Offsetter

The one who appears here at this moment, and is referred to as "Chief" by Lin Yun under these circumstances, could only be Emerald Gem Scepter of the Research Institute.

"Huh? You said disgusting?"

A fluffy, round Fairy Doll emerged from behind Lin Yun, its tone revealing a hint of surprise. "Seeing you two addressing each other like that in this kind of setting, I wondered if it was some kind of romantic joke."

Please don't imagine other people's relationships to be so sordid.

"Oh, sorry, I thought our... It seems your life has been quite eventful lately."

"If you're just here to amuse me, you could do something more serious."

Lin Yun's tone was flat. "So, what brings you here today, Your Excellency?"

"It's nothing, just wanted to remind you that my private research institute is now complete."

The Fairy Doll wriggled and jumped onto Lin Yun's desk. "I've prepared some interesting little trinkets over there, want to take a look?"

"Is it already finished?"

Lin Yun was slightly taken aback. "I remember it was only three days after we finalized the address..."

"In fact, it was completed the day after the location was chosen. Please don't doubt the technical capabilities of our magical girls at the Research Institute, young man."

The doll, its paws folded, spoke in a lazy, electronic voice tinged with pride. "We completed the iteration of material shaping and transfer technology ten years ago. Interior decoration is just a piece of cake."

"Really? Congratulations."

After receiving the reply, Lin Yun lost interest. She gave a perfunctory response and continued picking up the documents on the table, "But I'm very sorry, I still have work to do right now. I'll go after work."

"Hmm... this is an invitation from elders and superiors, your attitude is really terrible."

Emerald paused, clearly taken aback by Lin Yun's attitude. "Besides, I'm not a believer in working overtime. If you've already left work, it's already my break time."

"We'll talk about it later."

Lin Yun remained unfazed by the accusations. "I already have enough work to do today, I don't have time to wander around."

"I see. Then I respect your opinion."

The doll on the table nodded. "It's just a bit of a pity. I was planning to talk to you about that child on the way here."

"It's okay, I'm actually not that..."

Lin Yun was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly felt something was off. She looked up at the doll in front of her and asked, "Which child are you talking about?"

"Of course, it's that child who just left, that magical girl."

The doll stretched out its paw, pointing towards the door to the director's office and also in the direction Bai Jingxuan had left earlier. The doll's voice echoed in the room where only the two of them were present.

"After all, that child has a kind of 'beastly' quality about him. Didn't you notice?"

The office fell silent for a moment.

"... You mean Bo Xue?"

After a long pause, Lin Yun couldn't help but frown. "The scent of a beast? On her? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"This is an unfounded questioning, young man. As the Gem Scepter of the Magic Kingdom and the chief researcher of the Research Institute, if I cannot even distinguish the scent of Aberrant Beast, then I should be retiring and enjoying my old age."

The round, Fairy Doll tilted its neckless head. "The smell of a beast is the smell of a beast; it can't be hidden no matter what form it takes."

"... But I've never felt that way before."

Lin Yun looked away, gazing in the direction Bai Jingxuan had left earlier. "I've spent some time with that child, and I've never felt the magic of the Aberrant Beast you mentioned."

"The flavor of a 'beast' doesn't necessarily have to be expressed through the beast's magic."

Emerald's languid voice was flat and monotone, yet held a profound meaning. "Moreover, even if it's not the magic of a beast, that child's magic is special, isn't it?"

"You mean, her healing ability?" Lin Yun suddenly recalled his previous conversation with Tian Sheng.

Tian Sheng once said on the tram that the reason he benefited from the misfortune during the Full Moon Festival was probably because he had come into contact with Bai Jingxuan's magic.

In fact, Bai Jingxuan's magic was indeed something outside of Lin Yun's cognitive system.

He had thought about it before, that he would have to find an opportunity to ask Emerald about it, and now, that opportunity was in front of him. The other party had even put the truth on the table as a bargaining chip, waiting for his decision.

"What do you need this time?" he asked.

"Oh, so you're finally interested?"

The doll's eyes lit up slightly, now looking incredibly lifelike. "It seems my preparations weren't in vain. There aren't many people in this world for whom I would go to such lengths. Be grateful, young man."

Whether you feel grateful depends on the price you offer.

Lin Yun stared into the doll's eyes. "Nothing can be this coincidental. I'm not stupid."

"What if I told you that these were truly coincidences, and that I merely took advantage of them at the right time? Even if I am indifferent to fame and fortune, I would still feel hurt if you misunderstood my noble and virtuous character in this way."

Emerald sighed as if saddened, but seeing that Lin Yun in front of her had no reaction, she could only let the doll's body spread its arms. "It's nothing, you just need to come to my research institute."

"That's it?" Lin Yun raised an eyebrow.

"That's it." Emerald said succinctly.

"Are you planning to trick me into becoming a test subject?"

Lin Yun asked, puzzled, "Or is there something there that you can use to threaten me?"

"There's no such thing. What kind of person do you take me for?"

"Gem Scepter"

"Young man, if you use this term to attack me again, I might have to consider writing a clause in the Kingdom's code that prohibits the misinterpretation and misuse of the term 'Gem Scepter'."

Emerald said impatiently, "I came to you with good intentions, so hurry up and come here. Otherwise, I really won't tell you anything."

Lin Yun stared silently at the doll for a few seconds, then sighed helplessly and took out her phone.

He contacted the personnel and general affairs department of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau via mobile phone, conveying his intention to temporarily Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. He then put on his coat and stood up from behind his desk.

Let's go.

He said this.

The two, a human and a Fairy, swaggered out of the director's office. Since the Fairy Doll was not recognized by others, the passing employees saw Lin Yun as just an ordinary person leaving alone.

Once it was confirmed that they were far enough away from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, Emerald's voice reappeared from the Fairy Doll:

"Well then, since you've agreed, I'll pay you a portion of the payment in advance, young man."

"If you want to know what's special about that child, you need to know some prerequisite concepts. For example, do you know what a 'Offsetter' really is?"

"... I only know that it's related to the properties of magic." Lin Yun told the truth.

"Yes, it's related to the properties of magic, but do you know what 'properties' actually are?" Emerald pressed.

"Attributes... are they just what they sound like? Fire attribute, water attribute, something like that?" Lin Yun asked uncertainly.

"What are you talking about? This is the real world, not a game. There's no such simple attribute classification."

Emerald sighed, "The so-called 'attribute' is actually called 'the Magic Base-Color Attribute,' which is a general term for the source and manifestation of your power."

To put it bluntly...

To put it bluntly, your 'attributes,' or 'background,' actually depend on your identity. Even more so, it depends on your 'alignment' in terms of magic.

Emerald said leisurely, "The magic of a magical girl is its inherent nature; the magic of Aberrant Beast is Aberrant Beast inherent nature; even the magic of Fairy has its own inherent nature; only ordinary life in the Material Realm, such as humans, has no inherent nature in its magic."

"Depending on identity, is it a magical 'alignment'?"

Lin Yun murmured, "So, the 'deviation' of the Offsetter is actually..."

"Yes, the so-called 'Offsetter,' their Magic Base Color attributes have shifted. Compared to their original attributes, they possess characteristics of other attributes."

Emerald raised her voice. "In other words, in terms of magical attributes, their identities are not simple or pure; each Offsetter has more than one faction."

"The background color attribute... is causing an offset?"

This was the first time Lin Yun had ever heard of such a thing.

In his mind, all life forms in this world, whether human, Aberrant Beast, or magical girl, are clearly distinct and exhibit extremely obvious differences.

However, using this concept to explain the various differences exhibited by the "Offsetter" is quite reasonable.

"The Offsetter we usually define have magic that deflects in a relatively gentle direction."

Emerald continued to explain, "For example, shifting from the basic characteristics of a magical girl to the absence of a basic characteristic in humans; or shifting from the basic characteristics of a magical girl to the basic characteristics of Fairy; even, while still human, they already show signs of shifting towards magical girl traits, thus possessing extraordinary magical girl talent, making them veritable born magical girls..."

Having understood this much of what Emerald was trying to say, Lin Yun finally grasped the meaning behind Emerald's words and vaguely understood Bai Jingxuan's unusual nature. "You mean, that child's magic..."

"Yes, and the child we're talking about, the one codenamed Bo Xue, must have been skewed towards the direction of the Aberrant Beast. Her magic is naturally biased towards the 'beast' camp."

Emerald's voice was very calm, but when she uttered those words, that calmness was unusually pronounced:

"If she hadn't become a magical girl, she would have been a born 'Beast Shifter' in the future."