Working Overtime

"Stop fooling around and get inside!"

Ye Qing's hands trembled as he tried to insert the key into the lock, but the metal key seemed to have been greased and simply would not go in.

Sure enough, nervousness and exhaustion made it "hard to focus."

Having just gone through a life-or-death sprint, Ye Qing still had to breathe through his mouth as he gradually steadied his breathing.

He had nearly been caught by an adult Bloodkin for snatching a little girl's lollipop. Bowing his head and apologizing would have been one thing.

But if the other party had a nasty temper and insisted on reporting him to the authorities—or posting it online—he would have been utterly humiliated.

At the very least, his childhood friend would laugh at him for an entire year. If his parents found out, it would be even more unthinkable.

Click, click.

The key slipped into the lock. It made a sound as he twisted it, and Ye Qing pulled open the door to his rented apartment.

Unable to see inside from behind him, Ye Qing wore the smile of a man who had narrowly survived disaster. Paired with his yellow hair, he looked exceptionally sinister.

Like a villain about to step into an unknown dark space, one filled with living creatures preserved in formaldehyde.

As the door gently closed, a "snap" rang out like the abrupt wail in a horror movie, as though the scene had just changed!

Oh. He had just turned on the light.

The previously dim room immediately brightened.

There really was something shameful inside, but not that kind of shameful.

The interior of the rental had undergone a few small modifications. The moment one entered, they would see all sorts of transparent display cases.

The transparent cases contained every kind of merchandise, from beautiful girl characters in various anime-style works to figurines of real-life Magical Girls.

Compared to being discovered with a "dark space," being found out as a filthy shut-in who had filled his home with figurines was obviously far worse.

Ye Qing was twenty-four years old, a seasoned veteran.

Though he had lived for over twenty years, Demon Star still felt like a distant foreign land to him.

Unable to suppress his homesickness, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the great anime cause.

Whether it was the planet from his previous life or the planet of this life, those so-called anime nerds still had the same vibe.

A certain smell.

The distinct anime smell.

The way people spoke, game character settings, novel plots, comic art styles, anime visuals—there was almost no difference from his previous life.

When chatting with people online, he still replied with phrases such as "Sure enough," "Indeed," and "Not bad."

Whenever he saw a meme, he copied and pasted it, joining in the repetition.

When greeting people, he would occasionally still encounter those who said, "Hug, hug."

It was hard to tell what exactly differed from his previous life.

The moment he went online, it felt as though he had returned to the past. Thus, Ye Qing, who had only been half a shut-in in his previous life, had become a complete shut-in in this one.

Whenever he had free time, he buried himself in the virtual world. He would rather grind a Soulslike for hundreds of hours than take a long trip somewhere.

Ye Qing changed into his house slippers in the entryway instead of immediately turning on his computer or eating dinner.

He carefully took out the limited-edition Magical Girl figurine as though holding some precious, fragile object.

He gingerly placed it in the most eye-catching spot in the transparent case, visible the moment someone walked through the door.

"Wryyy!!! Sensen Luya!"

Ye Qing threw his body backward like a madman and let out a meaningless howl.

His Magical Girl collection was becoming more and more complete.

It included the full roster of veteran Magical Girl Squads, the Magical Girl Detective Squad that had debuted just over two years ago, and even the hottest Magical Girl idols in today's entertainment industry.

The limited-edition Magical Girl Detectives figurine Karina had given him today was the icing on the cake, raising the concentration of shut-in energy in his home by another level.

After quietly admiring the limited-edition Luya figurine in the display case for a while, Ye Qing suddenly lost all strength and sank into the sofa.

Tired.

If he had not been carrying that limited-edition figurine, he never would have sprinted home like a lunatic.

Grrr~

After spacing out and resting for quite a while, Ye Qing finally emerged from his physical and mental exhaustion.

He took out the burger joint's Happy Combo 1+1. Just as he was about to put a straw into his drink, a phone call that should not have come started ringing.

"The ringtone I set for BOSS?"

Listening to the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar ringtone, Ye Qing muttered uncertainly.

He stood and looked at the lit-up phone screen. The huge "BOSS" contact name immediately left him puzzled.

This was the first time he had received a call from BOSS after getting home from work.

Ye Qing answered the call, and BOSS's electronic voice, impossible to identify by age or gender, immediately sounded.

"Minister Ye, it is time to inspect the results."

"What does that mean?" Ye Qing muttered in confusion, then quickly raised his voice and replied:

"BOSS, what do you mean?"

"We have captured two Magical Girls alive. It is time for you to show what you can do," BOSS explained.

Bzzzt!

An electric current seemed to course through Ye Qing's entire body. His hand instantly went limp and dropped, and he failed to respond in time.

Why had Magical Girls been captured?

Was my job about to be over?

If I came clean now, could I get a lighter sentence?

Anyway, keep calm first!

"Ahem."

Ye Qing reacted with astonishing speed. Employing the time-honored adult tactic of stalling, he said without hesitation:

"BOSS, it is after working hours now."

"Your overtime will be recorded. Five times your hourly wage, travel expenses reimbursed, and dinner included."

Thump! Thump!

It was his heart beating! His heart had been moved!

Ye Qing gritted his teeth. "BOSS, I have something urgent to deal with right now. It would not be convenient for me to go to the base."

"I see. Then I will not force you." BOSS abruptly changed tone, entirely unhurried about the hypnosis experiment:

"After all, we captured veteran Magical Girls this time. One of the three has yet to be captured, so rescue should come quickly.

"They may even escape tonight. It will be difficult to alter their common sense in such a short time, so let us save the hypnosis experiment—our trump card—for a safer time in the future."

Ye Qing listened in silence, and the part of his mind that prioritized profit began to turn.

This was the first time BOSS had asked him to work overtime, which made it rather difficult to refuse.

Perhaps BOSS was using this incident to test his attitude.

If he refused, his wages might be docked in the future, and he could eventually be reassigned or fired.

Since BOSS believed the Magical Girls would be rescued tonight, that was probably not wrong.

At the latest, it would not take more than three to five days.

Wasn't the hypnosis experiment something he could make up however he wanted?

He only needed to fabricate the rough details of the experiment based on the Magical Girls' rescue.

Five times the overtime pay, plus an opportunity to curry favor with BOSS.

It was well worth it.

He had to work this overtime.

Ye Qing silently reached that conclusion.

In his previous life, BOSS would have been the kind of unbelievably good boss he would have groveled before. He felt a little bad deceiving BOSS like this without offering any emotional reassurance.

"It's fine, BOSS. What I have going on isn't that urgent, while captured Magical Girls are an opportunity that may never come again.

"I'll return to the base immediately and begin preparing the experiment. You can rest assured!"

"Mm. I have arranged for Karina to tie the two of them up in your laboratory. Remember to make preparations for both possibilities. Do not let the records be lost or discovered when the Magical Girls come to rescue them."

After giving that final reminder, BOSS ended the call. Ye Qing stared at the table before him and thought for a moment.

That was right. Sitting on the table was...

The Happy Combo 1+1.

"I'll eat it on the way," Ye Qing decided.