Chapter 127: Train me Ruthlessly

“Oh? You mean the witch?”
Manager Qian slightly tilted his head back and slowly exhaled a puff of harsh, spicy smoke toward the ceiling.

In those perpetually half-squinted eyes of his, a faintly complicated emotion flickered—something like regret… mixed with a kind of memory he’d rather not recall.

“‘Witch’… heh. That’s not exactly a pleasant word, Xiao Lin.”

He flicked the ashes into the crystal ashtray and continued, his voice much deeper than usual:

“You probably don’t know this, but the subspace is essentially a boiling cauldron of chaos. To safely harness its power, our company has always taken the most conservative approach—we only dare extract the stable, pure, positive emotional energy filled with ‘love.’”

“But even so, a battlefield is never a dinner party. When magical girls fight those pollutants, it’s impossible not to come in contact with filthy power.”

“Every battle, every clash of spiritual energy, is a gamble.
If you’re tired… if you slip up… if you make even a tiny mistake—those negative emotions representing filth, lust, brutality, deceit… they’ll find a crack, and seep in silently.”

“When chaotic energy completely drowns the purity of your soul, the girl who once protected Shin-Kai City becomes its most terrifying pollutant… That is what we call a ‘Witch.’”

“And a witch is far, far more dangerous than an ordinary human pollutant.”

Lin Yuxi momentarily forgot to breathe.

“No wonder the Zero Division reacted so strongly back then…
So the Deep Sea who protected me really did shoulder a massive amount of pressure.”

“Oh right, speaking of this—”
Manager Qian suddenly remembered something.

“Remember what I mentioned to you before—”

Lin Yuxi blinked.
“You mean the Witch’s Training Manual?”

Manager Qian snapped his fingers.
“Exactly! To be honest, back in the primitive era when the ‘Magical Girl Development Project’ had just begun, our tech wasn’t nearly as fancy as it is now.”

“Magical girls back then were basically walking armories.”

“For every mission, they had to lug around piles of heavy firearms… It looked like they were going to fight the Vietnam War.”

“Until later… when we witnessed the fallen witches.”

“We saw their unbelievable power.”

“So we gathered their combat data, analyzed how they twisted and weaved spiritual energy into horrifying forms beyond our imagination… and through countless simulations and reverse-engineering, we finally created the Witch’s Training Manual.”

“But even after pulling every trick we had, the skills in that manual are still inferior to what real witches can do.”

His cigarette was almost finished. He crushed the butt in the ashtray and looked helpless.

“So that’s how it is…”
Lin Yuxi murmured.

“No wonder I saw some weird skills in there that felt like filler… Like that ridiculous 【Apology Triple Combo ☆ Please Forgive Me!】… Does that thing even have any combat use?”

Before he could finish, Manager Qian suddenly burst into hearty laughter—
laughing so hard he nearly spilled the coffee he had just picked up.

“Hahahaha! That one? I designed that one! Fun, isn’t it?”

“…Huh?”

“Aiya, young people don’t be so stiff! Skills need some entertainment value! And besides, don’t you think the little kaomoji in it is super cute?”

“Cute—my—ass!!”

Manager Qian tossed the spent cigarette back into the tray.
The two bantered back and forth, joking and teasing each other.

Before they realized it, the heavy, oppressive mood in the office had completely dissipated.

Manager Qian may be a capitalist, but one had to admit—
when it came to manipulating atmosphere and emotions, his skill level was absolutely top-tier.

Sensing the timing was perfect, his smile gradually withdrew, and he switched back to “reliable superior” mode.

He cleared his throat and offered Lin Yuxi a carefully prepared olive branch:

“Xiao Lin, since everything is out in the open now, I believe… it’s time.”

“…Time for what?”

“It’s time to begin a real assessment and training program for you.”

His tone grew solemn.

“It includes systemic spiritual-energy theory, skill training, and end-of-incident purification procedures.”

…………

Hearing this, the corner of Lin Yuxi’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

He felt like a donkey—
he had just finished one brutal task, and before he could even catch his breath, a new whip had already been raised.

Capitalists really were capitalists.
They want you generating surplus value every single second.

Seeing straight through his internal complaint, Manager Qian grinned and added:

“Of course, this isn’t unpaid overtime. Once you pass the assessment, you’ll receive… a reward.”

Lin Yuxi’s eyelids lifted slightly.
“A reward?”

“Yes. Every officially recognized magical girl is granted the right to create a personalized weapon.

For example, Li Qingqing’s 【Red Fox Fang】 sniper rifle that can accurately hit a target from three kilometers away.
Or Chen Bing’s 【Great Wall】 energy shield that can tank a full-power hit from a C-rank pollutant.”

“These aren’t standard equipment—they’re crafted by our top team to fit each girl’s personality and fighting style.”

“Personal… weapon?”

“Exactly. A personal one.”

Manager Qian emphasized the word deliberately.

“Well? Tempting, isn’t it?”

Lin Yuxi subconsciously pressed his lips together.

He had to admit…

It was a little tempting.

His recent fights against pollutants had taught him a painful truth:
To do good work, you need good tools.

The company-issued gear was simple and durable, but when dealing with skin-thick, muscle-dense monsters—especially indestructible ones like the Filthy Bride—they just weren’t enough.

Damn it.

If he had a sniper rifle like Senior Li Qingqing—

That night at the police bureau, he could’ve blasted the pollutant into the sky with a single trigger pull!

He wouldn’t have needed to sell his damn dignity and kiss Luo Shaotian to “recharge” magic!

Ah…

The moment he recalled that kiss, Lin Yuxi’s cheeks exploded with heat.

Only now did he realize an even more horrifying fact—

That damn kiss—
was his FIRST kiss.

DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!!!
How humiliating!!!

I am NEVER doing something like that ever again!!

“So, Xiao Lin—what do you say?”
Manager Qian asked again.

Lin Yuxi took a deep drag from the last burning bit of his cigarette.

“Huuuuu—”

“Manager Qian…”

“Please—train me ruthlessly!!!”