"Today is the first time, so let's start with some basic knowledge that a Magical Girl needs to know."

At dusk, standing on the top floor of a silent office building, Cui Que crossed her arms and said to Lin Xiaolu in front of her, "The first thing you need to learn is how to assess the strength of both your opponent and yourself. Never fight a battle you can't win."

"Got it, please teach me well!"

Lin Xiaolu responded with enthusiasm.

To avoid the evening rush and make it to the appointment on time, Lin Yun found a secluded corner after work, transformed into a Magical Girl, and flew away from the company.

The attire of a Magical Girl stood out in the urban environment. To avoid drawing attention, he chose a meeting place close to home, on the top floor of an office building, convenient for Lin Xiaolu to come after school. Additionally, the top floor of this building was usually locked, preventing others from entering, so there was no worry about being disturbed.

Now, she was about to give Lin Xiaolu her first lesson in being a Magical Girl.

"I haven't told you this before, but Brutal Beasts have corresponding levels based on their evolutionary stages. Starting from the most basic 'Egg,' they evolve into 'Caterpillar,' then 'Pupa,' 'Molt,' and several other life stages. Each evolution makes them exponentially stronger and correspondingly more dangerous."

"Sounds like bugs..." Lin Xiaolu instinctively showed a bit of disgust, then fell into thought.

"Just treat them like bugs."

Cui Que added expressionlessly, "When they kill you or even eat you, they won't have any empathy. So when you kill them, think of it as squashing a harmful insect, and don't show any mercy."

She raised her hand, extending five fingers, "Similarly, we Magical Girls also have five stages of ability development. More precisely, this process is called 'Blossoming,' which means nurturing your Seed of the Heart into a Flower of the Heart through five stages."

"At the beginning, like you now, you're a seed."

Cui Que spread her hand flat, pointing her fingers at Lin Xiaolu's chest, "This is the initial stage of your heart and abilities, a round gem that looks like a seed, indicating that you've just become a Magical Girl and are still in a state of confusion."

Lin Xiaolu seemed to understand, "So you could tell I was a newbie before?"

"No, it's simply because you're too weak."

Clearly, Cui Que's response was more blunt, "The Blossoming stages don't usually show on the Heart Gem on your chest. No matter how advanced your abilities are, your transformed state will always have a round gem."

She lifted her head, indicating her own chest. Below the lace choker at her neck hung a small round gem. However, the soft shawl draped over her shoulders had always half-covered the gem, so it hadn't been noticed before.

Lin Xiaolu, who had just been deflated by a single sentence, looked up and immediately perked up, "Ah... this outfit is really cute."

"You're focusing on the wrong thing, idiot."

Cui Que sighed, "Anyway, I can't demonstrate the other stages for you right now. Unleashing magic power in the city center would be too conspicuous. Just memorize their names for now, like reciting a textbook."

"The Dormancy of New Dreams and True Origins, the Quiet Seed."

"The Budding of True Form and Assembly, the Sprouting Bud."

"The Vines of Mysteries and Spell Formulas, the Growing Leaf."

"The Formation of True Self and Wonderland, the Nurturing Bud."

"The Awakening of Super Form and Full Bloom, the Blossoming Flower."

Lin Xiaolu listened to Cui Que's poetic recitation, her eyes glazing over, "Um, the new... uh, seed? What was next?"

"Just remember it simply as Seed, Bud, Leaf, Bud, Flower. The rest are descriptions of the abilities at each stage. You'll understand when you get there!"

The sudden voice came from Mo Ke, the cat-shaped fairy who had been following Lin Xiaolu, "My advice is not to aim too high. Just remember that your next stage is the Bud."

Cui Que glanced at Mo Ke, not commenting on her sudden interjection, but continued, "The Seed stage, as its name implies, is when your Seed of the Heart forms and you start to develop your magic power source, allowing you to use magic in combat. You should understand what this feels like."

Lin Xiaolu thought for a moment, "The feeling... I don't really understand, but as long as I want to use magic for something, I can do it instinctively."

"If you want to move faster, you'll instinctively use magic to accelerate. If you want to attack from a distance, you'll spread your magic power. If you want to fly, you'll use magic to lift yourself."

Cui Que gave a few examples, "As long as the thought is there, your body will move on its own, right? That's the magic power source at work."

"The magic power source forms a bridge between your body and mind, generating magic power internally and externally, allowing magic to flow in both directions, linking your body and mind with the attributes of magic."

"Simply put, once you have a magic power source, using magic becomes instinctive."

Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu raised her hand and asked, "Do Brutal Beasts also have magic power sources?"

"They do. Since it's called a magic power source, it's the source of all magic power. The power of magic comes from the magic power source, and Brutal Beasts are no exception. In fact, the echoes we recover are the remnants of the Brutal Beasts' magic power sources."

Cui Que pointed to her own Heart Gem, "As for Magical Girls, the magic power source is in the Heart Gem. It's something that must never be touched by others."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "Let's move on to the next Blossoming stage, which is the 'Bud.' The characteristics of the Bud stage are called..."

Between the buildings, the girl's voice drifted through the night sky.

The two Magical Girls, one older and one younger, engaged in a Q&A session as time slowly passed.

Lin Yun said a lot, and Lin Xiaolu listened to a lot, feeling that the outline of the magical world had never been so clear.

Although there were still many things she didn't understand or remember, the world of Magical Girls that Cui Que described made her feel once again that becoming a Magical Girl was the right decision.

Her feelings towards being a Magical Girl were no longer just a vague admiration for a children's cartoon character but included a longing for a new world.

With this longing in her heart, as the lesson ended and they parted ways, she took out her phone.

"Um... Cui Que, do you have a phone in this world? I mean..."

She spoke somewhat awkwardly but with great enthusiasm, "Can we exchange numbers?"

Exchanging phone numbers meant staying in touch in daily life. If they established such a connection, they would inevitably interact more in their everyday lives.

Cui Que knew that if she were just Cui Que, there would be no reason to refuse this proposal.

It's necessary for Magical Girl companions to share information, whether it's reporting the location of a Brutal Beast or discussing the progress of an investigation.

In the Magic Kingdom, Magical Girls often used magic mirrors to communicate, but neither Cui Que nor Lin Xiaolu had one, so phones were the best option.

So, after a brief thought, she casually said, "I do, but I don't have it with me right now. Give me your number, and I'll contact you later."

She couldn't give her number to Lin Xiaolu now because it was Lin Yun's number. Despite the strained relationship between father and daughter, they still knew each other's contact information.

To contact Lin Xiaolu as Cui Que in real life, she needed to get a new number and even buy a new phone.

The expense wasn't significant for Lin Yun; he considered it a necessary cost to accompany his daughter.

With this in mind, she pretended to note down the number Lin Xiaolu gave her.

But since she could establish a new connection with her daughter, she hoped to understand her better, to bridge the gap between them a little more.

She closed her eyes, hoping in her heart.

Lin Xiaolu also had hopes.

She wanted to understand Cui Que, to know what she was like in daily life, to see her life, and to get closer to this ideal Magical Girl.

And maybe, that would change the self she disliked so much?

However, neither of them could have anticipated that the numbers they exchanged would be used the very next day.

Not because of a Brutal Beast, but because of something even rarer.

When Lin Yun, sitting in his office, saw his new phone ringing with "Lin Xiaolu" as the caller, he had to immediately take out his Flower of the Heart and transform into Cui Que.

She sat back in her office chair and answered the call, only to be greeted by a deafening shout from the other end:

"Inspector! I found it!"

From the voice, it was clear it was Mo Ke, and she was very excited, "I found a girl with magical talent. We can recruit a new Magical Girl!"

A new Magical Girl.

Cui Que frowned. Personally, she didn't want to randomly add new Magical Girls. It meant bringing a girl into a dangerous world, and it was hard to ensure the quality of team members.

But Fangting City was indeed short of Magical Girls, and she had to consider building a team for Lin Xiaolu. Besides, she could now ensure the newcomer's safety...

A series of thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. She smoothed her brow and made a decision, her tone calm:

"Where?"