013 Help me!
“Alright, alright, ladies, time to clock out~”
The maid café where Mo Bai worked opened at nine in the morning and closed at seven in the evening, with a one-hour break at noon. The pay was decent for a second-tier city like Beisui.
At least it was enough to support him and take good care of Mo Mo.
The manager knew about Mo Bai’s situation. A few pretend kicks and some teasing were all she did; the salary never changed.
After all, the manager’s generosity was as vast as her booming personality.
As for why the café closed at seven and didn’t develop a nighttime business—well, the reason was simple. Mo Bai’s café offered proper maid services, while the less reputable places usually opened at night.
Those places tended to attract some unsavory characters.
And what exactly were these improper maid services? Well, of course, it was two people spending the night playing Monster Hunter together.
And they still preferred the Great Sword.
After Mo Bai scared off that pervert wandering around at night, considering the psychological safety of the maids and the fact that there wasn’t much business in the evening anyway, the manager combined the morning and evening shifts into one.
By the way, the café originally had two security guards, but half a month ago, one of them said that his neighbor’s sister’s aunt’s daughter’s classmate’s older sister got married, so he took a long leave to attend the wedding.
The manager was already thinking about whether to just fire him.
“All done, time to clock out~”
“See you tomorrow, Sister Li and Brother Bai~”
The maids headed to the changing room to change, while Mo Bai began cleaning up.
Yes, he was actually the ultimate all-in-one: security guard, butler, cleaner, and accountant.
In short, a “four-in-one” Palu.
“By the way, Mo Bai, I need to tell you something.”
The manager, Li Qianhe, slung an arm over Mo Bai’s shoulder without hesitation, making him feel like he’d been hit by a giant force from behind, almost sending him flying.
Coach, she’s using her belly to ram me!
Mo Bai turned around helplessly. “Sister Li, just say it already. Can you stop squeezing my butt?”
Li Qianhe, the manager’s name, replied, “You’re a grown man now; don’t sweat the small stuff.”
Not only did Sister Li not tone it down, she got even more over the top: “Seriously though, have you heard about that serial killer in Yucheng District recently?”
“Serial killer?” Mo Bai turned his head. “There’s such a thing?”
“The news hasn’t said a word.”
“That’s exactly why it’s suspicious,” Sister Li said expertly, pulling out a cigarette but then smoothly swapping it for a lollipop when she remembered Mo Bai didn’t smoke.
“One of the victims was a relative of my friend. It was brutal—said to be totally dismembered. Forget about hero shards, even the protein powder was gone.”
“Twenty-four dead at once.”
“Specialists came to the scene, then it was sealed off. No news leaked out.”
Sister Li whispered, “Could it be... aliens?”
Magic girls exist; aliens wouldn’t be surprising.
Mo Bai internally scoffed, but said seriously, “No way. Probably just that they haven’t found the killer yet and don’t want to cause panic.”
“True,” Sister Li nodded, patting Mo Bai’s shoulder again. “I remember your place is over in Yucheng District, right? You and your sister should be extra careful lately.”
“I don’t want to see you suddenly disappear one day. Then I won’t have anyone to mess with anymore.”
Mo Bai stared with deadpan eyes. “If you’d left out the last part, I might’ve been touched.”
***
“But still, thanks for the concern, Sister Li.”
Sister Li really treated Mo Bai well, always looking out for him in every way. If it weren’t for Mo Bai’s mother occasionally visiting him in dreams, he might have called Sister Li “Mom.”
Bai, drifting half a lifetime, only lamenting never having found a true mentor. If you won’t abandon me, I’d gladly call you my sworn mother!
In the evening, Mo Bai was the last to leave the maid café. After locking the door securely, he walked along the path home.
But halfway there, his groin suddenly vibrated urgently.
Don’t misunderstand—it was just his phone buzzing in his pocket, not some strange little toy.
Mo Bai pulled out his phone and saw a shared map from Shen Qiqi, along with a very brief message:
“Help me!!!”
Just from the words alone, one could sense the girl’s fear and urgency.
That idiot—what trouble had she gotten into?
Could he, Mo Bai, handle whatever trouble the magical girl Shen Qiqi was facing?
He put his phone away, narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, then sent two messages to his sister.
Then, he walked alone into the pitch-black night.
***
Shen Qiqi had just finished school.
She had attended a full afternoon of classes today, surprising both her teachers and classmates, who speculated that maybe her chūnibyō phase was finally over.
After all, Shen Qiqi often shouted about “justice partners” and such, then blatantly skipped classes, leaving teachers and classmates awkward and frustrated.
As for why she hadn’t been expelled despite skipping so many classes, the reason was simple.
She went to a private school, and her father had donated three buildings to the school.
That was all.
So, aside from being a magical girl, she was really nothing else at all!
A tribute to the legendary professional musician, Teacher Da Xiang.
Anyway, it should have been an ordinary after-school moment. Shen Qiqi was mulling over what to eat for dinner when her magic wand lit up.
“!”
Danger! There’s a monster at work!
As a justice partner, even if she was hungry, she had to protect the city.
Shen Qiqi transformed at lightning speed, stepped on air, and followed her magic wand’s evil radar to a deserted demolition site.
There, a small black shadow wrapped in darkness grinned maliciously, holding a middle-aged man who seemed close to suffocating. Beneath it, a terrifying shadow feasted greedily.
“Stop right there!”
Magical girl Shen Qiqi appeared, swinging her magic wand and unleashing “Multi-Saturated Shot,” sending countless pink light bullets arcing gracefully toward the monster.
These bullets were homing.
“Ahhhh!” Unable to bear the assault, the little black shadow dropped the man and fled in panic. Shen Qiqi hurriedly helped the fallen man up. “Are you okay?!”
“I, I...” The man was breathless and kept stammering, “You... you...”
Shen Qiqi blinked. “What about me?”
The man replied, “You... you’ve fallen for the magical girl scam! Hahaha!”
“This is exactly my attack pattern!”
***
Suddenly, thick shadows crept beneath Shen Qiqi’s feet, transforming into countless slick, black tentacles that bound her.
The classic scene of a magical girl and tentacle monster had appeared!
Shen Qiqi had never seen anything like this before and panicked: “W-what is this thing?!”
“So slippery, so cold, so disgusting…”
“Ugh! Damn it, my hands and feet are tied up, I can’t use magic, boo…”
“Nice job, Lao Si!” Two more little black shadows leapt out from the darkness, one wielding a chainsaw, charging at Shen Qiqi. “Accept your defeat, magical girl!”
The chainsaw’s screech was piercing in the night.
But soon, a flash of pink light swept by. Amidst the miserable “pfft” sounds, Shen Qiqi stood up.
Three little black shadows lay sprawled on the ground, seemingly defeated.
“I’m angry now!”
Unleashing her power, Shen Qiqi broke free from the bindings, her face full of fury. “I’ll finish you in five seconds!”
She raised her magic wand, ready to launch a massive indiscriminate magical slash.
But in that instant, she felt a murderous intent—cold and bone-chilling, like a venomous snake coiling around her.
She would die.
If she didn’t defend, she would surely die.
This was Shen Qiqi’s only thought in less than a second.
The magical girl stopped her attack and quickly cast a full-cover defensive spell.
A round pink shield enveloped Shen Qiqi but was immediately smashed away like a ping-pong ball.
The shield shattered like glass under a heavy blow, revealing Shen Qiqi’s terrified face inside.
This was on a completely different level from her previous encounters.
It was the difference between Yujiro Hanma and little Yujiro.
Terrifying beyond words.
“Although I doubted the existence of magical girls when I first heard about them,”
“After all, as far as I know, it was a boring project made by some dull person that has already ended.”
“All magical girls should have been dealt with, but the moment I saw you, I understood.”
The mastermind stepped out from the darkness, fully visible. He stretched out his hand, seemingly grabbing Shen Qiqi from a distance.
“Dealing with beings like you without being noticed is a piece of cake.”
Shen Qiqi shakily stood, her skirt adorned with petals fluttering, her slender legs wrapped in white stockings trembling.
When the sense of justice and chūnibyō passion faded, pure fear of power left her barely able to hold her magic wand.
That deep sense of helplessness.
Yet, despite everything, Shen Qiqi spoke: “What did you just mean by that?”
“Don’t you get it?”
The man raised an eyebrow, sneering, “I mean, you’re just a…”
“A fake magical girl.”