Chapter 16: A Bizarre Schedule and a New Assignment

For Su Qingyao, her daily routine was still very much like it had been before the apocalypse.

Just one day without sleep would leave her utterly exhausted.

Thus, Su Qingyao sat at the dining table, diligently scrutinizing Lu Zhichuan’s face for any non-human traits.

“Senior Lu Zhichuan, did you truly go three days without sleep?”

“I did manage a short nap in between,” Lu Zhichuan clarified, furrowing his brow.

“Moreover, my biological clock prevents me from collapsing in awkward situations, so it’s essentially no different from actual sleep.”

After the small misunderstanding about his waking hours was cleared, Lu Zhichuan remained utterly indifferent, showing no reaction whatsoever.

With the reason for his collapse explained, the focus of the breakfast table naturally shifted to a new discussion: whether Senior Lu Zhichuan was truly human.

“Napping and sleeping aren’t the same concept, you know.”

Su Qingyao clenched her small fist in exasperation, pressing it against her throbbing brow. “How on earth did you develop such a terrible habit of not sleeping until you collapse?”

The young woman, usually prone to slowly dissecting long sentences, uncharacteristically launched into a lengthy tirade.

“In short, you only sleep after you’ve collapsed, right?” Su Qingyao summarized concisely.

“Senior Lu Zhichuan, are you relying on your bizarre biological clock to pull all-nighters every single day?”

“Er… that’s a rather generalized statement.”

“Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if Senior Lu Zhichuan is doing this on purpose.”

Su Qingyao let out a long sigh. “In any case, please try to maintain a normal person’s schedule. Don’t make me worry that you’ve been possessed by an alien, alright?”

“Alright…”

Lu Zhichuan, chastised into resembling a frost-bitten eggplant, sagged expressionlessly.

Su Muxue sat on the other side of the dining table, positioned between Su Qingyao and Lu Zhichuan.

The girl, nibbling her bread in small bites, widened her eyes slightly in confusion, gazing at her mother.

‘Was it Muxue’s imagination?’

‘Why had Mama glanced at the living room sofa just now?’

Oh, right.

Su Muxue swallowed her food and raised her small arm. “Mama, can you pick Muxue up from school today?”

“Oh, of course I can.”

Su Qingyao seemed a little puzzled as to why Su Muxue would suddenly make such a request.

Still, it was a sweet child’s small wish.

Mama would definitely grant it.

Su Qingyao stroked the cute, silvery-white kitten, and watching her daughter’s contented expression, the young woman felt her heart melt.

Right, she had to work hard today too.

Su Qingyao nodded. She would ace her first temporary job.

After breakfast, Lu Zhichuan took Su Muxue out to school.

According to Senior Lu Zhichuan, his work wasn’t a typical nine-to-five job; his hours were irregular.

Yesterday and today were perfect examples.

Lu Zhichuan naturally took over the task of taking Su Muxue to school, allowing Su Qingyao a brief period of freedom at home.

Apparently, the Magical Girl training program was still processing Su Qingyao’s information.

Given its direct relevance to the next generation of Magical Girls, Su Qingyao believed the stricter it was, the better.

As Su Qingyao pondered this, the phone she had casually tossed onto the table suddenly rang.

Senior Lu Zhichuan? Or Chen Qingfeng?

Su Qingyao picked up her phone with a hint of confusion, seeing an unfamiliar number displayed.

Oh, so that’s it.

Su Qingyao understood vaguely. She answered the call, and a clear, young female voice spoke, “Hello.”

It was a notably aloof tone.

“Hello, this is Su Qingyao.”

Su Qingyao responded with her usual gentle, professional voice, but the other party promptly skipped past any pleasantries: “That’s correct. Ms. Su Qingyao, I’ve sent an office number to your communication terminal; it’s for our training department. Please report to the ‘Tower’ headquarters before six o’clock this afternoon. Is there anything I haven’t made clear?”

‘Wow, that was a complete machine-gun barrage of words.’

‘And she called me ‘Ms.’! I’m barely eighteen, plus a few months.’

“Y-yes, alright.”

Su Qingyao feigned being startled, infusing her voice with a touch of panic. “May I ask how I should address you? Also, I’m not entirely sure where the Tower is…”

After Su Qingyao’s reply, the other party seemed to fall silent for a moment.

“My apologies, my emotions were a bit off just now.”

This time, the voice was much more normal. “You can call me Xu Yanqing. I will send you the Tower’s location, and you can also find it on your terminal’s map.”

“Alright—”

****

“Then, please make sure to arrive before six o’clock this afternoon.”

The call ended, and Xu Yanqing, who had made the call, let out a heavy sigh.

On the brown office desk before her lay several dossiers, forwarded from the Public Security Bureau’s “Recruitment Office.”

‘Was I flustered by my concern?’

Xu Yanqing rose, meticulously filing away the documents containing basic information into a nearby cabinet.

Regarding the matter of filling vacancies, Xu Yanqing actually had quite a few options.

As Chen Jingye had mentioned yesterday, this temporary position was considered a plum assignment compared to others.

Chen Jingye wasn’t the only one aware of this job, nor was Su Qingyao the only one who needed a “property appraisal certificate.”

However, the word “Healing” in Su Qingyao’s ability was simply too striking.

The only one comparable to her was another Magical Girl whose ability involved “Barriers.”

“Hmm… currently, both of them are capable of handling this position.”

In truth, Xu Yanqing considered “Barriers” to be somewhat more important than “Healing.”

The best treatment, after all, was to avoid getting injured in the first place.

The reason she had also called Su Qingyao, despite not being overly optimistic about her—

Well, since Xu Yanqing herself had proposed this “temporary job,” if both were suitable, having them both would be ideal.

Xu Yanqing couldn’t help but recall her partner, the one she couldn’t reach.

No, she had made a rookie mistake: a single temporary worker couldn’t replace her partner’s role.

‘Since I’m paying out of my own pocket, I might as well hire them all.’

Xu Yanqing rubbed her temples in frustration, then waved to the cat playing with a yarn ball nearby. “Xiaohua, stop playing now.”

The cat, hearing this, let out a discontented “Meow.”

“Oh my, oh my, why are young people always so disrespectful to their elders?” A child-like voice emerged from the cat’s mouth.

Unlike ordinary house cats, Xiaohua’s entire body had transformed into a single, uniform color block, devoid of actual “fur.”

If the lights were turned off and the curtains drawn, Xiaohua would naturally emit a pure white glow.

Undoubtedly, Xiaohua was also a fantastical creature capable of forming a “contract” with a Magical Girl.

“So, you still can’t sense Xiaobai’s location?”

Xiaohua nodded, quite human-like. “That’s right, meow.”

Its tone was languid, yet subtly imbued with an unseen authority.

“It’s not just you worrying about her, Xiao Qing. I’ve also been having the other children help search for her.”

“Ugh, but I really am worried about her!”

When speaking of her missing partner, Xu Yanqing shed all pretense of aloofness, acting entirely like a young woman pouting to an elder.

Ah, this was perfectly reasonable.

After all, even if she was called “Senior Xu Yanqing,” she was still just a young woman, barely nineteen, having only recently come of age.

‘Indeed, being a Magical Girl is a profession rife with child labor, meow.’

Xiaohua lamented inwardly.

What a harsh creator it must be.

To make these young women, who were still children in the strictest sense, fight against such monsters.

“Too cruel, meow.”

“Exactly! Lin Xiaobai, where on earth did you go?!”

The conversation, seemingly on different wavelengths, continued even today.

****

The fifteen-year-old Blue Witch.

“Heave-ho!”

She smashed a monster’s head with a single punch.