Positive little sun, magical girl, I am awesome

An interview? What interview? No, what interview? Has she traveled back in time? Has she gone home?!

Lilith's heart was pounding in her throat. She wanted to scream and cry, but something just didn't feel right.

"Go home, yes, I have to go home first..."

She didn't have time to think about why she was acting like a typical working professional anymore. She muttered to herself as she tried to get up, but at that moment she seemed to be sucked in by the row of metal benches. Her legs were so weak that she couldn't stand up no matter how hard she struggled.

The swaying caused the bench to rattle, drawing another round of disgruntled glances.

The faces of everyone in the corridor were pale from the overhead fluorescent lights, and their eyes were lifeless. They were completely different from the students of the Goredia Academy, and everything seemed so unfamiliar.

What's wrong with her? — Lilith was somewhat bewildered, but her brain seemed to be rusted and covered with a thick tarpaulin. Her mind gradually became sluggish. She knew that everything was wrong, but she couldn't continue to think deeply.

The stares from those around her annoyed Lilith, and in her anger, she glared back at them, pretending to be nonchalant as she observed them. She observed those people who were so focused on the glowing cubes in their hands, and finally remembered what they were.

It's a cell phone! Yes, I need to call Mom first to let her know I'm safe!

Ignoring how strange her reaction seemed to others, Lilith began to search her entire body and finally found a rectangular block in the pocket at the bottom of her suit.

Then, new problems arose.

"--password?"

Lilith stared at the pop-up virtual keyboard, unable to figure out the answer no matter what she tried. She couldn't remember the names of the cute cartoon characters on her pink phone case, and now they seemed to be mocking her clumsiness and old-fashionedness.

Like an elderly beginner with a smartphone, she hunched over, almost touching the screen, poking around with one finger. She accidentally turned the screen off, and when she turned it back on, she didn't know what she'd pressed; a bunch of flashy effects popped up on the screen, accompanied by enthusiastic animated notifications—

No download required, just shake your phone to experience it now!

If it were the old Lilith, she would have remained still immediately. But now, she had no idea about these cunning tricks. Before she could even react, her phone had already redirected to a mini-program.

Lilith frantically clicked around, but she still couldn't get out of this persistent little game promotion. She watched helplessly as it finished loading.

No, no, nothing's right!

Lilith was sweating profusely with anxiety. Her fingers slid and clicked futilely on the smooth glass screen, like a moth trapped in a cybernetic spider web, unable to break free from the flashy images.

Finally, accompanied by rousing electronic sound effects, the scene suddenly brightens, revealing a fantastical continent filled with cheap special effects on the phone screen, where winged fairies float in the air holding banners:

[Enjoy ten minutes of daily fantasy adventure in another world and redeem cash!]

Lilith: "..."

She just wanted to make a phone call home!

But this game was just too overpowered. She barely had to do anything, and the pixelated little figure on the screen started moving on its own, slashing powerless sword light at the purple monster of the same pixel.

The special effects of those monsters dropping gold coins and materials when they died were, in her opinion, pitifully crude, far less captivating than any magic lamp in Goredia Castle.

Lilith was completely disoriented and led by the nose by the tutorial. The screen kept popping up with messages like "Exp+100" and "Level Up!" trying to stimulate the player's senses, but Lilith only found it noisy and felt nothing.

The sense of accomplishment from this slight increase in power was insignificant compared to the joy she felt when she successfully cast Fireball for the first time, or the excitement of slaying a Void Beast for the first time.

But the game continued, and she automatically completed the newbie tasks, constantly acquiring all sorts of random rewards, until the glittering pool dominated the screen.

There's even a card-drawing segment—Lilith clicks absentmindedly, utterly dejected.

A burst of dazzling golden light erupted on the screen!

[Congratulations on obtaining the SSR reward: Gargoyle Legion!] — The fearless Gargoyle Legion is your most loyal supporter!

Lilith blinked, something flashing through her sluggish mind, but she still mechanically clicked the next ten-pull button.

[Congratulations on obtaining the SSR reward: The Abandoned Black Dragon Egg!] — A descendant of the legendary black dragon that destroyed the world, seemingly abandoned by its mother due to poor development for unknown reasons.

...What is all this nonsense? When will it end? It hasn't even been ten minutes yet.

Lilith stared blankly at the beeping phone, feeling her mind growing increasingly muddled.

"A13, please proceed to conference room 805."

The mechanical, electronic female voice rang out again overhead. Lilith glanced around and noticed that everyone in the corridor was looking up, and then—

He slowly shifted his gaze to her.

The scene was so eerie that Lilith shuddered, and the notification sound above her head rang again:

"A13, please proceed to conference room 805."

A13? Is it...is it her? Looking at the stares around her, Lilith belatedly realized, but she...she couldn't stand up—wait?

Lilith simply tried to brace herself on the armrest, and this time she succeeded easily.

Sure enough, after she stood up, the interviewees around her stopped staring at her.

Before Lilith could think, the lights in the corridor began to create varying degrees of brightness. Her surroundings darkened, while the right side of the corridor became increasingly bright, as if guiding her.

Lilith took a deep breath and walked forward until she pushed open the half-closed frosted glass door.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lily."

The 805 conference room was decorated in a simple, almost cold style. There was a long table and a few chairs. Facing the door sat three women who perfectly embodied Lilith's image of an urban white-collar worker. The woman in the middle gave Lilith a polite professional smile when she entered. Lilith noticed that her name tag read "Human Resources Manager".

Lilith had no interview experience whatsoever. She stood at the door, somewhat at a loss. In just that moment of hesitation, the three people at the table frowned slightly, and the person sitting on the far side looked to her left.

Lilith then noticed a huge projection screen on one side of the conference room. Clearly, the previous interviewee had just finished their PowerPoint presentation; various data cables were scattered on the table. The screen was still on, in standby mode, with a line of small white text and a constantly rotating symbol standing out against the dark blue background:

[Bluetooth not connected, searching...]