The villainous magical girl's daily mission is to find fault.

Chapter 136 Autumn Poplar Arcade

The following day, Wanda Plaza, Jinyang District, Chengdu.

Wanda Plaza was bustling with activity today, being the weekend.

People of all ages were there, but young people made up the majority. Many of them were dressed in cosplay costumes or carrying ita bags, making it as lively as a comic convention.

On a typical weekend, this somewhat old shopping mall wouldn't be this bustling. It all started because of a guy whose name was practically the talk of the town's student community—

"Qiubaiyang Arcade is now open!"

"Retired magical girl re-enters the workforce! From now until the following Lunar New Year, magical girl Akihiro herself will be performing every weekend!"

Visitors who enter with the Autumn Poplar merchandise will immediately receive 5 game tokens to enjoy all the arcade games!

Su Tianqing turned off her Xiaomi phone and looked up at the incredibly eye-catching signboard of Wanda Plaza not far away:

"Autumn Poplar Arcade," the golden-haired fox murmured to itself.

"It's quite impressive," Nan Jiayu echoed, standing next to Su Tianqing.

"I wonder what it's like inside..." Xia Taotao huddled behind the two of them, peeking out at the bustling crowd in the distance, and whispered.

Magical Girl Qiu Baiyang – anyone familiar with related knowledge will certainly be familiar with this retired magical girl.

For magical girls, the Hero Association has no mandatory service regulations; whether or not they retire is entirely up to their own wishes.

Qiu Baiyang is also the member of the Rongcheng Magical Girls team who has persisted the longest. After Chi Xue and Zi Dingxiang retired one after another, this magical girl has been sticking to the front line of the fight against the Rongcheng monsters.

It wasn't until more than half a year ago, when the new stargazer arrived in Chengdu and the magical girl Hyacinth made her dazzling debut, that Qiu Baiyang officially announced his retirement.

"I never expected her to start a side business after retirement..." Su Tianqing muttered to herself.

"She probably felt restless staying at home, right? I heard the Hero Association gives her a very generous pension, otherwise she wouldn't be able to afford such a big arcade," Xia Taotao chimed in.

The three exchanged a glance and remained silent in tacit agreement.

Soon, three figures appeared at the subway entrance not far away.

Nan Xiaofeng, who was leading the group, was wearing a not-too-thick winter coat. He saw two figures, one in gold and one in dark blue, waving and jogging towards them from afar.

"Sister Jiayu! Sister Tianqing!"

"Good morning, little wind!"

Su Tianqing waved politely to her, and immediately hid behind Nan Jiayu before Nan Xiaofeng could get closer.

The deep blue catgirl wore a kind smile and gave Nan Xiaofeng a deep look as he tried to reach for the fluffy tail.

The Fox-Sucking Monster suffered a major defeat.

"Good morning, Sister Tianqing and Sister Jiayu."

Hua Ling then came over and greeted them politely.

Compared to Nan Xiaofeng's youthful and energetic outfit, Hua Ling appeared much more elegant.

Whether it's the long dress, the knitted sweater, or the hair clip that swept her bangs to her forehead, everything made this already quiet girl appear even more elegant.

Excellent, no wonder she's one of the magical girls I've set my sights on! Her fashion sense is definitely better than that Hyacinth boy's!

Before Su Tianqing could even compliment Hua Ling's clothes, a young girl in a pale yellow dress suddenly appeared behind her—

"Ta-da! Good morning, everyone!"

Lin Muyao appeared before everyone, radiating energy.

She wore a pale yellow dress and a pale yellow wig, and even held a slightly plastic-looking magic wand toy in her hand, winking at everyone.

The three foxes stood there stunned, while Nan Xiaofeng and Hua Ling seemed a little embarrassed.

"Ah... Sister Mu Yao, you..." Su Tianqing was somewhat at a loss.

Of course, he knew that Lin Muyao's true identity was the magical girl Nightingale. Judging from Nan Xiaofeng and Hua Ling's reactions, they were probably unaware of it beforehand. Lin Muyao's outfit had clearly shocked Nan Jiayu and Xia Taotao as well.

This magical girl is cosplaying herself after her transformation, Magical Girl Nightingale.

"It's cosplay!" Lin Muyao said with a smile. "How is it? I made this outfit myself, isn't it pretty?"

"It's so beautiful! It looks just like a nightingale!"

Su Tianqing gave a thumbs up without hesitation, and Lin Muyao's face was full of a happy smile.

The three then noticed the pink-haired rabbit girl peeking out from behind the fox.

"Hmm? Sister Tianqing, who is this...?"

"This is Xia Taotao, my and Xiaoyu's classmate. She also really likes magical girls," Su Tianqing quickly introduced the three people in front of her.

The socially anxious rabbit barely managed to suppress its impending social anxiety-induced cyberbullying disorder and timidly greeted the three of them.

Looking at her pink bunny ears, Hua Ling seemed to remember something.

Have you ever encountered a similar pink bunny girl on the subway?

...They're probably just fellow orcs. With so many orcs in Rongcheng, it's quite normal to see orcs with the same fur color.

Hua Ling said to herself.

...

The mall was still bustling with activity.

The arcade was located on the top floor of the mall. The group chatted and laughed as they strolled around the mall. When they arrived at the entrance of Qiubaiyang Arcade, they were still quite shocked by the bustling crowd inside.

This arcade occupies almost the entire top floor of the mall, emanating laughter and the sound effects and music of various arcade games, which is quite intriguing.

"It's bigger than I imagined," Su Tianqing said.

"Yeah, I thought it was just a gimmick, but I didn't expect Qiu Baiyang to actually do it."

Even Nan Xiaofeng was surprised and exclaimed.

As Qiu Baiyang's direct descendant, Nan Xiaofeng has a deep affection for her senior and, as a new generation of magical girl, paid her the highest tribute when she decided to retire.

Even now, Nan Xiaofeng still remembers what this senior said to him on the rooftop of the Hero Association headquarters:

"This city, and the lives and safety of the tens of millions of people in it, are in your hands."

"I've been fighting for over twenty years now, it's time for me to take a break."

Nan Xiaofeng was so moved that she burst into tears.

I thought I would never see this senior again in my life, but I didn’t expect that she would still be able to stay at home and opened an arcade named after herself.

"I heard that Qiu Baiyang really likes playing arcade games."

"I've heard about it too; it seems that rumor is indeed true."

"Then maybe... Qiu Baiyang is playing games among these tourists right now...?"

Having received five free coins, the group went to buy their own game tokens while discussing a bizarre conspiracy theory.

Just as this conspiracy theory began to take hold, the group turned a corner and were immediately drawn to an indoor shooting amusement park with an exaggeratedly large area in front of them.

Adults and children ran and chased each other, laughing, in an obstacle course filled with obstacles, each holding a magical girl's wand and shooting harmless beams of magic at one another.

Those hit by the magic ray will be immediately teleported to a safe area outside the arena. Everyone has a happy smile on their face, and then they immediately look up to check their scoreboard.

"Hmm? This looks pretty fun." Nan Xiaofeng said in surprise.

"I know this!" Su Tianqing immediately replied.

"It's said that Qiu Baiyang himself crafted these wands, imbuing them with harmless teleportation magic, and created this chaotic shooting game!"

"I heard that if you win just one match, you can get a limited-edition laser ticket personally signed by Qiu Baiyang!"

Upon hearing what Fox said, the group's attention immediately turned to the shooting game area.

Everyone wore expressions of anticipation, yet these expressions hinted at an impending bloodbath.