Chương 170: Information Exchange, Roland's Gratitude

After recovering from the profound shock that originated from the depths of her soul, the first thing Ji Ying did was to apologize to the old man before her for her previous behavior.

"Director Roland, I'm so sorry." Her voice was filled with heartfelt apology.

"I sincerely apologize for my previous impolite probing and suspicion."

"All my previous doubts and tests seemed so ridiculous and insignificant the moment Miss Morning Star's Star Tear lit up."

"It was me—I misunderstood you."

However, after hearing her words, Director Roland slowly shook his head.

The sadness and longing for his daughter that had once graced his face had vanished, replaced by the calm and composure befitting the director of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs.

He looked at Jiying and corrected her in a steady voice: "No, Miss Jiying, your previous actions were completely correct and absolutely necessary."

"The enemy we are about to face together must be very cunning and powerful. When dealing with such a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, no amount of caution is too much."

"I even feel that your decision to come directly to my office today and talk to me face to face carries incalculable risks."

"If I really were that traitor, then I would absolutely have the ability and time to transform this office into a dangerous trap for you."

Ji Ying could clearly sense that Director Roland's aura had instantly shifted from that of a father immersed in grief back to that of a calm and wise leader.

Looking at the other person's calm face and feeling their understanding and affirmation, the guilt I felt for misunderstanding them lessened a little.

She sincerely thanked him, then took two steps back and sat down again on the guest sofa.

"So, now—" Director Roland's fingertips tapped lightly on the smooth desk, producing a rhythmic sound, "May I ask Miss Jiying to tell me all the important information you know?"

"About Miss Starfrost's experiences, about the possible traitors within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, and also about—yourself."

"I'm really—very curious about these things right now."

Ji Ying nodded slightly, meeting Roland's probing gaze, and said calmly, "Alright, then I'll continue the topic we interrupted earlier, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Director Roland immediately nodded and extended his hand, making a "please" gesture.

Jiying organized his thoughts and began to recount his experience as Xingshuang that day: "When Xingshuang received the distress signal and rushed to the location of the infiltration of the Void Realm, she had already noticed something amiss."

"She possesses a special ability that allows her to detect the infiltration of the virtual world in a more efficient and accurate manner than the Bureau of Paranormal Affairs' monitoring system."

"At that time, she did not detect any energy fluctuations in the vicinity of the South City Industrial Park that matched the level of the distress signal."

"Therefore, she immediately deduced that this was very likely a trap set specifically for her by a traitor within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs and an enemy lurking in the shadows."

"And those magical girl seniors who went missing before were very likely lured into a trap by him in the same despicable way, and then—attacked."

"After that, in order to prevent the same situation from happening again, she immediately notified her two Stardust-level companions, instructing them not to go to the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SIE) rashly before confirming the identity of the traitor, and not to easily believe any distress signals from the SIE."

Director Roland listened quietly to Ji Ying's narration, his expression growing increasingly solemn as she spoke.

When he heard the last part, he finally realized why he hadn't received any contact from the magical girl in the past five days.

"So that's how it is—" he murmured, a surge of uncontrollable anger rising in his chest.

"Bang--!"

With a dull thud, Luo Na slammed his fist, clenched in anger, onto the desk in front of him, causing the documents on the desk to bounce slightly.

"I never imagined—that—right under my nose, within the very organization I built with my own hands, there would exist—such a despicable traitor!"

"This kind of scum, who colludes with the Apostles of the Void Realm and pushes his own comrades, whom he should be protecting, into the abyss—is absolutely, absolutely unforgivable!"

Seeing Director Roland trembling with rage, Jiying sighed inwardly. When she guessed that the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, which the magical girls regarded as a reliable support, had a traitor, her anger was no less than Roland's.

She didn't speak immediately, but waited quietly for the other person's emotions to calm down a bit.

After a while, she gently shook her head and said calmly, "Fortunately, Xing Shuang realized this in time, which prevented the worst-case scenario from happening."

"Did we prevent the worst-case scenario from happening?"

Director Roland astutely grasped the hidden meaning in Ji Ying's words. He tried to calm himself down and asked hesitantly, "You just said—Miss Xing Shuang realized it was a trap, so what happened next—" Ji Ying's expression became somewhat complicated. She gently shook her head and replied, "To find out who the enemy hiding behind the scenes is, and also to—prevent more of my comrades from suffering misfortune."

"She chose to walk into that carefully laid trap."

"Although she ultimately achieved her goal, she also paid a price in the process of that battle."

"Her Star Tear" suffered some damage in the battle with the enemy, temporarily losing the ability to transform again. It will take about two days to fully recover.

Director Roland's face turned extremely tense and pale the moment he heard the words "Tears of the Stars are damaged," and his hands, which had relaxed, clenched again.

Only when he heard Jiying say that Xingshuang would be able to regain her transformation ability in two more days did his tense expression finally relax a little, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Then, as if he had just thought of something, he immediately pressed on, "Then—who exactly is that mysterious enemy who ambushed Miss Xing Shuang? Has she figured out their identity?"

Ji Ying's expression turned serious again. She looked at Director Roland and said solemnly, "This is exactly the question I want to ask you next."

"Director Roland, how much do you know about the 'Virtual Realm Apostles'?"

"Apostle of the Void Realm?" Director Roland pondered this unfamiliar term, his face showing obvious bewilderment.

He gently shook his head: "I'm sorry, I've never heard of that title before."

Ji Ying was not surprised by this, and immediately began to share all the information he currently had about the "Void Realm Apostles" with Roland without reservation.

Furthermore, she emphasized the personality traits of the illusory apostle codenamed "Mirror Lord" who was lurking in the city, as well as his bizarre ability to use mirror clones and spatial jumps with exceptional skill.

Finally, in an extremely solemn tone, she concluded: "And what Starfrost fought so hard that night, even at the cost of severely damaging her 'Tears of Stars,' to ultimately defeat was merely—one of Mirror Lord's mirror clones possessing independent thought."

"His true form remains unknown, lurking in some corner of the city, and no one knows what kind of nefarious scheme he is plotting."

After listening to the astonishing information shared by Ji Ying, Director Roland fell into a long silence, rapidly analyzing and organizing the invaluable intelligence in his mind.

The dimly lit office was completely silent, save for the torrential rain outside the window, which continued to relentlessly pound against the glass, making a pitter-pattering sound.

After a long while, Director Roland finally let out a long sigh of relief, as if he wanted to expel all the shock and frustration in his heart.

He slowly stood up from his seat and bowed deeply to the petite girl in front of him.

"Miss Jiying—" His voice was filled with obvious sincerity and gratitude, "For a long time in the past, I was in an extremely passive and confused state."

"Although I vaguely sensed that something was wrong with the situation in Jiangchuan City recently, I was unable to make an accurate judgment due to a lack of sufficient intelligence support, let alone figure out what was going on behind the scenes."

"Until just now, when you shared this crucial intelligence with me, I truly understood just how dire the situation we are facing is."

"On behalf of all the staff of the Bureau of Extraordinary Events, and even—all the ordinary citizens of this city, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to you."

"Thank you for everything you've done."

Faced with Director Roland's solemn and somewhat exaggerated thanks, Ji Ying simply shook his head slightly: "It won't be too late for you to say these words of thanks after we cooperate and completely eliminate that bastard Jing Jue.""

"It's too early to talk about this now."

"Hehe, of course I understand those principles." Director Roland smiled with relief.

"But some gratitude must be expressed immediately."

Immediately, the smile on his face faded, and his expression became serious again.

He looked at Jiying, his tone filled with obvious curiosity, and slowly said, "Well then, Miss Jiying, now that we have roughly finished exchanging information about Miss Xingshuang and the current crisis—"

"Next, may I ask you to reveal a little about yourself?"'

Ji Ying nodded gently and replied frankly, "Okay.""