Chapter 5
QB, it's this world that's ruined you.
Linjiang City Center.
Beside the bustling commercial street, a huge venue sits on one side, with crowds thronging around, almost all of them wearing expectant expressions.
The two sides of the venue were covered with posters and notices, all featuring various magical girls.
A spectacular long queue had formed in front of the main entrance, where two tall men conducted security checks on each person to ensure there were no safety concerns before allowing them to enter.
—A physical exhibition for magical girl enthusiasts.
This is a large-scale fan convention event applied for and officially approved by the largest fan group of magical girls.
Its scale and popularity have far surpassed those of various large-scale anime conventions before magical girls existed.
The emergence of magical girls has undoubtedly had a revolutionary impact on modern society.
This influence extends from books to weekly magazines, and even to the modern ACG industry.
If you search for new anime series in the latest season, you'll find that "magical girl" anime almost dominate the entire list.
And this is only now, fifteen years later. Fifteen years ago, 99% of the new anime series were magical girl anime, with Madoka Magica and a host of other anime even topping the popularity charts.
However, this situation did not last long.
Some older anime from the 1980s and 90s were relatively acceptable, but unorthodox magical girl anime and manga, such as those from magical girl websites, were quickly removed from all official websites for not conforming to public mental health. Some unorthodox superhero works, such as The Boys, were also among them, and even Madoka Magica was caught in the crossfire.
As online discussions intensified, netizens clashed fiercely over the magical girl anime, but the official response quickly quelled this unprecedented controversy.
Faced with angry and confused netizens, the official response was just one sentence.
"Magical girls are hope, synonyms for miracles, and we need them."
In other words:
"If some kids who grew up watching these cult magical girl anime actually become magical girls themselves, you commoners better pray that they won't be influenced by these anime, otherwise it won't just be a question of whether or not to eat beef."
In short, the public opinion was quickly quelled, and there was no need for the authorities to launch a new round of internet cleanup campaigns. For a considerable period of time, the online atmosphere developed in a harmonious and friendly direction.
After all, you wouldn't want to cause a minor who might become a magical girl to become evil just because you were indulging in a moment of online sarcasm.
In short, the Magical Girl Fan Convention, or "MGF" for short, has replaced the original anime convention and has offline venues in almost every city.
What should be done if the original comic convention cannot find a venue?
Look, your creations and characters are all in that small area in the northwest corner.
There's no way around it; if you're not a fan of magical girls, you're inherently inferior.
Do you even realize the value of the strongest Brahman fan in modern times?
Outside the venue, a girl with shoulder-length hair, delicate features, and glasses was carrying a small bag in both hands, looking at the long queue in front of her with some worry.
"There are so many people..."
"Oh, Xiao An, it looks like today's convention will take a long time."
A somewhat peculiar voice rang in the girl's ears.
The one who spoke was a fantastical creature that flew beside the girl, resembling a deer. This deer had no wings, was entirely pale purple, and had only a peculiar ring on its small antlers that emitted a faint glow.
The girl showed no surprise at the fairy flying in mid-air; she simply sighed.
"After all, during the last exhibition, a low-quality beast happened to be nearby. The exhibition only lasted half a day before the crowd was evacuated, and I still didn't receive the things I asked someone to buy last time..."
"Xiao An, should we slowly line up to go in now?" The little deer-like fairy blinked.
The girl with glasses looked at the endless queue in front of her and thought helplessly that she could just wait in line, but before she could say it, a petite figure darted past her.
"Hey! Little girl, why are you cutting in line?"
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Uncle! I really have something very urgent to do inside, and it will be too late if I'm late!"
"Alright, alright..."
In the crowded throng, a girl with a ponytail and a backpack was struggling to squeeze into the line, trying little by little to get into the venue. But no matter how hard she tried, the distance she moved forward was still far from her destination.
"...Anke, let's go through the back door."
Upon seeing this, the bespectacled girl decisively abandoned the idea of queuing and immediately walked towards another part of the venue.
"Anlin, do you need me to use magic to cover it up?" the deer fairy known as "Anke" asked from the side.
The bespectacled girl named Anlin shook her head. "No need. Sister Yu should be helping out at the venue today. She should be over there. I'll give her a call later, and maybe we can go straight in."
Upon hearing this, An Ke looked as if she had just realized something, "Oh right, she's a staff member and knows who you are, so she should be able to let you in."
The person and the deer arrived at the back entrance, where several staff members in venue uniforms were on duty, standing upright. It would obviously be quite difficult to sneak into the venue from here.
After the girl searched for a while, a female staff member in uniform soon came out from the back door and waved and smiled in their direction.
With the help of the staff, the person and the deer finally entered the venue smoothly.
Upon entering the exhibition, one is greeted by a dazzling array of booths and crowds of people coming and going. Cosplayers dressed in various gorgeous costumes pose under the lights, but the girl with glasses only glanced at them before turning her gaze away.
The vast majority of these cosplays are by active magical girl cosplayers, while the remaining small portion are by magical girl cosplayers from current anime series.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a magical girl craze.
Having seen so much of the real thing in real life, I naturally lost interest in cosplay.
The hall was very large, but it did not feel empty. Various booths and activity seats were arranged in an orderly manner. An Lin followed the route sent to him by his friend on his phone and walked through the crowd with the deer. However, no one around him gave the fairy flying in the air a second glance, as if it did not exist.
"Ah, we've arrived!"
An Lin followed the route, wandering around for quite a while, before finally finding his destination.
It was a slightly out-of-the-way stall, displaying some books and fan comics, nothing particularly novel.
The girl with glasses walked up to the stall. The stall owner, who was wearing a hood, glanced at her and then lowered his voice to ask her what she wanted.
Seeing this, An Lin whispered a few names, his tone slightly excited, leaving An Ke, who was standing to the side, completely bewildered.
A few minutes later, Anlin left the stall with several comic books in his arms, completely satisfied.
Seeing this, Anke asked with some curiosity.
"Xiao An, what did you buy?"
"...Anke, are you sure you want to know?" An Lin looked at the familiar beside him with an ambiguous expression.
"?"
"Since you want to see it..."
The girl summoned her familiar to her side, then mysteriously opened one of the comic books and revealed its contents.
The familiar glanced at it and was instantly terrified, as if struck by lightning.
The comic's cover was divided into two layers. The first layer was just an ordinary fan art piece, but the second layer contained a hidden secret.
The girl opened the second cover, and a line of large characters appeared on it.
[Magical girl と familiar の incontinence プレイ! Xie 悪なQB によるwash and train! 】
Anke: "!!!"