“Do you wish to become a Magic Girl, child?”
The Red Fox Girl under the peach tree swayed her fluffy large tail, mirroring the same dazed expression as she stared blankly at the floating turtle spirit before her.
Su Tianqing gazed blankly at the strange scene before her, and Fox Fox rubbed her eyes with her small hands, but nothing changed.
This was truly an extraordinary situation.
She was directly experiencing Inari’s memories; Inari had left her memories in this pendant!
“...Magic, Magic Girl?”
The Red Fox Girl spoke softly, her voice gentle and sweet, yet it seemed to pierce the soul.
“Can I also become a Magic Girl, just like Red Rose?”
“Indeed.”
The quartz turtle nodded and continued speaking to the Red Fox Girl,
“Your magical talent is exceptional, but your will still needs to be tested. Take this. If the stars acknowledge your will, then you will—”
Before she could finish, as the Red Fox Girl took the guardian star from the turtle spirit’s hand, a flash of light made the Observer suddenly freeze, and even Su Tianqing was startled.
In a flash of starlight, the Red Fox Girl stood still, her clothes replaced by a crimson-gold ceremonial dress, magnificent and dazzling, like a bright star hanging high in the sky.
“Eh? Eh eh eh eh?! I, I am, this is…?”
The girl did not understand the situation, looking in horror at the crimson-gold magic wand in her hand, then lowering her head to look at the magnificent ceremonial dress on her body, not knowing what had happened, feeling lost and helpless.
“…”
The Observer finally recovered from the shock and murmured:
“...You are the first person in history to successfully transform on their first contact with the guardian star. Your talent is astonishing.”
“Really? …I… Does that mean I…”
“From today onwards, you are Hong Kong City’s first Magic Girl, 【Inari】.”
The brief trance ended here.
Su Tianqing returned to reality from her daze, shaking her head vigorously, unable to believe what she had just seen.
Was that something that happened in the past?
But how could this be? Just a single rhinestone pendant, why could it allow her to see the past so clearly?
Thinking this, Su Tianqing subconsciously lowered her head, but the rhinestone pendant in her hand no longer emitted the magical fluctuations from before, as if it had never existed. Only the collected items display in the secret codex’s mission page showed 1/13, with no other changes.
【Unlock the true potential of Inari’s Mask】
Recalling the reward for this series of missions, Su Tianqing was somewhat puzzled.
If collecting all the items could unlock the true potential of this mask, what would it become then?
She couldn’t help but look forward to it.
“Cat Cat! Rabbit Rabbit! Time to close up shop!”
“Ah, don’t forget to call Doggy, who’s lying in the basement, along!”
…
Later that evening.
Su Tianqing sat alone on the empty rooftop.
Cat and Rabbit had taken Little Grey Wolf to another location to acquire some heavy firepower needed for the next few days, while she stayed on the rooftop to stand by for command and arrange for tomorrow’s plan.
But the plan was actually already set; she was merely browsing videos, enjoying the scenery, and passing the time.
The Golden Fox peered at the Volcano Monster’s wreckage, which was being dismantled on the distant sea, while playing with the fox mask and rhinestone pendant in her hand.
The mask was still the same mask, and the pendant was just an ordinary pendant, but the scene from the memory was deeply imprinted in her mind.
The conversation between the Red Fox Girl and the Observer, her first transformation, the surprise simultaneously revealed by the girl and the Observer—all details were captured perfectly, terrifyingly precise.
It even gave her the illusion that she was truly observing the scene at that time.
“…”
Su Tianqing looked down at the fox mask in her hand.
After obtaining the pendant, the mask underwent some subtle changes:
The original white base now had an additional pattern, outlining the convex details of the mask, but something still felt missing, which inevitably made her think of the remaining twelve collectibles.
Inari, Inari, what profound secrets have you hidden in Hong Kong City? Why did you embed your past memories in these objects?
Su Tianqing firmly believed that Inari’s mastery of magic was absolutely superb.
She could make her see scenes from the distant past with just a cheap pendant; even if it was just a one-time magical imprint, it was enough to make her a senior expert second only to Red Rose in her mind.
The secret codex even specifically dedicated a page to this mask, trying to explain its importance to her:
【Inari’s Fox Mask】
【The mask once worn by Magic Girl Inari, handmade by herself】
This page initially had no extra text, until she obtained this rhinestone pendant from the withered peach tree, and then new text appeared on the page:
【Inari’s Memory: Passive Skill, increases your magic output and precise control over magic】
Passive skill!
However, this passive skill seemed to have unclear meaning. Ben Hu rarely fights with people normally, so what use is enhanced magic control?
Should Ben Hu go up and fight Hyacinth in close combat? Or engage Iris in a magic cannon duel?
Spare me!
But if she thought about it differently, did this mean that Ben Hu’s main body had a certain degree of combat power?
Su Tianqing tried throwing a few magic missiles, but there seemed to be no difference from before.
What the heck! This is completely useless! secret codex, give me some useful skills, alright!
“Hmph!”
The Golden Fox huffily threw the secret codex back into the magic space and continued to play with the fox mask in her hand.
Oh well, there were still twelve collectibles left anyway, so perhaps they could unlock some more interesting skills… or maybe not.
Like unlocking magic cannon skills or close combat skills! Or Miss Zi Ying Shi’s super cool sniper rifle!
Or even borrowing power from Senior Inari, using the Xin Yue Magic Wand as a transformation device for a second transformation!
Lend me your strength, Senior Inari!
“Rustle rustle…”
“Hey, Fox Fox, can you hear me?”
The magic communication suddenly connected. Su Tianqing stopped her chuunibyou thoughts, looked up at the magic light screen in front of her, and tilted her head.
“I’m here. Cat Cat, is everything smooth on your end? Or did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened, it’s just that we encountered a little bit of trouble.”
Su Tianqing blinked curiously, her fox tail wagging behind her, not quite understanding what the Cat Girl meant.
Yesterday, she had taken the three of them to raid an underground arms depot that was reselling weapons, thoroughly cleaning it out, and incidentally tying up the relevant arms dealers and handing them over to the Hero Association.
Su Tianqing still remembered the complex look in the eyes of the association staff member who received this group of smugglers.
And today, the three of them had followed the clues to a cargo ship. By now, they should have controlled the people on the cargo ship and started moving the goods out. What trouble could there be?
The Fox Girl looked at the familiar camera view opened by the Hellcat and suddenly froze.
The cargo ship’s container door in front of her had been completely torn open by the Cat Girl, but what was inside made Su Tianqing gape in astonishment.
“...I say, Cat Cat.”
“What is it?”
“Are you sure you’re cracking down on arms trafficking? Is this something that can really appear on the arms market?”
“Probably… right?”
The Cat Girl scratched the back of her head with a wry smile.
—Inside this specially made container was a behemoth,
A pitch-black Steel body, sturdy dark cannon barrels, plus the neatly arranged explosive reactive armor, made Su Tianqing feel a shock even more inexplicable than Miss Inari’s magic:
A T90M, a main battle tank.