Chapter 11: The transfer teacher…!?

[Status self-check…]

[Individual transformation level: Low]

[■■ Learning progress: Behind]

[Initiating catalyst deployment…]

Another seemingly ordinary day, at least on the surface.

Lin Feng waved a retractable toy pointer he’d snagged from some toy store, passionately lecturing about his “Miss Zero Data Analysis Report” scribbled on a small whiteboard.

“Based on the footage of her kicking that werewolf in Xishan District, I conservatively estimate Miss Zero’s kick strength at over fifteen tons! And that’s calculated assuming she used no magic at all—what a stats monster!”

Dongfang Cheng was secretly shocked that Lin Feng could estimate his transformed self’s punch and kick strength from a video, but he kept his usual half-listening, half-ignoring demeanor.

In truth, after that dazzling rescue in Xishan District’s villa, the black-clad magical girl dubbed “Zero” by netizens had vanished like she’d evaporated. Over the next week, two monster attacks in Duhuang City were handled by the four-color magical girl team, minus their injured member, Sakura Pink.

Without Sakura Pink’s support, the shorthanded team looked exhausted, their performance noticeably slipping.

And so, online chatter about “Zero replacing Sakura Pink” started to spread. It began with a small group of hardcore fans hyping her up, but under someone’s deliberate guidance, it snowballed into a feud between Zero’s supporters and fans of the original five-member magical girl team.

The internet erupted with noise—wild “insider scoops” and “deep analyses” popped up endlessly, forcing the team’s leader, Fengxiang Hong, to make a public statement last night after repelling another Ouroboros attack. Exhausted, she faced a barrage of media questions and firmly denied baseless claims like “four against one,” “internal power struggles,” or “Sakura Pink being sidelined.”

But the discourse had already turned into a tribal war. Fans of the original five lashed out, treating Fengxiang Hong’s words as gospel and branding dissenters as “traitorous haters.” Meanwhile, many of Zero’s so-called supporters—mostly chaos-loving trolls—mocked the five-member team with snarky rhetoric, stirring the pot further.

[“You’re a true magical girl.”]

[“Our abilities are a great match.”]

[“We’re ready to fight alongside you.”]

[“Some magical girls lack professional ethics.”]

Dongfang Cheng, head aching, pressed the power button on his phone to dim the screen, wondering if he should make a statement as Zero to disown his brainless fans.

But then he recalled last night’s news—Fengxiang Hong, hounded by reporters for nearly three hours, practically fleeing in disarray. Never great at handling such scenes, Dongfang Cheng quietly dropped the unrealistic idea.

After all, the class leader was still slumped over her desk, eyes vacant, looking utterly burned out.

Beside her, Hoshino Kirara waved her tiny fists in righteous fury. “What sixth member? Replacing Xiao Tao Gong? Some mysterious, fist-swinging thug wants to kick our adorable Xiao Tao Gong off the team? I bet she’s an Ouroboros spy sent to mess with us! Class leader, don’t take it to heart—calm down…”

From Miss Hoshino’s tone, she’d clearly marked Zero as an enemy. But as she turned, her spiral twin-tails whipped Fengxiang Hong’s face. Dongfang Cheng tried his hardest not to laugh, earning a glare from Kirara that could pierce steel.

“Haa…” Fengxiang Hong lifted her head weakly from the desk, her bloodshot eyes showing. “Kirara, don’t say that. We don’t know much about this ‘Zero’ yet, so we can’t judge her rashly. If she’s truly righteous, we could be friends and fight together. Don’t forget, she saved Xiao Tao Gong once.”

“That time… she just stole our credit…” Kirara’s stubborn voice trailed off.

The red-haired girl paused. “The real issue now is that someone’s clearly manipulating public opinion to sow discord. We can’t let these schemers use us or let rumors make us turn on Zero—that’s exactly what the mastermind wants.”

Just then, the classroom door slid open. Their homeroom teacher, Mizuse Kazuha, stepped in. She wore her usual tailored navy-blue suit, her hair pinned in a meticulous bun, looking as sharp and capable as ever. But her refined face betrayed a trace of exhaustion, with dark circles even her makeup couldn’t hide—likely from the recent online chaos.

“Everyone, settle down,” Mizuse Kazuha said, stepping to the podium and tapping the desk lightly with her slender fingers to quiet the noisy classroom. “I have an announcement.”

“As you all know, our previous math teacher, Suzuki-sensei, retired early last week due to health issues. Starting today, a new teacher will take over our math classes.”

“Woo! New teacher!” The classroom buzzed with excitement.

Lin Feng and Dongfang Cheng exchanged glances, each catching a hint of schadenfreude in the other’s eyes. They had no love for their old, balding math teacher. Sure, the guy had experience and taught clearly enough, but his rigid, old-fashioned style, snail-paced lessons, and habit of running overtime—plus his mountain of homework—made him unbearable.

Not that Dongfang Cheng ever did the homework, and Lin Feng just paid someone to do it for him.

“What do you think the new math teacher will be like?” Lin Feng whispered, nudging Dongfang Cheng with his elbow. “Another bald guy? Plaid shirt tucked into his pants?”

“Maybe,” Dongfang Cheng played along. “Or some fresh grad who’ll stutter when they see us, so we won’t get nagged for skipping homework.”

They were both wrong.

The new math teacher, replacing the old man, was a polished, runway-model-level heartthrob. When he walked in, the classroom froze for two seconds before the girls’ screams nearly blew the roof off.

Dongfang Cheng rolled his eyes. If the third-years weren’t out on a field trip today, some teacher would’ve stormed down within minutes to shut them up.