Huang Yi was dressed so formally that it made the atmosphere quite solemn.
Yin Lin walked over and said, “Uncle, why are you being so serious? You even combed your hair and put on a suit. Did you come here for work?”
She tossed out a teasing remark.
Huang Yi smiled and stepped onto the stage from the right side. Only a single soft light remained on, casting a gentle, non-glaring glow across the stage.
Yin Lin walked up from the left side. she brought out the only bit of elegance she possessed in her life, along with the gait she had practiced hard for a long time.
A stand was placed next to Huang Yi, with several trophies sitting upon it.
Huang Yi picked up one of the translucent acrylic trophies. The shape of the trophy was a freeze-frame of Yin Lin’s pose when she fired her full-power magic cannon; it looked exactly like a figurine.
The expression was lifelike, capturing her troubled and grimacing face. There were obvious signs of carving, indicating it wasn’t entirely machine-made.
A few words were written on the base: Savior Star – Lightningman Campaign
Huang Yi spoke loudly toward the audience, which contained only a single person. “On behalf of the Witch faction of the Human Alliance, I present this trophy to the Magical Girl Yin Lin, who fought and killed the executive-level Abnormal Demon, Lightningman, in Yiri City. This is in recognition of Ms. Yin Lin’s outstanding contribution to this battle.”
Yin Lin couldn’t help but laugh, quickly covering her mouth. No matter how many times she heard it, she thought the codename Lightningman was too hilarious. Seeing Huang Yi hand over the trophy, she hurriedly reached out both hands to take it.
Liang Tai’s applause rang out from below the stage.
After a moment, Huang Yi picked up the second trophy. It was also a translucent acrylic trophy, this time in the pose Yin Lin took when she unleashed the Spear that Rends the Heavens.
Written on the base was: Savior Star – Cookieboy Campaign
This time, when Huang Yi recited the lines, Yin Lin didn’t burst out laughing; she held it in.
Then came the third trophy. It was shaped like a portal, and unlike the other two, the base of this trophy was made of pure gold.
Huang Yi: “On behalf of the Witch faction of the Human Alliance, I present this trophy to the Magical Girl Yin Lin, who discovered the portal. This is in recognition of Ms. Yin Lin for discovering the Extinction Crisis of humanity and nipping the danger in the bud.”
Yin Lin took the trophies until her hands were full and she couldn’t hold any more. She looked at Huang Yi, and Huang Yi looked back at her.
Suddenly remembering something, Huang Yi began fumbling around his person. “Oh, right. There’s also a recorded message. I forgot to play it.”
He found a recorder in his inner pocket and pressed play. An unfamiliar voice sounded from within.
“Is it recording?” It was the voice of a relatively older man.
“Yes, you can speak now,” said Huang Yi’s voice.
“Alright. Asking me to speak so suddenly… I actually don’t quite know what to say.” The male voice in the recorder thought for a moment. “Although we are technically in a hostile relationship, I believe personal debts should be kept separate. Thank you for the contributions the few of you have made in Yiri City. In my position, there are things I must do.”
“If I were given the choice again, I would still do the same thing. We must attack you; we must be your enemies. For now, just consider this the politics of us adults.”
“If there comes a day when I completely set down my responsibilities, I will apologize. I won’t go deeper into these disgusting topics.”
“I would like to once again thank you for your selfless, silent dedication.”
Yin Lin felt strange and asked, “Who is that?”
Huang Yi: “One of your greatest enemies in Yiri City.”
“Oh.” Yin Lin nodded. “And then? What do we do now?”
Huang Yi: “It’s over. Go do whatever you need to do.”
***
Having finally finished her business, she left the theater, only to suddenly notice that the theater door was half-open.
Huh? Was the door not closed when they arrived? She didn’t remember.
“Wait, let me get a photo! Miss Yin Lin!” Liang Tai chased after her from the audience seating area and called out to her.
She didn’t really dislike the guy. Yin Lin freed a hand to make a V-sign.
Due to the significant height difference with Liang Tai, he had to squat down to take the photo. They even exchanged contact information while they were at it.
Liang Tai was quite bold with his questions. He even hoped that in the future, when the magical girls went out on missions, she could give him some “backdoor” information so he could conveniently go there for a livestream.
“Since you love livestreaming so much, why didn’t you become a reporter?” Yin Lin asked him.
“I switched to being an anchor from being a reporter.” Liang Tai fell into a memory that wasn’t particularly pleasant.
Yin Lin didn’t bother to pry.
Just as she was about to leave, Liang Tai suddenly mentioned something else. “Right, I have a few small questions… that… don’t you have other styles of uniforms? I remember other magical girls have changed their uniforms before.”
Yin Lin: “No. It’s probably because our abilities aren’t good enough. Why?”
Liang Tai’s expression became serious. “It’s like this. I noticed some problems while I was doing my livestreams. It’s your skirts… they’re too short. The frequency of wardrobe malfunctions is too high. It makes things difficult when I’m streaming, and it’s easy for my channel to get banned. The magical girls wearing tights are fine, but magical girls like you, who don’t wear tights or safety pants, keep getting my stream warned.”
“Uh.” Hearing this, Yin Lin quickly pressed down on the hem of her skirt. “Then why is your camera staring at people’s crotches?”
Liang Tai: “No, it’s because your skirts are too light. As soon as the wind blows, everything is visible. And the few of you love moving around so much; your movements are especially large. My livestream is the one that respects magical girls the most on the entire internet, but you guys make it very hard for me.”
Yin Lin: “Fine!”
She gave him a thumbs up.
Leaving the Grand Theater, there was no one outside.
Liang Tai’s shouting came again from behind: “Remember! Don’t flash anyone!”
Yin Lin gave him the middle finger and then pressed down on her skirt as she took off. She left the area and ascended into the high sky, specifically observing the skirt issue. The problem of accidental exposure was truly difficult to solve.
She couldn’t exactly stay on the ground forever. And even for the land-based elites, someone like Huan Hong was constantly flashing people.
Ultimately, there was something wrong with the person who designed the magical girl uniforms. Whether it was a long skirt or a short one, the very idea of fighting while wearing high heels was problematic. It was irrational.
Yin Lin, who was positioned as long-range fire support, was relatively okay. She didn’t need to run or engage in close-quarters combat with enemies. But she still felt there was a major problem with these magical girl uniforms that pursued aesthetics while sacrificing all practicality.
The next time she saw the Goddess of Contracts, she would have to bring up this issue again.
In a dark spot outside the Grand Theater, Luye watched her departing back and did not follow further.
Only after the silver-haired girl’s figure disappeared from her field of vision did she get into her car and leave the theater. Finally, she climbed a mountain and stood at the peak to feel the cool breeze, looking at the city’s myriad lights, thinking about who-knows-what.
***
At that moment, Song Wuli also returned home.
Looking at the trophies, Song Wuli fell into thought, pacing around the house over a dozen times without finding a suitable place for them. It felt like she needed to buy a display cabinet for the house.
After much deliberation, she finally placed them temporarily on the cabinet in the main hall.
Looking at the trophies, she felt a slight sense of pride in her heart. Before she knew it, almost three months had passed, and she had already accomplished so many incredible things.