Quick Travel: Card Destroyer

"It's all over," Shang Yu turned over and supported his head with his left hand, "What are you going to do next?"

"I will leave and travel far away," Fu Cangzhao said, "and it's not over yet, I want to finish it. Mom promised to take me to the Sky Tree, she won't break her promise."

"Sky Tree?"

Shang Yu put away his smile and returned to his usual serious expression.

That being said, I indeed haven't heard of any news of the fleet returning.

Before the Black Rose Team left, they had privately agreed that if the fleet returned, they would place a black origami rose at the head of the bed of the person who was still sleeping, but now she did not see the small object that should have been placed next to it.

In other words, the fleet was still heading deeper into the water. No matter what direction it was heading, it was definitely not heading back.

Shang Yu immediately turned over and sat up, grabbed a piece of clothing and put it on: "Let's go out and check the situation."

The two of them came to the corridor together, turned on the transparent bulkhead, and observed the environment outside the ship. The sea of ​​illusion was still full of psychedelic colors, but there were no animals wandering around anymore, and it looked dead silent.

They looked into the distance again. The towering trees that reached into the sky were in sight. It would not take long before they could reach the roots of the trees.

Even if you are not within the shade of the tree, you can see the tree roots intertwined underneath, often protruding from the soil, appearing uneven.

Fu Cangzhao pressed a button on the remote control to restore the bulkhead to its original state: "I want to cut down that tree, what do you think?"

Shang Yu thought for a moment and said seriously: "It is necessary to deal with it."

"But," Fu Cangzhao closed his eyes, then opened them again with a determined look, "I must cut down this tree alone. I know it better than any of you."

When this news spread elsewhere, Fu Songxue slapped the conference table on the spot, shocked and angry: "What did you say? You're going alone?!"

It was the first time that Fu Cangzhao saw anger on his mother's face.

"Zhao Zhao, Mom knows that you like to take all the risks by yourself, and the previous tactics basically took you as the core." Fu Songxue's brows were almost twisted into a ball, and he paced back and forth anxiously, "But the danger level of the Sky Tree is completely different from that of the Ancestral Alien. How can you be sure that you can handle it all by yourself?

"I have been preparing for this day for five years. The Sky Tree's ability to pollute magical girls far exceeds that of the Greedy Ancestor. You can use the special force field on your body to offset the Greedy Ancestor's pollution. No one dares to talk nonsense about the Sky Tree's pollution. Li Ming!"

Hearing the captain calling him, Li Ming stopped playing with the pen, took the document in front of him and walked to Fu Cangzhao and handed it to her: "So far, all magical girls who have had direct contact with the Sky Tree have shown varying degrees of contamination symptoms, including but not limited to species cognitive impairment..."

"I know!" Fu Cangzhao interrupted her mercilessly, "That's why I should be left alone to deal with it. I have been dealing with it for many years, and only I can ensure that I am completely uncontaminated."

"Mom will go with you!" Fu Songxue quickly grabbed her, her face full of concern.

Fu Cangzhao hit the nail on the head: "You seem to be more anxious than I am."

Fu Songxue didn't know what to say for a moment.

After much thought, she could only hug her daughter tightly: "No matter what, mom will always stand by you and accompany you until... the last moment."

At this time, even the usually carefree shield warrior smelled something wrong and couldn't help but blame: "Hey, Captain, you are still very young and can live for decades. How can you wait until the last moment?"

Fu Songxue opened his arms and smiled sadly: "I hope so. Anyway, I must go there in person no matter what. No one can stop me. Just let Zhao Zhao take me under the tree. Meeting adjourned."

-

Back in the laboratory, Li Ming not only continued to study the patterns of the contract emblem, but also had to think about the nature of the "magical girl".

The wax seal itself is not important. What is really important is the contract emblem contained inside the wax seal.

Fu Cangzhao might be far more familiar with the structure of the contract emblem than she was, and knew what effects different styles of patterns represented, but when it came to "inheritance", Li Ming believed that no one could rival him.

Her contract emblem is very different from what ordinary magical girls have. Since she was a baby, the emblems have been passed down from her mothers to her body one by one.

Years of fighting made her realize more and more clearly that in fact everyone can possess certain magical abilities, provided that someone helps them "awaken" a little bit of the emblem's patterns.

Li Ming called this most initial pattern the "initial imprint." As the user's abilities continue to improve, the imprint will gradually evolve until it becomes a complete emblem.

If one day they completely analyze the relationship between the human body and magic power, the Forbidden Court of Words can call on all the people to practice magic, select those with special potential, sign a contract with a relatively complete contract emblem, and become a "contract magician" without any age limit.

Li Ming didn't care what exactly created the magical girl system. She only cared about how far human civilization could go with what it already had.

-

Fu Cangzhao did not lie, she was the only one who knew the nature of the sky tree.

"The sky tree must have been created by the inkless pen."

About two years ago, the Forbidden Court of Words calculated the impact range of the Sky Tree pollution. The fleet could only go to the edge at most. Once it went deeper, some magical girls who were not strong enough in their determination would have strange ideas and try to create new monsters.

With such high levels of pollution, it is not a fantasy that new monsters will emerge out of thin air.

Monsters originate from the malice hidden in the human heart.

"I think I have some impression of what you said." Fu Songxue put her arm on Fu Cangzhao's shoulder, and the latter carried her body and flew towards the sky tree.

She thought back to the last time she saw her daughter five years ago.

"Zhao Zhao, Zhao Zhao, where have you been? Can you please say yes?" One ordinary evening, Fu Songxue went home from shopping for groceries as usual, but couldn't find the familiar figure. He was suddenly panicked, dropped his handbag and rushed out of the house, repeatedly calling his daughter.

She walked through the streets and alleys, unaware that the places that were usually bustling were now empty.

Time flies quickly, the sky gradually darkens, and it will soon become pitch black. The roadside lights will light up in rows, showing the way forward for people traveling at night.

Fu Songxue became even more anxious. Raising a daughter was already like a heavy burden that made her shoulders ache. Now there were complications again. How could she not collapse?

She went to almost every place her daughter might go.

Finally, before the last ray of sunlight disappeared, she found the little monster.

"...Mom, Mom...?" The daughter was wearing strange clothes and holding a star-shaped magic wand, which is what every magical girl in cartoons has.

When the little monster found out it was her mother, she became a little flustered. She seemed not to want her mother to see her like this. She held the magic wand in both hands, pointed it at her mother, and took two steps back.

Fu Songxue felt relieved, as long as the person was found. She stretched her sore arms twice and was thinking about whether to take a rest for two days, when she suddenly heard her daughter's voice tinged with tears.

"Mom, Mom..." The little monster cried in front of her for the first time and could hardly utter a complete sentence.

I don’t know if it’s because of fatigue that my eyes are blurry, but the falling tears are reflecting colorful light.

Guess what this "species cognitive impairment" means (evil smile.jpg)