Hibiscus sat upright with bated breath, as solemn as if she were at the college entrance exam site.
She understood that the next choice was crucial and might directly relate to her life's direction. Although she was reluctant to admit it, this guy had hit the mark—she indeed didn't plan to honestly make money. With the system, magic, and those elusive prophetic dreams, why return to that damn daily routine?
Before asking the question, the girl had already prepared herself. Even if no one came forward with unconventional ideas, she would have appropriately guided toward unorthodox answers, but one question couldn't be avoided:
Black or white?
Hibiscus followed up asking "What's the specific difference?"
【White path is nothing more than ship work, bodyguard, or translation based on your current talents. But the money is relatively little and lacks plot line support. Even if "optical experts" strategize, it may not be effective. Also, if even your alignment changes, some opportunities and encounters that should have belonged to you will probably be completely different. Hmm, actually it's already unrecognizable compared to the original work. This is a simulated fanfiction worldline we're creating together】
It sounded like advising her to choose the other path. Honestly, the girl was indeed tempted. Besides, what's black can always be whitewashed—the adult world doesn't have good and evil distinctions.
As long as you're strong enough and have strategic value, it doesn't matter. Even the Salvation Church leader wasn't executed, right?
Hibiscus suppressed a resentment in her heart.
From childhood, she had been a good girl who didn't cry, make noise, or ask for toys, focusing entirely on her studies and even becoming the solitary academic in her classmates' eyes who was bullied, yet tragedy didn't spare her.
Without the system and netizens' help, failing the college entrance exam would have completely crushed her. What favor, what being chosen—all bullshit. Living honestly her whole life, the world never gave her positive feedback. Sincerity was met with ingratitude; in this vast world, one must see through it all. If you choose to suffer, suffering will definitely fall in love with you.
"Thank you netizens for your answers. I think the most important thing now is getting started and accumulating initial capital. With money right in front of you, who can tell if it's dirty or clean?"
Her statement made the main thread even more active.
【Fits the character, OP gets it too well, sounds like something Hyacinth would say. Better I betray the world than the world betray me】
【What I like most about the Magical Girl of Light series is that the villains aren't one-dimensional. They have their own theoretical framework and unwavering will to implement it. From the magical girls' standpoint, I always felt Boss Mu's demands weren't wrong】
【Defected】
【Show me the worldline where villain Hyacinth defeats magical girl Manjusaka. When Boss Mu beats that pink-hair to her knees, she must force her to go back and be a sex slave】
【Reply to OP: Since you've decided to go fast, we'll do our utmost to offer strategies and definitely share our lord's worries】
The system very thoughtfully filtered to this featured post:
【Remember, your initial capital isn't money but the power of a magical girl. As long as you complete one awakening, it's enough. Then there are hundreds of ways to make money. In terms of plot line, the first batch of magical girls appears in October. If we can't wait for natural awakening, we'll accelerate the process. Simply put, just have more contact with Disaster Beasts. As you know, officials strictly control Disaster Beast-related materials to avoid contamination, treating them as special contraband. Private contact is definitely criminal】
【If you choose the white path, you'd have to climb up step by step to possibly make contact. The black path is much more convenient】
【Disaster Beast remains have wonderful uses, and the profits are enough that someone will always take risks. Ningfeng Harbor happens to have a Tempest gang that deals in such contraband. Thanks to them serving as minor villain minions in the early stages triggering some plot, the derivative games have very complete settings, so we can confirm they can get the goods】
【The trouble is that the Tempest gang doesn't primarily deal in Disaster Beast remains. They prefer human trafficking, smuggling, and organ harvesting. In an era of rampant infectious diseases, organs are very valuable】
【The gang leader Brother Black Fiend is very cautious, controlling sales channels while hiding here and there. Without organs or weapons as tickets, there's no way to meet him】
【For ticket sources, I recommend the opposing Dock Gang. Those bastards have blood on their hands, committing all kinds of evil—bullying men and women, kidnapping, drug dealing, assassination. They throw people into the sea to drown at the drop of a hat. We should make them cough up money as a door-knocker to help us get materials and achieve great martial arts. Knowing his opponent has been dealt with, Brother Black Fiend would open convenient doors given his personality】
【The difficulty lies in this step】
Hibiscus nodded approvingly after reading this far.
She absolutely wouldn't mention nonsense like "are there other plans" or "modify it a bit." After all, the other party had reached conclusions based on massive intelligence.
If Planet Gaia could be considered some kind of fictional world, then trying to think of solutions on her own would be abandoning the advantage of foresight. Although the girl felt weird about being treated as a paper character, mutual benefit was best.
The netizens got their surfing fun, she made money to improve her life—why not? A win-win.
Since they were immersed in role-playing simulation games, she might as well cooperate. Besides, the system would give rewards after taking advice, which meant she won twice.
【Still that saying—your initial capital is power itself】
【This post claims to be a nanny-level tutorial, so naturally we must consider all situations, like strengthening your combat power first so you're not afraid of bullets. The Dock Gang can't produce stronger firepower. Of course, this is the most cautious tutorial. If you're really in a hurry, you could kill your way over right now. Within 5 days, we guarantee you'll reach super agent level—still far from one awakening but sufficient】
【This "chain diagram" is exercise routines for training magical girls to quickly adapt to power. Follow along, and the completion marker is comprehending one technique】
【Updating to here for now. We'll discuss detailed execution after you give feedback】
Hibiscus looked at what was simply broadcast calisthenics diagrams in disbelief, but the netizens still spoke with conviction:
【They even dug out ancient settings for you】
【The training diagrams drawn by the original author might not be reliable for building strength, but they definitely match magical girls and fit the setting. Already following this post, don't disappoint us, update faster】
Beep!
[You have received new advice: Train Magical Girl Power. Reward: Technique knowledge]
Although Hibiscus didn't understand what the reward meant, the system proved the advice was valuable. Since that was the case, she'd act immediately. As an action-oriented person, she never liked wasting time.
Since her strange illness improved, she needed less and less sleep—4 hours a day was enough, and sleeping more actually made her unable to sleep. She might as well exercise.
The girl tried doing the exercises according to the comic strip. Except for eating and resting, she intensified training because the immediate results convinced Hibiscus she was right. The system had an attribute panel, and each exercise session brought changes and significant improvement. So "average 10 points" was the standard for ordinary humans. The minimum for magical girls was temporarily unknown, but she was definitely heading toward that standard.
The Great Catastrophe mentioned earlier was definitely no simple matter. She needed some self-protection ability before then.
Five days later.
Hibiscus, who occasionally needed glasses, now had no use for them at all. Living on the eighth floor of an old residential complex, she could climb up and down fully loaded with vegetables without getting out of breath. In the middle of the night, she tried jumping down from the second floor without any pressure. Once while cutting vegetables, she accidentally cut her finger but was completely unharmed... All signs indicated her body was changing rapidly.
She stood before the full-length mirror and looked herself over. Her height had grown slightly, her chest was a bit fuller, with curves in front and back and slender limbs. Her tender skin was flawlessly white.
At least from a beauty perspective, it was worth it.
[You have completed the "Train Magical Girl Power" advice. Rewards have been distributed]
The moment the system notification sounded, massive knowledge flooded into her mind, making Hibiscus's vision go black and nearly faint.