“Good evening, Rong City!”
“In the Monster free-for-all just now, Hyacinth eliminated a full thirty Monsters!”
“Iris’s performance was also incredibly strong! She tied Hyacinth with an excellent score of twenty-nine!”
On the villains’ rooftop.
Golden Fox stood in front of the livestream camera, playing the high-definition video just recorded by her familiar while responding to the barrage of bullet comments and Super Chats.
“Thanks for the Super Chat from 【Fox Baby, Come Here, Mama’s Here】~”
“That’s right! Miss Nightingale was the true MVP today! It’s all thanks to Miss Nightingale’s precise support that Hyacinth and Iris were able to achieve such excellent scores~”
“Who do you all think had the best Monster performance today? Send in your bullet comments!”
Xin Yuehu was enthusiastically interacting with the bullet comments, while a new episode of the Magic Girl anime played on the TV nearby. Both Alices were glued to the screen, watching with intense focus.
The Cat, Rabbit, and Wolf trio gathered around the coffee table, eating mochi pudding they had bought from a dessert shop.
They also chatted about what had just happened in the Mindscape World.
“‘Monster Arena,’ that’s what it’s called, right, Alice?” Hellcat said to the two Alices who were watching TV nearby.
Both Alices turned their heads simultaneously. The black-haired one remained silent, while the golden-haired one nodded.
“Yes, I thought it would be interesting, so I made it to see.”
“And it’s a good thing Fox Fox has so many Monster reserves; if it were anyone else…”
Fenrir complained, but quickly realized her words might be misinterpreted. She couldn't help but glance at the two people beside her.
Anyone else? Who else could it be?
If Hellcat and Cheshire Rabbit were to team up to fight Hyacinth and Iris, Fenrir couldn't imagine how brutal the scene would be.
“But then again, we really saw the potential of Hyacinth and Iris today.”
The Cat Girl pinched her chin, her cat tail flicking twice in front of her, and said thoughtfully.
Today’s event was planned by Alice, with the theme “Monster Free-for-All.”
Of course, if Xin Yuehu had directly sent out enhanced Zodiac Twelve Witches to gang up on them, Hyacinth and the other two would definitely have been flattened on the spot. So, a more entertaining compromise was adopted—
“You design, Fox Fox creates! The First Monster Design Contest of Fox Fox’s Livestream!”
—That was the competition.
In short, people would send Monster design plans to Fox Fox, and Xin Yuehu would create Monsters according to these plans and throw them into the arena to fight Hyacinth.
This consumed a huge number of Monsters, so it was limited to internal team activities. It was fine for occasional fun, but after a few more days, the Monster reserves would quickly be depleted.
“After the audience’s votes, the first place goes to—”
“【Hellcat’s Special Anti-Hyacinth Giant Battle Crab MKII Type】!”
A Crab Monster appeared on the screen, its two crab claws transformed into abnormally large gauntlets, chasing Hyacinth frantically around the arena in the video.
“Sure enough, Cat Cat knows Hyacinth’s weakness best. Battle Crab MK2, with its powerful close-combat suppression, once suppressed Hyacinth and performed most outstandingly in this match!”
“As expected,” “I guessed right,” such bullet comments floated across the screen.
“Isn’t that name a bit too long?” Su Tianqing read the comment from the Super Chat, confidently puffing out her flat chest.
“The longer the name, the stronger it fights! That’s Cat Cat’s design philosophy!”
“…Are you serious?” Fenrir turned to glance at Hellcat, who whistled and pretended nothing had happened.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere in Rong City.
The Dog Girl, dressed in thick winter clothes, walked alone, clutching her phone and two cups of jasmine milk tea that hadn't sold and were given to the staff, staring at the bright and sunny Golden Fox on the screen.
“Next up is second place! The super-powerful Monster designed by Rabbit—
“【The Invisible Monster Whose Normal Attack is Cleave with a Great Hammer and Can Also Do a Two-Hit Whirlwind Hammer】!”
“Rabbit, the name you picked is too weird! Isn't that just writing the description into the title?!”
The Dog Girl froze for a few seconds, then let out a silly giggle like the bullet comments, her tail wagging even more vigorously.
The jasmine milk tea in the plastic bag had completely cooled, but the Dog Girl carefully inserted the straw and took a sip of the drink.
It was cold, but still sweet.
Today’s salary had already been deposited into her account, and with the triple pay for the holiday, it was a full 300 yuan, making her balance much more comfortable.
This made the Dog Girl’s smile even brighter.
There was still one more day left of the New Year holiday, and the winter break still had a few days to go. After paying tuition, she might even have a good amount of money left over.
And besides…
The Dog Girl glanced at the small cross-body bag beside her.
Inside the bag’s compartment lay a shimmering golden cross star, carefully protected.
A guardian star.
Yesterday, she was chosen by Observer, who said she had the potential of a Magic Girl and gave her this guardian star.
This made Wang Xiaowang feel as if she were dreaming.
Becoming a shining Magic Girl, defeating Monsters, and protecting the city—could such a thing really happen to her?
“It feels just like a dream.”
Wang Xiaowang took another sip of the cold jasmine milk tea, muttering to herself.
Besides Observer, she had also met the Magic Girls she had always admired: Dandelion and Iris. These two Magic Girl companions came to chat with her, expressed hope for their future companion, and even gave her many gifts!
There were expensive limited edition standees and gashapon toys, as well as first-edition hanging scrolls, all merchandise she could never afford normally.
Thinking of this, the Dog Girl couldn't help but quicken her pace, walking towards the school.
Once she returned to the dorm, she could see the merchandise Dandelion senior gave her in the cabinet, and she could catch up on Xin Yuehu’s recorded streams that she missed due to work, spending the rest of her free time today like that.
—That’s right, Xin Yuehu’s livestream was one of her greatest pleasures.
Her videos were very interesting, and her daily activities and Hong Kong City blockbusters were also very exciting. She could watch them almost every day, which successfully turned her into a Fox fan.
Wang Xiaowang couldn't help but imagine her future after becoming a Magic Girl.
If she truly became a Magic Girl, would she be able to see the real Xin Yuehu? Could she even talk and chat with her?
Ah… but Xin Yuehu called herself a villain. If she became a Magic Girl like Hyacinth, would she only be able to stand on opposing sides with Xin Yuehu…?
“That’s all for today’s livestream~”
The Golden Fox’s farewell voice suddenly sounded from the livestream in her headphones. The Dog Girl quickly looked down at the livestream screen, which was already showing the Super Chat thank-you list.
“Thank you all for your Super Chat support today~ Fox Fox will continue to give out small gifts to everyone, and we’ll see you tomorrow~”
The Fox Girl waved goodbye to the camera, her bright smile covered by the Q-version Fox Fox of the ending animation, then quickly hidden by the barrage of “88888” bullet comments.
“…But it feels like Hyacinth and the others are having a lot of fun too.”
The Dog Girl muttered to herself, staring blankly at her phone screen, and gently waved.
It was as if she was bidding farewell to the Fox Girl on the other side of the screen.
What kind of combat style would she use after becoming a Magic Girl? The Dog Girl suddenly wondered.
Would it be a pure frontal suppression like Hyacinth? Or firepower coverage like Iris?
“Beep-beep-beep—”
A car horn from the roadside pulled the Dog Girl back to reality from her daze.
The girl stared blankly at the empty street ahead.
On her phone screen was the automatically playing recorded livestream, showing Hyacinth fighting a Monster.
The cold jasmine milk tea in her hand made her fingertips tremble slightly in the chill.
Her pilled thermal tights couldn't quite withstand the cold wind of the winter night, making her shiver.
The girl lowered her head, her mouth slightly open.
She wanted to say something, but found there was no one beside her to confide in.
…It felt a little lonely.