Hyacinth froze instantly, and Hellcat also stayed in the sky.
The two looked at the golden figure in their arms with terror, unsure of what to do for a moment.
"Hyacinth! How is Dandelion? Where is Xiaoyue?"
Bai Ling anxiously asked Nan Xiaofeng in the sky.
Cheshire Rabbit also quietly appeared beside Hellcat, peering at the tattered Golden Fox in her arms, her ears suddenly perking up.
"Hmm? ...Th-this is...?"
"........."
Hellcat glanced at the Rabbit Girl beside her, then looked down at the Golden Fox in her arms, who was unconscious with her eyes closed, feeling a bit hesitant.
Hyacinth was also sweating profusely.
Especially when Bai Ling flew over and saw the unconscious Xin Yuehu, the White Sable Spirit's expression was even more dramatic than Hyacinth's own.
"Eh? Xin Yuehu? Xiaofeng, you... Eh? Why would...?"
Bai Ling gesticulated incoherently, then finally reacted, looking in horror at Hellcat floating opposite her.
If Hyacinth had Xin Yuehu in her hands, then Hellcat must have...
"Oh, wow... My head hurts so much..."
A whimper came from Dandelion's pocket. The Fox Spirit poked her head out of the girl's pocket, rubbing her head while looking up.
Then her eyes met Hellcat's heterochromatic blue-green cat eyes, and she instantly froze.
Everyone fell silent, including a certain Fox Fox.
No one dared to move, no one dared to step forward, and certainly no one dared to retreat.
Both sides held each other's hostages, and their own important hostages were also in the other's hands, making the situation somewhat complicated.
The Fox Spirit was stunned, not understanding why the person holding Dandelion was Hellcat.
...But, well, this situation seems quite amusing. Su Tianqing thought to herself.
Alright, Ben Hu will pretend to be unconscious and see how you all handle this situation~
Thinking this, the Fox Fox familiar silently burrowed back into Dandelion's pocket, pretending nothing had happened.
...
"...What do we do?"
"What do you mean, what do we do? What else can we do?"
Iris whispered to Nightingale, who had already given up thinking and stood aside, resigned.
In this situation, saying nothing was the best strategy, because no one knew what to do.
Xin Yuehu was indeed their long-standing enemy, and successfully capturing Xin Yuehu was definitely a good thing, but Dandelion and Miss Yue Tianxin had fallen into the enemy's hands...
Hellcat's reputation had never been good; she was a dangerous individual who had caused countless attacks, and Cheshire Rabbit had also caused attacks, even attacking Tianqing Jie.
If they let them go, what kind of treatment would Miss Dandelion receive? No one dared to imagine.
"We must rescue Dandelion and them!" Iris said.
Then she was pulled back by Nightingale.
"Calm down. Hellcat's speed is no joke. If she's determined to run, do you think any of us can catch her?"
"Not to mention Cheshire Rabbit can turn invisible, so the risk of pursuit is very high!"
"But we can't just watch Miss Dandelion be..." Iris said anxiously.
The two fell silent one after another.
There was indeed no good solution at the moment; both sides could only stall, their minds racing for a countermeasure.
"...Hey, you cat over there." Hyacinth suddenly spoke.
Hellcat glanced at her, her tail perked up, and her eyes narrowed.
"How rude. Didn't your family tell you to be polite before negotiating?"
"........."
Hyacinth suddenly felt scorned. Just as she was about to say something, she was pulled back by Bai Ling from behind.
Then the White Sable Spirit stepped forward and said to Hellcat:
"Hellcat, let's talk about terms."
"Alright, what terms can you offer?"
The Cat Girl said straightforwardly, without any hesitation.
Bai Ling thought for a moment, then pointed to an empty space on the ground and said:
"We'll put Dandelion and Xin Yuehu on the ground, then exchange hostages, how about it?"
"Alright, then you'll have to exchange two over here."
"Eh? Why?" Bai Ling blinked.
"Because we... we have two hostages here, you know."
After she spoke, Cheshire Rabbit's hand suddenly reached into Dandelion's pocket and pulled out the fluffy little Golden Fox.
Then she showed the Fox Spirit in her hand to Bai Ling, and Su Tianqing immediately understood the Rabbit's intention.
"X-Xiaoyue!?" Bai Ling cried out anxiously.
"Senior Bai Ling! Don't mind me!" The Fox Spirit trembled all over, but still pretended to suppress her fear and shouted at Bai Ling.
Then her little face was pinched by Cheshire Rabbit, forcibly silencing her.
Watching the Fox Spirit Yue Tianxin, who was shedding tears but still telling her not to mind her, Bai Ling paced anxiously in the air.
"How can that count as two! Xiaoyue is clearly..."
"Why wouldn't it count?" Hellcat smiled and retorted, "Or are you planning to exchange one hostage for our two? That doesn't seem fair."
"You! ...Cunning! Despicable! Shameless!"
Bai Ling stomped her feet in the air, cursing loudly.
But Hellcat didn't think the cursing was very effective; instead, she looked down at the Golden Fox Dandelion in her arms with interest, a playful smile on her face.
She also felt a little apprehensive—after all, Xin Yuehu was also in the hands of the strongest person on the other side. If anything went wrong...
"Heh heh, we are villains, aren't we? These adjectives are perfectly suited to describe us."
Nan Jiayu said calmly,
"Tell me, which hostage do you want to exchange?"
"Is it Miss Dandelion in my hand, or Miss Yue Tianxin in Rabbit's hand?"
Bai Ling hesitated.
Xiaoyue—or rather, Miss Yue Tianxin—was her first junior since she became an Observer. If she were to just watch her fall into the hands of the villains...
But Miss Dandelion was also a new Magic Girl! Rationally speaking, exchanging the Magic Girl was the most important thing at this time!
Hyacinth also fell into a dilemma.
Reason told her that she absolutely couldn't let any hostage remain in the other side's hands, but with her abilities, trying to snatch Dandelion and Yue Tianxin from a fully capable Hellcat... was clearly unrealistic.
"Damn it..."
Nan Xiaofeng gritted her teeth.
The other side indeed had two hostages, and they only had one, but who should they exchange...
Nan Xiaofeng looked down at the unconscious Xin Yuehu in her arms.
She rarely had such a close look at Xin Yuehu.
Her delicate little face, fluffy tail and ears, and this light and soft body—every detail was so perfect, even the tattered dress she wore was so alluring.
"Heh heh."
A sneer came from Hellcat's mouth opposite her.
"If you don't want to exchange, I'm leaving, you know."
"Wait! Who said we wouldn't exchange! Of course we will!"
Hyacinth quickly called out, afraid that the other party would just leave.
Not to mention how Dandelion would be treated, she also had no way to deal with this Xin Yuehu in her hands! No matter where she put her, she was a super ticking time bomb!
"Then how do you plan to exchange one hostage for two, Miss Hyacinth~?"
Hellcat replied with a light chuckle.
Su Tianqing listened with secret delight.
You did well, Cat Cat! You've fully learned the essence of Ben Hu's rhetoric!
Never be the one to actively negotiate, but rather be the one who pretends nothing happened!
The familiar could already feel Cat Cat's intense heartbeat; she must be very nervous right now, which made Ben Hu feel happy.
See, Ben Hu is also worried about!
"...I agree to one condition, as long as it's not too much, anything is fine."
After a brief silence, Hyacinth said resolutely.
"Oh? Anything is fine?"
The smile on Hellcat's face became even more pronounced, and even Cheshire Rabbit, who had been watching the show, was startled, a crescent-shaped curve forming at the corner of her mouth.
"In that case... you'll owe us a huge debt, Miss Hyacinth~"
