Porcelain Moon wore a blue short skirt—one she had found while rummaging through her room, a casual outfit she used to wear often.
She really wasn’t used to wearing such a short skirt; it felt a bit revealing. The skirt had been a gift from someone else, and since she was too lazy to shop for clothes herself, she just made do with it.
She walked into the meeting room under the gaze of everyone present. Ma Xinyin gave her a gesture, signaling her to sit beside her.
“All right, everyone’s here. The meeting is officially starting,” Ma Xinyin announced.
Porcelain Moon scanned the crowd and noticed two unfamiliar faces.
“Old hag, who are those two?” Porcelain Moon whispered to Ma Xinyin.
“They’re reinforcements from another province.”
Ma Xinyin brought up a projection on the screen behind her. She stood and began to speak:
“The Magic Control Bureau of Zhonghe Province is one of the most important branches nationwide, so Headquarters pays special attention to us.”
“They have specially dispatched two A-class Magical Girls from Tianfu Province. They serve as both combat and training consultants and are also key forces here. Let me introduce them—this is Lei Mang, and this is Lan Xi.”
“They were trained by the Saint Li Group Headquarters in Tianfu Province and are highly skilled.”
***
However, only a few people greeted them warmly.
“Our chief instructor for this training is the returning S-Class Magical Girl, Porcelain Moon.”
“She is one of the original twelve S-Class Magical Girls of Hua Country, the strongest combat force in Zhonghe Province, and a battle-hardened veteran.”
Many cast her admiring looks.
“This training differs from our usual routines. To tackle new threats, we must adjust our strategies. Now, let Miss Lei Mang take it from here.”
“Why isn’t it me first?” Porcelain Moon was puzzled.
Ma Xinyin pressed Porcelain Moon back down as she stood, “Organize your thoughts first. Don’t embarrass yourself again by being speechless for half the time.”
“That was… just because I lacked experience!” Porcelain Moon protested.
Lei Mang rose to her feet.
Only then did Porcelain Moon notice she was wearing a Gothic Lolita dress, which wasn’t very eye-catching amid most Magical Girls’ bright and colorful outfits.
With sharp eyes, Lei Mang scrutinized the gathered Magical Girls. “The resurgence of Aberrant Beasts isn’t truly terrifying.”
“Hua Country has battled Aberrant Beasts for over twenty years, defeating countless varieties. But this upcoming Beast Tide conceals a deeper, more sinister threat. This is also why Headquarters sent me here.”
Lei Mang held a PPT remote, pressing a button to project a strange green image.
It was a photo taken with a faint night-vision device deep in the mountains. In the blurry image stood a shadowy black figure—upon closer inspection, it was a young woman.
“Higher-ups have lifted part of the confidentiality restrictions, so you can be informed—this photo was taken a week ago in a mountainous area of Shanglin County.”
“You may not know, but a few days prior, a military-led Aberrant Beast extermination took place there, with S-Class Magical Girl Luo Xi also participating.”
“Of course, you can’t conclude anything from just this photo. What you’ll see next is confidential—remember, do not leak it. The confidentiality ordinance takes effect from this moment.”
Lei Mang switched images. This time, it was a complex waveform graph.
She continued, “This is the magic power fluctuation record from an Aberrant Beast extermination operation five days ago in Baiyun County.”
“I believe professionals can already see the irregularities, but since you’re not experts, I’ll explain.”
Lei Mang used a laser pointer to highlight the largest waveform at the top of the chart. This massive waveform, compared to the others, looked like a mountain range.
“This is the magic power waveform of a Kingdom-Class Aberrant Beast—the Earth Dragon.”
She moved the laser pointer downward to a cluster of waveforms nestled like a river halfway up the Earth Dragon’s waveform.
“These are Duke-Class Aberrant Beasts’ magic power waveforms.”
Continuing down, she zoomed in on a densely packed collection of lines resembling a meadow at the mountain’s foot.
“These are Knight-Class or Soldier-Class Aberrant Beasts’ magic power fluctuations.”
Finally, Lei Mang fixed the pointer on a highlighted purple line initially hidden among numerous lower-level Aberrant Beast waveforms.
The line then exponentially surged to Duke-Class level, sustained for a while, before dropping and disappearing entirely.
“The magic power waveforms of Magical Girls fluctuate greatly. Judging by this line, it belongs to an A-class Magical Girl.”
“That could be one of the other Magical Girls here,” Lin Xing said.
“Do you think the technicians are all idiots like you? Every Magical Girl’s magic power fluctuation is unique.”
“By comparing the magic power fluctuations and intensities left in the space by different Magical Girls and excluding all identified waveforms, the remaining one must be from an unregistered Magical Girl,” Lei Mang explained as she switched to another image.
This image was the one Ma Xinyin had shown Porcelain Moon earlier: the magic power fluctuation of the unknown Magical Girl.
“This is the magic power trace left before the Magic Control Bureau’s Magical Girl intervention,” Lei Mang clarified.
“What does this mean!?” Bai Lingluo stood up excitedly.
“Heh…” Lei Mang sneered.
Ma Xinyin drew the conclusion. “All of this Aberrant Beast resurgence conspiracy comes from a mysterious nationwide Magical Girl organization.”
“Their membership is currently unknown, but their goal appears to be reviving Aberrant Beasts to exact revenge on society.”
Porcelain Moon stood up at just the right moment, cutting in as everyone sat in stunned silence. She took over the topic, “So, the target of our upcoming training is to fight Magical Girl-type enemies!”
“Normally, our operations focus on Aberrant Beasts, but this situation is very special.”
“Therefore, we will first conduct an internal combat exercise, splitting you trainees into two teams for an internal battle. Afterward, we will summarize our experiences and conduct targeted training.”
Ma Xinyin concluded, “Please keep this information confidential and prepare for training. The first exercise is tentatively scheduled to start in three days.”
And just like that, the brief meeting ended.
***
After the meeting, the Magical Girls once again surrounded Porcelain Moon…
“Porcelain Moon senpai, I want your autograph! I didn’t get one last time!” Chen Lisi said excitedly, pulling out a signature board and pen.
Porcelain Moon awkwardly couldn’t refuse, signing amid the circle of girls.
“Porcelain Moon senpai~”
A ticklish feeling crawled along her back… Porcelain Moon turned around and saw Ying Xian gently stroking her.
“Ah…” Porcelain Moon nearly had a PTSD moment from Ying Xian’s mysterious and desperate expression.
“Porcelain Moon senpai, do you have time later? Could you accompany me to sleep?” Ying Xian said calmly, uttering something extraordinary.
“No way!”
“Big Sister Ma, save me!”