Chương 95: Intelligence Gathering

Where Jingjue's body disappeared, only a few wisps of black electric arcs, not yet completely dissipated, crackled in the air, along with a fist-sized, dark purple crystal emitting a cold and profound light.

Xingshuang's gaze was immediately drawn to the crystal, but what followed was an overwhelming wave of dizziness and weakness.

The wounds on her body sent waves of excruciating pain through her body, and the shock of her depleted magic power washed over her consciousness like a tidal wave.

It made her vision blur and she could barely maintain her flight posture.

The crack that had quietly appeared when the Mirror Lord struck a fatal blow now seemed to have widened further, the gem's brilliance was dimming, and the connection of magic was becoming sluggish and difficult, as if an invisible barrier was hindering the flow of power.

"Is this... the Void Source?" Starfrost suppressed her discomfort and stared intently at the dark purple crystal.

It can be sensed that this crystal is essentially similar to the magical girl's "Tear of the Star" and the virtual beast's "Energy Core," all being a pure condensation of power, only their energy attributes are completely different.

She deduced that this might be the "virtual source" that Jingjue had mentioned before, the one that sustained his existence.

But at this moment, she couldn't care less about studying the specific effects of this thing; her physical condition no longer allowed her to hesitate any longer.

The thought that I couldn't stay here any longer came to mind with perfect clarity.

"Put it away first!" Xing Shuang made a decisive decision, quickly storing the dark purple "Void Source" into her "Tear of Stars".

Among the gems.

After doing all this, she took a deep breath, gathered the last bit of magic power in her body, and transformed into a slightly dim pink-gold streak of light. She soared into the sky at top speed and flew rapidly towards home.

Although she successfully defeated the Void Apostle named Mirror Lord, her current condition is terrible. Let alone facing an enemy like Mirror Lord again, she would probably struggle even to fight a few juvenile Void Beasts.

Moreover, she had absolutely no idea whether other enemies were lurking in this dangerous industrial park.

Or perhaps Mirror Lord has other tricks up his sleeve.

The night breeze brushed against Xingshuang's pale cheeks, bringing a slight coolness, but it could not alleviate the deep-seated fatigue and pain within her body. She desperately squeezed out the last bit of magic power in her body, hoping to get away from this dangerous place as soon as possible.

However, just as she flew a distance towards home and entered the city limits, a strong and irresistible strangeness suddenly surged up from inside her body.

"Not good!" Xing Shuang's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously lowered the flight altitude.

During this process, she was somewhat surprised to find that the edges of her body began to become somewhat illusory, and the combat suit adorned with stars and moons began to flicker with intermittent pink and gold light.

Is this a sign that the transformation is about to end?!

She had never experienced anything like this before! In the past, she had always been able to deactivate her transformation under her own will, but this time, her body seemed to be trying to uncontrollably pull her out of her Starfrost transformation state.

This uncontrolled, forced release immediately reminded her of Jingjue's malicious curse: "To become a broken star that can no longer shine."

Could it be—could it really be— She forced herself to calm down and, before the transformation was completely over, quickly retrieved the cell phone belonging to "Star Frost" that was used to contact Yin Xue and the others from "Tears of Stars".

The next moment, a pinkish-gold light completely enveloped her body before quickly dissipating.

In mid-air, the petite pink magical girl disappeared, replaced by a boy dressed in ordinary clothes, who was falling downwards in a rather disheveled manner.

"Bang!"

Fortunately, he wasn't very high off the ground, and the ground below was soft sand. Lin Che rolled around on the ground a few times, and although he was dizzy and disoriented, he didn't suffer any real injuries.

He shook his slightly dizzy head, struggled to sit up from the sand, and the first thing he did was look at what he was clutching tightly in his hand.

The transformation device, which once shone with a pinkish-gold light and was as exquisite as a work of art, was now dull and lifeless. Its once smooth surface was covered with fine cracks, as if it would shatter completely at the slightest touch.

"How could this happen?" Lin Che's voice trembled slightly. He stretched out his finger and gently stroked the crack on the transformation device. The ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

"System!" he cried out anxiously in his mind, "What's going on?! Why did I suddenly de-transform? Could it be—could it be that I'll never be able to transform again?!"

He remembered Mirror Lord's words and the cracks in "Tears of the Stars," and an unprecedented panic gripped him.

Is he no longer able to transform into Starfrost?

If he loses the power of Starfrost, how will he protect those he cares about? How will he face the crises lurking in the shadows?

[The host, "Tears of the Star," has suffered severe damage; cracks have appeared in its magic core, and it has temporarily lost its ability to transform.] The system's voice was as cold as ever, but it eased Lin Che's tense nerves a little, at least—not permanently.

"How long will it take to recover?" he asked anxiously.

Based on the current assessment of the damage, it will take at least a week for the host to repair itself. During this period, the host will be unable to transform into Magical Girl Starfrost.

"One week," Lin Che took two steps, sat on a bench by the roadside, and rubbed his temples wearily.

This answer left him feeling a deep sense of powerlessness and anxiety.

Although they successfully defeated the Void Apostle named Mirror Lord, and it was basically confirmed that he was the culprit who caused the disappearance of the other Crescent Moon-level magical girls, the joy of defeating a powerful enemy vanished, replaced by a deeper sense of crisis.

First, he couldn't confirm that Mirror Lord was the only lurking enemy in the city. He didn't even know if there was a larger organization behind Mirror Lord. Second, the missing Crescent-level magical girls were still missing. Were they still alive?

What worries him even more is that he will lose the power of Starfrost for at least the next week.

This means that during this period, the protective forces of Jiangchuan City will rely entirely on Yin Xue and Liu Li, two relatively inexperienced Stardust-level magical girls.

If a large-scale infiltration of the Void Realm were to occur, or if an even more powerful enemy were to appear, could they handle it? Lin Che's heart was heavy, filled with worry for his two juniors.

There's also Jingjue's ability—judging from the previous battles, he seems to possess the strange ability to trigger the infiltration of the Void Realm and to conceal its fluctuations to some extent.

Is this something all Void Realm Apostles can do? If so, it would mean that enemies could launch attacks anytime, anywhere, silently, making them impossible to defend against.

The system previously described the Void Apostles as having "individual strength at least equivalent to the top existences among Crescent-level magical girls."

This means that these enemies, who are completely opposed to humans and magical girls, generally possess power that is close to or even surpasses that of Lord-level Void Beasts, and they also possess human intelligence that far exceeds that of Void Beasts. Moreover, they generally hide in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Such an enemy is undoubtedly the most troublesome and the one he least wants to face since his rebirth.

Finally, there's the matter of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs.

Director Roland's previous candor and the professionalism displayed by the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs did indeed reduce his direct suspicion of the Bureau itself to some extent.

But tonight's "precise" distress signal, clearly a trap aimed at him, forced him to confront a harsh reality once again: there is definitely a traitor within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, and this traitor's rank and authority are probably not low.

He even began to suspect that his previous meeting with Director Roland in the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs lobby had been monitored by the mole.

Otherwise, the trap set for him shouldn't have come so coincidentally.

But who exactly are those traitors? To what extent have they infiltrated? How deeply have they hidden themselves? These questions remain unanswered.

Unable to ascertain the identity of the mole, he now doesn't even know if he can still fully trust Director Roland.

The more Lin Che tried to sort out his thoughts, the more agitated he became. All this restlessness and unease ultimately stemmed from the insecurity he felt at the moment he had lost his power.

But he also knew that continuing to think aimlessly would only add to his troubles and wouldn't solve any real problems.

Lin Che sighed deeply, and could only pray silently that Jiangchuan City would be peaceful and that nothing unexpected would happen in the coming week.

He stood up from the bench, brushed the sand off his clothes, and then, dragging his weary body, began his journey home.

Meanwhile, on the other side, in the industrial park, in the wrecked wasteland ravaged by the previous battle.

Where Xingshuang was first attacked and where her blood still lingered on the ground, a tall, slender figure appeared out of thin air, as if he had always been standing there.

It was still that top hat, almost pure black from the darkness of the night, and that exquisitely crafted long black trench coat.

And the pure white smiling mask on his face, with its eerie upward curve.

It is the Apostle of the Void Realm— Mirror Duke.

He gracefully crouched down, his white-gloved fingertips lightly brushing the ground, picking up a few drops of Starfrost's still-dry blood, and let out a soft sigh with a hint of amusement.

"Ha, I really didn't expect this—the independent mirror image that I painstakingly created with so much virtual energy was actually destroyed by a mere crescent moon."

"This is so embarrassing."

But then, he changed the subject, bringing the bright red blood from his fingertip to his mask as if he were sniffing it, his tone filled with a morbid excitement.

"However—being able to obtain the blood of that new moon at least counts as achieving part of the goal."

Jingjue stood up, and in the next moment, his figure appeared like a ghost on the top of a towering factory building not far away. He gazed at the dazzling lights of the city in the distance, and the shadow under his hat brim swayed slightly, as if sensing something.

After a moment, he let out a soft hum with a hint of regret.

"The connection to the 'Virtual Source' that was taken away by that new moon has become very vague—was it taken into a space similar to the 'Tear of the Star'?"

"It seems we won't be able to find that interesting new moon anytime soon."

"However, it doesn't matter—" Jingjue's lips curled into a cold and cruel smile, hidden beneath the pure white mask.

"Whoever that new moon is, whatever power she possesses—"

"She could never stop my plan."

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