I'm a magical girl in the future

Chapter 45 Discussion

Lu Yue and Shen Zixin were already sitting facing each other on opposite sides of the dining table, where dishes and several cans of beer were laid out.

"Is it convenient to have something cold today?" Shen Zixin asked, looking at the iced beer on the table. "If it's not convenient, I'll get something non-iced."

"No problem!" Lu Yue smiled, picked up a can of beer, opened it, and gulped it down.

"Ah, that feels good! The weather's still so hot, drinking ice-cold beer is so refreshing." Lu Yue let out a long sigh, then seemed to remember something—"Where's Xiao Ling?"

"She went out to eat," Shen Zixin said. "It was just the two of us at lunchtime today."

"I see," Lu Yue lowered her head, thinking of what her younger brother had mentioned on the phone earlier: "Little brother, didn't you say you had something very important to tell me? What exactly was it?"

"Hmm." Shen Zixin also picked up a can of beer, but didn't open it right away.

He pondered how to begin.

Try to subtly inquire... maybe ask.

Shen Zixin straightened her expression. "We're family, aren't we?"

Lu Yue was taken aback for a moment, "Why are you suddenly asking this... Of course we're important family."

"Well, since we're family, I hope we... won't hide anything from each other."

"I'm an adult now. If you have any problems, can I help you with them?"

Shen Zixin took a deep breath—

"Sis...are you... hiding anything from me?"

Lu Yue's gaze drifted away guiltily, avoiding her brother's eyes.

There was a moment of silence between them. Lu Yue picked up her beer, took a big gulp, and gave a wry smile. "Since you asked that, it means you must have sensed something, right..."

"If my own younger brother finds out that I've been hiding something... I really need to explain."

Shen Zixin remained silent. He quietly looked at Lu Yue, waiting for her reply.

"Mainly because you were all young back then." Lu Yue withdrew her gaze and looked at Shen Zixin again.

The carefree smile that used to grace her face had faded, replaced by a look of maturity and world-weariness.

"When we first moved to Yuehua City... you were only 16, right? Xiaoling was only 9. I... didn't want you to worry too much."

"However... you're getting on in years, I think... it's time I can tell you." Lu Yue gave a wry smile, as if she had made up her mind—

"Actually, I'm a magical girl."

"...Is that so?" Shen Zixin's reaction surprised Lu Yue. He simply nodded slightly, as if he already knew the answer.

Lu Yue looked slightly puzzled: "You seem...not surprised at all. Did you already have a premonition?"

"Mm." Shen Zixin nodded again, without offering any further explanation.

He couldn't very well say that it was another "self" who told him that. Explaining it would be too complicated, so he'd just go along with it and accept it for now.

Shen Zixin pulled the tab on his beer and took a sip. The cold beer, with its slightly bitter taste, calmed his chaotic thoughts a little.

"Being a magical girl... is indeed quite dangerous most of the time."

Lu Yue lowered her head and slowly said, "Besides, usually, magical girls... don't tell their families about their identity. Besides causing them unnecessary worry..."

"There's also the issue of confidentiality," Shen Zixin naturally continued.

"A magical girl's family is also important information. Once her identity is exposed, her family could become a vulnerability that can be attacked. Considering that we were all just children at the time and lacked the ability to protect ourselves, that's why you chose to hide it, right?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long." Lu Yue's voice was full of apology, but also a hint of relief.

"What are you saying?" Shen Zixin's previously calm face finally broke into a smile. "I certainly won't blame you for this. After all, you didn't want us to worry. Besides... we're family, after all."

"Hehe... Little brother, you've really grown up." Lu Yue's expression softened as she picked up the wine jar and gently tapped it against the one in Shen Zixin's hand.

"It's so nice to be family with you..."

In that instant, Shen Zixin felt all her doubts and suspicions about her sister melt away.

The siblings continued drinking, one cup after another.

Those things that are not easily said on ordinary days can be discussed under the influence of alcohol.

So, Shen Zixin also shifted the topic to "that" issue that she had always cared about:

"Sis, the place we lived in when we were kids... that laboratory of the Civil Defense Bureau... what exactly did it do?"

"If you'd like to hear it, I can tell you."

Lu Yue put down the wine jar in her hand, her expression gradually becoming serious.

"After all, I was one of the oldest kids in the lab back then, and I know a lot of inside information. Combined with the information I've gathered over the years, I can roughly guess what's going on. However—"

Lu Yue hesitated for a moment.

"You're just an ordinary person... Do you really want to know these dark secrets of the magical girl world? Some truths, once you know them, might not be a good thing."

Uh... I really want to tell my older sister right now that I'm a magical girl now, not an ordinary person. But the atmosphere right now doesn't seem suitable for saying something like that.

Let's wait until she finishes speaking before confessing at a suitable time.

"Sister, you tell me, I'm also very curious about what secrets the place where I spent my childhood holds."

"Hmm," Lu Yue said, seeing his resolute attitude, and stopped talking. "You should be able to tell that the place where we spent our childhood was a laboratory, right?"

"So have you ever wondered what exactly they're researching?"

Shen Zixin fell into deep thought.

Pure white walls, cold equipment, researchers with blurred faces...

Back then, everyone was a child... So what kind of experiment required children as subjects? And what could be gained from these children?

What do we, He Yuran, Xiaoling, my older sister, and others, have in common?

Wait a minute... could it be that...?

"The research at the time focused on how to actively trigger the awakening of magical girls," Lu Yue's voice came through. "This plan was called the 'Magical Girl Awakening Project'."

"..."

Just as I thought. There were way too many people in the lab back then who became magical girls.

"The awakening of magical girls relies on the mechanism of 'self-awakening.' However, this mechanism is too random, and there are a large number of people who clearly have the potential to become magical girls but are unable to awaken in their lifetime. In the eyes of some higher-ups, this situation is undoubtedly a huge waste of resources."