Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 123: Farewell Performance

“Spider” was dead. The death came so abruptly that no one had time to react.

Previously, in order to thoroughly investigate the Cat Tail Squad’s disappearance, the Investigation Bureau had not only sent Veronica, an Inspector, to the scene, but had also dispatched two additional investigation squads.

These two newly assigned squads departed from the Magic Kingdom and, given the urgency, traveled day and night. Though these Magical Girls pushed themselves to the limit and raced to Bo’an City at top speed, none of them expected Veronica to move so quickly.

She had only just arrived in Bo’an City the day before, yet by the next morning, she had already tracked down the enemy’s nest. That very night, she took down both the enemy and the nest in one fell swoop—and rescued the mission's target: the Cat Tail Squad.

The Magical Girls were left in awe and frustration. They admired Veronica for her decisiveness and flair—uncovering the truth and defeating the enemy with lightning speed was the ideal that all Investigation Bureau Magical Girls aspired to. But they also felt disheartened—by the time they got there, everything was already over. It felt like their efforts had been for nothing.

That frustration, when combined with their hatred of the enemy, turned into misdirected anger.

The late-arriving Magical Girls from the Bureau launched a devastating, sweeping assault on the remaining forces of Black Cinders Dawn in Bo’an City.

With Spider’s death, Black Cinders Dawn in Bo’an fell into disarray, headless and scattered. With no leader and lacking the strength to resist the Magical Girls, they crumbled instantly and were utterly defeated.

Some zealots, who had mastered transformation, put up a last stand, trying to rely on Ravagers to escape. But against the encirclement of the Magical Girls, they couldn’t escape death—each and every one was executed. The rest, upon hearing of Spider’s death and the fall of their comrades, surrendered without a fight. Facing a group of furious Magical Girls, they had no way to resist.

The grand conspiracy that had been brewing for years in Bo’an City was finally exposed, sending shockwaves through the city’s magical community.

Ordinary Magicians couldn’t fully grasp what Black Cinders Dawn had done, but they did know that a terrifying Ravager had silently slaughtered countless lives in the shadows. The event spread like wildfire—not because of the nature of the attack, but because so many people had been affected.

According to incomplete follow-up statistics from the Countermeasure Bureau, the schemes of Spider and others led to the direct or indirect deaths of over 400 civilians inside the Ravager’s nest.

It became the most severe large-scale Ravager incident in Bo’an City in the past decade. Even though it unfolded quietly and insidiously, the impact was more terrifying than any overt attack.

The reason no one noticed anything was because all the incidents had been hidden among the countless minor Ravager attacks that occurred daily. In the chaos, many civilians were lured—subconsciously manipulated by Spider’s abilities—into carefully laid traps, becoming the “missing” victims.

No one realized that these people could have survived. Even when the Countermeasure Bureau marked them as “deceased,” they were still struggling for life inside the nest.

The incident’s scale and reach left Bo’an’s magical community in a state of panic. Those with the ability to leave mostly chose to relocate elsewhere. The horror of what had happened was just too great.

But with Spider’s defeat and the collapse of the nest, a small number of survivors were rescued.

Among them were Magical Girls saved directly by Veronica, some Countermeasure Bureau employees who had wandered in by mistake, and a few civilians. The civilians would receive compensation and counseling. The surviving staff, after completing evidence collection, were given a long paid leave and proper psychological care.

As for the Cat Tail Squad and the other Magical Girls from the investigation team, they fell outside the Bureau’s jurisdiction.

They were to be sent back to the Kingdom, where recovery and treatment would begin.

Due to the prolonged entrapment in the nest, severe magic depletion, and damage to their True Forms… whether these Magical Girls could return to the frontlines remained uncertain.

However, before being escorted back to the Magic Kingdom by the later-arriving Investigation Bureau squads, Cat Tail briefly regained consciousness.

After learning that her rescuers were Deng Zhan and Veronica, she weakly expressed her thanks and passed on another message to Veronica:

“Inspector… what happened in Bo’an is just a small fragment. Maybe their plot here was thwarted, but please be careful. According to our previous investigation, at least four other cities are experiencing very strange incidents.”

This became her final message to Veronica before returning to the Kingdom.

She summarized all her prior investigative findings in the briefest words, with no mention of handing over the case or evidence—an unspoken gesture of giving all the credit to Veronica as a token of gratitude.

Veronica wanted to tell her it wasn’t necessary. But after speaking, Cat Tail lost consciousness again—whether due to exhaustion or simply to avoid hearing a rebuttal, no one could say.

In any case, Veronica had achieved her primary goal. Though the investigation squad members were badly injured, they had been rescued. The mission assigned by the Bureau was complete.

Only now, completing this mission brought with it even more questions.

First, just as Cat Tail said, several other cities were showing similar signs as Bo’an: mysterious disappearances, abnormal Ravager attacks, strange rumors… These leads all had reliable sources—fieldwork from investigation squads, or reports from local Magical Girls.

Second, during the battle, after Spider’s death, Veronica discovered an altar beneath the webbed area—an altar covered in flesh.

She had seen such an altar before—beneath the sewers in Fangting City. Another Ravager nest. Another final battleground. And in the center—another similar altar.

What was the connection between the two?

This puzzled Veronica deeply.

And lastly—during the battle, Spider had mentioned something that truly baffled her: he knew the name “Chrysoberyl.”

Back when Veronica was younger and still active as a Magical Girl, she had indeed gained a bit of fame using the alias “Chrysoberyl.” But… would that reputation really last twenty years and be known to someone outside of Fangting City?

She didn’t know. But she knew—it wasn’t normal.

And if it wasn’t normal, there was a simple solution: investigate.

A full investigation would require manpower. And now, Bo’an City had plenty to spare. After all, the Magical Girls from the Bureau who had arrived late were itching for action.

Once they heard that other cities were showing signs similar to Bo’an’s, they enthusiastically volunteered to go investigate in person.

There was even a little side incident. It involved a local Magical Girl from Bo’an—the blonde girl with the alias Lily Magnolia.

In a misunderstanding, she had mistaken Lin Yun for the villain behind it all. She’d been adamant she had found the true culprit, but as the case wrapped up, her claims fell apart.

Once the Magical community began circulating Spider’s photo—the true mastermind—it quickly reached the Bo’an Magical Girl Squad. Clearly, Spider’s appearance had no resemblance to the person the blonde girl had described.

Lily Magnolia might be slow, but her eyesight wasn’t bad. Even she could tell she’d probably got the wrong person.

Though she kept insisting, “There are still accomplices,” and “I didn’t make a mistake,” the rest of the squad and Bureau investigators took it as a joke. In the end, trying to prove herself, she even tried to volunteer for other city investigations—claiming she’d “hunt down the person who humiliated her and reclaim her pride.”

Eventually, Deng Zhan gave her a heartfelt lecture, and she gave up, looking dejected.

And that little drama came to a close.

As for Deng Zhan herself, after several days of rest and recovery, she was back on her feet.

Though most of the credit belonged to Veronica, as the second key figure in the mission for guiding the way, Deng Zhan earned the respect and gratitude of the Bureau’s Magical Girls.

That gratitude translated into business—her music shop, “Mingyin,” was suddenly flooded with people.

Long-time patrons of the shop noticed a surprising change: the place now had a bunch of beautiful new female clerks.

Most of them didn’t know much about instruments, but their enthusiasm and friendliness lifted the shop’s energy and drew in crowds—ironically improving business a lot.

And so, after about a week, the Countermeasure Bureau completed the reconstruction efforts and comforted the victims’ families. The Magical Girls wrapped up the arrests and cleaned up the remaining Ravagers. The huge case that had shaken Bo’an’s magical world finally began to calm down.

In this atmosphere, the post-event recovery of Bo’an gradually drew to a close.

With the crisis resolved, the Bureau’s Magical Girls had no more reason to remain.

Their next step: leave Bo’an and head to the cities Cat Tail had mentioned, chasing down every clue to uncover an even larger mystery.

But before they left, having formed a brief but close bond, Deng Zhan and the others organized one final event to send them off:

—A farewell performance.

The Bo’an Magical Girl Squad formed a band and hosted a music show for the Bureau’s Magical Girls, held in the small concert hall next to the music shop.

Only a handful of regular customers were invited. The event, full of joy and warmth, went on as planned.

This was also Veronica’s first time realizing that the Bo’an squad could double as a band.

Though, in Bo’an, it wasn’t so surprising. Almost everyone here, young and old, knew at least one instrument. Their average musical ability far exceeded the norm.

On the day of the event, Veronica was invited. She stood alone at the back of the hall, away from the crowd, quietly listening to the girls play.

“Why’re you hanging out back here by yourself?”

Through the music, Deng Zhan’s voice reached her ears. “You’re the star of this whole thing. Shouldn’t you be front and center?”

“I’m too old for noisy places.”

Veronica replied calmly, “What about you? Why’d the band’s keyboardist suddenly run off the stage to chat with the audience?”

“The next few songs don’t need me. Their performance is solid enough.”

Deng Zhan replied confidently, “Even Lily Magnolia—silly as she seems—was the most enthusiastic about rehearsal when she heard about this show.”

“Children have a lot of potential.”

Veronica remarked lightly, “That’s why guiding them is the most important part.”

“I think these girls are doing just fine.”

Deng Zhan leaned back slightly, her tone cheerful. “Watching them grow, I know they’re all good kids—and the future pillars of our world.”

“I won’t argue with that.”

Veronica looked toward the stage. “Especially White Aster. Even without you around, she had the courage to hold the stage. Calm and steady—I think she’s got great potential.”

“Oh?”

Deng Zhan turned to her. “You’re interested in White Aster, huh?”

“I’m looking forward to her growth,” Veronica nodded slightly.

“Then you’re in for a treat. White Aster’s already been picked by Bo’an’s elders to be our next squad leader.”

Deng Zhan said proudly, “Even if you’re interested, you won’t be able to poach her from us.”

“You’re not even twenty yet, right? Claiming to be ‘old guard’—to me, you’re just a kid.”

Veronica narrowed her eyes. “And I never said I was trying to poach anyone. The new Magical Girls I’m training are already more than enough trouble.”

“You’ve got your own rookie squad?”

Deng Zhan latched onto that second part, clearly more interested in that than Veronica’s jab. “Even an Inspector mentors rookies? Are they an internal Bureau team?”

“It’s not quite what you’re imagining.” Veronica clearly didn’t want to get into it and brushed it off casually.

“Is that so?”

Seeing her reluctance, Deng Zhan didn’t push it further. Instead, she smoothly changed the subject, “So, are you leaving in a few days too?”

Veronica looked up and turned slightly. “Why do you think that?”

“Because the Moon Harmony Festival’s just around the corner.”

Deng Zhan smiled as she looked toward the stage. “It’s a time for family reunions. Most people head home for that.”

“Moon Harmony Festival…”

The words made Veronica pause. Something in her eyes shifted—like a memory had surfaced.

And just then, as if to confirm Deng Zhan’s words, her phone buzzed.

It was Lin Yun’s phone.

Veronica came to, instinctively checked the sender, unlocked the screen, and opened her messages.

It was a familiar number.

[Lin Xiaolu: Will you be coming back for the Moon Harmony Festival?]