The Cute, Cold-Faced Miss Hell

"Let's call it a day."

Hell nodded in response to Bai Xiaoxiao's thanks, saying nothing more.

Now that it was time to part, both Wuhua and Bai Xiaoxiao were terribly reluctant to leave.

Wuhua spoke up. "Um, Miss Hell, can we exchange contact information? I'll also transfer your payment for this job."

Hell shook her head and took out her phone. "There's no need for payment. I don't need that little bit of money from you."

At least for now, she still had to maintain her young lady persona. Taking money would be too low-class.

"But we can exchange contact information. I rarely go online, though, and most of the time I won't have a chance to reply, so be prepared for that."

Wuhua and Bai Xiaoxiao looked pleasantly surprised.

"That's fine!"

Hell opened her newly registered WeChat account, and they added one another as friends.

Saionji Kirika's profile picture was a photo of herself squatting on the ground in a park, with her back to the camera and the sun, making the shape of a cat with her shadow.

Bai Xiaoxiao's profile picture was from an older anime, Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

As for Hell, her new WeChat account still had the default little gray figure as its profile picture, and she had simply and bluntly changed her name to Oriental Leaf.

"Oriental Leaf? Isn't that the name of a drink?"

Bai Xiaoxiao was full of questions.

Hell spread her hands. "It was the drink I bought from a vending machine. I happened to have it when I registered, so that's what I went with."

"All right, now that we've added each other, I'll be going. I have something to do later. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Senior."

As the magic curtain fell, Hell's figure vanished from the park path, leaving Wuhua and Bai Xiaoxiao behind.

Bai Xiaoxiao sighed. "It feels like tonight went by so fast."

Beside her, Wuhua gave a sly smile. "I've heard time flies when you're with someone you like."

"That means Xiaoxiao really likes Senior Hell."

Bai Xiaoxiao covered her flushed cheeks, too embarrassed to look up. "D-don't put it so bluntly, Senior Wuhua..."

"Hmm? Does Xiaoxiao not like Miss Hell?"

"I do..."

"Hahaha~"

Wuhua leaned over and gently touched her forehead to Bai Xiaoxiao's. "Well, I like Xiaoxiao too. Does Xiaoxiao like me?"

Bai Xiaoxiao's face turned even redder, and she stammered, "Of course I do... Xiaoxiao really likes Senior Wuhua too."

Wuhua took her hand. "Come on, have a late-night snack at my place before you go home."

"But isn't it already pretty late?"

"It's fine. I'll have the driver take you home afterward."

Meanwhile.

After leaving Whale Sea Park, Miss Hell flicked her fingers and produced a metal business card from Colossus Company.

She had already made up her mind about the reputation mission. Since the commercialization of superhumans was the trend, she would go along with it.

More importantly, in Taiping Prefecture, where capital ruled, if she didn't occupy a high position herself, she would likely become someone else's stepping stone later on.

Piracy and infringement were hardly uncommon in Taiping Prefecture, and companies usually had to combat them and pursue litigation on an ongoing basis.

As for the cooperation plan with Colossus Company, naturally, she would choose the second one. After all, she didn't want to work for the company as a magical girl trainee.

All Hell needed was the help Colossus Company could provide her with commercialization.

"Pssh~"

The gray-haired girl sat down on a chair beside a vending machine, opened a can with one hand, and tipped her head back to take a drink.

The call connected quickly.

Inside a skyscraper in Jinniu District, Tang Wenjie, who was working overtime to plan a promotional campaign for a new hero, answered the phone.

"Who is this?"

The girl swallowed her coffee and said unhurriedly, "I'd like to discuss the contract with you."

Hearing that voice-

"Half an hour."

Without another word, Tang Wenjie immediately dropped the list in his hand, grabbed his coat and put it on, then headed straight from his office to the underground garage.

"Where are you?"

"The Lawson Convenience Store on Jinghai Commercial Street."

"All right, I'll come pick you up."

Tang Wenjie reached the garage, picked a dark red Aston Martin, and floored the accelerator all the way to neighboring Jinghai District.

He knew that since Hell had taken the initiative to call him, she had decided to work with him.

Next came the negotiations.

After hanging up,

Miss Hell continued drinking her coffee.

It was the early hours of the morning, and there were hardly any people left on the streets.

Bored, she began to study Bai Xiaoxiao's updated personal panel.

[Name: Bai Xiaoxiao.]

[Second identity: Magical Girl Morning Star.]

[Affection: "??"]

[Danger level: D-rank.]

[Strength: D-rank.]

[Speed: D-rank.]

[Defense: D-rank.]

[Magic: D+-rank.]

[Charm: A+-rank.]

[Ability: Cold July Sky "Magic Cursed Technique".]

Bai Xiaoxiao's strength, speed, defense, and magic had all been E+ before. After she awakened her own Magic Cursed Technique tonight, each of those stats had been updated.

Normally, the simplest way for magical girls to grow stronger was to defeat magical beasts and witches, then purify the Grief Seeds they obtained.

During purification, their magic would also increase accordingly, and it might even cause their Cursed Techniques to evolve a second time.

But purifying Grief Seeds also carried risks. Throughout history, quite a few magical girls had instead fallen under their influence during the process and gradually lost themselves.

It was worth mentioning that witches transformed from magical girls also fell into two categories.

The first was the disorderly type. These witches had usually lost hope and surrendered themselves entirely to their obsessions.

The Frenzied Dancing Witch Hell had encountered before was one of them.

The second was the chaotic type, whose personalities were unpredictable, mysterious, and bizarre. Some were bloodthirsty, while others were kind and law-abiding.

By an outsider's judgment, Hell clearly belonged to the second category, the chaotic type of witch, which was the hardest to figure out.

Luckily, I don't have to worry about falling.

Hell couldn't help thinking to herself.

She was already a witch, so she didn't need to worry about the things forbidden to magical girls at all. Even killing people didn't matter.

But speaking of killing,

She had always felt that the main reason magical girls fell because of killing was their own guilt.

There might well be some naturally evil magical girls who had no qualms about killing; it was just impossible to publicize them openly.

After all, magical girls were an extremely important commercial IP for companies.

While Miss Hell sat in her chair, letting her thoughts wander,

Several men who had just come out of an underground idol theater in an alley not far away immediately noticed the gray-haired girl sitting in the chair.

The girl held her coffee and stared blankly downward. She had delicate, nearly perfect features, and her deep crimson eyes were lowered slightly. She naturally carried the air of a young lady who kept others at a distance.

Noble, elegant, unapproachable... She drew their gazes almost at once, and their hearts pounded.

"Holy crap, she's gorgeous..."

"She looks like she walked straight out of a manga."

"I hate to admit it, but she's even cuter than my beloved Eko-chan. Damn it, I'm in love! Argh! My heart hurts!"

"Good. Pain means your muscles are growing."

"Why is she sitting there all alone? Is she lost? She looks really young. I bet she hasn't even graduated high school."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, she's a cute girl somewhere between a loli and an onee-san, the cutest thing in the world. I've dreamed of having a wife like that all my life."

"Keep dreaming."

"If I can't date someone like her, I'm not dying!"

"She's so cute even when she's spacing out."

"Should we go ask her?"

"Let's ask. It's dangerous for a girl to be out here alone."

The men gradually gathered around her, still wearing short-sleeved shirts supporting an underground band.

"Uh... little miss, are you lost? Want us to take you home?"

The tallest man spoke first, and regretted it the moment he finished.

What kind of thug line is that?! Did I wander onto a movie set? Anyone who saw this would call the police for sure...

Hell raised her head and gave them an indifferent look. "I'm waiting for someone. Stay away from me, please."

The man in front thought he had misunderstood and hastily shook his head, taking a step back. "No, no, no, don't be scared. We're not bad guys."

The others hurriedly stepped back too, their faces flushed and hearts racing as they thought:

Incredible... her voice is so lovely too. That cute, cold face is unfairly irresistible!

I really want to hear her call me a little fry.

Seeing this, Hell looked a little puzzled.

What exactly were these people doing? They had approached her on the street in the middle of the night, but judging by their tone, they didn't sound like bad people.

"Wait, my dailies just refreshed."

One of the guys suddenly called out, then squatted by the roadside and opened the most popular magical girl mobile game of the moment.

Seeing this, the others took out their phones too and sat down in a row outside the convenience store. They logged into their accounts and began clearing their dailies.

"Holy crap, Lady Eclipse's 'Summer Swimsuit' is out! Damn it, I really have to spend money this time! I used everything up pulling on the premium banner last time!"

They chattered away.

Miss Hell tilted her head in her chair. "...?"

Mystery solved. They were a bunch of otaku.

In that case, it was fine. Otaku like these loved to talk big, boasting up a storm online, but in person they were all the type to blush just from holding hands.