Zhou Huanan arrived at the hotel he had visited the previous day.
The male front desk clerk was joyfully unwrapping a Magical Girl Grey Moon figure, so engrossed that he failed to notice Zhou Huanan standing before him. Zhou Huanan eventually had to ask for his room key.
Only then did the clerk realize he was still on duty, his face clouding with displeasure.
He looked up at Zhou Huanan, recalling that this was the man who had brought someone remarkably similar to Grey Moon yesterday. Annoyance surged within him.
Yet, he managed to maintain a professional smile.
This was primarily because he clutched the Magical Girl Grey Moon figure in his hands.
Deep down, he believed this figure was the true, innocent Grey Moon.
The male clerk chuckled internally, convinced that Zhou Huanan understood nothing. The real Grey Moon, he thought, was beyond the reach of mere mortals like them.
It was as impossible as plucking the moon from the sky.
Unless, of course, the moon chose to descend and fall into one’s grasp.
The clerk mused sourly.
But he quickly brightened, letting out a scoff.
‘Where in this world does such good fortune exist?’
****
Today.
Grey Moon’s day had been both busy and wonderful.
She had finally bid farewell to her old, battered phone through an online purchase, replacing it with the latest Star brand model. This eliminated the last potential vulnerability for her secret identity.
Now that her new phone was in hand, Grey Moon tossed her old one aside, refusing to look at it again.
She knew Zhou Huanan would search for her, would send her countless messages, but she dared not look.
She feared she would regret it.
She had finally resolved to change, to say goodbye to her gloomy, utterly un-cute past self, and embrace her identity as Magical Girl Grey Moon—a powerful, dependable, and loving magical girl.
Liu Li was serious this time. Hearing the incessant pings from her old phone, signaling messages from various people, she steeled her heart and powered it off completely.
She sat on the bed, looking adorably docile.
Grey Moon cradled the new phone’s packaging in her hands. Even as a magical girl, unwrapping a new gadget was one of life’s great pleasures. She then placed the phone on her delicate, porcelain-white thigh.
Her gaze fell upon a familiar female news reporter on the screen.
“A new magical girl, Magical Girl Azure Bloom, has emerged! She began her activities in the city this morning, defeating combatants from an evil organization. Now, please watch the live report.”
The scene shifted, revealing monsters soaring across the sky.
Magical Girl Azure Bloom stood beneath a shooting star, facing the camera. She offered her thoughts in response to the reporter’s questions.
“Oh my! I didn’t really do much, you know. Defeating a few small fry from an evil organization is nothing at all!”
Grey Moon watched Azure Bloom, who appeared timid and childlike, and couldn’t help but crack a smile. Still, she found Azure Bloom quite adorable. That little sailor uniform would surely win many hearts.
She tugged at the hem of her own skirt.
‘I, I, I, I absolutely won’t lose at this level!’
After giving herself this pep talk, Grey Moon continued to watch.
Magical Girl Azure Bloom carried on with the interview, and as she spoke, she pressed her entire face against the camera lens.
Grey Moon’s first reaction was how cute she was. However, when the reporter pulled the child away and asked what she liked most, Azure Bloom loudly declared her favorite was Magical Girl Grey Moon.
This caused both the reporter and passersby to exclaim, half-jokingly asking if she was confessing her love.
“Yes! Grey Moon is my idol!”
Azure Bloom’s response was incredibly loud.
Grey Moon felt a mix of embarrassment and happiness, thinking she had gained such a cute, admiring junior. She watched the vibrant Magical Girl Azure Bloom on screen.
‘Magical girls are all such adorable creatures.’
‘It’s truly wonderful to be a magical girl.’
Grey Moon nodded, her conviction strengthening.
“But, it’s already this late. I need to get ready…”
Noticing the time in the upper left corner of her phone, Grey Moon put it down. With a soft grunt, she got out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom.
She needed to check if she had undergone any changes.
She had spent some time that morning refining the Magma Demon’s core. Now, that core rested in her chest, serving as a second heart.
Initially, she had worried about potential side effects.
For instance, growing horns or something similar.
But looking at the exquisite, perfect loli in the mirror, with skin so fair and flawless that even the strictest standards couldn’t find a blemish, she was reassured.
Grey Moon nodded, satisfied with her beautiful body.
“Pachijiji.”
Grey Moon made a cute sound to cheer herself on for what she was about to do.
‘Here I go!’
Grey Moon dramatically turned her head towards the corner of the bathroom, where she had secretly stashed a pile of same-day delivery packages.
These boxes contained what magical girls used as their “weapons” – outfits for a maiden.
She randomly picked one up and tore it open, revealing an extremely revealing, light blue bikini swimsuit.
Even when buying such lingerie for herself, Grey Moon only dared to hold it by the edges with her thumb and forefinger.
Swimwear wasn’t just for the beach.
The suite she was in had a direct path from the entrance, on the left, to a swimming pool. Inside the pool room, there were several more rooms.
Upon waking that morning, curiosity had prompted Grey Moon to open each of these rooms. She discovered they were like a studio set, each with a different theme.
Among the decorations were the corner of a cramped city bar, complete with a counter and liquor cabinet, exuding a cozy and romantic atmosphere.
There was also a gym, disguised as a fitness center. Besides the usual gym equipment, for some unknown reason, a stack of sports mats, about seventy centimeters high, was conspicuously placed in a corner.
Grey Moon tried climbing onto them and looking behind her, realizing the height was just right.
Her ear tips flushed crimson, even though no one was there to see.
Grey Moon quickly fled that room.
Her continued exploration unveiled even more provocative scenes. One room was designed as a corner of an abandoned factory, with scattered, aged props that looked incredibly realistic. A blue plastic sheet covered the center of the room, with the rest being bare concrete.
Another room was even more scandalous.
Dim candlelight filled the space, along with the scent of decaying wood and rust. It was clearly set up for sophisticated games, causing the magical girl to flee in disarray.
Returning to the present.
Grey Moon looked at herself in the mirror, a flicker of hesitation in her crimson eyes, a hint of retreat.
She abruptly closed her eyes.
She shook her head. ‘No! How, how can I retreat now?!’
‘Grey Moon, think about what you *want* to do. Say your plan out loud! Don’t give up!’
“I… I want to take down Zhou Huanan…”
She held the bottom half of the swimsuit, a maiden who knew that once she put it on, there would be no turning back.
Her voice had never sounded so soft, almost like she was cooing at her reflection. The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became.
Despite the quiet serenity of the bathroom, where only she could hear her own words, the Grey Moon in the mirror still felt incredibly shy at the thought of what she was about to say.
“So… so I bought so many clothes, planning to tempt him tonight…”
‘That’s right.’
‘I have to do this.’
‘If… if I don’t do something soon, if I don’t do something…’ Grey Moon recalled that day, the scene of Zhou Huanan speaking with Genbu Omori, a moment as beautiful as a dream.
The silence after school, the classroom where only the two of them were alone, as if filtered by falling cherry blossoms. Fortunately, Zhou Huanan later clarified that it was just a false alarm, a pure misunderstanding.
‘But…’
‘If I don’t make a move, such things will continue to happen.’
‘And I, with no standing to interfere, can only watch helplessly as Zhou Huanan is taken away by other girls.’
‘Just imagine. Imagine Zhou Huanan not being with me on the weekend, but nestled in Genbu Omori’s vast, gentle embrace, playing games. The meals I make for him, going into someone else’s mouth.’
Thinking of such an absolutely unacceptable future, Grey Moon’s fists clenched. Her eyes, which had been shy and soft moments ago, now flashed with red light, returning to their usual cold indifference.
The intensity even grew. A sharp crack echoed.
Grey Moon hadn’t done anything, yet a crack appeared in the mirror before her.
But Grey Moon seemed not to hear the mirror’s lament. The swimsuit clutched in her hand no longer seemed so terrifying.
Standing before the shattered mirror, her scarlet eyes were somewhat frightening.
‘Genbu Omori didn’t succeed today, but what if my suspicion is correct, and she really is Emerald Magical Girl? What if she confesses to Zhou Huanan as Emerald Magical Girl?’
‘Then, can Zhou Huanan truly resist?’
Magical girls were excessively adorable creatures.
Grey Moon, having once been a boy herself, naturally understood that no boy could refuse a magical girl’s invitation.
What’s more, Emerald Magical Girl possessed such a ‘large’ weapon.
Given that others wielded nuclear weapons, her own ‘loli airport’ (flat chest) was an insurmountable chasm in comparison.
If she wanted to bridge that gap, there was only one path: preemptive strike.
Seduce Zhou Huanan first, and establish a relationship with him.
The plan held no real difficulties.
After all, every boy secretly hoped for a beautiful girl to descend from the heavens and ride on his nose with her panties.
‘A different dimension altogether.’
‘As long as I do it.’
Magical Girl Grey Moon was confident that this would make Zhou Huanan utterly incapable of leaving her!
She possessed immense, overflowing confidence!
Besides,
Zhou Huanan himself had said he liked Magical Girl Grey Moon. What could possibly go wrong?
Even if, by some million-to-one chance, Zhou Huanan mistakenly thought Grey Moon was a frivolous girl, her blood—the sacrifice she made—would explain everything.
Even if, in the end… he only desired her body and didn’t love her.
Grey Moon had prepared herself mentally for everything.
‘As long as I love him, as long as I can stay by his side, prevent him from facing further trials, and rescue him from danger.’
‘To protect him and ensure he lives a peaceful life.’
‘That would be enough. Absolutely enough.’
The magical girl’s eyes hardened with resolve. She shed her pajamas and stepped into the swimsuit she found supremely embarrassing. With the sound of a thread snapping in her mind, Grey Moon knew it was the sound of her former male self’s last boundary shattering.
But there was no time for sorrow.
‘More masters are yet to appear!’
Dissatisfied with the swimsuit she was wearing, Grey Moon continued to open the remaining delivery boxes, treating herself as a ruthless dress-up doll.
It wasn’t until a pure white bikini was draped across her chest that Grey Moon nodded in satisfaction.
The swimsuit was excessively white. On an ordinary person, it would only make their skin appear darker. But Grey Moon had no such anxiety; rather, such an intensely white swimsuit perfectly complemented her fair skin.
And so,
Grey Moon pushed open the door, walked through the corridor, and settled by the poolside, listening quietly for Zhou Huanan’s return. The maiden wasn’t worried he wouldn’t come.
After all, with Zhou Huanan’s financial capabilities, he couldn’t simply ignore the cost of maintaining this suite.
He, he, he—
“Beep-beep!”
Grey Moon smiled faintly, raising an eyebrow. She heard the sound of the room door being swiped open.
She knew the person she was waiting for had arrived.
She straightened her small legs, dipping her toes into the water to test the temperature. Satisfied that it was perfect, she gracefully slid her entire body into the pool.
She entered the water with the lightness of a mermaid, barely making a ripple.
Soon, she emerged from beneath the surface.
Floating on her back, she swam silently underwater, her long silver hair fanning out behind her like silver petals. She resembled a rare, exquisite jellyfish from the deep sea—dreamlike, yet deadly.
For an ordinary person to witness such a sight would be a blessing in three lifetimes.
But now, the maiden,
In the water, struck a pose, inviting discovery.
Waiting, waiting to be found by him.