Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 2: Sequelae

Vol 2 Chapter 2 Sequelae

“Sit. What is it?”

Tian Sheng’s arrival didn’t provoke much of a reaction from the man. He didn’t even offer basic formalities—just left a faint crease on the document in his hands before looking up and asking in a calm, indifferent tone.

This kind of demeanor was vastly different from what Tian Sheng imagined a “leader” to be.

Back at the Fangting City First Orphanage, even someone like Director Liu Wenqin, who was known for being informal, always made sure to appear warm and attentive in front of staff.

But this middle-aged man before him… he seemed cold, even slightly—dissatisfied? Not with Tian Sheng, but with his position itself.

“Hello, Director. I’m Tian Sheng from the Third Special Operations Squad. These are our squad’s operation reports for the month…”

Tian Sheng scratched his head as he handed over the file, trying to keep his words as error-free as possible. The new director already looked unhappy—he didn’t want to get chewed out on his first proper interaction.

The man took the report and flipped through it on the spot. His face remained expressionless as he skimmed, then, after about a minute, he closed the file and asked:

“In this week’s sweep, you only caught standard Magicians? No Beastmorphs?”

Beastmorph—the Bureau’s term for individuals who used a Beast Core to transform. Tian Sheng was naturally aware of their existence.

“Yes, sir,” he replied quickly. “We’ve cleared several small hideouts, but we haven’t encountered any Beastmorphs yet.”

“That’s not normal.” The man tapped his fingers on the desk.

“No, it’s not.”

Even though his face showed no emotion, his tone carried a strange pressure. Tian Sheng swallowed nervously. “Our captain thinks the same.”

Under pressure, he instinctively threw Li Yingwei under the bus.

“It’s not just your squad. All the reports I’ve read today—none of the squads have encountered any Beastmorphs,” the director repeated. “There’s no way that’s just coincidence.”

Probably because the mastermind was dead, and the rest are disorganized. Tian Sheng thought, but he didn’t dare say it. He had no desire to get scolded for voicing an unrefined opinion.

“Tian Sheng.”

The new director didn’t plan to stay silent. “You’re a recent hire at the Bureau, correct? A rookie?”

“Ah… yes, sir.”

Tian Sheng stumbled over his words. “Technically, I started last week. I was unconscious for a while because I showed up on the day of the Ravager attack…”

“You were one of ten new recruits. Your mana levels tested lowest among them,” the director said evenly. “But your combat performance has been among the best—on par with other Controller-level operatives. Can you explain that?”

“Uh…” Tian Sheng hadn’t expected such a direct question.

He considered bluffing with something like “hidden potential,” but a strong hunch told him this answer mattered. If he gave a careless response, it might lead to consequences he wouldn’t like.

So, after hesitating, he decided to tell the truth.

From joining the Bureau to the Ravager incident, to the strange dream where he became a moth, to the changes in his body afterward—he explained it all in detail.

He even mentioned the Magical Girl he’d briefly glimpsed—the one surrounded by glowing blue threads.

When he finished, he saw the director’s face twitch slightly, an odd expression flashing across his features before disappearing just as quickly. It was almost as if he’d imagined it.

“You’re saying… you dreamed you turned into a moth?”

The man pulled out a stack of personnel files from the drawer, openly flipping to Tian Sheng’s page and scanning it as he spoke. “And after that dream, your mana surged dramatically?”

“Yes.” Tian Sheng nodded.

“That sounds completely made up,” the director muttered while reading. “But if I were you, I wouldn’t use such a flimsy excuse in front of a superior. Which almost makes it more believable.”

Tian Sheng could only smile awkwardly.

“Your previous job history… Fangting City First Orphanage?”

After scanning through the file, the director raised an eyebrow. “You worked there as a caregiver?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then four months ago, you should’ve been there during the Black Cinders Dawn terror attack, yes?”

“Four months ago… right.”

“Did you experience anything unusual during that attack?”

The director put the file down and tapped the desk with his fingers as he looked at him.

“That attack…”

Tian Sheng furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Sorry, Director. For some reason, I can’t seem to recall much of it.”

“You can’t recall?” The director’s eyebrow lifted. “Are you certain?”

“I’m sure. It’s bothered me for a long time—I keep feeling like I’ve forgotten something important.”

His response clearly surprised the director. But instead of pressing further, the man simply continued to ask indirect questions based on Tian Sheng’s file.

The two of them went back and forth—question after question. The director was methodical, clearly weighing something. Tian Sheng, meanwhile, racked his brain and answered everything honestly.

To his surprise, the more he answered, the clearer things seemed to become. Even fragments of forgotten memories started to resurface.

If it went on like this, the director might actually be able to piece everything together.

But the conversation didn’t last.

Just as Tian Sheng was digging for more recollections, the director suddenly stopped.

He looked troubled—as if something unexpected and extremely difficult had just occurred. His brows furrowed. He seemed… distressed.

After a brief silence, the director spoke again—this time not with probing questions, but with a quick excuse.

“Sorry, I have to take a call.”

“Ah… of course.” Tian Sheng nodded. Though he hadn’t heard a ringtone, it wasn’t strange to use vibration or earpieces. He figured it was a routine matter and waited silently for the call to finish.

But the director didn’t pick up a phone.

In fact, he made no motion at all to answer any device.

It felt like he was waiting for Tian Sheng to leave. When he didn’t move, the director gave him a glance and waved him off.

“You can go. We’ll finish this later.”

That was… it?

Tian Sheng felt caught off guard.

Judging by the tone and pacing just now, he’d expected the Q&A to go on much longer. They hadn’t even finished the topic—yet now, he was being ushered out.

What kind of call was so secretive?

The question flashed in his mind—but before he could linger on it, he suddenly felt a strange force tug at his body.

Before he could move on his own, he felt himself yanked backward, as if he were a puppet on strings.

The double doors behind him swung open on their own, perfectly timed with his exit, like a precision mechanism. And just like that—Tian Sheng was tossed out.

He stumbled several steps before regaining his balance. Dazed, he turned to look back at the door.

All he saw was the doors closing, with a faint flicker of blue light glimmering between the narrowing gap—like a hallucination.

Clack!

The doors shut in his face.

Leaving Tian Sheng staring blankly at them, still unsure of what had just happened.

After half a minute, he finally accepted that he should probably leave. But as he walked away, he realized something strange:

He never heard any phone call from inside.

With confusion still clouding his thoughts, he made his way to the elevator.

---

Meanwhile, inside the Director’s Office, a petite, blue-haired girl in a dark blue dress sat behind the desk, massaging her forehead, her brows tightly furrowed.

“This is a disaster…”

Veronica muttered to herself.

There was no doubt about it—the new Director of the Countermeasure Bureau in Fangting City… was Lin Yun.

It had been Lin Yun who questioned Tian Sheng moments ago.

And the reason he’d abruptly kicked Tian Sheng out and transformed into a Magical Girl inside the office… wasn’t because he wanted to.

The transformation was out of his control.

It was one of the side effects of overusing his Magical Armor during the battle two weeks ago. After paying the price, his armor—specifically the scissors—had shattered completely.

This aftereffect wasn’t huge in terms of ability. Compared to the loss of power, it was minor. If he were still in semi-retirement and mainly living as Veronica, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

But now, as the new Director, it was a massive problem—his Heartstone occasionally lost control, causing him to transform from Lin Yun into Veronica without warning.

In the days after the battle, the transformations were extremely frequent—almost once every few hours. There was no way he could take over the Bureau in that state, so he’d delayed his appointment to recover.

Thankfully, the uncontrolled changes were only one-way—so far, there hadn’t been any surprise reversions from Veronica to Lin Yun. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even dare visit the Secret Base, terrified of transforming in front of his daughter.

Now, after two weeks of rest, the transformations had stabilized—roughly once per day. As absurd as that was, Lin Yun couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

He had too much to do.

So, once his wounds had mostly healed and the side effects lessened, he ended his recovery and officially took up the post of Director.

Today was his first day on the job.

To avoid any unexpected intrusions, he had even set a thread of Magic Thread at the office entrance to monitor it.

He just hadn’t expected things to go sideways this quickly. He hadn’t even greeted more than a few employees before this chaos unfolded.

Had he not acted quickly—coming up with an excuse and forcibly ejecting the visitor—his identity would’ve been exposed on day one.

No wonder she’d muttered that it was “a disaster.”

Still, disaster or not—work had to go on.

Sealing the office door with a spell, Veronica waited for the magical fluctuations to subside. Once things stabilized, she deactivated the transformation and let out a long sigh, picking up the stack of files once more.

She’d already read them.

After spending the entire morning reviewing reports and logs from the past two weeks, Lin Yun now had a basic understanding of the Countermeasure Bureau’s current state.

In one word: Headless.

Mors may have been a traitor, a Rogue Magical Girl, and a villain—but she had kept the Bureau running on the surface.

Now, with her gone, Fangting City’s Countermeasure Bureau had no leader. Even the superficial structure collapsed, plunging the organization into chaos.

Staff numbers had dropped. Survivors were a mixed bag. The HQ building had only just been rebuilt. The whole place was a mess.

And in this mess, Lin Yun had arrived.

He had accepted the position upon Chrysoberyl Cat’s Eye’s recommendation, not because he wanted to, but because—after the Mors incident—he found it hard to trust any outside appointee.

Originally, Hong Siyu would’ve been a good choice. But she had suffered lingering injuries during the event and was now undergoing treatment.

With no better option, Lin Yun took the job himself.

Now, it was time to make his official appearance in front of the Bureau’s staff—and give his first address.