Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 62 The End?

Upon arriving at Courtyard No. 4, Tao Zhuo found the gate ajar and politely knocked.

"Greetings, senior. I am Tao Zhuo from Qixin Academy. I'm here today—"

"--Enter!"

The voice inside was hoarse and dry, like the lingering embers of a violent rage that hadn't faded after days of howling.

Upon entering the room, the curtains were drawn tightly shut, with only a dual-screen monitor opposite the sofa lit up. The blue light shone on the profile of the woman whose back was to the door, making even her hair appear somewhat unreal.

Tao Zhuo subconsciously glanced at the screen—

[Zhenyue Coin - Perpetual Contract - Short Selling: 50X - Account Balance: 9,247.62 (Originally: 353965.76)]

[Insufficient margin warning. We recommend you add more funds immediately!]

Tao Zhuo's pupils suddenly contracted. It was a contract trading of Zhenyue Coin, with a leverage of fifty times. Under such volatility, even a two percent fluctuation meant certain death.

No, the opening price was very low. This order was placed when Senior Zhenyue first became popular, and margin was continuously deposited into it afterward, which is why the rule-breaking situation occurred...

Inside the room, the woman didn't turn around, but tilted her head back and gulped down the now-cold tea.

"Has Qixin sent people to put on a show again?"

Tao Zhuo gestured for Gu Bai to start filming, then stepped forward, intending to build rapport: "Hello, senior—"

"—Idiot, just leave after you're done filming. I make millions a minute, I don't have time to chat with you guys."

The woman turned around with a cold smile, her face pale as if she hadn't seen the light for a long time, and the dark circles under her eyes were as deep as if they had been painted with ink. There were burn marks in her pupils left by staring at the glowing screen for a long time.

But when her gaze swept across Tao Zhuo's face, she paused for a moment.

"You? I've been following you. The price has been steadily declining, and the market isn't optimistic about you. Luckily, I didn't have any expectations for a silly magical girl like you. It's a pity that you can't short sell now that it's newly listed, otherwise..."

"...Hehe, is that so? Um, senior, did I put the milk here?"

Tao Zhuo didn't retort. She put down the gifts she had brought, smiled awkwardly, and finally suggested, "Actually, you don't need to stare at the stock market every day, right? You could go out for a walk, wouldn't you?"

"ha?"

The woman suddenly stood up, nearly knocking over a stack of empty takeout boxes on the coffee table, her finger almost poking Tao Zhuo's chest.

"Go out for a walk? What do you know? All the money I've earned is here. I can't leave now. This so-called Magical Girl Coin is a complete scam. Qi Xin is in charge. Once the magical girls retire, they'll swindle our retirement savings. I'm protecting you and fighting against Qi Xin!"

"Ah!" Tao Zhuo took a half step back.

But the woman seemed not to have had enough, and she then turned her finger towards the winter jasmine:

"And you, Dong, right? You were praised the highest by Qi Xin, so you'll fall the hardest! Back then, 'Sun, Moon, and Star' lost two out of three spots because too many people were speculating, so Qi Xin set up a trap!"

"Mm," Dongchun responded softly, "I believe you."

The woman was stunned.

She had expected a rebuttal, a defense, and all the emotions that would allow her to continue venting, but not this calm "letter".

The fingertips trembled twice in the air before slowly drooping down.

She spat out a curse, turned around, and sat back down in front of the monitor to resume her 'work': "...You brainwashed lackeys, get out!"

Without saying anything more, he left.

Before leaving the room, Gu Bai raised his camera and took a picture.

The woman sat between two screens, her back slender, the green light of the K-line chart shining on her hair, making her look like a magical girl on the verge of death in an old movie poster.

The door closed.

Tao Zhuo took out her phone from her pocket, stared at the "My Options" section, her finger hovering, hesitant to tap.

I finally clicked on it anyway.

[Your long position in 'Epiphyllum indicum' - Current profit/loss: +1,247 yuan]

"Didn't your short positions explode? You're still trading them?" Dong Chun's gaze instantly turned even colder: "With borrowed money?"

"..."

Tao Zhuo stared at the number on the screen for a long time.

He closed the order, then applied to permanently disable the feature, and finally put his phone back in his pocket before suddenly speaking, "Teacher."

"Hmm?" Gu Bai replied.

Tao Zhuo clasped her hands together, bowed her head apologetically, and said, "It seems it will be a while before I can pay you back the consultation room fee I owe you!"

"No rush." ​​It was Gu Bai's turn to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Well then, thank you for understanding~" Tao Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief, and her steps immediately became lighter again.

Finally, Courtyard No. 14 was the final stop of this visit.

To Gu Bai's surprise, the area was located at the far end of the community, and the sanitation was not very good, with some of the floor tiles having collapsed and not been repaired in time.

When she reached the end, Tao Zhuo suddenly stopped and turned her face to the side.

It's so quiet.

Gu Bai then noticed that the courtyard was completely enclosed by three walls and two tall evergreen trees, preventing the wind from getting in or leaving.

I knocked on the door, but there was no response. I knocked again, but still no response.

Tao Zhuo's magic circulated, and her senses subtly probed into it.

Her pupils constricted sharply, and she smashed the door open with a single punch, then entered, exclaiming, "No way..."

The interior was so clean it didn't look like a residence; it looked more like a showroom that had been meticulously cleaned and never used again.

The three of them stopped in their tracks as soon as they entered the room.

Below the ceiling fan in the living room, the figure of a young girl hangs there quietly.

Gu Bai took a step forward, but Tao Zhuo gently stopped him with her hand.

"I've already reported it. Don't bother looking anymore, let's go..."

Her voice trembled slightly at the end, but her tone remained as light and easy as ever.

Tao Zhuo took two steps forward, looked up at the scene, then turned around, took out her phone, and entered the Qixin APP to report the matter.

The notification sent through the Qixin APP was extremely fast, so the three of them didn't need to worry and could simply leave, as someone would be arranged to clean up afterwards.

They seem to already know about this...

Beside him, Gu Bai saw a piece of white paper in the center of the coffee table with only three words on it: "I'm sorry".

My gaze fell on an old photograph on the edge of the coffee table—the girl in the photo was wearing a gorgeous battle suit, her hair was being blown by the wind, and the background was ruins torn apart by monsters, but her smile was the kind of bright smile that had not been polished by anything.

Below the photo, written in neat penmanship:

[Thanks to Qixin, I've become a sparkling magical girl too!]

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The recycling truck arrived quietly, without sirens or markings; it looked like just a slightly larger, ordinary commercial vehicle.

That makes sense; how could Qi Xin possibly make such a 'scandal' public?

The staff handed a completed form to Tao Zhuo.

[Visit Results: The retired magical girl is in stable condition, communication was pleasant, and the monthly visit mission has been successfully completed]

"This is a special arrangement for you by the publicity department. You just need to sign in the bottom right corner." The staff member's voice was very low.

"Yes, I understand what they mean."

Tao Zhuo took the pen and neatly signed her name. At that moment, a somewhat familiar voice rang in her ear:

"Are you free? It's getting late, how about we have dinner together?"

"No..."

Tao Zhuo had absolutely no appetite, but when she looked up and saw the other person, she changed her mind: "Eh, is that Senior Xiaoyue? Weren't you on the news channel?"

"What, can't you leave work while working on the news channel?"