That’s right. If it really was 2032, then it could explain why that girl was wearing a school uniform that, while technically a uniform, looked like the kind of outfit you’d see in an anime—with a little skirt and all.
After all, back in her time, whether boys or girls, school uniforms were still those big baggy sack-like things that wrapped you up completely.
She wanted to deny it, wanted to shout and scream that this was all a conspiracy by some new breed of phantom demons, but what if this really was reality? Wouldn’t that mean she just got out of the hospital only to be locked up in a mental institution again!
Jiang Lingwei’s heart was in chaos, various thoughts and guesses swirling in her mind, making it nearly impossible to think clearly.
She said nothing, following the doctor out in a daze, arriving at the corridor.
A female doctor came over with several nurses to take over the examination, focusing especially on confirming whether Jiang Lingwei’s brain had suffered any damage.
The examination process was tedious and thorough, yet not unpleasant to endure.
After the whole procedure, the results came back perfectly normal—even healthier than an average person.
Throughout it all, Jiang Lingwei was like a puppet, manipulated by them—standing up, sitting down, sticking her head into machines she didn’t understand, feeling the high-tech wonders of the new era.
The initial disbelief and disorientation faded away, and as rational thought gradually took over, a bone-chilling fear began to form in her heart.
Could all those deeply engraved memories from the past just be the dream of a middle-aged woman, some hallucination her brain imposed on her?
Those people, those events—were they all fake?
That was terrifying.
Jiang Lingwei had no one to ask. As far as she knew, many cases existed in this world of people waking up from long comas—some even became artists who claimed they had “seen the scenes of hell” and painted a bunch of bizarre artworks.
But that was all from the memories within her “coma.” What if that was fake too?
Which was true, and which was false? Her body had no problems at all, yet this question still gave her a headache.
The more “real” everything felt now, the more painful her past became.
The girl who claimed to be her daughter stayed by her side, telling her things that were common sense to people of this time, explaining that her clothes were prepared long ago, bought many years before and updated yearly according to the latest fashion—just so that when she woke up, she’d have something to wear immediately.
The doctors issued their report, recommending rest at home and recovery of memories by exposure to familiar things. After watching the girl negotiate with them and complete some procedures, the two silently walked out of the sanatorium’s gates.
“Uh…”
At the roadside, Jiang Lingwei glanced at the tree-lined street. The warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the leaves, pedestrians were few, and a couple of backpackers rode by on bicycles, their wheels crunching leaves on the ground.
Everything was so warm and beautiful.
But as soon as she closed her eyes, she could see those monsters, the Demon Lord, and black energy flickering before her eyes—the scenes were just too real.
Opening her eyes, Jiang Lingwei took a deep breath and squeezed the hand of the girl tightly, cautiously asking,
“Did we forget to take anything with us? Are we really just leaving like this?”
“No need, Mom.”
Jiang Yao shook her head and said,
“We’re going home.”
“…Alright.”
Another awkward silence fell. After a moment, a car stopped in front of them.
Jiang Lingwei understood—it must have been Jiang Yao who used an app to call the car ahead of time.
But once inside, Jiang Lingwei found the driver’s seat was empty, and the engine was surprisingly quiet. It sounded more like an electric car?
“This…”
“Ah, it’s a driverless taxi,” Jiang Yao explained. “Mom, just get in.”
“…Okay.”
Jiang Lingwei obediently and somewhat cautiously sat in the back seat.
Jiang Yao did the same.
The vehicle started and moved forward; neither mother nor daughter spoke again.
Only Jiang Yao’s eyes kept “accidentally” glancing over, then quickly looking away, only to sneak another look a moment later.
The girl’s little actions did not escape Jiang Lingwei’s notice, but she herself was just as nervous.
(Can’t stay like this… I need to say something… say something…)
Jiang Lingwei began to think.
(Wait, if we’re going home, doesn’t that mean there’s a man waiting for me there!)
(Oh no…)
Straightening up slightly, Jiang Lingwei tried to use a relaxed, half-joking tone:
“Well, I still find it a bit hard to believe… Am I really your mother?”
“Of course.”
Jiang Yao answered without hesitation.
“Uh, you probably already know that my memories only go back about twenty years…” Jiang Lingwei said. “Honestly, I feel about your age. Suddenly, this daughter of mine appears—and such a good-looking daughter at that—I really need some time to process this.”
“Mm…”
Hearing Jiang Lingwei’s words, Jiang Yao smiled. “I look good mainly because my mom’s good-looking. Besides, Mom’s already amazing. If I were in your place, I’d probably be too flustered to know what to say.”
“Ha ha…”
The girl’s sunny smile made the dark circles under her eyes seem to fade somewhat. Jiang Lingwei felt satisfied inside; no matter true or false, at least in her dream, as a magical girl, she could never bear to see others unhappy or depressed.
Seeing the conversation finally steer this way, Jiang Lingwei took the chance and said,
“Then, can you tell me something about your father?”
At these words, Jiang Yao’s smile immediately froze.
Sensing something was off, Jiang Lingwei hurriedly added,
“You see, in my memories, I haven’t even had a boyfriend yet. If I meet your father, my husband, how am I supposed to talk to him? Can you tell me what kind of person he is first?”
“…”
The girl’s smile vanished, her expression turning gloomy. She said nothing, only shaking her head lightly.
(Not right.)
That’s right—she was discharged just like that, everything led by Jiang Yao. Even if she had no friends or relatives, the child’s father should have at least appeared.
“You…”
Hesitating, Jiang Lingwei wasn’t sure how to address him, so she chose the simplest way:
“Yao Yao, tell me—what’s going on with your father? Why hasn’t he come?”
“Mom, you called me?” Jiang Yao’s expression brightened at first, but when Jiang Lingwei mentioned the latter part, her smile faded again.
“Dad…”
The girl’s voice was faint.
“He left when I was very young.”
“Is he dead?”
Jiang Lingwei asked with calm disbelief.
“I… don’t know.”
“…Abandoned wife and child?”
Jiang Lingwei said incredulously, a bit angry.
Even though she never met that man, a surge of anger rose in her heart. If she had a wife and daughter like that, she’d never leave no matter what!
“No, he loves you very much, Mom, I remember…” Jiang Yao’s pale face shook her head, her eyes full of pleading.
“I don’t know how to explain it, Mom.”
“…”
Jiang Lingwei couldn’t refuse; for this child, letting her confront her father’s absence was too cruel.
The taxi had stopped at a relatively busy commercial street, waiting at a traffic light. To end the topic, Jiang Lingwei looked out the window. On a giant screen of a commercial building, a blonde idol was singing.
“I’m Magical Girl Xiaoying from Jiangning City, everyone! Let my magic make you happy!”
(Cheerful music 🎵)
(An idol from this era? They’re openly declaring their gimmick now, huh.)
Jiang Lingwei thought to herself, realizing she still had to adapt to the trends of the new era.
And judging from this, twenty years later, magical girl works were still thriving.
This discovery inexplicably made Jiang Lingwei a bit happy.
But in the end, it had nothing to do with her. She was only a magical girl once in a dream.
It was time to accept her new life and reality, she thought.
(My… real life…)
“Rumble rumble…”
Suddenly, Jiang Lingwei felt something shaking underground.
(Is this an earthquake?)
—The thought flashed briefly in her mind. No, compared to an earthquake, this felt more like—
Instinctively, Jiang Lingwei reached for her neck. Her eyes widened. Two seconds later, reality confirmed the impossible guess she had just made.
“Bang!”
Dust flew up in the middle of the road as a huge worm burst from underground, its four-lobed jaws wide open.
“Howl!!!”
The worm let out a sharp screech. Yellow liquid dripped from its mouthparts onto the car’s hood, smoking as it touched the metal and leaving scorch marks. Clearly, it was a corrosive substance.
At that moment, one person knew exactly what it was.
(This damn thing is a Magic Bug Worm!)
Jiang Lingwei was too shocked to speak, but the instincts honed from fighting these creatures before responded faster than her rational mind.
She wanted to transform and fight the monster, but in reality, all she could do was scratch her neck, leaving a few red marks.
Rationality caught up. Realizing she couldn’t transform, she immediately turned her head, grabbed the seemingly stunned Jiang Yao, and tried to open the door to get out.
“Slap!”
But just then, the car roof was flipped up, slamming the open door shut in an instant.
“Damn it.”
She cursed awkwardly, using her body to shield her daughter. After the brief impact, Jiang Lingwei tried the other door—
“Bang—bang—bang!”
Three new worms burst from underground, bouncing up and down from the holes, devouring everything in sight. Another car was smashed against the other side, blocking their escape.
Now, their car was completely trapped.
People screamed and ran away; chaos reigned.
Jiang Yao struggled under Jiang Lingwei’s body, shouting, “Mom, we have to get out!”
Jiang Lingwei shielded her with one hand and elbowed the car window with the other, instinctively trying to comfort her:
“Don’t be afraid! Mom’s going to—”
“Rumble rumble—”
The shaking came again.
Jiang Lingwei’s pupils shrank.
Because this time, the source was right beneath them!
“Bang!!!”
The driverless taxi was violently thrown into the air, and Jiang Yao was somehow thrown out from her arms.
“Crack—”
“Buzz—”
After the spinning and crashing, Jiang Lingwei’s ears rang as if something was screaming inside. Then came the sounds of metal breaking, glass shattering, and the worms screeching.
Her head was still dizzy, hair disheveled, and pain radiated throughout her body.
“…Huff… cough cough…”
Struggling to crawl out from under the car, Jiang Lingwei immediately started looking for her daughter through the swirling dust.
No sign—nowhere to be seen.
“Gaaa—”
A sharp screech came from behind. The worm that had tossed them flew upright from the hole, its four-lobed mouth wide open, a small ball-like organ inside aimed directly at Jiang Lingwei.
“Damn it.”
Fighting the dizziness, Jiang Lingwei leaned against the car and dragged out a piece of metal debris from the wreckage.
She was no longer a magical girl, not even a high school boy. The weight of the shard was already too heavy. Its sharp edges cut her fingers, dripping bright red blood.
“Come on!”
Despite a twisted ankle, she managed to stand, gripping the long metal shard tightly, staring down the disgusting monster’s maw.
“Try and eat me if you can!”
“Screeech—”
The worm’s cry grew sharper as it crawled from the hole and lunged down like a shadow falling from the sky.
As the huge silhouette covered her, Jiang Lingwei raised the shard, aiming at its mouth.
This was her last chance.
(Hopefully, I can destroy its sensory organ, then maybe that girl can escape.)
(I really hope I’m not her mother and this is all a misunderstanding, so she won’t be sad.)
In the next moment, Jiang Lingwei abandoned all thoughts; her eyes focused only on the worm’s tooth-filled mouth.
She had only one second, before being shredded and losing all strength, to stab through that little fleshy ball responsible for sensing smell and vibration.
(Come on!)
Time seemed to slow down. She could even smell the stench inside its mouth. The corrosive liquid nearly dripped onto her.
“Bang!!!”
At this critical moment, the worm was hit by something. It didn’t crash down as expected but twisted midair with a dull thud, flying off to one side with a heavy landing.
The shadow faded, sunlight returned.
Then, a girl dressed in light skirt armor, wielding a longsword, descended from the sky and stood in front of Jiang Lingwei.
She withdrew her elbow and adjusted her grip on the longsword.
The girl glanced back at Jiang Lingwei. The breeze fluttered her black hair, revealing faint purple highlights that looked somewhat enchanting. Nervously, she said,
“Ma… ma’am, are you alright?”