Click.
A sound like the gears of a clock meshing together rang inside Chinrin’s mind.
Strangely, not even the worst nightmares had jolted her awake, yet this sound instantly brought her back to full alertness.
What a terribly annoying nightmare.
Chinrin sat up at the head of the bed, subconsciously reaching to wipe the sweat from her forehead as she thought this — but when she lowered her hand, the back of it was still perfectly dry.
She had almost forgotten: right now she had the body of a doll. She didn’t sweat at all.
Morning sunlight slipped in through the gaps in the curtains. It seemed last night’s weather forecast had been correct — today was going to be bright and sunny.
Taking advantage of the light, Chinrin glanced down at the sleepyhead lying beside her.
Yang Mo was lying on her side facing her, breathing slow and even, showing absolutely no sign of waking up anytime soon.
Chinrin let out a long, relieved breath.
You’re still right here, aren’t you?
The thought made even the strength she used to pinch Yang Mo’s cheek noticeably gentler than usual.
“Get up already. Do you still want to go to the aquarium or not?”
“Mmm… uuu…”
After a round of tugging with two layers of meaning, Yang Mo finally opened her eyes.
The first thing she did after sitting up was clutch the blanket and complain:
“Don’t pinch so hard every single time!”
“That’s what you get for being impossible to wake up every single time.”
Chinrin replied nonchalantly.
Before long they had gotten dressed, washed up, and were standing at the door.
Today Yang Mo was wearing basically the same outfit as when they went to the mall: a slightly oversized button-up shirt worn as an outer layer, T-shirt, pleated skirt, and bubble socks.
Chinrin, as always, was in her usual maid dress.
The aquarium they were heading to today was quite a bit farther than the mall last time.
Fortunately, it was located near one of the subway stations in central Lanchuan City. They could reach it by transferring twice from the Xinghu Town line.
Chinrin and Yang Mo went to grab breakfast near the subway station. They bought a few steamed buns outside the entrance and started eating as they walked inside.
They had only intended to get something quick to fill their stomachs, but unexpectedly the buns had thin skins and generous fillings, and the taste of the stuffing was really good.
Chinrin had two braised-pork ones and one beef. The braised pork was perfectly balanced between fat and lean — neither too dry nor too greasy. The beef one had a slight spiciness and actually contained chewy little chunks of real beef.
As the escalator carried them downward, Chinrin remembered that she had once fought the “Wicked Demon” for the first time right here in this very passage. Since then, she had been in several more battles.
Some had been as easy as that first one; others had been as brutally difficult as the fight against No.1.
Unknowingly, she had already become very accustomed to fighting with this body.
When they reached the platform, Yang Mo — who rarely went into the city center — didn’t have a transit card, so they bought single-ride tickets together.
Last time Chinrin hadn’t noticed, but this time she realized the station was unusually clean; even the decorative elements showed almost no stains or wear.
According to Yang Mo, this line had only opened less than two years ago. Chinrin thought — no wonder.
Xinghu Town station was the fourth stop after the starting point, so by the time they boarded, the train was already quite crowded.
In the battle for seats, both Chinrin and Yang Mo’s small statures put them at a disadvantage. Although they saw empty seats when they entered, the moment they approached, a middle-aged woman carrying a plastic bag swiftly claimed it.
With no choice, the two of them had to stand the whole way.
Having learned from the previous bus experience, this time Chinrin only glanced at the hanging straps before immediately leaning against one of the vertical poles.
Yang Mo seemed to read her thoughts from that reaction. She raised one sleeve to cover her mouth and secretly giggled twice.
After some time, they finally reached their stop.
The moment they exited the station, Chinrin was surprised to see that the towering skyscrapers she had imagined were actually far off in the distance.
Yang Mo raised her sleeve and gestured for Chinrin to look around, then explained:
“Even though this is technically still the city center, it’s actually one of the more outlying parts.”
Just as she said, outside the station exit was a wide road, and on both sides were patches of construction sites fenced off with tin sheets. Tower cranes were actively working in several places — it seemed the city was still expanding.
Chinrin looked around and responded coolly with just two words:
“Oh. I see.”
She didn’t exactly have good memories of central Lanchuan City.
The first time she woke up, she was chased by Huang Ya right in the city center. Even now the memory made her heart race.
After becoming more familiar with fighting, she had also started to feel strong doubts about that event.
Did “Zero” in the original story really go through that scene?
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out how a mindless killing machine could possibly escape Huang Ya’s pursuit after running out of mana.
Fortunately, today they were only here to visit the aquarium. The wanted notice on Chinrin had long been canceled, so there was no need to worry about being specially targeted by magical girls just because her appearance matched an old poster.
Yang Mo didn’t pay much attention to Chinrin’s subdued reaction. She half-ran, half-skipped ahead, pulling Chinrin toward the aquarium.
But after they passed a row of shared bikes, she suddenly stopped, patted the saddle of one, and said:
“Chinrin, let’s use one of these. Walking is such a hassle.”
Chinrin gave her a puzzled look and replied:
“You’d be better off just using me directly.”
“Oh right! I almost forgot!”
Yang Mo smacked one palm with her fist, finally remembering where the most convenient mode of transport currently was.
Chinrin looked around to make sure no one was watching, then activated her stealth magic and spread her arms toward Yang Mo.
“Come on.”
“Mm!”
By now Yang Mo was very familiar with what that posture meant. She happily stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the back of Chinrin’s neck.
And so, once again, Chinrin lifted Yang Mo into her arms.
There weren’t many tall buildings nearby to use as stepping stones, but Chinrin could still run while using Iron Thorn tendrils to pull herself forward for extra speed. Even if she couldn’t leap between buildings like before, it was still much faster than riding a bike. Soon the two of them arrived at their destination.
Lanchuan Ocean World — that was the name of the aquarium they were visiting today.
Just like the few shots that had appeared in the anime, the entrance looked more like an amusement park gate than a typical aquarium. Inside there was indeed an open plaza area and several separate exhibition halls.
Cartoon sea creatures were pieced together into a huge wall, with the aquarium’s name embedded in it. A rain shelter had been built in front of the wall, and beneath it was the ticket-check entrance, separated into several lanes by metal railings.
Perhaps because today was the opening day of a new exhibition area, there were long lines of people at the gate. Staff members dressed in mascot costumes were also handing out free dolphin-shaped balloons to children.
When Chinrin walked up to one of the staff, the person immediately handed her a balloon without hesitation. She took it, about to say something, when the staff member promptly handed another one to Yang Mo as well.
The two of them looked at each other, then — at the exact same moment — burst out laughing.
It seemed these balloons were being given to “children” in the broadest sense of the word. Chinrin felt relieved.
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