Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan had been living in isolation for quite a while, until one day, while chopping vegetables, the mirror on her chest suddenly began to vibrate again. She froze mid-slice, lowered her head, and looked at the mirror.

Ah… They were summoning her again?

Yuan Yuanyuan had two mirrors—one from City C, the other from that mysterious organization. This time it was the organization’s mirror, and the sight of it made her head throb. But she couldn’t not go.

She walked out of the kitchen, glanced at Fat Cat in the living room, and said, “Fat Cat, go freeload somewhere else today. I probably won’t be home to cook.”

“Where are you going?” Fat Cat padded over, suspicious.

“Work stuff,” Yuan Yuanyuan replied dully.

“You look less like you’re going to work and more like you’re heading to war…”

…Honestly, not that far off. Yuan Yuanyuan let out a deep sigh, changed her clothes, and just as she was about to head out, she turned around, grabbed Fat Cat, and started a full-body cat cuddle—rubbing his belly, his head, his tail, and then back to his belly again.

“Come on, little kitty. Say something sweet to cheer me up,” she said while burying her face in his fur. “Say… Yuan Yuanyuan is so cool, so badass, so brave, so devious…”

“Why devious…” Fat Cat grunted, “Anyway, if it were me giving advice, I’d say: be clever, be bold, and keep your goals clear.”

“Why?” Yuan Yuanyuan lowered her head and stared at him.

“No reason…” Fat Cat replied. “But hey, you work in that kind of flashy place. Be bold and sharp—it’ll save you from getting screwed, and you’ll make more money. You can buy me nicer canned food.”

“Be bold? Be clever?” Yuan Yuanyuan muttered. “Hell, I’m neither…”

“Then just admit you’re a coward and find someone powerful to cling to!” Fat Cat shouted after her, waving his tail, “Remember! Find a thigh to hold onto!”

As Yuan Yuanyuan stepped outside, the echo of “Hold onto a thigh!” still rang in her ears. She scratched at them, trying to physically scrub those words out of her brain…

The meeting point was at a shop, and she needed to hurry—any delay might make them suspect she wasn’t living nearby anymore.

When Yuan Yuanyuan first got involved with these people, all she wanted was to survive. She’d always been the type to avoid risks. But this time, as she approached, her mind began to shift.

Why not take the chance to uncover something important for once?

Compared to others, Yuan Yuanyuan was already neck-deep in things. She’d just always taken the approach of hiding when she could. But today, she suddenly didn’t want to hide anymore—she wanted to do something.

For instance… what exactly was this organization’s goal? Why had they recruited her in the first place?

Could she opt out of this? Of course. She wasn’t the only one interested in them. Plenty of Taoists and demons were already investigating, and eventually someone would figure it out—thanks in no small part to Ji Qiu’s manga drawing attention to them.

But… why wait for someone else to uncover the truth, when she was already a member?

As the saying goes—if you want something done right, do it yourself.

Strangely, for the first time, Yuan Yuanyuan clearly realized that she was Yuan—reborn as Seventeen, the key to every secret, the embodiment of the greatest spy during the human-demon war. Everything they wanted… was tied to her.

She looked at the person meeting her—this demon named Chao—and suddenly felt like she’d walked into a drama scene. Rain fell gently around them, tension hung heavy in the air.

“Yuan, you’re here,” said Chao. “There’s a particularly dangerous mission… Though your current condition may make it hard to use your magic, we’ve discussed it thoroughly, and you seem like the only one suitable. Would you… be willing to take it?”

…No! I’m not willing!

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly crashed down from her idealistic high, her brave resolve cracking. Wow… was I seriously having a chuunibyou moment just now? First time in years, huh?

Hadn’t she just been telling herself all that “Do it yourself! You’re the key! Be brave! Be clever! Outwit the big shots! Cling to power!” stuff?

She repeated those words again, and just like that, her intelligence rebooted.

She stared at Chao. It was likely something unexpected had happened in the organization. Maybe all the outside attention had forced them into a tight spot, and now they were scrambling. So they thought of her.

Perfect, Yuan Yuanyuan thought.

For the first time, she felt like her brain was working. Honestly, she hadn’t even considered any of this before. She’d never tried to play mind games with these people.

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she pretended to ponder for a long time before finally nodding slowly.

Chao visibly relaxed, handing her a piece of jade that dissolved into light upon contact.

She clutched the jade and hurried home, saying nothing to anyone. She found a quiet corner to look at what it had activated.

【Please begin gathering trickster-type demons to serve under you. The more, the better. The faster, the better.】

This time… it wasn’t about collecting individuals—it was a full recruitment drive?

Seemed similar to past tasks, just… much bigger.

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at it, trying to decipher the deeper meaning. But it just confused her. Why do they want me to gather trickster demons? To fatten me up and then kill me later?

But if they fatten her up too much… wouldn’t it be harder to kill her?

She gave up on figuring it out, went home with some fancy canned food. When she got there, she found Xiao Ying working through some practice problems. Fat Cat was eating nearby.

“You two have about a month until the college entrance exam, right?” she asked Xiao Ying.

“Yeah,” Xiao Ying sighed, “Almost free.”

“Got a school in mind?”

“Thinking about one in the neighboring city—closer to home,” Xiao Ying replied.

They chatted a bit more before Yuan Yuanyuan picked up Fat Cat, moved away from Xiao Ying, and whispered, “Got any new info on that mysterious organization?”

“They’re recruiting fringe demons,” Fat Cat said. “I think they’re short-staffed. Their goals aren’t clear, but they’re definitely planning something big. Those fringe demons are strong—even if they’re outcasts. Their leader has a good eye.”

“Hmm…” Yuan Yuanyuan hesitated, then added softly, “I saw someone at the tavern today… heard a rumor that the organization is trying to contact Yuan.”

Fat Cat’s eyes flew open as he stared at her. “…Damn, and you made it back alive?”

Yuan Yuanyuan chuckled. The tavern was chaotic, but a great place for information. Many demons said too much under the influence—especially for a pretty face.

“Contacting Yuan… They’ve got serious ambition,” Fat Cat muttered. “He’s the poster boy for pureblood demons now. If he steps up, it’s basically like raising a flag—whether or not other purebloods know the real story behind him, they’ll still follow him. In Demon Note, he’s already become symbolic—pureblood demons, blood jade army, you name it.”

Fat Cat paused. Then, a sudden realization hit him.

“They’re trying to use him to rally the purebloods… or build an army?”

Bingo, Yuan Yuanyuan almost blurted out, but didn’t. Because Fat Cat’s expression changed—rare for a cat, but his facial muscles were unusually expressive.

Fat Cat wasn’t just a cat… he was Cat-sama, after all.

“This is big,” he said, gravely. “I think something serious is about to go down.”

Yuan Yuanyuan wanted to tell him more—like how the organization’s directive was literally to recruit Yuan’s followers—but she couldn’t. There was no way to explain how she knew something that secret.

Even drunkards wouldn’t leak that kind of intel. Only she and the organization knew.

“You’ve uncovered something major,” Fat Cat said. “We might want to stock up—gold, canned food, essentials. Maybe find somewhere remote…”

“Why?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked. “Are we… evacuating?”

“Not evacuating. I don’t know if my guess is right or not,” Fat Cat said seriously. “But we need to prepare. Think about it—why do great demons always have armies of small demons? That’s how demon armies form.”

“I don’t get it,” Yuan Yuanyuan admitted.

“It’s because great demons want to expand their influence. They recruit lesser demons as their subordinates—those become their foot soldiers. But Yuan’s different. He used to be a commander. His subordinates aren’t just errand boys—they’re trained demon soldiers.” Fat Cat paced. “This could mean war. That group might want to start a war. They’ve been provoking humans this whole time—now I know why.”

Yuan Yuanyuan was still trying to wrap her head around it. War wasn’t something that popped up in her daily life. She stared at Fat Cat, pacing like an animal sensing an earthquake.

“Then… why Yuan?” she asked.

“Because lesser demons only follow great demons they respect,” Fat Cat explained. “You’re a half-demon, so you might not know. But if they don’t admire the leader, they’ll look down on him. But if the great demon is strong and dies tragically, their followers remain loyal. That’s why the entire spy unit died off so fast.”

“Ah… ha,” Yuan Yuanyuan muttered vaguely.

She still didn’t understand.

More importantly… what does this have to do with the supposedly hated traitor, Yuan?