Chapter 58: I can’t stand it anymore!

“Are you okay?”

Carefully lowering the construction-themed magical girl from her arms, Jiang Lingwei settled her onto a sofa inside an abandoned clothing store—the owner had long since fled.

She did a quick check. Pompo’s grip wasn’t too tight; the main issue was the punch that landed hard. Fortunately, the girl was only a bit dizzy and hadn’t completely lost consciousness.

“……”

The girl, clutching her red safety helmet, said weakly, “My head… hurts… my head…”

“Take a deep breath. Dizziness is normal.”

Jiang Lingwei didn’t have any better solution for now.

She could cast healing magic, but she wasn’t in her prime anymore. With her magical energy constantly leaking, she had to be conservative.

A quick assessment told her this magical girl didn’t necessarily need healing magic.

That safety helmet on her head wasn’t just for show.

Moreover, after getting closer, Jiang Lingwei noticed that not only the helmet, but the entire workwear the girl wore was actually part of her spirit attire.

Big Sis?

Both the magic gear and spirit attire are projections of a magical girl’s inner self.

In other words…

This plain-looking, modest girl was inwardly a typical construction-themed magical girl.

“Wow, she really is a magical girl…”

The construction big sis seemed genuinely dizzy now, starting to babble nonsense.

“Is this for real? Aren’t you one too?”

“Roar!”

The girl sat up straight and introduced herself:

“I’m the construction-themed magical girl, [Mason].”

“I’m Aurora.”

Jiang Lingwei recalled and, judging by modern standards, said, “Probably a mage-type.”

“Thank you for saving me, Aurora!”

Clasping Jiang Lingwei’s hands, Mason’s eyes welled with tears.

“I’ve been fighting dust monsters for so long, if that gorilla beast hadn’t shown up, I almost forgot I was a magical girl. I even wore the red helmet but still only ended up fighting dust.”

(Looking closely, it really was a red helmet.)

Mentioning this reminded Jiang Lingwei she had heard before that on construction sites, different helmet colors represent different roles. Red helmets usually belong to the inspecting party, the top tier on the site.

So Jiang Lingwei withdrew her initial impression of Mason as just a construction big sis.

With this kind of spirit attire representing her heart, she had to be… a motivated construction big sis!

“No need to thank me.”

Jiang Lingwei shook her head.

“I have to leave. There are other ordinary people in the city who need my help. Can you manage by yourself at the bureau to rest?”

“No.”

Mason blocked her way, holding her crowbar named the Holy Sword of Physics.

“I can still fight. I’m coming with you.”

“Are you really okay now?”

Previously, Wen Yaquan had also said construction-themed magical girls weren’t very strong in combat.

But Jiang Lingwei, as a magical girl herself, didn’t really care.

One more person meant one more bit of strength. No matter how weak Mason was, she was an authentic magical girl—far stronger than any ordinary person.

If Mason’s hands weren’t injured, Jiang Lingwei had no reason to refuse her help.

Only that Mason’s head had just been hit, so Jiang Lingwei could only perform a basic check to confirm she was mostly able to live and move. As for internal injuries or other damage, she didn’t know.

So Jiang Lingwei said to Mason:

“This isn’t a game anymore. If you feel uncomfortable, you must tell me. Otherwise, if something happens later, wouldn’t it be better to rest first before coming back to fight?”

“I’m really fine.”

Mason nodded vigorously, then to prove she wasn’t dizzy, spun around a few times on the spot before staggering down a “straight” line that wasn’t straight at all.

Like a girl who accidentally wandered into a gym full of muscular bros, insisting she was straight no matter how bent she was.

“See… I’m… (dizzy) I… have no… problem…”

“That makes me dizzy too. Who wouldn’t be dizzy after spinning on the spot?”

“Anyway, take me with you!”

When that didn’t work, she grabbed Jiang Lingwei’s hand and pleaded with tears:

“I really want to run away. My ability lets me stack objects on top of objects, but ever since I became a magical girl, I haven’t joined a proper fight—just dust fighting and wall building over and over.

“I was so stupid. My uncle got drunk and bragged that civil engineering had a bright future. Who knew that was decades ago? When my fairy contracted with me, I kept thinking I’d make a career in construction… and then this happened.”

Those words were heartbreaking to hear.

But since she seemed mostly uninjured, Jiang Lingwei decided to take her along. Having an extra pair of hands was good.

Just as she was about to speak, Mason quickly added:

“Aurora! Take me with you. I’ll treat you to a foot bath at the foot spa tonight!”

Jiang Lingwei’s words were stuck in her throat but already escaping her lips:

“Okay.”

Mason looked at Jiang Lingwei with a “You really like that, huh?” expression, while Jiang Lingwei gave back a “What are you talking about?” look.

Jiang Lingwei silently flew into the air first; Mason followed closely behind.

Finally, Jiang Lingwei broke the silence:

“I’m not coming because of the foot bath…”

“Mm-hmm, I believe you.”

“I’m not coming because of the foot bath!” (raising her voice)

“I believe you!”

Wen Yaquan, watching everything through cameras, almost laughed out loud:

【Haha, Little Aurora, next target: Liberation East Road. One demon there. Watch out for its ability.】

“Stop laughing, stop laughing. By the way, there’s a Liberation Road? I thought I was back in Songji City.”

【Look at you, every city has its own Liberation Road or People’s Street.】

“True.”

“Phew… Yao Yao…”

Lin Yu was already exhausted but still hadn’t seen Jiang Yao’s figure.

She had clearly seen a silhouette among the crowd before, but now there wasn’t even a trace.

Where on earth had Jiang Yao gone?!

Before her, a surging crowd forced the girl to press herself against a wall to avoid them.

The current Mudong City showed no sign of its usual peaceful scenery, only panic-stricken people filling the streets.

Thankfully, the signal tower was still working, so Lin Yu tried calling Jiang Yao.

What she didn’t know was that this time, unlike before, the An Water Pipeline no longer had the power to create a huge magical domain.

It could only use the most primitive method—letting surrounding cities hunt for other dark fairies possessing ancient weapons to cause trouble.

Then, they’d borrow manpower to sow chaos inside Mudong City.

Though crude and imprecise, this swarm tactic worked.

The pipeline’s real goal wasn’t to defeat the magical girls but to buy time to complete the formation’s carving.

To achieve this, all its so-called companions, minions, and slaves were disposable materials.

“……”

Lin Yu made several calls; Jiang Yao didn’t answer any, making her stomp anxiously.

“Ah—”

Another group of people screamed as they rushed past, but Lin Yu refused to give up.

Jiang Yao was her only friend. If something happened to Jiang Yao…

(Don’t overthink.)

Shaking her head to scold herself, Lin Yu gripped her phone tightly.

(Jiang Yao came back safe last time, this time will be the same.)

(Believe in her… I must believe she’ll be fine.)

While silently praying, she looked at the empty street and suddenly realized something.

Where had all the people just been running to? Why was there no one now?

Upon realizing this, Lin Yu’s face instantly turned pale.

“Thud, thud, thud…”

As if to confirm her suspicion, a huge, heavy footstep echoed from behind, sending chills down her spine.

She turned around.

Ten meters away, a massive beetle-like creature, with mantis-like front claws and the body of a rhinoceros beetle, bigger than a car, was charging toward her.

“Yah!!!”

Her calves weakened, Lin Yu let out a frightened scream.

She used to be okay with bugs as a child, but the older she got, the more scared she became.

Maybe it was karma—according to Wen Yaquan, she often used sticks to poke caterpillars and other bugs to scare others when she was young.

Lin Yu firmly denied this!

Bugs are terrifying!

When humans face fear, adrenaline floods the bloodstream, sharpening their mind. Lin Yu’s mind was just like that.

(But what use is a sharp mind? I want legs!)

(Run!)

Under extreme pressure, Lin Yu still managed to analyze what to do next with her super brain.

That’s right, time to use super strength to escape.

She ran stumblingly, with the giant bug in close pursuit.

Luckily, she was fairly familiar with the terrain on the way and zigzagged enough to almost shake off the bug.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

Leaning against the edge of a wall, Lin Yu felt as if her lungs were burning, each breath bringing a painful scorch.

Why “almost”?

“Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…”

Because she could still hear the footsteps behind her, though neither could see the other.

“Crash!”

“Ah!!!”

Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass and terrified screams came from a side street.

Summoning courage, Lin Yu peeked around the corner and saw the giant bug grabbing a car and trying to tear it apart with its sickle claws, while a family inside screamed desperately, trying to escape.

The giant bug had shifted targets.

(…)

Seeing this with her own eyes, Lin Yu didn’t know what to feel.

The family might have escaped otherwise, but the bug chasing her here changed targets, forcing them all to hide inside the car doomed to be broken.

She was furious and wanted to save the poor people in the car, but she was barely able to keep herself safe and could do nothing.

“Qualified candidate.”

A voice sounded.

Lin Yu turned to see a white, fluffy creature that had appeared out of nowhere, looking at her and saying:

“The situation is urgent. I am a fairy. Remember the full name later.”

The white fluff extended a small paw:

“In short, do you want power? Do you want to save others? Do you want to…”

“Become a magical girl?”

Lin Yu stood frozen, staring at the white fluff.

She didn’t doubt the fairy’s identity. The energy it radiated made her feel comfortable and warm—completely different from the dark creature in the sky.

But…

(Don’t become a magical girl!)

Her mother’s warning echoed in her ears.

“…”

“Ah!”

At that moment, the bug’s sickle claws tightened, and the car creaked under the strain, the terrified screams from inside growing louder.

Lin Yu felt her breathing grow rapid.

“Ah!!!”

The screams continued.

(Don’t, don’t become a magical girl.)

“Ah, ah!!!”

(Don’t become a magical girl!)

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

“I want to!”

Lin Yu took a step forward, grabbed the white fluff firmly, her face filled with unwavering determination:

“What do I do?” (Sorry, Mom.)

(I just can’t stand watching this happen…)