Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl

Book 2: Chapter 203: The Uninvited Guest

Lin Xiaolu focused intently on sensing the path ahead as she groped forward. After over half a day of assessment, she had become thoroughly familiar with utilizing the maze's magical formations. She could clearly perceive exactly how many meters ahead required a turn and which branching paths led to dead ends. Confident there would be no mistakes, her steps were swift - so much so that when Mint suddenly stopped walking ahead of her, she had no time to react before bumping headfirst into Mint's back.At least it didn't hurt too much, she thought, then stepped back to put some distance between them before asking, "What's wrong?"

Mint stood frozen, staring blankly ahead with unfocused eyes as if lost in thought. Only after hearing Lin Xiaolu's question did she gradually snap back to reality, grinning sheepishly. "Ah, just got distracted by some thoughts. Sorry, did I hurt you?"

"Not really," Lin Xiaolu shook her head. "Did you find something ahead?"

"No, just personal matters, nothing important," Mint brushed off the topic lightly. "Though you mentioning problems ahead - seems there actually might be something."

After prolonged exploration, the trio had already solved two puzzles. After obtaining the second puzzle's reward, they had smoothly discovered a hidden passage. Currently, they were following this secret path in search of the so-called "Maze Node."

"What kind of problem?" The mention of the Maze Node - or rather, the massive bonus points it represented - immediately captured Lin Xiaolu's full attention. She was counting on these extra points to climb the rankings and didn't want any complications.

"Someone's fighting," Bai Jingxuan, who had been following behind Lin Xiaolu, interjected with a tense expression. "And there are many chaotic magical resonances - probably not battling Remnant Beasts."

"Mmm, likely another team reached the node before us but started fighting before entering," Mint nodded in agreement with Bai Jingxuan's assessment, then turned to Lin Xiaolu. "What do you think? Should we check it out?"

"Fighting over the node? Why?" Lin Xiaolu didn't make an immediate decision, instead voicing her confusion. "Didn't they say multiple teams can tackle a node together and split the rewards? Why fight over it?"

"Who knows? Maybe worried about too many cooks spoiling the broth - didn't want to share rewards with another team," Mint speculated absentmindedly. "Though that does sound pretty stupid."

By now, most examinees had weighed the pros and cons of attacking other teams. Unless they could guarantee a successful ambush, initiating conflict was pointless. Openly picking fights seemed utterly meaningless. Fighting over node rewards sounded like something only hot-blooded idiots would do - something even Lin Xiaolu wouldn't consider.

Therefore, this battle ahead of them felt distinctly abnormal no matter how you looked at it.

"So... keep going forward?" Mint asked again. "Or should we retreat and wait until they finish fighting and enter the node, then sneak up afterward?"

"Hmm... doesn't seem like much difference," Lin Xiaolu pondered. "If they're willing to fight over node penalties, would they really share with you? Seems like conflict would be inevitable if we still plan to approach this node?"

"Small chance of that," Mint nodded. "But my suggestion is still to keep our distance, at least avoid getting caught in their fight..."

"It's over." Before she could finish, Bai Jingxuan suddenly announced. "One side's magical resonance has disappeared."

"Eh?"

"What?"

This news startled both Lin Xiaolu and Mint.

Lin Xiaolu's perception abilities were inferior to the other two, so even with Bai Jingxuan's warning, she couldn't detect anything unusual. But Mint quickly scanned ahead before adopting a grave expression: "It's true... it's over."

"That fast? And they actually eliminated someone?" Lin Xiaolu looked incredulous. "What kind of logic is that? So eager to donate their points?"

"Only three magical resonance frequencies left... no, excluding residual fluctuations, only one frequency remains," Bai Jingxuan continued reporting. "And that resonance's source is moving toward us!"

"They spotted us?" Lin Xiaolu grew even more surprised.

Mint remained silent, her brow deeply furrowed as if connecting some dots, hesitating to speak.

"What should we do? Retreat quickly too?" Seeing her silence, Lin Xiaolu took the initiative to ask Mint. "Or find a side path we passed earlier to hide in..."

"Too late," Mint declared with certainty.

"What do you mean, too late?" Lin Xiaolu felt like a broken record, only capable of parroting her teammate's shocking statements with alarm.

"They're here," Bai Jingxuan's voice explained Mint's attitude.

As her words fell, a mass of black mist gradually materialized ahead in the passage, emitting rustling sounds as it rapidly approached the trio. Only when it closed to a certain distance did the black mist's true form finally reveal itself:

—It was a swarm of bats.

Flying in such tight formation with perfectly synchronized movements that from afar they resembled rolling black fog.

Upon reaching Lin Xiaolu's group, the bats abruptly halted. Suddenly, countless bats coalesced into a human silhouette. The figure took several steps forward, emerging from the dissipating mist as facial features gradually became visible.

She appeared to be a girl around fifteen years old, with black hair streaked with red highlights tied into a towering bun. A gold-and-red crown embedded in her hair took the exaggerated shape of a giant bat flower. The crown's wing-like extensions and tiger-whisker-like dangling lines constantly drew attention.

Her gothic dress of black and red resembled blood congealed in darkness. The corset accentuated sharp curves while a high collar tightly wrapped up to her jawline, edged with dark red leaf-shaped Heart Gems that glowed like dried blood droplets in the dim maze.

If one word could describe this Magical Girl's impression, it would be "aggressive."

An overwhelming, all-devouring aggression.

After materializing, the black-and-red Magical Girl first examined Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan with her blood-red eyes. Then, facing Mint, she revealed an elegant yet domineering smile:

"Good evening, dear sister. It seems you've found two quite interesting 'friends'?"