Apocalypse, then transforming into a magical girl

"Ah! It's her! The one I told you about before, the one with the face!"

Xia Zhaozhao pointed at the suddenly appearing figure, her voice filled with surprise.

The girl in the outdated school uniform with her ponytail made a firm "X" sign at them, then looked at the faceless crowd standing silently behind them.

She waved her hand, making a "go away" gesture, then turned her head behind her and raised her neck at the faceless man behind her, as if to shoo him away.

A strange scene unfolded. The faceless people that had surged in like a tidal wave seemed to react upon hearing her faint voice and seeing her childlike movements. They retreated slowly and silently, disappearing without a trace, like the receding tide.

The girl turned around and felt somewhat lost and confused as she faced the two men's still wary gazes.

But then, a shy smile appeared on her face, and she took out a small notebook and a pencil from the pocket of her school uniform.

She lowered her head and wrote a few words in a crooked hand. Then she held up the notebook, first pointing to herself, and then to the words on the page.

Xiao Lü and Xia Zhaozhao looked closely and saw that the slightly childish notebook had "Sasha" written on it.

"Sha...Sha?" Xia Zhaozhao uttered aloud.

The moment she uttered the name, an indescribable sense of closeness welled up in both of their hearts.

This feeling was so sudden that Xiao Lü even wanted to go up to her and give her a big hug.

However, reason simultaneously issued a sharp warning—something was very wrong.

But strangely, she found it hard to be wary. A strong, eerie urge to trust the girl before her swirled in her mind.

"Sasa" didn't seem to notice Poland in their hearts, she just nodded vigorously and gave them a warm smile.

"Sigh, you can't hit someone who's smiling!" Xia Zhaozhao muttered, trying to suppress the strange feeling of closeness in her heart, but in the end she still pointed to herself and responded to her.

"Um... my name is Xia Zhaozhao!"

Then, facing the girl, she pointed to Little Green beside her: "Um... this is Little Green, my good buddy!"

Then, she pointed to Bai Shuyuan, who was still supporting Xiao Lü with her eyes closed: "That's Xiao Bai... uh, she's shy, she doesn't really open her eyes to look at people!"

Sasha listened attentively to Xia Zhaozhao's introduction, her eyes darting back and forth between the three of them.

She tilted her head, seemingly trying to remember their faces and names, then lowered her head again and began to draw diligently in her notebook.

A moment later, she picked up the notebook again. It contained four stick figures: one with long hair, one with pigtails, one with a single ponytail, and the last one with its head covered by a black hood.

Two words were scrawled crookedly in the notebook: Friendship^_^.

The fear she had felt earlier had long since vanished without a trace, but Xiao Lü was still trying hard to restrain the urge to completely trust the other person.

However, there didn't seem to be any better options at the moment. She tried to ask in as calm a tone as possible, "Sasha, hello... do you know how to leave this place?"

Sasha heard Little Green's question and nodded vigorously.

She carefully put her notebook and pencil back into her pocket, then waved to the three of them, signaling them to follow her.

"Miss Bai, what do you think?" Xiao Lü asked Bai Shuyuan in a low voice.

"I can't see anything with my eyes closed," Bai Shuyuan replied immediately.

"Um... a friendly phantom who called herself 'Sasha' appeared before us, seemingly possessing self-awareness. She dispersed the faceless crowd from before and said she could take us away from here."

"..." Bai Shuyuan was silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke, "Because of the anchor point of my thirst for knowledge, I am now quite curious about her form of existence, which makes me want to open my eyes and observe."

"However, my reason is strongly warning me not to do this. Please help me cover my eyes and stop me from doing anything irrational."

"..." Xiao Lü did as she was told, reaching out to cover Bai Shuyuan's eyes. "So, do you think we should go with her?"

"I didn't sense any obvious energy fluctuations, so this should still be some kind of illusion. I don't think there's much risk, but please remain vigilant."

Sasha was walking in front and didn't notice the two of them.

Xia Zhaozhao followed behind Sasha, trying to keep a distance, and asked, "Sasha, are you the big boss of this school? Are those faceless men your underlings?"

Sasha simply tilted her head, looking puzzled by her guess, and continued to lead the way silently.

"No, she isn't," Bai Shuyuan's voice rang out. "I can feel that omnipresent sense of being watched still exists, and the source of that sense of being watched is far away from us."

"Also, mayfly, I've suppressed that uncontrollable urge to explore. Now you just need to hold my hand and guide me."

They followed Sasha, repeatedly going up and down the stairs in a seemingly meaningless manner, but eventually they actually walked out of the seemingly infinite stairwell. The surrounding scenery was constantly and silently changing as they moved forward.

Finally, after passing through a long corridor filled with various paintings, Sasha led them to a fire door that looked ordinary.

She pushed open the heavy door with some effort, and a fresh, earthy scent of air rushed towards her.

Although they knew it was an illusion, the group still felt relaxed.

Outside the door was a field of golden sunflowers, countless tall sunflowers raising their huge flower heads. A gentle breeze seemed to be blowing, and the golden waves surged across the field, making a soft sound.

"She looks...like a middle school student," Xiao Lü said, her tone tinged with confusion. "But her behavior, and the way she was drawing just now...it gives me the impression that she's mentally like a child?"

"Can you please stop staring at me when you say these things? Are you making veiled accusations? Huh?" Xia Zhaozhao replied irritably.

Sasha pointed to the depths of the sunflower field, gesturing for them to follow her.

Xiao Lü, holding Bai Shuyuan's hand, exchanged a glance with Xia Zhaozhao, and followed her into the unreal golden field.

After they had fully entered the sunflower field and walked several hundred meters further, the iron gate behind them vanished without a sound. Even the densely packed sunflower heads became transparent.

Through those transparent flower pots, they could clearly see the scene behind them.

"That's the North Gate! Another gate to the university!" Xia Zhaozhao's voice was filled with disbelief. "She...she really brought us out!"

"I also sense that we have reached the edge of this area. I think the phantom you saw is indeed 'friendly'," Bai Shuyuan said.

"That would be perfect." Xiao Lü glanced at Sasha behind her, who was making a "bye-bye" gesture with a somewhat forlorn expression, and smiled at her in a friendly manner, but did not say goodbye.

"Sasha, we're not going home now; we have important things to do."

Sasha tilted her head in confusion, but after a moment, a happy smile returned to her face.

She continued to scribble and draw quickly in her notebook, and then, full of anticipation, held it up for Xiao Lü to see.

On the notebook, there was a drawing of four stick figures holding hands, with a big "play" written next to them.

Looking into Sasha's clear eyes, Xiao Lü felt a softening in her heart. The sense of vigilance that had been suppressed by Sasha's "amulet halo" but had never disappeared was now much lessened because of Sasha's earlier guidance.

Although she was reluctant to refuse her request, Xiao Lü ultimately shook her head and said in as gentle a tone as possible:

"Sasha, I'm sorry, we really can't go play right now. We need to go to the biology lab building to get some things first."

Upon hearing the words "Biological Experiment Building," Sasha's smile vanished instantly, replaced by an overwhelming sense of fear.

She involuntarily shrank back, her fingers gripping the edge of the notebook tightly, as if she had been greatly frightened, and shook her head frantically at the group.

She began to scribble and draw rapidly in her notebook. This time, her strokes were no longer light and quick, but rather quite hurried and flustered.

Soon, a painting appeared in her notebook:

A monster with countless eyes on its body opened its mouth and swallowed three stick figures whole.