Chapter 40: So, What Is the Witch’s Training Manual

6 a.m., C-3 Mixed Martial Arts Training Ground.
The air was thick with sweat and a hellish atmosphere, the muffled thuds of flesh colliding rising one after another—savage and primal.

“Bang—!”

With a dull crash, Lin Yu’s body traced an arc in midair—not exactly perfect—and slammed heavily onto the cushioned mat.

The familiar shock that spread through her body converted into pure signals, hammering her soul.

(…So painful… but… it doesn’t feel quite as painful as before?)

She shook her slightly dizzy head, a thought slipping out uncontrollably.

This time, she didn’t feel her soul about to be shaken out of her body like before. Instead, it was more of an “ah, again, I’m used to it now” kind of calmness.

“Stand up.”

Chen Bing’s voice came from the center of the training ground.

Lin Yu struggled, using slender arms that belonged to a girl to push herself up.

She glanced at the “devil instructor” standing tall like a javelin not far away, and her heart ranted madly:

(Why the hell is she hitting harder and harder? Wasn’t it slower a while back? And wasn’t this supposed to be just sparring? She’s hitting me harder than loan sharks collecting debt…)

(Well… even if injuries after transformation can heal, the pain is still real… I can’t take it anymore /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~)

But what came out of her mouth was the answer she was already used to giving, laced with exhausted panting:

“Yes! Sister Bing!”

She reset her stance, eyes staying focused.

Just now, she had actually managed to last a whole thirty seconds under Chen Bing’s storm-like flurry of attacks.

That had been unimaginable just a few days ago.

Back then, lasting even five seconds under Chen Bing was already an over-performance.

(Sister Bing’s attack pattern… always strikes the enemy’s weakest joints and balance points with maximum efficiency.)

(Every one of her movements is without the slightest waste, like a precision killing machine…)

Lin Yu’s mind raced, converting all the passive lessons of the past few days’ hellish training into active thought.

(So, if I think the other way around—if I can predict where her next “most efficient” strike will land, then I can…)

“You’re distracted, idiot.”

Chen Bing’s voice ghosted right by her ear.

Lin Yu’s inner alarm bells exploded—but her body still reacted half a beat too late.

Chen Bing stepped in with blinding speed, her right hand joined like a blade, stabbing sharply at the dead-angle under Lin Yu’s armpit!

(Crap!)

Lin Yu’s body, at that instant, moved even faster than her brain!

Instead of retreating, she mimicked Chen Bing—dropping her shoulder inward while her left elbow jerked down hard at an awkward angle!

“Clap!”

A crisp crack of forearms colliding.

Agony ripped through Lin Yu’s left forearm as if it had been torn apart. She staggered back seven or eight steps like she’d been hit by a speeding motorcycle before barely stabilizing herself.

But… she had blocked it.

Though clumsy, ugly in form, and at the cost of her left arm going numb for now—she had, for the first time, directly blocked one of Chen Bing’s full-force strikes.

The entire training ground froze into silence for three whole seconds.

Lin Yu gasped for breath, staring in disbelief at her slightly trembling left arm.

Facing her, even Chen Bing’s eternal iceberg face showed, for the first time, the faintest trace of surprise.

(…This kid.)

Chen Bing’s heart stirred as well.

(…That split-second reaction just now was beyond what training alone could achieve. It was more like… beast-like battle instinct. Her absorption speed is monstrous. As expected—now that her sync rate has risen, she’s starting to draw out the body’s true potential.)

Looking at Lin Yu’s grimace of pain yet blazing battle spirit in her eyes, Chen Bing’s lips curved just a fraction upward.

“Not bad.”

She slowly lowered her stance, voice flat and emotionless, delivering today’s final verdict:

“Today’s combat training ends here. Your resistance has gone from tofu dregs to the level of a barely usable compressed biscuit. Now head to the shooting range. Li Qing must be impatient already.”

With that, she ignored Lin Yu and strode to the equipment area, beginning her unshakable routine of even more self-abusive strength training.

Lin Yu watched the panther-like figure brimming with power, rubbed her nearly broken left arm, and let out a long breath.

(…Compressed biscuit, huh… fine, at least it’s not tofu dregs anymore.)

(But compared to this poker-faced brute, that pink-haired little devil’s “mental torture” up next might be the real hell…)

***

Precision Shooting and Equipment Maintenance Range.

The moment Lin Yu walked in, a lively figure hopped over like a rabbit.

“Yah-hoo~ Predecessor! You’re only five minutes late today! Looks like Sister Bing’s ‘love-filled breakfast’ was plentiful!”

Li Qing wore a cute bunny hoodie, her face lit up by her signature angelic pure smile.

“Don’t mention it…”

Lin Yu waved weakly.

“I feel like I just got spun dry in a tumble dryer.”

“Heehee, tough work~”

Li Qing giggled, pressing her onto a chair by the weapon workbench.

“But, senior, I prepared a brand-new toy for you today~ ❤”

Like a girl showing off her treasure, she carefully pulled a rifle from the rack.

Its matte-black, slender body stretched smoothly from muzzle to stock—like a black predator bird poised to strike, cold yet agile.

“Ta-da~! [Xiaoguang-7 Model] Standard Psionic Assault Rifle! It’s our C-Zone Squad One’s standard gear! Stable performance, low psionic drain, hits wherever you point—perfect for household travel, murder, and silencing, a must-have product!”

She rattled off ad-like lines brimming with otaku flavor while shoving the weapon into Lin Yu’s arms.

Heavier than her previous pistol.

Lin Yu inhaled deeply, then began dismantling it according to the knowledge Li Qing had “electro-shock-therapied” into her brain over the past days.

“Click, clack…”

This time, her movements weren’t clumsy.

Still a bit raw, but her fingers, guided as if by invisible strings, precisely found each latch and joint.

“Eh?!”

Li Qing’s surprised cry burst out.

She watched Lin Yu disassemble the whole rifle into neatly arranged parts in under five minutes.

That was nearly her own record.

“Senior… you didn’t secretly practice in the dorm, right? That’s way too fast!”

She leaned close, big curious eyes studying Lin Yu like some rare specimen.

“Maybe… it’s just the natural gift of a man.”

Lin Yu cracked a rare joke—utterly out of place in this moment.

Next came the familiarization stage, shocking Li Qing even more.

Whether the stable Xiaoguang-7 assault rifle or the recoil-monster [Dian Guang-9 Model] psionic SMG, Lin Yu mastered their basics within minutes.

Her higher sync rate let her feel the flow of psionic energy inside each weapon, unconsciously adjusting her body to adapt and control that power.

Finally, Li Qing even broke her own rule—opening her exclusive gun case and taking out her treasured sniper rifle.

Old Mei had custom-modified it. It belonged only to “Red Fox.”

A brutal weapon, longer than Lin Yu’s height, sleek and cold, exuding suffocating oppression and deadly beauty.

“She’s called [Tooth of the Red Fox]. Come, senior, try her.”

Li Qing’s tone carried rare solemnity—like entrusting something precious.

Lin Yu lay down at the firing station, pressing the stock to her slim shoulder, peering through the high-power scope at the bullseye a hundred meters away.

(…So heavy.)
(…So clear—I can see the fibers on the paper target.)
(…So this is the thing Li Qing uses to decide life and death from a kilometer away, like a god?)

She pulled the trigger.

“BOOM—!”

A terrifying recoil slammed her shoulder, like being rammed by an elephant.

Her body jerked back, nearly toppling off the station.

The bullet, of course, flew off God knows where.

“Pfft… Hahahahaha!”

Li Qing burst into unrestrained laughter at her pitiful state.

“Nope, nope! Senior, you’re still way too weak! To control my baby, you need at least another hundred years of training!”

Lin Yu rubbed her nearly dislocated shoulder, watching the pink-haired girl laugh till she trembled.

Her face was all embarrassment—but in her heart, not a shred of discouragement.

Instead… something else was fermenting inside.

(…Though my body’s wrecked, being tortured by one poker-faced brute and one little devil in turns…)

Recalling the morning’s jam-packed training—

(…But this feeling of being able to respond to their expectations, of making them show surprise…)

(…Damn it… it’s not bad at all!)

***

9:00 a.m., sharp.

Lin Yu knocked on Manager Qian’s office door.

“Come in.”

The familiar, gentle yet smiling voice came.

Pushing the door open, a thick fragrance hit her.

Rich coffee beans mixed with high-class woody incense.

The “decadence of capitalism” compared to the “sweat and smoke of proletarian struggle” at the training ground—two different worlds.

Behind the grand hardwood desk, Manager Qian lounged in his chair.

His trademark spring-breeze smile remained, though always with a trace of shrewd calculation beneath.

Seeing Lin Yu, he sprang up warmly, circling the desk to greet her like an old friend.

“Aiya, Xiao Lin! Sit, sit!”

He pressed her onto a soft leather sofa, handed her a steaming aromatic coffee himself.

“Try this. I got these Blue Mountain beans through Director Bai from [Sky Group]. Can’t buy them on the market.”

His tone brimmed with “see how much I value you.”

Lin Yu, flattered, carefully sipped.

Her movements, once rough and masculine, had unconsciously taken on a faint feminine elegance under weeks of “girl life” conditioning.

Manager Qian caught the detail, eyes flashing faint appreciation behind his glasses.

(…Interesting.)

His mental calculator of ROI whirred.

(…This jade is polishing faster than I thought. No severe rejection—she’s even adapting, enjoying this new identity. That former male gloom and defensiveness are fading…)

(Excellent. Very good. My “investment” is paying off to the max.)

While his mental abacus clicked away, his face stayed kindly.

Lin Yu, meanwhile, twitched her eyelids after tasting.

(…Shit, it is good… but… doesn’t it taste kinda like the 8-yuan instant latte from the convenience store downstairs?)

She doubted her “poor man’s palate,” yet plastered on a blissful look.

“So good! So smooth, so rich! Manager Qian, this is the best coffee I’ve ever had!”

“Haha, as long as you like it.”

Satisfied, he felt his “project” ever more pleasing to the eye.

He sat opposite, adopting a “today let’s just chat” pose.

“Xiao Lin, your performance in that incident truly… amazed me! A miracle! I always said my vision was sharp!”

He heaped praise, from her “calm decisiveness under pressure” to her “once-in-a-century Void physique.”

(This is too much… so this is what Ye Yeying felt when I licked her boots?)
(What a pain… but when the boss praises, what can I say?)

Lin Yu grumbled inside, while outwardly showing modest humility.

“Not at all, it was all thanks to the organization. I just did a little.”

Her small hand tightened on the cup, fingertips whitening.

As expected, once he’d flattered enough, Manager Qian shifted to business.

His smile grew more earnest, voice more weighty.

“Congratulations, Xiao Lin. Your effort and talent have been noticed. Your three-month internship is ending smoothly.”

He paused, voice grand:

“Next is the key threshold for all newcomers—conversion to full employee.”

He emphasized “assessment,” making it sound less routine, more like a chance he fought to secure.

From his pricey briefcase he drew a gold-foil file, placing it on the coffee table.

In embossed characters: [Full Employee Employment Agreement].

“Come, Xiao Lin, take a look. See what kind of sincere future the company has prepared for talent like you.”

Lin Yu swallowed.

With trembling hand still sore from training, she opened it nervously—like Pandora’s box.

Her breath stopped.

The first page: pay and benefits.

Huge bold numbers blasted across her vision:

Position: C-level Full Executor

Base Monthly Salary: ¥40,000

Benefits: B-level gear allocation priority, independent mission bonus authority, A-level medical coverage…

(Forty… forty thousand?! Per month?!)

Her brain went blank with a buzz.

(Holy shit! That’s not selling my body—that’s pre-selling my next two lifetimes’ souls to this damn company! But…)

(…But… it’s so f*cking tempting!!!)

Her reason crumbled under those numbers.

She calculated uncontrollably:
40k a month, 480k a year, plus bonuses… over 500k.
A 5 million penalty fee? If I live ten years, I can pay it off.
Parents’ debts, retirement, sister’s tuition, house down payment…
Even… bride price for marriage!?

Those crushing burdens suddenly felt light as feathers.

Manager Qian watched her dazed by the salary, drunk with “controller’s” pleasure.

Time to bring out the stick behind the carrot.

“Of course, Xiao Lin,” his smile unchanged, tone turning serious, “with such benefits, we expect matching ability. We are a business, not a charity.”

He pushed the contract aside, leaning forward.

“To sign, you must first pass the internship graduation exam.”

(…Knew it. Never that easy.)

Clarity returned.

“The test is simple.”

He spoke lightly, like discussing tea snacks.

“Within two weeks, you must complete one pollution purification mission of C-level or higher—alone.”

“C… C-level?!”

Lin Yu nearly jumped from the sofa, hands clapped over her mouth, green eyes wide.

That, with her delicate face, looked both panicked and… oddly cute.

(Are you kidding me?! That D-level siren jellyfish almost wiped our squad—now you want me to solo C-level? I’m just a D-rank rookie!)

He drank in her small-animal fright, smiling fox-like.

Enjoying the control from information asymmetry.

“Aiya, don’t be so nervous.”

Fatherly voice soothed:

“Of course the company won’t let you die. For this test, we’ll assign full safeguards.”

Then the hidden grip tightened.

“We’ll arrange an A or B-rank senior to standby outside as safety observer. Could be Chen Bing, could be Ye Yeying, or another. They’ll guarantee your safety.”

“But.” He stressed each word like stones hitting her chest.

“That senior will only intervene if you truly cannot handle it, or are about to die. Meaning—you must handle 99% of it yourself. This is the ultimate test of a special talent’s solo combat ability—your only chance to prove your value.”

Lin Yu’s panic eased slightly, heart calming a bit.

“And to help you prepare,” he continued, ignoring her pale face, producing a velvet box with the [Dawn Corp] logo,

“the company applied a ‘newbie conversion care package’ for you.”

Inside lay not a phone, but a delicate bracelet.

White polymer links dotted with translucent gems, a hex crystal in the center, like her chest crystal.

Minimalist tech fused with girlish softness—like a luxury brand’s smart jewelry.

(LV? Chanel?)

“This is the new-gen personal terminal—[Contract Bracelet],” Qian explained proudly.

“Your phone is outdated. This is ten times faster, and—”

He gestured in the air.

“—it’s cuter, isn’t it? (^_^)”

The central crystal pinged, projecting a pink holo-UI with stars, hearts, even a welcome kaomoji “(@^0^@)/”.

(Holy shit…)

Lin Yu gaped at the magical-girl-style sci-tech.

She poked a floating icon—“biu~” sound, heart-shaped ripple.

(…This is way too damn embarrassing!)

She turned her head away in shame—like being forced to wear a kids’ cartoon dress.

But… she stole another glance.

(But… it’s actually really cute…)
(I like it… if I wear it, seniors might call me cute…)
(And… it’s for work anyway…)

Her jade-like finger touched her lips, biting lightly—

Her body trembled.

She placed her green jade fingers lightly on her lips, took a bite subconsciously, and her body trembled instantly.

(……)

(Eh? No? What was I thinking?)

(Why do I have such strange thoughts? Am I sick?!)

While Lin Yu was struggling, Manager Qian had already started to operate skillfully on the holographic interface.

“Look, this bracelet is pre-installed with our company’s exclusive comprehensive service app, [Home of Dawn].”

He introduced it enthusiastically like a salesman.

“Here’s the [Salary Inquiry] module, where you can check your salary details at any time; here’s the [Canteen Menu Feedback] module, where you can like your favorite dishes; and here’s the [Anonymous Gossip Forum], designed to promote harmonious communication among colleagues and create a warm, homey atmosphere…”

(Eh? Forum?)

Hearing the familiar words, Lin Yu subconsciously took a closer look.

(…f*ck, isn’t this just the company’s internal “Tieba” forum?! It’s specifically used for employees to vent negative energy and spread gossip, right? And it still has a family atmosphere…)

Lin Yu was complaining madly in her heart while watching Manager Qian’s finger click on the module she was most curious about.

It was a section whose icon was a magic wand with a pink bow, and the name was full of girlishness and middle-schooler vibes.

[Witch’s Training Manual].

“And this,”

Manager Qian’s tone became like a game GM trying to trick players into spending money.

“This is the treasure trove the company has prepared for you newcomers. It contains all the standardized tactical procedures developed by the company, or what you young people call universal skills.”

A more gorgeous interface instantly popped up on the holographic screen.

Skill icons filled with flaws were listed one by one, like a skill tree in a game:

[MP-01: Cat☆Light Step], [DP-02: Don’t Touch Me☆Hmph], [AP-03: Justice☆Love Bombing]…

Lin Yu almost vomited blood.

(…Help! Just looking at these names makes me dig my toes into the ground! Are these really combat skills?! Are you sure this isn’t some children’s talent show?!)

Her heart was screaming wildly, and her expression seemed a little dull due to excessive shock. Her delicate little mouth unconsciously opened slightly, and her green eyes were full of absurdity and confusion.

This lovely look made the smile on Manager Qian’s face even deeper.

“As long as you’re willing to spend time practicing in the simulator, even a D-rank rookie can pull off a gorgeous combo~”

Manager Qian’s tone was full of persuasiveness.

“Of course, some advanced courses require ‘performance points’ to redeem. The main source of performance points is completing difficult tasks…”

Here, he inadvertently tied the two concepts of “becoming stronger” and “KPI” together again.

At the end of the meeting, Manager Qian stood up, walked to Lin Yu, and patted her slender shoulders heavily with a look full of trust and expectation.

“Xiao Lin, this assessment isn’t just for the 40,000 yuan salary. It’s also your best chance to prove yourself to everyone, especially to Obsidian, that you’re qualified.”

His voice was full of power, like a king about to see off a warrior to war.

“Go ahead and don’t let us down.”

“Your future is limitless.”