“What is this?”
Jiang Yin instinctively asked as he caught the blue booklet Ning Rong tossed over, but his hand had already opened it.
Ning Rong focused on driving, eyes straight ahead, and explained casually.
“Your ID.”
“Of course, it’s just a trainee ID. The official document will be given to you after you pass the three-month assessment period.”
“I thought it would be something a lot cooler.”
Jiang Yin looked at the plain, unremarkable Magical Girl Trainee Identification—nothing engraved on the cover, only his own mugshot and status revealed upon opening it. It felt quite different from what he had imagined.
“All documents from the Confidentiality Department are like this, to prevent accidental recognition.”
“Wow, it actually feels kind of cool when you put it that way!”
“……”
Ning Rong really couldn’t understand the strange chuunibyou of a thirty-year-old man, nor did she know what Jiang Yin was sighing about as he hugged the ID like it was a precious toy.
“And your internal communication device—it’s triple-protected.”
“The service pistol will only be issued after firearm training.”
“There’s even a service pistol?”
Jiang Yin’s eyes sparkled, anticipation almost overflowing.
Kind of cute.
Ning Rong’s eyelid twitched.
“There is, but you can’t fire it at will. Every bullet needs to be applied for, and almost no Magical Girl uses it in actual operations.”
“Still pretty great.”
Jiang Yin didn’t mind at all. At least you could indulge at the shooting range. For a man who’d never touched a gun in his life, this was enough to satisfy a lifelong obsession.
“We’re here.”
While she spoke, Ning Rong had already parked in a spacious lot, put on sunglasses and a mask, and handed Jiang Yin a smaller, matching set.
“Put it on, then follow me out.”
“Somehow, this feels even more conspicuous… It’s August, you know.”
“Regulations.”
“Alright, alright.”
Jiang Yin looked at the blazing sun outside and then at the airtight n95 mask in his hand, feeling like he might break out in a rash… Though he didn’t know if Magical Girls could even get pimples.
Despite being heavily covered, perhaps the tightly wrapped faces only fueled the imagination, and the crisp, neat aura on Ning Rong was definitely cool.
A red-haired beauty with a white-haired beauty, such a combination drew plenty of attention walking down the street—especially since they kept to the alleys, making them stand out even more.
The head-turn rate was sky-high; not just monsters, even pickpockets probably wouldn’t dare approach them.
“Does this really work? These alleys have surveillance cameras too, right?”
Jiang Yin couldn’t understand it.
Not to mention that domestic security was so good that pickpocketing had nearly gone extinct, and even local thugs were rare in these alleys.
These alleys weren’t lawless zones like in movies… There were surveillance cameras and Monster Monitoring Systems.
[The current monitoring system still has gaps. Almost all monsters able to hide in the city have ways to evade detection, but it’s nearly impossible for them to escape the perception of Magical Girls.]
[So the purpose of patrols is the same as police officers—it isn’t about patrolling where monsters might appear, but to root out those hiding within society.]
The voice bypassed her ears and echoed directly in Jiang Yin’s mind.
She didn’t panic—her first thought was that this must be a unique telepathy ability of Magical Girls.
But as an unawakened Magical Girl, Jiang Yin couldn’t use it yet, so she took out her phone and, feigning reluctance, typed out her question to Ning Rong—she was very familiar with this feeling from shopping trips in the past.
[So it’s just luck?]
[Smart thinking.]
Ning Rong glanced at her approvingly.
Such an easygoing junior was rare, and being able to instantly get in sync and act natural was impressive.
——She’d intended to teach these things slowly during safe daytime patrols, but Jiang Yin had figured them out on her own.
This wasn’t something age alone could achieve.
Many people live in their own worlds, barely understanding others, let alone reading the room and doing what needs to be done.
Jiang Yin’s quick reaction could only be called clever.
‘Maybe we can speed up the training a bit.’
She thought this to herself, used telepathy to discuss an evening patrol district swap with another teammate, and kept replying to Jiang Yin.
[It’s not purely luck. Though the exact reason is unclear, most monsters prefer targeting young, beautiful women. Our patrols also serve as decoys, which is why you wear plain clothes.]
[Decoy operation?]
Jiang Yin was surprised, but quickly remembered that monsters had no human rights. The principle of not using decoy operations unless necessary didn’t apply to these creatures.
Although in Europe, odd white leftist groups like the ‘Monster Protection Association’ had appeared, even there—where demons roamed—such organizations were rare and treated as jokes.
This made humanity’s consensus on monsters clear: discover and destroy!
[Compared to the day, nighttime patrols are even more important. You can move freely now, just don’t go more than ten kilometers from me.]
[If there’s an emergency, activate this—I’ll come immediately.]
What Ning Rong handed her…was a pink sphere with pure white cords on both sides.
Don’t get the wrong idea. This wasn’t some lewd item, but something even more embarrassing for Jiang Yin to carry…
[Isn’t this a Japanese elementary school girl’s alarm!? Why do we even have this thing!?]
She whipped out her phone, her typing nearly a blur, showing how agitated she was.
[Ask the research department. I only know it’s very effective.]
[If you don’t want to use it, awaken quickly so you can communicate via telepathy.]
[Easy for you to say. I don’t even know how to awaken…]
Their conversation continued, but in reality, after leaving through the mall’s back door, Jiang Yin and Ning Rong had already gone in separate directions.
From the bustling city center to the tourist attraction two blocks away.
The girl walked along the riverside Ancient Alley, passing old buildings and tourists taking photos.
She sensed no danger at all.
Which made sense—if she encountered a monster on her first day, that would be the real oddity.
In fact, monsters were so rare domestically that Jiang Yin had never even seen a single monster-related incident in thirty years.
Especially in the city’s busiest area—monster sightings were almost unheard of.
——Ning Rong circled this area every few days, and other Magical Girls also shopped here regularly.
If a monster could hide here, that would be the real anomaly.
So Jiang Yin felt very relaxed.
She even bought two volumes of an old light novel at a street-side Old Book Stall run by an elderly man—really old, Shana of the Burning Eyes!
A true collector’s item.
She cradled it like treasure, reading as she strolled.
With the breeze on her face.
Wearing a school uniform.
It was as if she’d returned to a decade ago, and it felt wonderful.