She was being hunted down, so she became a magical girl.

The following afternoon.

Xu Ting sat alone by the window of the small hotel.

She gently lifted a corner of the curtain, casting her gaze towards the distant street, waiting for the "decisive traces of battle" to emerge there.

Jiang Chenglian's "Magical Girl Gathering Time" is almost here.

Jiang Chenglian originally intended to participate directly in the first gathering.

But Xu Ting persuaded her.

"You are our absolute core, the leader among leaders. Even if someone is to come forward, it should be me, their proxy, who should do it."

"After the gathering is over, I will identify a magical girl you can trust, then you can step in."

After settling Jiang Chenglian in, Xu Ting contacted Huan Guang, who had also overheard the location of the gathering, and asked her to come to the lower city and keep an eye on Jiang Chenglian in the water tower.

The reason given was naturally not so explicit; Xu Ting used the phrase "waiting at the water tower."

As for Qi Li, Luo Ruowei had already assured Xu Ting that she would keep a close eye on the girl and not give Qi Li any opportunity to act on her own.

Qi Li also assured Xu Ting that she would be obedient.

All the preliminary preparations have been completed; we are just waiting for the plan to be implemented.

Knowing that this gathering would definitely cause problems, Xu Ting did not go to the gathering place. Instead, he chose a small hotel a few streets away, intending to wait and see what would happen.

Because most of the small hotel owners were connected to local gangs, Xu Ting even used the Eye of Fear to control the owners to avoid trouble.

Then, Xu Ting sent out her "best partner".

The giant magic ball – the crow.

"Lord Black Phoenix, report the situation."

Because Xu Ting assigned the crow a thankless and arduous task, he had to call upon the crow's black phoenix for three days as payment.

"Three magical girls have been discovered, all of them are in their coloring stage."

"One of the magical girls even brought a gang with her; it seems she's trying to boost her own faction's performance."

"It seems your plan will soon succeed. There will definitely be a fierce battle here, and it won't be small."

"But what if some innocent magical girl actually believes your nonsense and comes here to participate in the gathering?"

Xu Ting awkwardly tugged at the corner of the curtain and said:

"There can't be such an innocent girl in the city of He."

"Is it because your sister doesn't belong to Hezhi City, or is your sister not pure enough?" the crow said.

"Stop fooling yourself. Hezhi City has never been just one type of person. It is a city made up of countless different individuals and groups."

Xu Ting took a deep breath, lowered the curtains, and said:

"If a magical girl actually believed this nonsense and came here unprepared, she would lose her life."

"Then she's being far too naive."

"A personality like that wouldn't last long in the downtown area."

She... is not responsible for this.

The crow said in a sarcastic tone:

"Without you, Qi Li would be the most hopeless one."

"But you still saved Qi Li."

"Stop being stubborn."

Xu Ting fell into a long silence.

Her reason for doing this was actually quite simple: none of the other magical girls were as important as her sister.

For Xu Ting, killing them all in exchange for Jiang Cheng's safety would be a worthwhile deal.

Disregarding morality and acting solely based on self-interest—didn't those who lost their virtue in the past do the same?

But now Xu Ting has a vague feeling that he made a mistake.

"This is a bad thing that will only benefit her while sacrificing others," a voice seemed to say in my mind.

Perhaps this is proof that she is becoming weak.

Was it because she was intoxicated by Luo Ruowei's gratitude after he saved her?

Was it because she changed Qi Li's fate that the latter's smile put her at ease?

Was it after she cured Gray Raven's terminal illness that the latter's future made her start to have all sorts of wild thoughts?

The metamorphosis stage requires the magical girl's will to be elevated.

After becoming a magical girl, Xu Ting's will not only failed to improve, but instead became weaker and weaker.

She's increasingly resembling a low-scoring mercenary, a low-scoring downtown resident.

"crow."

"If there is a naive magical girl like you described, who was tricked into coming here, let me know."

Xu Ting succumbed to her inner weakness and said...

In response to her request, the contracted beast replied as follows:

"Call me Black Phoenix, and you promised to call me that for three days."

Xu Ting sighed and added, "Black Phoenix."

......

There are thirteen minutes left until the agreed time.

However, a fierce gunfire erupted at the agreed location.

"These magical girls have brought too many people."

"At least four magical girls came here to hunt down other magical girls. They had their backers planted near the gathering place, but they ended up running into people from other factions."

Everyone wanted to ambush the axemen under the corridor, but the axemen ended up bumping into each other, which was quite awkward.

"After the fighting started, most of the magical girls who hadn't brought anyone with them ran away."

"Xu Ting, what you were worried about didn't happen. It seems that there really aren't any magical girls in Hezhi City who are that naive."

"Sorry, I was exaggerating this time."

...That damned crow, it ruined all her mental preparation.

But this is for the best.

If the fight starts ahead of schedule, the gathering will naturally have to be canceled, and Xu Ting will be able to give Jiang Cheng a proper explanation.

The eruption of fire also proves that the magical girls are not united at all, making Jiang Cheng realize that she has taken the wrong path.

A perfect result.

"Magical girls are fighting."

The crows are still broadcasting.

"One side's innate magic is traction, and it's adjusting its trajectory, aiming every attack at the opponent."

"The other side's innate magic is replication, and they're frantically throwing bombs at the opponent, gaining the upper hand."

"Wow, an arms race."

"These newbies who can only create magic shields by instinct can fight quite fiercely."

"Hmm, what's this?"

In the crow's view, a gangster pulled out a huge rocket launcher and fired a projectile at the two magical girls who were engaged in fierce combat.

This gang member doesn't belong to either side; instead, he represents a third magical girl.

The magical girl, being the most cunning, stayed in the back, waiting to reap the benefits.

Rockets themselves are not unusual, but this particular rocket is very rare.

Amidst the flames of the explosion, a strange white mist appeared.

This is my innate magic, and it's a two-color ring level magic.

Although its power was greatly reduced due to insufficient magic, the crow was not mistaken.

The two magical girls who were fighting were horrified when they saw this.

The rocket ricocheted off course, failing to injure any of them, but the white mist clung to their bodies like a vengeful ghost.

Frost emerged from the mist, completely solidifying their bodies.

Then, both of them were shot through the head, and a ball of light floated out from their hearts and disappeared in a daze.

"Ha!" The third magical girl hiding in the back laughed out loud; she was the ultimate winner.

But it's not.

"Xu Ting, don't come out of your room, something big has happened."

Because a fourth magical girl has appeared.

An entity known as the Polar Day leaped from an airship high in the sky.

Just before she was about to hit the ground, a white light appeared beneath her feet, helping her land smoothly.

Then, she looked at the third magical girl and said:

"I heard there's a gathering of magical girls here."

"I'm a magical girl too, can I participate?"