Qiugui had never felt that idol activities could be so terrifying.
Even on world-class stages, facing thousands of fans cheering and shouting during world tours, Qiugui had never felt the pressure of being an idol.
— Seeing the smiles and tears on fans' faces, ending yet another concert amidst songs and fireworks, this brought her a great sense of accomplishment.
Her other companions shared the same sentiment, and the like-minded Autumn Osmanthus Squad became a very famous idol group.
However,
While active as a teen idol, the Autumn Osmanthus Squad also took on the responsibilities of Magic Girls.
During their world tours, the Autumn Osmanthus Squad often participated in local Monster combat missions, communicating and collaborating with the Magic Girl squads stationed there, continuously improving in strategy and tactics.
However, only when facing another mysterious force did Qiugui feel a sense of being unable to win, even when giving her all—
"Xin Yuehu."
"A Fox Girl Magic Girl who first appeared in Rong City half a year ago, she teamed up with Hell Shrike from Shanghai and the local newcomer Magic Girl Cheshire Rabbit, forming a squad that directly opposed Hyacinth."
"She is believed to be the mastermind behind multiple Monster attack incidents, but she always evacuates local residents before launching attacks, even setting a record of zero casualties from Monster attacks in Rong City in the second half of the year."
"After Fenrir joined the Xin Yuehu Squad, this squad became the most powerful Magic Girl team in history."
This was the Hero Association's very fair assessment of the Xin Yuehu Squad, and it left a deep impression on Qiugui.
But when she first formally clashed with Xin Yuehu a few days ago, Qiugui truly felt the terrifying strength of this seemingly cute but actually cunning Fox Girl:
She directly encountered Xin Yuehu, and before she could even cast a spell, she was struck by Hellcat's close-range punch, sending her staff flying, and then she fell into the hands of a Slime Monster.
Hellcat's pure speed and strength, Xin Yuehu's dazzling and overwhelming array of strange tools and Monster summons, plus the Great Hammer Assassin Cheshire Rabbit, whom she heard about from Iris…
And there was even a Fenrir who descended from the sky, striking Jörmungandr half-dead with an astral lightning bolt!
This team, where everyone was overpowered, cast a huge shadow over Qiugui, who had never experienced Magic Girl combat before.
However,
When the Xin Yuehu Squad appeared in the audience, holding glow sticks and fan light boards, cheering loudly, the shadow in Qiugui's heart extended to her already very skilled idol activities.
There was even a newcomer Alice with shining eyes, and Cheshire Rabbit, dressed exactly like a fanatical fan.
Qiugui felt her singing voice was a bit off-key, and her stage movements seemed very constrained.
"—Is this normal?"
Singing with sweat on her back, Qiugui felt very flustered.
"What's going on with Xin Yuehu and them? What's this all about?"
"I definitely didn't hear from the Hero Association that Xin Yuehu was coming to watch! And I didn't see her publicly announce that she was coming to see my performance!"
"Could it be that she suddenly became interested in my performance?"
After finishing a song, during the intermission when interacting with fans, Qiugui's gaze involuntarily drifted towards the five villains.
She couldn't help but ponder the purpose of Xin Yuehu and her group.
Could it be that Xin Yuehu was hinting at something to her? Qiugui wondered.
She was a villainous Magic Girl who would proactively evacuate crowds, with an impeccably excellent record with the Hero Association, even higher in prestige than Hyacinth.
There were even rumors that the Rong City Association was discussing whether to contact Xin Yuehu about becoming official, but the Observers righteously rejected it.
"So…"
While interacting with fans, Qiugui heard her teammate's voice beside her and quietly leaned closer to Xia Jin.
"Xia Jin, do you think that Xin Yuehu might have ill intentions?"
"Hard to say, Captain, why don't you go test her out?"
"Why me?!"
"Didn't we agree that you, Captain, would be responsible for fan interaction over there!" Xia Jin said timidly.
Qiugui swallowed.
Xin Yuehu had appeared at the last concert, but at that time, she and Hellcat had bought tickets to enter, and their interaction took place after the concert ended.
But today?
Not to mention their five neatly dressed magical outfits, just the sight of Cheshire Rabbit with shining eyes made Qiugui feel that this was definitely not simple.
One or two villains could be understood as having made plans to go out and have fun, with room for playful banter and greetings.
But if an entire villain team appeared before you at the same time, then it's not so easy to explain.
After discussing with her teammates about who should go interact with Xin Yuehu, Qiugui was unanimously pointed out by her three companions, so she had no choice but to brace herself and approach them.
The orange Magic Girl smiled nervously, greeting the fans, and shuffled in small steps to the interaction area at the edge of the stage, looking at the five people standing closest to her.
Xin Yuehu gazed at her with a smile, while Hellcat and Fenrir looked relatively calm.
Alice seemed to be attending such a large event for the first time, her expression the most constrained.
As for Cheshire Rabbit…
Hmm? Where's Cheshire Rabbit?
"Hiss, hiss… Miss Qiugui…"
"Whoa?!"
Cheshire Rabbit's heavy breathing suddenly sounded beside her, and Qiugui turned her head in alarm, meeting the gaze of the Pink-haired Rabbit Girl standing next to her.
Drops, whether sweat or drink, slid down the Rabbit Girl's undulating cleavage, and the fan cape behind her, adorned with badges and pins, was even more eye-catching.
"Ah, ah… Qiugui… it's Qiugui up close…"
The Rabbit Girl's face was piled with smiles, and Qiugui instinctively wanted to dodge, but the Rabbit Girl took a step forward and handed her an autograph book.
Qiugui lowered her head and glanced at the densely filled autograph book.
The flyleaf clearly bore Red Rose's autograph, followed closely by heavyweight codenames like Mercury.
Bai Lili Squad, Hailanshi Team, and even a somewhat childishly written Inari.
The surrounding area was also covered with various limited-edition stickers, making it an exquisite Magic Girl scrapbook.
Qiugui felt that this scrapbook could definitely sell for an exorbitant price in the Magic Girl community.
…However,
Qiugui inexplicably thought of some strange things.
Could it be a book with strange magic attached, and as soon as she wrote her codename on it, she would become a target for Xin Yuehu and her group to pick on?
Would Shanghai also start randomly spawning Xin Yuehu from now on??
"Qiugui, Miss Qiugui, could you please sign here?"
Seeing Qiugui frozen in place, the Rabbit Girl quickly restrained her heavy breathing and adjusted her attitude slightly.
Qiugui only felt that this was a sign of the Rabbit Girl about to launch an attack, and with an almost tearful expression, she tremblingly left her codename signature.
The Rabbit Girl was collecting Magic Girl merchandise, and Xin Yuehu stood smiling in the audience, saying to the seemingly clueless Hellcat beside her:
"See, Kitty, what did I tell you?"
"Even if we do nothing, just stand here and quietly listen to the performance, Miss Qiugui and the others will put on some very interesting scenes themselves."
"…How amazing."
The Cat Girl's tail swayed from side to side, she sighed softly.
Alice paused slightly, and seeing Qiugui about to flee back onto the stage, she immediately ran forward, blocking Qiugui's path back.
Then she held out her own autograph book, her eyes shining, filled with anticipation.
"Kitty! Let's go get an autograph too! It seems quite interesting!"
"You two, don't join the fun!"
Qiugui let out a silent wail in her heart, surrounded by the five villains, turning into white ash.
Magic Girl Qiugui, burned out.