Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

As Lin Xiaolu stepped over an intersection along the path she perceived, a chilling sensation pricked her back, causing her to suddenly halt.

"Wait a minute!"

She shouted instinctively, balancing on one leg, and retreated while conjuring a magic bullet, which she hurled in front of her—

—"Boom!"

The sudden explosion made Mint and Bai Jingxuan, standing behind, raise their hands to shield themselves from the shockwave.

"Phew... cough, cough, cough..."

Being the closest to the explosion, Lin Xiaolu naturally didn't feel well, coughing twice as she landed on the ground before standing up with a frown, her voice hoarse: "Are there actually such dangerous traps in this assessment? That's too harsh, isn't it?"

"Are you okay, Sister Xiaolu?" Bai Jingxuan moved behind Lin Xiaolu, gently patting her back, guessing aloud, "Is it a hidden rule?"

"Let me check." Mint volunteered, passing by the two of them, tiptoeing to the site of the explosion, searched briefly, then straightened up and said:

"No, probably not a hidden rule, because I'm afraid this wasn't set up by the examiners."

"Huh?" Lin Xiaolu, crouching, lifted her head, her gaze becoming much sharper: "What's going on?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it's probably a trap set by another team here?"

Mint stroked her smooth chin, her expression thoughtful: "Having explored to this point, although I haven't found what the examiners truly hid, I've almost figured out their method of setting up challenges. That is, regardless of the form of challenge, there will definitely be clues. Yet around this explosive trap, there were no signs, no magic power fluctuation, no highlights, no sounds... Such a trap doesn't seem like the work of the examiners."

"Someone is trying to harm us?" Lin Xiaolu didn't question Mint's analysis, because even she felt the timing of the trap's appearance was quite odd. She told Bai Jingxuan "I'm fine," then returned to the explosion site: "So, it means there might be another team lurking nearby?"

"Possibly ahead, but probably not nearby."

Mint shook her head: "If they wanted to ambush us, the best opportunity would be right at the explosion, yet no one showed up. Either they believed the trap's lethality was enough to reduce our team, or they realized you weren't hurt in the explosion, so they chose to retreat."

Lin Xiaolu took a deep breath, then pursed her lips in frustration.

She really wanted to curse the despicable cunning of such people, but now she realized that's what this assessment tests.

To be precise, the entire project revolves around the core ability of a Magical Girl, which is "Magical Power Perception."

Whether it's finding the exit of the maze, exploring hidden objects within the maze, or dealing with the rule that seems to prohibit attacking other candidates but actually encourages ambushes... all these things emphasize "perceptive ability."

Only a Magical Girl with sufficiently strong perceptive abilities can emerge victorious in these trials.

The fact that she almost got caught in such a trap was due to her perceptive abilities not being sharp enough; if Emerald Sparrow were here, she would have sensed something amiss from a great distance.

"...So what should we do, do we continue forward?"

After sulking for a while, she spoke again: "Since they're ahead of us in this corridor, they might likely continue to set traps, right?"

"Most likely."

Mint nodded: "But, for this reason, my recommendation is to keep going forward."

"Why?" Lin Xiaolu looked confused.

"Firstly, we need to assume the leader and decision-maker of the other team aren't fools, but rational people."

Mint looked at Lin Xiaolu: "If their thinking is normal, why would they want to ambush us?"

"Do they need a reason? By eliminating us, there are fewer competitors."

Lin Xiaolu put her hand on her hip: "Worried about opponents achieving better results than themselves, so they strike first, right?"

"Come on... think about it, how many people are actually participating in this assessment?"

Mint seemed a bit helpless: "Eliminating just one team, there are still so many competitors; what advantage does it gain?"

"It's because we're strong, of course."

Lin Xiaolu blinked: "They want to take out the most threatening opponent... so they targeted us."

Mint fell silent.

This time, she leaned back, resting against the hedge wall, her chest heaving, and after a long pause she spoke: "I personally think maybe they discovered something ahead, but couldn't get it immediately, so they set up a blockade here."

"Discovered something?" Bai Jingxuan asked from the side.

"...I don't know."

Mint rolled her eyes: "Because I'm just guessing, thinking there might be a secret in this maze, but as for what the secret is, we haven't found it yet."

"So, in the end, there's no secret, right?" Lin Xiaolu looked suspicious: "We've looked for so long and haven't seen anything; I think you're just overthinking."

"Maybe they're messing with us again," Bai Jingxuan agreed.

"No, I think I've made my thoughts clear enough, haven't I, ladies?"

Mint took a sharp breath: "Why is there no exit now? Why is there likely a secret hidden in the maze? I've explained it clearly to you all, and didn't you all say you understood?"

"So it's all your theory, what if the examiner really didn't think that much?" Lin Xiaolu retorted confidently.

"I think she's just playing with us, Sister Xiaolu," Bai Jingxuan clenched her fists eagerly.

Mint looked at her two teammates, couldn't help but sigh again, and held her head in her hands.

She leaned against the wall again, silently held her head for a while, then looked up, mouth agape, as if making some silent moan, her painful appearance drawing sympathy.

Yet, as the three's communication reached a deadlock, a voice cut through, interrupting Mint's state of utter collapse.

——[Additional notice, additional notice]

This voice echoed throughout the maze, and judging by the tone alone, it was clearly that examiner who had appeared before everyone before the exam, drawing the attention of all candidates still exploring.

[Due to Team 277 first solving the first puzzle, they have received extra points. Therefore, rule four and the first hidden rule are hereby announced.]

[Rule four: Certain locations within the maze hide special puzzles. Discovering and solving the puzzles can earn bonus points and provide a shortcut exclusive to that team. All puzzles and rewards are one-time consumables and non-transferable. Point rewards will be settled before the second practical assessment, so they won't reset due to failing, encouraging all candidates to explore actively.]

[Repeating: due to Team 277 first...]

The voice continued throughout the maze for a while, repeating the content twice, likely to make sure everyone heard it clearly.

After the voice disappeared, many teams within the maze, including Lin Xiaolu and the others, fell into a state of bewildered gazes at each other.

Lin Xiaolu glanced at Mint, looking somewhat awkward.

Bai Jingxuan looked at Lin Xiaolu and Mint, then quietly hid behind Lin Xiaolu.

Mint crossed her arms, sneering: "Go on, keep talking, why not say it's just me overthinking?"

Lin Xiaolu indeed wanted to crawl into a hole, but now she had nowhere else to rely on and also had to be Bai Jingxuan's support, so she forced herself to say: "Ah, turns out it's real."

"Hmm, turns out it's real."

Mint stared at the two for a while, eventually lowered her arms: "Forget it, points are more important. Now you should believe the other team probably found a 'puzzle.' Because they don't want anyone meddling, they chose this way to block the path."

"...Makes sense."

Knowing she was at fault, Lin Xiaolu continued to respond bravely.

"So now what we should do is ride on success and take the best revenge on them by snatching their possible puzzle."

Mint stood back in the crossroads center, facing ahead: "The only problem might be that we don't know how many traps they actually set..."

Lin Xiaolu looked ahead at the passage, feeling the deep, unseen darkness was full of bombs: "...But I actually have another question."

"What?" Mint squinted at her.

"Since they've already ambushed us, it's possible they already know our appearance features, right?"

Though feeling awkward, Lin Xiaolu still tried hard to express her point: "What if we snatch their puzzle, eliminate them, and then get identified afterward?"

"That's true... That does make it rather difficult."

Mint agreed, nodding her head: "If they already know our identity, then even if we ambush them and act swiftly, there's still a possibility of them blindly guessing when identifying us afterward, posing some risk."

"Is there any other way?" Lin Xiaolu inquired.

"Even if you ask me now about that..." Mint scratched her head in distress.

——"Um, I think there's a way that might work," Bai Jingxuan interrupted at this moment.

So the other two turned their gaze towards her.

"Actually, the explosion trap earlier slightly blackened the surrounding walls, and although it didn't damage the passage, I think this proves it's still somewhat useful."

Bai Jingxuan placed her hands on Lin Xiaolu's shoulders, poking her head out from behind her: "Then if we can find all their traps and release a little more Magic Power, detonating them all at once..."

"Ah."

"Ah."

Lin Xiaolu and Mint both extended their fingers, pointing at each other, then pointed at Bai Jingxuan.

——"It might actually work!"