[{"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-12":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Off the Clock, Then a Magical Girl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2349932,4594,"Chapter 12: Electronics Street","off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-12",12,"\u003Cp>Fang Ting City, Sunset District, the electronics street near Central Avenue; this is the most bustling pedestrian commercial area in the entire city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cuique rubbed her wrists as she emerged from a secluded alleyway, ignoring the gazes that swept over her from time to time, and after passing about two intersections, she saw Lin Xiaolu wearing her school uniform at the agreed-upon spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She quickened her pace, walked up, and offered a lukewarm greeting: \"I've arrived.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cuique?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu looked over, first widening her eyes, then her gaze lit up; she circled around Cuique, and with an expression as if she had seen something rare, she exclaimed: \"It's so beautiful, this outfit, this dress is so cute!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that so?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cuique lifted her sleeve to look left and right, noncommittal: \"Thank you for the compliment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah... I'm so envious, if only I could pull off this light and fluffy feeling too, this is the magical girl style I've always wanted!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think you can do it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can I take a picture?\" Lin Xiaolu took out her phone, eager to try.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Um... feel free?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't that Cuique couldn't tell whether a piece of clothing was cute, but rather that she herself had no idea what kind of image she projected while wearing her current clothes. After all, the dress she was wearing had just been bought, and she hadn't even tried it on before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cuique had not previously prepared casual clothes for her magical girl form, so after being told the target was on the electronics street and that she had to go to the busy area in her Cuique image, she had no choice but to go to a department store and buy a few for herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And because it was too conspicuous to enter the mall directly in her magical girl transformation outfit while sporting Cuique's appearance, he ultimately went to the children's clothing section in the guise of Lin Yun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As an average adult male, Lin Yun stood at 183cm, and even at 14 years old when he first obtained his magical girl powers, he was around 170cm; this figure was very healthy among males, even making many of his peers slightly envious. But for some reason, when he transformed into a magical girl, into Cuique, his impressive height shrank down to a mere 139cm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this a case of extremes meeting? Or some strange coincidence? Lin Yun had never figured it out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This also resulted in him finding it difficult to buy women's clothing normally for his Cuique form unless it was custom-made.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By comparison, buying children's clothing was much more convenient and time-saving; not only were the sizes easier to match, but they also came in both dresses and pants. Thus, Lin Yun, lying that he was buying clothes for his daughter, reported the size suitable for Cuique and walked into a children's clothing store under the enthusiastic welcome of the shop assistant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this time, the sales clerk even asked if he had a photo of his daughter, saying that seeing her specific image would allow for more appropriate suggestions. However, Lin Yun did not have narcissistic tendencies and would not keep photos of himself after transforming into a magical girl on his phone, so he simply chose a few pieces of clothing and skirts that were claimed to be \"new arrivals for the season\" and left quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After walking out of the department store, he found a relatively formal chain budget hotel by the roadside, opened a room by the hour to change his clothes, and then took the route of flying at high altitude to reach the electronics street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for whether these clothes were suitable, he wasn't worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He actually knew that Cuique's appearance could be described as \"exquisite and cute\" by general aesthetic standards, and even among magical girls who generally had high levels of attractiveness, she was considered quite prominent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because of this, as long as she was wearing normal clothes with reasonable coordination of accessories and hairstyle, she wouldn't look too bad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although as a father, being complimented as \"cute\" by his daughter in this situation made him feel complicated, even a little bit weird, this feeling was quickly smoothed over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What else could he say? Responding in a lukewarm manner was the best way to handle it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without much small talk, after this one-sided fashion show, Cuique cut straight to the point:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So? Where is that child Moke mentioned?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah, about that...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mentioning this, Lin Xiaolu blinked and slowly turned her head to look at Moke: \"How should I put it, we lost her?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lost her?\" Cuique also glanced at Moke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I did not!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Cuique's gaze cast over, Moke shuddered and immediately retorted: \"It's not that I lost her, it's that the child kept diving into crowded places, and the aura of her magic was masked!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So the result is still that you lost her?\" Cuique put one hand on her hip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's true, I suppose.\" Moke muttered with a guilty conscience: \"But I can feel that she is still in this area, I just don't know her specific location.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You guy...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cuique drooped her eyelids and sighed softly; she could guarantee that the pink cat before her was the most unreliable Sower she had ever seen in her magical girl career.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other Sowers, although being of the fairy species, were somewhat mischievous, but their professional work was still fine. Not to mention being good helpers for magical girls, at the very least, finding talented children, delivering information between the Kingdom and the magical girls, and sensing the location and strength of Remnant Beasts... these auxiliary tasks were actually done quite well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Moke? Not to mention its state of knowing nothing, even when doing its own job, it gave people a feeling of being clumsy, which really made it hard to feel at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these could be set aside; the most important thing right now was to find that girl with magical talent, so Cuique didn't make an issue of this and quickly pushed the topic forward: \"Then what can we do now? Wait here for Moke to lock onto the other party's location?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Um... how about we go find a few shops and take a look?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaolu suggested: \"That girl should be here to go shopping, she won't leave for a while, why don't we go play too? Maybe we'll run into her halfway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not reliable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cuique shook her head and analyzed calmly: \"The other party might just be here to buy something and will leave once finished. If we don't keep watching, letting her leave the electronics street while we are negligent will only make her harder to find.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then let Moke continue to look for her, and we go play?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaolu's suggestion made Moke let out an astonished \"Eh\" sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That doesn't seem like a problem...\" Cuique's opinion shocked Moke even more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It hurriedly flew between the two and waved its two paws: \"You can't do this! Even if I am responsible for losing her, you can't just abandon me to go play, that's too cruel!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where on earth do you get the nerve to say something like that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cuique glanced at it and sighed again: \"Sigh, also, I wouldn't be at ease letting you keep watch alone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since that's the case, let's use the most stupid method; I'll split up with you two, go guard the two entrances of the electronics street, and once I discover the target, I will...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—\"You will what?\" A questioning voice came from Cuique's ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will contact each other by phone, then intercept that child first, and wait for Moke to come...\" Cuique still wanted to continue, but after less than two seconds, she suddenly realized that the questioning voice didn't sound right, or rather, it was a bit unfamiliar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced at Lin Xiaolu in front of her and found that she was looking above her head, her expression revealing a hint of timidity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cuique pondered: Above my head? Is it my hair? No, at this position, she isn't looking at my head, but behind me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief thought, she realized something, and Cuique immediately turned around: a strange girl was standing there with her hands behind her back, her pure gaze carrying a hint of inquiry, her hands behind her back, and a smiling expression on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl didn't look very old, only a little taller than Lin Xiaolu, and her face was very youthful, but her attire looked quite mature and flashy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black waist-cinching suspender skirt paired with a loose, lace-trimmed white shirt embodied a sense of girlhood. Her short black hair was level with her shoulders, the strands fluffy, the tips slightly curled, and the ends of her straight bangs were dyed purple. She wore light makeup on her face, and her translucent thin lips were clearly painted with lipstick. The false eyelashes under her eyelids made her bright eyes look even more watery. A faint shimmer flickered on her earlobes, likely wearing ear studs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at the combination of the two people and one creature in front of her, moved forward, and leaned her face toward Moke's direction: \"And what is that cat over there, a holographic projection? Augmented reality?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1551,"2026-06-21T02:45:47.620Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","97a1f9c61fc64d197b64c4933822d8063a9b8dc5f36e4c6ebda3979a6db7618d","off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-13","off-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-chapter-11",364,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foff-the-clock-then-a-magical-girl-cover.jpg"]