Chapter 40: Explosion!

The principles behind magic circles were far more challenging. Su Miao first needed to learn fifty-one basic magic circle symbols. Gazing at these symbols gave her a headache; in the process of learning, she not only had to comprehend the meanings of these magical runes but also master their associated parameters. This would be enough to occupy her for quite some time.

And so, the days passed one by one. By the tenth day, Su Miao had mastered all fifty-one symbols. Now, she could begin to inscribe the magic circles required for potion refinement.

After several more days of study, Su Miao felt enlightened. She could now manifest the "Magic Space" spell in the form of a magic circle. Ordinarily, Magic Space was nothing more than a dimensional pouch for her, able to store vast amounts of food and retrieve or stash items at will. But now, she could unfold the Magic Space through a magic circle, creating a dimensional barrier before her that could absorb any incoming attack into the magic space. Most importantly, no one else could see the magic circle when it was activated.

Su Miao had gained yet another life-saving technique.

"Xiao An, throw something at me," she said.

"Huh?" Xia Xiao’an, who was studying nearby, looked up in confusion. "Sister, what are you doing?"

"Testing magic. Just grab anything and throw it at me," Su Miao replied.

After a moment’s hesitation, Xia Xiao’an folded a paper airplane and tossed it at her. The next instant, the airplane soared through the air and vanished without a trace.

"Sister, the paper airplane disappeared!" Xia Xiao’an’s eyes widened in amazement. "What kind of magic is that?"

Su Miao smiled. "It’s a spatial magic. It should be able to store away anything that attacks me."

"That’s amazing!" Xia Xiao’an suddenly grew excited. "Sister, can you send the stored attacks back the other way? And if you put something like a missile inside, could you activate it and send it out through the magic? Just like in those anime!"

"I remember there was a white-haired witch who only knew Magic Space. She kept a giant library inside, but didn’t know any offensive spells. Later, she was forced into battle and started using the space magic to launch missiles at her enemies."

"Oh! Oh! I think she could also use the magic to move anything within a certain range instantly."

"…"

Su Miao blinked, having to admit that Xia Xiao’an’s imagination was impressive.

For now, being able to unfold the Magic Space as a defensive magic circle was already quite an achievement.

As for sending stored attacks back the other way? With some more research, that should be possible.

But directly activating a missile within the space using magic? She would need a missile first, and she had no clue how such magic would work. As for using spatial magic to transfer missiles for battle within a certain range, that was entirely out of the question.

At present, she was still just a novice witch; being able to use a few spells was already remarkable.

Nevertheless, three days later, Su Miao succeeded in returning attacks she had stored in her Magic Space. In essence, this was simply manipulating the storage and retrieval principles of the magic space, with a slight adjustment when controlling the magic circle’s activation.

Glancing at the date, she noted it was October 13, 2123.

She was ready to begin learning the inscription of magic circles for Potionology; only by mastering this skill could she continue with potion research, expansion, analysis, and production. Only after grasping all these would she truly have entered the field of Potionology.

After breakfast, Su Miao carefully drew magic circles on paper. Xia Xiao’an was diligently studying the "Barefoot Doctor’s Handbook," showing a keen interest in the medical profession.

At around 9:30 in the morning, a thunderous explosion shook the earth. Something had happened!

Su Miao immediately set down her pen and rushed to the window. Xia Xiao’an stopped her studies, joining her at the window with a look of anxious confusion.

"It’s all right," Su Miao reassured her.

Looking into the distance, Su Miao saw that the explosion had come from the entrance of the tourist area—the parking lot.

In the parking lot, Chang Jieming’s face was ashen.

For the sake of long-term profit, he had set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the tourist area. Anyone seeking refuge would have to offer a little food as a token, and he would let them in. If newcomers were truly destitute, he wouldn’t even require them to plead; he would let them in regardless, for the safety of his brothers—it wasn’t worth risking their lives for a few pounds of food.

But today’s arrivals were different.

They said nothing and simply blew up the checkpoint with explosives; the two security guards manning the post died on the spot. The newcomers numbered over three hundred, pushing many wheelbarrows loaded with supplies. At a glance, there were at least a dozen rifles among those at the front.

These were hardened killers, every one of them.

No one knew where they had come from.

Two security guards armed with steel pipes and machetes went out to investigate, but after only a few steps, they were gunned down in the rain. This unnerved Chang Jieming, who had been preparing to go out and reason with them; had he gone first, he would now be dead.

At that moment, Chang Jieming realized these were ruthless murderers, utterly devoid of mercy.

"Lower the main gate’s defenses—stall them for now!"

"Poison the dried rat meat in the stores!"

"Take off your security uniforms and run!"

Without hesitation, Chang Jieming stripped off his uniform, shouldered his backpack, and slipped away from the rear of the parking lot. The other security guards followed suit, grabbing their packs and hurrying after him.

Chang Jieming had always trained his security team in escape tactics. No matter when, they always kept some food in their packs, ready to flee at a moment’s notice. He never expected today would be the day those drills paid off.

As they escaped into the rain-soaked shrubbery, those outside lost sight of them.

Not long after, another explosion thundered behind them—the parking lot’s defensive mechanisms had been blown up. The sound made Chang Jieming’s heart pound.

"Captain, where did these monsters come from?" one of the guards asked through tears; one of the guards killed earlier was his brother.

"I have no idea," Chang Jieming replied as they hurried on. "But this isn’t a fight with Fei Chengqiang’s gang—these people have guns. We have to survive first if we want revenge."

"I hope they eat the poisoned rat meat," another guard spat. "I used every last drop of my five-step viper and silver-ringed krait venom on it."

"Enough talk, let’s move," Chang Jieming urged.

A guard asked, "Captain, if we leave here, where can we go?"

Chang Jieming hesitated; he hadn’t thought that far ahead. Now that they had left the parking lot, where could they go?

He spotted a mudslide area up ahead and said, "We’ll head to Villa 36. We need to report what happened here to Miss Su Miao—she has explosives too."

Another guard asked, "What if she refuses to help us?"

Chang Jieming replied, "That doesn’t matter. At least we’ll have brought her information. And with so many of these monsters arriving, they’ll surely set their sights on the better villas. Miss Su Miao won’t be able to stay uninvolved."