The words caused the atmosphere in the room to fall into complete silence.
Monice looked at the Magical Girl sitting behind the desk with an expression so complex, so difficult to put into words, that it brought a faint sense of triumph to her heart.
Seeing her show such an expression made Monice feel this visit was well worth it.
“Can’t accept it, dear Saint Angel ‘miss’?” Monice teased.
“Don’t call me that. I’m Cecilia,” the blonde girl snapped.
Monice’s words had clearly irritated Cecilia. The one thing she hated most was people bringing up the codename Saint Angel in front of her.
It wasn’t that the codename carried any tragic memories; rather, when she chose it, she was still a very young girl.
Back then, she never imagined that her future self would become a Full Bloom-Class Magical Girl and even rise to a high position within the Magic Department.
Changing a codename was a complicated process, requiring a legitimate reason.
Cecilia could probably force the change thanks to her status, but that would come off as abusing her power.
Other Magical Girls usually requested codename changes only when their abilities or circumstances had changed so significantly that their original codenames no longer fit.
The Magic Department Headquarters’ regulations clearly stated that changing a codename was troublesome, and requests based purely on personal reasons would be rejected.
Unfortunately, Cecilia’s codename fit her perfectly in both image and ability. So if she wanted to change it, it would be classified under “purely personal reasons,” which wasn’t allowed.
Over the years, she had worked hard to downplay the codename, replacing it with her real name whenever possible.
That plan had been going well—until Monice mentioned Saint Angel, instantly making Cecilia so embarrassed she wished she could sink through the floor.
Don’t mention that humiliating name in front of me.
“Anyway, I will try to arrange for women to perform your Transformation Surgery. If that’s impossible, then we’ll look for male modifiers,” Cecilia said after clearing her throat, her expression returning to normal.
As she spoke, she sent out the announcement she had prepared long ago.
She had originally thought that since this was human modification—a method the Magic Department had long publicly condemned as inhumane—it would take her a long time to select candidates meeting the criteria.
But the result far exceeded her expectations.
Within ten minutes of the announcement, the reviewers’ inboxes were flooded with applications from those wanting the surgery.
Indeed, there was no need for her to seek out candidates specifically.
Among the Magic Department’s Ordinary People’s Armed Forces, there were plenty eager to undergo this safe modification.
Especially male combat personnel, whose enthusiasm for the modification program was particularly strong.
After all, the combat troops working at Headquarters had already passed rigorous screening and were almost as morally upright as the Magical Girls.
Through long battles, they had come to recognize their own weakness.
When facing powerful Demons, all they could do was wait for rescue by Magical Girls.
They were nothing more than fledglings protected by Magical Girls—and these people understood exactly who truly supported the human world today.
Now, with Demons poised to attack from beyond the sky, most of the Magic Department’s forces had already been dispatched to Starry Sky.
Since they lacked the strength to join the fight there, it was their duty to help the Magical Girls defend the homes left behind.
But with their original abilities, protecting the homeland was “pure fantasy.” Against enhanced humans from evil organizations or even slightly stronger Demons, all they could do was flee and await rescue.
At this moment, a new path had opened before them: undergoing modification to gain magical power.
That way, they could truly aid the Magical Girls.
So, to fight for the limited Modification Quotas, these combat personnel signed up with all their might.
Not long after leaving Cecilia’s room, Monice was promptly dragged back to the office by Cecilia, who wore an expression full of disbelief.
She seriously asked Monice how many people she could modify each day.
Materials from Demons weren’t the problem—every day, battles raged in space, and many Wang-Class and General-Class Demons were killed. Their remains were brought back as raw materials for modification.
The critical factor was Monice’s work efficiency.
“Basic modification: about ten people a day. Advanced: one person per day,” Monice replied, looking at Cecilia in confusion. “Why? Have you found candidates?”
“I might have… a little more than a few,” Cecilia’s eyes flickered nervously.
Monice frowned slightly. Her intuition told her that “a little” was better understood as “a massive amount.”
Well, the Magic Department’s people were all passionate fools. To be conservative, let’s say one-tenth.
The Ordinary People’s Armed Forces stationed at Headquarters numbered in the tens of thousands…
Slap!
Monice covered her forehead. This was absolutely impossible to handle!
And she couldn’t let machines do the work for her, either. Every person’s physical condition was different and required her personal adjustments.
“Tell me the truth: how many people want modification?” Cecilia remained silent for a long moment before replying,
“More than ninety percent of the combat troops have voluntarily applied for modification. The Logistics Division is also joining the frenzy, claiming they’re part of the Magic Department and shouldn’t miss out on this good opportunity.”
Monice immediately stood and strode toward the door without looking back, saying as she left, “So you want to kill two birds with one stone this way? Saint Angel, you’re so despicable!” Tens of thousands of people—she wouldn’t finish modifying them even if she worked till death!
She saw through it: that bastard Saint Angel was so determined to kill her that he didn’t even care about appearances, forcing his subordinates to accept a risky, unknown modification.
Despicable! You’ve completely abandoned the original purpose of being a Magical Girl!
Monice pushed open the office door forcefully, startling a middle-aged man clad in a white lab coat.
The Director of the Jidong City Magical Department Research Institute?
Monice glanced at the man in confusion. Was he here to confront Cecilia?
It seemed her modification plan was still not well-received at Headquarters…
Watching the man stride quickly into Cecilia’s office, Monice braced herself for angry accusations.
Like: “How can you use modification technology?” or similar complaints.
“Vice Minister Cecilia! I protest! Why are all the modification quotas given to the combat troops? We researchers are important, too—we deserve modification!” the man demanded angrily.
It was indeed a protest, but somehow different from what Monice expected.
Monice stood dumbfounded outside the door, suddenly feeling she couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
This was human modification! Didn’t they feel any misgivings? And male bodies would undergo earth-shattering changes—had they thought this through?
“Modification resources are limited for now. You’ll have to endure a bit longer. Those needing immediate combat power get priority,” Cecilia patiently reasoned with the man.
But the middle-aged man was not calm.
Even facing a Full Bloom-Class Magical Girl far more powerful than him, he slammed the desk loudly.
“After we get modified, won’t we be able to help the combat troops develop more weapons? Do you know how few people in Research can sense magic power? I submitted reports asking for some to be modified before, but you hesitated. Now that quotas have opened, and we get none—that’s unfair!”
Human science—or rather, magical research—had a serious problem: a shortage of talent.
Currently, only Magical Girls and modified humans could sense and manipulate magic power.
But most Magical Girls had awakened as children and immediately joined battlefields against Demons.
This meant most Magical Girls lacked formal knowledge and were less educated than average university graduates.
As for the clever students who studied hard?
They were eager to explore the new field of magic but couldn’t sense or use magic power.
When the Magic Department’s Research Division wanted to do something, they had to submit reports asking Headquarters to send some Magical Girls for experiments.
It was cumbersome.
The best solution was modification.
Though modified humans weren’t as strong as Magical Girls, for researchers who didn’t need to fight on the front lines, this drawback was negligible.
Gaining the ability to sense and use magic power was a tremendous leap forward!
Previously, modification was avoided because the technology interfered with consciousness.
But now, Monice’s new breakthroughs had changed that!
Modification no longer caused mental issues, so the Research Department naturally wanted to snatch some modification quotas.
“I’ve been studying magic power for nearly thirty years. I want to see what magic power really is!” the man banged Cecilia’s desk, venting his frustration. “At least let me—the head of this department—undergo modification!”
The head of the Magic Department’s Research Division was an ordinary person who couldn’t see magic power… quite the joke.
Monice no longer moved to leave. Standing by the door, she sensed she was about to hear something even more interesting.
And it seemed Cecilia wasn’t lying—enthusiasm for modification at Headquarters was indeed high.
“After you’re modified, what about your wife and kids?” Cecilia’s voice came from inside the office.
The man had a family; his daughter was even a Magical Girl!
Monice’s modification would irreversibly change a man’s body into a woman’s—she had emphasized this in the announcement, hadn’t she?
“Huh? What do they have to do with it? I’m not going to die,” the man slammed the table again. “Or are you saying this modification has a high death rate? Then I’d have to criticize you.”
“As long as the procedure is done correctly, the success rate for basic modification is nearly one hundred percent,” Monice couldn’t help but speak up when her research was questioned.
According to Monice’s magical calculations, directly modifying an ordinary person into an advanced modified human had a success rate of about eighty percent.
This was because magic power was an alien substance that caused some rejection in the human body.
Too much power flooding in all at once would definitely damage the body.
But by gradually and steadily increasing the strength, the failure rate could be reduced to very low.
Basic modification worked this way.
It didn’t grant overwhelming power but enabled people to sense and use magic power.
Cecilia covered her face in frustration, realizing the man hadn’t grasped her meaning.
“My point is, after modification your body will be permanently changed. How will you explain that to your family?”
“Explain what? My wife is my assistant; my daughter works at Headquarters. I just tell them, isn’t that enough?” The man looked like it was no big deal.
A gender change? What’s the big deal compared to gaining the ability to sense magic power?
If his body changed, was he no longer himself?
Come on, don’t be so narrow-minded. Surely no one today still holds macho views that becoming a woman is the end of the world?
Young men nowadays would jump at the chance to become a girl if it meant becoming a Magical Girl to protect the homeland.
“Uh…” Cecilia pinched her brow, about to say more when heavy footsteps approached outside.
This time, a man in dark green military uniform entered.
Seeing the scene in the office, he immediately knew what was going on.
“Song Lian, you shameless bastard, how dare you steal our modification quotas? Can you consider the bigger picture?” he reprimanded the middle-aged man sternly.
“How can good things all go to you hooligans? Our Research Department urgently needs talent who can sense magic power, too. It’s no easier than you guys,” Song Lian retorted.
Monice had stepped fully into the office now, expressionless as she watched the two heads of the combat and research divisions bicker like common street thugs.
And the topic of their quarrel?
The quotas for her modifications.
Such a thing was beyond what Monice’s former self would even dare dream of.
“Ahem, both of you calm down!” Monice coughed, breaking up the rising heat before fists could fly.
Now was not the time to fight over quotas.
“Hm?”
“Who are you?”
“She’s the Pioneer,” Cecilia said flatly.