Chapter 292

Chapter 292: The Magical Girl’s Feast, the Truth Revealed One After Another

The night was very dark.

When Chu Yuanqing woke up, it was already eight o’clock in the evening. She lazily got up, slipped on her slippers, and her hazy eyes glanced at the balcony. Outside the window was a beautiful scene.

The mountains, rivers, locked bridges, and the colorful lights of the town spread out, brightening the night just a bit, though not as grand as Sea City. It still retained the softness of dusk.

Austria has beautiful natural scenery. Whether walking by the Danube in Vienna or wandering in the sunny old town, it feels like time slows down.

Chu Yuanqing adjusted her breathing, stretching her vibrant and beautiful body. In a moment of yawning, she felt her limbs and controlled her magic, reaching down to the deepest parts of her cells.

The Pure White Witch looked down at her delicate hands. She had regained control of this body altered by Mercury Blood and understood the current situation.

This rare characteristic perfectly combined her soul and body, becoming an instinct within every cell, flesh, and even every strand of consciousness, gently revealing the shape of power to her.

Magical girls are truly amazing; they are exceptional beings born from planetary consciousness only in a New Game Plus. In some ways, it’s as wild as what you see in cartoons.

"The quality of the magic has changed a lot, like the difference between foam and steel. Is this the first step into the [river] realm?"

"Hmm, it is still far from Little Yu’s level, similar to the distance between steel and mithril."

Chu Yuanqing estimated the changes. She could feel that, besides the quality, the magic return speed had greatly increased. Even the design and strength of the Magic Armor had evolved on their own, reaching another level.

And…

The Pure White Witch gently touched the lantern with her fingertips. The golden light in her eyes sparkled, and the world around her became microscopic. The originally invisible life magnetic field turned into delicate lines, spreading like ripples.

This is the embryonic form of the spiritual power field, which can neutralize some threats around.

If it goes further, it will form a Passive Field like that of a captain-level witch.

If we set aside combat skills and just consider the [Silver Mirror] magic, her combat power should have increased by dozens of times after this, an incredible leap.

Now, using the Caladbolg simulation technique, a single strike of the Spiral Demon Sword has become powerful enough to turn Salzburg into dust.

Well, the power is decent, it’s quite standard.

After all, Salzburg is not even one percent the size of the magic city.

But it can definitely use [Silver Mirror] magic to easily defeat Little Yu.

Of course, this is referring to Little Yu before special training, while now the enemy’s overall strength has at least tripled, and with a slight removal of their mental block, they proactively use an electric guitar to cast magic, which is no longer a shame for the captain.

Chu Yuanqing looked out at the night sky, her heart vibrant and full of life, just like the countless lights reflected in the lake, but the soul controlling this body felt increasingly weak, as if it were the somewhat lonely night.

— False prosperity.

The Pure White Witch’s expression was calm; she murmured this thought to herself, softly saying:

"I hope the photo can keep the popularity alive for a while, or else when it falls back into the [Pool] state, [Mercury Blood] may backfire, causing many troublesome problems."

Chu Yuanqing was like a ship that would eventually sink; she could still grow stronger, relying solely on the snowball effect, but one day, this Ponzi scheme-like cycle would collapse and the ship would totally sink.

What she had to do was to reach her destination before the collapse and fully carry on the blessings of the flower language.

Chu Yuanqing collected her thoughts, picked up her phone from the nightstand, took a photo of the night view of Salzburg, thought for a moment, and opened Weibo.

Then, little red dots appeared like stars, mixed with ringing sounds, reminding her how many days she had forgotten to work.

"Si Ha, while watching ‘My Fair Princess’ before, I always liked Xiaoyanzi, but after seeing Honey Qing’s photo cover, I started to like Ziwai ❤️❤️❤️."

Chu Yuanqing’s slightly gloomy mood was blown away by the flood of abstract messages; she hurriedly pressed the button to clear the messages, and when she saw the "filth" moving away from her, she sighed with relief.

The internet really is strange.

Pure White Witch mumbled to herself but still couldn’t bring herself to leave Weibo. She looked at the first post’s excitement, randomly selected a dozen comments to reply to, and then picked a selfie from the photo library that Charlotte helped choose, posting it with the night view.

After Chu Yuanqing completed her initial work, she scrolled through WeChat and replied to little idols tagging her in the group chat, then continued responding to fan comments.

After the girl diligently persisted for half an hour, she quietly pulled out a record her adorable daughter gave her from her small backpack, placed it on the record player Charlotte bought, and listened for a while, finally restoring her lost sanity from braving the comment section.

As for the lovely daughter herself,

Chu Yuanqing only saw this puzzling question when she arrived at the daily call time and took out another phone.

"What kind of gift would mom like?"

"Little Shu was actually worrying about what to give Charlotte in a few days."

Chu Yuanqing was not a fool; she realized right away that her daughter was looking for gift ideas in a roundabout way, and she became worried herself.

To be honest, it took her a lot of effort to think of what gifts to give, and it was hard to come up with a cool, super useful suggestion for Little Shu.

In fact, because the Disaster Debris had only just been cleaned up, her gift was not yet ready.

After thinking for a long time, Chu Yuanqing decided to answer the surface question honestly:

"Your mom loves to take pictures, capturing every beautiful moment. She loves pretty things and is excited to discover interesting, new, and adorable things."

"So, the gift doesn’t have to be too expensive; a cute and beautiful little camera, or a delicately crafted, fantastical-looking artificial specimen, she would love."

"But if the gift is from Little Shu, I think… she would want a collection of your photo albums from when you were little, right?"

"Because for her, who has missed eighteen years of your life, this would be the best gift."

After Chu Yuanqing finished replying, she smiled.

Even though she had already shared those images and photos with Charlotte through magic, receiving those things from her daughter personally would feel very different.

If it had to be described, it would be like proof of acceptance and recognition; it would indeed make a perfect birthday gift.

However…

Little Shu’s personality should make it hard for her to do something so embarrassing, right?

Chu Yuanqing didn’t think much more about it; no matter what her daughter gave, as long as there was thought behind it, Charlotte would be very happy.

Since that is the case, there is no need to force anything.

The Pure White Witch set aside her thoughts, chatted with the Dream Weaver Rabbit to learn about Liuli’s father’s situation, and asked him to pay attention. Then she went to the green-eyed cat’s room to offer comfort.

Although Liuli was not that fragile, if she noticed her friend’s worries and chose to ignore them, it would not be right as a friend or a lover.

And when Liuli Cat received her reward,

Chu Wang Shu lay on the soft bed, looking at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling, feeling conflicted. She murmured:

"Well, the photos from when I was little, if they are of family, I guess they would be really interested in this, right?"

"But… thinking about it makes me feel embarrassed!"

The cute daughter couldn’t help but hug her pillow and roll around; it was like willingly handing over her awkward past.

Especially with Sister Charlotte’s playful nature, she would surely mention how cute she looked in the childhood photos, then mischievously watch for her shy expressions and show a wicked smile.

Chu Wang Shu did not want to let the other person have this kind of "weakness" over her.

But if she didn’t give this, things like the camera and the specimens seemed very ordinary.

Moreover, if we really think about it, Sister Charlotte’s personality is too much like Mom’s, right? Does she even love taking pictures just like her?

Chu Wang Shu vaguely felt some discomfort, but she couldn’t think of any other reason to explain it and could only attribute it to the magical connection between mothers and daughters.

However, after thinking this way, the lovely daughter began to doubt herself. Could it be that her personality and appearance are more like Dad’s? Otherwise, why did she feel so different from Mom?

Chu Wang Shu was a bit caught up in her thoughts. While thinking, she even felt a little jealous, thinking that Charlotte looked so much like Mom that it was unfair; no matter what, she must be adored by Dad.

The girl hugged her blanket and lay on her side, burying her face in the pillow. She mumbled softly:

"Never mind, I’ll just prepare one for everyone and then give it based on the situation."

After Chu Wang Shu "neatly" solved her worries, it was already nine o’clock. She tried to meditate for a while, then put down her phone, being a good child, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning.

Sunshine spreads across the land.

Salzburg has started a new day.

In the inland of the Donghong Federation, it is still just past midnight. Many online users are still lost in the excitement of the seventh episode’s preview, while various chefs and cooks are sharing the praised cover photo, praising the greatness of the white-haired, golden-eyed character.

The buzz around "Dazzling Stage" is at its peak, but some hints and clues are quietly hidden within it. In some corners of the internet, a video of Dragon Witch Elise suppressing the forbidden zone suddenly appeared.

This satellite footage, usually only seen in secret meetings, spread far and wide in just a few hours, like an exciting marketing campaign from an established game company.

Of course, people’s comments on this were just about a movie promotion or the stunning CGI of a major game.

It wasn’t until someone pointed out, through the video’s details, that the location was in a famous mountain range of the Donghong Federation, that it triggered various chain reactions.

"That mountain range has been state-owned for a long time, and they don’t even set up tourist spots around it; it seems to be a place similar to a military district. This video must be a bit strange."

"To be honest, I have never seen such realistic special effects. It feels like only the advanced technology in ‘Dazzling Stage’ can achieve this effect."

"That makes sense. ‘Dazzling Stage’ even quickly and well-made spin-off games for planning programs, so moving into the film industry is reasonable. But this topic is a bit strange; it’s not idol-related at all."

"Not really, if you look at the little sister in the video, she has an idol-like appearance, and her expression and style are somewhat similar to the famous top idol from the Sacred United Country—Elise. It could even be a movie version of a supernatural idol."

These comments, whether conspiracy theories or misunderstandings, did not create much buzz until the related videos and posts were selectively deleted, which seemingly prompted an official response. Only then did people start to feel something was off and began to question the seriousness of the problem.

The next day, the related topics topped the hot search on Weibo, but within minutes, they were pushed down by unrelated information and news from ‘Dazzling Stage.’

This attempt to suppress the situation, without completely stopping it, instead made the video, which should have only circulated in a small circle, even more popular. Relevant videos appeared on TikTok and Bilibili, quickly garnering millions of views.

However, not long after, the related videos were gradually taken down, resembling a modern version of burying one’s head in the sand. This led the viewers who had been following the news to imagine all sorts of dramatic scenarios, with some even starting to suspect there might be magical girls in real life.

The most outrageous part was that many magical girl projects that had been delayed for years all released updates that day, either announcing sequels, new theatrical versions, or spin-off works.

As for some new-era magical girl anime, they announced that their copyrights had been purchased by various major websites, and the first episode would be broadcast on all platforms next week, starting a weekly release schedule.

If we say that these can still be explained as coincidences, they are simply attempts to catch a bit of attention, the most straightforward kind of business competition on the internet.

The small, niche magical girl mobile game that has been struggling for years suddenly gets its approval, as if it has also received huge investments, announcing that it will officially start testing next week and begins drawing names for the closed beta today, which can be called extremely unusual.

"Is today some kind of lucky day for magical girls? After being starved for so many years, suddenly getting a feast is such a strange phenomenon!"

"This is really outrageous! The ‘Magical Girl Delaina’ movie that Tang Liuli filmed years ago just announced it will be turned into an anime today, and they even released a preview, with no news at all before this."

"No, even those who love yuri stories are getting their fill."

This smooth series of events has given a little shock to otaku around the world, making countless fans of other genres of animation mourn over why the recorded clip wasn’t their favorite type.

Of course, more rational users have started to feel scared.

"So the question is, is that recorded clip that the official is deleting becoming more and more real?"

"Is it really getting a bit frightening now that we know?"

"On Bilibili, the person who bragged about wanting to live or die with the truth has become so scared that they decided to delete the video."

However, the feast for magical girls has not yet ended.

After a round of attacks from otaku, many stars and bloggers either started cosplaying as magical girls or covered songs from magical girl shows, promoting it as a hobby or as a way to get advertisements, all in all, they began to bombard various circles.

Moreover, there is a whole batch of magical girl-themed movies that seem a bit off track, not only are they all live-action, but the quality is so high that they don’t look fake.

With the current public opinion, these trailers and previews look as if real magical girls were filmed in real life.

It’s important to know that live-action adaptations of otaku subjects are already very challenging when it comes to casting, let alone magical girls with flashy costumes and colorful hair.

But in these videos, the actors all handled the costumes and hair colors well, their looks were all on par with professional idols, yet the audience didn’t recognize any of them, making it all feel quite strange.

"Stop worrying too much, isn’t it possible that a company simply bought all the magical girl IPs and then staged a global version of ‘The Truman Show’?"

"Whether it’s real or not, it truly feels magical; it’s the first time in recent months that I’ve seen such a scale bigger than ‘Dazzling Stage.’"

After public opinion had brewed for half a day,

A strange account called [Counter-Magic Bureau] appeared simultaneously on video platforms around the world.

The profile picture of this user is a badge with a half-lively, half-wilted World Tree, and upon clicking in, the introduction is very simple, showing just the name and identification.

As for the first video, it features a classic VTB—virtual streamer—showing off an otaku outfit and sharing personal details.

In the video, there is a silver-haired, red-eyed Miss Bunny Girl.

The girl’s face is beautiful, with a perfection unique to machines and AI. Her shapely figure is alluring, her red eyes have a vacant gaze, and the curve of her smile is sly. Her expressions and movements are lifelike, showcasing top-quality artistry that surpasses ordinary VTBs.

This virtual streamer smiles at everyone and introduces herself:

"I am the Original Witch, but you can also call me Esther."

"From now on, I will take you into the world of magical girls."