Chương 113: , codenamed "Silent Shadow," is pronounced "Little Shadow."

"" Ji Ying sighed deeply, then said, "Aren't you afraid that once I'm released, I'll take the opportunity to run away?"

"If you want to run away, you can just run away." Liuli's voice sounded calm, but it contained an indescribable complexity.

"After all—you're my savior."

She paused, a sincere and deeply apologetic expression on her face, and bowed deeply to Ji Ying.

"I'm so sorry for what I did to you before, and I almost hurt you."

"Thank you—thank you for saving me."

Ji Ying waved her hand somewhat awkwardly. For some reason, she felt a little uncomfortable in the face of Liu Li's sudden and solemn thanks and apology.

"Those were just things I did casually, you don't need to take them too seriously."

"But—didn't you say before that you wouldn't completely trust someone like me, a 'mysterious being'? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because I trust my own judgment." Liuli raised her head, looking at Jiying with a firm gaze.

"This encounter with you was completely accidental. If you harbored ill will towards me before, it was just a pretense—"

"You have absolutely no reason to be so careful not to hurt us when you are in your current form."

"With your strength, if you really wanted to harm us, even if the two of us joined forces, we probably wouldn't last long. You don't even need to expose those arm armors to let me know your true identity."

"The reason you chose to do that, the reason we 'captured' you, is simply because—from the very beginning, you had goodwill towards me and Yin Xue, and didn't want to hurt us, right?"

Listening to Liuli's clear and logical analysis, Jiying sighed deeply and helplessly again, a bitter smile of defeat appearing on his face.

"Sigh, if only you weren't so perceptive."

Her words were tantamount to acknowledging all of Liuli's guesses.

Listening to the cryptic conversation between the two, Yin Xue was still somewhat confused, but she had a general idea of what was going on.

She blinked, then suddenly realized and exclaimed, "So, this little sister in front of me, really is that incredibly powerful black-armored knight who saved you before, Xiao Li?"

Upon hearing Yin Xue call her "little sister," Ji Ying's cheek twitched involuntarily. She took a deep breath and tried to make her tone sound calm.

"Um—if it's alright, you can still call me Jiying."

"Why?" Yin Xue tilted her head in confusion.

"You're so cute, why did you choose a name like 'Silent Shadow,' which sounds rather gloomy?"

Although Liuli didn't ask a question directly, she also cast a curious glance over, clearly interested in the question as well. The codename "Silent Shadow" might be suitable for the previous knight's form, but it obviously doesn't match the appearance of the cute girl in front of her at all.

Cute? Gloomy?

Upon hearing these two adjectives, Ji Ying's cheeks twitched even more violently.

At this moment, her mind was screaming wildly: "Gloomy? Where is it gloomy! The code name 'Silent Shadow' is obviously super cool, okay? It's a perfect match for my previous all-black heavy armor knight look!"

But of course she couldn't say what was on her mind. She could only force a smile and reply in a flat tone, "It's just a simple code name. It doesn't have any special meaning."

Yin Xue seemed to realize that what she had just said might have been inappropriate, and a look of panic and apology appeared on her face. She waved her hands incoherently.

"Ah! I'm sorry! That's not what I meant, I just felt—"

"I'm so sorry for what I did to you before! And thank you for saving Xiaoli!"

Looking at the girl in front of him who was flustered and apologizing because of his unintentional words, Ji Ying's slight frustration caused by the "misinterpretation" of his code name quietly dissipated.

Of course, she wouldn't really blame this kind and innocent girl, the person she cared about most, for such a trivial matter.

So she could only shake her head helplessly and say softly, "It's alright, Yinxue, I didn't take it to heart."

Upon hearing this, Yin Xue breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately, her emerald green eyes lit up again, and her face was filled with anticipation and excitement as she moved closer to Ji Ying.

"Then from now on—can I call you 'Xiaoying'?"

"Later"?

"Xiaoying"? These two words were like two thunderbolts, instantly exploding in Jiying's mind and making her instantly alert.

She knew Yuqing too well. She seemed to have a terrifying talent for being naturally outgoing and had an extraordinary ability to get along with strangers. She could quickly become familiar with them in a very short time and make them accept her sudden affectionate nicknames and actions without them even realizing it.

She had done the same thing before. Even though it was only the second time she had met me, who was Xing Shuang, she suddenly asked me to hug her.

Looking at the girl's bright, expectant eyes and her body leaning forward slightly as if she were about to pounce, Ji Ying had no doubt that if he didn't stop her immediately, the "tragedy" that had happened to Xing Shuang would definitely be repeated on Ji Ying exactly the same way.

Things seem to be developing step by step in the direction she least wanted to happen—becoming more and more familiar with these two juniors under her current identity as "the girl Jiying," which makes her extremely ashamed.

Then they would naturally ask to exchange contact information and keep in touch frequently, and then she would be forced to appear in front of them more often in this shameful state. Just thinking about that scene made her feel dizzy.

She felt alarmed. She wanted to refuse. She wanted to nip any potential threat of that terrible outcome in the bud immediately, without hesitation.

but·-- Looking into Yin Xue's bright, clear emerald green eyes, gleaming with anticipation, and at the pure, unadulterated affection and joy on her face— Those firm words of refusal that were on the tip of their tongues remained unspoken, as if they were under a spell of silence.

After all—if I really refuse, she will be very sad, right?

In the end, after a fierce internal struggle, Jiying could only let out a long sigh filled with helplessness and resignation.

Then—slowly, almost with a touch of tragic solemnity, he nodded gently.