Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 21 Skipping Over Life

Dong Chun then handed the floor to Tao Zhuo: "What are your thoughts?"

"Of course, it's conservative!"

Tao Zhuo lifted her foot and stomped on the ground to make sure her head wasn't spinning anymore, then continued with Dong Chun's preface:

"Some of the magical girls that Qi Xin sends to help impoverished areas have to use Xi Ming's name to carry out their work smoothly. For a prestigious organization like Qi Xin to need someone else's church to endorse it is outrageous. Do you believe it if this gets out, teacher?"

"hehe."

Whether you believe it or not is secondary; this is nothing new.

Any system that operates from the top down will encounter such friction when it reaches the very end.

To break the deadlock, sometimes it is necessary to change the language, sometimes it is necessary to change the habits, but here, what is needed is a golden diagonal line of faith that has been engraved in the hearts of the people.

How so?

It might help maintain stability at the grassroots level, but... it's hard to say.

Gu Bai didn't immediately make a judgment about whether it was good or bad, and walked into the shade of the camphor tree, saying:

"Do you understand what I'm teaching you?"

"Believes in the original magical girl."

Dongchun's gaze lingered on the stone tablet for a moment: "Simply put, it believes that He created everything, including the magical girl system and even this world."

"Hehe, if magical girl coins with this concept could be released on the market~"

Upon hearing this, a subtle crack appeared on Tao Zhuo's face. She seemed about to say something, but then shut her mouth and gave Gu Bai a knowing look.

Gu Bai glanced at her, understanding but too lazy to respond.

There are two buildings next to the square.

One of the buildings was taller and much tidier than the surrounding houses.

White walls, wooden doors, and a banner with neat handwriting hanging above the wide lintel:

[Ximinghui - Shangping Town Station]

The archway was open, and many people were walking around inside. A few of them were wearing light gray shirts with a short, wide, gold stripe on their chests, pointing diagonally to the upper left, which was the symbol of church believers.

Gu Bai looked around for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the right.

The other building, however, looked rather shabby.

The building's insulation layer was peeling off in patches, and a few thin blades of grass had grown out of nowhere in the cracks between the bricks of the low two-story building. When the wind came, they swayed slightly and then bent back to their original position.

A rusty metal plaque hangs on the right side of the gate; the writing is still barely legible.

[Qixin Grassroots Assistance Point (Shangping Town)]

The wooden door was half-open, and there was no sound from inside.

This is not a place for prayer; you can clearly feel it.

But just like playing a visual novel, the list of options had already popped up in front of Gu Bai.

[A: Proceed to Ximing Church]

【B: Head to the Qixin Assistance Center】

Gu Bai decided that...

"Dongchun, how do I get to your village? Lead the way."

"Oh, you're just leaving without gathering any information? Skipping the plot is like skipping life, teacher, don't you understand?!"

Tao Zhuo looked incredulous, but for Gu Bai, skipping the plot directly was the best option.

He didn't have the ability to save and load, nor was he too lazy to spend time reading the lengthy backstory that might exist in this village. He just wanted to move on to the next step.

"Okay, this way—"

"Gentlemen, are you Qi Xin here?"

Dongchun pointed out the way, but just as the three were about to leave...

Qi Xin Dian's half-closed wooden door was pushed open from the inside.

Then, a girl of similar age to Tao Zhuo walked out, wearing a worn-out gray coat. She must have confirmed something when she saw the car with the Qi Xin sign parked on the side of the road.

She then walked over quickly, and before she even spoke, her expression already revealed a hint of tension that was hard to describe.

"Are you from this hospital?"

Her voice was very low, as if she didn't want others to hear: "It's finally here."

"..."

Gu Bai didn't reply immediately. He looked in the direction the girl had come from, his eyes narrowing slightly. Then, he adopted a serious tone and spoke again:

"Qixin Inspectorate, Gu Bai."

"How could it be the Inspectorate? What could such a small place possibly have..."

The girl's gaze shifted slightly, but as if she had made up her mind, she took a deep breath and spoke again:

"To make a long story short, there's a strange gray-lead-level beast in the mountains. It consists of two parts: one part is very agile on the mountainside, and the other part doesn't move much on the mountaintop. It might take both parts to kill it. Luckily, you came."

"Gray Lead level? Thank goodness? Where are the other magical girls at this time? Aren't they all here?"

At this moment, the gray-clad girl, Dongchun, changed her usual demeanor.

With her arms crossed over her chest, Dongchun's tone became seven parts chillingly cold, and her words came out like cannonballs:

"Kishin considered that a very small number of monsters might not appear in the disaster zone, so at least two quasi-magical girls were stationed in each town. What happened here—"

"—Is this the kind of news you want to see: a Gray Lead-level monster attacking a person?"

The girl in gray was completely overwhelmed by Dong Chun's onslaught. She trembled violently and staggered backward, her words slurred: "I'm sorry, I...I...I..."

At the same time, Tao Zhuo, with a gentle smile on her face, leaped to the girl's side, gently stroking her head, and placed the package she had retrieved from the car during their conversation on the ground.

"Don't worry, we're here to solve this. You've done a great job, living up to the name of a magical girl. Here, some supplies. Thanks for your hard work stationed in the village."

"Th-thank you!" The girl burst into tears.

------

------

The interlude was interrupted.

The three of them were already on the mountain road leading to Dongchun Village.

Tao Zhuo clasped her hands together, squinted slightly, and said, "Wow, what a thoroughly enjoyable experience of mind control!"

"Are you very familiar with this process?" Gu Bai sighed. Even so, such flexibility was still helpful.

"We're not stupid when it comes to creating a persona. Since the teacher has taken on the title of 'Supervisory Department,' well, those who know, know~"

After answering, Tao Zhuo tried to soothe Dong Chun: "Next time, will you play the good cop?"

"You're suitable for this." Dongchun didn't care; this kind of thing couldn't sway her.

"I feel I'm more suited to be a cold-blooded killer." Tao Zhuo made a gun gesture with her hand.

"It's a shame you're not on the list of silly hands."

Gu Bai complained that the mountain road was indeed difficult to walk on. To be honest, if Dong Chun hadn't been leading the team, the overgrown weeds underfoot would have made it look like there was no path at all.

"Oh, right." Tao Zhuo seemed to regard this as an autumn outing, turning to Gu Bai with a smile and asking, "What did you notice just now, Teacher?"

"There are still people watching us inside Qixin Point." Gu Bai didn't hide anything; he had noticed that someone was observing them in the dark.

After mentally reviewing the timeline, it seemed unlikely that Xia Zhi had arranged it.

He tentatively glanced at Dongchun and found that Dongchun was also looking at him. The two looked at each other and didn't say anything, but they understood each other—she was unaware of this matter.

It is neither summer nor winter.

Is it just a coincidence?

Honestly, that's really too much of a coincidence.

The wind picked up a bit, and I really have no clue what to do for now.

Ahead, Dongchun stopped at the intersection, gazing at the dirt road leading into the mountains. Her expression was calm, but something indescribable was stirring within her. It wasn't hesitation, but rather a long-forgotten, old memory slowly surfacing from some corner of her heart.

In my childhood, I traveled with that magical girl...

The wind, carrying raindrops, lifted a strand of Dong Chun's white hair, which then fell back down.

"Let's rest well before we go," Gu Bai said as he slowly walked to Dong Chun's side.

"That's enough." Dongchun shook her head, and after a moment, she took a step forward and walked on the road ahead.

"Is it still going up? Damn it, I wish I could actually use flying magic."

Tao Zhuo quickly followed at the back, sighing as she spoke:

"This place is really a remote mountain valley, and the situation is very strange. The magic power is so sparse that it can be considered to have a suppressive effect."

"really."

Dongchun did not turn around and agreed with Taozhuo's statement.

She was also affected, her magic function became sluggish, but that was not a reason for her inability to deal with Gray Lead-level monsters.

The mountain path continued to extend inward, the shadows of the trees cutting the light into tiny fragments that fell to the ground, swaying in the wind, as if welcoming visitors to their journey.

Stay vigilant and keep going.