Maybe it's because of the Great Depression, but lately Jiping City is absolutely crawling with thieves—no, really, there are a ton. If you pay close attention or have enough experience, you could spot them in every nook and cranny of the streets. Uncle Quentin Yang even complained once, saying that keeping public order these days is getting harder and harder.
It's not that he doesn't want to do something—he just can't. With things getting more complicated every day, the police force is stretched way too thin. Especially when it comes to theft, it's like playing whack-a-mole: solve one, and another pops up. With bigger, nastier cases piling up, Chief Yang barely has the energy to care about petty theft anymore.
Jill Young had already quietly dealt with several thieves on her walk today. She wasn't interested in filing reports one by one, so she just flicked a few stones and kicked up some gravel. Every thief hit by the gravel was knocked out, no exceptions. Just by casually doing this as she went along, over fifty professional pickpockets had mysteriously suffered a heavenly punishment today.
Jill Young had thought about it: if Chosen Ones really took up the job of superheroes, they'd be way more effective than traditional law enforcement. You wouldn’t need many—just three or four Chosen Ones at Chainsaw Girl’s level in Jiping City, and the place would be cleaned up in no time.
The world has changed. The old order is fading, but at the same time, a new order is being built.
And right in the middle of this swap between old and new orders—when the two sides are constantly clashing and butting heads—that’s when things get the darkest and most chaotic. It’s the real growing pains of the era.
During this painful transition, some people realize the old order’s power is slipping, but they haven’t figured out how strong the new forces are. So they get especially reckless and lawless.
"Auntie over there, watch out—there’s a thief!" With Kathy Yang’s shout, a forty-something woman twenty meters away jumped and clutched her purse tight. The thief, just about to snag it, was totally exposed and missed his chance. With the crowd watching and the woman glaring at him like a hawk, the thief had no choice but to retreat.
But before slinking off, he shot Kathy Yang a vicious, hateful glare. It’s a cliché way to describe it, but that look really was like a snake—mean and crazy.
Kathy Yang was so startled by that look her heart nearly skipped a beat, but sometimes this girl’s guts are bigger than her fear. She gritted her teeth, glared right back, whipped out her phone, and snapped a photo without hesitation. Seeing her do that, the thief froze, got angry, but in the end, chickened out and left.
He squeezed through the crowd and vanished like a lurking snake. No one in the crowd called the police or tried to stop him, not even the auntie—she just let him go without a word. In these chaotic times, people are anxious but also extra cautious; there are way more turtles hiding in their shells than ever before.
"Come on, let’s hurry home!" Kathy Yang wasn’t stupid—girls are always more on guard than guys. She immediately realized what was up and grabbed Jill Young: "Quick, you’re coming to my place!"
Jill Young glanced around at the crowd, pausing briefly on a few people, but didn’t make any special move. She just took Kathy Yang’s hand—her warm hand gripping Kathy’s cold one—and helped calm her frantic heartbeat.
"Mm." Kathy Yang took a deep breath, steadied herself, and even comforted Jill Young: "It’s fine, there’s no way a petty thief would dare do anything in broad daylight. He’s just all bark and no bite, nothing to worry about—but just in case, let’s take a cab."
"No need, it’s not far—let’s just walk back. With me here, you’ve got nothing to worry about." Jill Young held Kathy Yang’s hand and strolled back, totally unfazed by what just happened. "By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask: why are you so obsessed with the Miracle Club? Most girls wouldn’t work so hard just to ‘fill the world with miracles’ unless there’s some special reason."
"Oh, that..." When it came to this topic, Kathy Yang really didn’t notice anything else. She scratched her head, blushing, and replied, "No special reason, really. I just think that way—I just believe in it."
Kathy Yang got chatty too, not noticing the unfriendly eyes following them—or Jill Young’s little moves. "I know, our Miracle Club’s mission sounds super silly. I also know a lot of people quit not just because of my drama with the school."
"They joined expecting a normal cosplay club, but ended up finding out our club’s core mission is something only little kids would believe or say out loud. And it’s not just an empty slogan, either—you actually have to run around and get stuff done. To them, it probably feels like everyone in the club is just playing house with me, the kid president, so of course they’re not thrilled about it."
"I know that if I just focused on running a regular cosplay club, they’d stick with me. I built this team from scratch, and we’ve got all kinds of talented people—no way they’d bail so easily. Even if we’re up against the school, they’re not scared."
"But that just wouldn’t work!" Kathy Yang squeezed Jill Young’s hand, her gaze as resilient as a blade of grass growing through stone. "If we give up our core mission, how can we call ourselves the Miracle Club? Cosplay is just a means, not the end! I could quit cosplay, but I can’t give up chasing miracles!"
Jill Young casually flicked a pebble and curiously asked, "Why are you so hung up on 'miracles'?"
"Well... I can’t really explain it, but it’s just how I feel." Girls are always full of dreams, but Kathy Yang’s dreams are a little different: "I just think the world shouldn’t be the way it is right now."
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"Huh?" Jill Young laughed. "Girl, that’s a pretty bold statement—sounds almost like one of those self-proclaimed prophets who say they’ve heard God’s gospel."
"Ahhh, I just can’t explain it!" Kathy Yang shook her head in frustration. "Honestly, it’s like the world is a person with a disability—it’s missing a lot of things it ought to have, and those things are miracles. Everything seems to follow the rules, but I just don’t like it!"
"What we’re used to isn’t the world’s real face. And what we long for isn’t just a daydream. However this idea came to me, it’s just how I feel!" Kathy Yang clenched her fist, stubborn in a way most people wouldn’t get. "This world needs miracles!"
"This world needs miracles..." Jill Young couldn’t help but laugh, but after thinking it over, she nodded seriously. "You’re right. This world really does need miracles."
"Uh—wait, really?" Kathy Yang was stunned by the agreement, shaking Jill Young’s hand in disbelief. "Are you for real, or just trying to make me feel better?"
"Of course I mean it. I think so too." Jill Young clenched her fist, then tossed her platinum hair and grinned. "A world that only follows the rules is just way too boring."
Maybe it was the first time an adult had ever seriously agreed with her, but Kathy Yang froze for a moment, then jumped up, fist in the air, excited: "Yay—!"
Her sleepiness vanished, and it was like she’d found a kindred spirit—Kathy Yang grabbed Jill Young and started chatting and laughing, chattering away nonstop. She told the story of how she started the Miracle Club, her quest for miracles, all the con artists she’d met and how she saw through them. She talked about her disappointment when she couldn’t find any miracles, and her determination to keep searching for new clues.
Finally, she said she'd recently heard about people called 'Chosen Ones.' She didn’t know exactly what they were, but they sounded amazing—so she decided to do whatever it took to find and meet one.
Before they knew it, they were at Kathy Yang’s front door. Jill Young turned down her cousin’s invitation, saying she had other things to do and wouldn’t come in.
"Oh right, we got so caught up talking, we never finished our original topic." Jill Young remembered the key question: "How did you figure out I wasn’t your cousin? Was it the height? No matter how wild a gender swap surgery is, it can’t change height."
"Nope! The reason’s simple—my cousin is dumb, slow, and kinda goofy. But you’re way more awesome, you can do anything. Those two were asking me the whole way, ‘Who’s this super cool big sis?’ ‘Where’d this amazing lady come from?’ ‘Where’d you find such a badass backup?’ I didn’t tell them until the end—" Kathy Yang leaned in, planted a kiss on Jill Young’s cheek, and ran upstairs blushing: "You’re my sister!"
Jill Young instinctively touched the spot where she’d been kissed, standing there dumbfounded for three seconds.
"Dumb, slow, and kinda goofy"—what does that even mean?! Her cousin’s heart just shattered into a million pieces! And her big sis just got ambushed by a little kid?! Outrageous! But... it actually felt kinda nice, hehe~
She put her hand down and headed outside the apartment complex. There was something she needed to take care of. On the way over, she’d knocked out a few tailing creeps, but didn’t take them all out at once—she wanted to settle things once and for all.
"Knew I’d reel one in," Jill Young thought, spotting an extremely ordinary-looking man and striding over. The guy was startled, then subtly frowned and backed away. He skillfully used the crowd to block her view, darting and weaving, and then—poof!—he vanished into thin air.
The guy actually turned invisible!