Urging for more updates, then turning into a magical girl.

Basil and Ink-dyed Cherry, who were standing in front of the control panel, turned to look at the door.

Two figures stood in front of the door.

The girl on the left has long brown hair, but she is wearing a white lab coat that is extremely incongruous with her appearance. There is also an identity tag hanging on the chest of the lab coat, with the name "Asaki Maidouka" written in the name column.

The other girl standing next to her had long, bright red hair tied into low pigtails that draped over her shoulders. She had deep, purplish-red eyes, wore a long purple dress, and had a dark red cape draped over her shoulders.

"It's Yaoxing and Zhenye." Seeing the newcomers, Basil relaxed slightly. "What are you two doing in the underground lab?"

"Why can't I come!"

Hearing what Basil said, Yao Xing crossed her arms and looked displeased. "This base doesn't belong to you alone."

Maya stepped forward and nodded slightly in agreement, saying, "In fact, we are all four Heavenly Kings under the Commander's command. Since you two can stay here, of course we can come too! Besides, the Commander has been missing for so long, and we are also concerned about the progress of the investigation here."

Hearing this, Mo Ranying, feeling a little guilty, immediately coughed twice to cover her embarrassment. She quickly walked over, trying to change the subject.

Mo Ranying approached Yao Xing with feigned seriousness, scrutinizing her from head to toe for a long time: "But... why are you wearing this outfit all day, Yao Xing? Did you sneak off to get an appointment with a specialist in the middle of the night and then steal the doctor's coat?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I borrowed this coat from the research department. They just said it was a gift for me." Yao Xing patted the hem of her white coat, put her hands in the large pockets, and raised her chin slightly, revealing a proud expression.

"...This is so incongruous." Basil turned around and chimed in, "You're not a research staff member...no, you know absolutely nothing about research, right? What's the point of wearing clothes like this?"

Faced with her companion's doubts, Yao Xing remained calm and composed: "After all, I haven't been an idol for a long time, so I thought it was time to change my image and take a more intellectual route."

"Wearing this outfit won't instantly turn you into a researcher... If you really want to compare, are you cosplaying Makise Kurisu from Steins;Gate?"

"Kurisu's hair is actually more reddish. Although in some pictures her hair does look a bit brown, overall it's still quite different from mine."

After chatting with Basil for a while, he stopped paying attention to her and instead strolled into the depths of the laboratory on his own.

After wandering around for a while, her gaze was drawn to a huge cylindrical culture jar emitting a faint green light.

Inside the culture tank, a young girl was floating quietly.

Her long, flowing blue princess-cut hair spread out in the nutrient solution, and her petite figure was dressed in a maid outfit that exuded a somewhat ascetic aura. It could be said that she combined cuteness and aloofness.

"Huh? Who's this?"

Yao Xing leaned closer to the glass jar, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Basil...did you guys go somewhere and catch another wild magical girl to soak in?"

Upon hearing this question, Mo Ranying, who was following behind, looked away somewhat awkwardly.

"...Uh, uh...she might be...uh, the Commander."

"ah???"

Upon hearing this, Maya, who was standing not far away, quickly ran to the incubation tank, pressed her forehead against the glass, and stared at the floating blue-haired girl in disbelief.

"This...this is actually the Commander...? The Commander...has become such a cute girl?!"

Maya's voice trembled slightly.

Moreover, this trembling was not due to shock at learning about the matter, but rather to some kind of strange excitement.

Cheng Qi... Senior Cheng Qi has turned into a cute blue-haired girl that I can hold in my arms...

Just thinking about it makes Maya's nose bleed.

As for Yao Xing, although she appeared calm on the outside, the way she looked at the girl gradually became more profound.

She had always admired the leader. But this admiration... could only keep them as close friends, preventing them from taking their relationship any further.

This caused Yao Xing great distress.

However, now... that barrier has disappeared.

Looking at the sleeping girl's beautiful face, Yao Xing could no longer look away.

"It is not yet certain whether she is the commander."

Just then, Basil spoke calmly, interrupting the two men's fantasy.

Basil had returned to the console and started typing on the keyboard. "She could be the commander, or she could be bait to mislead us. We can't let our guard down until we have solid evidence."

Soon, a cluster of slender, soft red tentacles, as if brought to life, began to meander upwards from beneath the nutrient solution. They gently wrapped around the blue-haired girl's delicate limbs and waist, firmly anchoring her in the water. Then, one of the slender tentacles slid down the girl's cheek to her ear and slowly probed into her ear.

Seeing this, the other three people present were startled. Mo Ran Ying quickly grabbed Basil's arm: "Hey! Basil, what are you doing?! Will you puncture her eardrums by shoving it in like that? Even if a magical girl's body can repair itself... this is too much..."

What Mo Ran Ying was worried about was, of course, "What if the blue-haired girl really is the leader?"

Basil remained indifferent, not even turning her head.

"Don't worry. These are magically compatible tentacles made of a special material. They won't damage your eardrums; instead, they'll go straight through and connect to your brain."

After saying that, Basil reached out and pressed the play button on the main screen.

"I just intend to read her memories to confirm whether she is indeed our leader."

In fact, Basil was 99% certain that the blue-haired girl was the leader.

After all, her appearance coincided perfectly with the commander's disappearance, and she completely possessed the commander's manner of speaking and demeanor. This was something that others could not easily imitate.

What she was really interested in was the reason why the leader had transformed his body into this form.

Her original plan was to brainwash the commander, so that she could not only find out his purpose, but also get a cute blue-haired girl version of the commander as a doll...

Unfortunately, the brainwashing device is now locked up... so we have to resort to reading memories as a second-best option.

As Basil finished her work, a "beep" sounded and the empty screen in the center of the laboratory lit up.