A dark underground garage.
Dim yellow light.
The Razor Freak's clanging roar.
The wails and cries of men and women.
The girl, in a panic, reached out, wanting to awaken the two blood-soaked, motionless figures in front of her, but what greeted her was a heavy blow from the Razor Freak—
“No… don’t…!”
The girl cried out, waking from her dream.
“Tick, tock, tick, tock.”
The alarm clock by the bed was calmly ticking, the hour hand pointing between 8 and 9, and the back of her pajamas was soaked with cold sweat.
Hua Ling looked down at the tail pillow she was hugging tightly, her rapidly beating heart finally calming down a bit.
“It’s that dream again…”
The girl murmured to herself, put down the pillow, got out of bed, stepped into her slippers, and silently took off her sweat-soaked pajamas from her back, pulling out another one from the wardrobe.
Today was Sunday, a rare day off.
But she had the same nightmare as usual—that dark, blood-stained underground parking lot was a nightmare she could never shake off.
Hua Ling walked to the dining table in the living room, made herself a cup of hot milk, blew on it to cool it, and took a small sip, finally recovering her mood from the lingering effects of the nightmare.
“Phew… honestly…”
“I’m probably too tired lately, that’s why I’m having this dream again…”
Hua Ling whispered, put down her milk, and walked to the bathroom for a quick wash, feeling much refreshed.
So many things had happened recently, making her mind a mess.
Anyway, she decided to put the past behind her and think about happy things.
The girl briefly recalled yesterday.
She went to the arcade with Tianqing Jie, played many fun games, and watched Qiu Baiyang Senior’s performance.
That magnificent Star Realm Magic missile meteor shower could still be clearly recalled, the scene was truly overwhelming.
“Qiu Baiyang Senior’s magical skill is indeed quite outstanding,” Hua Ling thought.
Thinking of this, the girl ate some breakfast, then pulled out her guardian star from her pocket, intending to do some simple practice at the training ground.
But just as she was about to leave, a schedule reminder popped up on her phone screen, making Hua Ling immediately give up the idea of going to practice.
“Today’s Schedule: Mai Sui Senior’s new lesson.”
...
As Magic Girl Iris, Hua Ling had always humbly learned magic casting techniques from various seniors.
For Magic Girls, Star Realm Magic seemed to be an instinctive thing—as long as they knew what the magic was about in their minds, they could freely consume magic power to use it.
And the combination and arrangement of various spells, the use and control of magic power, these were the essences that Magic Girls should master.
These were precisely what she lacked.
That’s why she specifically contacted Mai Sui Senior and obtained a set of instructional courses filmed specifically for new Magic Girls.
After the first stage of learning, she had fully mastered the technique of filling other firepower spells into the firepower void during magic cannon reloading, but she had not been able to put it into practice.
The second stage involved techniques for dealing with emergencies, such as encountering a Monster in close combat, or being forced to suppress multiple targets with firepower simultaneously.
This clearly took two hours.
By the time the four lessons concluded, Hua Ling took off her glasses, put down her notebook, and stretched, feeling a bit tired.
It was already eleven o’clock; indeed, time seemed to fly when one was studying diligently.
Mai Sui Senior’s lessons were all practical, and it was difficult to grasp the true key points just by watching the videos; she really needed to practice at the training ground.
Thinking this, Hua Ling picked up her phone from beside her and routinely checked WeChat.
【Friend sent a message: Tianqing Jie】
Tianqing Jie’s message?
Hua Ling was slightly stunned for a moment, then immediately clicked on the friend's avatar.
“Good afternoon, Hua Ling Meimei ~ Did you have fun yesterday?”
Attached was a Fox Fox greeting emoji.
The girl was excited and quickly replied.
“Good afternoon, Tianqing Jie”
“Yesterday was a lot of fun, and I even won limited merchandise.”
The friend with the Fox Fox avatar paused for a while, then typed back:
“We played all day yesterday, Hua Ling Meimei, do you have any other plans for today?”
Hua Ling hesitated for a moment, her typing fingers hovering in mid-air, wondering how to reply.
She couldn't really admit that she was going to practice magic spell linkage in the afternoon.
And since Tianqing Jie asked this question, it meant… it meant this afternoon was a great opportunity to have Tianqing Jie all to herself!
“I’m planning to read at home this afternoon, Tianqing Jie, do you have any plans?”
Hua Ling seized the opportunity to say.
“What about Nan Xiaofeng? If she’s also free this afternoon, I, your elder sister, want to talk to you two about something related to Mu Yao Meimei, whom we met last time.”
The girl was startled, then remembered that her meeting with Lin Muyao was precisely due to Tianqing Jie's introduction, and her mood was a bit subtle.
Mu Yao had transformed into Magic Girl Nightingale in front of Tianqing Jie to protect her, and Tianqing Jie had kept her secret to this day.
The same went for Nan Xiaofeng; even Jia Yu Jie didn’t know that Nan Xiaofeng was Magic Girl Hyacinth.
Given their intimate, almost lover-like relationship, if Jia Yu Jie was unaware, it could only be because Tianqing Jie was fiercely guarding this secret.
“Tianqing Jie is truly gentle and reliable,” Hua Ling murmured to herself.
How could she give up this rare opportunity to be alone with such a gentle and understanding Fox Fox?
“Nan Xiaofeng has to go to school for something this afternoon, so she probably won’t be free.”
Hua Ling quickly typed back,
“If Tianqing Jie has something to say, just tell me, and I’ll pass it on to Nan Xiaofeng.”
“That would be wonderful, and also, I, your elder sister, have something else I want to chat with you about, Hua Ling~”
An emoji of a Fox Fox wagging its tail accompanied the text.
...
Noon, Metro Line 2 station.
Hua Ling stood obediently at the subway station entrance, looking around, and soon spotted a golden figure in the crowd exiting the station.
“Good afternoon!~”
The Golden Fox stopped in front of the girl, its tail wagging incessantly behind it.
“Tianqing Jie is so punctual.”
“Of course, I’m very punctual, you know.” The Fox Fox’s tail almost pointed to the sky.
Su Tianqing hadn't expected Hua Ling to be so easy to meet up with.
This child usually either went to school or stayed at home reading, or trained with Nan Xiaofeng and the others. It was simply too difficult to have a chance to be alone with her.
But luckily, she had prepared a complete set of perfect excuses today, and even had a reason that Hua Ling couldn't refuse!
It was a pity she didn't get to use it this time; she'd try it again if there was another opportunity.
“Tianqing Jie, why did you specifically come all this way to chat with me?” Hua Ling asked curiously as they walked along the road.
“Is it something very important?”
“It’s not very important, I just wanted to know how your relationship with Mu Yao Meimei is progressing.”
“But since you two invited each other to play yesterday, it means your relationship is quite close, isn’t it?”
Su Tianqing said with a smile, smoothly getting to the point,
“Hua Ling Meimei, do you remember our last conversation, the one at the coffee shop?”
“I remember, that’s when Tianqing Jie guided me. I still remember it very clearly,” Hua Ling nodded.
“Then, did you go and talk to that child? She should already know that her pranks are bothering you, right?”
“This…”
Hua Ling hesitated,
“Although I tried to talk to her, but… that child’s pranks seem to have taken on a new twist recently…”
“Is that so… hmm… that means she already knows her old pranks were wrong, and she’s probably trying new methods,”
Su Tianqing shook her head, pondered for a long time, and then spoke.
Hua Ling was also a bit uneasy.
She felt like she had killed the conversation; she hadn’t even thought about how to answer Tianqing Jie’s questions. What if she made her worried?
The girl lowered her head, trying hard to think of a response.
“Hua Ling Meimei, do you feel too stressed lately?”
The Golden Fox’s sudden question made Hua Ling jolt.
Stress?
Her recent stress… honestly, it was indeed very high.
There was Magic Girl Hyacinth, a senior, far ahead, and Magic Girl Nightingale, a talented junior, hot on her heels, and even Xin Yuehu and her two companions were creating a series of incidents.
If she hadn't gone out to relax for a day yesterday, Hua Ling felt that her condition today would have been very, very poor.
“If you feel too stressed, come and chat with me, your elder sister~”
Su Tianqing immediately interjected, revealing a brilliant smile,
“I, your elder sister, will definitely find a way to help you! Just like last time~”