Last night’s discussion didn’t help Yuhua find a satisfying career direction.
Today was Saturday—it was supposed to be a day off, but because his Tuesday afternoon class conflicted with work, he had to make up the hours today.
The rooftop of the dormitory building was still locked, so he could only brave the blazing sun, run to the more distant teaching building rooftop, transform there, and, as usual, fly straight toward the Division.
Shui Hua pushed open the door to the Magical Girl Division office, greeted by a familiar air that blended the scent of Magical Girls and a faint hint of snacks.
Fei Xing was indeed present, staring at the screen and fiercely battling a document.
Meanwhile, Head Xing Li was curled up on her exclusive recliner, her long green hair spread out, fast asleep.
These two kids had even fuller class schedules than hers, so they had to make up their work hours here the entire weekend.
But they seemed to enjoy it.
Compared to Shui Hua, who looked miserable coming in for work, they were two extremes.
Shui Hua sighed silently and walked over to sit at her own workstation.
On the computer screen, the to-do list clearly showed three pending tasks: two for today, and one left over from yesterday that had been postponed.
Leaning back in her chair, Shui Hua moved the mouse with a blank expression and started clearing through the tasks on the screen one by one.
The first item was to draft and publish this week’s department post—it was her turn to write it.
Shui Hua moved her mouse, opened the department’s social media account edit page.
Looking at the blank input box, she flexed her fingers and then began typing at a speed bordering on reckless abandon:
“Good afternoon, everyone~ This is your most reliable Magical Girl Shui Hua~(≧▽≦)／”
“In the blink of an eye, another week has passed. This week, together with my adorable Fei Xing little sister and our super amazing senior Xing Li, we’re still doing our best to protect the peace and tranquility of Dongjiang District.”
“This week, our main focus was on the especially enthusiastic Anomalous Entity birds near Jianghe Park. Their constant chirping was indeed a bit of a disturbance to everyone’s rest~ But don’t worry, we’ve already persuaded them to leave in a friendly way! Of course, our daily protection work hasn’t been neglected either~”
“In short, every day, Shui Hua wants to bring everyone the brightest smile and the safest protection—that’s the Magical Girl Division’s unchanging promise. See you next time~ Don’t forget to miss me~”
She didn’t dare look at her own post again; after clicking send, she nearly closed the page with her eyes shut.
Next was to draft a thank-you letter to a courageous citizen.
She opened the internal document system, pulled up the standard template, and began mechanically filling in the blanks:
“Dear Mr. Wang Dali:”
“We learned that on the afternoon of May 3rd, 2025, inside the Dongjiang District Convenigo Supermarket, you stood up against unlawful behavior, using extraordinary courage and decisive action to subdue the suspect and effectively protect the lives and property of the public. Your actions fully embody the high sense of social responsibility and the traditional virtue of courage in the face of injustice…”
“…”
“Here, on behalf of the entire bureau, the Magical Girl Division Dongjiang Branch of the Shui City Awakened Ability Administration expresses our high appreciation and sincere gratitude for your heroic actions!”
After typing the signature, she double-checked that the name, date, and location were all correct, then marked the task status as awaiting official seal and tossed it to the next step in the process.
After finishing all the paperwork on the computer screen, Shui Hua stood up and stretched her stiff neck.
The remaining task was a field assignment—the most troublesome one.
She opened the task briefing on her computer and quickly skimmed through:
[Incident: Resident’s pet dog anomaly]
[Location: Dongjiang District, Ping’anli Community, Building 7, Room 302]
[Description: The pet dog “Da Huang” of the elderly woman Li Lanfeng, who lives alone, has undergone moderate Anomalous Entity transformation and grown three canine heads, displaying strong aggression. The owner refuses to cooperate and is difficult to communicate with. The Magical Girl Division’s intervention is required for persuasion and handling.]
After a glance, Shui Hua walked over to the still-sleeping Xing Li and gently took off her eye mask.
“Head, come with me to handle this task.”
Xing Li didn’t even open her eyes, mumbling, “You and Fei Xing can handle it…”
“Fei Xing’s already swamped. And you’re still sleeping here—get up and come with me.”
Shui Hua urged.
After her persistent tugging, Xing Li reluctantly agreed:
“Alright, alright…”
***
The two of them arrived at the elderly woman’s door according to the address.
“You go first,” Shui Hua whispered to Xing Li, “Let’s split up and try different strategies.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Although Xing Li was the Head, her experience handling tricky cases like this told her that, in situations requiring tact, Shui Hua’s advice was always spot-on.
She cleared her throat, stepped forward, and knocked on the door, while Shui Hua silently retreated several steps out of sight.
The door cracked open, and a wary elderly woman showed half her face.
“Hello, ma’am,” Xing Li tried to sound as formal as possible, “I’m Magical Girl Xing Li. Regarding your dog, we’ve detected some anomalies. For your safety and your neighbors’, could you let us handle this professionally?”
“Your dog’s the sick one,” the old woman immediately raised her voice, “Don’t you dare harm my Da Huang! Get out!”
“Ma’am, we’re professionals,” Xing Li tried to explain, but the sharp reaction clearly rattled her, “We’ve already analyzed its Awakened Ability fluctuations. If we don’t handle it now, it could be dangerous.”
“My Da Huang is very gentle—never bit anyone! You’re just dog meat vendors, dressing up in flashy clothes to trick dogs! Get lost!”
With that, she slammed the door shut with a “bang”.
Xing Li was startled by the sudden noise and instinctively stepped back.
She looked helplessly at Shui Hua, who emerged from the shadows, her face filled with obvious frustration:
“What do we do? She’s not listening to a single word.”
Shui Hua stepped forward, thought for a while, and came up with a solution:
“Let me handle it.”
With that, she turned and walked to a corner by the stairwell.
A flash of light, and Yu Hua returned to his usual appearance as a male college student.
Xing Li, puzzled, followed over and saw Yu Hua’s true form:
“Eh? Why did you suddenly change back? Aren’t we here to carry out a mission?”
Yu Hua adjusted his collar and explained, “Let me try plan B. Save the Magical Girl image for plan C.”
He had Xing Li wait in place, then quickly ran to a nearby supermarket, bought a bottle of cooking oil and a ten-jin sack of rice, and shoved the receipt into Xing Li’s hand when he returned.
“Don’t forget to get me reimbursed.”
Then, carrying the oil and rice, he knocked again on the door of 302, speaking earnestly:
“Hello, ma’am. I’m a community volunteer, here to bring you some warmth… See, I brought you some rice and oil.”
From inside, the old woman shouted even more angrily:
“Go away, go away! It’s you people again! Don’t think I won’t recognize you just because you sent a different face! Trying to trick me into opening the door—no way!”
Yu Hua suffered a rebuff and sheepishly withdrew, exchanging helpless looks with Xing Li who was waiting farther away.
Their faces were full of resignation.
“What now? Neither threats nor bribes work at all.”
“Why do you think we Magical Girls have to handle this?”
Yu Hua sighed, “It’s because ordinary methods don’t work, so we have to make use of our unique Magical Girl advantages.”
“How else are we supposed to use those advantages? I’ve tried my best. Should we just try to pass this task on…”
Xing Li was completely losing confidence.
“Looks like, we’ll have to use our last resort.”