Chapter 313: Overhauling Chongxu with Overlord-Level Power! |
"The Magical Girls are coming, everyone run!"
"Damn, why didn't you say so earlier!"
The moment Jiang Si poked his head out from the first layer, he heard the shouting all around him.
So he looked up as well.
Tattoos, cigarettes, female armed forces with prosthetic limbs, and even some people chewing gum and drinking alcohol...
But every single one of them was wearing a set of armor.
[Warning: The criminal who destroyed the first layer of Thriller Paradise. Your face, biometric features, gaming pod serial number, and neural link ID have been uploaded to the global wanted database.]
All the armor flickered with red light, but they didn't rush to attack.
[Once you are marked as a "riot-active element," asset freezing will be triggered automatically, and your account will be permanently locked; you will become a priority target for the Magical Girl Armed Forces, and the Magical Girls will no longer be your friends; your criminal record will be broadcast on a loop through the city's public holographic screens, private neural push notifications, and community terminals until your trial is delivered...]
By the time these so-called Magical Girls arrived, the faces of these workers were all filled with fear, and they scattered in all directions!
In the blink of an eye, only one person remained.
After jumping up from the entrance, Jiang Si stepped onto the ground of Chongxu.
Su La whistled at Jiang Si. "Woo-hoo, so this is baby's sweetheart, huh? She specially asked me to look out for you. You two aren't hooking up, are you?"
Without acknowledging that remark, Jiang Si only asked Su La, who was holding a cigarette beside him, "Are these things Magical Girls?"
"Whoa, what do you mean 'these things'? With magic and mana, power above everyone else! Upholding the dreams and miracles that sustain our existence in Chongxu — if that's not the real deal, what is?"
Su spread her arms wide as she laughed, welcoming the armored girls.
"Damn, if it weren't for our great Magical Girls, this godforsaken Chongxu wouldn't even exist, right? Right, my dear Magical Girl-ants?"
Jiang Si just rubbed the back of his head and scratched the nape of his neck, as if there were some kind of brain-computer interface there. "Where did all these stray dogs come from?"
"Holy shit." The cigarette in Su's mouth fell to the ground. "What the hell is wrong with your manners? Can't you talk normally without it killing you? If you piss off the great Magical Girls and they actually make a move, how am I supposed to explain it to my baby? If I can't even kiss her, it's all your fault..."
Jiang Si looked up at the so-called Magical Girls in the sky.
As their armor deployed, guns, cannons, and some equipment he had never seen before all quickly locked onto him.
Mana-driven armor — Jiang Si was actually quite interested in this kind of thing.
Then, the group of Magical Girls descended, and Jiang Si shook his hands.
Although the seed had disappeared again — whether Chongxu had analyzed the Heart Image Remnant or it was itself a massive Mental Landscape, he didn't know — it didn't matter. He was used to this kind of thing by now. He could just create another one whenever he wanted.
His gaze swept across this Magical Girl Armed Force unit, totaling about one hundred and sixty or so. Earlier, they had probably used holographic projections to create a dense, overwhelming effect. But for him, even without transforming, it wasn't a big deal.
As two armored Magical Girls bumped fists with each other, and a huge screen opened in front of them, Jiang Si's muscles tensed to their limit, like a coiled spring, ready to burst forth the next second!
If there was going to be a fight, it would be now!
"Would you like to buy some insurance, sweetie?"
The two armored Magical Girls showed sweet, professional smiles, instantly switching from combatants to salespeople.
"The Shared Commuter's Triple-Non-Coverage Insurance — the most cost-effective insurance in Chongxu! Authorized by Jinfu Garden Bank! Doesn't cover the past, doesn't cover the present, doesn't cover the future — but covers everything else!"
"Dust Riot Lifetime Criminal Insurance — one contract, a lifetime of five-star VIP service. Cheers to every one of your dangerous acts!"
The other armored Magical Girls immediately started playing the same advertisements on the side.
They even started a live stream directly, and the city's central sky broadcast it instantly.
"Good morning, stream! Following the last 'Erxing Level 2 Minefield Improper Mining Explosion Lotto,' someone else has come to burn down this city!"
"New betting pool open! Guess how many insurance policies we can sell this time? Odds are 1:1.4514! Hurry and place your bets — no betting after the deadline~"
"Oh, and some viewers are asking, 'How can you buy insurance after getting your head blown off?' Hey, great question! 'Already Dead' end-to-end wreckage recovery: buy the insurance, die, and the AI automatically processes the claim! A million Chongxu coins, minus handling fees, and one hundred thousand compensation will be directly transferred to your registered body heir!"
"What's that? You say you're an orphan, or your whole family died on the battlefield? Then transfer it to your backup — that's right, a clone! No review needed! Face, DNA, iris — all seamless and instant! This event is limited to 800 orders — sold out, and the next event won't be until next year! Viewers, three, two, one — click the link! Scan to pay — even the Grim Reaper can't stop you from getting your money!"
Flashing neon lights, huge QR codes, and the music and ads playing from the armored Magical Girls' equipment.
Some Magical Girls were even flying in the sky, pulling out compressed fireworks, ready to celebrate a deal.
Jiang Si silently halted his charge. He looked up at the Magical Girl Armed Force unit that had instantly switched roles.
Su rolled her eyes. "Those little bitches are always like this. Mouths full of ads one second, loans the next. Oh my god, this city screams 'money, money, money' everywhere. It's unbearable. Honey, let's just set them all on fire!"
But then she heard Jiang Si ask curiously, "We're still wanted, right? Does insurance even work?"
Su, who was about to draw her gun, froze for a moment. She could only rub her forehead with the gun stock.
"Hey, hey, hey — baby never mentioned anything about a last-minute backstab and a change of heart like this! What the hell are you doing? Can you even afford the loan?"
"Don't worry!" The lead Magical Girl immediately smiled sweetly and pulled up the screen again.
A massive list appeared in the city center. "We have a VIP star-removal service! Just one phone call — not six million, not eight million — just three million! Dust Insurance will remove your five-star wanted status for you! Currently on promotion! What are you waiting for, folks? Order now and get a reward..."
Su took a deep drag of her cigarette, her tone turning grave. "They're trying to turn you into a golden scapegoat for a loan."
"It's 'Boss Time' now! The 'Chaos Chain Weapons Emporium' new package — buy two kinetic weapons, get one free! Open the menu! Anyone who buys now will be automatically matched to the nearest drone logistics locker for pickup! What's that? Network is down? The explosion severed the regional network? No problem! Buyers can pick up directly at the FP warehouse, as long as you're still alive! Three, two, one — everyone click the link!"
Jiang Si asked again, "Your armor... it's pretty interesting."
The member of the Magical Girl Armed Force unit's eyes lit up. "Exactly! You have great taste! The latest G6 model, artificial Magical Outfit! Even ordinary people can become Magical Girls! Fulfilling the dreams of every girl and boy. You too can become a miracle! Although the loans are many, the income is also plenty. Every one of us in the Magical Girl Armed Force unit only has twenty years left until we pay off our loans."
"If you get our recommended insurance and loans, the remaining money is enough to buy a basic model to play with, and you could even schedule a date with me at the VA-11 Midnight Bar!"
After saying that, the armored Magical Girl winked at him.
The bustling noise of advertisements echoed through the city. Su La scratched the back of her own neck, poking at a wound, and looked at the intrigued Jiang Si. "What do you say? You seem to like this, Mr. Startled by the Unaware."
"Not bad."
Hearing Jiang Si's answer, Su let out a somewhat disappointed sigh. "Fine, fine. I knew it. It's only natural, I guess. Who cares if these Magical Girls smoke, drink, gamble, have tattoos, go on strike, fight, steal, scam, murder, stomp heads, cheat insurance, crash cars, have depression, act like landmines, or blow themselves up? They're still good girls, right? I mean, look at their faces."
"But seriously, why is it always me who gets screwed? Next time you want to play these little kinky games, can you not drag other people into it? Calling me over to watch you sweet-talk these corporate dogs makes me want to throw up..."
She had a whole belly full of complaints, but Jiang Si had already strode over to the nearest Magical Girl Armed Force member.
"Killing them will be more satisfying."
A blunt announcement.
But the Armed Force member was still beaming brightly. "If you have combat needs, please purchase the custom service package."
His fist drove straight through her head with extreme efficiency, forcibly silencing the advertisement's noise.
"Like this."
Jiang Si tilted his head, blood splattered across his face, and asked Su La calmly, "What do you think?"
All the Magical Girl Armed Force members fired their Mana Cannons simultaneously the next second!
Su La immediately hit the deck.
The massive impact blew the surrounding Magical Girl Armed Force members away. In the thick smoke, the young man stood unharmed, holding two severed heads in his hands, which he casually tossed aside.
He crouched slightly, then shot forward like a flea, with a thunderous *bang*!
Grabbing an armored Magical Girl who had flown up into the air, he crashed with her into a distant skyscraper with a shattering boom!
The live broadcast screen in the city center began to glitch, flickering, then displayed a red alert!
All the Magical Girl Armed Force members swarmed in, their Mana Cannons cross-firing into a chain of explosions that engulfed the field of view!
Bathing in the shrieking error messages and dust, Su La stood up.
She leisurely picked up her phone.
"Yeah, hello? Nightwatchmen hotline? Yeah, it's me, Su. I'm ordering the entire Nightwatchmen unit on this floor to mobilize... For what? Collecting bodies, you idiot. Any body will do. And we need to jam the company's surveillance."
She looked up at the ubiquitous cameras, which began to malfunction one by one. "That's right. Don't let them make a single cent off this."
...
Keke and White Fox were among the first batch to enter Chongxu.
"Listen, Chongxu designs its services based on each person's financial status and repayment ability. So when you buy a full-dive helmet, you absolutely have to hide your wealth. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in an advertising and sales-pitch hell!"
That was supposedly advice from Saint Hall members who had entered earlier. But Keke and White Fox didn't really have any money anyway, so it was fine for them. Although watching the CGs and story inside the game took a bit of time, after they cleared the newbie village dungeon, they basically didn't run into much trouble getting into Chongxu.
Some people even lamented that the entry-level game dungeon was designed so that the more money you spent, the harder it got, and the more ads you saw — you were basically paying to buff the monsters.
But actually, once she got into Chongxu, Keke immediately discovered that Chongxu also had attribute points. And if you didn't spend money in the entry dungeon, you'd be inherently weaker when you got to Chongxu, missing quite a few attribute points.
Also, where you got teleported seemed to be related to your attribute points. They ended up in a lower-level civilian district.
Next, they found out exactly what kind of place Chongxu was.
Everything cost money!
Just living there for two days, with all kinds of breakfast loans, rent loans, water loans, and even sunlight loans, had the two of them gasping for air!
Even breathing cost money!
Accidentally walking down the wrong street could get you fined, forcing you to take out a loan!
Originally, Keke had thought about earning some money to give to her big brother back home. But within a few days, she was already burdened with millions in loans...
Hopefully, Chongxu wouldn't be able to track her brother down. If her brother found out, she'd definitely be dead!
But Keke and White Fox weren't really locals, after all. They still had contact with Saint Hall. Everyone was looking for a way out of Chongxu, and they could go back anytime. They could just pretend they didn't know about the loans...
Many people from the old world in Saint Hall actually thought that living like this wasn't so bad.
It was better than living in fear in the old world, anyway.
And among the items for sale in Chongxu, White Fox actually found a Miracle Seed.
Although she didn't know if it was real or useful, White Fox really wanted to buy one to take a look.
But the price was quite steep, and it seemed like you had to go to the second layer to buy it.
Keke was constantly exchanging information with other Saint Hall members. Some of them had even gone to the second layer already. Word was that it was even more prosperous there, and the goods on sale were even more diverse.
Apparently, they were even selling entire undestroyed worlds.
Truly, in this place, as long as you had money, you could buy anything.
The hard part was that money was hard to earn.
With Teacher Witch Shion backing them up from outside, Keke wasn't really worried about not being able to go back. She was just thinking about whether she could earn enough money to buy some of the world's essence.
Anyway, she was already drowning in debt, so she didn't care. She could just take out another loan, buy a portion of the world's essence, and then run...
Keke figured that stealing a portion of the world's essence in a place like this didn't make her a bad person.
According to Chongxu's arrangement, the two of them were working near a swimming pool on the top floor of a shopping mall. Next to them was some unknown dessert shop. They didn't actually have any work today, though; they were just there to get familiar with the place.
But just as they were about to head back, they found out the mall had been locked down.
Then White Fox and Keke discovered that their loans had increased again, because being trapped in the building for more than a certain amount of time resulted in continuous deductions!
Both of them were starting to get uneasy. At this rate, their credit scores would tank, and they wouldn't even be able to get any more loans. They'd just have to cut their losses and run!
"A fight broke out outside?"
"Sounds like some newcomer is causing trouble. The Magical Girl Armed Force has already been dispatched."
"What a suicidal idiot."
"How long is this lockdown going to last..."
Keke and White Fox sat nervously on the edge near the glass, staring at their accounts. They could also hear the chatter of the customers around them.
Then, both girls were a bit surprised.
The Magical Girl Armed Force?
Even though Chongxu had mana production, it felt so oppressive that it almost didn't seem like a place where miracles could be born.
So Chongxu actually had a Magical Girl Armed Force?
Keke even considered whether she could join to increase her income. From what she overheard, the Magical Girl Armed Force's pay was pretty high, although it didn't seem to have a very good reputation.
Magical Girls who would casually kill, coerce, and deceive people into signing loans...
She couldn't understand how such Magical Girls could exist at all.
Just as Keke was hesitating about whether to go check out the Magical Girl Armed Force, a massive explosion in the distance shook the entire building!
Everyone looked up and out of the building. Thick black smoke surged into the sky from the northern factory district. In the blurry distance, there seemed to be fragments of armor and flesh spraying out...
It was too far away; they couldn't see clearly.
"He's been fighting this long?"
"Is it a variety show?"
"Give me a break! Every variety show in Chongxu is a death sentence!"
Then, a figure crashed into the central building like a missile!
This time, it was much closer. In the mall Keke was in, the glass curtain wall began to fall like a waterfall as the central building shook, and the sound of twisting and breaking steel beams carried falling rubble with it!
The outer wall caved in and twisted inward, and a cloud of dust from concrete and steel rose like a mushroom cloud. The figure inside was clearly visible — it was an armored girl.
"It's the captain of the Magical Girl Armed Force!"
Someone recognized the girl embedded in the wall of the building and shouted.
The others were also shocked.
Then, the attacker also flew in from afar like a meteor, planting his foot directly on the armored girl's head!
It was a young man.
Under the young man's impact, over a hundred stories of the high-rise building collapsed downward, layer by layer, like a squashed cake! In the middle of it, explosions from the armor caused another huge commotion amidst the rubble. The loud noise and tremors were clearly felt even on the ground floor dozens of meters away in the mall!
Light tubes shattered, lights flickered and went out, and load-bearing walls were covered in cracks like spiderwebs!
The customers finally couldn't help but scream in terror, but the security personnel quickly calmed everyone down and had them sit against the walls.
White Fox was gripping Keke's hand so tightly it hurt, but Keke didn't even notice. Both girls were staring intently at the young man who had crashed into the building.
"Big brother?"
Who else could it be but Jiang Si, practically stomping the Magical Girl Armed Force captain into the building?
Seeing the huge panic this was causing, Keke couldn't help but stand up and speak out. "Everyone, it's okay! There's no need to be afraid! He won't hurt innocent people!"
"Sir... is gentle," White Fox added. "He won't kill anyone."
The two girls spoke with conviction, and the crowd, which had been crying and panicking, calmed down a little.
Keke quickly added, "It's fine! Don't be scared! I'm a Magical Girl too! I'll protect everyone!"
The entire building fell into a dead silence.
Then, everyone immediately and tacitly moved away from them, their faces showing a mixture of fear and disgust.
Keke and White Fox looked at each other in confusion. But before they could wonder why, more angry shouts came from outside!
Everyone looked out through the glass.
More Magical Girl Armed Force members were charging at the young man.
Jiang Si effortlessly weaved through the rain of Mana Cannons. Then, with one hand, he plunged his arm into a nearby twenty-plus-story office building.
He uprooted the entire building!
The underground levels of the building were exposed, with broken pipes spewing water jets and gas flames. This million-ton steel-and-concrete behemoth was no more than a throwing javelin in his hand.
Then, completely nonchalant, he swung the building like a club, sweeping the charging Magical Girl Armed Force members away!
As he swung, people inside the office building could faintly be seen falling out like ants, screaming and flailing desperately in the air, plummeting downward!
Some flew out and crashed into other floors. Others were impaled on the exposed steel beams of the building!
A fan-shaped wave of rubble and concrete swallowed up the flying people, covering three entire streets!
Inside the mall, the crowd, which had just calmed down, immediately began screaming in terror again, now joined by a chilling dread!
Accused and cursed at, Keke and White Fox looked up blankly at the young man rampaging and unleashing his power with reckless abandon.
Keke had always had some inkling that her big brother was strong to this degree.
But this kind of wanton disregard... casually killing others...
Even though she knew her brother was a member of the Witch Association, the shock of seeing it with her own eyes still left Keke at a loss.
She was even bewildered.
Brother... how could he kill people?
Then, Sword Energy began to appear around Jiang Si.
He snatched the armor from one of the Magical Girl Armed Force members, put it on, quickly hacked it, and started manipulating the mana inside the armor with ease.
Polluted Magic was condensed into Sword Energy. Layers of sword scars appeared on the surrounding buildings. The Sword Energy spun, roared, and turned into an unstoppable storm!
A Blade Storm.
All matter was caught in this slashing vortex. Asphalt, concrete, steel, glass, dirt, pipes, wires... everything was cut into uniformly sized cubic fragments.
The storm blew all the way over to them.
Keke and White Fox watched as the mall was shredded and blown away in the Blade Storm. The people beside them turned into clouds of blood mist under the blades — before their blood could even spray, it was vaporized by the Sword Energy, forming a crimson aerosol in the air!
Both girls nearly threw up from inhaling the bloody stench.
Like a natural disaster, everything around was trampled and desecrated...
"Cough, cough! Hey, hey, hey! Good evening, everyone! Is it evening now? I hope not. I hate staying up late. My carefully maintained skin will break out."
"But don't worry. Mr. Startled by the Unaware will give you the most perfect sleep. This is the beginning of Chongxu's change, and the end of your rotten lives."
"Listen to me, with this line... Oh, I can't stand it. I'm so damn artsy. Anyway, I'm dedicating this song to you all. My favorite, 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik' in G major. I know it might be a bit too highbrow, but I think it'll give you all a good dream."
"Good night, everyone. Love you all. Yours, Su. *mwah*."
Standing on the highest rooftop, as her favorite serenade performed by Karl Böhm began to play, her body unconsciously swayed to its proper and elegant rhythm.
The chaotic and collapsing first layer of Chongxu lay beneath her feet.
Raging flames and billowing smoke violently sent the stench of blood and various burning smells into the sky.
Until the last of the loan-promoting advertisements died down.
Su La took a deep breath, braving the howling wind, spread her arms in ecstasy, and let out a wild laugh:
"Hell yeah! This is what it means to be alive!"
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