Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 38: Accidents

Vol 2 Chapter 38 Accidents

As Lin Xiaolu reluctantly dragged Bai Jingxuan and Xia Liang out of the secret base, Hong Siyu had already gotten into her car and driven out of the parking lot.

There was no time for further instructions—Lin Xiaolu rushed out of the complex and flagged down a taxi at the roadside, telling the driver, “Follow that car!”

The driver was understandably confused by such a strange request but didn’t refuse—these girls didn’t look like they were up to anything shady. As he started the car and trailed the vehicle ahead, he casually probed with a few questions, trying to satisfy his curiosity about why the girls were tailing someone. But Lin Xiaolu clearly wasn’t planning to spill, so he wisely dropped it.

It was a weekday afternoon, and the streets were relatively quiet. While this made for smooth driving, it also increased the risk of getting spotted. To avoid drawing Hong Siyu’s attention, the girls kept a good distance—just like last time.

The upside was discretion; the downside was the risk of losing their target if they weren’t careful. So Lin Xiaolu sat in the front passenger seat, completely focused on tracking Hong Siyu’s route.

This gave Bai Jingxuan, in the back seat, a sneaky idea.

With her older sister preoccupied, it seemed like the perfect time to make a move.

She had no idea what Xia Liang was thinking, but in her mind, it wouldn’t be hard to secretly tip someone off in such a confined space—as long as she could avoid Lin Xiaolu’s gaze. The tricky part was getting it past Xia Liang, who sat beside her.

Silently slipping her hand into her coat pocket to feel for her phone—still the one given to her by Veronica after joining the Magical Girl Squad—Bai Jingxuan stole a glance at Xia Liang.

It was a subtle movement, meant only to gauge Xia Liang’s reaction, with no real intention behind it. But to her surprise, Xia Liang was already looking at her.

Not only that, the moment their eyes met, Xia Liang gave her a sly wink.

I’ve got your back.

She mouthed the words to Bai Jingxuan silently.

Just in case the message didn’t land, she helpfully pointed at Bai Jingxuan’s pocket, glanced at Lin Xiaolu through the rearview mirror, then mimed making a phone call.

With such clear cues, even the slowest would’ve understood—Xia Liang was clearly taking her side.

Relieved, Bai Jingxuan relaxed a little, carefully pulling her phone from her pocket. She hunched over like a student hiding a phone from their teacher and lit up the screen behind the passenger seat’s backrest.

As she did that, Xia Liang leaned forward dramatically toward the front seat and called out, “So? Can you tell where she’s going yet?”

“Where she’s going?”

Lin Xiaolu shot her a sideways glance. “How should I know? I’m not psychic.”

“You didn’t notice she’s heading toward the overpass out by the suburbs?”

Xia Liang pointed left with exaggerated flair, using the gesture to block Lin Xiaolu’s view through the rearview mirror. “At this time of day, heading out there? She’s obviously going to work.”

Because the taxi driver wasn’t in the loop, she couldn’t say “Hong Siyu is going to the Countermeasure Bureau,” so she settled on “going to work” as a code—which was enough for Lin Xiaolu to get the hint.

But understanding didn’t mean agreement.

“You’re oversimplifying things.”

Still staring out the windshield, Lin Xiaolu gripped her seatbelt. “If she’s just going to work, why is she out in that form?”

She was referring to Hong Siyu’s Magical Girl appearance.

For some reason, ever since her return to Fangting City, Hong Siyu had rarely shown her regular self, almost always operating in her transformed form. While that might just be personal preference to others, to Lin Xiaolu, it was a glaring red flag.

“I’m telling you, you think too much...”

Xia Liang kept chatting idly while Bai Jingxuan used the opportunity to type on her phone as stealthily as she could.

Not very experienced with texting, she had to stare at the keyboard to get the words right. Her awkward posture and the occasional jolts of the taxi made things even harder.

Thankfully, Xia Liang was a master of dragging things out. She rambled on with all kinds of random topics to keep Lin Xiaolu distracted, giving Bai Jingxuan the precious time she needed.

Minutes ticked by. By the time Bai Jingxuan was almost done typing, a thin sheen of sweat had formed on her forehead. She curled her toes, biting her lower lip nervously, sneaking glances toward the front seat, terrified that Lin Xiaolu might turn around at any moment.

But luck was on her side. Lin Xiaolu never looked back.

And yet—luck is a fickle thing.

Just as Bai Jingxuan was about to hit send, a bicycle ran a red light at the intersection up ahead, zipping past the taxi at full speed.

Screeeeech—

The driver reacted lightning fast, slamming both the brake and handbrake just in time to avoid a collision.

His nerves shot, he rolled down the window and shouted at the cyclist, “What the hell’s wrong with you?! You trying to die?”

But the cyclist, who had barely avoided becoming roadkill, didn’t even flinch. He just glanced back at the driver and pedaled away, not a single word of apology.

The driver was left stunned, muttering, “What the heck is wrong with people?”

And if he was confused, the girls in the car were outright frozen.

Because during that sudden brake, a phone had gone flying from the back seat—landing right at Lin Xiaolu’s feet.

It was Bai Jingxuan’s phone.

She hadn’t had time to hide it, or even steady herself, crashing forward into the seat ahead. The awkward position made it impossible to hold on, and the phone slipped from her hands, landing exactly where it shouldn’t have.

The screen was still lit, message composition open, though the keyboard took up most of the display, hiding most of the text.

The car fell into a heavy silence.

Bai Jingxuan’s mind went completely blank. Lin Xiaolu stared down in disbelief. Xia Liang’s grin froze mid-sentence.

A car accident had almost happened—but no one was thinking about that. All eyes were on the phone.

“Ah… Xiaoxuan, that was really careless of you!”

Xia Liang was the first to recover, quickly shifting tactics to suit the situation. She reached out, trying to grab the phone. “Don’t mess with your phone in a moving car! You could’ve gotten hurt when we stopped!”

Feigning concern, she tried to scoop up the phone. But before her fingers could close around it, another hand landed firmly on hers.

She turned her head stiffly—and met Lin Xiaolu’s gaze.

“What’s on the phone?” Lin Xiaolu asked, blinking slowly, her tone calm but edged.

“Uh… um…”

Bai Jingxuan, who had also reached out to grab the phone, froze when she heard the question. Her hand trembled slightly. “N-Nothing important.”

“Nothing important? Then why type such a long message?”

Lin Xiaolu narrowed her eyes. “Or is it something so urgent you couldn’t wait to call instead?”

Bai Jingxuan felt sweat pooling on the back of her hand.

“Uh, it’s, it’s…”

Never good at lying, she struggled to find an excuse. Her eyes flicked to Xia Liang for help—but this time, even Xia Liang was out of options.

Now clutching the phone tightly, Xia Liang made sure the screen stayed hidden. She’d already used up all her small talk, and couldn’t find a new distraction to pivot to.

The atmosphere in the car turned icy. Even the driver, who’d just finished shouting out the window, turned to glance back, confused.

He scratched his chin, wondering if he should ask what was going on—until something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He turned. His jaw dropped.

At the same time, the three girls also noticed the strange sight outside the car. They turned toward the window—and their eyes widened.

—A Ravager.

Only now did they realize why that cyclist had run the red light. He wasn’t being reckless—he was running for his life.

Behind him was a Ravager, now stepping into full view.

Lin Xiaolu looked frantically across the intersection, trying to see if Hong Siyu’s car was still visible. But the road was empty.

She realized that if they didn’t act now, they might really lose her trail.

Emotionally, she wanted to yell at the driver to keep going. But reason told her: as a Magical Girl, fighting Ravagers always came first.

With no time to hesitate, she looked at the open road ahead. All her frustration boiled down into a heavy sigh.

“Why now of all times does a Ravager have to show up?!”

Grumbling, she let go of Xia Liang’s hand, unbuckled her seatbelt, and opened the door.

“What are you waiting for? Out!”

“Wait, you’re getting off here?” The driver’s voice trembled. “Didn’t you see what’s out there?! Get back in! We should be running away!”

But his words fell on deaf ears. Before he could even finish, the three girls had already leapt out of the cab. Two ten-yuan bills fluttered down onto the seat, probably their way of paying for the ride.

He looked for them—but saw no sign of the girls. And as the Ravager turned its attention toward him, claws raised, he cursed under his breath and slammed on the gas.

Moments later, the transformed Magical Girls surged forward, launching into battle.

It was never going to be a fair fight.

The Ravager was only a basic Caterpillar-tier—deadly for average civilians, but just a punching bag for Fangting City’s squad.

What’s more, the girls were still annoyed over the whole ordeal. That frustration translated into brute force. Within minutes, the poor creature was wailing in defeat, finally collapsing and fading into an Echo in Lin Xiaolu’s hands.

Still fuming, Lin Xiaolu hadn’t forgotten her original mission. She climbed atop the remains, scanning the distance—but Hong Siyu’s car was nowhere in sight.

She had to admit it now—she’d lost the trail.

Not due to a mistake. Not because of a traitor. But because of one random Ravager.

“Aww, come on, so we lost her—big deal!” Xia Liang patted her on the shoulder with a grin that betrayed no guilt. “Like I said, she’s obviously just heading to work.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Bai Jingxuan, phone now retrieved, quickly deleted her unsent message and nodded obediently like a perfect little angel.

“You two! You two!”

Even though she was the one who had called the shots, Lin Xiaolu couldn’t help stomping her feet in frustration. “Why are you so happy about a failed mission? Where’s your backbone? Your spirit? Your sense of teamwork?!”

“It wasn’t our fault,” Xia Liang replied breezily. “We did our best—just got unlucky. Chill out, yeah?”

“She’s right!” Bai Jingxuan nodded furiously.

“What do you mean unlucky?! We were this close!”

Lin Xiaolu fumed, pointing at Bai Jingxuan. “And you—what was that ‘she’s right’ nonsense? You little traitor—you were totally trying to tip someone off!”

Bai Jingxuan’s nodding halted instantly, switching to a frantic head shake.

“Come on, Xiaoxuan’s way too sweet to do something like that.”

Xia Liang pushed Lin Xiaolu lightly. “Look, we already failed. Might as well make the most of it. I’ve got the perfect place in mind!”

“You—!”

Lin Xiaolu turned to glare at her but softened a little. Maybe she realized there was no salvaging this. She slumped. “Fine. Where are we going?”

After all, it was a rare half-day off. No point wasting the rest on being miserable.

“Let’s see... It’s called the Fangting World Trade Plaza, right near the Countermeasure Bureau.”

With Lin Xiaolu’s reluctant agreement, Xia Liang pulled out her phone and opened her notes. “Government-funded shopping mall, just opened recently. Lots of cool new stores—I haven’t been yet.”

“Near the Bureau?”

“Yep. It’s only a twenty-minute walk.”

She waved the screen. “If you want, we can hang out there until office hours are over, then check if Red Sis really was working. If she walks out of the Bureau, I’ll totally admit you were right.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll help you next time. Deal?” she grinned, clearly feeling triumphant.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaolu was still sulking, too annoyed to care about anything, but eventually gave a small, grumbling nod. “...You better mean it.”

What none of them knew was that Hong Siyu’s car had been heading toward the Countermeasure Bureau.

But just before reaching the destination… it turned.