Unknown Call

Lin Yun and Anya had been childhood friends.

They had been in the same class since they were very young and became friends. Anya was an exceptionally lively, mischievous girl, so their genders had never stood in the way of their friendship. They were very close and practically inseparable.

Then, for a brief period, they gradually grew up. Having entered adolescence, they began to notice the differences between their genders, and the way they interacted became a little strange. After moving on to different schools, they began to drift apart.

Until one day, something brought Anya back into Lin Yun's life and turned everything upside down.

—Anya became a Magical Girl.

She rescued Lin Yun and the surrounding civilians from a sudden disaster, appearing before him like a valiant angel.

Powerful, resilient, beautiful.

His childhood playmate had become someone beyond his reach, so different from the tomboyish troublemaker in his memories that she even felt somewhat unfamiliar.

But Anya was very happy, because she felt that she had a friend with whom she could share her secret. That friend was also her childhood companion, from whom she had already begun to grow distant. The two of them became close again, killing two birds with one stone.

But being a Magical Girl was no easy role. The Aberrant Beasts in the city grew more numerous and more powerful, until one day, Anya could no longer cope with the enemies appearing one after another.

At that time, Lin Yun stepped forward, and so he became a Magical Girl too.

Later, they went through many things, met more companions, and endured more dangerous battles. But in the end, they persevered and even became heroes who saved the city.

Eventually, after becoming an adult, Lin Yun gave up the power and identity of a Magical Girl and returned to an ordinary life.

Ordinary, though not entirely ordinary. After all, his wife was a Magical Girl.

He and Anya got married.

They lived a loving life together and had an adorable daughter, enjoying the happiness of family life. Everything should have followed its natural course: heroes who had saved others from danger laid down their armor and returned to a peaceful, happy life.

It should have been that way.

"It should have been..."

On another crowded, hectic morning, Lin Yun was squeezed among the passengers on the train, staring numbly out the window as usual.

It had been a week since he discovered that his daughter had become a Magical Girl.

Perhaps because they had finally had a heartfelt talk that night, Lin Yun felt that the atmosphere between himself and Lin Xiaolu had improved a little. At least when the two of them were at home, his daughter would glance at him symbolically instead of completely ignoring him as she had when their relationship was at its worst, treating him like air.

That could be considered a small step toward repairing their father-daughter relationship.

He was still somewhat relieved.

As for the dangers his daughter faced as a Magical Girl, he chose to stay in contact with Hong Siyu, asking her to keep watch in her capacity as an official and prioritize Lin Xiaolu's safety whenever possible.

Lin Yun had more or less sensed that Hong Siyu had some feelings for him beyond friendship. So, now that he was taking the initiative to contact her while refusing to mention the matter at all, he seemed a little like a scumbag. He wanted to make their relationship clear.

Yet Hong Siyu repeatedly denied it, saying she did not even remember what nonsense she had said while drunk that day and telling him not to take it seriously.

So the matter was left at that.

As for what Lin Yun had actually done after taking out the Flower of the Heart that night—

He had tried to transform.

The identity of a Magical Girl had long since become a distant memory to him. Even the feeling of fighting, even slaughtering Aberrant Beasts, had long been forgotten. He could barely remember what it felt like to fight.

Had his former self really grown accustomed to battling those kinds of monsters?

The thought surfaced in his mind without warning.

In truth, although he had retired, he had not technically lost the powers of a Magical Girl completely. Whatever the issue was, he should at least have still been able to transform.

But that night, his attempt to transform had failed.

When he touched the Flower of the Heart, he received no response.

The dust-covered Flower of the Heart was like a truly lifeless object, showing no change whatsoever.

Lin Yun did not know whether he felt relieved or worried.

He was relieved because it seemed he truly no longer had any power, which somewhat eased the thoughts that had been tormenting him. He was worried because, having lost his power, he might be unable to help if his daughter encountered a crisis she could not resolve.

Because of that, he could not tell his daughter certain things in the identity of a Magical Girl.

Yes, he had once considered approaching his daughter as a Magical Girl.

Things he could not tell her face-to-face as her father, things she might not believe even if he did tell her, he had sufficient standing and reason to say as a "senior Magical Girl."

He could tell her about the dangers of being a Magical Girl.

He could tell her what this power truly meant.

He could tell her exactly what enemies existed.

He could tell her how to grow stronger and better protect herself.

If these things came from a senior who was also a Magical Girl, his daughter would have no reason not to take them seriously.

He had so much he wanted to say to his daughter, yet he did not know how to begin.

The Flower of the Heart's silence made him abandon that idea.

Whether he had already lost his power, lost the qualifications to become a Magical Girl, or whether there was some other reason, none of it mattered anymore.

During that week, another Aberrant Beast appeared in the city. Fortunately, Lin Xiaolu eliminated it without much trouble, and the damage afterward was kept to a minimum.

The only thing that surprised Lin Yun was that, unlike the previous television interview, the media barely reacted to this Aberrant Beast attack.

He did not know whether the times had changed and the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau had adopted a more low-profile approach, or whether people's attention had shifted elsewhere. In any case, although Aberrant Beasts had been appearing more frequently in the city and a new Magical Girl had taken office, it did not spark widespread discussion.

The previous television interview had also sunk without a trace after airing. Even the video he found online was quickly buried beneath newer content on the station's official website.

Back in the era when he had been a Magical Girl, both the media and the public had loved putting Magical Girls at the center of discussion.

With countless thoughts churning in his heart, Lin Yun followed the crowd to the company and began another day of work.

The tasks were still familiar and tedious, but perhaps because his mindset had changed, he felt that the restlessness he had previously felt had weakened considerably.

He remained busy until noon. After finishing his work meal, Lin Yun was sitting in the office handling unfinished paperwork when he suddenly received a call.

The caller ID displayed an unfamiliar number.

Though he did not know who it was, he still pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

All he received was a burst of static.

Frowning slightly, Lin Yun waited two seconds before asking again.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"...Be careful."

"What did you say?"

"Static."

"Hello?"

"Be careful of tonight's Aberrant Beast."

Those words made Lin Yun's eyes widen.

"What do you mean? Who are you?"

He could not help but press for answers, but after saying only that one sentence, the other end of the call fell completely silent.

Before long, the static turned into the busy tone of a disconnected call.