Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 3: Copper Coins Galore!

[Witch, Monster, Strange Beast]

All three are calamities to the world, and it is the duty of magical girls to fight against them.

In ancient times, witches would release strange beasts at will into human cities, causing wanton destruction.

[Now, thanks to Qi Xin's special control, the Calamity Zone is responsible for diverting the vast majority of the strange beasts and monsters that the witches have released into the human world—please pay attention to your personal safety when passing through this area.]

[In case of danger, please call the Qixin Emergency Hotline immediately. The nearest magical girl will arrive as soon as possible. May you be with Qixin ♡]

I left Qixin Academy.

Gu Bai stopped in front of a warning sign at a corner for three seconds, looking at the last heart symbol again and again.

It roughly means that the debt of gratitude owed to Qi Xin can never be repaid.

He looked away and glanced at the cluster of low-rise buildings ahead. The disaster zone wasn't large, the layout was scattered, and there were few pedestrians. He estimated that it would only take about twenty minutes to cross through.

Taking the detour would add more than half an hour to his journey, and he still needs to go back to pack his things and move them into his new dormitory.

Never mind, let's go through.

Regarding combat, Gu Bai didn't feel any pressure. Over the years, he had searched for people everywhere and encountered many strange and unusual beasts, accumulating enough combat experience.

But as for weirdos, I've never actually met one.

Upon entering the disaster zone, one can feel an indescribable dampness in the air.

About six or seven minutes later, I felt the ground beneath my feet suddenly tremble, which seemed to be real.

Then came the second and third vibrations, a rhythmic vibration, as if something of considerable size was approaching.

The crowd burst forth from both sides of the street, surging in opposite directions. At first, someone shouted, "A strange beast has appeared!" The rest of the people didn't even have time to say anything, they just kept their heads down and ran.

Damn it.

Gu Bai cursed inwardly, stopped in the crowd, and looked up at the front.

The rental house is at the other end of the street.

He sighed and walked against the flow of people.

I don't really want to go to war; I just want to live a peaceful life.

A moment later, the strange beast appeared in Gu Bai's field of vision.

Standing nearly three meters tall, with a bulky build, its outer shell is a thick, metallic-looking skin that gleams with a dark, coppery sheen in the slanting light of the setting sun. Its limbs are short and thick, and its movements produce a dull metallic scraping sound, like a mobile piggy bank that is being stretched about to burst by something inside.

No, where's the magical girl? Help her!

What are other magical girls like?

For years I've been searching for 'her' whereabouts, but I haven't really learned anything about this profession.

Without taking two seconds to assess the situation, he sidestepped into a side alley; someone was coming.

A beam of clear green light burst forth from the corner of a building.

Immediately afterwards, one magical light blast after another struck the beast's shell, clanging and clattering loudly, and then—

Then there is no more.

The beast's shell remained completely still; the light bullets struck the copper sheet as if they had hit a wall, leaving not even a dent.

"grass!"

Gu Bai turned sideways in the alley and glanced at the source of the sound.

A green-haired magical girl was seen standing on an open ground about ten meters away, launching a second round of attacks against the monster. Her expression could be described as exasperated.

"Where's Miss Xia?! Damn it, you call me here just because I'm nearby? My mother's dead! I'm the milkmaid! In a game, who says the milkmaid appears first? Do you think this is some kind of ranking of heroines in a visual novel?!"

Gu Bai had always had good hearing, and he took in the entire conversation from beginning to end, remaining silent for two seconds.

It feels like none of the magical girls I met today were normal.

The beast swung its body, its thick tail sweeping across. The green-haired girl paused, and a barrier of light instantly formed in front of her, managing to withstand the attack.

The man was jolted back two steps, coughed heavily, but still didn't forget to point into the air:

"You think you can act tough when you're bullying a support like me? Wait till my teammates arrive, I'll tear you to pieces, dig out your core, and subject you to endless hellish torture in my hands!!!"

After uttering those harsh words, she stepped onto magical light staircases that appeared out of thin air, gradually rising into the air and creating distance between herself and the beast, clearly stalling for time to wait for someone.

For Gu Bai, this was two pieces of good news. First, since things were like this, he wouldn't offer any help. Second, the battlefield had been shifted, and he could slip away.

That was the plan, and it could have been executed smoothly.

Unexpectedly, the beast leaped forward, its thick tail sweeping across the room. The attack was swift and fierce, and the green-haired girl was clearly a beat too slow to react.

boom!!!

The light barrier shattered, and the magical girl was forcefully slammed into the alley where Gu Bai was.

Sensing something was wrong, Gu Bai turned to the side and raised his hand.

"Bang!"

The green-haired girl crashed solidly into his arms, and the two of them staggered back a step before managing to regain their balance.

There was a silence of about a second.

Then the green-haired girl lifted her head from his embrace, glanced at the unfamiliar face in front of her, and her eyes swept over him a few times. He wasn't a war correspondent, but an ordinary resident—

Immediately, his furious face softened visibly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

His tone was mild, as if he had become a completely different person.

She stepped back half a step from Gu Bai's embrace, smoothed her hair, her expression concerned, and her voice softened considerably.

"It's dangerous here, you should run! Leave this beast to me—"

"—You were more individualistic when you were criticizing it just now."

"..." The green-haired girl's expression froze.

"Um, actually I..."

Time did not stand still because of their conversation; the strange beast's small, round eyes were now fixed on the direction of the alley entrance.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed as if another attack was about to be launched.

"Anyway, you should run first. The magical girl will definitely protect you!"

"Never mind, I'm in a hurry to get home today."

Gu Bai raised his hand, a thought forming in his mind.

A black sword materialized from his palm, and an inky aura spread along the blade, quiet and steady, like something that had been waiting to be awakened.

Ink sword.

The magic sword left behind by her childhood sweetheart on the day she left only recognizes Gu Bai.

The beast had already charged three meters away, its open mouth churning with copper-green gas, its tail raised high, its momentum extremely strong!

But Gu Bai simply thrust out his sword.

Clean, efficient, and without any unnecessary movements.

The sword energy passed through silently, and the beast's momentum came to an abrupt halt the moment the blade landed. It then slowly split in the middle, becoming two pieces, before finally crashing down in the alley.

Ding ding ding!

Ding ding ding ding ding!

Numerous copper metal fragments rolled out of the beast's body, covering the ground. They bounced around on the ground for a while before slowly coming to a stop, like a piggy bank that had been smashed and dumped, shaking out all the spare change it had been saving for a long time.

Gu Bai looked at the copper block rolling around at his feet.

Behind him, the green-haired girl froze.

"What do you mean, even though it's only at the gray-bronze level..." Her voice drifted over, something in her tone struggling to remain normal, "but it was killed in one hit?"

The green-haired girl opened her mouth, then swallowed back what she wanted to say, and instead blurted out something else:

"Wait, what I just did, that, that gentle thing—"

"It's alright, we'll judge by actions, not intentions."

"Thank you, thank you." She paused, her ears turning slightly red. "Consider it a thank you for catching me."

"I didn't pick you up." Gu Bai took a step out of the alley and said truthfully, "You got punched and sent flying here by yourself."

"you......"

"Facial recognition complete, generating combat log."

Just then, a round little robot trotted out from a corner and began methodically cleaning up the remains of the alien beast, with voice prompts ringing out in succession:

"Hello, this is Xiaoqi Cleaning Robot from Liming Smart Innovation! The battlefield cleanup service has been launched. The remaining copper metal obtained will be converted into cash after deducting handling fees and transferred to your Qixinbao account. Please refer to today's metal market for the exchange rate."

The robot's voice paused for a moment, then continued broadcasting in the same steady tone:

Friendly reminder: Copper prices experienced unusual fluctuations starting at 14 PM today, with a short-term increase of 7.3%. Please make rational decisions based on your individual risk tolerance. Wishing you happy investing! ♡

"I'm leaving."

"Wait!" The green-haired girl reached out, paused, and said, "Um... thanks."

Gu Bai turned around and glanced at her.

She turned her head slightly away, her ears turning a little red, her expression still awkward: "My name is Chunheng."

Chunheng paused, her ears still flushed, and added, "What's your name?"

"Just someone passing by..." Gu Bai paused, then took a step out of the alley: "...just a teacher."

As I walked out of the alley, the copper blocks at my feet were still being gathered into piles by the Xiaoqi robot with a clattering sound. Chunheng was still standing in the same spot behind me, and I didn't know whether she was waiting for her teammates or just standing there processing what she had just said.

Gu Bai's phone beeped.

[Qixinbao is placing an order for you: Copper. Friendly reminder: Today's price increase is significant; you can hold your position and observe.♡]

Gu Bai put his phone back in his pocket and continued walking towards the rented house at a leisurely pace.

Tao Zhuo, who just got liquidated from trading Zhenyue Coin, I wonder if he'll go long on it tonight.