Chapter 168: Temporary True Form

When Lin Yun arrived at the Emerald Institute by subway, he happened to catch Hong Siyu stepping down from the treatment bed, having finished her day of therapy. The fairy doll was also sitting by the bedside, seemingly still debugging something.

Pinching the Heart Gem in his pocket, Lin Yun simply sensed it and found that the magical power fluctuation on Hong Siyu seemed to have changed somewhat. A thought stirred in his heart, and he instinctively stepped toward the institute.

However, just before his foot landed, the doll by the bed also noticed the magical power fluctuation of the runes at the entrance. It raised its head, looked at Lin Yun, extended a claw, and made a stop gesture: "Wait, don't come in yet."

Lin Yun's foot instantly halted in mid-air.

His slightly puzzled gaze perfectly expressed his thoughts. Noticing this gaze, Emerald didn't beat around the bush; the doll's claw curled, and a finger pointed straight at the Heart Gem in Lin Yun's hand: "Transform first. Don't come in with your true form."

Lin Yun then realized he had not yet transformed into a magical girl. He stepped back half a pace, looked left and right in the office corridor, confirmed there were no other people's gazes or cameras, and then transformed into the appearance of Senior Cuique before entering the Emerald Institute.

"What effect would entering this room with my true form have?"

Casually activating the runes on the door and closing the institute's door, Senior Cuique asked with some confusion: "It seemed to be like this when I came before too."

"Explaining it is troublesome. Simply put, the space of this room has been influenced and altered by the Realm to a certain extent, existing in a transitional state."

Seeing Senior Cuique complete her transformation, Emerald lowered her head again and began fiddling with the treatment bed panel before her: "A magical girl's magical body entering here won't be a problem, but entering this space with your true form might produce some adverse reactions you wouldn't want to see."

Senior Cuique looked at Hong Siyu nearby and walked over to the treatment bed: "For example?"

"For example, your body being exploded by excessive magical power, turning into a soul creature."

The fairy doll spoke a truth that made one's hair stand on end: "Or your body becoming over-saturated with magic, incompatible with the material world, and after walking out, your body would be missing parts."

"Sounds even more serious than entering the Realm with a physical body." Hearing the terrifying fate described by the other, Senior Cuique couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Because the Realm is a stable world, and the transition of rules between worlds has stable entry points; whereas this is merely a temporarily constructed small space, its stability is much worse."

Emerald didn't mind at all exposing that her technology was still immature. Dragging out her voice, she lazily introduced: "You can also treat this as an anti-theft measure. If a thief from the material world wants to come in and steal, they will most likely explode on the spot the moment they walk through the door."

"... Is this really a method a magical girl should use?"

"Didn't you say it yourself before? I am the Gem Scepter." Emerald's voice was as calm as an ancient well.

A person who has completely abandoned face cannot be hurt by words. Obviously, the other party had completely abandoned the intention to clarify the title "Gem Scepter," and instead used it as their own shield.

And since she had said it to this extent, Senior Cuique naturally knew better than to press further, and instead raised another question.

"Then, why did you call me with the Magic Mirror on my way here?"

As the time spent dealing with the other party increased over these days, Senior Cuique had figured out a bit of Emerald's temperament; speaking in front of her became straightforward, not like the pretense shown before Golden Cat's Eye: "You should know how eye-catching it is to pull out a Magic Mirror in public. I can't do that either. Using the Magic Mirror at such a time, it can't possibly just be for fun, right?"

"An old person like me can't understand your young people's things. As for what you mentioned, then you'll have to ask her."

Responding half-truthfully, the doll extended a claw and gestured toward Hong Siyu: "You can ask her to explain it to you."

Upon hearing this, Senior Cuique remembered that the moment she entered, she had felt the magical power fluctuation on Hong Siyu was somewhat off.

Since Hong Siyu was sent to the Realm for treatment after the Full Moon Festival, a month had passed. After this period of adjustment, theoretically, the issues with her true form should have stabilized. Not to say cured, but at least they shouldn't have worsened.

However, changes in magical power fluctuation are often inseparable from the true form; the other party being so serious made her feel somewhat worried instead.

"Is there some situation?" Her first reaction was that the treatment had gone wrong, so she asked with a furrowed brow.

"No, it's not really a mistake or anything..."

Hong Siyu, still in her magical girl form, then hesitantly opened her mouth, clutching her magical gear notebook and flipping it back and forth, her eyes darting everywhere: "It's just a bit of something."

Senior Cuique looked at her, then at the doll nearby, and asked somewhat seriously: "What something? Is the Chief requesting an astronomical medical fee from you?"

"Hey, I can't pretend I didn't hear that. Your question is a challenge to my character; I feel my self-esteem has been insulted."

Emerald nearby immediately dragged out her voice in dissatisfaction: "Even if I need funds as much as I do, I wouldn't bully a junior in a place like this."

"Haha... Senior, you're thinking too badly of the Chief."

Hong Siyu smiled helplessly, relaxing her hand clutching the notebook a bit: "Actually, it's good news. We just discussed a plan; if implemented normally, I can return to my true form from now on."

Her words made Senior Cuique slightly stunned.

"Can return to your true form?"

After a brief pause, Senior Cuique immediately asked: "Really?"

"Mm, although it's a bit troublesome, it is doable."

Hong Siyu tilted her head: "But, it's just that... it might not be quite the same as the usual meaning of 'going back'."

"I feel you're about to say something that will give me a headache."

"... As expected of a Senior, indeed."

Hong Siyu nodded with her gaze lowered: "Because my true form hasn't fully healed and is still in an unstable state. So to go back and resume a normal life, the Chief gave an idea."

"What idea?"

"Using the true form as a template to create a 'temporary true form'." Hong Siyu said obediently.

Senior Cuique didn't reply but fell silent for a moment. She stared at Hong Siyu, spending several seconds to understand what her junior meant. Because her gaze was too direct and unmasked, Hong Siyu didn't know what she was thinking of and lowered her head even more.

After such a long silence, Senior Cuique spoke again: "The 'creating a temporary true form' you're talking about, isn't it just forcibly creating a body to use as your true form for activities in the material world?"

"As expected of a magical girl with one of the top five blooming speeds in a hundred years, your understanding ability is indeed extraordinary."

Emerald nearby chimed in. The insincere flattery earned her a slightly cold eye-roll from Senior Cuique, but she didn't mind:

"To be precise, because Chaoyan's original body was too severely affected by the Remnant Beast, even after stripping away the concept of the Remnant Beast, too many organs on the body were eroded and difficult to restore to their original state. To cure it requires a long-term nurturing process, so it must be forcibly kept in a dormant state for now, thus a spare body is taken out for activities."

"Sounds like technology that would only exist in some sci-fi movie." Senior Cuique expressed her thoughts very directly.

"Don't underestimate our Realm Research Institute. Certain sci-fi movies in the material world might not even be able to imagine our capabilities."

Emerald shook her head, completely forgetting that just a few sentences ago she had said she "didn't understand young people in the material world," and commented somewhat sharply: "Fantasy is based on reality, and the legends of the Realm are often the source of people's fantasies."

"Then what about feasibility?"

Adhering to the principle of being as cautious as possible, Senior Cuique asked further: "Is the technology mature, and how great is the risk?"

"Mature? You don't need to worry about that. The technology for creating living beings was already mature decades ago, and there have been many successful application cases. Not to mention humans, we can even replicate the bodies of fairies to a certain extent."

Emerald pointed to her current fairy doll body: "The only thing we cannot do is create a soul out of thin air; all created living beings are just unconscious dead objects. But for us, this is a good thing—merely creating a spare body without self-awareness, we don't have to bear any moral or ethical psychological burden."

"Sounds like you've had this plan for a long time."

"I don't deny it."

Emerald nodded: "Because you also know, Chaoyan's condition is not good, and your condition will only be worse than hers. Fang Ting City currently lacks high-end combat power with deterrence. To be honest, as the next master of the Beast Source, I am not at ease about the security situation here.

"So you want a wounded person to make even greater sacrifices?" Senior Cuique couldn't help frowning.

"Don't rush, young one. I never called this a 'sacrifice.' The technology for artificial bodies is highly mature and imposes no burden or harm on the user."

Emerald extended her claw, soothing simply: "I can assure you, Chaoyan will suffer no disadvantage from this decision—she will gain only benefits: for instance, she can immediately begin training to solidify her Flower-level power, and return to her original life."

"What is your own wish?" Senior Cuique turned to Hong Siyu.

"I proposed it myself, and I agreed."

For this question, Hong Siyu lifted her head and met Senior Cuique's gaze squarely: "I said it before, Senior. Even if only for this short time, I want to protect this city, protect the juniors, and protect you."

Senior Cuique watched her in silence.

After a long while, she closed her eyes, then opened them again, sighing: "Thank you. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize—you've already saved me three times."

Hong Siyu unconsciously brushed the cover of her notebook: "And you know, really, it's mostly… for you."

Her final words were very soft, but both Senior Cuique and Emerald heard them clearly. Senior Cuique pressed her lips together, unsure why she averted her gaze; Emerald let out a distinctly mischievous whistle.

"Young people, young people," she couldn't help sighing. "Youth is wonderful."

"So? Now that you've told me this, what do you want?"

Senior Cuique stared at Emerald without expression, forcibly steering the topic back on track: "If this were merely to seek my opinion, you wouldn't have needed to call me mid-journey with a magic mirror."

"Oh, that."

The fairy doll leaned back slightly: "It's actually quite simple—still about the artificial body. To achieve optimal compatibility, we'll model her body after Chaoyan's true form. But you know, her original body's age and appearance differ by nearly twenty years from her true form. To make the backup body match the original, some extra adjustments will be needed."

"'Extra adjustments'—meaning you'll still charge?" Senior Cuique instantly understood.

"We will charge, but it can be fully covered within the Beast Source transaction."

The fairy doll shook her head: "The main point is, Chaoyan made another suggestion."

"... What suggestion?" Senior Cuique turned again to Hong Siyu.

"I mean, let's just save on costs."

Hong Siyu began fiddling with her notebook again: "I think we don't need to adjust it at all—just use my true form's appearance as the backup body..."

"To return to normal work and life, there's no need to cut this cost."

Senior Cuique considered for a moment, then advised seriously: "Since the Chief has promised no extra fees, you don't need to dwell on this issue."

"It's not really about cost."

Hong Siyu's voice grew quieter: "I just... I really want to look like my true form again after I return."

Now Senior Cuique understood.

It wasn't hard to understand, because Hong Siyu's sentiment had been expressed by other magical girls in history.

The older a magical girl grows, the more her true form enters the stage of aging, the harder it becomes to let go of her true form's youthful appearance.

A magical girl's true form may not always be her peak of beauty, but it is always brimming with youth, vitality. Even women in their thirties or forties possess their own charm, yet most still wish to remain forever young—magical girls are no exception.

Indeed, some magical girls joined the Magic Realm for this seemingly absurd reason: they simply could not accept the idea of growing old after retirement, and chose to remain magical girls forever.

Hong Siyu certainly hadn't reached that level of obsession, but wanting to appear younger was understandable... right?

As she pondered this, Senior Cuike noticed Hong Siyu glancing at her with a peculiar look, and suddenly doubted her own conclusion.

"It's not impossible."

So she nodded, voicing her thought: "But if your backup body is your sixteen-year-old self, do you still plan to return to the Special Strategy Bureau?"

The answer was another silence.

"I want to go back," Hong Siyu said slowly after a moment.

"... You plan to go to work looking like this?"

"Didn't you promise me?"

Hong Siyu's voice was gentle: "I'm back. Let me be your secretary."

"I did promise."

Senior Cuique swallowed involuntarily: "But you're going to be my secretary at the Special Strategy Bureau looking sixteen? Isn't that a bit..."

Only then did she realize why these two had summoned her with a magic mirror on the way.

All the earlier talk had been setup—mere background. The real issue she had to accept and decide wasn't whether Hong Siyu would accept a backup body, but whether Lin Yun, Director of the Special Strategy Bureau, would hire a secretary who looked sixteen.

"... That won't work," she blurted out instinctively.

"I think it's great—a sixteen-year-old high school student as director's secretary."

Emerald said lazily beside her, ignoring Senior Cuique's glare: "Perfect. You're always transforming into a magical girl anyway—why not just go as director in this form? A primary schooler as director, a high schooler as secretary. I bet the bureau staff's morale would skyrocket."

"The Special Strategy Bureau needs guidance on missions, not empty spectacle."

Senior Cuique regarded her coldly, dismissing the absurd suggestion outright: "Even if I didn't mind rumors spreading through the bureau, what about Hong Siyu's identity? She can't go back using her real name."

"That's easy."

The fairy doll gently closed her claw: "Resumés are simple to fabricate. Say she's 'Hong Siyu's niece,' and because her aunt was injured, she voluntarily transferred from Tian City to take over her aunt's duties. As for the age issue, just list her age as twenty-five on the resume—no one will question it."

Senior Cuique had nothing left to say.

"Alright, if you have no objections, lie down. Chaoyan's matter is nearly settled. Your own injuries are still serious—we need several more therapy sessions to stabilize them."

Emerald patted the treatment bed, urging: "Hurry up. I still have to study the Beast Source afterward."

Of course, the earlier claim that "undressing was required" had been pure lies—this therapy required no nudity. Thus, Senior Cuique needed almost no preparation: she simply lay on the bed, her consciousness dimmed briefly, and the entire process was over.

By the time she left the institute and walked with Hong Siyu down the corridor, she still hadn't figured out how to refuse their ridiculous proposal.

As she pondered, she dispelled her transformation, reverting to Lin Yun's form, and stepped into the office building's elevator behind Hong Siyu.

Standing alone in the elevator, as Lin Yun's mind remained stuck on "how to refuse," Hong Siyu suddenly spoke softly beside her:

"Senior, if I use my new backup body to go to work, my old work clothes probably won't fit anymore. I'll need a new set."

"Size doesn't fit?"

Lin Yun snapped out of his thoughts, sizing up Hong Siyu as she was now, and nodded unconsciously: "Looks like you need to buy a few new outfits."

"Yes, you need new clothes that suit your true form's appearance."

Hong Siyu followed his line of thought, then added softly: "So, could you give me a little advice?"

The elevator was silent. The brilliant white light flickered faintly as the floors changed, casting uneven shadows within the cabin.

After a long moment, Lin Yun understood what she meant—and the emotion hidden in those words—and his expression grew complex.

"... I'll go with you."

His voice lowered: "But some things—thank you. I'm sorry."

"... I said before, you don't need to apologize."

Hong Siyu gazed at the blurred reflection on the elevator door, her expression serene: "It's enough that you'll accompany me, Senior."

Another silence followed. The elevator's display reached floor one, accompanied by a soft chime, and the doors slowly opened before them.

Outside the office building lay the nearest major shopping plaza; even through the glass curtain wall, the glittering neon lights were visible.

"Go there?" Lin Yun gazed straight ahead, then suddenly asked.

"Mm, there," Hong Siyu replied, gazing forward as well.

Their footsteps fell in unison as they stepped out of the elevator. Since meeting twenty years ago, they had never been this close.

Their hands hung at their sides, turned away from each other; due to their height difference, one hand was higher than the other. The lower hand rose slightly during their walk, its back brushing against the other's—but finally, its owner lowered it, gripped the hem of her own clothes, and feigned calmness as she walked out of the building beside him.

Ahead lay glowing lights and revelry; behind, quiet desolation.

Human urban civilization in this world had developed for over a thousand years; in modern cities, people could be within arm's reach yet as distant as the ends of the earth.

Amid the same neon lights, walking through the winter night's chill, Lin Xiaolu—who had just left the shopping plaza with her companions—suddenly stopped, as if sensing something, and turned her head.

She first glanced curiously toward the plaza's entrance, then, as if to confirm, stepped back two paces and walked to the doorway.

Watching the two familiar figures, her expression grew more puzzled.

"What's wrong?" Xia Liang, carrying bags and satisfied with her shopping haul, noticed Lin Xiaolu's odd behavior and turned to ask.

Lin Xiaolu did not answer Xia Liang's question.

She stepped two more paces toward the entrance, then, as if fearing she'd misseen something, rubbed her eyes. After confirming what she saw, she stood frozen in place.

Then she stared, slowly opening her mouth wide.

Today's chapter is 6k words, a partial compensation for yesterday's weak update. Thank you all for continuing to support and tip me despite the unstable updates—I'm deeply moved, deeply ashamed, and deeply grateful.

(End of Chapter)