A Reward That Can Upgrade an Attribute (Two-in-One)

The Mo family home.

Heavy rain had begun falling over Taiping Prefecture once again.

Mo Zhen held his laptop, browsing the day's trending news.

"Taiping Prefecture Daily: Joker Man's revenge? The chairman of Northern Airlines died in a sudden explosion. Joker Man's signature calling card was left at the scene, declaring this was the price of refusing to pay the ransom."

"Northern Airlines? Wasn't that the airline whose plane I was on when it crashed?"

Mo Zhen hadn't expected the incident to have a follow-up. At the time, Northern Airlines apparently hadn't paid Joker Man the ransom after learning that Peacemaker was on his way to the scene.

He really holds a grudge.

Still, he wasn't worried about being implicated. After all, the idea of a boy turning into a magical girl was far too fantastical. At most, they might suspect he had a superpower that let him hold his breath underwater for an insanely long time.

He scrolled down.

"Taiping Prefecture Daily: Peacemaker, the strongest superhero, appears in South America, seemingly to deal with a 'traitor' and 'whistleblower' from Colossus Company. A reporter's request for an interview was denied. Is there more to the story?"

"South America? So that's where Peacemaker went." Mo Zhen browsed through some of the Taiping Prefecture Daily's older reports.

Three months ago, a senior executive at Colossus Company had submitted a dossier to the Pacific State United Government, detailing evidence of the company's illegal experiments on superhumans and its sales of military arms to third-party nations.

The executive subsequently disappeared from a police station and remained missing.

Clearly, this was Colossus Company's most pressing problem at the moment, serious enough for it to send out Peacemaker, its strongest superhero.

He kept scrolling.

"Taiping Prefecture, Tianhe City Meteorological Bureau: Strong Typhoon 'Siren,' rated force 14, is expected to make landfall in our city early tonight. The affected areas include Jinniu District, Jinghai District, Elk District, Wild Dog District, and White Bird District. Residents are advised to shut their doors and windows..."

Mo Zhen looked up at the rain growing heavier outside the window. When he was at the convenience store, he'd thought it was just a passing shower.

So that was only the beginning?

Because of its unusual geographical location, Tianhe City was already prone to disasters, so everyone was used to them. A force 14 typhoon wasn't all that serious; it would be over before they knew it.

"Rumble!!"

Thunder boomed overhead as rain poured down.

Mo Zhen lowered his head and continued browsing the news.

"Wall Street Express: Magical girl 'Hell' makes her official debut. Colossus Media shares have risen another 5%, and multiple institutions remain bullish."

"Ministry of Magic official Lin Xiaohong appears at Colossus Company? Business negotiations may be underway. Will magical girl 'Hell' be abandoned by the company as a result?"

Naturally, the front-page headlines were dominated by news about Hell, Colossus Company, and the Ministry of Magic.

At present, investors around the world were watching Colossus Company and the Ministry of Magic, eager to see who would come out on top in their struggle.

Mo Zhen moved on to the next page.

"Wall Street Express: Reynolds Group shares closed down 49.83% today, nearly halving in value. The power sector plunged 18.96%, and major investors may have cut their losses and exited."

"Breaking: Owl Group announces a stake exceeding the disclosure threshold in Reynolds Group!"

"Breaking: Colossus Group announces a stake exceeding the disclosure threshold in Reynolds Group!"

Mo Zhen raised an eyebrow slightly.

Such disclosures were common in the stock market: when an investor directly or indirectly acquired more than 5% of a company, it automatically triggered a requirement to disclose their stake.

"Owl Group: We have begun the process of acquiring Reynolds Group and expect to commit an initial $30 billion to the acquisition."

"Colossus Group: We have begun the process of acquiring Reynolds Group and expect to commit approximately $50 billion to the initial acquisition."

"Whoa, so this is what they had in store for Reynolds Group."

Mo Zhen shook his head inwardly. This acquisition was causing quite a stir. Both sides had announced their intentions immediately after disclosing their stakes.

One had put up $30 billion, and the other had gone straight to $50 billion, both in US dollars. It looked like they wanted to scare off the other competitors outright.

If the two sides went head-to-head, the sum would probably be even higher.

The thought alone was terrifying.

"Hmm... but I can understand it. Reynolds Group's share price may have crashed, but as the king of power in Taiping Prefecture, it really is worth that much."

Reynolds Group's power facilities and systems throughout Taiping Prefecture alone were already worth hundreds of billions of US dollars.

That wasn't even counting its numerous patents in the nuclear power sector. Whoever acquired it would make a killing at $50 billion.

Besides, for companies seeking to acquire Reynolds Group, the crash in its share price was a good thing. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had a chance to buy at the bottom.

He closed the stock market news.

Mo Zhen yawned, shut his laptop, and prepared for bed.

Hmm, is there anything more relaxing than falling asleep to the sound of rain during a downpour? This is how life should be.

But suddenly, Mo Zhen heard some strange noises coming from the roof.

Hmm?

He got up alertly and opened the balcony door, just in time to see Bai Xiaoxiao, looking somewhat hurried, turn into a pure white shooting star and fly off into the distance through the downpour.

In this rain, in the middle of the night, where is she going?

Mo Zhen frowned slightly.

"Buzz, buzz!"

Mo Zhen's spare phone suddenly vibrated. Tang Wenjie was calling him.

Normally, Tang Wenjie would send him a message first if he needed something. Calling out of the blue meant it was definitely urgent.

Mo Zhen returned to his room, set up a Magic Curtain, and released his magic power to complete his transformation before hurriedly answering the phone.

"What happened?" the girl asked.

The roar of an Aston Martin's engine came from Tang Wenjie's end of the call.

"Hell, can you do me a favor? My daughter went missing on her way home. She probably fell into a Witch Barrier in Jinghai District."

According to the magical world's records, a Witch Barrier was a supernatural phenomenon that could only be caused by witches of B-rank or higher under special circumstances.

Witch Barriers were generally believed to be unusual phenomena caused by witches during their transformation into witches.

Normally, the appearance of a Witch Barrier was also invariably accompanied by natural disasters of various kinds, such as typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes...

It was hard to say which came first; the two were more like a symbiotic relationship.

And if left unchecked, they could gradually develop into an even more terrifying disaster.

"Give me the location."

Hell's gaze turned serious, and she kept her words brief.

She might not be an ally of justice, but she wouldn't stand by and watch something happen to a friend.

Tang Wenjie didn't waste words either. Flooring the accelerator on an elevated highway through the rainy night, he said,

"Jinghai District Aquarium. Firebird and I are on our way there too."

He had turned to Hell because Witch Barriers repelled nonmagical beings, preventing superheroes from entering.

Matters of the magical world had to be handled by the magical world, after all.

And Moon God, the strongest magical girl in Tang Wenjie's studio, was currently stationed in Nihon, an ocean away from Taiping Prefecture. There was no way she could get there in time to help.

The studio's other magical girls were all too weak. The strongest was only C-rank, and they were scattered across different locations. In the end, he could only place his hopes on Hell.

According to Colossus Company's internal ratings alone, Hell's danger level had already reached B-rank, and she had the combat power to easily kill C-plus-rank superheroes or magical girls.

So if Hell entered the Witch Barrier, even if she couldn't defeat the witch, she still had a chance of rescuing someone.

Although Tang Wenjie was frantic with worry, he kept a level head. He knew there was no use panicking at a time like this.

Everyone had their own area of expertise. He had to trust Hell.

"Got it. I'm heading over now."

Hell hung up. Now she understood why Bai Xiaoxiao had suddenly gone out in the middle of a downpour.

No wonder even members of the Witches' Association had been seen around Jinghai District today. So there was a Witch Barrier.

The system also issued a prompt at that moment.

[Detected a special random event nearby. Would you like to teleport?]

"Yes."

Hell agreed instantly.

I really have to take this seriously.

[Witch praying...]

The girl's figure vanished from the bedroom.

When Hell opened her eyes, she was already standing on a rain-lashed street, the downpour growing heavier by the moment.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

Purple-red lightning flashed repeatedly across the sky, thick with dark clouds.

Startled electric bikes by the roadside let out shrill, piercing alarms.

Hell raised her head slightly and saw the strange weather caused by the massive typhoon steadily approaching Tianhe City from the distant sky.

[Random special event: "Witch Barrier: Siren"]

[Description: After some magical girls die unable to "rest in peace," their obsessive souls wander through Subspace. By devouring other souls, they ultimately return from death as witches and descend upon reality once more.]

[The witch codenamed "Siren" has reached danger level B-plus after forming a Witch Barrier. If she devours many souls, her danger level will continue to rise.]

[The Ministry of Magic has dispatched the nearest magical girls, "Red Sparrow," "Nightingale," and "Morning Star," to the scene for the first emergency operation.]

[Mission: Kill "Siren."]

[Reward: Attribute upgrade opportunity +1.]

[Message: There are differences among witches too... Those without self-awareness are nothing more than beasts born of obsession!]

"As expected of a high-level fight. It's even offering an attribute upgrade as a reward."

Miss Hell rose gently into the downpour, turning into a deep black shooting star as she headed toward Jinghai District's most famous aquarium, not far away.

An attribute upgrade opportunity, as the name suggested, allowed her to upgrade an attribute once. It was a very rare reward.

She just didn't know what would happen if she upgraded Sukuna-Level Total Magic Power.

In the original story... is there anyone with more Cursed Energy than Sukuna?

Hell did remember seeing information about a Jujutsu side story before her plane crashed in her previous life.

Unfortunately, her plane had crashed before then.

Meanwhile, back at home.

"Bro! It looks like the typhoon's about to make landfall. Do we have enough drinking water?"

Mo Xiaochuan pushed open Mo Zhen's bedroom door, only to find the balcony's sliding door wide open, with rainwater being driven inside by the howling wind.

"Wait, where is he?"

Mo Xiaochuan hurried over and shut the floor-to-ceiling balcony doors, then rushed to Bai Xiaoxiao's room and pushed open the door that had been left ajar.

No one there either!

Mo Xiaochuan was getting a little worked up.

He wasn't angry; he was just worried about his brother and sister's safety.

He hurriedly sent Mo Chou, who was working overtime, a message, warning him not to drive if the typhoon caused roads to be closed on his way home. It was dangerous.

Mo Chou: "Okay, I'll come back after the typhoon passes. Be careful at home too."

The front line against the witch "Siren":

Upon arriving at the aquarium, Miss Hell landed gently, her long hair swaying. She had reached the scene ahead of Bai Xiaoxiao.

Two figures were already waiting outside the aquarium: Lin Xiaohong and Saionji Kirika.

"Senior Hell?"

Wuhua had already transformed and was wearing a dark purple Gothic dress. When she saw Hell, her eyes lit up with delight.

As long as Senior Hell was there, she felt much more at ease.

Lin Xiaohong, dressed in a long magician's robe, politely raised a hand in greeting when she saw Hell, then asked nervously,

"Miss Hell? Are you here to help?"

They had only met at Colossus Company not long ago, but Lin Xiaohong hadn't expected Hell to show up at a time like this.

Hell nodded. "You could say that. A friend of mine fell into the barrier, so I'm here to help."

Hearing that, Lin Xiaohong immediately felt a warmth in her heart.

Hmm... my sixth sense was right after all. How could adorable Little Hell be as bad as people say online? She's clearly a good kid.

As for the reason Hell gave afterward, Lin Xiaohong didn't care about it at all.

Judge a person by their actions, not their intentions. She's willing to help, so she's good!

Lin Xiaohong had never insisted that others be like her and fulfill the so-called duties and obligations of a magical girl.

After all, even she had only joined the United Government because it offered good enough benefits.

There were not only financial subsidies and assigned housing, but she could also retire and transfer to another position at eighteen, with an iron rice bowl for life.

Of course, none of that came without a price.

Jinghai District's coastal location meant that it had always been the area most frequently struck by Calamity-Class Witch events.

Typhoons and tsunamis took turns hitting, and occasionally there was even a combo attack with a volcanic eruption.

It could be said that the magical girls of Jinghai District had the most dangerous job in all of Tianhe City. They were frequently wiped out, after which replacements had to be transferred in from elsewhere.

Seven months ago, Jinghai District's magical girl team had been almost completely wiped out during an operation against a Witch Barrier. Only Lin Xiaohong survived.

As a result, she was naturally promoted directly to head of Jinghai District by the United Government's presidential office, which also rejected Hu Xueting's letter of recommendation.

Hu Xueting was unhappy about this, so she maneuvered afterward to get Golden Feather transferred from Jinniu District to Jinghai District as Lin Xiaohong's deputy.

After that, Nightingale and Morning Star awakened one after the other and joined Lin Xiaohong's team as well.

Although Bai Xiaoxiao and Wuhua weren't direct members of the Ministry of Magic, they were kindhearted and still willing to shoulder the responsibilities of magical girls.

In many places, such as Jinniu District, magical girl teams had similar arrangements of veterans guiding newcomers, with three to five members each.

Nightingale looked worried. "I wonder how Xiaoyu is doing right now. Please don't let anything happen to her."

As she spoke, a pure white shooting star trailing a long tail of flame descended from the sky. It was Bai Xiaoxiao, arriving belatedly.

"Sorry, sorry! Senior Red Sparrow, Senior Wuhua! I'm late!"

Dressed in a pure white gown, Morning Star looked nervous. After all, this was her first time taking part in a battle on such a large scale.

According to the original script, this operation against the Witch Barrier should have been a battle led by Lin Xiaohong and Golden Feather, with Nightingale and Morning Star providing support.

Unfortunately, Hell had killed Golden Feather, leaving Lin Xiaohong's team one important B-rank magical girl short.

If Lin Xiaohong had to carry the team on her own, it was hard to say whether they could defeat "Siren."

All that could be said was that there was a very high chance they would fail and be wiped out.

"Uh, Senior Hell, you're here too?!"

Clutching her head, still dizzy from flying, Morning Star finally noticed Hell beside her.

"Guess I'm your teammate today."

Morning Star immediately nodded, delighted. "Mm-hmm!"

Hell then looked at Lin Xiaohong. "Tell me, how should we deal with this barrier?"

Lin Xiaohong was not only a senior in magic but also an experienced fighter. More importantly, her personality wasn't as annoying as Golden Feather's.

So Hell didn't mind hearing her opinion.

Lin Xiaohong nodded and said, "This Witch Barrier is codenamed 'Siren.' Its full name is 'Witch of the Siren.' She's a witch who came back from the dead."

"Although witches like her have no reason and act purely on their instinct to destroy, their magic power is often terrifying."

"Once we enter a Witch Barrier, it's easy to get caught in an endless battle of attrition and be overwhelmed to death inside."

"So after we enter the Witch Barrier, we need to quickly find the witch herself and take her out."

Hell nodded. This was a lot like the Witch of Frenzied Dance, the first witch she had killed. Neither of them had any reason.

"But we won't know exactly what it's like inside until we go in."

Lin Xiaohong sighed helplessly as she said this.

Although she disliked Golden Feather's personality, with that B-rank combatant absent at a time like this, the pressure on her shoulders had clearly grown.

Fortunately, Miss Hell was there to help. As long as Lin Xiaohong could keep the situation under control, dealing with a newly formed Witch Barrier shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The group then entered the aquarium.

Meanwhile, Tang Wenjie's car slowly pulled up on the street outside the aquarium. Rain battered the car, and the wipers squeaked.

In the passenger seat,

Firebird looked at the enormous typhoon approaching the coastline and pressed down the brim of her hat. "Can they handle a witch of this level?"

Tang Wenjie took a deep breath and removed his glasses. "If they can't, we'll have to find another way."

There were some things he didn't even want to mention, but with witch incidents becoming more frequent these days, there was no way the Ministry of Magic's conduct wasn't connected.

He had no idea what those women were thinking, insisting on driving some magical girls to defect, even if it meant having them branded as witches and hunted down.

It was no joke that most of the Witches' Association's members came from the Ministry of Magic.

Meanwhile, on a building not far away,

A man wearing a polo shirt and a sun hat stood quietly on the rooftop. Rain that reached him was scattered by an invisible force.

"Uh... hey? Sir, it's dangerous up here. The typhoon's about to make landfall. Do you need me to take you to a shelter?"

Suddenly, Tianhe City's friendly neighborhood Scarlet Spider leaped onto the roof and called out a warning to the man.

The man didn't turn around.

His figure merely flickered.

Boom!

Scarlet Spider heard a sonic boom erupt, and in the blink of an eye, the tall man had vanished.

"Good Lord...!"

Scarlet Spider stood frozen. "Where did this expert come from?"