The homeless man looked at him, then shrank into a corner, visibly scared.
Even the poor fear lunatics.
Song Wuli: “Brother, you’ve got it wrong.”
He hid the wand behind his back, not daring to let it show.
The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder from behind.
If he stayed any longer, he risked being exposed.
He approached the homeless man, who kept retreating.
Song Wuli picked up the man’s dirty spare coat and pants from the ground and put them on.
“I’ll borrow these for now. I’ll return them later.”
They stank, but he had to wear them.
Hiding the wand, he left the alley, first retrieving the clothes he’d dropped during his transformation.
He put them on, went back to find the homeless man, but the guy was gone.
No choice—he took the dirty clothes home, washing them out of kindness.
Lying on the sofa, with a few hours left before work, he could catch a quick nap.
A coughing sound came from nearby—it was Diamond, coughing up blood again.
The sound was worrying.
He asked about Diamond’s condition.
Now that he was a magical girl, a close partner, Diamond was willing to share more critical information.
Its injuries were fatal; its core was damaged, unable to absorb or generate magic to sustain itself.
Like Red A in FATE without a mana supply.
Diamond couldn’t solve this by contracting magical girls; it relied on its core to produce magic and maintain its existence.
With the core broken, it was running on residual magic.
It estimated it could last about 30 days.
Song Wuli recalled a detail: “When you forced me into that contract with the time stop, didn’t that use magic?”
Diamond smiled, dodging the question with a cute act.
Song Wuli pressed on: “Do I have a core? Like a soul gem or something?”
Diamond countered: “No. What’s a soul gem?”
Song Wuli tested: “I heard magical girls have something called a soul gem. As long as it’s intact, the body can regenerate and revive endlessly.”
Diamond: “Never heard of it.”
Song Wuli breathed a sigh of relief. Good—not that version of magical girl.
“But,” Diamond added, “if we’re talking about a core, the wand is kind of half a core. If a magical girl loses her wand, she can’t transform.”
Song Wuli: “What if it’s lost while I’m transformed?”
Diamond: “Hehe.”
It said nothing, but that said everything.
Song Wuli asked again: “What if the wand is destroyed?”
Diamond: “Theoretically, no method can destroy a wand. It’s the strongest thing in this world.”
Song Wuli: “By the way, what determines a magical girl’s appearance? Can I change it?”
Diamond: “Most people only undergo minor appearance changes when they become magical girls. They generally look like their original selves.”
Song Wuli: “And my case?”
Diamond: “Very rare.”
“You don’t say.”
Song Wuli continued: “Can I change my appearance?”
Diamond: “Nope.”
Song Wuli: “Come on, this body’s too short. It’s affecting my combat ability.”
Diamond: “No use haggling with me. The appearance can’t be changed.”
They discussed more basic magical girl knowledge afterward.
Song Wuli gained a deeper understanding.
After resting a few hours, he set an alarm for the morning, left for work, and left Diamond at home.
The wand?
After much thought, he decided to bring it, stashing it in a rarely used briefcase.
As he was about to leave, he thought the briefcase with just a wand looked too suspicious, so he stuffed some useless documents inside.
He stopped again, wrapped the wand in two pieces of clothing for extra concealment, then finally left.
He squeezed onto the subway, clocked in at the company at 8:58 a.m.
He greeted his colleagues.
“Brother Song, why the briefcase today?”
Song Wuli tensed: “Got a lot of documents.”
“Brother Song, why are you sweating? Is it hot outside?”
Song Wuli: “A bit.”
Clutching the briefcase, he sat down, found a spot to hide it, and started the day’s work.
He worked at a mobile game company as a copywriter in the infamous “Death Group,” Copywriting Team Two.
Why?
Because Team Two was full of talent.
Last year’s layoffs cut a copywriter who wrote “Mr. Shock,” a new character who stole the protagonist’s best friend—Team Two.
This year’s layoffs cut a “Formula Master” who wrote a viral catchphrase—also Team Two.
Team Two had many such talents, earning it the “Death Group” title.
Today, Song Wuli was distracted, scribbling on paper while pretending to work.
“Old Song, thinking of switching to the art team?”
A man’s voice came from behind.
Song Wuli quickly covered the paper: “No, just some personal hobbies.”
The man, Huang Yijun, 37, was the leader of Copywriting Team Two.
Huang Yijun: “You’re interested in… high heels?”
Song Wuli denied it: “No, no, I’m interested in drawing.”
The paper showed a sketch of high heels. He was thinking about shoes that could add height while being stable for running.
Huang Yijun: “Relaxing is fine, but don’t slack off at work.”
He patted Song Wuli’s shoulder—a small warning for slacking.
Pointing to a group of young colleagues huddled together, he said, “Look at them. Young people have energy.”
Song Wuli: “What are they doing?”
Huang Yijun: “They’re working on an NPC profile, someone named Shao Hao, I think. Seeing their enthusiasm, I’m looking forward to their results. Anyway, Old Song, learn from the youngsters.”
Song Wuli nodded and got back to work.
During lunch break, Copywriting Team Two split into groups.
The young folks grouped together, and the older ones did too.
The “old man” group had three: Huang Yijun, Song Wuli, and another colleague.
They sat in the cafeteria, eating and gossiping.
Top topic?
The earth-shattering explosion from last night.
“Me?” Song Wuli tensed. “I was asleep at midnight. Don’t know anything.”
Huang Yijun pulled out his phone, showing a video someone filmed, eagerly explaining the midnight events.
The video, shot from a high-rise, showed a beam piercing the night sky, blasting through a skyscraper, soaring into the clouds, and exploding like a nuke.
The thick clouds were blown away, revealing a starry sky.
Romantic!
That’s how Huang Yijun described it.
He opened another video, filmed that morning at the skyscraper with a gaping hole—now a viral check-in spot.
Thankfully, no one was hurt.
Another video, shot from afar with a telephoto lens, zoomed in on the culprit.
A silver-haired girl, barefoot, holding a staff, preparing to fire from a magic circle.
Her delicate features and petite figure created a stunning scene.
“Damn! I want to stuff my balls in there!”
Huang Yijun clenched his fist, enraptured.
“Gross. Can you not be so sleazy? People like you are why 2D fans get a bad rep,” Song Wuli snapped.