Chapter 41: Is Virtualization a conceptual ability?

Ms. Song was startled by the sudden turn of events, her fingers fumbling, nearly dropping her phone.
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
“What… what’s going on? A virus? Or some kind of prank?”

The night market, too, fell into a deathly silence at the abrupt “death notice,” followed by an uproar that pierced the sky.

“Holy crap! My phone’s been hacked?”

“A death notice?! That’s insane! A live broadcast announcing a murder?”

“Zhang Biao, Li Qiang, Ma Hua… aren’t those the three animals from that school bullying case?!”

“Hell yeah! Whoever this is, they’ve got guts!”

Amid the chaotic chatter, only Bai Wanting stared at the forced pop-up black livestream on her phone screen, her eyes gleaming with fascination and admiration.
She knew exactly whose handiwork this was.
She just hadn’t expected her soft, clingy little darling to pull off something this bold.
Wow, her baby was amazing!
Her Xiaoya was so efficient, so decisive.
Absolutely cool!
But one thing did surprise her.
It was the first time she realized Xiaoya’s intangibility ability could extend to something as abstract as the internet.
Bai Wanting ventured a bolder guess—
Could Lin Qingya’s intangibility not just be optical invisibility or physical penetration, but… a conceptual ability?
Or perhaps… was it because her own magic had tainted Xiaoya’s essence, triggering this terrifying evolution?
Making her existence void, extending even to “erasing” concepts like “account information” or “digital traces”?
If intangibility was indeed a conceptual ability, was it unique to Xiaoya, or could other magical girls’ abilities also deepen into conceptual realms?
Did magical girls truly understand their own powers, or were there uses even they hadn’t yet discovered?
If so, the magical girl system held even more secrets worth exploring…
But that was for later.
For now, Bai Wanting could only sigh in awe: My Xiaoya is so cool~ Ahhh!
She couldn’t wait to see what surprise Xiaoya had in store for midnight.
What kind of show would her Xiaoya put on?
Bai Wanting’s mind was already racing with anticipation.
But… if any annoying little rats dared to interfere with her watching her baby’s performance, they’d probably meet a gruesome end…

“Xiaobai, what are you looking at?”
Ms. Song noticed the eerie smile on Bai Wanting’s face and felt a shiver run down her spine.

“Oh, nothing, just stumbled across an interesting video~”
Bai Wanting pocketed her phone, slipping back into her gentle, neighborly-sister persona.
“Just thinking… tonight’s night market is really exciting, isn’t it?”

Meanwhile, in a dark alley, Lin Qingya lowered her phone, the flickering white data noise on the screen fading with her will.
This was her first attempt at applying her “intangibility” ability to the internet.
She hadn’t expected it to have such a use.
Just moments ago, she had glanced at the “Magical Girl Family” group chat and saw Wei Re’s compiled information from their earlier discussion posted in the group.
A spark of inspiration hit her—she could use a livestream to blow this matter wide open, exposing those bullies’ vile crimes to the world.
But livestreaming would reveal her phone number and identity, and it wouldn’t reach a large audience quickly. Even if it did, the content would surely be shut down by network administrators.
This left her hesitating.
After much thought, a bold idea struck her—what if she tried using her intangibility ability on the internet?
If “intangibility” could make her body disappear from the physical world, could it… make her “identity” vanish from the virtual world too?
She wasn’t sure if it was possible, but a strong instinct urged her to try.
And so, almost as if guided by fate, she channeled her magic into her phone—and discovered her livestream account had been created out of thin air.
Her intangibility ability even acted like a hacker, “erasing” the entire network, forcing her livestream onto the screens of everyone using electronic devices.
What followed was the scene Bai Wanting had witnessed.
Lin Qingya had thought her ability was already overpowered, but she hadn’t anticipated this game-changing application.
For the first time, she felt a profound shock and doubt about her own power.
Her intangibility could affect something as intangible as the internet?
She couldn’t help but share Bai Wanting’s suspicion—could intangibility be a conceptual ability?
She had thought she understood her power well enough.
Invisibility, true damage, invincibility.
But now, it seemed far more complex.
What exactly was “intangibility”?
Turning real existence into nothingness? Or… granting the concept of nothingness to reality?
The thought sent a chill through her, yet it also filled her with an unprecedented sense of power.
Lin Qingya shook her head, pushing these complex thoughts aside.
Now wasn’t the time for this.
Less than three hours remained until midnight.
She still had much to do.
Her figure melted into the darkness once more, vanishing without a trace.

At the same time, in the basement storage room of Jinmao Commercial Building, Xia Momo, Su Xingcui, and Yang Yuxin had just finished listening to Jin Ling recount her magical girl missions.

“I’ve completed seven missions, and every single one felt deeply off,” Jin Ling said, her expression grave.
“They always guide me to do things that seem just on the surface but are riddled with problems upon closer inspection.”
“You all need to be careful. Don’t let the missions lead you by the nose, and don’t let the promise of ‘granting any wish’ cloud your judgment.”
Jin Ling propped her chin, her golden eyes filled with exhaustion and wariness.

Wei Re listened with lingering fear.
“Like this time, when you and Ling Lan and Xin Lü ended up fighting…”

Ling Lan’s brows furrowed as she analyzed coolly.
“So, the entity issuing these missions might not be about upholding justice at all. It could be deliberately stirring conflict or even… screening something.”
Her words cast a heavy mood over the other three.

Just then, all four of their transformation devices lit up with a piercing red glow.
Buzz—
The devices emitted a shrill beep, signaling a new mission.
A cold task window forcibly appeared before their eyes.

[Emergency Mission Issued]
[Mission Objective: Proceed immediately to the city police station and protect three teenagers targeted by a livestreamed death threat: Zhang Biao, Li Qiang, Ma Hua, at all costs.]
[Mission Time Limit: Until the unknown assailant is successfully stopped.]
[Warning: This mission is of high importance, concerning the reputation and standing of magical girls with official authorities. All members must treat it with utmost seriousness. Failure will result in the deduction of two mission counts!]
[Note: To ensure the success of this mission, police forces will treat you as cooperative partners. You will have the highest operational authority within the police station until the crisis is resolved.]

Reading the mission details, all four girls froze in shock.