Three days after the medical ship journey.
At noon, Hibiscus in the chairman's office signed her name on the final batch of property confirmation documents, declaring the process complete.
She looked up at the blazing sun, feeling like a long time had passed, physically quite tired. Indeed so—after all, she'd been busy with Fireworks Island affairs for three days, finally reaching a conclusion. From now on, this 110 square kilometer land completely belonged to her.
In a sense, thanks to rampaging Disaster Beasts and treacherous ocean waves, except for coastal human-controlled islands, officials would rather quickly dispose of them—whoever wants them can have them.
Current customary law was that as long as you seized territory from Disaster Beast fallen zones, it counted as yours—quite reminiscent of the great age of maritime colonization.
Beep!
Hibiscus indeed received notification of completing the "Purchase private island as cover" suggestion, distributing rewards: Free Attribute Points 40, Small Magic Advancement Stone ×1.
Seeing this, the silver-haired girl's eyes widened, nearly jumping up in excitement. Fortunately, no one was in the office at this time, otherwise they might worry she'd finally exposed her psychotic nature. But regardless, Hibiscus couldn't hide her excitement—this reward was too rare, never expecting such a heavyweight:
Small Magic Advancement Stone.
As Sands of Time continued evolving, the previous advancement stone had been completely consumed, now perfectly supplemented. Magic enhancement effects were most obvious, even bringing revolutionary combat power changes—rare and precious.
In Hibiscus's hand lay quietly a silver gemstone emanating gentle energy.
Whether it was an illusion or not, she felt her magic power had grown slightly—perhaps time stop and relative flow speed techniques would be further strengthened.
Truly regrettable—the next stage was amplifying two existing skills rather than new offensive abilities.
From another angle, once time magic gained attack skills, they'd be quite powerful. After all, so-called damage immunity, abnormal status, attacks, area effects and other skill types came from netizen summaries and weren't completely accurate. Taking Sands of Time's relative flow speed for instance, merely having time flow differential envelope surroundings equaled an ultra-high-speed friction shield with considerable power. So magic's miraculous aspects were never fixed.
Skill mysteries, application wonders, exist in one's heart.
Hibiscus wasn't rushing to make magic undergo qualitative changes—after all, she knew Sands of Time's future evolution directions thoroughly, with details consultable from prophets anytime.
Similarly, Origin development's future routes were roughly the same—just needed dedicated effort step by step. Perfect to allocate power that should have been trial-and-error in magic to it instead.
In the original storyline, Hyacinth's Origin was slightly weaker than Manjusaka—after all, the latter combined Disaster Beast fusion, fairy protection, and magical girl triple buffs.
Worthy of being the protagonist. Though the pinnacle Time Priestess was extraordinarily strong, those bearing the world's fate weren't far behind either.
This time was different.
Hibiscus actually emphasized Origin development greatly. Now she could skillfully control Magic Power Internal Compression—every strike delivering "internal explosion" damage, while also far ahead in pure magic barrages and beam coverage applications. If magic contests could add variables through mechanism competition, intelligence imbalances, wild imagination, then Origin contests were hard to embellish and required strong adaptability. For example, in Island 24's war, only Hibiscus could achieve barrage coverage for large-scale Disaster Beast swarm killing—directly equivalent to an AOE magic skill.
Thanks to frequent system point allocation, her five-dimensional attributes now approached the 500 threshold. Advancing to Seedling Stage shouldn't take too long.
The girl clenched her fists, feeling surging power within perfectly adapted—despite being called system reward free attribute points, they fused without any rejection reaction.
Another level up.
Origin improvement needn't be too worrying—completing suggestions plus daily training sufficed.
What truly consumed energy was actually Regalia development.
Hibiscus concentrated, controlling a pen to write her name—barely manageable. Just two characters made her forehead sweat, and the handwriting was crooked enough for language teachers to criticize "you're turning in essays with this handwriting" and make her rewrite.
She could use telekinesis to forcibly fold maple leaves into paper cranes, but writing required much higher precision—far inferior.
In terms of force, at most she could move a heavy, person-tall porcelain vase in the office—not much combat help.
These all came from Regalia ornament parts, currently limited to amplifying mental power aspects. Seemed telekinesis reaching combat level required several more stages. Though magical girl Regalia had independent upgrade systems in a sense, better to take it step by step—otherwise leaving shortcomings would eventually cause problems.
Bang bang!
Sudden knocking interrupted her thoughts.
After Hibiscus said "Come in," she saw Jin Ruochu, who'd been away on business for long, sprawling on the sofa and stretching like a cat showing fatigue.
"Worthy of you—too good at finding business. Actually getting military exclusive medicine orders directly! You don't know how busy I've been these days. Everyone's rushing to expand production—completely supply shortage. Even diluted to the extreme they're willing... though no one knows the real content."
The young lady both complained and praised, looking admiring.
Actually, she'd considered negotiating military orders but lacked confidence to handle it flawlessly, so gave up. Even Jin Ruochu, experienced in business battles, felt headaches. Unexpectedly, Hibiscus succeeded immediately upon taking action—truly occupying all advantages of timing, location, and people. Good luck alone wasn't enough—otherwise she'd have seized the initiative long ago. Real skill lay in firmly grasping opportunities when they appeared.
"By the way, almost forgot something." Jin Ruochu ran to the desk proudly saying: "I've mastered the Magic Power Internal Compression method—100% proficiency."
The girl took out a boiled egg, peeled the shell then the white, revealing the yolk had been crushed to liquid by some force.
She tilted her neck back drinking it then swallowed everything, clapping her hands: "Breakfast and lunch both settled."
"Even if Origin advancement reduces appetite, don't skip meals. But these are small issues—anyway, congratulations on reaching Origin's new stage."
While reminding her, Hibiscus praised the girl's rapid progress, properly satisfying her desire for praise. She hadn't expected Jin Ruochu to be so gifted, self-taught in finding advancement directions.
Worthy of someone whose body had fused with Disaster Beast power before awakening as a magical girl—great fortune after great disaster.
Simply cheating!
"Not mentioning those work troubles—sick of those difficult drug regulators." Jin Ruochu changed topics, asking expectantly: "Seeing your expression, Fireworks Island approvals are settled. Such a big place definitely fits teleportation magic arrays, so when do we visit Hermit Island again? I want to test Magic Power Internal Compression's power right now."
"Test? I see you simply want somewhere to run wild."
With mental power high enough to count as mind-reading, Hibiscus saw through Jin Ruochu's thoughts. The latter said seriously:
"Of course. Magical girls should practice more to get stronger—otherwise I'm so bored I'm growing mushrooms. Work is boring—need more exercise to stay healthy. Life lies in movement."
"You're right—indeed time to install teleportation arrays."
"After so many years unused, is the Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror stable? I got messed up by it once."
"Don't worry at all."
Hibiscus knew specific functions of various top relics thoroughly. Moreover, current mental power could more accurately adjust spatial coordinates—more stable than before. So she advised Jin Ruochu to relax—this thing would be one of their transportation tools from now on.
"Why isn't Miss Nan Zhiyi in the office? Doesn't she usually stay at the company?"
"What do you need her for?"
"Of course to provide Fireworks Island decoration plans—like observation decks, yacht harbors, fishing spots, barbecue stands all arranged. We're benchmarking against Maldives resorts, making every magical girl feel at home." Jin Ruochu outlined grand blueprints while producing design drafts: "Actually I hired a designer to make architectural drawings..."
"You're late. Nan Zhiyi and Jin Yulu have been on the island handling infrastructure—I'm responsible for guarding company headquarters."
This statement greatly disappointed the girl, deeply regretting her borrowed artistic sensibilities couldn't be utilized.
Hibiscus said: "I didn't reject your decoration plans. Currently just planning to civilianize water, electricity, airports, harbors, roads and such facilities. Definitely leaving space for your designs—build houses freely then."
"Wait, why so complete? Did you rob the garrison?"
"Do I seem like that kind of person to you?"
"Can't rule it out."
Jin Ruochu said half-jokingly, half-surprised. After all, she felt someone who could casually sweep casinos and even prepare to scam banks was almost without taboos—describing Magical Girl Hyacinth as skilled and bold.
To restore her reputation, Hibiscus shared the medical ship journey experience in detail, leaving the girl stunned—she didn't know healing spells could have area effects!
Though everyone had learned to use healing spells to eliminate infections and even produce special medicines, they hadn't mastered high-level techniques for simultaneously treating twenty-one people. Unexpectedly, Hyacinth had once again walked ahead of them—leaving dust in her wake, a towering peak. Even fellow magical girls were shocked by Hyacinth's performance, let alone outsiders. No wonder the garrison loosened up.
Actually, both sides understood certain special powers existed, but Hibiscus provided benefits combined with deterrence, so they coexisted peacefully.
"Alright, you said not to mention work matters. Let's go to your dream vacation island."
"I can't wait."
The two clocked out openly, walking out of the office building.
They headed toward the harbor, finally boarding a small boat under company name as transportation. After all, Fireworks Island was at territorial water edges with no shipping routes nearby—they had to go themselves. Flying or swimming were options but too shocking.
Jin Ruochu said while steering: "Once the island's settled, definitely need yacht harbors. Also same for Hermit Island—equip everything."
"Too expensive." Currently Hibiscus hadn't escaped penny-pinching concepts, still calculating costs.
"Dr. Mu, you don't understand. We borrowed so much money but invested in electronic information technology, real estate, medicine and such—no short-term benefits, probably money pits. Those guys are worried. They're scared—giving you money and you actually invest?"
"Otherwise what?"
"Buy more luxury goods, get some commercial stench, kindred spirits' scent. Then luxury cars, yachts or private jets—get several, showing you won't easily fail investments and owe ass-loads of debt. Step back—these relatively value-preserving things can be auctioned later, right? So spend freely—the more you spend, the more stable borrowing gets."
"...First time hearing this logic."
"Actually it's not entirely correct—just a useful method. Repeatedly we can borrow more and more, until Catastrophic Disaster Beasts not coming means unpayable debts."
"Don't worry, Aurora will definitely come."
Jin Ruochu joked: "Of course it'll come—Aurora might not be a Disaster Beast, but creditors can't not die."
"I told you I'm not that kind of person."
Hibiscus rolled her eyes. The two girls looked at each other then laughed heartily, laughter joining sea waves toward Fireworks Island. They chatted while boating—time passed quickly. Soon they saw the island on the horizon growing larger.
First thing visible wasn't the island itself but a huge cargo ship loaded with bulldozers, excavators, tower cranes and other super-heavy construction machinery.
They came from Ningfeng Harbor's major construction companies, obviously attracted by this sweet opportunity.
After three days, Nan Zhiyi had organized bidding and started construction—this efficiency was incredible, like a person growing from liver.
After landing, they immediately noticed something wrong. On surface, workers labored enthusiastically, sweating profusely, diligent and hardworking, but the vast construction site only had construction sounds, occasionally engineers' few reminders—nothing more. People were quite quiet, not whispering or chatting casually. They seemed to lack self-awareness, burying themselves in work. Additionally, many buildings used prefabricated construction, looking ready for transport anytime—as if Fireworks Island wasn't the main construction target but a transit station outputting productivity somewhere else.
"Hey, we're here."
Jin Ruochu greeted from afar, seeing hard-hatted Nan Zhiyi sipping diluted mana recovery potion in small sips.
Jin Yulu openly shouldered super-heavy components, transferring them to designated magic array locations. Obviously they'd mass-hypnotized construction workers—not control, but making ordinary people subconsciously forget or ignore extraordinary things.
Hibiscus asked with interest: "Can large-scale hypnosis spells be maintained?"
"With me and Jin Yulu taking shifts, plus potions and staff amplification you gave us, it's completely sufficient. Moreover, this counts as magic training—why not enjoy it?"
Nan Zhiyi stood with one hand on hip, slightly releasing magic power—more substantial than before, obviously she worked while maximizing training.
Everyone's too competitive.
Hibiscus decided immediately: "Let workers rest. Continuing to pile materials like this won't work. Let's anchor the magic array—only after opening the door can this count as home."
Regarding where to place the Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror's three anchor coordinates, this problem had always troubled Hibiscus—after all, it was crucial.
Now the solution was clear.
Not because the location was excellent, but as a spatial relic user, her magic power manipulation had improved another level. If not for just completing system suggestions raising basic attributes again, she might not dare directly announce placing teleportation arrays.
But now Hibiscus felt the amethyst necklace faintly resonating with time magic—perhaps time and space had certain connections. Then rather than choosing another day, why not today?
"Garrison blueprints show the island center has a bunker facility—spacious and large enough. Let's choose there."
Speaking, her black hair was dyed white with a silver hourglass ornament floating above her head.
Weak transformation form.
Instantly Hibiscus's aura swelled several degrees. Just an unintentional magic release made some workers fall asleep, proving Magical Girl Hyacinth's life tier had improved somewhat more. She was prepared to completely tame the violent spatial relic—must make this thing obey like an extension of herself, otherwise who knew who was walking whom.
Absolutely no allowing relic loss of control and random teleportation cases again—after all, if accidents occurred during actual operation, they might face life-threatening danger.
The Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror was like a parachute pack—must ensure 100% accuracy. At this moment, Hibiscus mobilized all magic power, pouring it into the amethyst to activate maximum performance.
The three magical girls beside her also subconsciously entered a weak transformation.
They weren't active—rather, with a thought, pupil color, hair color and tiny Regalia portions appeared, like a defensive instinct. After understanding this, Jin Yulu, Nan Zhiyi and Jin Ruochu looked at each other, seeing mutual surprise. Right—Hyacinth had grown stronger again. Especially in Origin aspects, giving a feeling of transcending a whole tier. Despite not being enemies, they felt blood boiling with subconscious defense. Indeed formidable.
The group approached the underground bunker with serious expressions, seeing the already-cleaned bright hall.
Ding!
Hibiscus flicked her finger. The spatial relic token floated above ground, under her control drawing a magic array on the floor—full of various symbols and patterns, mysterious and unfathomable. Meanwhile, the void cracked like a mirror.
Despite being in a heavily protected underground bunker, they felt sea breeze from the other side. The mirror's cracked corner showed Hermit Island's appearance.
Seeing this, Jin Ruochu wanted to experience teleportation again but was stopped by Hibiscus.
"Look carefully... not every mirror fragment points to Hermit Island. Must adjust carefully before use."
"Too troublesome."
"That's why I tell you to usually focus on improving magic power manipulation. Such fundamentals determine whether you face targeted disadvantages against different opponents."
Hibiscus reached out, lightly touching the fragment representing Hermit Island. The next moment it flew and scattered into every fragment, then automatically gathered to form a huge mirror surface—large enough for two floors, with passages broader than imagined. Some medium machinery could barely be transported through.
The spatial relic resonated with its master, suddenly bursting with rolling magic power, as if after years of dust it vowed to shake the nine heavens with one cry.
"Is it over? Don't push yourself too hard." Nan Zhiyi asked with concern.
"No, I want to fully master the Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror. Stable directional teleportation channels are just one usage. Another is deploying teleportation in surrounding ranges—you've all seen it. The range can expand to a city—for example, as long as you're in Ningfeng Harbor, you can always mobilize spatial relics to teleport to Hermit Island."
"Such convenient teleportation is practically equivalent to us occupying a city." Jin Yulu as always focused on military applications.
"Correct, but operational requirements are high."
Hibiscus waved her hand. Four tiny fragments scattered from the Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror, flying into their hands. No explanation needed—magic power auras were the answer.
Coordinate auras separated from spatial relics equaled keys. Within effective range, activation could go to Hermit Island. Similarly, from Hermit Island one could go to any of three cities with directional coordinates set—currently only Ningfeng Harbor.
Splash!
As magical girls actively fused Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror fragments, the entire spatial relic's pressure intensified. The spacious, enclosed underground bunker actually stirred up a gust of wind.
Even the prepared Hibiscus sighed—worthy of being one of the top relics, with revolutionary functions.
Imagine having return city scrolls within a certain range—wouldn't that allow free movement? Directional teleportation arrays could be placed long-term or temporarily—for example, predicting where large-scale warfare was needed and placing one. When the time came, an army would spawn out of nowhere—scary or not? Though this required a series of complex operations, even beyond low-level magical girls' capabilities, potential was part of strength.
Moreover, Hibiscus only mastered parts published by netizens, limited by their vision, not knowing this spatial relic's limits.
After all, in later stages the Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror was destroyed in battles between Church magical girls led by Hyacinth and military magical girls led by Protea. The supposedly indestructible top relic with hard-to-find physical form was broken by aftershocks—showing that war's destructive power.
But this time it wouldn't happen.
Hibiscus asked: "You all understand basic functions now?"
Everyone nodded. Magic power information received from fragments was enough to answer how great pre-era spatial relics were. They'd found the right thing—worth the bloody battle, quite profitable.
They once again firmly believed in time magic prophecy's power. So far, every step had been within Hyacinth's plans.
Some conspiracy theories on the market claimed prophetic book relics existed, supposedly predicting the last catastrophe and divining Disaster Beast weaknesses, ultimately guiding humanity to lay foundations for relative peace through an epic victory... Simply ridiculous. What did that count as? Even if it truly existed, it wouldn't match the iceberg tip of the strongest magical girl.
Greatness needed no words.
Excluding definitely secret top relics, currently confirmed relics stronger than the Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror were probably only the Ring of Levitation.
It could interfere with gravity, allowing humans to easily escape gravitational constraints for Earth-Moon routes, even developing Mars, Europa and other places—single-handedly rewriting civilization progress, truly beyond-tier. Spatial relics should count as next tier, but sufficient.
Jin Yulu asserted: "If Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror news spreads, it might cause major powers to compete."
"Not that exaggerated." Nan Zhiyi held another opinion: "Salvation Church actions will gradually become more frequent. Then idiots will notice spatial relics—no need to specifically hide. Let them fear, let them submit."
Jin Ruochu completely ignored one top relic's world impact, instead trying to activate mirror fragments in her hand.
"I'll teleport as tribute."