Frontline

Ding-dong

[A user you follow has a new post.]

Xingyue, who was currently working out of town, saw the pop-up notification on her phone and tapped on it without a moment’s hesitation.

But the content cast a shadow over her mood.

—Famous Fitness Blogger:

[I was really tied up and given a rough workout by Big Sis! So forceful! I won’t be able to post for the next few days!]

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Beneath it, the comment section was filled with all sorts of ghouls and goblins frantically posting things like ‘Offering a fortune for the video’ and ‘Offering a fortune for the used silk stockings’.

“She’s stirring up trouble again…” Xingyue covered her forehead in distress.

Rationally speaking, a post like this was most likely just fooling around, probably scripted.

But she knew that the user called ‘Famous Fitness Blogger’ was that Elera, and who knew if that woman was being serious or just playing around.

Sigh.

Xingyue put away her phone and gazed into the distance.

A lush, green mountain forest.

“Is that thing really in here?”

A Dragon-class dimensional beast had infiltrated the area; it possessed high intelligence and a small body, a combination of three factors that made it extremely difficult to find.

Xingyue’s gaze sharpened.

‘I need to deal with this thing quickly, then get back and keep a close eye on that horny vixen.’

“As long as you’ve come to terms with it, everything will be fine. It’s getting late, so I’ll be heading back for today.”

“Mhm, thank you so much! It was so wonderful meeting you!”

At the door, Luo You and Liyun acted out a touching farewell scene.

After going downstairs, Luo You couldn’t help but lament that she had single-handedly created a magical vengeful dame who now had perverted thoughts about her. What kind of mess had she gotten herself into?

But to get Liyun back on her feet, this bit of stimulation was necessary.

As for the flames of vengeance she had ignited in Liyun, Luo You wasn’t afraid in the slightest.

‘There are thousands upon thousands of magical vengeful dames out there. One more or one less doesn’t make a difference. If there’s another one, so be it. It’s all the same. You really think you can turn the tables and kill me?’

‘Ridiculous!’

The only remaining obstacle to Liyun becoming a magical girl was repairing her relationship with her sister.

However, she probably wouldn’t even need to intervene personally. Once Liyun’s desire for revenge was kindled, she would naturally stand on the same battlefront with her sister, Xingyu, and the problem would solve itself.

How delightful! How delightful!

Ring, ring…

“Hello? Zining, what’s up?”

“Dad, where are you?”

“Getting something to eat. Why?”

“I have a math competition out of town soon, so I won’t be back for a while.”

“Oh.”

It was a very brief call, like she was just giving a notice, and she hung up right after.

Luo You didn’t mind.

‘A math competition? Only a fool would believe that.’

Luo Zining had been like this recently. Based on their previous conversations, Luo You guessed she must have a magical girl mission that required her to frequently board the super-large Star Ring.

“Could it be that there’s a problem with the super-large Star Ring?”

No wonder there had been so many dimensional beast invasions a while back.

Speaking of which, though, the number of dimensional beast invasions had clearly decreased recently.

A while ago, at least one dimensional beast invasion was reported every day, but now it had been four days since any related news.

She didn’t know if the problem was actually solved or if the news was being suppressed.

“If the threat from the Sea of Realms has been contained, then what exactly was that ‘scent’ that Xue and I smelled?”

Luo You couldn’t figure it out no matter how much she thought about it.

After that, Luo Zining didn’t come home for five straight days.

“Sigh… when is this ever going to end?”

Atop a steel behemoth the size of a space battleship.

Luo Zining gazed down at the human city, now the size of an anthill, the initial sense of wonder in her heart long since replaced by visual fatigue.

Wangyue-class Super-large Star Ring, Number 13.

It hovered at an altitude of twenty thousand meters, its exterior black and mechanical. The ring-shaped interior was filled with a massive energy field that distorted light, creating a bizarre and kaleidoscopic scene within.

Viewed from below, it looked as if a stargate had opened in the sky, leading to an unknown time and space.

“Zining, are you thinking of going back?” Ji Yue asked from her side.

“Ah… yeah. I mean, it’s an honor to be on a super-large Star Ring… but the living conditions here really suck,” Luo Zining sighed.

Despite the Star Ring’s immense size, the living quarters were still tiny. The bunk she was assigned couldn’t compare to her two-and-a-half-meter-wide bed at home.

That wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was having to spend the entire day like a salted fish on an assembly line, injecting magical power in the control room until she felt completely numb.

“Did I become a magical girl just to work on an assembly line…?”

Luo Zining’s eyes had taken on an invincible gaze, commonly known as dead fish eyes.

If she had known, she wouldn’t have tried so hard to show off before.

It was precisely because she had injected more magical power than her peers during her first visit that she was specifically requested to come every day since. She had truly dug her own grave.

Glancing at Ji Yue beside her, whose brows were constantly furrowed, Luo Zining asked in a low voice, “Auntie, can you still not tell me what’s going on?”

Ji Yue shook her head. “It’s better that you don’t know. Just focus on injecting your magical power.”

“Something big happened at the Sea of Realms Pass, right?”

“Don’t ask. After you’re done injecting your magic tomorrow, head back to the mainland.”

“Huh? I can leave?”

“Mhm. I applied for an opportunity for you to study advanced magic. If you don’t get good results, just see if I don’t give you a thrashing!”

“…”

Luo Zining was speechless.

She knew the front lines had to be dangerous right now, and Ji Yue didn’t want her to stay any longer.

Ever since Xingyue had told her some things about the millennial era, she had developed an inexplicable fear of the battlefield. Subconsciously, she felt it was a huge relief to be returning to the mainland.

As an elder, Ji Yue accurately perceived what was on her mind.

“You don’t need to feel ashamed. You’ve never been on a real battlefield. Your only experience against a strong enemy was that time in Huahai City, and you failed. What’s important is to learn from your mistakes and build up new experience, not to throw your life away on a stage meant for frontline magical girls.”

“But Auntie, you…”

“Don’t worry about me. As you can see, I’m a top-tier magical girl. How long do you think I’ve been on the front lines?”

“Auntie, you know that’s usually a flag…”

“You’re asking for it!”

In the middle of the night, Luo Zining lay on her bed, unable to fall asleep.

She knew Ji Yue was right; her presence here would only be a distraction.

“I have to learn some powerful magic after this and become a magical girl who can stand on her own two feet…”

There was also a shortcut before her: the Divinity Particles.

Ever since the last test, her compatibility with the Divinity Particles had been increasing, but the speed was extremely slow. More than half a month had passed, and the increase was less than 0.6%.

At this rate, she felt she might as well just fuse with them now.

But speaking of compatibility, she remembered the test she ran using Luo You’s saliva.

The test result—the old man’s saliva was instantly licked clean by the Divinity Particles!

Ah, to say it was ‘licked’ isn’t quite accurate. It was more like it was devoured