I dug up the magical girl's corpse.

Chapter 10 Dilemma

When Chen Mu woke up again, he found himself trapped in a narrow, dark place.

"Where am I?"

He opened his eyes but saw no light. He rubbed his eyes, but it was still pitch black. If he strained his eyes, he could make out simple outlines, so he probably wasn't blind.

The problem is that there are no lights here.

He instinctively reached into his pocket for his phone, but it was gone.

"Wasn't I hit by a car? My wound doesn't seem to hurt that much. Am I in a hospital room? And why am I standing up?"

Chen Mu had many questions. He thought that when a person wakes up from a coma, they should first lie on the ground and then slowly get up.

But when he opened his eyes, he was already standing upright, and the space around him was very cramped.

He tried to move forward, but his knee hit the wall as soon as he took a step. Not only that, but it was the same all around him, and even turning around was extremely difficult.

"It feels like... being locked in a small box."

Chen Mu felt somewhat uneasy.

Most people would have panicked by this point, but he had a good mental fortitude, so he was able to continue thinking calmly.

He groped around, grabbing whatever was usable from the darkness. He wasn't the only one in the "box"; there seemed to be something else inside.

He couldn't tell the material clearly, but he always felt that whenever he moved, those gritty things would cling to him and rub against his skin.

I feel uneasy; these things are everywhere around me, and I can't get rid of them no matter how hard I try.

"Could this be a nightmare? I need to wake up quickly."

Chen Mu took a few deep breaths, trying to open his eyes forcefully or pinch himself, but nothing worked.

We are still trapped in this dark box.

Even if he gathered all his strength and charged forward, kicked, and pushed, it was to no avail; he was firmly sealed away.

"Seal... seal, wait, am I in a coffin?"

Suddenly, Chen Mu had a ridiculous idea.

But upon closer reflection, it seems that this idea is not without merit.

First, he really was hit by a car. Common sense dictates that a normal person hit like that wouldn't possibly survive. Therefore, he might actually be dead. What he's experiencing now isn't a physical consciousness, but rather a soul or something similar after death. This would explain why he's trapped in the narrow box.

This should be a coffin or an urn.

Why are there these soft, twisted, eerie things all around? They're either burial objects or ghosts...

Thinking of this, Chen Mu suddenly felt a surge of sorrow.

"The ancients said that burial brings peace, but does that mean a person's soul is confined in a coffin after death? That would be too boring, with nothing to do."

"I never imagined that I would die so young at only 20 years old. Logically speaking, after being hit by a truck, shouldn't I be transported to another world? Why didn't I get that treatment? I wonder if that girl survived. If we happened to be buried together, maybe we could be neighbors and talk to each other."

He sighed, wondering what to do next.

Suddenly, my vision brightened.

Bang! The door was opened—

The glaring light suddenly shone in, and Chen Mu subconsciously squinted, striking a shy pose with both hands covering her face.

"Oh, you're awake."

The voice in front of him sounded very familiar. Chen Mu opened his eyes and found that it was the girl he had seen before!

She had long, jet-black hair, which was casually draped over her shoulders. Her skin was fair and delicate, and her features were exquisite, especially her eyes, which appeared exceptionally clear in the light. She wore a white shirt with a dark bow tie at the collar, and a knee-length plaid pleated skirt, revealing a pair of slender legs encased in white ankle socks.

He was wearing indoor slippers, as if he had just returned home, and had tossed his suit jacket onto the bed.

"You've messed up my closet."

She frowned, as if complaining, and took a step to the side, seemingly letting Chen Mu out.

Chen Mu was still confused. He carefully stepped down the threshold and finally breathed in a breath of fresh air.

This looks like a bedroom.

The walls were a soft, light color, the floor was spotless, and a simple single bed was made with plain-colored sheets, the blankets neatly folded. Against the wall stood a desk with only a few books and some test papers on it. Aside from that, there were almost no other decorations or clutter; the space was so simple it almost felt empty, yet meticulously maintained.

"Your... wardrobe?" Chen Mu turned around to look.

The last piece of furniture in the room was found.

It was right where he had just come from; it was a wardrobe with a red wooden frame, reaching to the ceiling, and divided into several compartments.

He came out from one of the cubicles, and the girl's clothes inside had been disheveled by his turning and pulling, falling off the clothes rack.

"what?"

I thought I was locked in a coffin, but it turns out I was just a wardrobe with the lights off?

What's going on?

"Why am I here... Weren't we hit by a car?"

"That happened around noon, right? You fainted, so I took you home and went to class."

The girl sat on the edge of the bed, looking very relaxed, and even dangling her legs.

She turned her head to look at the sunset outside the window; it seemed to be dusk, the time when school was over.

Has it really been that long...?

Chen Mu was still somewhat dazed:

"So the car didn't hit us? We weren't injured?"

He glanced down and saw that his bright yellow rider uniform was still intact, without even a drop of blood.

There were no missing limbs, and no pain anywhere; everything seemed fine.

"No." The girl waved her finger, pointing at him and saying, "You were injured, and badly injured, almost dead... I saved you."

"You saved me."

Chen Mu seemed lost in thought. He recalled that while he was unconscious, he seemed to have heard two strange phrases. He also felt a warm power—was that the power that healed his injuries? The girl with special abilities—could it be—

"I am a magical girl."

The girl smiled and said, seemingly seeing through Chen Mu's inner thoughts.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Chen Mu's pupils widened in surprise. He had been regretting that he had never seen a magical girl in person, but he never expected that his wish would come true so soon.

But the girl in front of him looked like an ordinary high school student, and there was nothing unusual about her appearance.

"So there really are magical girls in Miyuki City! And they're hidden right under my nose... I had no idea; I thought they were all in the coastal areas."

The girl continued to stare at him with a smile, seemingly quite pleased with his surprised reaction.

After his initial surprise, Chen Mu quickly made a decision, stood up, and took his leave:

"Well then, thank you for your treatment. I... I still have orders to deliver, so I won't stay here any longer."

This might be a case of "professing love for something but fearing its consequences," where the person actually encounters the magical girl might suddenly realize they could get into serious trouble and it's better to keep their distance.

However, just as Chen Mu turned around, preparing to push open the door and leave the room...

"stop."

The girl behind him called out to him, her voice soft and emotionless:

"You've discovered my identity and know my address, so I can't let you go."

"Simply put, buddy, you're now my hostage."