Chapter 29: The Song Ends, the People Disperse

Cui Que once said during her lessons for Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang that a magical girl's magic construct can grow through acquired effort.

This statement is not without basis, for she herself is an example. When she first became a magical girl, her magic construct was not actually like this.

At that time, she did not have the near-endless number of threads she has now, nor did she have the tailoring scissors she holds in her hand. All she had was a sphere composed of magic threads; to use an analogy, its shape was like a ball of yarn.

The number of magic threads that could be released after the yarn ball unfolded was limited, and their strength was barely passable, possessing almost no lethality; they could only be used occasionally to restrict the movements of remnant beasts. Such a weak magic construct left Lin Yun feeling dejected for a long time. Not only Anya, but even someone as self-centered as Su Shengzi had offered him a few words of comfort out of humanitarianism.

For a long time afterward, Lin Yun used his magic construct as a means to control enemies, fighting using basic magic techniques.

This state continued until he was promoted to the Leaf rank and his spiritual thoughts became entranced, at which point he discovered that the strength of his magic threads had significantly increased. He could bind more powerful enemies and could also make the magic threads sharp enough to directly slice through weak remnant beasts.

He began to specialize in a combat style that utilized threads. The more he used them, the more proficient he became; the more proficient, the more they evolved; the more they evolved, the more powerful they grew. The number of threads increased with each passing day, and their strength became as firm as gold and stone.

However, such a combat style has its limits.

As the strengthening of the threads themselves reached a ceiling, increasing the lethality of the magic construct became an arduous task, and Lin Yun once again felt his own limitations.

Was there any other way to take a step further?

The Lin Yun of the past had pondered this; he desperately hoped to become stronger. And so, as if in response to his wish, his magic construct changed once again at that moment—

The threads intertwined, closed in, and constantly deformed under Cui Que's control. As if pulled by a giant hand, they broke away from their original semi-hidden, semi-visible form and revealed a new appearance:

Fluorescent blue magic threads were woven together to form a cube as exquisite as a sculpture. It was hollow in the center, protecting Cui Que herself within, and its surface was also covered with dense, openwork patterns, looking just like a fragile piece of art.

The fish-shaped remnant beast's strongest sonic attack was blocked by this piece of art that looked as if it would collapse at a single touch.

"Truly exaggerated. If I had given it more time, I fear what I would be seeing would not be a Pupa-rank remnant beast."

Cui Que let go, the lines in her field of vision slackened, and the thread cube protecting her body dissipated. Her expression was cold as she whispered to herself: "Fortunately, I didn't arrive too late."

Once these words were spoken, the magic threads filling the sky emitted a low vibration.

As if responding to the remnant beast's previous grand performance, the resonance shifted from low to high, and immediately after, the magic threads connecting the entire cavern began to rotate.

They spun, descended, and then converged, changing in an orderly fashion. Openwork blades, gathered from magic threads and appearing to have no lethality, emerged in mid-air along the inner walls. More and more floating blades appeared, until finally, the fluorescent blue filling the sky connected into a sea of light.

If the power of the threads is insufficient, then use the threads to weave cloth. If the cloth is too soft, then make the threads hard.

When the strength of the threads composing the "cloth" is raised to a certain level and their sharpness is superb, the "cloth" will likewise become indestructible.

"Masterpiece"—this is the name Cui Que gave to this form of her magic construct.

She had used this ability on the night she saved Lin Xiaolu, but at that time, it was only to deal with a Leech-rank remnant beast, far from enough to make her unleash her full strength.

Now, she could act as she pleased.

The fish-shaped remnant beast in the center of the cavern had also been completely bound at some point. Its mouthparts opened and closed, but its highly compressed body could only emit "roar-roar" sounds of airflow.

Cui Que raised her hand and once again grasped a few magic threads; the sharp, buzzing sound in the surroundings stopped following this movement of hers.

The concert was over.

The sky-filling fluorescent blue flew toward the remnant beast in the center and the flesh chunks all around. With the speed of wind and lightning, in an instant, only a sound of "chi-chi" could be heard.

The giant fish-shaped remnant beast, the Egg-rank remnant beasts all over the ground, and the originally active tentacles in the surroundings were all reduced to fragments filling the air under this single strike.

……

……

The cavern shook, and this space gradually disintegrated.

From the pool of sewage and rotten meat, light spots resembling a nebula surged, flowing toward the palm of Cui Que's hand.

By the Pupa rank, the echoes of remnant beasts begin to become precious; they can be used to obtain more contributions in the Kingdom, which also means higher-quality resources.

These resources were useless to Cui Que herself, but they could undoubtedly help Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang improve their strength faster and become independent sooner.

It seems someone had calculated in earlier years that, under the premise of optimal resource allocation, only three Pupa-rank echoes were needed to exchange for resources that could ensure a magical girl with very low talent would bloom to the Leaf rank. And considering that the magical girl herself would also perform magic training and spiritual cultivation, three was actually a more than sufficient number.

It is a pity that Moke currently has no ability to contact the Kingdom at all; if she wants to exchange for resources from the Kingdom, she will likely have to go back in person next.

Thinking this, Cui Que felt magic power surging beneath her feet, intending to rush directly out of this cavern at the fastest speed.

Just before she left, however, she suddenly felt something and lowered her head, only to see an altar-like structure in the middle of the water pool beside the remnant beast's remains.

An altar?

The space on the verge of collapse did not allow her to linger, so she could only choose to imprint this scene into her mind. Cui Que took one last deep look at the place, then did not stay any longer, accelerating her flight and leaving the cavern like a bolt of lightning.

With the Pupa-rank remnant beast slain, the nest it had forged naturally dissipated without a trace. Therefore, as Cui Que left the cavern, she naturally left the complex spatial maze from before. By the time she returned to reality, she was already back in an unknown sewer.

She continued to fly and soon successfully found an exit. Prying open the manhole cover and flying out, she left the foul-smelling sewer and returned to the surface with fresh air after a long absence.

However, Cui Que's expression did not improve because of her return.

She landed gracefully and, almost without pausing, took out her phone. After confirming that the signal was reconnected, she immediately dialed a number.

"……Hello?"

Before long, a somewhat sleepy female voice came from the other end of the call: "It's the middle of the night, what's wrong?"

"I think I need some explanations."

While talking on the phone, Cui Que kicked the manhole cover by the roadside, making it fall exactly back into its original position:

"Your Bureau of Extraordinary Strategy, what else are you hiding that you haven't said?"