[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl":3,"chapter-off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-1":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Off the Clock, Then a Magical Girl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":18,"prevChapterSlug":19,"totalChapters":20,"novelImage":21},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":12,"translator":16,"content_hash":17},2349921,4594,"Chapter 1: Commute, Train, and Magical Girl","off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-1",1,"\u003Cp>Early morning, waking up in a double bed meant for two, now occupied by only one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Yun subconsciously reached out to touch the pillow beside him, but his hand met only emptiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was always like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He always fantasized that everything was just a dream, and that the person who belonged by his side was still there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staring blankly at the ceiling to steady his emotions, Lin Yun sat up from the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person was gone, and a new day began as usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Washing up, shaving, getting dressed, grooming—these things never changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking out of the room and looking toward the next one, a note reading \"Knock first\" was taped to the door of his daughter's room; these things also never changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking the prepared instant breakfast from the refrigerator, he heated it up briefly and finished it hastily, left a portion for his daughter who was likely still asleep, and then Lin Yun left home in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The morning rush hour in Fangting City was exceptionally intense; driving was practically impossible, so Lin Yun rarely drove to work, preferring instead to squeeze into the crowded commuter train.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although crowded, it was fast and ensured he arrived at the company on time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking to the nearest station, he waited about 3 minutes for the train to arrive, was pushed by the crowd into the carriage, and found an empty handrail near the window, like grabbing a floating board in a raging storm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lowering his head to open his phone and seeing his boss assigning tasks in the company group chat early in the morning, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boredly searching for useful information amidst the chatter in the group, thinking about how to face his tedious tasks waiting to be handled today, Lin Yun felt more discouraged the more he thought about it, so he simply turned off his phone, emptied his mind, and enjoyed the rare moment of leisure on the crowded train.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, a scream suddenly rang out in the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And following that first scream, cries of alarm erupted all around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking toward the crowd following the source of the sound, then following the crowd's gaze outside the train, Lin Yun’s vision shifted, and he quickly found the focus, understanding why the crowd was screaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—On a tall building in the distance, a giant monster resembling a ball of flesh was hanging there, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, looking quite terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Remnant Beast, that was what people called them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They often appeared suddenly in human cities, destroying and killing without target or purpose; they were an existence whose origins remained a mystery, and a huge threat to social safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Physical attacks could not cause them harm, and even the highest-powered thermal weapons could not strike them effectively, which made them quite a headache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, in recent years in Fangting City, Remnant Beast attacks had not been frequent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The passage of time had turned common knowledge into something hazy, and people had gradually grown accustomed to days without sudden Remnant Beast attacks in their peaceful lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was no wonder they were so panicked when encountering such a sudden incident now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This commotion of negative emotions did not last long before it was forcibly interrupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because a pale blue rainbow light cut through the sky, striking the Remnant Beast between the buildings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if responding to the provocation of that rainbow light, the spherical monster opened its terrifying mouthparts and let out a heaven-shaking roar at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, as the train moved further away, what happened next could no longer be seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some people in the train were still shaken, some were cursing repeatedly, and some were cheering with joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they all recognized that blue rainbow light—it could not be anything else; without a doubt, it was a Magical Girl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The appearance of a Magical Girl seemed born to keep the Remnant Beasts in check.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was no longer possible to verify who first called them \"Magical Girls\"; whether this term formed naturally or came from those common children's animations was unknown, but in any case, Magical Girl became synonymous with \"cleaning up Remnant Beasts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some viewed it as a conspiracy, others as a modern hero, but without a doubt, people were mindful of the existence of Magical Girls and could not ignore them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Yun was the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A color I haven't seen before, a new Magical Girl... so they still appear.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no special emotion in his words, one could even say there was no emotion at all, only his tightly furrowed brows revealed that his mood was not calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew this day would come sooner or later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just that Remnant Beasts and Magical Girls were, after all, things far removed from the lives of ordinary people; as long as one wasn't accidentally dragged into it, the two would always be parallel lines that would never intersect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he was now, he had no reason to continue caring about these things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The train continued to roar forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking out of the station with the flow of people and arriving at the office building where his company was located amidst the heavy traffic, Lin Yun began his day of work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The company he worked for was an elevator company called Gaosheng, mainly engaged in the production and sales of various commercial elevators, and his position was the director of the after-sales department.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, he couldn't avoid haggling with customers every day, and whenever a slightly larger order had a problem, it would always end up back in his hands; the trivial matters were always enough to make one's scalp tingle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seriously finishing the report meeting, tirelessly conducting business communication, forcing himself to complete the task flow, and finishing the document filing in a daze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Approaching seven in the evening, having declined the invitation for a meal afterward, Lin Yun walked out of the company, faced the already darkened sky, and walked the path home in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dim yellow lights spilled onto the street but could not illuminate his face; walking in the shadows of the skyscrapers, Lin Yun looked lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He always felt that his recent life was somewhat stifling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seemingly solidified company position gradually made him feel weary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long-unchanged interpersonal relationships made his cognitive horizons increasingly narrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near-freezing family relationships, not knowing how to communicate with his child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And a body that, while in its prime, was increasingly lacking in vitality, with frequent minor ailments and unbearable soreness in his shoulders and the back of his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking back further, the turning point for everything seemed to be that funeral in the rain; when he stood helplessly before that soaked tombstone, with the muffled crying of his daughter in his ears, all the goodness he firmly believed in seemed to have been washed away by the rain, leaving only a suffocating oppression. It seemed that ever since his wife passed away, his life had not known what was called goodness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The honking of cars on the road sounded abruptly, bringing Lin Yun back to reality from his own world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he too immersed in the past?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were many things he cared about, too many problems appearing, and he simply couldn't find the cause among them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his way slowly toward the station, a phone call suddenly interrupted his thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Picking up his phone and glancing at the name displayed on the incoming call, Lin Yun hesitated slightly, but finally moved his finger to the answer button.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Answering the call, accompanied by a clear ringtone, a woman's voice came from the other end of the line:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you off work? Do you want to go get something to eat together tonight?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1294,"2026-06-21T02:45:47.620Z","Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","c34f5843de865490393e083210f2663ff250bb45c4a089d9ed4c305992552e66","off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-2",null,364,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foff-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-cover.jpg"]