Chapter 55

Just as Black Tower was about to lock onto Yaliluo-VI, at the moment consciousness was preparing to descend——

A feeling of stagnation that could not be understood by any existing science enveloped her.

It was not an attack, but rather…… a compulsory 'scene transition'.

The view before her blurred like an oil painting soaked in water, and the familiar soft lighting of the space station's Main Control Cabin Section was instantly pulled away.

The next second, a piercing whistle, noisy voices, surged into her perception.

Black Tower stood on a hard, flat gray surface; she blinked her purple eyes, looking around somewhat dazedly.

As far as the eye could see, towering buildings rose, their surfaces covered in large expanses of glass reflecting somewhat glaring sunlight.

Various cars sped along the crisscrossing roads, emitting annoying noise.

A flow of people dressed in various ways, hurrying past, streamed by her side.

She lowered her gaze to herself; she was still in that familiar dress, but in this bizarre, dazzling environment, it looked completely out of place.

"So,"

Black Tower crossed her arms; a hint of confusion flitted across her delicate face, then turned into a cold offense, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.

"Where is this?"

Just a second ago she was happily manipulating a doll, preparing to go to the ice-sealed planet to drag out the guy who dared to toy with her using a doll, and the next second she was thrown into this unfamiliar place that looks technologically decent but whose aesthetic is hard to describe!

Just as her patience was about to run out and the power of Intellect began trying to parse the world's underlying rules, the space before her fluctuated; a semi-transparent panel flashing with joyful multicolored light popped out abruptly, accompanied by virtual fireworks exploding and a silly horn blast.

On the panel were a few lines written in exaggerated artistic font:

【Toot-toot! Congratulations, little witch, you've won the deluxe 'World Curiosity Few-Day Tour' package!】

【Your journey has begun; have a pleasant trip! (smiley face)】

At the end of the text, there was an extremely conspicuous Aha mask logo, grinning widely, leering at her with a wink.

Black Tower: "……"

She narrowed her purple eyes; the immense computational power of the Intellect wielder instantly sorted out the cause and effect.

Not an attack, not a trap, but…… joy!

That damned fun-loving Star God Aha has intervened!

And this time it also involves the master behind that doll!

"Hah."

A cold, light laugh escaped her lips.

Black Tower lifted her head, once again surveying this bustling, unfamiliar modern metropolis; her gaze pierced the glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers, as if trying to see the essence of this world.

"To be able to do this…… to forcibly 'invite' me here,"

She murmured to herself, her tone revealing neither joy nor anger, only utter calm: "That head-hiding, tail-showing fellow seems…… even more interesting than I imagined."

Then Black Tower, using intellect beyond reason, reached a preliminary conclusion within seconds of her descent——this place is absolutely not any star region she knows, and may not even belong to her universe.

The underlying rules of space carried an unfamiliar 'stickiness'; constants seemed to have subtle differences, as if…… a completely different physics engine had been swapped in.

(Being capable of interuniversal transfer…… even with Aha's power, the doll owner's means are quite astonishing. What is the purpose? Merely to stop me from going to Yaliluo-VI?)

She snorted coldly in her heart, but more so felt a stirred-up desire for research.

Deciphering the rules of an entirely new world is, for an Intellect wielder, in itself an extremely tempting challenge.

At that moment, a small creature, entirely snow-white, resembling neither rabbit nor cat, silently appeared beside her foot; its red eyes like pure rubies stared unwaveringly, 'gazing up' at her.

(Oh? A local creature?)

Black Tower's attention was drawn to it; the creature's form and manner of appearance were both strange.

Then, something even stranger happened.

The white creature opened its mouth and spoke in a clear, calm voice: "Hello, girl. Do you want to become a magical girl?"

"……"

Black Tower ignored that remark, which to her sounded like a street vendor's pitch.

Her gaze was instantly drawn to this peculiar creature, not because of what it said but because of its composition.

Almost out of a researcher's instinct, she bent down, moving as fast as lightning, giving the creature no time to react, and precisely pinched its long, soft white ears, lifting it whole to eye level with her.

"Huh?"

"What are you?"

Black Tower's voice bore undisguised curiosity and inquiry; her fingertips even flickered with a faint detection aura, attempting to parse the creature's structure: "The energy circuit is strange…… what is the carrier for consciousness transmission? 'Magical girl'? 'Witch'? These definitions in your internal information flow……"

Suspended in midair, the disheveled Kyubey, whose eyes were eternally calm and unwavering red, showed for the first time a fluctuation akin to being stunned.

It had processed countless girls' wishes, seen fear, desire, confusion, but to be treated straight away as a bizarre specimen for study, its eyes filled with pure thirst for knowledge (and behind that thirst seemed to lurk tremendous power)…… this was the first time.

(This individual…… reaction abnormal. Energy readings…… cannot be accurately assessed? Possesses great concealment? Consensus judgment: risk too high, not recommended to make contact.)

Kyubey's internal decision system instantly sounded an alarm.

The scene became somewhat awkward for a moment.

An Intellect wielder, holding the universe-famous 'Magical Girl Recruitment Office Director,' conducted an impromptu biological survey on the bustling street.

Kyubey tried to twist a bit: "Um…… could you please let me go first? We can talk properly about wishes and magical girls……"

"Wishes? Magical girls?"

Black Tower snorted, her other hand even wanting to poke Kyubey's body to check its material: "Sounds like some inefficient energy usage and concept-bestowing ritual. I'm more interested in your form of existence and the foundational rules of this world."

Kyubey: "……"

It felt its system a bit overloaded.

Just what the hell is this woman?!

【Star Dome Train - Secret Cabin】

Black Curtain Lady watched the system doll send the confirmation message to Kafuka, only then belatedly recalling a question.

"System," she asked, her tone tinged with a hint of uncertainty, "Where exactly did you throw the Black Tower... to which world?"

The system doll answered in her eternal flat tone: "According to random screening and the blessing of 'The Lord's' preference, the target world is determined to be: 'Magical Girl Madoka Magica'."

"Ah?"

Black Curtain Lady's hand holding the cup paused, a flash of genuine surprise crossing her violet-black eyes, "... that... very 'classic' world?"

She seemed to recall fragments from her past life's memories.

"Please rest assured, Lady,"

The system doll added, "The transmission time is anchored to the coordinates, lasting only until the estimated conclusion of the main storyline event of Yaliluo-VI. It will cause no permanent effect on the target world nor on Black Tower Lady herself."

She paused, as if stating an objective fact: "In terms of appearance match, Black Tower Lady's image has certain points of conformity with the 'Magical Girl' setting, not considering actual age factors."

Heimu's mouth corner twitched slightly, she raised a hand to rub her brow.

Finally turned into a helpless light chuckle: "... Is this intentional or unintentional?"

She could almost imagine what expression Black Tower would have when facing that world's "characteristics."

This amusement, I'm afraid, will be greater than expected.

"Forget it, things have come to this." She let out a light sigh, "At least... over there should keep her busy for a while."