Chương 145: The Unreceived SOS Signal: Xingxian's Questioning

On the quiet bench in the corner, the night breeze brought an even stronger chill, blowing Xingxian's pale purple hair and also ruffling the slightly thin white cardigan on Jiying's body.

Xingxian's clear, silver-gray eyes, filled with undisguised inquiry, scrutinized the girl beside her who had just revealed her purpose and identity.

"First, I want to know," her voice broke the brief silence, "How do you know the purpose of my trip, Jiying?"

"I haven't mentioned to anyone except a few high-ranking officials what my purpose in coming to Jiangchuan City is. How did you find out?"

This question was within Jiying's expectations; she knew it was an unavoidable one.

After pondering for a moment, Jiying decided to use the same story he had gradually become familiar with, which he had told Liuli and Yinxue before. At least, he couldn't afford to make any mistakes in keeping the core identity a secret.

"I am not alone. I have cooperative relationships with some magical girls in this city." Her voice was calm and steady, without much emotional fluctuation.

"They were the ones who told me that the inspectors might come to investigate."

"Oh? A business partner?" Xingxian raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"To have someone as similar to an Apostle of the Void as you as a partner, it seems the magical girls of Jiangchuan City are more unconventional than I imagined."

She paused, then continued, "So, how did you convince them that someone radiating ethereal energy could be trusted?"

"Well—" Ji Ying couldn't help but let out a helpless sigh in his heart.

Her mind flashed back to the "humiliating" experience of being forced to surrender in that small park the night before last, and then having her disguise exposed by two magical girl juniors. She suddenly felt a little embarrassed to talk about it.

After a moment of silence, trying to banish those "unbearable" images from her mind, she replied in a slightly ambiguous and subtle tone: "—It's the same method I used to make you believe me."

Xingxian paused for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded knowingly: "Oh? So, you also chose to stop when you could have easily killed them, and then—let them willingly 'capture' you?"

Ji Ying's cheeks stiffened slightly involuntarily, and an indescribable sense of embarrassment and awkwardness welled up in her heart.

—Although the specific processes and reasons are vastly different, from the results—it seems—it appears— Almost exactly?! They both started with a "fight," then got tied up, and finally gained the other's trust.

Despite the raging inward screams, Ji Ying tried his best to maintain composure and calmness on the surface, vaguely replying, "Um—yes, more or less—that's it."

Xingxian looked at Jiying's obviously complicated expression. Although she still had doubts, she did not delve into the matter further.

She nodded, then asked, "So, how did you know I was an 'Inspector' sent by the Magic Kingdom? Did they tell you that too?"

"Um.

"" Jiying responded and began to recount her prepared explanation: "It was a Crescent Moon-level magical girl named Yuexi who informed my collaborator."

"According to her, because she realized that the recent disappearances of other magical girls in the city were unusual, she had sent an urgent distress signal to the Magic Kingdom through special channels."

And you, Miss Xingxian, just happened to appear at this time, and possess strength far exceeding that of an ordinary Crescent Moon level—therefore, I deduce that you are very likely the patrol envoy who came to provide support."

"Yuexi, is it?" Xingxian murmured the name in her heart. She remembered that there was indeed a record of this new moon-level magical girl on the kingdom's list of missing persons.

She nodded, then asked, "So, Yuexi isn't among your collaborators? I thought you had collaborations with all the magical girls in this city?"

"I only have one partner." Ji Ying shook her head slightly, her tone somewhat complicated.

"And she—is also the only remaining Crescent Moon-level magical girl in this city."

"Unfortunately, shortly after informing my collaborator that she had already requested aid from the kingdom, Yuexi also—disappeared."

"So now, besides my collaborator, there are only two relatively inexperienced Stardust-level juniors left in this city."

Jiying had thought that Xingxian would be shocked and worried after hearing that the magical girls of Jiangchuan City had become so weak.

However, to her surprise, after hearing her words, Xingxian did not immediately show much worry or anxiety. Instead, after a moment of silent contemplation, she slowly said in a slightly relieved tone, "So that's how it is—in that case, the current situation in Jiangchuan City is better than I initially expected."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, a clear look of surprise flashed in Ji Ying's eyes.

"Why do you say that? With Yuexi missing, only Xinyue and two Xingchen remain in the city. Such a protective force is already precarious; it can hardly be considered good, right?"

Xingxian raised her head, calmly gazing at Jiying, and uttered a startling fact that made her pupils suddenly contract: "Jiying, your previous understanding may have a fundamental misconception."

"I didn't come here because I received a request for help from Yuexi or any other magical girl from Jiangchuan City."

"The real reason is that the Magic Kingdom has not received any form of contact from any of its companions in Jiangchuan City for far too long."

"It is precisely because of this prolonged and complete loss of contact that we judged that an extremely serious incident had most likely occurred in Jiangchuan City, which is why I was dispatched here to conduct an investigation and—take necessary measures."

"Before I came here, I had even prepared for the worst, thinking that the magical girls in this city might have been wiped out."

"Therefore, when I sensed the powerful and pure ethereal energy fluctuations emanating from you and determined that you were an unknown and extremely dangerous Void Apostle, I launched a surprise attack on you without hesitation."

"Because in my judgment at the time, since the protective forces of a city had been completely wiped out, it was not surprising that a powerful Void Apostle could appear so openly."

As Jiying listened to Xingxian's calm yet cold narration, a chill rose from the depths of her heart.

"What—what did you say?!" Her voice trembled slightly with shock.

"Has the kingdom—not received any contact from here for too long?"

In response to her, Xingxian gave a firm but slow nod.

This fact struck like a bolt from the blue, instantly making Ji Ying understand many things she couldn't comprehend before.

No wonder it took so long for the patrol officers to arrive after Yuexi sent out her plea for help.

No wonder Jingjue dared to set up such a brazen operation in Jiangchuan City.

It turns out that this city had long since unknowingly become an isolated island cut off from the outside world.

Seeing Jiying's obviously shocked expression, Xingxian continued her analysis in her cool and calm tone: "This also means that the enemy hiding behind this city is not only capable of causing several Crescent Moon-level magical girls to disappear one after another, but also possesses some means that we do not yet know, which can completely intercept or block their communication with the kingdom."

"If that weren't the case, given the kingdom's reaction speed, I should have received it much earlier and more promptly."

Jiying's breathing quickened slightly. She forced herself to calm down, quickly grasped the key point in Xingxian's words, and immediately asked, "How do the magical girls contact the kingdom? How often do they contact it?"

The moment she asked the question, she suddenly realized that the person in front of her was, after all, an inspector of the Magic Kingdom, and this information might involve the Magic Kingdom's core secrets.

She quickly added with a hint of apology, "I'm sorry, Miss Xingxian, is this classified information that's not convenient to disclose to outsiders? If so, please don't tell me, just pretend I didn't ask."

Xingxian glanced at Jiying approvingly, seemingly quite fond of her tactful and measured attitude.

She nodded slightly and said, "This intelligence does indeed involve the core of the kingdom's communication security. According to regulations, I cannot disclose too many specific details to you."

"But I can tell you this—" Her tone paused slightly, and her gaze sharpened as she pointed to a question that caught Jiying off guard: "Since magical girls are still active in this city, even if they are unable to send out an emergency distress signal for some reason—"

"Then why, during the period when the kingdom was completely cut off from Jiangchuan City, did we not even receive a single scheduled secure contact from that collaborator you mentioned—the only remaining Crescent-level magical girl in Jiangchuan City?"

"Our timed secure communications are conducted through a conventional magical network with extremely wide coverage and multiple redundant channels. Its signal characteristics are highly concealed, making it virtually impossible for the enemy to completely and thoroughly intercept it over a long period."

"It's understandable that the two newly awakened Stardust-level rookies you mentioned might not know about this method of communication, or they might have overlooked it due to a lack of experience."

"But why did your 'collaborator,' who is a Crescent Moon-level being—also choose to remain silent?"