“We will perform various data calculations here and do our best to find a way to resolve the crisis.”
In the Magic Department’s conference room, several Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls representing the Guangfa Department spoke to the rows of Magical Girls and Transhumans sitting below.
Those capable of attending this top-secret meeting were all trusted individuals selected through the Magic Department’s rigorous screening process.
Most were Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls, alongside several low-rank Magical Girls and Transhumans who possessed exceptionally brilliant abilities.
After all, Full Bloom-Class Magical Girls were not omnipotent.
A large portion of them were practical-minded individuals focused purely on combat.
Faced with the current situation, there truly wasn’t much they could contribute.
“Furthermore, Dark Moth and Lily of the Valley, go and establish contact with White Night. We need more information for our calculations.”
Luo Shuangyue was, of course, seated in the conference room.
As one of the core figures of this incident, she naturally could not stay out of the matter.
Her task was simple, yet she was the only one who could complete it: she had to enable the Magic Department and White Night to establish contact once again.
Whether through a Teleportation Gate or some other method, the Magic Department needed the intelligence White Night could provide.
“No problem. I’ll start the preparations as soon as the meeting ends.”
Luo Shuangyue didn’t listen very closely to the rest of the meeting, as it mostly concerned things she couldn’t quite understand.
She only grasped one key point: Monice had become the leader of the Crisis Response Team, and the Magic Department had granted her almost all the authority at their disposal.
During this crisis, Monice was the most powerful person in the Magic Department.
No one could refuse her reasonable requests, and even unreasonable ones had to be accepted as much as possible.
In extraordinary times, the Magic Department could only resort to extraordinary policies.
Who else could they turn to when they currently lacked a research-type Magical Girl who could rival Monice?
After the brief meeting concluded, some participants remained immersed in the shock of the news, but the few who had long known the truth were already taking action.
“I left a doll with my mother. I can sense her location through it. What we need to do next is actually quite simple: we just need to build a road from here to there.”
Flying to the open Experiment Field prepared by the Magic Department, Luo Shuangyue explained her plan to the members of the small group.
This Spatial Channel did not lead to a location within their world; instead, it led to the very edge of the world.
This was a challenge for Luo Shuangyue as well.
However, having experimented with building bridges across different spaces within that Shattered Zone, she figured this time shouldn’t be too difficult.
Having a beacon meant Luo Shuangyue had a clear direction.
As long as she followed that path, she would eventually be able to extend the channel to its destination.
“Yi, can your Starlight Magic support such a massive consumption?” Luo Shuangyue turned her head to look at the Elf maiden standing nearby.
Having not seen her for several months, the girl had now barely managed to step across the threshold of the Initial Bloom Class.
She was truly a Magical Girl built upon the deaths of her entire kin; her speed of advancement could only be described as terrifying.
Still, the total mana capacity of the Initial Bloom Class was somewhat insufficient for the current situation.
Yi shook her head decisively.
She didn’t want the plan to face unforeseen risks because of her own stubbornness.
“It’s not enough. Even for just the Magic Circle at the entrance of the Teleportation Gate, I’ll need Xiao Xing’s help to complete it.”
Luo Shuangxing’s ability could be used on more than just her own Magic Circles; she could also seal the circles of others.
Since Yi lacked sufficient Magic Power, she would need several days to construct the Teleportation Gate bit by bit.
However, the Teleportation Gate produced by her hands was better than Luo Shuangyue’s.
Its distance compression ratio was higher, and the channel was much more stable.
This was the difference between original Magic Power and the imitation version.
“In that case, can you absorb my Magic Power?” Luo Shuangyue reached out and summoned a cluster of Starlight Magic.
Yi touched the cluster of energy with her finger.
With Luo Shuangyue’s active cooperation, she easily absorbed the magic, her expression quickly shifting to one of pleasant surprise.
“I can! This Magic Power can be almost completely converted into my own. If that’s the case… well, I can finish the Magic Circle within one day!”
The imitation Magic Power became the genuine version after doing a single lap inside the original body.
This was somewhat unexpected for Luo Shuangyue.
She realized she might actually have a talent for being a healer.
If any Magical Girl ran out of mana in the future, she could just copy a cluster of magic and toss it over, bringing them back to full strength instantly.
‘This is what you call a miraculous cure.’
Yi led the several Magical Girls she had worked with many times to begin drawing the Magic Circle.
Luo Shuangyue had nothing to do for the time being, so she turned to look at Xia Mo.
Xia Mo had been rather taciturn over the past two days.
She didn’t even say her usual flirtatious remarks; she spent the whole day with a furrowed brow and a stern face, as if she had suddenly turned into an old woman.
Luo Shuangyue knew Xia Mo was worried, but she didn’t think one person’s worry would have any effect.
“Stop frowning all the time. Don’t you know you’ll get wrinkles?”
“Magical Girls don’t get wrinkles. As for you, can you really still smile at a time like this?”
“What’s the use of worrying? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. We have to believe. Belief doesn’t require a reason.”
Reaching out to wrap her arm around Xia Mo’s shoulder, Luo Shuangyue pulled the anxious girl down to sit on the flat ground.
They watched the several figures busy at work nearby.
Would they succeed? Could the world really be saved by them?
Luo Shuangyue had no answer to those questions.
She also wanted to tell Xia Mo with confidence that they would surely succeed and save their world, but she was a very realistic person.
She didn’t possess the courage typical of most Magical Girls who believed in every shred of hope.
In truth, the foundation of Luo Shuangyue’s personality was closer to her father’s.
“No matter the final result, at least we are working hard now. Even if we fail in the end, we can hold our heads high and say we tried.” Luo Shuangyue gazed at the sky, her voice carrying a hint of relief.
“Isn’t it a bit unlucky to be thinking about failure right now?” Xia Mo couldn’t help but glare at Luo Shuangyue.
“Whether it’s lucky or not won’t change the current situation. I just want you to stop being so troubled. This isn’t something you or I can solve alone. You don’t need to carry such heavy pressure.”
After finishing the first half of her sentence, Luo Shuangyue paused for a second before continuing, “Rather than worrying and fretting over these things now, you should think about how to make sure you have no regrets if we fail.”
“After all… it’s going to be very, very hard for us to succeed this time.”
It seemed improper to say such discouraging things at a time like this, but Luo Shuangyue felt her relationship with Xia Mo didn’t require that kind of secrecy.
It was better to say what needed to be said.
She believed Xia Mo wouldn’t lose her composure over such a small matter.
It was just the world coming to an end soon—a minor thing. Keeping a calm heart was enough.
“It will take about one day for Yi and the others to complete the entrance Magic Circle. Why don’t you use this free time to do all the things you’ve wanted to do but haven’t? That way, if we do fail in the end, you won’t have any regrets in your heart.”
‘That sounds really off…’ Xia Mo gave a bitter smile in her heart, then began to think about what regrets she still had.
There weren’t many things she wanted to do but hadn’t done yet. If she had to say…
Xia Mo’s gaze drifted around before finally landing on Luo Shuangyue, who seemed completely oblivious to what the future held.
Her father and mother had left her many years ago.
The family she acknowledged now consisted of Luo Shuangyue and Luo Shuangxing.
And certain thoughts she had regarding Luo Shuangyue had still not been realized.
Initially, she had planned to do those things after Luo Shuangyue officially came clean to everyone, but then the unexpected happened.
She and Luo Shuangyue had ended up in another world.
How could Xia Mo possibly do those things with Luo Shuangyue in a place like that?
So, it had been delayed until now.
Originally, Xia Mo hadn’t been in the mood to think about this until Luo Shuangyue told her not to have any regrets when she died.
If success was truly impossible, then at least before failure arrived, she wanted to truly taste the person she loved!
“W-Why are you looking at me like that?” Noticing Xia Mo’s gaze, which was filled with predatory intent, Luo Shuangyue suddenly felt a slight chill down her spine, like a little rabbit being stared down by a big bad wolf.
“Because I realized that the only, only thing I have a regret about is not having eaten you up yet. We’re still official but without substance, aren’t we?”
“Haven’t we done everything we were supposed to do? How can you call that lacking substance?” Luo Shuangyue cried out, her eyes wide.
In her memory, the interactions between her and Xia Mo could in no way be considered “lacking substance.”
A lot of their actions had been quite extreme, okay?
If even that was considered lacking substance, then what exactly counted as substance?
The answer to that question appeared in her mind the next second.
If even those things didn’t count, there was only one type of true substance.
That was the indisputable, deep exchange between two people.
Without a doubt, this was what Xia Mo was hinting at.
“Let’s go. Since they still need some time here, we’re going back to the hotel to rest.” Xia Mo stood up abruptly, grabbed Luo Shuangyue’s arm, and started walking out.
“Shouldn’t we discuss this further? Isn’t it a bit wrong to do this kind of thing at a time like this?” Luo Shuangyue was a little scared.
This time was different from their past flirtations; this time, Xia Mo was playing for keeps.
And what time was it? It was the eve of the world’s destruction.
Everyone’s lives rested on their shoulders, yet they were going to play around in a hotel?