Chapter 32: A Day of Training and Preparations

“They were all once inferior products that tried to harm Lady Su Muxue.” Booboo’s voice, as they delivered this assessment, was tinged with a faint indignation.

Fantastical creatures weren’t solely of the benevolent kind; many also spawned from dark ‘desires’ or negative emotions.

The reason they garnered little attention was that most negative fantastical creatures quickly disintegrated due to their inherent nature, leaving behind only ‘inexplicable’ residue for passersby to discover.

Their destructive impact was minimal, akin to local magical beasts when compared to legitimate calamities. They were merely swept away as an afterthought.

To put it plainly, people in the post-apocalyptic world had grown largely numb to disaster. Many scholars estimated that conditions might only gradually improve once the second generation of the new world came of age.

Su Qingyao glanced at Booboo, a puzzled expression on her face.

What truly piqued the young woman’s curiosity was how Booboo managed to defeat these creatures.

Logically, positive fantastical beings should be even weaker in combat against negative ones, shouldn’t they?

After voicing her concerns, Su Qingyao received no direct answer.

Instead, Booboo merely let out a proud huff.

For a moment, they resembled nothing so much as a stuffed dog.

No matter how unique, they still couldn’t shed the inherent temperament of a fantastical creature.

Su Qingyao sighed deeply, resolving to discuss Xu Yanqing’s situation with Lu Zhichuan later.

A certain intuition told her that this ‘training’ might well require the elder’s assistance.

As for Booboo, she decided to let them be.

Her intuition, a whisper in her ear, had also suggested this.

****

The next day, Su Qingyao was tasked with picking up Su Muxue from school. After Lu Zhichuan had enjoyed breakfast at Su Qingyao’s place, he took the small white cat, meticulously tidied by Su Qingyao, and departed for school.

The young woman herself, meanwhile, leisurely began washing the dishes at home.

Su Qingyao, still wearing the apron from making breakfast, cast a small spell on the bowl in her hand.

The water inside the bowl swirled rapidly, making it effortless for Su Qingyao’s slender fingers to wipe away the grime from its walls.

For Su Qingyao, many commonly used spells felt almost like extensions of her own limbs.

‘Why didn’t the young woman simply use magic to clean the dishes directly?’ one might ask.

‘In that case, why would Su Qingyao even bother getting out of bed?’

‘Wouldn’t it be simpler to just let the magic do it all by itself?’

‘This is life—*life*!’

Su Qingyao shook her head, letting out a cheerful ‘hmph’ to herself.

It was Friday, and the real ‘training’ was set to begin tomorrow afternoon.

Until now, Su Qingyao hadn’t yet mentioned her part-time job to Su Muxue.

Her daughter probably still believed her mother had simply found a casual job.

Su Qingyao imagined Su Muxue’s joy upon hearing the news, and a signature smile spread across her face.

After washing the dishes, Su Qingyao, for the first time in a while, sat alone on the sofa and turned on the television, which usually served purely as background noise, intending to browse.

Inter-city network connectivity was still relatively poor.

The TV in Su Qingyao’s home only received channels from Dawn City; those from other cities either had unstable signals or were established by transcendent powers, offering rather uninteresting content.

Su Qingyao wasn’t interested in any of that; she simply wanted to glance at something.

So, the young woman pressed the remote, selecting the classic news channel, which happened to be replaying the morning news.

Only after casually perusing the headlines, all while idly twirling a strand of hair near her temple, did Su Qingyao lean back and recline languidly on the sofa.

Just as Su Qingyao expected, there was no news concerning missing ‘Magical Girls’.

The only news related to Magical Girls that morning was about the winner of the previous Magical Girl Idol audition, who was apparently set to tour Dawn City.

Clearly, this wasn’t what Su Qingyao had hoped to learn.

Su Qingyao felt a slight pang of disappointment.

However, the ringing alarm soon pulled Su Qingyao’s attention back on track.

It was time for Miss Su Qingyao to go to work.

****

Today, Su Qingyao and Xu Yiyi arrived almost simultaneously.

As Su Qingyao walked into the office alongside Xu Yiyi, her gaze naturally met Xu Yanqing’s, who was already seated.

Xu Yanqing’s eyes met hers for only a fleeting moment before darting away.

It was as if their conversation yesterday had been a mere illusion for Su Qingyao. Yet, having gained a deeper understanding of Xu Yanqing, the young woman could discern the truth:

This was Xu Yanqing’s ‘shy’ reaction.

“Good morning, Qingyao and Little Sister Yanqing—”

After being teased by Xu Yanqing yesterday, Xu Yiyi offered a listless greeting today.

Su Qingyao, meanwhile, smiled and responded.

Xu Yanqing, after a short cough, replied in an even tone:

“Good morning to you too.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, once Xu Yanqing confirmed it was ‘work’ time, she naturally rose from her seat and led Xu Yiyi and Su Qingyao once again to their so-called ‘mode of transport’.

Having prepared themselves mentally beforehand, the two visiting Magical Girls from the Tower were finally less disheveled.

As before, Xu Yanqing, after manifesting her spirit attire, took the lead. Su Qingyao and Xu Yiyi followed closely behind her, soaring over stretches of vibrant green and desolate grey, until they reached the pre-arranged camp.

Unlike yesterday, the camp today was already bustling with numerous personnel dressed in uniform.

Although yesterday’s temporary camp had basic structures like tents and tables, it lacked the necessary electricity and teaching aids for Xu Yanqing and her companions.

Today, these personnel were naturally there to set things up, following a pre-arranged agreement.

A truck parked in the center of the camp indicated the mode of transport for these arrivals.

Beyond that, the most crucial aspect remained the protective measures for the ‘seedling’ Magical Girls.

After brushing past several people moving to and fro, Su Qingyao noticed a prismatic, rod-shaped object mounted on a tripod being erected in the camp. Shimmering blue light emanated from its seams.

The Magical Girl effortlessly recognized it as the aura of magic, noting that it was continuously absorbing the magic naturally emitted by the trio’s spirit attire.

Thanks to Xu Yanqing’s prior training, Su Qingyao, seeing it for the first time, quickly identified it by name:

“A reverse-conversion portable beacon, magic-type.”

Su Qingyao easily recognized it: ‘Let me think, hmm… it should be for storing magic, then sending signals, and maintaining a temporary shield?’

The young woman’s slowly articulated description was confirmed by the uniformed staff. A person in a white hat, clearly a team leader, stepped forward and said:

“If the beacon is destroyed, the patrolling peace officers in the suburbs, the City Defense Army, and the nearest Iron Vow Army will all receive a distress signal.”

“Thank you for your hard work,” Xu Yanqing said, completely unsurprised.

After all, every on-site procedure had passed through her hands. Having stayed up late reviewing all reports, Xu Yanqing could almost name the composition of the personnel assisting with the construction:

A construction team led by a second-tier spellcaster, a standard three-person peace officer patrol unit, and a few Magical Girls who had passed by out of curiosity.

Training wasn’t a secret project within the Tower. Given the free-spirited nature of Magical Girls, it wasn’t unexpected for some to drop by for a glance.

After all, there was a significant possibility that these children might join the Tower themselves in the future.

Su Qingyao and Xu Yiyi wandered around casually, eventually finding themselves back at yesterday’s training ground.

Waiting there, composed and ready, was Xu Yanqing, staff in hand. Xu Yiyi and Su Qingyao quickly took their positions, one behind the other.

“If you’re ready, let’s begin. Is there anything else that needs to be said beforehand?”

Xu Yanqing’s words were concise, yet they seemed to carry a deeper implication.

As Su Qingyao was about to speak, she was interrupted by an eager Xu Yiyi.

“Alright, I won’t lose today!”

“Uh—” Su Qingyao tried to interject into the conversation once more.

“I hope so.”

‘Sigh.’

Su Qingyao stood slightly apart from the two, letting out a soft sigh.

During this training session, Xu Yiyi’s magic had indeed undergone a subtle change, though Su Qingyao recognized it held little significance.