Get off work and become a magical girl

Chapter 357 A Deal Where Everyone Thought They Had "Winned"
— [Notification, notification.]

Team 629 and Team 971 collaborated to complete the strategy for Maze Node 11 and received the corresponding reward.

When the notification sounded that another maze node had been captured, most of the test takers initially did not react.

A small number of candidates who lagged behind in reward points inevitably complained a bit, but most of the magical girls simply buried themselves in their work. After all, the assessment had progressed to this point, and while things like "strategy nodes" were enviable, they were no longer as novel.

However, this tense calm didn't last long. Soon, the entire maze erupted into chaos because of the next sentence in the announcement:
[Only one key point remains in this assessment. Candidates currently working on the puzzle are urged to hurry and answer the question as soon as possible.]

One sentence made this enormous, seemingly boundless building hum.

Some candidates breathed a sigh of relief, because the assessment, which had lasted for almost a whole day, or even a day and a night, was finally coming to an end; others felt fortunate, because the intense search of the maze and the solving of the puzzles had exhausted them, and the fact that the assessment was nearing its end meant that their advantage in the score could be established.

However, many more test takers are caught in a state of anxiety, as if the exam is about to end but the paper is not yet finished.

Whether they were solving a puzzle, getting lost, or secretly confronting other teams, everyone unanimously accelerated their pace.

And this naturally includes Xia Liang.

"What do you mean? You mean they included a survey map with the information they sold you?"

At this moment, Xia Liang was pretending to be surprised as she chatted with the three unfamiliar magical girls in front of her. Her expression seemed quite friendly and natural, even with a touch of naivety: "Why didn't I? Did they forget?"

"They didn't give it to you?"

The unfamiliar examinee in front of her was taken aback: "How did you find this place without a map?"

"They pointed me in a direction and said I just needed to keep walking in that direction..."

Xia Liang looked dejected. After slightly embellishing his true situation, he explained, "I didn't even have time to solve the riddle. I've been rushing on my way here until now."

"Wow, that's way too perfunctory."

Amused by Xia Liang's "unlucky experience," the stranger couldn't help but laugh, but didn't suspect anything: "Looks like you got ripped off by a shady merchant, sis."

It's no wonder she wasn't wary of Xia Liang's words; in her eyes, Xia Liang was just like herself, a "buyer of leaked information."

Xia Liang had originally planned to "avoid everyone, recover her magic, and then leave." However, after learning about the so-called "exit," she hesitated repeatedly and ultimately changed her mind.

Even though the news sounded suspiciously like a scam, it was still a matter of exit, and she couldn't just ignore it.

Just as the notice said, the assessment is nearing its end, and there is no time to waste. If this is indeed the "exit", then once all the nodes are breached, this will be the first place to leave the maze.

Continuing forward as planned, theoretically, it was possible to leave the maze by walking in a straight line and passing through walls. However, she couldn't even be sure of her current location in the maze. What if she chose the direction that happened to be the one with the longest path? She might still be struggling to crawl through walls until the exit opened.

In the end, she decided to make use of the information she had overheard, pretending to be a test-taker who had "sold out the exit information," and made contact with a team of seemingly respectable magical girls.

Although the other party was initially wary and even tried to bypass Xia Liang to leave, Xia Liang took the initiative to reveal the existence of the "exit." She then used her usual eloquence to quickly engage in a lively conversation with these unfamiliar magical girls.

During this time, through several casual conversations, she confirmed several facts:
First, this so-called "exit" information all leaked from the same small team.

Secondly, this team seems to possess some kind of high-speed movement method with low magic consumption. After surveying most of the map, they determined the possible locations of several exits based on the map's distribution and magic concentration. Xia Liang is currently in one of these locations.

Third, although this team possessed such capabilities, after internal discussion, they felt they could no longer pinpoint the exit's location. Any of the remaining locations were potentially possible, and they couldn't eliminate any more options. Therefore, they ultimately chose a way to monetize information asymmetry: intelligence trading. The method was simple: they directly approached the teams currently solving the puzzle and bought the right to solve it from them using the exit information.

This is certainly not a business that everyone would agree to, but the teams in the maze are at different stages of progress, and many teams are already well on track to earn enough points for just one more puzzle. Compared to a puzzle with a fixed reward that may not even be solved, the information about the exit, and even a large portion of the maze map included, is a much more attractive option.

So, after signing a simple contract stipulating that they would not actively resell second-hand information, many teams reached deals with this "surveyor" team.

Judging from the number of teams Xia Liang had encountered earlier, if her current location was just "one of the possible points," then there were probably quite a few teams that had made this transaction—roughly a dozen or twenty teams. Based on this, the map-mapping team was probably raking in rewards from the puzzles; even if they couldn't solve half of them, they had already gained a lot and were among the top scorers.

It's truly enviable... no, it's truly admirable.

Slightly annoyed, Xia Liang originally planned to chat with the team for a few more minutes before leaving. After all, a "possible location of the exit" wasn't what she wanted. If she couldn't be sure this was the exit, she'd rather stick to her original plan.

However, she soon realized something.

—If that team that mapped the map had the same ability to walk through walls as I do, wouldn't they have been able to slip out of the maze on their own long ago?
So, if I were to obtain that map now, would it mean that this power would fall into my hands?

Thinking about this made her feel like she couldn't walk anymore.

"Excuse me, could you lend me the map to take a look?"

After a moment of hesitant awkwardness, half feigning and half genuinely embarrassed, Xia Liang asked, "Although this is a bit unfair to you, I feel like I've made a bad deal..."

"Uh, about that..."

The group of unfamiliar test-takers exchanged glances. The leader looked troubled. "It sounds like you're having a tough time too, but don't blame me for being blunt, we're competitors now. A few jokes are fine, but if I really let you study the map for nothing, that would be a bit..."

The other two people beside her seemed somewhat apologetic, but it was clear that they shared her sentiment.

"Haha, that's right."

Xia Liang chuckled sheepishly, scratching her cheek as if she were an innocent, naive girl. But before the other person could say anything more, she put on an expression as if she had made up her mind: "Well, what if we make a deal? I have some news that you might be interested in."

"trade?"

The leading, unfamiliar examinee muttered the word, his expression immediately becoming more serious: "What content?"

"I don't know if you guys have seen that so-called 'thigh ranking'."

Xia Liang seemed somewhat serious as she said, "If I told you that I know detailed information about the fourth person's abilities, would that be of any help to you? Or, although I don't know who her enemies are, if I'm willing to sign a contract with you and promise not to reveal this information to anyone else, could you sell this information for a better price?"

Her words left the other candidates looking at each other in bewilderment once again.

Xia Liang had no intention of finding out whether these people were communicating with their eyes or lips. She was only responsible for playing her harmless role. Although she knew that after making the suggestion of "selling other people's ability information," the other party would eventually sense that she had some bad intentions, it didn't matter. The most important thing was that she absolutely could not let anyone know her trump card.

The team quickly reached a conclusion.

"That's interesting. You've definitely come to the right person."

The leading magical girl smiled, but unlike her previous seemingly warm smile, this one was now full of the shrewdness and amusement of a "businesswoman":
"Elaborate?"

(End of this chapter)