“201 Position, are you still alive? Respond if received… Reinforcements will arrive in two hours. Please hold the position until then… Can you hear me?”
No response.
Xu Tianhao was dead. Wang Zhiyi was dead as well.
Their bodies had been completely obliterated, vaporized by high-velocity particle beams.
Luo Zhizhou clutched an assault rifle, crawling painfully on the ground, trying to evade the magical cannon’s assault.
He spat out a mouthful of dust, feeling utterly parched as if his whole body had turned to desert.
Quan Xing.
Dust and yellow sand whipped up by the explosions filled the air, obscuring the terrifying creatures hiding within.
“Squad Leader! Squad Leader? Where are you?” He spat out the dirt from his mouth and shouted loudly.
Only a few soldier-class aberrant beasts responded, attacking him, but he managed to take them down.
In the distance, a sharp roaring sound continued—high-energy particle beams ionizing the air and causing thunderous detonations.
Bai Lingyi was still fighting—against that damn Duke-Class beast.
A B-Class Magical Girl was no match for a Duke-Class creature; it would take multiple A-Class Magical Girls or a Heavy Armored Synthetic Brigade to handle one.
Yet Bai Lingyi persevered. Though Luo Zhizhou couldn’t see the fight clearly, he could imagine its ferocity was no less than brutal.
Inspired by Bai Lingyi’s indomitable spirit, Luo Zhizhou refused to give up. He climbed onto a small rise, attempting to locate the scattered infantry squad members.
He found the squad leader, Zeng Tianle, half-buried in the earth.
“Squad Leader! Squad Leader! Are you still alive?”
Zeng Tianle was barely conscious but still breathing.
Hearing Luo Zhizhou’s voice, Zeng Tianle stirred from unconsciousness.
“Xiao Luo, run… don’t bother with me, don’t bother with the position…”
“No, Squad Leader, I’m pulling you out!” Luo Zhizhou hugged Zeng Tianle’s bleeding body, trying to drag him free from the dirt.
“Don’t… care about me… with that Magical Girl, survive… you… are… the hope…” He closed his eyes.
Zeng Tianle was dead too, lost to excessive blood loss.
Tears dripped from Luo Zhizhou onto the squad leader’s wounds, mixing with his blood.
“No… I’m going to avenge the beasts!”
Luo Zhizhou pulled out unused magazines and two grenades from Zeng Tianle’s tactical vest and continued searching for the remaining comrades.
He came upon a temporary artillery position, camouflaged with a tarp. A faint metallic scent of blood wafted from within.
Jiang Lianxi lay dead beside the field artillery piece, his limbs wrapped in bandages, but blood still seeped through relentlessly…
Doctors cannot heal themselves.
Suppressing nausea, Luo Zhizhou took several bottles of ibuprofen and antibiotics from his body.
Soon flies and maggots would consume the corpse entirely.
Luo Zhizhou left the small grave formed by the tent.
“Luo Zhizhou! Can you hear me?” Liu Lancheng’s voice came through what Luo Zhizhou thought was a broken radio.
“Deputy Squad Leader, I hear you.”
“Come to Position Five. We’ll regroup there.”
“Roger.”
Luo Zhizhou cleared small aberrant beasts along the way and arrived at the designated rendezvous point.
It was a concrete machine gun fortification, but a large hole had been blasted through it.
Ma Gaoxian was there as well.
“They’re all dead. It’s just us left…” Luo Zhizhou said despondently.
“We’re going to get revenge.” Ma Gaoxian lit a cigarette. Behind him were bundles of explosives, but he paid them no mind.
“See that Count-class beast ahead, Xiao Luo?” Liu Lancheng asked Luo Zhizhou.
“What are you planning to do!?” Luo Zhizhou exclaimed.
“Go down with it.” Ma Gaoxian answered flatly, but hatred naturally surfaced on his face.
Liu Lancheng brought out a machine gun from the basement. “Luo Zhizhou, here’s a Type 89. Take it and cover us two. Clear out any small beasts interfering with us.”
“Then, once that Count-class beast blows up, you run. Don’t stop. Survive. You’re the youngest among us. It’d be a waste if you died.” Liu Lancheng set up the machine gun and patted Luo Zhizhou’s shoulder.
“No, I can’t agree to this plan!” Luo Zhizhou clenched his fists. “At least… take me with you!” His eyes were red from crying, bloodshot all over.
“Enough, Luo Zhizhou! Follow orders! Zeng Tianle is dead. I’m the acting squad leader now. You cannot disobey me!” Liu Lancheng grabbed Luo Zhizhou’s collar and shouted angrily.
“Alright, alright, you two. If you delay any longer, there won’t be a chance. Let’s go, Liu Lancheng.” Ma Gaoxian strapped an explosive to his chest and tied the others tightly around his body.
“I’m coming too.” Luo Zhizhou stepped forward, wanting to follow.
“Get lost!” Ma Gaoxian pulled out a revolver and aimed it at him. “One more step, and I’ll shoot your leg off. That way, you won’t survive either. Satisfied!?”
“But…” Luo Zhizhou had no words.
He could only watch as they walked step by step toward certain death.
“Have you not heard the hardship of the battlefield? To this day, I still remember General Li…”
Luo Zhizhou’s hands trembled, unable to hold the machine gun.
Watching his comrades march toward the invincible behemoth, a deep despair rose from his heart.
“Get down.” Liu Lancheng ordered.
“No need to tell me.” Ma Gaoxian could only lie on the ground, his body weighed down by the explosives on his chest.
“We agreed, I’ll draw its attention first. You run under its legs and detonate the explosives.”
“I’m already a dead man. Don’t have to tell me, I’ll die anyway.” Ma Gaoxian took a final drag of his cigarette. Then, he threw the lighter away.
Bullets whizzed overhead—Luo Zhizhou was clearing small beasts from their path.
“All right, move!” Liu Lancheng sprang up and fired a grenade at the Count-class beast.
The beast’s four legs supported its massive body. The grenade struck it, nearly knocking it off balance.
It was clear it had noticed Liu Lancheng.
Ma Gaoxian seized the moment, sprinting beneath its legs.
“Come and get me, you damn beast!” Liu Lancheng fired continuously.
Then, the magical cannon struck him down.
The shot had barely charged, leaving behind only a charred corpse.
Ma Gaoxian finally reached under the beast and pulled the detonation cord.
“Die, hahahaha!”
A blinding light erupted from his body…
Ten kilograms of high explosives were hardly enough to kill a Count-class beast, but luck was on their side. The charge detonated at the beast’s weakest point, and the shrapnel pierced its Monster Core…
It collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Luo Zhizhou stared at the billowing smoke, stunned.
When he came to, who knew how much time had passed.
He needed to find Bai Lingyi.
So he left, running toward the distant flickering light.
The sky began to drizzle.
When he reached the place, the ground was already muddy and difficult to walk on.
Then, he saw her.
Covered in mud from head to toe, like a dust-covered wilted flower.
A fallen angel with broken wings.
Luo Zhizhou’s feet sank deeply into the mire as he struggled forward, step by step, toward Bai Lingyi.
He saw her stained with blood, filthy and worn.
“Bai Lingyi!” Luo Zhizhou shouted.
But she had no strength left to respond.
He hurried to her side and lifted her from the swamp.
Seeing Bai Lingyi in obvious pain tore at Luo Zhizhou’s heart.
Her pale lips moved faintly, as if trying to say something. Her hand reached into her chest and pulled out a glowing object—that was her Magical Core, radiating multicolored light, dreamy and brilliant.
Luo Zhizhou felt the earth tremble—the Duke-Class aberrant beast was approaching…
“Hurry…” Bai Lingyi whispered with all her might.
No… I can’t accept this…
For some unknown reason—perhaps coincidence, despair, or a desperate yearning for love and to be loved—Luo Zhizhou grasped her Magical Core and kissed Bai Lingyi.
That kiss changed everything.
The most incredible moment of Luo Zhizhou’s life—time seemed to freeze. The Magical Core reacted, beginning to transform and grow.
Eventually, it enveloped the small space.
Light broke through the sky; the dark clouds dispersed, and the swampy ground turned into pure white marble.
White Crystalline Flowers bloomed all around.
“Bai Lingyi…?” The girl in Luo Zhizhou’s arms was gone.
He turned and saw a pure white palace rising from the ground…
The grand doors stood slightly open, as if welcoming him inside.
Luo Zhizhou entered the magnificent palace. Inside was spacious and bright. To his surprise, beneath the transparent floor was a blue sky, much like the dreams he had as a child.
At the center of the palace floated a mysterious high-dimensional polyhedron. Luo Zhizhou recognized it—it was Bai Lingyi’s Magical Core.
He reached out to touch it, and a flood of memories entered his mind…
“Bai Lingyi,” a stern voice said.
“Why did you want to become a Magical Girl? The battlefield isn’t a joke—it’s deadly. You’re my only daughter. I cannot accept such a risk.”
“Father, I’ve already made my decision. You have no right to stop me from going to the front.”
“Hmph…” The tall figure approached.
“Then you’re now a soldier. In my army, you must obey my orders.”
“I’m a Magical Girl, not a soldier.”
“What’s the difference? In wartime, you obey your superiors. Under my command, you will follow my orders. If I say retreat, you retreat—no pointless sacrifices.”
“What if behind me are defenseless people, and there’s no way back? Would you let me keep retreating then?”
He fell silent, clenching his fist and punching the air. Then he said, “You are as important to me as they are. That’s all I can say. Because there’s never such a thing as a necessary sacrifice…”
The memory ended there.
“Mr. Luo Zhizhou.”
Her voice came from behind. Luo Zhizhou spun around.
She wore a beautiful Crystal Dress, adorned with silver-white Crystalline Flowers that shimmered brilliantly.
“Bai Lingyi!? You’re alive?”
“Yes, but I don’t have long. This small space is the limit I can maintain.”
“Where… is this place?”
Bai Lingyi reached out and took Luo Zhizhou’s hand, leading him elsewhere.
“This is my Mind Domain. Time here flows at a thousandth of the outside speed. You came in two days ago, but I’ve been trapped here since then.”
“Why does such a space exist?”
“I don’t know,” Bai Lingyi answered, guiding Luo Zhizhou to a fountain. “When I was little, I loved fountains. I played at one every day. So here, there’s one just like it.”
“Look here.” She led him to a small pond. “I love clear ponds where I can watch fish swim.” She scooped up some water. “It feels real—cool and fresh.”
Luo Zhizhou came to the edge and saw many colorful goldfish beneath the water.
“This is exactly like the real world.” Luo Zhizhou marveled.
“No, it’s even better. As long as I want—” Bai Lingyi opened her palm, and a small cake appeared. “I can create anything.”
“Incredible.”
“But all this costs my mental energy. Just maintaining this two to three square kilometer space drains me heavily. Even thinking is hard now.”
Luo Zhizhou looked around again. “This is your Mind Domain, then why am I here?”
“I don’t know. Maybe my Magical Core accepted you.”
Bai Lingyi squeezed Luo Zhizhou’s hand again, wet with a strange warmth. She looked at him tenderly.
“I… just saw your memories.” Luo Zhizhou said.
“Don’t look at those things. My past isn’t beautiful at all.”
“No, Bai Lingyi, I want to ask why you became a Magical Girl? And why you fight enemies far stronger than you? You should have survived…”
Bai Lingyi smiled that beautiful smile.
“I told you yesterday. Mr. Luo Zhizhou, aren’t you the same? To protect those you care about, you become a warrior who stands tall. But I’m dying. You still have a chance to live. No, you must live.”
Bai Lingyi leaned close, placing her hand over his chest.
“I can’t escape; outside is a swamp.”
Her expression grew sorrowful. “I don’t want this to be the ending. I wish only I’d die.”
“But your father…”
“I’ve told my father. I know this day would come. Also, your sister is an even bigger loss.”
“I owe her.”
Luo Zhizhou turned away, unwilling to show his shame. But Bai Lingyi cupped his face and turned him back.
“Look at me. Since the ending cannot be changed, let’s enjoy this last time.”
Bai Lingyi kissed him.
“You…” Luo Zhizhou was at a loss for words.
“You kissed me outside, didn’t you? What’s wrong with this one?” Bai Lingyi laughed again.
They embraced deeply.
***
One week later, Luo Zhizhou reached the edge of the Dream Realm and saw purple-black matter encroaching from beyond this isolated island, slowly consuming the space.
“Is that… some form of aberrant beast?”
Bai Lingyi came up behind him, leaning close.
“I sense these are connected to the beasts. I’ve tried to isolate them, but my strength is fading. I can barely hold on.”
Her voice grew weaker, only audible at close range.
The small space began to deteriorate; the marble floor cracked, and the pure white palace crumbled. Stone pillars shattered with ominous sounds, ready to collapse at any moment.
In a corner, purple-black liquid seeped continuously.
“Luo Zhizhou, do you like playing Go?”
“I’ve only ever played Gomoku, so I don’t know Go’s rules.”
“Then let’s play Gomoku. Loser must grant my request.”
“Swallow.”
“Swallow.”
“I won! Luo Zhizhou, give me a kiss!”
“Swallow.”
“No, that kiss lacked sincerity. Again.”
“Swallow.”
“I like you.”
“I like you too.”
“Luo Zhizhou, let’s see who can jump farther!”
“What kind of contest is that?”
“Come on~”
“All right then.”
“Hehe.”
“No, how can you fly?”
“Because in my Dream Realm, I can do whatever I want~ So, you lose again. The punishment is—hug me!”
“We’ve hugged so many times these past two days, fine, I’ll indulge you again.”
“Pant… Pant… Luo Zhizhou, I’m barely holding on.”
“Don’t push yourself. Shrink the Mind Domain.”
“No, at the end, I want to hold a grand ceremony.”
“Why are you still thinking about this now…”
“Can’t help it. After all, humans are creatures who pursue romance.”
The final moment came. Luo Zhizhou stood before her as she lay in a white coffin, clutching her Magical Core, its glow now very faint.
“Even your coffin is white. You really do love white.”
“Because white represents purity and justice.”
She had told him that before.
The marble floor shattered completely, and lilies sprouted wildly in the cracks, filling the shrinking space of just over forty square meters.
Bai Lingyi’s last words were, “I love you.”
“It’s time for my own ending…”
As the Dream Realm shattered, reality approached.
Luo Zhizhou could faintly see the massive form of the aberrant beast.
The Magical Core pulsed one last time, as if beckoning Luo Zhizhou to touch it.
He stretched out a trembling hand and, at the boundary of dream and reality, grasped her hand again—was it the dream’s or reality’s? He couldn’t tell.
Then, the Magical Core burst with brilliant light, illuminating the world.
“Carry your sorrow and resolve in your heart, and move forward!”
This was…
Luo Zhizhou felt his body undergo a drastic transformation. In an instant, the Magical Core merged deep within him, and he became like her.
When the light faded, he was back in reality.
White hair cascaded down, falling over her forehead. In his arms lay an ordinary girl with black hair, just like any other ordinary girl Luo Zhizhou had ever seen.
She was dead.
But Luo Zhizhou had become her Magical Girl form.
“So this is what it feels like to have a girl’s body…”
Before Luo Zhizhou could adjust, the Duke-Class flying aberrant beast with four wings swept down from the sky.
Holding Bai Lingyi’s corpse, Luo Zhizhou leapt away from the muddy swamp to dodge the beast’s attack, jumping over ten meters in a single bound.
“So this is what flying feels like.”
Gently setting her body down, Luo Zhizhou soared into the air.
Her military uniform had transformed into Bai Lingyi’s Crystal Dress from the Dream Realm.
But Luo Zhizhou hadn’t fully mastered flight yet. When the flying aberrant beast lunged again, she struggled to evade.
She was pierced in the abdomen midair, then slammed hard onto the ground, sending mud flying everywhere.
Luo Zhizhou writhed in pain, but a surge of power from the Magical Core burst forth…
White crystals rapidly formed on the pierced wound. The crystals spread, shooting out spikes that burst up beneath the beast’s feet.
Before it could react, the beast was impaled through and through by the sudden crystalline spikes.
Then Luo Zhizhou closed her eyes from pain and excessive blood loss.
The heavy rain continued for a long time.