Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

Familiar streets, dim but unextinguished lights, walking down the handrail along the stairs, Hexia stopped in her tracks, gazing out at the rows of buildings immersed in the night, many of them brightly lit while others were extinguished, as if she could hear the sound of people talking from those illuminated windows. Not long after leaving the elevator, and because it wasn't on her way, Hexia and Clara had gone their separate ways; now Hexia was alone, pulling her suitcase through the connecting corridors between the blocks. As a city born from wartime planning, the underground residential areas of Payin City were divided into many different modules, separated by thick layers of concrete, and never directly connected to each other, but instead linked by large tubes. This was to prevent a domino effect from underground nuclear bombs, allowing the explosion to be contained within certain areas, preserving the other modules. Additionally, such a design facilitated control: by closing the paths, an entire residential module could be sealed off. After a ten-minute journey, Hexia stopped in front of the high-rise building where she had lived before. It remained unchanged, just as she had left it, with only minor changes after a brief one to two years. Occasionally, Hexia would still see one or two familiar figures. However, after a makeover and some changes, she wasn't recognized by anyone and simply passed by them. Approaching her living quarters, Hexia found the area had been sealed off, with two thick layers of bulletproof steel plates added to the passageways on either side of her home, and two cameras scanning the area. Just as Hexia contemplated whether to make a call to inquire about the situation, the sealed bulletproof steel plates slowly slid open to reveal a square doorway, followed by a mechanical synthesized voice. "Welcome back." Driven by curiosity, Hexia entered and found two tall Autonomous Riot Control Units stationed inside. By their paint and shape, they seemed to be some advanced model. These units stood like sentinels on either side of the entrance, only gradually activating and projecting rows of text in front of Hexia as she came in. After reading the explanations, descriptions, and the scope of permissions, Hexia roughly understood their purpose. This was likely a small measure within the scope of the Federation's Songstress Protection Law, designed to protect her residence from thieves and robbers, as well as to serve as a deterrent. Although there were only two Autonomous Units, both were directly networked with the local security institutions. If they stopped transmitting signals or showed anomalies, it would take only a few minutes for the special police forces to arrive at the scene. Of course, according to the scope of the granted permissions, Hexia could only command them within her own living area; she couldn't take them outside or randomly attack people. "Thank you." Although she knew this was all regulated, Hexia still felt grateful for their attention to detail and for not interfering too much with her life. After unlocking the door with her key, she found that the interior facilities and arrangements were exactly the same as when she left. The light whitish frost covered the entire room, without any additional footprints or marks. Hexia had already taken away the important things, so even if this house disappeared, it wouldn't matter much. But still, this place was filled with many nostalgic memories: the traces of use on the dining table and sofa, the old clothes no longer worn, and the people in that photo frame, all stirred a familiar feeling in Hexia, as memories surged forth like the tide. Setting down her suitcase, the young girl took off her glasses, shook her hair, and reverted to her usual light grey appearance, causing the white frost in the room to rapidly dissipate and return to its normal appearance. Finally home, she thought. Removing her shoes, Hexia, in her socks, stepped over the familiar flooring, opened the bedroom door from her memory where she had spent many days and nights, and then jumped onto the bed, lying down. Feeling the softness of the mattress, that faint familiar scent, looking at the familiar ceiling, her ears caught the familiar sounds from afar—the hustle and bustle of the night market, not too far from the residential area. After a while, Hexia got up again, put on her shoes, and opened her suitcase. The large spider, along with five little birds, was running circles in the living room. With several legs lifted, it seemed to gesture as if saying, "I've been here before, I am your predecessor, you all should behave," and so on. Watching this scene, Hexia smiled, then simply told them not to damage anything before changing back into casual clothes and going out again. Standing at the door, she put on her glasses, carried her tote bag, and then went out. This time she wanted to go shopping for some groceries to cook a meal. After all, it had been a long time since she had cooked, and she even felt a bit rusty now. Walking through the sparsely populated streets, Hexia arrived at the store she used to frequent. It was still similar to the past. Passing by the dazzling shelves, Hexia's fingers slowly brushed over them, and she picked out the goods she wanted to buy and put them in her bag. [T6-grade Pureline Rice, 6.31 Federation Coins/500g; T6-grade Snow Pattern Cabbage, 5.12 Federation Coins/200g; T6-grade Fresh Red Meat, 21.25 Federation Coins/500g; T5-grade White Strawberries, 34.47 Federation Coins/200g; T5-grade Purple Mulberries, 46.72 Federation Coins/200g...] Compared with previous prices, the fluctuations weren't significant. Meat and mulberries had gone up a bit, but strawberries and cabbage had dropped slightly. Hexia, drawing on her own experience, adeptly selected the vegetables to buy, then took three boxes of strawberries and mulberries and also purchased a bag of T5-grade quality apples. [In total, that will be 487.25 Federation Coins. Thank you for shopping with us.]