Apocalypse, then transforming into a magical girl

"Huh? Your IQ has increased?" Zhao Zhao asked疑惑地, "What do you mean? Apart from that big meatball, aren't they all just ordinary henchmen?"

"No, didn't you notice? Some of the monsters have escaped."

"When we arrived, although most of the monsters rushed at us, a few of them did show signs of instinct to avoid danger."

"Indeed..." Hearing this, Xia Zhaozhao's expression also became somewhat serious. "Now that you mention it, it does seem to be true. Could they be evolving?"

"Possibly." Xiao Lü sighed and changed the subject. "However, let's leave these things for later. The most important thing right now is to solve the immediate problem. They look to be in very poor condition."

The five of them were indeed in very poor condition, covered in dust and sweat, their faces etched with exhaustion and lingering fear.

After a long period of holding out and fighting, their physical strength was already exhausted, and they were only holding on by sheer will to survive.

At this moment, upon realizing they had survived, Wei Yuan, Feng Yue, and the others collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, too exhausted to even stand up.

Xiao Lü walked towards her unlucky colleague, Lao Qian.

"Sir... oh, sir, could you spare one of our walkie-talkies? We're short one."

"Huh? Oh! A walkie-talkie? Of course, no problem!"

Old Qian nodded hurriedly. The other party had saved their lives, and he had no reason to refuse.

But why does her self-righteous way of asking me for things feel so familiar?

"I'll go to the nearby shops and pharmacies to see if I can get some clean water and food," Little Green said.

"Zhaozhao, you stay here and keep watch. If anything seems amiss, contact me via walkie-talkie."

"Okay~" Zhao Zhao struck what she thought was a very cool pose and stood in front of the group.

Little Green said no more and floated up again, emitting a faint blue light around it, freezing and repelling the approaching blood-red raindrops, which gradually disappeared into the rain curtain.

After his excitement subsided slightly, Lao Qian pulled out his already soaked notebook of ghost stories from his pocket, intending to record today's miraculous encounter, but he couldn't find a pen anywhere.

It seems I'll have to keep these things in my head for now, Old Qian thought. Once I get a pen, I'll definitely write down all this firsthand information in detail.

He composed himself, mustered his courage, and asked the magical girl before him the countless questions that had been flashing through his mind:

"Um... are your abilities innate? What are these monsters? Are they related to magical girls? What are their weaknesses? By the way, was the Xinmao subway bombing three years ago related to magical girls? And what about the monster legends in the southern district of Xinmao City, and the rumors about cultivators online...?"

"Huh? Stop, stop, stop! Hold on!" Xia Zhaozhao was dizzy from the barrage of questions and quickly interrupted, somewhat speechless.

"Um... these monsters have nothing to do with us, at least not with me! I don't know what they are either. You can ask Little Green about that when you have the chance. I'm just here to chop, chop, chop!"

"And... cultivators, what are those? That's ridiculous!"

Xia Zhaozhao either genuinely didn't know the answers to these strange questions or was too lazy to explain, so she simply changed the subject.

"By the way, sir, what's your name?"

"Ah? Oh, just call me Lao Qian!" Lao Qian quickly introduced himself, then pointed to the people next to him and introduced them one by one with trepidation.

"This is Lao Wang, the equipment maintenance worker at the subway station; this is Feng Yue, and this is…"

As Old Qian continued his introduction, he felt a little uneasy. Would this magical girl care about their ordinary identities? Would she think he was being too long-winded?

However, noticing that Xia Zhaozhao did not intend to interrupt, he gritted his teeth and continued his introduction.

However, what Lao Qian didn't know was that after Xia Zhaozhao heard the name "Lao Qian" and confirmed that he was the colleague Zhao Jia had mentioned, she basically let the rest go in one ear and out the other.

Her mind was already far away, plotting how to get back at Xiao Lü later.

When Lao Qian finally finished his stammering introduction, Xia Zhaozhao raised her head, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

She looked at Lao Qian and deliberately drew out her question:

"You're Lao Qian, right? I've heard Zhao Jia mention you before."

"What? Zhao Jia? He's still alive? You know him?" Old Qian was stunned, completely frozen, and asked incredulously.

"Do you know Zhao Jia? The Zhao Jia from Dafeng Industrial Co., Ltd. in Xinmao City?"

His mind was instantly filled with a storm of emotions. Zhao Jia? The Zhao Jia who usually just slacked off and occasionally told lame jokes? He actually knew a magical girl?

And judging from the magical girl's tone, their relationship seems quite unusual.

Was Zhao Jia's disdainful expression when I mentioned magical girls earlier all an act? This guy is hiding his true abilities too well!

"Um... this magical girl?" Old Qian's voice trembled even more with excitement.

"Since you really know Zhao Jia, does that mean he has also had contact with your... extraordinary world?"

"Yes! Of course!" Zhao Zhao was overjoyed to see the utterly shocked expression on the other side, and her mouth even curved into a ω shape.

"Even Xiao Lü knows Zhao Jia~ In a sense, Xiao Lü and Zhao Jia's relationship is quite extraordinary~"

"Extraordinary..." Old Qian muttered to himself, trying to process the news. Then, as if he had thought of something, his eyes lit up:

"Does the magical girls have an organization? What important figure is Zhao Jia in your organization?"

"Well... I can't answer that~" Xia Zhaozhao evaded the question.

There's no such thing at all, but that answer obviously adds to the mystery. Thinking this, Xia Zhaozhao inquired:

"Oh, right, uncle, Zhao Jia usually..."

"Thump!"

"what!"

Xiao Lü had already finished searching the nearby shops and returned, just in time to hear Xia Zhaozhao's last words.

She expressionlessly put away the hand chop she had just struck Xia Zhaozhao on the head: "Instead of keeping watch properly, what are you doing here, grinning and asking around about nothing?"

Xia Zhaozhao wisely kept quiet.

Xiao Lü sighed and ignored Xia Zhaozhao. She put the supplies she was carrying on the ground: several bottles of mineral water, some canned goods, bread, and a small amount of medical supplies.

She distributed the supplies to the five survivors, saying, "Quickly replenish your water and energy; we need to get out of here."

The veteran began to re-treat Wei Yuan's wounds, while the others wolfed down their food.

Since setting out to search for that peculiar monster, Xiao Lü feels that her magic power has been depleted quite a bit.

She was a little tired, so she simply walked to the side and stretched.

Old Qian was munching on bread while drinking mineral water. Suddenly, he noticed something was amiss.

For some reason, he felt that the way the green-haired little girl stretched was strangely familiar—the way she stretched her arms, the angle of her slight backward tilt…

Wait a minute! Isn't this exactly the same way Zhao Jia stretches after waking up from work or sleep? Did he pick it up from her? Could it be Zhao Jia's daughter? No, he's clearly too young for that. Or maybe his sister? But he's never mentioned her before.

He crept up to Xia Zhaozhao, who was fiddling with the walkie-talkie, and tentatively asked in a very low voice:

"Um... Magical Girl-sama? What exactly is the relationship between this little green girl and Zhao Jia?"

Xia Zhaozhao didn't answer directly, but instead whispered mysteriously, "Remember what Xiao Lü said before? She's much older than you think~"

"Actually, a magical girl's appearance can change drastically before and after transforming. For example, don't be fooled by my current appearance; I'm actually twenty years old!"

Even if you're only a few years old, it's still a number. Rounding it up or down, it's twenty. I'm not lying, she thought confidently.

Seeing Old Qian nodding repeatedly, Xia Zhaozhao felt the time was ripe. She turned her head warily, glanced at Little Green gazing at the sky in the distance, lowered her voice, and whispered the truth:

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you the truth~ Zhao Jia, and magical girl Xiao Lü..."

"They were the kind of couple who slept in the same bed."