Chapter 1: Chapter One: Commute, Electric Train, Magic Girl

He woke up in the morning on a double bed occupied only by himself.

Lin Yun instinctively reached out to touch the pillow beside him, but found only empty space.

It was always like this.

He always fantasized that it was all just a dream, that the person beside him was still there.

Gazing blankly at the ceiling, he calmed himself, then sat up from the bed.

The person was gone; the new day began as usual.

Washing, shaving, dressing, grooming—these things never changed.

Stepping out of the room, he looked toward the next one; taped to his daughter's door was a note saying "Knock first"—this, too, never changed.

He took a prepped instant breakfast from the fridge, heated it briefly, ate it hastily, left another portion for his daughter—who was probably still asleep—and left home in silence.

Fang Ting's morning rush hour was especially extreme; driving was nearly impossible, so Lin Yun rarely drove to work and preferred to squeeze onto the packed electric train.

Though crowded, it was fast and ensured he arrived at the office on time.

Walking to the nearest station, he waited about three minutes for the train, then was shoved into the carriage by the crowd, finding an empty handhold near the window like gripping a floating plank in a storm.

He lowered his head, opened his phone, and watched his boss already assigning tasks across the group chat at this early hour; he couldn't help but sigh deeply.

Bored, he scrolled through idle chatter in the group chat, searching for useful information, thinking about how to face today's overwhelming pile of tedious tasks; the more he thought, the more disheartened he became, until he finally shut his phone, emptied his mind, and enjoyed the rare quiet of the packed train.

Not long after, a sudden scream echoed through the carriage.

Following that first scream, cries of alarm erupted all around.

Following the source of the sound, then the crowd's gaze toward the outside, Lin Yun's eyes shifted until he found the focus—and understood why everyone was screaming.

—On a distant skyscraper, a massive, fleshy-blob-like monster hung there, claws flailing, terrifying to behold.

It was called a "Residual Beast" by people.

It frequently appeared suddenly in human cities, destroying and killing indiscriminately and without purpose—an enigma whose origin remained unknown, and a major threat to social safety.

Physical attacks inflicted no damage; even the most powerful thermal weapons could not strike it effectively, making it deeply frustrating.

Yet in recent years, Residual Beast attacks in Fang Ting had not been frequent.

Time had blurred common knowledge into hazy speculation; people, in their peaceful lives, had grown accustomed to days without sudden Residual Beast attacks.

No wonder they panicked now at such an unexpected event.

This wave of negative emotion did not last long—it was abruptly cut short.

For a pale blue arc of light slashed across the sky, striking the Residual Beast between the buildings.

As if responding to the provocation of that arc, the spherical monster opened its horrific mouth and let out a deafening roar.

After that, as the train moved farther away, what followed became impossible to see.

Some in the carriage were still shaken; others cursed; some cheered.

Because they all recognized that blue arc—the only possible explanation was the Magic Girl.

The Magic Girl's appearance seemed born to counterbalance the Residual Beasts.

No one knew who first called her "Magic Girl"; whether the term arose naturally or from common children's cartoons was unknown, but "Magic Girl" had become synonymous with "Residual Beast Clearance."

Some saw her as a conspiracy, others as a modern hero, but unquestionably, people were aware of her existence—she could not be ignored.

Lin Yun was no different.

"An unfamiliar color… a new Magic Girl… she still appears."

His words carried no particular emotion—almost none at all; only his furrowed brow revealed his inner unease.

He knew this day would come sooner or later.

But Residual Beasts and Magic Girls were always distant from ordinary life; as long as one wasn't accidentally drawn in, they remained parallel lines, never intersecting.

He had no reason now to care about such things.

The train continued rumbling forward.

Exiting the station with the crowd, weaving through traffic, he reached the office building and began his day's work.

His company was Gao Sheng Elevator, specializing in commercial elevator production and sales; his position was Director of After-Sales.

So daily life meant endless back-and-forth with clients; any minor error on a larger order always circled back to him, and trivial matters constantly gave him a headache.

He attended meetings seriously, endured tedious business communications, forced himself through task handoffs, and finished document archiving in a daze.

Near seven p. m., he declined the dinner invitation, stepped out of the company, faced the darkening sky, and walked home in silence.

Dim yellow lights spilled onto the streets but failed to illuminate his face; walking in the shadows of skyscrapers, Lin Yun looked lost.

He felt lately that his life had become dull.

Like his rigid corporate role, gradually growing tiresome.

His unchanged relationships had narrowed his perspective.

His family ties hovered near freezing; he didn't know how to communicate with his child.

And though still in his prime, his body had lost vitality, plagued by frequent minor ailments—his shoulders and neck ached unbearably.

Digging deeper, all turning points seemed to center on that rainy funeral, when he stood helplessly before the soaked grave, his daughter's muffled sobs in his ears—everything he had believed in felt washed away by rain, leaving only suffocating oppression. Since his wife's death, his life had known no beauty.

A car horn blared abruptly on the road, pulling Lin Yun back from his inner world.

Had he been too lost in the past?

Too many things weighed on him, too many problems arose—he found no cause within them.

As he walked slowly toward the station, a phone call suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

He picked up his phone, glanced at the caller's name, hesitated briefly, then finally moved his finger to the answer button.

After the call connected, a clear ringtone sounded, and a woman's voice came from the other end:

"Off work yet? Want to grab dinner tonight?"