Miss Witch, even if we're poor, we can't sell ourselves!

Miya remained silent for a while, her pale golden hair falling from the edge of her cat-ear hat, obscuring most of her face.

Xu Yue leaned back in her chair, stirring the noodle soup with the tip of her chopsticks, clearly lost in thought.

Ku Yu picked up the bowl, finished the last mouthful of noodle soup, put the bowl down, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then spoke.

"Actually, Xu Yue and I originally had another teammate."

"The three of us have been working together for several years, rising from C-level to A-level. We've taken on hundreds of commissions, big and small, and have seen all sorts of strange and wonderful people. We work together very well, and we can tell what the other is going to do with just a glance. She's always the one who mediates when we two bicker."

As she said this, she smiled as if reminiscing.

"About half a year ago, she started showing symptoms of circuit degeneration. At first, it was just that her magic output was unstable. Occasionally, her circuit would suddenly stop halfway through casting a spell, but it would recover after a rest. We didn't take it seriously and thought she was just tired and would be fine after resting more."

"But the deterioration was much faster than we imagined, and the final diagnosis was that the magic circuits had withered, which was irreversible and there was no treatment."

"The doctor said that at the current rate of degeneration, optimistically, it will take another year before the magic circuit completely closes..."

"So we're looking for that organization. We want to buy medicine. Although the Blackbird will disable the circuit and has a certain chance of driving someone insane, at least it can keep her alive. She herself said that not being able to use magic is better than dying."

Xu Yue couldn't hold back any longer.

"Bitter Fish, you tell everyone everything."

Bitter Fish turned to look at her and rolled his eyes.

"We are now accomplices."

"I didn't say I wouldn't tell her, I meant you—"

"Okay, okay, I don't want to argue with you right now."

Xu Yue opened her mouth, but in the end she just picked up the top hat from the table and put it on her head. She slumped back in her chair, looking rather sullen, as if to say, "I don't care anymore, do whatever you want."

Meanwhile, Miya quietly processed all this information.

She thought of March Summer and asked.

"Magic Circuit Atrophy Syndrome".

"What causes this disease? Why are there witches born with circulatory degeneration? Why do so many people get this disease...?"

Bitter Fish remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.

"All magic is, in essence, the divine power of the goddess of magic, Isis."

"Isis shared her power with humans, turning ordinary humans into witches who could use magic, but the total amount of divine power is constant; it is not something inexhaustible."

"It's like a pie. Suppose the pie is initially divided into ten portions, each portion is quite full. But as the number of witches increases, the pie is still the same pie, but the number of portions becomes a thousand, and each portion naturally gets smaller and smaller."

"That's why the first generation of witches had a 100% utilization rate of their magic power, while in our generation, the average utilization rate is only 30%. More and more witches are being born into this world, and the structure of divine power is gradually becoming pyramid-shaped. Those legendary witches who have lived for hundreds or thousands of years occupy most of the divine power, while the remaining small portion of divine power cannot supply the new witches, which is why the symptoms of the magic power circuit withering have appeared."

"Experts have done model calculations and found that if the current birth rate continues, the survival rate of newborn witches will drop to one in ten. Out of ten newborns, only one will have enough magic power to maintain the minimum bodily functions, while the other nine will all die from the withering of their energy channels."

Upon hearing this, Mi Ye frowned immediately; this was the first time she had heard such a statement.

"What should we do then?"

"What can we do?"

Bitter Fish smiled somewhat sarcastically.

"This is the unchanging law of the world. Unless those legendary witches who possess a large amount of magic power choose to die voluntarily, the magic power borne by just one legendary witch can be equivalent to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of ordinary witches."

"If a portion of the legendary witches were to disappear from the world, the divine power they would unleash would significantly reduce the incidence of Cyclops in the entire Bellavita."

"Of course, they can also choose to live in seclusion and stop expanding their magical capacity. If they simply follow the normal cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, the magical power they release is enough to maintain the survival rate of the new generation."

Upon hearing these words, Miya almost immediately thought of Teacher Bie Chenye, who lived alone in a wooden house behind the Moon Forest and rarely went out.

"What's even more troublesome is another characteristic of magic: the greater a witch's magical capacity, the longer her lifespan. A legendary witch's natural lifespan can span hundreds or even thousands of years, not to mention some forbidden magic that can prolong life. If they don't actively choose to die, they simply can't wait until they age naturally."

Miya pondered silently for a moment.

"What if we kill them?"

Xu Yue, who was sitting opposite him looking sullen, was immediately amused by Mi Ye's naive idea upon hearing this.

"Don't you listen to what you're saying? They're legendary witches, who can beat them? Do you think it's like playing a game where you can just kill whoever you want?"

One sentence blocked all the way.

Miya understood.

The regression of March Summer's path was not accidental; it is a fate that all new-generation witches may face.

The very structure of this world is an unsolvable problem.

After finishing the conversation, the group fell silent again until Xu Yue pushed up the brim of his top hat, revealing a pair of light blue eyes that stared intently at Mi Ye.

An uneasy feeling welled up inside her. Mi Ye swallowed hard, feeling as if she had stumbled into a trap. The other party had already laid the groundwork and was now just about to unleash their swordplay.

Finally, Xu Yue spoke.

"Actually, we've always known."

"The unclaimed sea of ​​consciousness you entered belongs to Jian Qiuluo herself, right?"

"You may not know it yourself, but from the moment you touched that flower, we detected the magical fluctuations throughout the entire Clock Tower Garden. We've been following this lead for two months, there's no way we could be wrong."

Xu Yue leaned forward, supporting herself on the table, and brought her face close to Mi Ye's.

"And after you came out, you had a very peculiar aura about you. If I'm not mistaken, you should be carrying half a bottle of Blackbird wine with you right now, right?"

Upon hearing this, Miya broke out in a cold sweat.

Xu Yue's smiling eyes were close at hand, and Mi Ye's frozen face was reflected in his pale blue pupils.

"See? I told you—"

Before he could finish speaking, a hand reached out from the side and flicked Xu Yue's forehead cleanly.

Bang~

Xu Yue let out a sob, covered her forehead with both hands, and shrank back into the chair, her eyes brimming with tears. She turned and glared at Ku Yu.

"Why did you hit me! I didn't lie! She just has—"

"I didn't say you were lying."

Ku Yu withdrew his hand, not even glancing at Xu Yue, and turned to face Mi Ye.

"I'm really sorry, but don't be afraid. Xu Yue and I didn't come to capture you or steal anything from you. We just want to ask you for a favor: help us get the Blackbird formula from that organization. You can pay us whatever you want."

Mi Ye glanced at Ku Yu, her heart still heavy with worry.

She thought that these two people had been planning this from the very beginning, from intercepting her in the Clock Tower Garden to Xu Yue deliberately bluffing to scare her, and finally dragging her here. Everything was planned in advance.

Kuyu was responsible for building trust, while Xuyue was responsible for applying pressure. One played the good cop and the other the bad cop, and they worked together seamlessly.

"Then why don't you go yourselves?"

Mi Ye raised her head, a hint of displeasure in her eyes, as if she had been deceived.

Bitter Fish didn't avoid her gaze and answered directly, as if she had expected her to ask this question.

"Because we don't have time."

Bitter Fish sighed.

"Why do you think we were in such a hurry to take you away from the Clock Tower Garden? You touched Jian Qiuluo's sea of ​​consciousness, and the Witch Association will also detect that magical fluctuation. Before long, the people from the Association will come to Star Orbit Academy to investigate this matter. None of us can escape responsibility, but Xu Yue and I can negotiate with the Association and protect you."

"If the two of us hadn't shown up, those people would definitely have found what you were carrying and taken you away. At that point, it wouldn't matter whether you were innocent or not, since you had contraband like the Blackbird on you."

"Believe it or not, you could even say that the two of us saved you, understand?"

Miya's lips were pressed tightly together. Although the other person's words were very blunt, she knew it was true.

Although she had never personally experienced the Witch Association's enforcement style, she had seen the way Mebius made a surprise inspection of Nightingale's Nest. Just checking a business license was enough for them to act like they were arresting a wanted criminal, not to mention Blackbird, a highly controlled and forbidden drug.

Bitter Fish was still looking at her, but his tone now carried a pitiful plea.

"Furthermore, there's something I haven't mentioned before. According to the intelligence we currently have, the organization that Jian Qiuluo belongs to seems to have developed an improved version of the Blackbird. You still have residual magical energy fluctuations belonging to Jian Qiuluo, so you should be able to sneak in and join them, after all, you are a flesh and blood magic major."

After saying this, the three of them remained silent for a long time, and even the twilight outside the window was tinged with the dark blue of night.

Miya quickly went through many thoughts in her mind.

She really didn't want to get involved in this mess. She had only met Jian Qiuluo twice, and the two extraordinary people beside her had only met recently.

She was just a freshman who had just been admitted to Moon Forest, burdened with a mountain of tuition fees. She had barely managed to save some money by taking on commissions and just wanted to live a peaceful life.

But she also knew that from the moment she touched that flower, she had been drawn into this undercurrent.

Although Ku Yu and Xu Yue's methods made her uncomfortable, they were not enemies at the moment. However, if the Witch Association found out about her, not only would the potion be confiscated, but she would also get into a lot of trouble.

Moreover, she is not entirely without options.

At worst, she can go back to Teacher Bie Chenye; the teacher will definitely help her.

So the most important thing now is to get out of there!

After sorting through all of this, Mi Ye pursed her lips and nodded slightly.

Seeing this action, Ku Yu's tense shoulders finally relaxed a little.

She took her phone out of her pocket, opened the WW payment interface, and handed it to Mi Ye.

"A deposit of 50,000 Loren, you can keep it for now."

Mi Ye silently entered her account information and clicked confirm.

My phone vibrated, and a notification popped up on the screen that my money had been credited to my account.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Xu Yue stood up with satisfaction, put her top hat back on, and then smiled at Mi Ye.

"Don't even think about running away. You can run back to the Moon Forest to find your so-called teacher, or you can find a place to hide. But you'd better think it over before you run. We can report what happened today to the Witch Association anytime we want."

"You have the Blackbird on you and you've even entered Jian Qiuluo's sea of ​​consciousness. You can probably guess the consequences if the association finds out about these things."

Hearing Xu Yue's threatening words, Mi Ye felt a surge of emotions that were hard to describe, a mixture of grievance and anger.

She hated this feeling.

I hate being threatened, I hate being schemed against, and I hate being cornered when I haven't done anything wrong.

But there was nothing he could do at the moment, so he simply pulled the scarf up a little to cover half of his face.

Kuyu stood up, glanced at Xuyue, and his look probably meant, "Say less." Then he turned to Miye, squatted down in front of her, and looked at Miye's face, which was mostly covered by a scarf.

"I know you're uncomfortable. If we had dragged you in like this, half-invited and half-forced, I wouldn't be comfortable either."

"But please forgive us, we really have no other choice."

"...Perhaps when you meet someone important in your life, you'll understand this feeling."

After saying these words, Kuyu gave Miye an address.

"This is a map of the black market entrance. Once you get there, find a bar called Ashes, give them my name, and someone will meet you. Xu Yue will handle the association's surveillance on the outside to ensure you won't be watched when you come and go."

Xu Yue snapped his fingers in acknowledgment.

Miya could only nod silently, memorizing the place in her heart, and watch the two leave.