“Excuse me, but I’m hardly a marine biology doctor. Why are you trying to flatten me with a steamroller?”\n\nJi Qianye stood amidst the rubble, her expression utterly bewildered. Beside her, a steamroller lay mangled beyond recognition, as if it had been subjected to a barrage of rapid, powerful blows.\n\nIt wasn’t as though Ji Qianye had actually unleashed a flurry of punches upon the machine. Rather, when the steamroller had hurtled towards her, it had seemingly collided with an invisible barrier, the sheer rebound force twisting its metal into its current mangled form.\n\n“So, this must be my cheat ability? I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but it seems rather effective.”\n\nA faint smile touched Ji Qianye’s lips. The sudden manifestation of this ‘cheat’ ability seemed to lift some of the lingering vexation she’d felt over her recent physical changes.\n\nThe AST personnel, however, who had been observing the situation from a distance, found little to be pleased about.\n\n“Truly a Spirit,” one exclaimed, “they effortlessly accomplished what we could not!”\n\nA collective gasp rippled through the ranks of the AST magicians, followed by murmurs of awe and apprehension.\n\nEven equipped with their full Tactical Manifestation Units (CR-Units), employing their Territory to deflect that steamroller would have been no easy feat.\n\nJi Qianye then noticed she was encircled by a group of girls in peculiar mechanical suits, each wielding a beam saber and a Gatling gun.\n\nThough calling them all ‘girls’ wasn’t entirely accurate, as their leader had clearly outgrown the typical age range of a young maiden.\n\n“Achoo!” Ryouko Kusakabe suddenly sneezed aloud, drawing startled looks from her fellow magicians.\n\n“Captain, what are you doing?” a nearby AST member whispered urgently. “If we’re not careful, our surprise attack on the Spirit will be ruined!”\n\n“No need to worry about that,” Ji Qianye interjected, turning to face the airborne group. “I’d already spotted you all.”\n\n“Tsk,” Ryouko scoffed. “Surprise attack failed. Switch to a frontal assault! We must annihilate the Spirit!”\n\n“Understood!”\n\n“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!…”\n\nCountless bullets, imbued with magical energy, erupted from the glowing blue Gatling guns, filling the shattered ruins with a deafening cacophony of gunfire.\n\nAmidst the gunfire, missiles streaked forth from the light-emitting wings on the magicians’ backs, hurtling towards Ji Qianye. Occasionally, one or two would veer off course, obliterating large vehicles parked along the roadside.\n\nBy all conventional logic, no one should have been able to survive such an onslaught.\n\nYet, was the individual before them truly human?\n\n“Well… this might sound a bit crude,” Ji Qianye began, “but the moment I saw your outfits, I got a boner!”\n\nAs the gunpowder smoke dissipated, Ji Qianye stood before them completely unscathed, a playful smirk gracing her lips.\n\n’Ah, so I’m the ‘Spirit’ they’re talking about. Well, this Spirit power seems pretty decent; their attacks don’t seem to be harming me at all.’\n\n’Still, there are so many anime with ‘Spirits,’ and they’re always beautiful two-dimensional girls. For the life of me, I can’t figure out which world I’ve landed in!’\n\n’What’s even more perplexing is how I understand and can speak Japanese.’\n\n’Ara, ara, how could a mother bear to make her child relearn a language after transmigrating? Of course, it was set from the very beginning that you’d be fluent in the mainstream language of this world!’\n\n’Furthermore, your original name as a human male isn’t quite fitting for this world anymore. How about Mom gives you a new one? Let me see… how about ‘Phantom Qianye’?’\n\n“Who asked you to give me a name?” Ji Qianye retorted. “A true man doesn’t change his name or surname!”\n\n’Then, may I ask if you are still a man?’\n\n“…Uh, well about that! Mom, please, can you change me back?”\n\n’I’m sorry, my little rascal, your original body has already turned to ash. There’s nothing Mom can do.’\n\n“Then can you regenerate another body? Please, my good Mom!”\n\n’When two women give birth, the result can only be a daughter! Or are you suggesting you’d let another man be your father?’\n\n“Ugh, never mind then. A true man lives between heaven and earth; a godfather might be acceptable, but a biological father? No thanks!”\n\nAnd so, Ji Qianye—or perhaps ‘Phantom Qianye’—was engaged in a lively, word-for-word conversation with her birth mother, completely oblivious to the AST squadron arrayed before her.\n\n“Captain,” a nearby team member reported to Ryouko Kusakabe, “the target appears to have no aggressive intent. They’re behaving like a Hermit!”\n\n“Hmm, that’s good,” Ryouko replied, “but don’t let your guard down. This is a Spirit possessing immense power.”\n\nRyouko Kusakabe promptly issued her command.\n\n“All units, listen to my command! Meshita, Chiba, and Sawada, continue to provide aerial fire support. The rest of you will follow me for a close-quarters assault!”\n\n“Understood!”\n\nImmediately, while the three designated members ascended to continue their ranged assault, the remaining AST personnel charged forward, following Ryouko Kusakabe’s lead.\n\nAmong the AST members trailing Ryouko Kusakabe, one particular individual surged ahead, breaking formation to lead the charge.\n\n“Origami!” Ryouko called out. “Don’t break formation and charge ahead!”\n\nUnfortunately, Origami Tobiichi remained deaf to the command, her mind consumed by a singular thought.\n\n’Finally, this day has come. Father, Mother, your daughter can finally use her own strength to avenge you!’\n\n“Oh-ri-ga-mi?”\n\nUpon hearing the somewhat familiar pronunciation, Ji Qianye quickly realized it was the Japanese word for ‘origami’.\n\n“Wait, Origami? So, this person before me is *Origami Tobiichi*?”\n\nJi Qianye finally grasped which world she had transmigrated into. This was the universe of *Date A Live*, and she had become a new Spirit.\n\n’Transmigrating into the *Date A Live* world to join Shido’s harem—could something straight out of a novel actually happen to me? Then again, transmigration itself is a novelistic trope!’\n\nEven as Ji Qianye pondered this revelation, Origami Tobiichi had already closed the distance, now standing directly before her.\n\n“Spirits,” Origami declared, her voice laced with venom, “should not exist in this world!”\n\nHer voice seethed with a potent mix of anger and hatred as she brandished her beam saber, slashing it down towards the Spirit before her.\n\n“Um, Master!” Ji Qianye began. “You’re a Spirit yourself, aren’t you? Well, you aren’t yet, but—”\n\nJi Qianye had intended to speak, but the moment the words left her lips, an invisible force seemed to dissipate them, leaving only silence to reach Origami’s ears.\n\n’You mustn’t, my dear daughter! You can’t just directly spoil the plot for the characters of this world!’\n\n“Who’s your daughter?” Ji Qianye retorted, though her voice was barely a whisper.\n\nThis time, Origami heard clearly, yet she chose to ignore it.\n\n“Hatred. Spirits must be annihilated!”\n\n“Master,” Ji Qianye chided playfully, “you’re the true master here, so perhaps you shouldn’t imitate Yuzuru Yamai’s speech patterns!” She displayed no hint of battle readiness, still finding amusement in teasing Origami.\n\nOnce again, her words were erased for containing spoilers.\n\n“Master, please just stop!” Ji Qianye urged. “Your attacks aren’t doing any damage to me!”\n\n“…”\n\nThis time, Origami Tobiichi remained utterly silent, focusing entirely on her relentless assault. Meanwhile, the other AST members caught up, completely encircling Ji Qianye.\n\n“Alright, fine,” Ji Qianye sighed. “Since none of you will listen to me anyway, I suppose I’ll just have to test the power of my Angel!”\n\nAs she finished speaking, Ji Qianye’s heterochromatic eyes were completely engulfed in a vibrant pink hue, with a pair of delicate hearts shimmering within her gaze.