It was finally Sunday, a day off for Yu Hua, which meant he finally didn’t have to turn into a Magic Girl.
Recently, Yu Hua would turn into Shui Hua when he slept and also needed to be Shui Hua for work.
For at least sixteen hours a day, he had to maintain the image of that blue-haired little girl.
What used to be just a work state was now almost becoming his true self.
However, this trend had been subtly appearing for a long time.
Ever since university, except for a few roommates who knew his Identity as Yu Hua, everyone else—including those in the Magic Girl Department and even his girlfriend Anpelin—had known him as Shui Hua first.
From a certain perspective, his primary social Identity really was Shui Hua.
Clinging to a sense of mission that he had to do something as a man to prove his existence, Yu Hua didn’t stay in bed for a second longer than necessary.
As soon as his body finally allowed for a Transformation Release, he immediately got out of bed.
In the morning, he had breakfast, watched some videos to digest, and played some games when his hands got itchy…
He looked at the time: eleven o’clock.
It was time for lunch again.
“Wait, why is my time being wasted on this? I could do all this even if I turned into Shui Hua…”
But it was more than that.
In fact, because Yu Hua’s reaction speed increased after his Transformation into a Magic Girl, he was actually much better at games in that form once he got used to the feel.
While Yu Hua was thinking about how to spend his precious holiday, the late-sleeping duo, Wang Zeqi and Liu Shixing, finally got out of bed.
The four of them were finally on the same level, and Wang Zeqi could finally say what was on his mind.
“Guys, I’m going for an Alienation Induction this afternoon. Do you want to come along?”
“Why are you going for an Alienation Induction already?”
Yu Hua had left the wound on Wang Zeqi’s shoulder for Lin Ling to handle, so he only realized it was beyond conventional cure when he heard this.
“According to the doctor, the Vampire Meme injected into me is quite troublesome. There’s no ready-made antidote Meme to handle it,” Wang Zeqi explained to Yu Hua, following the medical advice he had been given.
“Instead of letting it stay dormant in my body and not knowing what it will turn into, it’s better to perform a controlled induction early to fix the Meme in place and solve it once and for all.”
“Sigh, in the end, it’s all my fault…”
Beside them, Liu Shixing hung his head, his pink hair looking listless.
“It’s not your fault. It was caused by the Disseminator after all… Besides, this is my chance to become a Hero. Even though my previous Ability Adaptation test wasn’t that great, if I happen to roll a good Meme, I might even be able to get a position at the Ability Bureau.”
“I’ll come,” Yu Hua said. Although he had planned to go play ball or do something “manly” this afternoon to offset his life as a Magic Girl, his good Brother was at a crossroads in life, so he naturally had to witness it.
“I’ll come too…”
Liu Shixing felt responsible, as he was half the culprit.
“Same here.”
Lin Ling was essentially the primary physician, so he also needed to observe the subsequent situation.
“Then let’s have lunch and head out.”
“I hope it’s not your last meal,” Yu Hua joked.
***
After lunch, the four of them walked out of the school gates and took the subway to the Ability Bureau.
Besides the iconic main building where the Heroes worked, the Ability Bureau was surrounded by many subsidiary buildings providing various Magic-related services.
Their destination was the busiest one among them, the “Ability Development and Application Center.”
Yu Hua looked at the familiar building, his heart filled with emotion.
Years ago, it was here that he had ignorantly undergone his Awakening, stepping onto the path of no return as a Magic Girl.
While his roommates weren’t looking, he quickly flipped a middle finger toward the building to vent his long-held resentment.
All the Ability Bureau’s buildings favored a modern style, constructed from geometric shapes using a lot of glass and steel.
Before they even entered the building, the crowded masses occupied their entire field of vision.
There were parents full of expectation bringing their children for their first Awakening, and elderly people trying to implant or modify their primary Meme to prolong their lives.
Compared to these hopeful people, Wang Zeqi was much more nervous.
“Wang Zeqi, are you… a bit too nervous?”
Yu Hua could feel his body visibly shaking.
“Am—am I?”
Wang Zeqi’s face clearly showed his unease.
“Relax. Look, so many people come to try every day. It means the process is safe and the technology is mature.”
“That’s exactly why I’m nervous. Look at that guy who just came out with the pointy head. What if I come out looking like that?”
Wang Zeqi pointed at a man walking toward them.
He was heavily muscled with a small braid on top, but the top of his skull showed an unnatural conical shape.
“You said my head is pointy? Let me ask you…”
The big man seemed to have overheard their discussion, casting a warning glare with his uneven eyes.
The group quickly ducked their heads, shrinking back slightly to avoid the man.
At this, Liu Shixing suddenly gained some strange confidence.
“Exactly. Wang Zeqi, you mock me every day for turning into a Loli. If you really turn into something weird, it would be better to be like me. At least I’m cute.”
“Are you kidding? Even if I, Wang Zeqi, turn out a bit ugly, there’s no way I’m following your path and becoming a Loli-loving Loli. Besides, I’ve watched a lot of JOJO lately. If I turn into a vampire, I’m going to be a two-meter tall hunk who can lift a road roller.”
“Right, keeping that conviction is important.”
Yu Hua patted his back and pushed him toward the entrance of the Induction Room.
It was rare for Yu Hua not to make a sarcastic comment.
“I hope you can become the person you want to be. Good luck.”
However, as soon as he saw Wang Zeqi enter the Induction Room with an expression like a soldier going off to a hopeless war and the door closed, the encouragement on Yu Hua’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a completely different look.
“Come on, come on, let’s start the betting. Place your bets on what Wang Zeqi will turn into.”
“Yu Hua, are you even human? Wang Zeqi just went in. Can’t you show some respect… I bet he’ll be like me: pink hair, red eyes, and one hundred and forty centimeters tall.”
Even as Liu Shixing expressed his condemnation, he quickly joined the guessing game.
“I think Wang Zeqi is still relatively serious. He was strongly condemning Little Liu’s Loli-loving behavior earlier… So I bet on a blonde girl image.”
Even the dignified Lin Ling began to capitalize on Wang Zeqi’s misery.
“Does none of you want him to keep his original gender? You’re all so obsessed with girls that you’ve forgotten your friendship. Just because you turned into girls, you don’t want to see him do well, right? …I bet on a white-haired mature beauty.”
After a mock condemnation, Yu Hua also announced his guess.