The next day, Wanda Plaza in Rong City's Jinyang District.
It was the weekend, and Wanda Plaza was bustling with activity.
People of all ages crowded the area, but young people predominated, with many dressed in cosplay costumes or carrying Ita-bags, making it as lively as a comic convention.
Normally, this somewhat aged shopping mall wouldn't be so lively on a weekend. The reason for all the excitement was an advertisement that had spread throughout Rong City's student circles—
“Qiu Baiyang Arcade is open!”
“Retired Magical Girl Re-employment! From today until the Lunar New Year, Magical Girl Qiu Baiyang herself will make an appearance every weekend!”
“Visitors who enter with Qiu Baiyang merchandise will immediately receive 5 game tokens to enjoy all the arcade games!”
Su Tianqing turned off her Xiaomi phone and looked up at the eye-catching sign on Wanda Plaza not far away:
“Qiu Baiyang Arcade,” the Golden Fox murmured to herself.
“It’s quite grand,” Nan Jiayu echoed, standing beside Su Tianqing.
“I wonder what it’s like inside…” Xia Taotao huddled behind the two, peeking at the bustling crowd in the distance and whispering.
Magical Girl Qiu Baiyang—anyone familiar with related knowledge would not be unfamiliar with this retired Magic Girl.
For Magical Girls, the Hero Association has no mandatory service regulations; retirement is decided entirely by the Magic Girl's own wishes.
Qiu Baiyang was also the longest-serving member of the Rong City Magic Girl squad. After Red Snow and Purple Lilac successively retired, it was this Magic Girl who consistently held the front lines in Rong City's Monster resistance.
It wasn't until more than half a year ago, when the new Observer arrived in Rong City and Magical Girl Hyacinth made her dazzling debut, that Qiu Baiyang officially announced her retirement.
“I didn’t expect her to start a retirement side business…” Su Tianqing muttered to herself.
“Perhaps she couldn’t sit still at home? I heard the Hero Association gave her a very generous pension; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to open such a large arcade,” Xia Taotao interjected.
The three exchanged glances, silently acknowledging each other.
Soon, three figures appeared at the nearby subway exit.
Nan Xiaofeng, leading the way in a not-too-thick winter outfit, spotted the two figures, one golden and one dark blue, from afar and waved, jogging over.
“Jiayu Jie! Tianqing Jie!”
“Xiaofeng Meimei, good morning~”
Su Tianqing politely waved back, then immediately hid behind Nan Jiayu before Nan Xiaofeng could get too close.
The dark blue Cat Girl wore a kind smile, giving a deep look to Nan Xiaofeng, who was trying to reach for that fluffy big tail.
Fox-sucking Monster failed spectacularly.
“Tianqing Jie, Jiayu Jie, good morning.”
Hua Ling followed, greeting them politely.
Compared to Nan Xiaofeng’s vibrant and energetic attire, Hua Ling appeared much more elegant—
Whether it was her long dress, her knitted sweater, or the hairpin that swept her bangs off her forehead, everything made this already quiet girl appear even more refined.
Excellent, truly one of the Magic Girls Ben Hu has her eyes on! Her fashion sense is much better than Hyacinth's!
But before Su Tianqing could praise Hua Ling’s outfit, a tender yellow-clad girl suddenly popped out from behind her—
“Ta-da ☆ ~ Good morning, everyone! ~”
Lin Muyao appeared before everyone, full of energy.
She wore a tender yellow dress, a tender yellow wig, and even held a slightly plastic-looking toy magic wand, winking at everyone.
The Fox Fox trio froze in place, while Nan Xiaofeng and Hua Ling looked a bit awkward.
“Ah… Muyao Meimei, you…” Su Tianqing was somewhat at a loss.
She, of course, knew Lin Muyao’s true identity was Magical Girl Nightingale. From Nan Xiaofeng and Hua Ling’s reactions, they seemed to be unaware beforehand, and Lin Muyao’s attire clearly shocked Nan Jiayu and Xia Taotao:
This Magic Girl was cosplaying her transformed self, Magical Girl Nightingale.
“It’s cosplay!” Lin Muyao said with a smile, “How is it, how is it? I made this outfit myself, isn’t it pretty?”
“Super pretty! You look just like Nightingale!”
Su Tianqing gave a thumbs-up without hesitation, and Lin Muyao’s face was filled with joyful smiles.
The three then noticed the Pink-haired Rabbit Girl peeking out from behind the Fox Fox.
“Hmm? Tianqing Jie, this is…?”
“This is Xia Taotao Tongxue (Xia Taotao classmate), a classmate of mine and Xiaoyu’s. She also really likes Magical Girls,” Su Tianqing quickly introduced to the three in front of her.
The socially anxious Rabbit Girl strongly resisted the cyber-psychosis of social anxiety that was about to flare up, timidly greeting the three.
Looking at her pink rabbit ears, Hua Ling seemed to recall something.
Had she met a similar Pink-haired Rabbit Girl on the subway?
…It should just be a fellow beast-kin. With so many beast-kin in Rong City, it’s quite normal to encounter beast-kin with the same fur color.
Hua Ling murmured to herself.
…
The interior of the mall was still very lively.
The arcade was located on the top floor of the mall. The group chatted and laughed as they strolled through the mall, and when they arrived at the entrance of Qiu Baiyang Arcade, they were still greatly astonished by the bustling crowd inside.
This arcade occupied almost the entire top floor of the mall, emitting sounds of laughter and various arcade game sound effects and music, which was very captivating.
“It’s bigger than I imagined,” Su Tianqing said.
“Yeah, I thought it was just a gimmick, but I didn’t expect Qiu Baiyang to actually be serious about it.”
Even Nan Xiaofeng expressed her surprise.
As Qiu Baiyang’s direct junior, Nan Xiaofeng had a lot of affection for this senior. When she decided to retire, Nan Xiaofeng, as a new generation Magic Girl, offered her the highest respect.
Even now, Nan Xiaofeng still remembered what this senior told her on the roof of the Hero Association Headquarters:
“This city, and the lives and safety of tens of millions of people in this city, are now entrusted to you.”
“As for me… I’ve been fighting for over twenty years, and it’s time for me to rest.”
Nan Xiaofeng was moved to tears at the time.
She originally thought she would never see this senior again in her life, but she didn’t expect her to ultimately be unable to sit still, opening an arcade named after herself here.
“I heard Qiu Baiyang really likes playing arcade games.”
“I heard that too. It seems that rumor is indeed true.”
“Then perhaps… Qiu Baiyang is currently playing games among these visitors…?”
After receiving five free tokens, everyone went to buy their own game tokens while discussing a bizarre conspiracy theory.
Just as this conspiracy theory began to ferment, the group turned a corner and were immediately drawn to the absurdly large indoor shooting amusement park before their eyes.
Adults and children laughed, ran, and chased each other in the obstacle-filled arena, each holding a Magic Girl's magic wand, firing harmless magic rays at each other.
Those hit by the magic rays would immediately be teleported to a safe area outside the arena. Everyone wore joyful smiles and immediately looked up to check their scoreboards.
“Hmm? This looks quite fun,” Nan Xiaofeng said in surprise.
“I know this one!” Su Tianqing immediately interjected.
“It’s said that Qiu Baiyang herself personally made these magic wands, adding harmless teleportation magic to them, creating this battle royale-like shooting game!”
“I heard that if you win a match, you can get a limited edition laser ticket personally signed by Qiu Baiyang!”
Upon hearing the Fox Fox say this, the eyes of the companions instantly focused on the shooting game arena.
Everyone’s faces showed expressions of anticipation, subtly foreshadowing a coming storm.