Chapter 13: Yaoguang

“I’m heading out, Mom. Just explore the neighborhood today to get familiar. If you get lost, use the phone’s navigation.”

Early morning, Jiang Yao, schoolbag slung over her shoulder, waved to Jiang Lingwei at the door.

“Alright, be careful. I’m buying groceries today, so you’ll eat my cooking tonight.”

“Mhm!”

Jiang Yao grinned brightly. “Sounds good!”

Through the window, Jiang Lingwei watched her daughter leave.

Time flies, she thought. In a blink, her daughter was grown, off to school alone.

No, it’s not just “seems like.” 😰

A sudden worry hit her.

‘Wait, what if she’s bullied at school? She mentioned something about hurtful comments before.’

She’d meant to ask, but Jiang Yao was gone.

If needed, she could transform, swap to casual clothes instead of her spirit outfit, change her hair color, and sneak into the school unnoticed.

Jiang Lingwei powered on Jiang Yao’s old phone, inserted her daughter’s SIM card, and opened the Wandu map app after a quick setup.

Despite being old, the phone outperformed her 2012 memories.

Frowning, she muttered, “…So this is what she meant by moving from her hometown…”

They’d lived in Songji City, inland, but now were in Mudong City, further south.

She’d never heard of Mudong—likely a new city.

Sounds like a place ripe for a gas explosion.

Searching Songji City online, two words hit her: “Restricted Area.”

“…”

Her breathing quickened.

Webpages overflowed with reports about the “first generation.”

Most were blurry photos, lacking real details.

Tied to this was the dark disaster from ten years ago, officially called [Invasion of Malicious Magical Creatures from Another World].

Jiang Yao’s “large-scale appearance” was a polite understatement.

Even after a decade, the Dark Scourge’s shadow lingered in victims’ hearts.

Jiang Lingwei wasn’t surprised.

Dark creatures thrived on breaking ordinary people’s wills.

Victims’ fear and despair fed those vile maggots.

This was why magical girls erased victims’ memories.

Online, she found little concrete news—just baseless speculation.

Songji City’s new title: “The source of the dark disaster.”

Now a government-sealed restricted zone.

Every year, “Uncle Hat” caught thrill-seeking youths sneaking into Songji City.

Many who evaded capture vanished entirely.

Per online reports, the demonic invasion ten years ago, centered in Songji City, swept surrounding cities instantly.

Physical weapons were useless against magical, corrupted creatures.

Dark minions opened new portals rapidly, plunging the world into chaos.

“Ten years ago…”

That was 2022.

She’d entered the sanatorium in 2021, a year earlier.

A connection?

Jiang Lingwei scrolled, hunting for clues.

On a forum, she found a post from fifteen years ago—2017:

My friend and I met a giant spider monster in a park. A black beam saved us, but my friend forgot everything. I have nightmares daily. I’m going crazy. Has anyone else seen this? If it’s a nightmare, it’s too real. Please, tell me it’s not true!

Her heart pounded.

Classic Zero Generation style—amnesia!

The poster likely fainted, slipping through the memory wipe.

The black beam’s savior was almost certainly one of her teammates.

Excited, she wanted to reply but lacked a forum account.

No rush. Once Jiang Yao got her ID, she’d register one.

‘We’ve waited years. No need to hurry now.’

Still, a question nagged.

‘A black beam? None of us had black energy magic. Did I forget something?’

After digging through the closet, Jiang Lingwei chose a formal white shirt suit and headed out.

Leaving the neighborhood, she fumbled with a ride-hailing app.

A driverless taxi soon pulled up.

Unfamiliar with 2032’s tech, she hopped in.

Her destination: a bustling commercial street.

Such places often had jobs with low entry barriers.

Sadly, despite her stellar grades, she likely never finished high school, stuck with a junior high education.

Good jobs were out of reach.

No ID didn’t help.

The government offered magical girls benefits—a potential income source.

But she couldn’t just declare, “I’m a first-generation magical girl, give me money!”

Having protected people in the shadows too long, she opposed exposing magical girls widely.

Especially since victims’ memories weren’t erased.

Online, she found many survivors still haunted.

Therapy programs existed, aided by magical girls, but progress was slow.

Jiang Lingwei couldn’t fathom it.

Leaving victims’ memories intact for “humanitarianism” seemed backward.

Cautious and dissenting, she avoided official channels for now.

That left finding a job herself.

Once she earned her first paycheck, she’d return Jiang Yao’s bank card.

No way she’d use a stranger’s money!

The taxi stopped.

The lively commercial street felt oddly familiar.

No matter the era, bustling streets teemed with chattering, laughing young couples.

She searched for coffee shops, expecting job postings on door signs.

‘Do they still do that after twenty years?’

She’d worked in a coffee shop before—experience she could leverage.

Hand-brewed coffee never went out of style.

Surely high-tech hadn’t replaced that!

Observing the world like a curious child, she hunted for job leads.

Her striking appearance drew eyes, but thankfully, no pushy rich guys bothered her.

That trope was cliché in her era’s novels!

Then her gaze caught something, freezing her steps.

She stopped at a café’s door.

“Yaoguang Coffee…”

Reading the sign, her fingers tightened.

A small comet symbol sat beside the name.

The name, the sign—they were etched in her memory.

In a daze, she saw phantoms of girls laughing as they entered the café.

An echo from the past, calling out in this new era.