Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 18: The Truth

Vol 2 Chapter 18 The Truth

“I think I told you before—if you don’t change your intent, I won’t approve you joining the Countermeasure Bureau’s operation.”

In the Countermeasure Bureau Director’s office, Lin Yun sighed helplessly.
“Yes, I don’t have the authority to command a Magical Girl. If you insist on going, I can’t stop you. So all I can do is ask—please stay calm. If possible, just observe.”

“You say you’re just going to ‘watch’? What exactly does that cover? I mean... fine. If you really can do that, I won’t object.”

“An enemy the Countermeasure Bureau can’t handle? Then sure, of course you can help. Honestly, I’d even be grateful. But I’m begging you—stay calm.”

“…Alright. We’ll do it your way then. Okay. Goodbye.”

Click.

After hanging up, Lin Yun sat there in silence behind his desk for a moment, then let out a sigh.

His conversation with Emerald had helped him understand what was going on with Bai Jingxuan. But understanding the problem didn’t mean he knew how to solve it. On the contrary, the clearer her situation became in his mind, the less he knew what to do with her.

It wasn’t just her personality and background—it was also her unique magic nature: a Deviant whose core was aligned with Ravager magic.

Personality, background, magic. These layered traits stacked on Bai Jingxuan like a live time bomb—she might look fine now, but could be triggered at any moment and send everything crashing down.

Lin Yun knew all too well—he wasn’t any kind of expert in education. Five months ago, he was still a deadbeat dad who couldn’t even get along with his own daughter. Trying to figure out how to guide a kid like this… it was just too much.

—Maybe I should just let her go ahead with her revenge.

That thought, dark and desperate, crept into his mind.

After all, at the end of the day, he and she were just a former and current Magical Girl. Was it really his responsibility to care this much?

Worst case, if she really did go after revenge—so what? Eye-for-an-eye revenge was human nature. Lin Yun himself had felt the same. Did he really have the right to lecture her?

Best case, maybe Bai Jingxuan was just a kid bluffing—spouting scary words without really meaning them. Put her face-to-face with her enemies, and maybe she’d freeze.

As the thoughts spiraled, he almost convinced himself with this twisted logic—until a knock came from the door.

Knock knock.

“Director, it’s Liu Dachun from Logistics.”

A low, muffled voice called from outside.

Logistics? At this hour?

The noise snapped him out of his thoughts. Lin Yun blinked in confusion, but didn’t think too much of it.
“Come in,” he said.

At the same time, he instinctively reached into his pocket and gripped his Heartstone.

It was a habit he’d formed ever since becoming director.

Not just because he still didn’t fully trust the people in the Countermeasure Bureau—but also because of his inconvenient side effect. If his Heartstone suddenly went out of control and triggered a transformation, he needed to sense it before it happened.

And now was no different. Driven by vigilance, his hand touched the stone, and he extended his perception to the door—where he had previously placed Magic Threads that could detect external magic presence.

But the moment he connected with the Threads, something felt off. His eyes sharpened.

There were two sources of magic outside the door.

Which meant it wasn’t just “Liu Dachun” speaking—there was someone else hiding in the hallway.

Through his Thread perception, he sensed one magic presence approach the door, push it open, and deliberately angle his body to block the space behind him before stepping inside.

Visually, a tall man entered the room.

But Lin Yun’s Threads had already confirmed it: the second magic source still hadn’t moved an inch outside the door.

Something’s wrong.

Lin Yun instantly judged.

Why? Because he had no recollection whatsoever of a “Liu Dachun.”

He had reviewed the Countermeasure Bureau staff list on his very first day and had been working ever since to match every name with a face. He sometimes even used Veronica’s magic form to aid memory. He wasn’t finished yet, but he was sure—there was no one in the bureau who looked like this.

But he didn’t let it show. Instead, he pretended not to notice and asked calmly:

“What’s the matter?”

“Director, this morning during equipment inventory, we noticed that the remaining count doesn’t match the warehouse records. We’re missing four pieces of Magical Equipment.”

“Liu Dachun” stared at Lin Yun blankly, reciting the words in a flat, almost robotic tone.
“We don’t know if it’s a record error or an actual loss, so I came to confirm with you.”

“Magical Equipment?” Lin Yun frowned.
“Didn’t I tell you all to be extra careful with that stuff? How did this happen?”

“I apologize, Director.” The tall man handed him a hard drive. “So I brought the records. I hope you can check the names on it yourself—see if anything stands out.”

Lin Yun took the drive and plugged it into his computer. “You already checked it yourselves?”

The man put one hand behind his back. “We did.”

Still looking at his desktop, Lin Yun asked, “And found nothing?”

“Nothing.” The tall man reached into his pocket and pulled out a chunk of dark purple flesh.

“How can you people mess up something this simple?” Lin Yun muttered, crouching to power on his computer.
“Where’s Minister Li? Go get him.”

“Alright, I’ll call him now.” The man pressed the dark flesh against his chest.

“One last question,” Lin Yun said flatly.
“Who let you in—Zhuang Yang, or Tao Fang?”

He raised his hand and stared at the man with a calm expression.

“Or… is there someone inside the Countermeasure Bureau I don’t know about?”

The tall man’s pupils shrank sharply.

He opened his mouth instantly, fingers tightening around the flesh as if to speak—but before he could say a word, strands of glowing blue Thread wrapped around his wrist, yanking the hand away from the core.

He raised his other hand, already gripping a spellcasting medium. Dark purple magic flared from his fingertips—but again, he was given no chance to cast. The blue Threads immobilized him entirely.

Expressionless, Lin Yun tugged the Threads beside him. In a flash, the man was hoisted into the air.

Then Lin Yun rushed out the door.

His Threads had already sensed it—the moment the first man was subdued, the second magic presence had started moving toward the emergency exit.

Seeing Lin Yun bolt, the hanging man instantly realized the plan had failed.
“Run!” he yelled.

But it was already too late—for both him and the one outside.

As Lin Yun entered the hallway, he pulled out his Heartstone and activated it.

A small, blue figure shot upward in a shimmer of light. In just a few strides, she caught up to the escaping figure and used the same blue Threads to capture him mid-run.

The second man had no idea how he was caught. He had almost gotten away—only to be suddenly bound and hoisted into the air. As he looked around for the source, he saw Lin Yun standing nearby, surrounded by fading streaks of blue light.

When he got a clear look at Lin Yun’s face, he fell silent, eyes closing in resignation.

Lin Yun deactivated his transformation and took a moment to examine the man. Then it hit him—this was the “Zhuang Yang” he had mentioned earlier.

“Zhuang Yang” and “Tao Fang”—both were Black Cinders Dawn plants he had quietly marked but not yet exposed.

Why hadn’t he taken them in earlier?

Because since the Bureau’s restructuring, they hadn’t done anything that actively endangered the organization. Their positions were low-level, unlikely to cause damage. And more importantly, Black Cinders Dawn had gone deep underground—ordinary investigations were getting nowhere. Lin Yun had hoped to use them to trace the enemy.

He just hadn’t expected Zhuang Yang to be bold enough to smuggle an assassin into the building during work hours—and worse, the assassin was a Beastified One.

Looking at the blank-faced man dangling before him, Lin Yun opened his mouth to question him—but then suddenly froze.

Where was Tao Fang?

The thought hit like a lightning bolt. Without hesitation, Lin Yun pulled out his phone and called someone from the Intelligence Department whom he trusted.

“I need a trace on Tao Fang’s current location—and pull up her communication logs from the last two days. I need to know who she’s been in contact with.”

He paced while holding the phone, waiting anxiously.

The Bureau Director’s personal request triggered top-level urgency. Within minutes, the department head personally called back and read Tao Fang’s recent activity.

Lin Yun listened carefully, mentally sorting every location mentioned. Then—suddenly—one name made his heart skip a beat.

As soon as he heard it, everything clicked into place.

“—Wait. Did you just say… ‘Spring by the Lake’?”

“Give it up. You’re no match for us.”

With a hand pressed against the head of the Countermeasure Bureau officer in front of him, Bingfeng Seven withdrew his fingers from the man’s neck and casually flicked the blood off his fingertips.
“Our time is very valuable. Surrender now, and I’ll make sure each of you gets a swift death.”

Before him lay the shattered remnants of the Bureau’s Third Special Operations Squad.

Their captain, Li Yingwei, had been pierced through the chest by some unknown weapon and now lay motionless on the ground. Another core combatant, Tian Sheng, was gripped in the claws of a massive Ravager, head hanging limply with no sign of life. Only the vice-captain, Mu Bensheng, remained standing, surrounded by a few surviving teammates. The group stood back-to-back, glaring at their enemies, teeth clenched in grim determination.

—The disparity in combat strength was simply too overwhelming.

This Black Cinders Dawn unit, which had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, included one Chrysalis-tier Beastified One and four Caterpillar-tier Beastified Ones. Any one of them could’ve taken down the entire Third Squad by themselves, let alone all gathered together.

The moment the squad stepped into Spring by the Lake, they’d walked right into an ambush. In just ten minutes, they suffered devastating losses. If not for the presence of a Magical Girl accompanying them, they’d have been wiped out completely.

The irony? Just earlier, they were struggling with how to politely ask that Magical Girl to stop following them.

Bai Jingxuan had negotiated with Lin Yun over the phone, pushing through with stubbornness and a softened stance to get permission to join the Third Squad’s mission. Little did anyone expect—that permission would end up saving their lives.

Thanks to her presence, the team had managed to hold out this long against the Beastified Ones.

Her Magical Armor, Heavenly Melody, constantly activated restorative magic, healing and energizing the squad. With her support, three members equipped with Magical Weapons were just barely able to hold off the Caterpillar-tier Ravagers. And Bai Jingxuan herself? She alone was holding off three Beastified Ones.

That was the only reason their collapse had been delayed.

But once Bingfeng Seven joined the battle, any resistance from the Third Squad became laughable.

A Chrysalis-tier Ravager was already a calamity-level threat for a mid-sized city. Only elite Leaf-tier Magical Girls or overwhelming numbers could hope to take them down in a head-on fight.

And Bingfeng Seven hadn’t even used his Beast Core yet—he was simply relying on ordinary magic and basic spellcraft. Even so, that was far beyond what the Third Squad could handle.

Their defeat was inevitable.

After easily killing the remaining Bureau personnel around him, Bingfeng Seven’s expression didn’t change at all. Even his words of surrender seemed more like idle remarks. His gaze turned toward Bai Jingxuan.

The girl in the green dress was half-kneeling, clutching her chest, breathing heavily.

She had thrown herself into harm’s way to protect the others—but Bingfeng Seven had swatted her down with ease. Now, she was struggling to even stand.

“I didn’t plan to kill you, Magical Girl. In fact, you’re the reason we’re here.”

Bingfeng Seven spoke calmly.
“Be cooperative. Surrender quietly, and we might spare you.”

“Hah… why?” Bai Jingxuan gasped between breaths, pain etched across her face.
“Why are you… coming after me?”

“Sorry. I don’t really have time to explain.” His tone was polite, but his expression lacked even a hint of apology.
“Just think of it this way: you’re important to us. Or rather, you’re important to our leader.”

“Magical Girls… and Ravagers are enemies.”

Bai Jingxuan pushed herself upright, her music box releasing waves of healing melody that soothed her battered body.
“I don’t care how you see me. I’m going to kill you.”

“‘Kill us,’ huh…”

Bingfeng Seven’s empty gaze flickered.
“No wonder you were personally chosen by our leader. Such resolve—very impressive. You’re nothing like those hypocritical Magical Girls.”

“But still… it’s not enough.”

He shook his head slightly and raised his hand. A beam of magic energy shot toward Mu Bensheng in the distance.

Still locked in combat with another Beastified One, Mu Bensheng had no time to react. Seeing the violet-black spell hurtling his way, he closed his eyes in despair.

Zzzzap—

The beam didn’t hit him.

Because Bai Jingxuan had thrown herself in front of it.

Her pale arm instantly turned into a grotesque mess of scorched flesh under the corruption of the dark magic, a horrific sight—but she didn’t even flinch. Her eyes stayed locked on Bingfeng Seven.

“You keep saying you want to ‘kill us’,” Bingfeng Seven said, puzzled.
“But your actions say the opposite.”

“You say you want to kill… but you haven’t killed a single person.”
“Instead, you risk your life protecting these meat pigs—are they really worth dying for?”

He pointed to the unconscious Tian Sheng, still gripped by a Ravager’s claw, and Li Yingwei, collapsed on the ground.
“You even used most of your magic to strengthen those two men. You’re still trying to save them?”

“Because… I’m a Magical Girl.”

Bai Jingxuan reached out, fingers brushing against the music box at her side. Its soothing melody continued to resonate.
“Magical Girls… are meant to save people.”

“Such naïveté will keep you from killing anyone.”

Bingfeng Seven shook his head with pity, power gathering at his clawed fingertips.
“You’ve sheltered too many burdens with your wings—no wonder you can’t fly.”

Boom!

Green and violet-black magic clashed violently in midair. Bingfeng Seven’s form overlapped briefly with Bai Jingxuan’s in a flash of energy—then she was thrown back hard.

A brutal kick to her chest slammed her into a nearby barrier wall.

“One last time. Surrender. Stop wasting my time.”

He shook the blood off his foot, then walked over, grabbed Bai Jingxuan by the hair, and dragged her down from the wall.

“Turn off your magic. Or should I break all your limbs and carry you like that? Think your healing magic can fix that?”

“I… I’ll kill you…”

The girl glared at him, eyes wide, teeth clenched. She reached out with all her strength—but her hand couldn’t even reach his face.

“How contradictory.”

Bingfeng Seven looked at her coldly.
“Like you have a split personality. Human one moment, beast the next. Rational… then pure instinct.”

“Tell me, Magical Girl—what is it you’re so angry about?”

She didn’t answer. Just kept reaching, trying to grab his neck.

Tilting his head slightly, Bingfeng Seven asked:

“Is it about those two researchers?”

“What… researchers?” Bai Jingxuan gasped hoarsely.
“My dad… my mom… they were killed by Ravagers. By you—”

“Dad? Mom? What’s that?”

He cut her off.

“You don’t have any of those.”

“I do!” she screamed, writhing furiously.
“They were real! You killed them!”

“No. You don’t.”

He stared at her with a trace of pity.
“You’re just a Beastborn we created from an abandoned infant. A product of our experiments.”

“Liar!”

Bai Jingxuan shouted, voice trembling with rage.
“Don’t you dare say that about my parents! I’ll kill you!”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. You’re not a Magical Girl. You’re a Beastborn.”

He pressed his other hand to her head, locked eyes with her, and said each word clearly, with chilling finality:

“The ‘parents’ you remember—were just traitors from Black Cinders Dawn. Two researchers… who smuggled you out of the organization.”