It was an ordinary day.
Ye Qing had just returned to the rental apartment, tossing his backpack onto the sofa and shedding the mask and all restraints he wore outside.
He had expected a leisurely evening, briefly agonizing over what to order for a late-night snack.
Before he could even open the food delivery app, his phone thrust an emergency news broadcast pop-up.
It was a mandatory emergency broadcast; any electronic device with the relevant app installed would immediately interrupt its current task to play the news.
Whether someone was flying high in the air or mining in a deep pit, they could not avoid the interruption of the emergency news.
This was not software one had to install, but rather software anyone who wanted to stay alive would install.
Because crises were always sudden and silent, this ensured citizens could get the news immediately and head to safety.
Originally, it was software specifically developed to counter spatial rifts.
As the frequency and scale of spatial rifts decreased, the forced emergency broadcasts were mostly news of attacks by evil organizations or earthquakes.
For example, this time, it was similarly defined as a malicious event orchestrated by an evil organization.
A newscaster appeared in the corner of the phone screen, while live footage occupied the main visual space in the center.
"Several giant cockroaches have appeared in the southeast corner of Bailan City, District 28, in Canglan City. They feed on vegetation and buildings, though it is unknown if they prey on living creatures. Residents, please temporarily leave the streets and stay indoors to await rescue."
The newscaster fluently reported the situation on screen, where pop-ups displayed giant roaches the size of half a house.
Ye Qing was nearly startled into dropping his phone, feeling a wave of physiological nausea.
"Why is it Bailan City again? Bailan City really is plagued by disasters."
Ye Qing could not help complaining, clutching his head in deep hesitation and a severe headache.
Logically speaking, she had to go.
However, it was truly disgusting.
With oversized multi-legged creatures and the original images looping in his mind, Ye Qing felt sick to his stomach.
He wondered if those Bailan City residents who were flying and mining, suddenly interrupted by such a news broadcast, would be terrified into despair and unable to fly ever again.
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
Time did not allow Ye Qing to hesitate for long; in the blink of an eye, the person on the sofa transformed into a cold-faced, indifferent beautiful girl.
Having signed a contract with the Association and become a magical girl, she would fulfill her share of responsibility.
Her magic connected with her contract beast, and with virtually no waiting time, Qiubo tore open a passage before her eyes within seconds.
"Lord Qingyin, what brings you to me?" The emerging Qiubo subconsciously wanted to survey the surroundings.
His shaking head was fixed in place by Qingyin's two fingers.
"Don't look around, this is personal privacy." Qingyin then said:
"Take me to the Otherworld, find Youyue."
"Understood!"
Qiubo learned this was Qingyin's residence, yet he felt regret at not being able to observe it right away.
Instantly recovering his energetic demeanor, he tore open a black hole through which the magical girl could travel to another world.
Stepping into the black hole, she instantly arrived in the Otherworld.
When her vision focused, a magical girl mascot was floating in the air before her.
If Qingyin remembered correctly, this was the contract beast contracted by Youyue.
"Sister Qingyin, Sister Youyue knew you would come to the Otherworld first and told me to notify you to head to Canglan City now. She is currently stalling the invading evil beasts." Seeing Qingyin, Xita spoke delightfully.
"Qiubo, open the passage from Bailan City to Canglan City." Qingyin immediately ordered.
Qiubo displayed a troubled expression, scratching his head and responding hesitantly:
"The Otherworld cannot support a passage for a magical girl to return to reality."
"What do you mean?" Qingyin asked with slight incomprehension.
"We can only bring magical girls in, not take them out. To return to reality, you can only use the fixed passages." Qiubo explained repeatedly.
The Otherworld was like a transit station.
You could enter from anywhere via your contract beast, but you could only leave through fixed passages.
Meaning, the "door" could not be opened from this side.
"Then what use are you?" Qingyin could not help saying.
"Calm your anger, Lord Qingyin! I'll take you to the passage closest to Canglan City right now!" Qiubo replied in a panicked tone.
The Otherworld itself was an alternate dimension, not much different from the rest.
Tearing open spatial passages through contract beasts did not affect the spatial barriers.
However, creating a passage large enough for a magical girl to pass through would disrupt the barriers and likely trigger a spatial rift.
Not only would it massively consume the contract beast's energy and magic, but it would also cause incalculable damage to the real world.
They avoided spatial rifts like the plague; how could they possibly want to actively trigger a disaster?
When it all came down to it, it was merely a one-way passage.
The Otherworld and contract beasts were even more useless than Qingyin had imagined.
Had she known, flying directly from home to Canglan City seemed like it wouldn't have been much slower.
Qingyin returned to the real world at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
Under the hazy night, a magical girl seemed somewhat insignificant to an entire city.
Guided by the mascot Xita's directions, Qingyin efficiently rushed to the location of the evil beasts.
"Qingyin, you're finally here!" Youyue lunged forward like she was looking at a savior.
"Where are the evil beasts? What's the current situation?" Qingyin asked aloud.
Evil beasts were common knowledge, fully known as "monsters developed by evil organizations."
Putting everything else aside, even Qingyin herself had no idea how many evil beasts she had let loose into cities.
She had just never released scientific research monsters quite this disgusting.
"They're temporarily contained within this park," Youyue said dejectedly.
"Then why?" Qingyin tilted her head in confusion.
"Because they're so disgusting!" Youyue immediately poured her heart out:
"I feel like binding those creatures with my magic weapon would dirty it! I can only barely manage to use the formless purple mist to painstakingly intercept them."
Qingyin nodded silently.
She understood.
The evil beasts that appeared this time had a deterrent presence akin to a poop-smeared mop during a fight.
"Do you have a way to trap the evil beasts in this area?" Youyue asked.
"Why not directly eliminate these creatures that cause panic and threats to the residents?" Qingyin countered.
"Of course we have to kill them, but not by our hands." Youyue shook her head.
"How pathetic." Qingyin abruptly uttered.
"Yeah, very pathetic." Youyue nodded in agreement.
Not by their hands.
That meant it could only be done by those three new-generation magical girls.
Qingyin inexplicably rejoiced that she had skipped the beginner phase.
Magical girls needed to grow, and every appearance of evil beasts was the best practical nourishment, including this time.
"So can you trap them?" Youyue asked next.
"Of course."
Although Qingyin had never tried it, her magical girl instincts told her this small matter was effortless.
She flew high into the air, summoned her magic weapon, casually flipped a page of the book, and her magic converged into text matching her thoughts.
A square barrier enveloped the entire park, completely sealing the evil beasts within, and Youyue flew joyfully to Qingyin's side.
"You know barrier arts too? Qingyin, you're amazing!" Youyue hugged her happily.
If her magic weapon had been contaminated by this kind of evil beast, she absolutely would not use it again without washing it for a full month.
She hadn't expected her baffling dilemma to be resolved so easily.
"A sense of suffocation..."
A moment later, Qingyin's muffled voice, devoid of much emotion, rang out.
Before you continue