Chapter 344: The Value of Magical Girls

In the eyes of a girl like Vivi, who had grown up in the lower classes, the normal way to form a family had long since become a union between two women.

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Families consisting of a man and a woman were the minority.

Besides, in this cybernetic age of advanced genetic technology and superhuman powers, same-sex reproduction had long since ceased to be a technical challenge. A trip to the hospital was all it took.

Most people had two mothers.

So, according to Vivi’s common sense, relationships between women were society’s mainstream, and there was nothing wrong with her sexual orientation.

Being bisexual was perfectly normal, too.

By contrast, heterosexuals who only liked men and not women were the ones people pointed at and gawked at like rare animals, a tiny minority.

“...”

Yet at that moment, Lin Guang seemed to have thought of something. She asked, “What do you think... is the reason for the gender imbalance in Neon City?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Vivi was utterly confused by the question. It took her a moment to understand what Lin Guang meant.

“Why does there have to be a reason? Just like most people around here are born with all kinds of ears and tails, it’s always been this way. So it’s only natural that the ratio of men to women is different from that of other cities.”

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“My guess is that the original settlers who came here and built the city over a hundred years ago were all people who’d undergone genetic modification... It’s the Information Age. Go look it up online yourself.”

“I see.”

Lin Guang didn’t ask any more questions, but a thoughtful glint flashed in her eyes.

She had actually been wondering about this for some time.

Why did Neon City spare no effort in heavily promoting its magical girl policies, even passing all sorts of bizarre laws to encourage more people, including boys who had changed their gender, to become magical girls?

If the goal was simply to fight the abyssal beasts, aberrants, demon-people, and demons outside the city, they could just as well develop magical prosthetic technology or train people for other professions.

At least, that was what most cities did, according to the information Phoenix had given her.

Yet in reality, judging from the information Lin Guang had gathered and her own observations, Neon City’s magical girls had no clear combat advantage over other high-level superhuman professions.

And as for commercial value and productivity, although they had plenty of ways to make money, they had shown no particularly lucrative niche capable of sustaining the city’s entire economy.

Yet every year, the resources this city poured into industries related to magical girls, not to mention the costly, specially supplied goods imported from elsewhere, amounted to an astronomical figure.

From a simple cost-effectiveness perspective, it seemed like a terrible deal.

A sentence Phoenix had once said to her suddenly flashed through Lin Guang’s mind:

- All companies are profit-driven, and L Corp is no exception.

Then H Corp could hardly be any different.

If this distorted ratio of investment to return could persist in this city for so long, there had to be some deeper reason behind it.

That reason was likely closely tied to the “essence” of the magical girls in this city, or to some unknown “value” they could provide.

At that moment.

Those three words, spoken like an oath, seemed to ring in her ears once more.

- We are those forced to look up.

- We are those who choose to look down.

- We are those... who stand up and fight back!!

“...”

Watching the pink-haired girl sink into thought and completely ignore her, Vivi’s face filled with question marks.

“What’s with you?”

Vivi complained, pointing at Lin Guang. “You’re not pretending to be all deep and changing the subject just to wriggle out of my reward, are you?”

“...”

Lin Guang came back from her thoughts and glanced down at Vivi, her expression blank.

“If you want to, go ahead.”

“!!!”

Vivi’s eyes lit up like lightbulbs. With one nimble spring, she leaped to her feet, her face brimming with delight.

She eagerly threw herself into the pink-haired girl’s arms.

Wow!

Her palms couldn’t even span the full width!

It felt even better than she’d imagined. It wasn’t stiff like the cheap fake stuffing people online taught you how to spot. It felt completely natural.

And the sensation was so immediate! It was like she wasn’t wearing armor!

She happily breathed in the other girl’s natural scent.

It was a complex yet delightful fragrance.

It smelled faintly of flowers, but if you paid close attention, there was also a hint of milkiness.

So happy.

It smelled so good.

It felt like all her stress had vanished.

The white-haired girl let out a muffled sound. “Hehehe...”

She kept taking deep breaths, then finally lifted her head and looked at the other girl’s face, wanting to see what expression the magical girl named Teresa was wearing now.

That magnificent face was as beautiful as ever, gentle and serene, its features like the most exquisite sculpture, flawless in its beauty.

But the other girl’s gaze still showed little emotion, and her cheeks hadn’t flushed.

The white-haired girl was stunned.

“Why aren’t you reacting at all...?”

Vivi was puzzled. Still unwilling to give up, she pressed harder. “Doesn’t it tickle, or... make you feel a little embarrassed or weird or something?”

“No.”

Lin Guang simply looked at her and said softly, “This is a consciousness space, so I’m only simulating the sensation of your hands touching me and transmitting it to you.”

“Why would I need to transmit that sensation to myself?”

“Uh...”

Vivi fell into thought.

The sensation in her hands was still amazing, and the fragrance was definitely real, but when she looked at the girl in front of her, whose fish-eyed expression showed no reaction as she let Vivi do whatever she wanted, it suddenly felt a little pointless.

There was none of the satisfaction or fun of teasing a cool, mysterious magical girl!

“Can’t you play along a little and transmit some sensations to yourself, too?”

The pink-haired girl’s expression remained cool. She’d learned her lesson: some people’s preferences even included a disgusted look.

“No. There’s no point.”

“...”

Vivi rolled her eyes, only growing more interested. She asked tentatively, “Then... what if I pass the magical girl exam?”

“Could this be my final graduation reward...?”

“We’ll talk about it then.”

“Great! Then it’s a deal!”

Vivi’s brain automatically translated that into “If I pass, I’ll get it,” and she clenched her fists in delight.

“...”

Then she hugged the pink-haired girl in front of her once more, and a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

Come to think of it, aside from having someone help them get brain-computer interface surgery, had all those girls with mothers enjoyed being held like this when they were little?

That... really was something to envy.

At least now she had that, too.

Vivi suddenly felt her nose sting. She hugged the other girl a little tighter, but no longer felt like moving her hands around.

“...”

And at that very moment.

The pink-haired girl gazed at Vivi, who had suddenly fallen quiet in her arms, and her eyes flickered ever so slightly.