Today was her day off, so she changed into a white short-sleeved hoodie and a pair of khaki suspender shorts. That vibrant burgundy-red hair was tied up in a high ponytail, bouncing with every movement like a fully charged little bunny, and that blue gem brooch was still hanging on her left chest.

Su Fang glanced at her phone screen: "Senior Airwen said she's already..."

"Ah!"

The next moment, a sleek black sedan pulled up in front of her. Though she couldn't tell the exact brand, from the streamlined body, the premium-quality paint job, and the silver emblem on the hood that looked expensive as hell, this was definitely a top-tier car.

The window rolled down, and Airwen sat in the driver's seat, with her longsword buckled into the passenger seat with its seatbelt. She had changed into a black suit today, her silver hair tied back in a high ponytail. She didn't look like an investigator so much as some absurdly young corporate CEO.

"Get in." Her words were brief.

"Whoa—!" Su Fang circled the car, carefully touching the paintwork. "Senior Airwen, is this your car too? It looks so premium!"

"Don't be surprised."

The silver-haired girl took off her sunglasses and casually hung them on her collar. "Investigators risk life and limb for the Sacred Tree and humanity. A little privilege is only natural. The Association never skimps on material matters." She turned to look at the cherry-haired girl standing quietly behind. "Mengmengxiang might not remember, but if she wanted, she could have these things anytime too."

"Whoa..."

Airwen turned back, seeing the hint of envy in Su Fang's eyes, and calmly added, "Same goes for you."

"If you want one, I can contact the Association right now to give you a car, or assign you a driver."

"Huh?!"

Su Fang frantically waved her hands, shaking her head like a rattle-drum. "No way, no way! I'm not a Senior Outer Realm Investigator like you..."

"You're the Prophecy Maiden."

Airwen's voice wasn't loud, but her tone carried absolute certainty. "That identity alone means you deserve the same treatment we get."

Su Fang froze, opened her mouth as if to ask why, but seeing that Lin Guang had already opened the door and climbed into the back seat, she instinctively followed and got in too.

"..."

The car started smoothly, and the scenery outside began to blur past. With the cool breeze blowing in, Su Fang quickly snapped out of her shock and shifted her mood.

"Finally going to the Association..."

She pressed her face against the window, her emerald-green eyes sparkling with excitement. "That means I get to see the legendary Sacred Tree!"

Noticing Lin Guang's gaze, Su Fang eagerly explained, "Mengmengxiang might have forgotten! The Sacred Tree we talked about yesterday is actually the great being that protects humanity. It's the one who grants us power to guard our home. Without its help, humanity would've gone extinct when the Cataclysm hit! Human history and civilization wouldn't exist!"

"Oh, that's from the junior high history textbook!"

"..."

Cataclysm?

Lin Guang paused slightly.

She enthusiastically continued, "They say this great being is actually housed in the Magical Girl Association headquarters! Only official magical girls and a handful of staff with strictly vetted backgrounds and abilities are allowed to see its true form!"

Lin Guang listened quietly, and Airwen didn't bother correcting or adding anything, just silently driving.

As the girl's excited explanation went on, the scenery outside began to change.

"...Huh?"

Su Fang blinked in confusion. The car wasn't heading to the suburbs; it was driving straight into the bustling city center.

She stared at the crowded commercial street outside, dumbfounded. "The Association and the Sacred Tree are in the city center? I thought they'd be out in the suburbs or up in the mountains..."

Then a spark of inspiration hit her, and she clapped her hands together. "Ah! I get it! It must be like in movies and novels—an illusion barrier that ordinary people can't see in the middle of the busy area, or some hidden space you can only find by walking through a wall!"

From the rearview mirror, Airwen glanced meaningfully at Su Fang's wild imagination, a slight smile curling at the corner of her mouth, but she said nothing.

Soon, the car pulled off the main road, turned into a relatively quiet business street, and stopped in front of a building that looked utterly unremarkable.

It was a six-story building, plain in appearance—gray tiled exterior walls, no special magical decorations or mysterious insignias. On the surface, it was just an old office building.

Lin Guang and Su Fang both looked up at the rooftop. There stood a weathered signboard, with boxy, aesthetically lacking characters that read—

【Happiness and Peace Committee】

"We're here. Get out."

Airwen parked by the roadside, turned off the engine, locked the car, and led the way toward the building entrance.

The door's glass appeared to be one-way, blocking the view inside. Airwen walked to the side and pressed her palm against a fingerprint lock.

The glass door slid open with a low hum.

Su Fang stepped in eagerly behind her, eyes blinking rapidly, searching for the so-called "magical barrier" or a sudden fantastical lobby transformation.

But the scene before her didn't change at all.

It was just a regular, even slightly outdated company front desk. White ceramic tiles on the floor were half-polished, the air had a faint scent of air freshener, and somewhere in the distance, the muffled thrum of rhythmic music echoed.

Behind the front desk sat a female receptionist in a white blouse and black skirt uniform.

She looked about seventeen or eighteen, with an exceptionally beautiful face—drooping eyes, long lashes, skin so delicate it seemed to break at a touch, and jet-black hair cascading like a waterfall over her shoulders. Her features carried a fox-like allure.

But as a receptionist, she was clearly slacking off: her eyes were half-closed, her head nodding as she dozed off.

The curve of her chest was astonishingly pronounced, nearly straining her receptionist blazer to its limit. Every nod looked like she was burying her face in her own cleavage.

Su Fang instinctively glanced down at herself, made a subtle expression, then looked at Lin Guang's chest with a look of shared misery.

Lin Guang: "..."

Some serious disrespect toward her senior!

What stood out even more was a huge, thick, vintage wooden cabinet next to the front desk. On top of it, bizarrely, sat an old gas stove with no visible switch, and an aluminum kettle was perched on top, its spout puffing out white steam—the water was almost boiling.

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