I Have Activated

"You are pressing on my hair."

Half-awoke Ye Qing heard these words and sat up from the bed with a hint of bewilderment.

Looking at the floor beside the bed, Ye Yuyan emitted unconscious murmurs, her flowing, pretty hair pinned down by his ACGN plush toy.

Heh, it seems my sleeping posture isn't great either, Ye Qing muttered to himself with a touch of embarrassment.

It was probably because too many major events had happened recently that he had indulged in a rare, remarkably realistic dream.

He had carelessly elbowed the plush toy on the bed down onto the floor mattress.

Just last night, he had despised Ye Yuyan's terrible sleeping posture so much that he had banished her to rest on the floor mattress.

Ever since he got his own room as a child, barring exceptional circumstances, Ye Qing would never share a bed with Ye Yuyan to rest.

Otherwise, he was bound to wake up freezing in the middle of the night, blink sleepily to find the blanket completely gone, and have stinky feet or thighs shoved right into his face.

He was unwilling to suffer through that again.

Ye Qing yawned slightly and opened his phone to glance at the time; it was a mere ten minutes before his set alarm was due to ring.

It seemed his biological clock had kicked in.

Manually turning off the unringing alarm, Ye Qing tiptoed out of the room without disturbing Ye Yuyan, who was still fast asleep.

As soon as he entered the bathroom, Ye Qing looked at the basin piled high with dirty clothes.

Brightly colored women's intimate apparel sat right at the very top, firmly catching his gaze.

He fell into a brief contemplation...

As a shut-in living alone, he usually accumulated two or three days' worth of laundry based on the weather forecast before washing it.

Yet now there were Ye Yuyan's clothes added to the mix.

Forget it, I'll hoard them and wash them together tomorrow.

Having settled on this plan, Ye Qing performed a simple wash-up and headed out toward Abyss Return to complete his daily punch-in.

Going to work at Abyss Return was just like checking in for a gacha game, and Ye Qing didn't want to miss a single day of signing in.

In the off chance that the boss happened to notice on that particular day that Abyss Return made no difference whether he was there or not, how would he manage to get by then?

The only fly in the ointment was that his commute still couldn't avoid the rush hour, forcing him to play "bumper cars" in the crowded subway, fluttering like a strand of seaweed and bumping into others.

Not to mention, the number of xenotypes was numerous.

Sandwiched between two broad-shouldered male Beastfolk, Ye Qing wore a blank expression, his eyes devoid of any will to live, giving off quite a strong Qingyin vibe.

The carriage drifted with the pungent odor unique to male Beastfolk, exceptionally harsh on the nose.

There was sufficient reason to suspect that if these two Beastfolk raised their arms, they could squeeze coconut milk right out through their clothes.

"What you lookin' at?"

"Lookin' at you, what about it?!"

Not only that, but he was also forced to listen to the hostile bickering between the Beastfolk.

Fortunately, their stop came up quickly, granting Ye Qing a moment to breathe.

He took the subway out to the outskirts of the city.

Entering Abyss Return through a clandestine passage, he passed through layer after layer of inspections by precision instruments, and after his identity was confirmed without error, he successfully went inside.

The most tedious part of going to work was the inspection process, which couldn't help but remind Ye Qing of the process of heading to the Otherworld for the first time as a magical girl.

The exact same steps, the exact same trouble.

He had originally expected that arriving at Abyss Return to punch in for work would lead him to encounter specialists or interns as usual, kicking off the start of the day with polite pleasantries.

He hadn't expected to run into Zhao Xueshan, who was glowing with energy; not even her heavy dark circles and the bloodshot veins filling her eyes could mask the excitement of her demeanor at that moment.

If she kept going like this, Ye Qing felt she was not far from dying of overwork.

To be able to survive until now, should he really say that great life possessed unimaginable resilience?

"Ye! Come to the lab and check out my new device!" Zhao Xueshan spoke enthusiastically, grabbing Ye Qing's wrist.

Like a child eager to show off a new toy to a friend, she headed straight for the laboratory.

Providing the cadres with sufficient emotional value was Ye Qing's main job while staying at Abyss Return.

He had a solid understanding of the other cadres' specific tasks and frequently brainstormed strategies for them.

As the frequency increased, the way they got along was no different from friends.

This kind of physical contact was naturally very common and very normal.

Zhao Xueshan's laboratory.

Inside sat the Super-Electromagnetic Trap Prototype Type II Mecha whose exterior hadn't been modified yet, but with a new device fitted onto it, it should probably be considered a Type III model now.

"I listened to your suggestion and combined it with my own thinking. Launching a lightning net with great fanfare makes it hard to capture magical girls alive; the best opportunity to catch magical girls is the moment when they lower their guard.

That's why I developed a progressive current device. Every time it releases, the current increases exponentially, launching a surprise attack just as the magical girl lets her guard down!"

Finished speaking, Zhao Xueshan pressed the start button.

At first, Ye Qing listened with some confusion, but seeing the actual performance, a sudden understanding dawned on him.

Electricity.

Current.

Current resonance.

Current resonance, current resonance.

Current resonance, current resonance—I told you not to rush, I've already started.

After about five stages of current progression, the electricity spewing from the chest of the Type III mecha blasted against the insulated glass, the materialized current scattering and dissipating.

Judging by its visual power, it was indeed enough to paralyze a magical girl.

After all, it took so much time to start up; if the power wasn't impressive enough and couldn't even compare to a fast-deploying lightning net, that would be far too pathetic.

"How's this idea?" Zhao Xueshan's emotions surged, as if she had already foreseen the future of capturing magical girls:

"Even though things shouldn't happen a third time, past three times a magical girl lowers her guard.

And my new mecha, having finished charging its power, will hit the magical girl right when she loses her vigilance!"

Heh... as long as you're happy. Ye Qing still felt it was pretty pathetic.

At most, it would just catch idiot magical girls.

Yet on second thought, it seemed there really were quite a a lot of idiot magical girls.

He hoped it would actually succeed.

"Why not just call this move current resonance?" Ye Qing suggested.

"Mm, a good name, straightforward and pleasant to hear," Zhao Xueshan nodded in satisfaction.

"Then you go on and finish your work?"

"I won't see you out."

"Looking forward to you finishing the job and capturing a magical girl that day."

"Rest assured, I'll make the world thoroughly remember my new mecha!"

Bidding farewell to Zhao Xueshan, who was immersed in development, Ye Qing had just returned to the front of his private office when the Ratman rubbed its little hands and sidled up to him with a shifty, treacherous look in its eyes.

He almost thought it had looted a high-value red item from Real-Life Online, it was looking so happy.

"You're here so early today as well. Hard work," Ye Qing patted the other's shoulder with a superior, boss-like demeanor.

"Not hard work, not hard work," the Ratman felt a sudden surge of honor and replied repeatedly.

It silently decided to wear this outfit for two more days.

Although it really wanted to chat a bit more with the boss, reporting important matters was still more crucial.

"Boss, the task you assigned has been smoothly arranged by me," the Ratman spoke up.

"Oh?" Ye Qing was slightly surprised.

Did he assign any tasks?

Could it be the chores around Abyss Return he told it to have members handle a couple of weeks ago?

Not bad, not bad. Moving some items and mopping the floor—simple chores were also closely related to work, and this was beneficial for raising their Hypnosis Department's reputation within the organization.

"Not bad! The Hypnosis Department needs capable generals like you," Ye Qing decisively encouraged:

"For now, take a break for a bit. When there are new matters, I will naturally notify you."

Meaning after a while, when the floor got dirty from being stepped on again and the instruments needed routine maintenance, those miscellaneous chores could be brought up then.

A slacker department had to have a fair-sized cleanup every now and then to maintain cleanliness and hygiene.

Was the boss saying he had to wait for the situation to ferment, grasp new intelligence, and then execute the new plan after being flexible?

As expected of the boss!

"Boss, message received!"

"Don't copy the way I talk."