incoherent.

Xu Ting was even more confused.

She had no choice but to patiently explain:

"The City of Hermes strictly prohibits artificial human technology. All technologies involving human cloning, gene editing, and even artificial insemination have been jointly sealed by the government and enterprises."

"How could I be a cyborg? It's not technically feasible."

Xu Ting was completely baffled, but Jiang Chenglian had a sudden realization.

It seems she guessed correctly.

First of all, "the one who lost his color" is Xu Ting's brother's code name. This is the conclusion that his sister has reached, and it is an indisputable fact.

Miss Lost in Color said that her code name was inherited from her father.

therefore--

[Xu Ting's brother is the father of Miss Lost Colors].

This immediately resolved many of my questions.

Why is Miss Lost inexplicably enthusiastic towards me? Why does she have this inexplicable protective instinct towards me?

Because, in terms of their relationship, she is Miss Loser's aunt!

Oh no, the older brother is a boy, so it should be the aunt.

No wonder Xu Ting told Miss Shiseizure about his sibling relationship with Jiang Chenglian. If Miss Shiseizure and her brother were just colleagues, they wouldn't be able to talk about such private topics.

But if you're talking to your daughter about her aunt, then it's perfectly reasonable.

The above is the answer that Detective Jiang Chenglian gave to the mystery of the identity of the woman who lost her color.

But even on this perfectly constructed edifice of deduction, a small dark cloud still floats.

That is:

[My brother is only twenty-two years old this year and has only been in the Lower City for eight years. Even if he had a split personality and gave birth to a daughter on the spot as soon as he left the orphanage, Miss Lost Color would only be eight years old.]

But judging from Miss Lost Color's temperament, intelligence, experience, and bust size, she couldn't possibly be only eight years old.

But if she is an artificial human, then everything makes sense.

If Miss Faded was born in a culture tank and then chemically matured, then it would be reasonable for her to grow up the way she is now.

This conjecture is far too far-fetched.

So Jiang Cheng asked directly, in order to rule out this conjecture as soon as possible.

She herself thought she had lost her mind; how could such a conjecture be true?

Miss Loser's reaction confirmed Jiang Chenglian's guess.

When a normal person with parents is suspected of being a cyborg, their first reaction will definitely be, "You're talking nonsense, I was born of my own parents."

However, Miss Loser made no mention of her parents, instead using the technical implausibility as a cover for herself.

What a joke! If someone suddenly asked you if you were a magical girl lurking in your class, your response should be, "You're the magical girl!"

Instead of saying things like "Magical Girl Contracts are very rare," "My magical girl aptitude isn't good enough," or "Even if I've entered the incubation period, I still can't transform," which sounds obviously wrong.

This is a classic case of trying to cover something up!

Miss Faded Beauty, my dear niece, your aunt has seen through everything.

Jiang Chenglian thought smugly.