Get off work and become a magical girl

Chapter 353 Xia Liang's Dilemma

As the assessment progressed closer to its end, and most teams were scrambling for the final bonus points, Xia Liang was lost in thought.

It wasn't because she had nothing to do, or because she was cramming at the last minute, but because her magic had run out.

Yes, after using her magical armor to intercept the spell on the wall, she discovered that she could temporarily dismantle the wall's structure. This led to a very inappropriate idea: to simply crawl through the hole and run all the way to the end of the game.

After all, it's an undeniable fact that their team is lagging behind. While the majority of the team has already started attempting to conquer nodes, they're still clueless about the second puzzle. If they continue to follow the established steps, they'll likely only manage a mediocre result.

Whether it's immoral or unfair to move directly through the wall to the outside of the maze is not something she should be considering at this moment. What she needs to consider is that she hasn't been penalized for such an action, so this loophole is exploitable, and perhaps only she can exploit it.

She was unwilling to leave the stage like this.

Then, there's no suspense left about what needs to be done.

Constantly using her magical abilities to intercept and redirect the spells on the labyrinth walls not only drained her mental energy but also rapidly depleted her magical power. After she and her team members traversed dozens of walls, she finally couldn't hold on any longer.

"Sigh, finally I can rest for a while. Just traveling has made me dizzy. This maze is just too big."

While Xia Liang closed her eyes to recover her magic, Shan Dan and her sister Juan Dan could only keep watch for her, chatting idly: "You know, since this maze has 'no exit,' does that mean the space is infinite? Does that mean no matter which way we go, we'll never reach the end?"

I don't think so.

Juan Dan diligently continued to use her magic to probe her surroundings while replying, "After all, the puzzles in the maze seem to be set by the examiners. Even if you create an endless maze, the number of puzzles is still finite. Using this logic, the size of the maze should also be limited."

"So it's just that we haven't reached the end yet?" Shan Dan, feeling a bit bored, blew on her forehead, the breath lifting her bangs. "It's a pity that Xiao Jin has no magic power, so we can't help her. We don't know if it's too late."

"I'm more worried about whether what we did constitutes a foul..."

Juan Dan said with a hint of worry, "But since we've already come this far, and we haven't been deemed unqualified and teleported out yet, we have no choice but to go all the way down this path."

"Haha, that's exactly the feeling of testing the limits of the rules, it's even more exciting than skipping class."

Shandan, on the other hand, was clearly not so worried: "I think we only need to worry about two things right now. The first is that we don't have enough time. We need to get out before all the nodes are captured. The second is that we shouldn't be seen by others on the road, or that would be troublesome."

What she was saying was precisely the reason why the two of them were keeping watch here.

The "method" their team found might not be legal, but it was definitely something that couldn't be revealed. If they were discovered on the road, they would be in big trouble. They couldn't possibly eliminate any candidates they encountered like those who were just there to watch the ceremony, nor could they accept taking more people with them. So, if their ability to "walk through walls" were exposed, it would definitely become a mess.

"Fortunately, I haven't felt it yet... Huh?"

Juan Dan was about to continue her sister's story when she suddenly exclaimed in surprise, as if she had discovered something: "This magical fluctuation... it seems like another team is heading in our direction?"

"Really coming?"

Shandan's eyes widened: "Then what do we do?"

"So what should we do... it seems like we don't need to avoid this?"

Juan Dan pondered and tried to analyze the situation: "After all, we're just resting by the roadside right now, so it doesn't matter if we're seen."

"That's what they say, but it's still better to avoid contact with others."

Shandan glanced at Xia Liang: "What do you think, Xiao Jin?"

"...Let's move."

Opening her eyes, Xia Liang said wearily, "No one can guarantee that the team that appears at this time is not like the Drunkard Grass, here to cause trouble. Even if the probability is very small, we don't need to take the risk."

“It’s possible, but are you able to move around normally now?” Juan Dan asked with some concern. “If it affects your condition, perhaps it would be better to rest a little longer…”

"Ah, it's nothing, I've recovered a lot."

Xia Liang smiled as if nothing was wrong and said, "Let's set off first. It'll be hard to say what will happen once they get closer."

"Alright then." Juan Dan nodded with some doubt. Although she felt that Xia Liang was being stubborn, she couldn't force him to rest.

So the three of them quickly took action, dodging the approaching squad, and hid in another side path.

However, they did not expect that this seemingly "coincidentally passing by" team was actually just part of the interference they would face.

Just as they stopped to rest again, another squad passed by. Then came a second, a third... Soon, in this area alone, Xia Liang and her team encountered at least five squads.

Moreover, these examinees all seemed to harbor some kind of purpose, avoiding each other in the same way. On one occasion, when Xia Liang and her group were about to encounter another team, it was the other team that ran away first. This strange phenomenon left Xia Liang and the two sisters looking at each other, unsure of what to do next.

“There must be something around here, right?” When it came to speculating about the purpose of these teams, Shandan spoke his mind without hesitation.

"Could it be a node?" Juan Dan thought a little more deeply. "If it were just a puzzle, it shouldn't be enough for so many teams to know about it at the same time and gather here, right?" "A node?"

After a moment's thought, Shandan felt that Juandan's words made sense: "Then shouldn't we go with them and take a look?"

"No, if it's a node, we should hide even more until they all leave."

Xia Liang shook her head and rejected the idea: "Our current situation does not support participating in the node strategy, especially with so many people around us. In this situation, the points that each person can get from the node will be very small. It is not worth abandoning our original plan and wasting so much time."

"So what do you think we should do now?" Shandan spread his hands.

"If it's really just because there are nodes around, then avoid them and find a way to leave this area."

Xia Liang wiped the cold sweat from her forehead: "What I'm worried about is that so many people are gathered here, and it's very likely for some other reason."

"For example?" Shandan asked, puzzled.

"Let me confirm for a moment."

As Xia Liang said this, she suddenly pulled out a very small mirror from her sleeve. Judging from the magical fluctuations emanating from it, it was also part of her magical outfit.

Because her magic power had not yet recovered, Xia Liang could only maintain the magic armor's operation at a minimum, resulting in a very small mirror. Somehow, the surface of this tiny mirror was bound with something resembling threads; upon closer inspection, it could be seen that these threads, made of magic power, extended into the mirror surface, seemingly connected to something else.

Xia Liang brought the mirror close to her ear, looked at Shan Dan, and then suddenly said, "Have you ever heard of a megaphone?"

"I've heard of it..." Shan Dan still didn't understand what Xia Liang was up to: "But what does that have to do with us now?"

"This is just a mouthpiece."

Xia Liang shook the mirror in her hand, a smug look on her face: "I left another mirror on the way here, connected the two ends with magic threads, and made a sound transmission device by imitating the structure of a megaphone."

This idea was actually borrowed from Cui Que, and she hadn't even shown it to the Fangting City team before using it in the assessment.

"Ah, I see! Are you really a genius?"

Shandan clapped her hands after understanding Xia Liang's explanation: "So, if other teams pass by, we can eavesdrop on what they're saying here?"

"Shh." Xia Liang put a finger to her lips. "This device works in both directions. If we make too much noise, the other side might hear us too, so keep your voice down."

Shandan covered her mouth and nodded, but after a while, she couldn't resist her curiosity and asked in a low voice, "What were they saying?"

"Don't worry, there's nothing happening right now, let's rest where we are."

Xia Liang brought the mirror to her ear again, held her breath, and listened carefully to the sound on the other end.

At first, probably because no one had passed by yet, Xia Liang didn't hear any noise. However, she wasn't in a hurry. She secretly relaxed her mind and waited for her magic power to slowly recover, while silently hoping that someone would pass by the "trap" she had set.

Soon, accompanied by the sound of footsteps approaching from afar, Xia Liang indeed heard the conversation of the other teams.

The squad moved quickly, so Xia Liang could only catch snippets of their conversation; the fragmented dialogue offered little useful information. Fortunately, another squad passed by not long after.

Just like what Xia Liang and the others had encountered before, new magical girl squads kept passing through this area. And it was precisely because these squads always talked about something that Xia Liang was able to piece together the common truth in their words.

However, after learning the truth, she couldn't help but gasp.

"What's wrong?" Noticing Xia Liang's change in mood, Juan Dan asked proactively.

"Hmm? There's a result?" Shandan's attention immediately shifted to this.

"Yes, but it's not a good result."

Xia Liang sighed: "In fact, for us alone, it's the worst-case scenario."

"The worst-case scenario?" "What is that?" The two sisters asked, one after the other.

"Other teams, using some unknown means, have determined the possible location of the maze's exit in advance."

Xia Liang put down the mirror in her hand, her expression solemn:

—“And what’s worse, they sold the information.”

　I've been experiencing severe writer's block lately, which has resulted in very infrequent updates, and I apologize for that again. However, the first phase of the assessment will end soon, and things should get much better in the next phase.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)