Chương 171: Plans and Speculations

Director Roland gave a gentle smile and steered the conversation toward Ji Ying himself.

"Miss Jiying, please forgive my intrusion." His voice was calm and peaceful, without the slightest hint of accusation, more like a seeker of knowledge sincerely asking for advice when facing the unknown.

"Regarding your identity, I have some questions that I just can't understand."

"You previously stated that your body is composed of ethereal energy, and the powerful control you have demonstrated over ethereal energy is something that ordinary humans with an affinity for ethereal energy cannot possess."

He paused, his tone filled with curiosity: "So, may I consider you—an apostle of the Void Realm?"

This problem was within Ji Ying's expectations. She knew that it was normal for Director Roland to be confused about his identity and the source of his power after learning about the information about the Void Realm Apostles.

She gently shook her head, continuing with the same increasingly familiar line she had used with Xingxian: "Strictly speaking, no."

"The power I possess does indeed originate from the Void Realm, but—I only recently acquired this power."

"Its origin is the spoils Starfrost obtained from Mirror Lord's independent mirror image during their recent battle—the illusory source left behind after that mirror image was completely destroyed."

"Star Frost—she gave me that piece of illusory source, and that's how I gained this special power."

"You can think of me as something similar to the Apostles of the Void Realm, but I can tell you clearly that I am fundamentally different from that group."

"Oh? Why is that?" Director Roland's face showed obvious surprise upon hearing this, and he leaned forward slightly, showing great interest.

"That's how it is—" After organizing his thoughts briefly, Ji Ying then briefly and clearly repeated to Director Roland the explanation he had given Xing Xian during their previous conversation: that "the oaths made by the Void Realm Apostles to their existence are absolutely binding" and that "he himself is not bound by such oaths."

After hearing her explanation, Roland fell into a brief silence again, as if digesting this completely new information that he had never encountered before.

After a moment, he nodded as if suddenly realizing something: "So that's how it is—I understand now."

"But to be honest, Miss Jiying, your stance was already beyond question the moment Xiaoxi's Star Tear lit up—"

"But even now, I am still genuinely surprised and—admiring—that someone like you could form an alliance with the local magical girls."

"I never imagined that you could actually become partners with them."

Upon hearing Director Roland's words, which were filled with emotion, Ji Ying couldn't help but let out a helpless, bitter laugh.

She recalled the battle she fought when she first met Xingxian last night and the completely unexpected developments that followed, as well as her earlier experience of being "captured" by Liuli and Yinxue in the small park. Her tone carried a hint of self-deprecation: "Becoming partners with them is not as easy as you imagine. For example, last night, when I ran into that Xingxian Inspector, she attacked me without saying a word."

"It was only after going through—quite a few twists and turns—that I was able to barely prove to her that I was not her enemy."

Upon hearing this, Director Roland immediately recalled Xingxian's aloof, arrogant, and unapproachable demeanor in his office the previous night.

He couldn't help but let out a knowing chuckle: "Heh—given that inspector's personality, that process must have been—quite arduous, right?"

"It's more than just difficult—" Ji Ying muttered to himself, but nodded helplessly on the surface.

She then steered the conversation back on track, her expression turning serious: "Fortunately, we eventually managed to exchange the information we had. Hoshino has also learned about the current situation of the local magical girls and the possibility of traitors within the Bureau of Extraordinary Events."

"Furthermore, we have finally agreed to meet again later today to discuss the specific battle plan against that bastard, Jingjue."

"And that is the most direct reason why I decided to come see you today."

Upon hearing this, Director Roland's smile gradually faded, and he asked thoughtfully, "You mean—"

"That's right." Ji Ying nodded without hesitation, calmly meeting Roland's "gaze".

"Before coming here, my goal was very clear: if I could confirm through this meeting that you are the traitor hiding behind the scenes, then I would spare no effort to eliminate you here."

Despite hearing Ji Ying's words, which were filled with murderous intent and determination, Director Roland's face remained unchanged.

He simply nodded approvingly, then calmly continued, picking up where Ji Ying left off: "And if—you can be sure I'm not a traitor, then cooperate with me to find the real traitor, right?"

"Yes, based on my deduction, Mirror Lord's so-called independent mirror image, while possessing extremely high intelligence and powerful combat capabilities, should not be able to share memories with his original body in real time."

"In other words, although Mirror Lord knew very well that his mirror image clone used to ambush Starfrost had failed, he would never know how much valuable intelligence we obtained from that mirror image clone."

"He may not be able to tell that we have already discovered his identity as a traitor within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, and even—we have begun to try to find him."

"This is an extremely advantageous information gap for us."

"If we can find the hidden traitor before he can react, then we might be able to use this traitor to set a trap for Mirror Lord that he could never have foreseen, thereby achieving a decisive victory."

At this point, Ji Ying's gaze fell on Director Roland again, and his voice became serious: "So, Director Roland, as the highest leader of the Jiangchuan City Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, do you have any specific guesses about the true identity of that possible traitor?"

Upon hearing this, Director Roland did not answer immediately. He leaned back in his chair in silence, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the desk.

The dimly lit office fell silent once more, with only the incessant sound of rain outside the window and the rhythmic tapping of Roland's fingertips on the desk.

After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice low and deep: "If I'm not mistaken, that traitor—is very likely a member of the 'Shadow Tide' organization."

"Shadow Tide?" Ji Ying raised an eyebrow slightly.

Upon hearing this familiar title, she immediately recalled the extremist organization that Director Roland had described to her in detail when she first met him as Xingshuang. It was an organization composed of fanatics who worshipped the existence of the Void Realm.

She nodded in agreement: "Yes, I also think it's very possible. It's almost impossible for ordinary people to come into contact with beings of the Void Realm Apostle level."

"But if we use 'Shadow Tide,' an organization that fanatically worships the virtual world, as a medium to contact Mirror Lord, then that makes sense."

"Although you previously told Starfrost that the behavior of the Shadow Tide members seemed to stem more from spontaneous fanaticism and hatred of the existing world, and had no direct connection with the forces within the Void Realm."

"But—" Ji Ying paused slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his dark red eyes.

"Given Jingjue's treacherous and cunning nature, it's not surprising that he would treat certain fanatical members of this organization as cannon fodder that he could use and discard at will to achieve his own goals."

Director Roland nodded approvingly upon hearing this: "Yes, my thoughts are exactly the same as yours."

"Moreover, over the past few years, the Shadow Tide organization has spontaneously carried out operations more than once, sending its members to infiltrate our Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs in an attempt to create chaos and sabotage."

"Although those operations ultimately failed because we detected them in advance, it is enough to show that within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, there truly exists—a 'soil' they can exploit."

"Perhaps—it was from that time that Jingjue had already set his sights on this organization full of fanatical believers that he could easily exploit."

Ji Ying took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Director Roland, and pressed on, "So, do you already have any guesses about the specific identities of those—or rather, those traitors who might be lurking among us?"

This issue is undoubtedly the most crucial one in today's talks.

However, to her surprise— After another long period of contemplation, Director Roland, under the slightly surprised gaze of Ji Ying, gently shook his head.

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