Chapter 50: The Intercity Line and Camp Life

Under Xu Yanqing’s unwavering gaze, the new driver expertly started the vehicle, lifted it into the air, and finally steered it onto the intercity high-speed line.

With a faint hum, the vehicle accelerated at an astonishing pace.

The scenery outside the windows transformed almost visibly, stretching into a blur of mottled horizontal lines.

It was only when Su Qingyao truly experienced this so-called ‘intercity high-speed line’ that she grasped its underlying principle.

‘No wonder it bears that name,’ Su Qingyao murmured softly.

Her quiet words piqued the curiosity of Su Muxue, who sat beside her.

‘Mama, what are you thinking about right now?’

‘Oh, Mama is just wondering how this little box manages to move so quickly.’

‘But isn’t it because the car itself is fast?’

Su Muxue’s innocent question reflected common sense, and indeed, the general understanding most people had of this project.

However.

‘Not quite, no.’

Su Qingyao wagged a finger in front of the girl. ‘Little Muxue, have you ever played on something called a water slide before?’

‘No, I haven’t. Does that mean it’s a slide made of water?’ Su Muxue furrowed her brows, seemingly lost in serious recollection.

It was true; in her brief glances at the map over the past few days, Su Qingyao hadn’t noticed the existence of any ‘amusement parks.’

Incidentally, while Su Qingyao herself hadn’t visited one, she had at least heard of them.

‘Hmm, then, Little Muxue, have you ever slipped while taking a bath?’

Silently resolving to take Su Muxue to an amusement park someday, Su Qingyao continued her questioning.

‘I have! I fell once when I was running around in the bathroom…’

‘That sounds quite dangerous. Were you hurt, Muxue?’

‘Not at all! Luckily, Booboo was there!’

‘Alright, back to the topic at hand.’

‘In a sense, this vehicle is moving along a track made of magic. Somehow, it’s been channeled to form a ‘line.’

‘Within this line, magic not only provides propulsion but also vastly reduces all other forms of resistance.’

Su Qingyao lightly tapped the vehicle’s interior wall, using her magic to sense the details of its exterior.

As expected, it was indeed custom-designed to interact with the magic on the guide line.

This meant it could only achieve such high speeds while on Dawn City’s ‘intercity high-speed line.’

Furthermore, Su Qingyao suspected this technology also leveraged certain spatial properties of magic.

Otherwise, such smooth movement would be impossible.

‘So, Su Muxue, did you understand?’

Su Muxue nodded, a mix of understanding and confusion on her face. ‘So, this metal box isn’t moving on its own, then?’

‘Exactly.’ Su Qingyao was pleased with Muxue’s response.

After all, whether she fully understood wasn’t the most important thing.

It was that she had begun to think for herself.

The advantages of this mode of transportation were obvious: it was both swift and comfortable.

Yet, its drawbacks—the rigid routes and excessive reliance on magic—were just as glaring as its benefits.

‘Has magic become as commonplace as electricity now?’

This time, the cautious girl ensured her whispered question went unheard by anyone else.

It was the first time Su Qingyao had considered the changes in this new world from such a perspective.

However, having never deliberately observed it, Su Qingyao naturally couldn’t arrive at a definitive conclusion.

Soon enough.

The vehicle carrying the aspiring magical girls traversed the radius of Dawn City, and soon, the towering city walls became visible in the distance.

Just as Su Qingyao had anticipated, the vehicle began to decelerate slowly.

It transformed into an ordinary air-and-land capable school bus.

After traveling for a short while at a gentle speed, Su Qingyao and her group landed within the designated temporary camp.

They pulled perfectly into the first empty parking spot.

Most of the aspiring magical girls had never ventured outside Dawn City before.

Now, their eyes wide with novelty, they pressed themselves against the windowpanes, eager to get a clearer view.

Even Su Muxue was no exception.

‘Oh, is that a beacon?’

Su Muxue’s questions came one after another, a rare hint of joy woven into her words.

Despite these things not being part of her formal lessons, the girl could identify numerous pieces of equipment related to the Transcended at a glance.

This could only be attributed to thorough preparation.

Su Qingyao rubbed her arm, which felt a little sore from Su Muxue’s head resting on it.

Though she hadn’t said it aloud, Su Muxue was likely very excited about this activity.

The young woman’s spirits lifted slightly.

****

The aspiring magical girls rested briefly at the camp and were assigned temporary bunks, intended for situations where travel might be inconvenient or lessons extended too late.

Su Muxue’s bunk was against the wall on one side, and pressed against Jiang Jiuli’s on the other.

Fang Xiaobai, in turn, chose to position her own bunk right next to Jiang Jiuli’s.

The black-haired girl, inexplicably sandwiched in the middle, stammered a bit but ultimately offered no objections.

She meekly uttered, ‘Fine.’

She was then, quite naturally, treated as a buffer zone.

‘It’s not like it’s the first time,’ Jiang Jiuli sighed inwardly.

****

With the beacon at its center, the camp was divided into four sections by a cross-shaped pathway. One section served as the living quarters, with other stationed staff residing closer to the edges, while the magical girls were assigned the area nearest the beacon.

The tent shared by Su Qingyao and the two girls was positioned among the five tents allocated to the aspiring magical girls.

An adjacent section was designated for vehicle parking.

The remaining two sections housed the small training ground, classrooms, infirmary, cafeteria, and other facilities.

Indeed.

To think that such a complex setup, functioning as both a ‘school’ and a ‘Peacekeepers’ camp,’ could be erected in just half a day, solely for the purpose of training a group of magical girls.

This was merely one facet of the overproduction in certain sectors, a consequence of the ‘Transcended’ permeating society.

Moreover, after the training concluded, the camp would continue to operate as a Peacekeepers’ outpost for approximately another month.

In fact, similar camps, both large and small, were scattered throughout the vicinity of Dawn City.

The one they were currently in was temporary, but at certain strategic locations, personnel were stationed long-term.

For refugees in the suburbs struggling to survive, seeking temporary relief at a nearby camp was also an option.

Su Qingyao stood behind Xu Yanqing, who was currently delivering instructions.

Xu Yanqing’s speech primarily covered the rules for activities within the camp, reiterating the upcoming schedule.

Only after the young girls, whose minds had long since drifted far away, nodded vigorously, did Xu Yanqing glance down at her watch.

‘Time’s almost up. You have five minutes for free activity now.’

‘Do not leave the camp. We’ll be heading to the new classroom shortly, and I’ll be checking how well you’ve memorized your knowledge.’

‘Okay!’

The girls replied in unison.

Su Muxue blended into the crowd, and as she spoke softly, she even found a moment to wink at Su Qingyao.

Su Qingyao couldn’t help but chuckle.

****