Chapter 5: Sudden Incident

Overtime.

Endless overtime once again.

Waves of fatigue rolled through her body, and the heavy weight of her eyelids silently reminded Su Bai that she should have rested long ago.

“Gulp gulp—.”

She poured another large mouthful of iced Americano down her throat, then took a bite of the small bread on the desk.

She tried to use this bit of calories and caffeine to pull herself together.

Her fingertips once more fell onto the keyboard as she continued working.

Outside the window the sky had long since turned completely black.

The night was like a lump of ink that refused to dissolve, wrapping the entire city.

In the vast office, only her figure remained.

The “da-da” of the keyboard echoed repeatedly through the silent hall and corridor, sounding especially clear and especially lonely.

This was already her tenth consecutive day of overtime without rest.

Yet today’s workload did not seem as heavy as the previous days.

It was not even eight o’clock yet, and the work was nearly finished.

When I was a magical girl I was a senior veteran, but as a clerk I’m still a complete novice. Low efficiency is only natural. Spending a little more time is fine.

Su Bai smiled self-mockingly in her heart, yet the movement of her fingertips never stopped.

Facing this clearly abnormal mountain of work, she showed no complaint, as if everything were only natural.

Thinking carefully made it easy to understand.

Apart from work, what else could she do?

Going online only meant seeing a pile of people launching online violence against her.

She had no friends to play games with.

She did not even have a single proper person she could confide in.

Of course, maybe… maybe she could try making friends again.

Maybe she could try contacting new things.

Maybe she could cultivate new hobbies, and then everything could start over again… right?

And then what?

And then it would be just like last time…

That heavy rain that had completely soaked her through, those icy gazes from the teammates who had once stood side by side with her, and that endless tide of questioning and mockery.

From that moment on, Su Bai felt her thoughts had become a tangled mess.

She no longer had the strength to distinguish right from wrong.

Was it power?

Or the belief in saving others?

Or perhaps…

“Love”?

No.

She herself did not know.

It was as blurred as that ID card embedded in the muddy ground.

And now, she only wanted to “lie flat and rot.”

Just keep repeating work that was more or less the same every day, then return to that tiny rented room to sleep after getting off work.

Never try anything new again.

Just keep cycling like this day after day.

That would be enough.

At least this way, she could stay alive.

Staying alive was her only goal now.

It was also what “that person” had once told her in the past…

At this point in her memories, Su Bai suddenly shook her head hard, as if trying to fling these surging thoughts out of her mind.

After becoming a girl, I’ve really become more and more sentimental.

She let out a soft sigh, propped her forehead with one hand, and cast her gaze out the window.

Outside the building, the nightlife of the bustling metropolis was only just beginning.

Neon lights lit up one after another.

Streams of cars formed a golden river.

Faint noise drifted over from the distant bar street.

Yet in the corner of the floor-to-ceiling window that her eyes had never noticed, a crow stood quietly on the windowsill.

Its feathers shone with an oily luster in the night, yet its pair of eyes was especially eerie.

Those eyes did not resemble the eyes of a bird.

Instead they looked like the compound eyes of an insect.

Among the dense patterns, there was even a trace of human coldness.

Under the dim light, those eyes faintly flickered with a dark purple glow as they stared fixedly at the overtime figure inside the office, as if waiting for something.

***

“Su Bai, come to my office.”

The moment work started the next day, the supervisor called her over.

Unlike previous days, she did not shout and yell as usual.

Her tone even carried a rare calmness as she simply and lightly called her over.

Su Bai froze for a moment, a sudden jolt in her heart.

Did she take the wrong medicine today? The way she looked at me just now was actually pretty polite?

Filled with confusion, she still pushed open the door of the supervisor’s office as instructed.

The moment she entered, she froze.

The supervisor who normally sat behind the desk with her head held high, ordering Su Bai around at will, was now standing respectfully to the side.

Her back was ramrod straight, and she did not even dare to breathe heavily.

On the main seat that symbolized power sat another person.

“Miss Su, I’m very glad we meet again.”

The woman sitting in the chair was precisely the association representative who had publicly announced the stripping of her magical girl identity that day in the wilderness—perhaps she should now be called the special commissioner.

At this moment she had her arms crossed, her entire body leaning lazily against the boss’s chair.

A faint smile hung at the corners of her mouth, yet her eyes held undisguised disdain as they fell straight onto Su Bai.

Su Bai’s breathing suddenly stalled.

Her heart clenched tightly.

This atmosphere made the combat instincts she had honed for years on the edge of life and death scream frantically in warning.

Every hair on her body stood up subconsciously.

“L-Leader, is there something you need?” She forcibly suppressed the unease in her heart, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor.

“Hahahaha—” The special commissioner suddenly laughed, the sound full of mockery.

“I never expected that the former ace of our association would be this timid when facing an ‘ordinary person’ like me.”

Su Bai awkwardly scratched her face, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

“All right, the joke ends here. Time to talk business.” The special commissioner restrained her smile, her tone suddenly turning serious.

“Su Bai, on behalf of the association I formally notify you that you have been promoted. From now on you no longer need to stay in this department.”

?

Su Bai was completely stunned, her eyes widening into circles.

She had only been in this department for a short time.

Apart from burying her head in work every day she had almost done nothing.

How could she suddenly be promoted?

“Don’t believe it?” The special commissioner raised an eyebrow and gave a cold laugh, then clapped her hands and spoke toward the doorway.

“You may come in, Miss [Green Vine].”

The moment the words fell, a strange fluctuation suddenly rose in the air at the previously empty office doorway.

It was like a pebble being dropped into calm water.

The surrounding light began to distort and refract violently, forming blurry ripples.

A moment later, a figure slowly appeared from within that distorted light and shadow.

It was a young girl with long green hair, wearing a lace-trimmed dress in pink, green, and white.

Delicate vine patterns were embroidered on the hem of the skirt.

This was the magical girl [Green Vine], one of her “former teammates.”

She walked into the office and merely gave Su Bai a light glance, no emotion visible in her eyes.

Then she silently stood beside the special commissioner and took out an exquisite wooden box from the small bag she carried.

She opened the box.

Inside lay a jade bracelet of pure, translucent jade.

Fine patterns were carved into the surface of the bracelet, with faint light flowing through them.

“I trust there’s no need for me to introduce this item.” The special commissioner raised her chin slightly, gesturing for Su Bai to look at the bracelet.

Su Bai’s pupils suddenly contracted.

That was a magical girl’s transformation device.

Yet the magical fluctuations it emitted were greatly different from ordinary transformation devices, as if it had undergone some kind of special treatment.

“You’re giving this to me? What exactly is your goal?” Her voice was tight, her palms faintly sweating.