Staking Out Was a Villain's Essential Skill

Solemn declaration: All characters appearing in this book are over eighteen! There are no minors!

Why would a villain go looking for trouble with magical girls?

Carrying a glass of milk and two slices of toast from the kitchen to the plain dining table, Su Tianqing sat down. As she browsed through the previous owner's phone, whose screen was already cracked from being dropped, she pondered this eternal question.

Destroy the world? Rule humanity? Or pursue some loftier goal?

Unfortunately, Su Tianqing had no such ambitions, and this world did not have any proper villain organization either. Setting her sights too high would definitely cause problems.

Through the internet and the memories of Miss Su Tianqing's body, she had already gained a rough understanding of this world.

Magical girls and monstrous villains were objectively real.

The magical girls were overseen and assigned missions by the Hero Association. While fighting villains, they also appeared as idols. Their true identities were kept secret, but their transformed magical girl appearances were widely known. Their battles against villains and monsters had even become a form of alternative promotion.

And in Rongcheng, where she currently lived, there happened to be an active magical girl.

"Ahh... munch munch munch..."

Taking a bite from toast spread with cheap jam, Su Tianqing opened an introduction video about that magical girl on a video site.

As the saying went, know yourself and know your enemy. If she wanted to deliberately pick a fight as a villain, she had to understand her upcoming opponent in advance. That was the awareness a villain ought to have.

On the screen, a sky-blue girl darted and spun through the air, fighting a ferocious monster in the middle of the street. The scene was not particularly dazzling or spectacular, but the brutal, solid blows made Su Tianqing's heart tighten. She could not help lowering her head to look at the pale, delicate skin of her wrist, and her eye twitched violently.

"Hyacinth..." Su Tianqing murmured her codename.

She could conjure a greatsword and chop off monsters' heads. I'm supposed to pick a fight with a melee-type magical girl like that? Seriously?

Su Tianqing had no intuitive grasp of her own strength after transforming, but judging from her tender-looking loli appearance, she definitely did not look like someone suited for close-quarters brawling.

"I don't have the slightest clue!"

Putting down her phone, she stuffed the last piece of bread into her mouth and washed it down with milk. Su Tianqing grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth, then shuffled over to the sofa in her slippers and picked up that heavy ancient book again.

Mercury Codex. That was how the book introduced itself.

Although she did not know why it had suddenly stopped talking, perhaps it contained some information she needed... maybe.

Turning the ancient book to the second page, sure enough, several lines of text surfaced from the pages before Fox Fox's eyes.

[Mission: Wish]

[Gain 200 followers]

[Become a shining magical girl. Make everyone remember your name, and live on carrying her share as well.]

[Reward: 500 Divine Codex Stones]

...What a heavy mission. Did this come from the MyGO set next door or something?

Muttering inwardly about this mission description, which felt heavier than a black hole, Su Tianqing's gaze fell upon the third page.

There it was!

[Magical Girl Hyacinth]

[A newly active magical girl skilled in close-range suppression and hand-to-hand combat. She is not yet proficient in magic.]

[A villain will appear at Greenheart Park in Rongcheng tonight. Hyacinth is predicted to go and confront it.]

See? There it was.

Closing the ancient book, Su Tianqing immediately began planning her itinerary for the day.

She lived in eastern Rongcheng, while Greenheart Park was in the central district. Even by subway, it would take two hours to get there. Going early to stake out the place was the best course of action.

It just so happened that Rongcheng Medical College, where she had enrolled, would not start until the day after tomorrow. She had plenty of time to wear down this Hyacinth.

She slipped out of her pajamas and put on a simple dress. Sitting before the full-length mirror, Su Tianqing carefully arranged her hair and furry ears. As she felt the sensations brought by the unfamiliar organ that was her tail, she admired the petite figure in the mirror.

The original Su Tianqing had not come from a wealthy family, and a mere Fox Fox had no real ability to work and earn money. She normally just wrote novels online to scrape together meal money. Her wardrobe was visibly sparse, but there were still quite a few eye-catching combinations. Or rather, cute lolis looked cute in anything.

As expected, I'm the cutest in the world.

The little fox planted her hands on her hips, a satisfied smile curling across her lips.

The subway was not particularly crowded.

With a shoulder bag hanging at her side, Su Tianqing stuffed both the cross-shaped star and the ancient book inside. She casually found a seat in a corner, ignored the amazed and curious looks from the people around her, and took out her phone to continue looking up information related to Hyacinth.

Beastfolk were not uncommon in Rongcheng. People only gave her an extra glance before quickly growing accustomed to the sight.

Before she knew it, time passed quite quickly.

"Ding-dong. Tianfu Square has arrived. Passengers transferring to Line 1, please get off promptly..."

In the blink of an eye, the subway ride had ended. Su Tianqing stretched and let out a couple of indistinct little whimpers, while her tail and ears stiffened along with her.

She had already reached the city center. Those two hours had passed really fast.

Fox Fox picked up her shoulder bag and followed the route from her memories out of the subway station. She observed this unfamiliar yet familiar world with interest as she headed toward the planned destination, Greenheart Park.

This was Rongcheng's largest wetland park, and it was extremely popular. Nearby residents liked to stroll around here after meals to pass the time, and it had gradually become one of Rongcheng's landmark parks.

Standing amid the lush natural woods, Su Tianqing could not help narrowing her eyes and taking a deep, refreshing breath of fresh air.

Nice.

What should she do next? It was only just past noon, and she had packed two slices of bread for dinner. Maybe she should read for a while first.

Muttering to herself, Su Tianqing unzipped her shoulder bag, held the heavy black ancient book in her hands, and began reading it seriously.

Passersby would be surprised to see a different sort of scenery here:

The petite little fox sat obediently on a bench. Sunlight shattered by the leaves spilled across her body, dyeing her golden fur with brilliant radiance. Even the most breathtaking scenery in the world could not compare.

By reading the Mercury Codex in her hands and combining it with the information she had searched up on her phone, Su Tianqing came to a brand-new understanding of this world and of "herself."

The former Miss Su Tianqing had been cute, but the socially anxious and withdrawn personality she had developed since childhood meant she rarely left home. Taking the subway for two hours to the city center like this could already be considered the farthest trip she had made in the past half year.

The support from the Beastfolk Mutual Aid Society was truly limited. Combined with the fact that she was not actually very good at writing novels, she could only barely make a living off attendance bonuses. Her results were a complete mess.

Writing novels was a dead end.

Looking at the meager savings in her bank account and her tuition loan, Fox Fox felt deeply pained.

"Don't worry, Miss Su Tianqing. Since I have become you, I will definitely let you live a better life!" the little fox said to herself inwardly.

Her gaze fell upon the mission on the page.

[Mission: Wish]

[Gain 200 followers]

Hmm... What did followers mean? Fans? If this was the original owner's wish, then fulfilling it seemed a little too easy.

With this face, if she casually took a few selfies and posted them on Little Blue Book, would she not easily gain hundreds or even thousands of followers? Was there any need to worry about that?

"Click!"

Thinking of that, Su Tianqing tried raising her phone to take a selfie.

Hmm, the front camera had been smashed. Better put that idea aside for now.

As she idly imagined the future, time slipped away quickly. Before she knew it, the sun was setting behind the western hills. Dusk deepened, and night swiftly enveloped the park.

"Drip."

Su Tianqing turned off her Rice Phone, its screen full of cracks, connected it to a power bank, and stuffed it into her shoulder bag.

The paths were now filled with residents and passersby taking leisurely post-dinner walks. Many had brought their children, and their laughter reached Fox Fox's ears, making her feel a little envious.

Whether in her previous life or this one, she was still alone.

Su Tianqing could not help sighing. Melancholy rose in her heart, only to be forcibly suppressed a moment later.

Whatever. She had been watching videos all day and was getting a little tired. It was time to focus on the important matter—

"GRAAAOOO!!"

A piercing roar came from behind the trees and stabbed into Su Tianqing's furry ears, making both ears twitch sharply.

Looking into the distance and seeing the people around her fleeing in panic, Su Tianqing instinctively tensed up. Her tail puffed up, becoming a whole circle thicker.

The Codex had been right. A villain really was attacking Greenheart Park tonight.

No, why am I nervous? Aren't I the villain? The one who should be nervous is Hyacinth, who'll be coming here any moment now.

At that thought, a devilish smile appeared on the little fox's face.

"Come on, Hyacinth."

"I've prepared a—wonderful meeting gift for you."