Chapter 299

Chapter 299: The Gap Between Dimensions, Each Person’s Joys and Sorrows, the Sound of War

The video Esther released is very short. For the sake of confidentiality, the clips she shared are more like movie edits and have not been slowed down, making it hard to see even the Pure White Witch’s battle with Xie Qing Yu clearly.

Therefore, what the little idols see are the Mirror Tree that covers the sky and the earth, the Spiral Demon Sword that engulfs the city, the elegant yet deadly close combat, the devastation of the world, the instant defeat of Unrestricted Technique, and the Martial God Technique that breaks the barrier.

At the end of the video, the scene rewinds, giving a close-up.

Pure White Witch sits at the end of the palace, with a mercury tree covering the dome behind her. Next to her throne stands a Mythical Armament forged from hurricane and thunder.

Chu Yuanqing, with her soft golden eyes, looks at the camera. The burning grandeur within her instantly overturns her past image. She gazes down at the world, as if everything is visible to her, radiating a compassionate understanding.

Esther snaps her fingers, and the holographic image disappears, with only the melody of The Song of Silver and Tin lingering in everyone’s ears.

The super AI looks at the little idols’ confused and dazed expressions, knowing that the final shot was not wrong.

Although Chu Yuanqing’s personality would not care about how the rest of the reserves feel about her, she has the duty to show remarkable authority without revealing the other’s identity as the "Lighthouse," to prevent unnecessary trouble.

This is also for the sake of the other new magical girls.

If we don’t watch this video, everyone will unconsciously see Chu Yuanqing, who is also a contestant, as a rival. Not everyone can handle the feeling of failure that comes from working very hard and still feeling far away from an imaginary enemy.

So, it’s better to be direct.

That’s human nature; when the gap between each other is too big to see the other’s back, feelings like jealousy, bitterness, and failure will fade away.

Of course, if watching this clip can inspire the drive to catch up, that would be even more worth celebrating. She wishes that all magical girls could be on equal footing with Chu Yuanqing.

Chen Yining was confused for a while before she could barely organize her thoughts. She rubbed her forehead and, feeling very complicated emotions, said:

"Rather than saying this is about magical girls, it’s more like… an empire."

Lin Baor said with lingering fear:

"What a terrifying sense of oppression. If she had been fighting here before, the whole city of Sapporo would have been destroyed, right?"

Ruan Wutong was also impressed by Chu Yuanqing. Even if she was foolish, she would never forget who the biggest BOSS in their region was. Still a bit teary-eyed, she said in confusion:

"Are magical girls really all monsters? Can the captain and Little Shuzhu do things like that now?"

Ji Shuzhu’s tired and indifferent face surprisingly showed a hint of surprise. She lowered her beautiful eyes and calmly replied:

"Not at all. In fact, they are not even in the same league."

"With that kind of expression, based on the information Esther gave, it can only be seen as a magical girl full of the Flower of the Soul, reaching the state of full bloom."

After learning about the existence of magical girls, she understood that both Xie Qingxuan and Chu Yuanqing would definitely be among the best.

But… it was still beyond her expectations that the other party could be so exaggerated.

Chen Yining put the cooked pork neck into her green plum’s bowl. She looked up at Esther and asked a very reasonable question:

"It’s definitely super good news, but is Chu Yuanqing really from the same class as us?"

"If ‘Dazzling Stage’ is a plan to train witches, then a magical girl as strong as her doesn’t really need to participate."

To be honest, after seeing that kind of footage, anyone would feel a strange sensation of being blown up in a fish pond.

Liang Xiaoxiao felt the same way; she had vaguely guessed that Little Qing would be special, but she didn’t expect a random video from Esther could be so outrageous.

From this perspective, it’s no wonder that a single spark from her can create so many miracles.

So…

Esther wasn’t lying; with Chu Yuanqing’s strength, even if she went out of control, she wouldn’t make much noise, and the officials had no reason to stop them from meeting.

On the girl’s beautiful yet silent face, there was a hollow and cold look that belonged to Disaster, with gray-white hair falling down, blocking the spirals that flickered in her eyes. She was chewing on this fact; her emotions were very complicated.

Since the moment ‘Cocoon of the Heart’ shattered, she had been ready to face any outcome, but that ray of light kept pulling at her arm, giving her the strength to resist fate, and even until now, she has not given up on herself.

Liang Xiaoxiao held her chest in confusion.

After saving herself and returning to Baor, her chest was filled with emptiness.

That feeling of being abandoned by the whole world, with the ground around her slowly falling apart, always ready to plunge into an endless abyss of loneliness, constantly gnawing at her, twisting her emotions, and increasing a sense of disaster.

Baor’s comfort, Wutong’s tears, the captain’s worries, Little Shuzhu’s promise.

These were all warm lights, enough to help her hold on a little longer, but still could not soothe the unease and loneliness deep in her heart.

But the name Chu Yuanqing suddenly made time turn back, and she could smell the scent of cold plum blossoms crushed in a porcelain bowl, remembering sitting close on a bench in the underground base, gazing at the fake moonlight, sharing memories of the past.

Liang Xiaoxiao still remembered Little Qing’s voice, which had a hint of sweetness mixed with something refreshing, like the sky washed by rain, slowing down her tone, each breath clearly uttered, like a song that drowned people by the fireplace.

The girl hugged her knees in the sea of divine sense, her lashes lowered, picking a strand of pure white sparkle from the Cocoon of the Heart, as if holding a precious treasure, savoring its warm taste, softly whispering:

"Do I really deserve such help from Little Qing?"

"In Little Qing’s eyes, I must not even count as a friend, just a pity-worthy passerby we have crossed paths with."

"Even if Little Qing shines brightly and struggles to survive, one day she will surely be disliked because she is too much trouble."

Her thoughts drifted far away; she seemed like a small beast afraid of fire, choosing to move away from the warmth and closer to the aura of disaster, feeling the deep, painful cold.

The circles in the girl’s eyes grew more numerous, and even her ankles began to sprout gray-white scales. The soft sound of tightening continued, just like her heart, which was being locked away due to disaster, growing more and more sickly.

And at that moment,

Lin Baor’s heart ached; she envisioned Liang Xiaoxiao’s feelings and immediately noticed something was wrong, but her body acted before her thoughts, grabbing the other person’s hand.

The girl’s skin was cut by the undulating scales, bleeding bright red blood. She looked pale with pain but only grasped tighter, stubbornly and seriously saying:

"Don’t dislike yourself! And don’t be afraid of being disliked by that person!"

"If… if Chu Yuanqing is truly someone worthy of Xiaoxiao’s admiration, then she surely hopes Xiaoxiao can live happily and joyfully."

Lin Baor suppressed her shame and strange feelings, speaking a bit haltingly:

"And, I also want Xiaoxiao to live; I don’t want to be without you by my side."

"Also, Esther has said that if something happens to Xiaoxiao, I will have problems in the future too. Even for my sake, please cheer up a little, okay?"

Liang Xiaoxiao looked at her palm stained with bright red; her confused and distant thoughts were suddenly pulled back. She quickly controlled the scales to return to the Cocoon of the Heart and used white light to heal Lin Baor’s cut hand, whispering in apology:

"Um, thank you, Baor."

"You are right, Little Qing won’t hate me for this. I also have a reason to keep living. I will try not to overthink anymore."

Chen Yining realized the seriousness of the situation; Xiaoxiao’s mental state seemed to be getting worse. She felt upset that she had only just noticed this and immediately got up to pay the bill.

Chu Yuanqing’s outrageous reason was not the information to explore right now. What she needed to do was to get to Austria immediately and bring Liang Xiaoxiao to the other side.

The young lady communicated with Esther while booking a ride on her phone. She picked up her bag and took everyone outside the store, preparing to go directly back to the hotel to get their luggage.

Once this goal was set, she postponed and canceled all her later appointments and activities. Within an hour, she arrived at Qiansui Airport, boarded a special flight arranged by the Countermeasures Bureau, and flew straight to Salzburg.

Normally, it takes 11 hours to fly from Dongliu Island to Austria.

But the aircraft from the Countermeasures Bureau uses military technology, is made of high-end materials, and has been enchanted with Ether Tech, allowing it to arrive in just 4 hours.

Most importantly, it is equipped with medical sleep pods that can suppress disaster auras and monitor life forms, so Liang Xiaoxiao lay down in one as soon as she got on the plane, greatly reducing the chance of accidents.

During this time, Esther took the initiative to educate everyone about various knowledge related to magical girls.

The actions of the super AI are not biased.

This is because, at the same time, her avatars surround little idols with witch potential, acting as mascots for each magical girl anime based on everyone’s different understandings and preferences.

Well, if this were in the Magical Girl Madoka series, each person would have a Kyubey serving as an encyclopedia to explain the worldview and answer questions.

This is a very necessary process.

Reshaping the worldview requires decisive stimulation, and this whirlwind of public opinion, along with the attack from the Church of the Gods, is the best opportunity to reveal the truth.

In the stage of reshaping, having a trustworthy mascot that can use comic formulas is undoubtedly very important.

Esther, on Chen Yining’s side, is in the otaku costume form of the [Counter-Magic Bureau] account, while on the other side, she might be a cute creature with a fantastical art style, with very different speech and personality, making her a master of persuasion.

Of course, everyone who qualifies for her guidance in a team must meet a key hidden condition.

That is, each member of the team must at least fulfill one of the three conditions: [Fuel], [Disaster Shell], or [Witch].

In simple terms, very weak little idols cannot see her.

Chen Yining’s team cannot be compared to the Pure White Witch’s galaxy battleship, but they are still ranked among the top one hundred teams in the world.

The potential that Ruan Wutong currently shows is [Disaster Shell], which is a level above [Fuel], and she has hope of reaching the level of [Witch], which requires time and patience to achieve.

Lin Baor’s situation is similar (not counting the factor of being infected by disaster aura), Liang Xiaoxiao is an exception, and the remaining pair of childhood friends falls under [Witch].

Therefore, in the ideal situation, this team has a chance of having everyone possess combat power in the future.

In the other divisions, some magical girls’ teammates are either all [Fuel] or simply do not have any value in participating in the "Dazzling Stage" project; even if they debut, they will be split up.

The super AI’s assistant is busy teaching the little idols in each division, while the main body is still busy cleaning up the mess left by the attack on the Church of the Gods.

Esther not only has to count the number of people affected around the world and the casualty figures but also create public relations plans for each region, direct the overall situation, observe fate with the [Astrolabe], control various forbidden areas, and arrange the job movement of the magical girls.

At the same time, this hardworking individual also has to attend upper-level meetings and, due to the aftermath of the last proposal, undergo internal reviews.

…

…

Inside Daxia, Sea City First People’s Hospital.

The girl looked blankly at the smooth, mirror-like floor, where the scenes of life were reflected: doctors pushing stretchers, family members crying uncontrollably, nurses hurrying past, and crowds making a noisy commotion.

These sounds mixed together, forming echoes of different distances in the spacious room, settling in her heart as a bitter lump, stirring up panic and unease, pressing her chest so hard that she could hardly breathe.

Xu Ling held a bloodstained food bag and numbly stared at the messages that kept popping up on her phone.

In the WeChat messages, there were a series of voice messages from her aunt and a record showing a thirty-minute call.

[Why did the subway collapse? Is anyone seriously hurt?]

[Your aunt and uncle have already bought plane tickets and are on their way to Sea City.]

[What did the doctor say? Is the situation any better?]

[Xiao Ling, please sign this. Even if you can’t wear a dress again, as long as you are alive, there is hope in life.]

The girl’s mind was blank; the things she used to think about—Dazzling Stage, idols, editing, work, food—seemed to have been wiped away, leaving only the close reality of life and death.

It felt so strange; just a few days ago, they were excited about winning the lottery, enjoying a spicy hotpot together, shopping for beautiful dresses, and cuddling on the sofa to watch their favorite movie.

At that time, Pei Xiaotong was happy, her bright smile as she started to make travel plans.

The little girl vowed confidently that after finally escaping her mom’s control, she would happily play for a month during the extended summer vacation.

As she spoke, her true nature started to show. She hugged her own arms, completely forgetting about the few new dresses in her shopping bag, and began to act sweetly asking for some travel money.

But now, those lively images were replaced by the harsh reality.

Xu Ling stared down, her eyes blank. The hospital floor began to blur into yellow caution tape as she watched, from several meters away, the little girl being lifted onto a stretcher, bloodied, and taken from the dust-filled subway to an ambulance.

In a flash, she nervously signed the surgery consent form.

Tears blurred her vision, dripping steadily onto the bag in her arms.

Xu Ling covered her face and choked on her words of regret:

"I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let you go out alone."

Because she was used to writing scripts and editing videos at night, she usually slept very late. By the time she woke up, it was already noon. Her phone had a message from Honey Tong saying she wanted to go out for a bit and would be back soon.

She didn’t see her come home after getting out of bed, so she used the family GPS that her aunt gave her to find Pei Xiaotong’s location, hoping to quietly catch her.

When she got close to the subway station, she found yellow warning tape all around, and there were ambulances and police officers maintaining order nearby.

In the end, this was the scene she saw.

The girl sniffled as tears blurred her vision, but she still looked down at the bag of food in her arms. Inside were squished little cakes and cream puffs, and on top was a birthday card, wrinkled and stained with blood and cream.

These were things the police had given her.

Today was her birthday, and Pei Xiaotong had gone out to buy her a cake when the building collapsed, crushing her leg and forcing her to have an amputation.

Why did such a tragedy suddenly happen?

Xu Ling didn’t understand.

The dozens of people who were hurt or killed at the subway station today wouldn’t understand either.

Disaster beast, the Forbidden Zone, magical girl, the crisis of the end times…

These things, which were once far away from the people, became weaker as the sun set on [pure white], starting to cast shadows and truly intrude into the lives of ordinary people.

The horns of war have already sounded the prelude.

…

…

Salzburg.

Xie Qingxuan looked at a text message on her phone, remaining silent.

[Captain, Shuangshuang had an accident, and the family has been notified to claim her. We will… never see her again.]

[I’m sorry, I know you, me, and her aren’t very close, and you’re not my captain anymore, but I just felt I should tell you.]

In the Sea City competition, there is only one person who calls herself the captain—Fan Qiuling. She was taken by Plunder Shine as a tool, and along the way, she made many suggestions and brought 17 teams to agree to challenge her side.

Although they didn’t even look at each other when they parted ways, they still exchanged contact information.

However, they didn’t expect that their first conversation would turn out to be such a heavy topic.

Xie Qingxuan is the kind of person who is usually very well-mannered and polite. She remembers having taken all the shining contestants and recalls her little idol with whom she once teamed up.

The "Shuangshuang" mentioned by Fan Qiuling refers to another teammate from back then.

—Chu Qiushuang.

Both of their names have the character for "autumn," and on that day’s stage, after she returned the shine, they unexpectedly stepped into the "Heart Flow" field, creating a subtle connection with her "Cocoon of the Heart."

It was like a medieval lord taking in two loyal knights, who could always have their swords and power taken away.

Xie Qingxuan didn’t think much of it but still had some impression; she remembered that Chu Qiushuang had drawn a not-so-good performance spot, located at the edge of Daxia, close to the desert and the grassland.

Now that I think about it…

If the other person had chosen a city closer to Sea City or Kyoto, would the accident have happened?

Xie Qingxuan’s eyes were filled with dark stars, and her cold face showed no emotion. In her heart, there was no anger or sadness, only the memory of many past events.

The girl looked down at her phone and replied:

"Thank you for being willing to tell me."

"On the day of the funeral, if I have time, I will come to pay my respects."

"Finally, Fan Qiuling, if you don’t want to be left behind by the world, hold onto the determination that not trying means you will fail, and shine on that stage."