“Truly incredible!” said the nurse attending Porcelain Moon.
The doctor with thick glasses repeatedly examined the test report, pushing up his glasses—he had done this four times already.
It seemed he had never encountered a case involving a Magical Girl before.
“The body of a Magical Girl is simply miraculous,” he said.
“Magical Girl, your body has fully recovered,” the doctor continued. “Are you feeling any discomfort now?”
“Probably not?” Porcelain Moon replied.
“You can be discharged today.”
Porcelain Moon tore off her bandages, revealing her snow-white skin, making the nurse beside her envious.
After changing into her regular clothes, Porcelain Moon walked out of Jingan Central Hospital.
The Magic Control Bureau was not far—less than a few kilometers away—and she headed toward it.
Along the way, many people stared at this beautiful white-haired girl, but none dared to approach her, suspecting she was a Magical Girl.
After all, Magical Girls were not to be trifled with, whether from a practical standpoint or a legal one.
She arrived again in front of the Magic Control Bureau, but this time in the identity of a Magical Girl.
As soon as she stepped through the entrance, many people stepped aside for her, avoiding conversation.
The people inside the bureau recognized this famous S-Class Magical Girl—ordinary people wouldn’t dare linger in front of an S-Class Magical Girl.
After all, some S-Class Magical Girls had… less-than-stellar reputations.
Taking the elevator, she noticed the girl who had ridden with her a few days ago was also there. What a coincidence.
Porcelain Moon had planned to strike up a conversation, but just as she was about to speak, she realized she was still in her Magical Girl form.
The other girl looked even more shy than before, which was understandable.
“You’re from the Logistics Department, little sister?”
Hearing Porcelain Moon’s voice, the girl’s clothes were already soaked with sweat.
“Porcelain Moon-sama, I… I am from the Logistics Department,” she stammered, trembling with cold sweat.
Though she didn’t want to torment the cute girl, Porcelain Moon changed her mind—maybe she could give herself some publicity.
“Do you know why I know your name? A handsome guy told me he also met you in the elevator a few days ago. He was really impressed. I think his name was… Luo Zhizhou something. That guy’s pretty nice, don’t miss your chance.” Porcelain Moon shamelessly said, her thick skin holding firm.
The girl’s expression turned incredulous. “Really? Porcelain Moon-sama actually likes guys like that?”
It seemed she was definitely falling for me, Luo Zhizhou, Porcelain Moon fantasized. Well, having a few fans wasn’t too much trouble~
Snapping back to reality, the girl had already left the elevator.
The familiar “Ding Dong…” sounded again as Porcelain Moon arrived on the 129th floor—the office floor of Ma Xinyin.
Unlike the busy floors, this one was sparsely populated and coldly quiet.
Following the path from memory, Porcelain Moon knocked on a large door at the end of the corridor.
“Come in.”
Porcelain Moon pushed the door open and entered. Ma Xinyin was busy working at her desk.
“Oh? Porcelain Moon, you’ve been discharged? Is your injury fully healed?” Ma Xinyin stopped working upon seeing her.
“I’m fine. I recovered pretty fast.”
“Really? Come here, let me see.”
“No way.”
“You’re such a stubborn one. Alright, let’s get down to business.”
Ma Xinyin stood up, having sat for too long, stretching lazily.
She then walked to a corner, where she triggered some unknown mechanism behind her back. The surrounding glass windows darkened, and the automatic blinds closed.
The entire room was sealed off, not a sound could escape.
“There’s one thing—I only trust you with this,” Ma Xinyin said, making Porcelain Moon a bit nervous.
“What is it?”
“Don’t play dumb. I showed you the data that day.”
“The magic power fluctuation?”
Ma Xinyin took out a paper file, exactly like the one Porcelain Moon had seen a few days ago.
“I think you’re not dumb enough to fail to recognize what it means. Let’s talk about what you found underground.”
In this sealed room, every sound was unusually clear, including Porcelain Moon’s own heartbeat.
Once assured no information would leak, Porcelain Moon shared her theory.
“The ones controlling the Aberrant Beasts—they are Magical Girls. I can’t be wrong about that magic pattern.”
Porcelain Moon finally voiced her long-held suspicion.
When humans and Aberrant Beasts use magic, they leave gravitational wave fluctuations in space.
Through Gravity Wave Radar, the traces of these fluctuations—called magic patterns—can be depicted.
Magical Girls and Aberrant Beasts have very distinct magic patterns. Magical Girls’ patterns are delicate, like the traces left by a complex machine running on sand.
Aberrant Beasts’ magic patterns are coarse and lack detail.
Different Magical Girls leave different magic patterns, allowing identification of individuals; Aberrant Beasts work the same way.
“My underground encounter confirmed my suspicion—I encountered something like a Magical Girl.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Dream Realm—that’s what the other side called it. When I became a Magical Girl, I also entered a so-called Dream Realm. I don’t quite understand the term. It might be a trait every Magical Girl has, but I don’t know how to trigger it.”
“Wait, I think I’ve heard something similar before, but it was a long time ago. Let me check the archives.”
Ma Xinyin rummaged through a filing cabinet for a while and pulled out a yellowed document.
It was dated fifteen years ago.
“Of course, there are more such records. Most have been sealed at the headquarters in the capital. I checked the confidentiality level—it’s very high but has recently been downgraded.”
She skimmed the document and said, “The subject unknowingly triggered some condition, briefly entering a miraculous consciousness space.”
“In that space, they could seemingly sense the thoughts and feelings of Aberrant Beasts, but the subject’s consciousness suffered significant damage afterward and soon became a vegetable.”
“That sounds similar to my experience, but it seems more complicated than it appears,” Porcelain Moon pondered.
“Could the organization controlling the Aberrant Beasts be skilled in this psychic domain? Using this miraculous ability to control Aberrant Beasts—and even harm Magical Girls—is extremely dangerous and seriously threatens social stability,” Ma Xinyin said, swallowing nervously. “I’m very scared.”
“This is indeed a grave matter…”
“No! It’s not that simple.” Ma Xinyin’s tone became firm.
“The enemy is a Magical Girl, which means there’s a possibility of infiltration within the Magic Control Bureau.”
“If it were just rogue Magical Girls outside the Bureau, it’d be manageable, but almost all Magical Girls are Bureau personnel.”
“To arrange something on that scale, one or two Magical Girls wouldn’t be enough. They must be organized.”
Ma Xinyin looked a bit flustered. “What should we do?”
“Alright, Ma Xinyin, just report this to headquarters. There will be people assigned to handle it,” Porcelain Moon said, though she secretly doubted whether those people could actually manage it.
“Headquarters already knows about this. Well, worrying won’t help now; there will be a solution. Let’s talk about something else.”
Ma Xinyin pressed a button, and the room returned to normal, sunlight streaming in again.
“Let’s talk about your return. To face the possible crises ahead, as Zhonghe Province’s strongest Magical Girl, you should be stationed at the headquarters to handle any emergencies,” Ma Xinyin said.
Porcelain Moon scratched her head. “But I still have a job…”
“That job? Forget it. How much can you really make? Isn’t your car wrecked? How about this: I’ll triple your usual salary—twenty to thirty thousand a month. You won’t refuse, right?”
Ma Xinyin almost laughed out loud, knowing Porcelain Moon’s personality.
“When do I get paid?” Porcelain Moon said decisively.
“Don’t rush. Let’s discuss other things first.” Ma Xinyin took out a list.
“What’s that?”
“I happen to have a group of outstanding newcomers who need an instructor. It’s hard to find someone with enough practical experience, and you’re just the one.”
“Get lost. Porcelain Moon doesn’t want to be stuck with such a troublesome task.”
“Salary increase of five thousand.”
“Give me the list of trainees.”
Ma Xinyin handed over the list. Porcelain Moon flipped through it and recognized many familiar names.
“Ma big sister, I have a request.”
“What request?”
“I want to stay in the Bureau under a male identity and have a position. I really dislike communicating as a woman. It’s been years, and I’m not used to it at all.”
“You really want to earn two salaries, don’t you?”
“You saw right through me…”
Ma Xinyin laughed, holding her forehead. “Alright, alright. Fine, I’ll agree. How about a janitor’s position?”
“No, I don’t want hard labor.”
“You really know how to push your luck. Fine, it’s up to you. The Logistics Department is short-staffed. You can be a clerk handling statistics, with full benefits, weekends off, eight to five hours.”
“Plus, the position doesn’t matter much whether you’re there or not. How about that? Oh, and I’ll specially grant you access to the Magical Girl floor. I’m being generous, right?”
“Ma big sister is my benefactor; I will follow you for life,” Porcelain Moon said, clasping her hands together and bowing.