Chapter 277
She only realized this feature after the lantern had recovered to 9%, so it won't cause any inconvenience in her life.
After washing up, Chu Yuanqing tied her white hair into a high ponytail, changed into her yoga clothes, put on her sportswear, sat on the edge of the bed, stroked the Green Eyed Cat's head, and then looked at the sleeping Saintess with a hint of annoyance, urging her:
Charlotte, wake up.
Charlotte's frost-blue eyelashes were thick and long. She opened her eyes groggily, her beautiful pupils shimmering like water rippled by the wind. She mumbled something unintelligible on her pink lips and then nestled into Chu Yuanqing's arms, acting coquettishly, which made him smile indulgently.
Chu Yuanqing pinched her cheek, recalling what she had said last night, and whispered to himself:
Charlotte, I think I know what kind of birthday present I should give you.
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P. S.: I'm going to cry and throw a tantrum! Why are there double monthly pass rewards today when the monthly pass bounty was opened yesterday???!!!
PS: Currently, I'm 4000 words short.
Volume 1: 263. Disaster Remnants, Forget-me-not, Chu Yuanqing's Preparations. (5K3)
Eight o'clock in the morning.
Chu Yuanqing sat at the coffee table on the top floor, looking out at the clear blue dome. Her dark eyes, hidden by a lantern, reflected the seamless architecture and mountains like a mirror, as if she were memorizing the beautiful scenery she saw.
The blue titmouse fluttered its wings, following the wind's path, and chirped as it landed in front of the Pure White Witch. Its little claws rested on the table, and its round body looked adorable as it moved.
The little creature tilted its head slightly, its dark eyes fixed on Qing Bao's face without blinking. Then it suddenly pounced on Qingbao's head and gently pecked at her silky hair, as if to show affection and cuddle.
"Alright, Forget-me-not, tell Charlotte I'll be down in a bit."
Chu Yuanqing placed the little creature in his palm, poked its soft wings, and saw the Blue Sparrow cleverly nod its head, transform into a streak of light, and disappear into his palm in a flash.
--Forget-me-not.
This name, which shares the same name as the Soul Flower, naturally refers to the Lantern Fairy of the Saintess. It entered a gestation state after Charlotte officially [Flower Bloom], and its growth accelerated through repeated Magic Replenishment with the Pure White Witch, leading to its early birth.
Because it's just a newborn plant, it's not as clever or talkative as the violet.
According to the records in the Countermeasures Bureau, the Lantern Fairy will randomly read information from the soul fragments of the corresponding Magical Girl, and randomly amplify or distort it to form a unique personality and habits.
Hmm, this step is somewhat similar to prenatal education.
Of course, correction can also be achieved through education—the concepts instilled by the master, what one sees and hears, reviewing various materials, or even entrusting it to professional teachers in the Countermeasures Bureau.
Charlotte's chosen approach was laissez-faire. She declared to Chu Yuanqing, "How could I bear to restrict the freedom of a newborn? I hope it can fully enjoy every choice it makes!"
As for the real reason, it's most likely that he just reunited with his wife and daughter and is now fully focused on his family, so he has no time to pay attention to the clueless Lantern Fairy.
Of course, Charlotte wasn't completely indifferent; at least she put a lot of thought into the Forget-me-not's appearance. Although the little guy looked like a blue tit at first glance, a closer look revealed that the patterns on its body were actually all Forget-me-not elements.
On the other hand, Miss Saintess also downloaded an early education app for the Lantern Fairy on her phone, with the diligent and multitasking Miss Dreamweave in charge of teaching.
This is, in a sense, the norm within the Countermeasures Bureau.
After all, the Magical Girl are all very young, so how could they properly guide new life? Most of them would choose to have Dream Weaver Rabbit give them early education classes, which is why Violet calls Teacher Dream Weaver.
"It will definitely have a tough time in the future."
The voice of Dreamweave emanated from the phone's speaker, and the illusory data stream shimmered in the natural light. With the weaving and infusion of magic ribbons, the silver-haired, red-eyed bunny girl materialized in the air and sat opposite Chu Yuanqing.
Astrid glanced in the direction Forget-me-not had left, and continued her assessment in a calm and objective tone:
"Based on big data analysis of personality models, there is a 90% chance that Charlotte will assign Forget-me-not- Not ten times the workload of Violet."
Chu Yuanqing felt a pang of guilt and asked in return:
"What about the remaining possibilities?"
A rare hint of human compassion flickered in Astrid's lifeless red eyes, and she answered succinctly and softly:
"It's even worse than that."
Chu Yuanqing was momentarily unsure whether to complain about Violet's workload or about the Dream Weaver Rabbit's deep understanding of Charlotte. After much thought, she decided to change the subject and get straight to the point:
"You said that, without affecting the survival of civilization or endangering its own lives, [Lighthouse] has the right to mobilize any number of strategic resources through Dream Weaver, right?"
Astrid looked up in surprise, picked up the illusory coffee cup, pretended to take a sip, and replied softly:
"To be precise, after those prerequisites are met, I can, on behalf of the current united alliance of humanity, grant you any request."
"This is a right you deserve."
At this point, the Super AI began to wonder what requests Chu Yuanqing would make. She only hoped that he wouldn't be like a certain Saintess who made strange and bizarre wishes every day that were easy to fulfill but meant to tease people.
Chu Yuanqing didn't have the habit of keeping people in suspense; she spoke frankly:
"The Countermeasures Bureau should have preserved many of the remains of the Calamity Beasts after their deaths, right? I'd like to see a list of these and then use some of the materials from it."
The silver-haired, red-eyed bunny girl put down her coffee cup. Her fingertips slid, and a surge of data flowed, instantly converging into an envelope that shattered on the phone on the table like a splash of water, adding a shopping mall to the app with the Dream Weaver Rabbit icon.
Astrid was extremely efficient, she explained:
"There were indeed quite a few remnants of the Calamity Beasts, but the vast majority were tested and, after being determined to be worthless, were disposed of as scrap to prevent a secondary outbreak of calamity."
"As for those with certain value or special remains, the Countermeasures Bureau collectively refers to them as 'disaster remains,' and collects and studies them. Some of them are in the laboratory, and it will take quite a while to retrieve them."
"But including these, all the information about the wreckage is already in the app, which is like adding an extra shop module for you. In addition to these, there are other items from the Countermeasures Bureau for you to choose from."
Chu Yuanqing lowered his eyes to look at the online store, and after completing the various selections, he seemed to be deep in thought.
Well, just as she expected, although [Pure White] suppressed the calamity, as her health deteriorated in recent years, Calamity Beasts began to attack all over the world, even forming vortexes of calamity energy.
The former will consistently produce some useful wreckage.
This was also the material used by the Witch who was revered as the Saio to forge weapons.
The latter will pollute the environment. If not cleaned up in time, even in uninhabited areas or sea areas, it can cause thousands of tons of dead fish to flood the shore.
Chu Yuanqing wants these things.
Firstly, it was for Charlotte's birthday present, and secondly, it was to give Little Sakura a return gift.
The Pure White Witch glanced at it briefly and said softly:
"The Rose Dragon's Tears, the Crown of Thorns, the Gray Crystal Core, the Withered Poem, the Immortal Silver Bone, and all the Shadow Blades in the inventory."
After Chu Yuanqing finished speaking, she lowered her eyes and toured the inventory. Based on her remaining memories and impressions, she compared the corresponding values of the wrecked remains one by one, and then listed a bunch of high-level wrecked remains that made Astrid feel sorry for the research department.
Well, there's nothing we can do about it. For a certain Savior who has defeated thirteen Disaster God, the inventory of these calamity remains is almost entirely low-grade junk. The ones that meet the requirements are naturally all high-grade goods that he obtained by chance.
This also includes the remains dropped by the player who died in the last Nightmare.
Although this B-Class Calamity Beasts died in Sea Capital, its true form was in another small country in the Donghuang Federation, a vast distance from Great Xia. Therefore, its remains were also discovered there and were retrieved using Dream Weaver's extensive information network.
After reviewing the supply list submitted by Chu Yuanqing, Astrid suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for a certain wicked Saintess. She looked at her and sighed:
"I will deliver these things to the castle as soon as possible."
"However, since many of the items you've selected are quite special, we not only need to coordinate urgently with the Countermeasures Bureau's Research Department, but also prepare dozens of different containment methods, and even have a [Witch] in charge of dispatching them, so it will take at least two weeks."
Upon hearing this, Chu Yuanqing pondered for a moment, then offered a thoughtful and earnest suggestion:
"So slow? I can go get it myself without needing to summon other [Witch]."
The bunny girl was silent for a moment, then said softly:
"We can expedite it; it'll arrive in a week, but you absolutely must focus on training and not wander off."
No matter how precious these wrecked remains are, they are only used to create magical items and assist in the research of ether technology. Compared to the safety of the [Lighthouse], they are not worth mentioning at all.
As for the relevant human and material resources...
Sigh, I remember Xiaoyu recently wanted to take a vacation, saying she wanted to see her sister. Xie Qingxuan happens to be right next to the [Lighthouse]. Why don't we just let this kid take on the mission and trick her into taking away her original vacation time?
For a fleeting moment, Dreamweave felt a pang of conscience, then happily decided on the deliveryman.
Unfortunately, high-level calamity remains like B-Class and A-Class can easily cause serious secondary pollution if not handled carefully. If they fall into the hands of the Cult of Disaster Gods and Calamity Beasts, they become excellent materials and high-grade experience books. Therefore, the guardian definitely needs to be a powerful and trustworthy [Witch].
Moreover, this mission also involves [the lighthouse].
The intelligence provided by [The Lighthouse] is kept extremely close to being classified.
Although Xie Qingyu is a rare Captain-Class [Witch], the fact that she knew Charlotte's identity can only be attributed to the fact that Charlotte wanted to bless her hometown and needed a protector and a magic power source, which was purely a matter of luck.
It's best not to bother two people with the same task; having Xiaoyu do it is indeed very suitable.
Well, it's partly because there aren't enough [Witch] and the supply of new blood hasn't kept up.
Chu Yuanqing felt like she was being treated like a child, but she could roughly understand her status in Dreamweave's eyes, so she didn't throw a tantrum like Charlotte did and cause trouble for the other party. She readily agreed, appearing quite obedient.
Seeing this, Astrid felt slightly relieved and didn't ask Chu Yuanqing what he needed these things for. She trusted that he knew what he was doing and that Charlotte wouldn't let her little girlfriend get hurt. After reminding him to be careful, she returned to the base as the data stream collapsed.
Chu Yuanqing watched Dreamweave leave, then closed the app, muttering to herself in surprise:
"It seems the [Lighthouse] holds a higher position than I imagined."
To be honest, she didn't think it would go so smoothly before she asked, and she thought that Dream Weaver Rabbit would at most agree to give her some low-risk debris.
The result was that even though he had almost emptied the inventory of the highest-grade wreckage, the other party did not show any complaints or doubts, strictly adhering to the duties of the "wishing machine".
This is really strange.
It's important to understand that, unlike the blue-green modifiers in the app, money is just a string of numbers to the higher-ups, and [The Lighthouse] can use it however it wants without any problem. However, disaster remains, a strategic resource that is almost non-renewable, are a completely different matter.
Of course, this unconditional trust and support is certainly not bad news.
After all, if we compare this world to a mobile game, the Doomsday Diva is an overpowered SSR character, while the Pure White Witch is an epic character that can't be obtained through gacha pulls in the background. She's a legendary hero who can't be obtained under normal circumstances.
The fact that the Human Alliance was able to single out these two on the eve of the apocalypse and regard them as "beacons" is nothing short of a miracle. The decision to frantically collect experience books was simply a matter of course, and the sacrifices made by the Disaster Corpse are insignificant.
Chu Yuanqing found it strange because she was still hiding her identity and didn't think the authorities would take her that seriously.
"Hmm, I wonder if Yayoi can use this level of calamity now. [Heart Forging] probably hasn't reached that level yet."
Chu Yuanqing walked towards the hall where the Little Idol were, trying to recall the steps of the Witch maiden forging in the first playthrough. She vaguely remembered that high-grade calamity remains, as materials, needed to be baptized before forging, otherwise it would be difficult to bestow blessings and would easily create twisted monsters.
Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a little regretful. It was a pity that she couldn't use Laevateinn now, otherwise she could quickly purify it by adding some Lingering Fire, saving the step of baptism in between.
Well, let's give her some low-level materials for now and see if Yayoi can use them, and whether there's any danger involved.
Chu Yuanqing put an end to her thoughts, walked to the lobby on the first floor, looked at the group of Little Idol Xiaoxiao, quickened her pace and joined them, showing a warm and gentle smile as she greeted them.
Charlotte was the first to approach. Under the shocked gaze of the girl in the Little Cotton-padded Jacket, she unabashedly flipped up Chu Yuanqing's collar and, like a kitten or puppy, sniffed his fair and delicate collarbone before saying with satisfaction:
"Hmm, Xiao Qing is very honest; I didn't smell any other girls' scent."
As a concubine, Kiriwake Yayoi felt she had to speak up for Qing Bao, so she explained in a serious tone:
"Since it's just us in this castle, Xiao Qing won't find any other girls to cheat on her with."
Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment and said seriously:
"Magical Girl possess infinite possibilities."
"Charlotte can deliver Liuli to your room in just one second, and Xiao Qing can use the same method to commit a major crime."
Chu Wangshu didn't understand the Golden Haired Doggy's lewd words for a moment. She was bewildered for a moment, then suddenly remembered the Green Eyed Cat she had seen on Yayoi's bed a few days ago. After a three-second delay, she suddenly realized something.
Huh? It shouldn't be... it shouldn't be what I'm thinking, right?
The Little Cotton-padded Jacket's adorable face flushed red. She couldn't help but take a few steps back, patting her cheeks with her hands, trying to stop her mind from wandering. But the question, "Won't Qing Bao get tired playing against four opponents?" suddenly popped into her head, and her brain started working at high speed again.
The Social Anxiety Cat decided to defend her beloved Qing Bao, and she retorted:
"Nonsense, we're too busy getting Xiao Qing to sleep, how could we have time to go looking for her outside?"
At this moment, the Little Cotton-padded Jacket's clever mind was forced to complete the last piece of the puzzle. She looked at Chu Yuanqing in great shock. Qing Bao clearly looked super soft and was very suitable to be a pillow princess, but it turned out to be a 1?
Wait, something's not right!
Now is not the time to worry about this detail!
The crucial point is, did everyone actually sleep together and have parties with Xiao Qing?
Chu Wangshu had a feeling of being isolated. She began to wonder why these people wouldn't invite her to play board games when they got together for the New Year, because they would have a music party afterward and do some super lewd things that only adults would do.
The Little Cotton-padded Jacket was unsure whether to feel melancholy or join in.
But she didn't have any strange feelings for anyone. At most, she thought that Charlotte and Xiao Qing would be suitable stepmothers. But if she really joined in, she couldn't possibly imagine the other seniors as stepmothers too, could she? That would be too strange!
Chu Yuanqing, oblivious to her daughter's complex emotional journey, reached out with a serious expression and gently pinched Charlotte's cheek, saying: