My ex-girlfriend is a magical girl junior?

Chapter 182 The Proud Defeater: Xingxian's Resolve

This is a trap.

It was still a trap, poorly disguised and brimming with undisguised malice and provocation.

When that urgent and piercing magical resonance came from the Star Tear in his chest, and when the gem at the center of the silver pocket watch, which served as a communication device for the patrolmen, emitted a deep red light representing the highest level of alert.

In an instant, this incredibly clear thought flashed through Xingxian's mind.

She stood on the edge of the building's top, letting the cold rain wash over her body, but her mental energy had already sunk into that small and sophisticated device.

A clear, complete, yet jarringly incoherent distress message instantly flooded her mind—

Several Crescent Moon-level magical girls have gone missing in Jiangchuan City, suspected to be facing an unknown and powerful enemy. The Kingdom has been requested to dispatch an inspector to investigate and provide support to one of the Crescent Moon-level magical girls, Yuexi.

Xingxian's brows furrowed deeply.

The emergency communication device she was holding could be used for regular communication with nearby companions, as well as to receive emergency distress signals from a considerable area around her.

This signal is a high-frequency vibrating energy beacon formed by magical girls fusing a small portion of their soul imprint with a large amount of pure magic power.

The beacon resonates through the "magic network" that spans the world, sending it directly to the highest command center of the magic kingdom. It can also be detected by nearby magical girls with higher authority—such as the patrol officer.

The distress signal sent in this way has extremely strong energy fluctuations, a clear direction, and contains the soul aura of the person seeking help. It cannot be forged and can be accompanied by brief mental information, such as enemy characteristics and coordinates.

However, sending such a signal is extremely costly, and no magical girl would use it lightly unless in a critical situation.

For this reason, every such signal represents a region facing its most severe crisis in the Magic Kingdom.

The content of the message she received, and the unique soul aura it contained, proved that the message was an emergency distress signal sent by the local magical girl, Yuexi.

But that's precisely why it seems so absurd.

As Xiaoying mentioned last night, Yuexi sent out this distress signal about half a month ago.

The reason the Magic Kingdom sent itself here was because it had not received any contact from the local magical girls of Jiangchuan City for a long time, and this place had long become an "information island" from the kingdom's perspective.

This message, which should have disappeared without a trace half a month ago, should absolutely not have appeared so precisely on the communication device of this newly arrived patrol officer at this time.

If it simply disappears, it's actually quite easy to explain: such a highly directional signal has huge energy fluctuations and is easily detected.

If it can be captured shortly after it is emitted, its path to the magic kingdom can be easily cut off, causing it to dissipate in the endless turbulent flow of magic.

But now, I can receive this message normally, and—it's so complete.

Then there is only one possibility: that the Void Apostle named Mirror Lord did not choose the simpler method of cutting off the transmission path, but instead used a more difficult and complex method to completely "capture" and store this unique signal.

To be able to do something like that, the guy with the smiling mask is clearly more troublesome than I imagined.

Moreover, the time he chose to send this message was precisely the second day after he arrived in the city, shortly after his whereabouts had been exposed to him by an insider in the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs.

The answer is obvious: this is not a distress signal at all, but an invitation from that cunning hunter, full of malice.

Jingjue, taking advantage of his eagerness to find his missing companion, had prepared a carefully laid trap for her, the newly arrived patrol officer, waiting for her to step into it willingly.

"That guy—he's really impatient." Xingxian's lips curled into a cold smile as she muttered to herself, "He can't even wait a day before he wants to completely eliminate me, his greatest threat?"

She could clearly tell that since the enemy had paid such a huge price and was so eager to eliminate her, the danger of this trap was definitely not to be underestimated.

The trap must be filled with various designs targeting magical girls, and Mirror Lord himself, or his strongest independent mirror image, must be sitting inside, waiting to deliver a fatal blow.

If you go there rashly, there is a very high chance of failure.

but----

A pale purple light suddenly shone, and Xingxian's figure transformed into a streak of light that tore through the boundless rain curtain in the next moment. Without the slightest hesitation, it flew straight towards the coordinates where the signal was sent.

The raindrops were shattered by her high-speed flight, turning into a white mist that left a long trail behind her.

Xingxian's face remained expressionless, but his mind was racing with calm and rapid thoughts.

Although it is known to be a trap, it is currently the only clue that can lead to Jingjue and potentially rescue the missing predecessors.

As an inspector of the magical kingdom, she did not believe she had the right to let an opportunity slip away simply because she sensed danger.

As for Liuli and Yinxue—the images of the two girls appeared in Xingxian's mind. His expression hesitated for a moment, then became extremely firm.

I can't tell them.

It wasn't because we had just had a conflict, but because they were just newcomers, and their skills and experience were far from sufficient.

Letting them get caught in a trap tailor-made for an opponent of the patrol rank would only result in pointless sacrifices. She absolutely cannot allow the city's protective forces to be diminished because of her decisions.

—Even if I hadn't argued with you before, I would still have made this choice. Although I promised to ask you to help me deal with Jingjue, this time—I'm sorry.

As his thoughts drifted to this point, a complex light flashed in Xingxian's silver-gray eyes.

Under this seemingly reasonable pretext, a selfish thought was growing uncontrollably in her mind.

Xingxian's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to a short time ago, back to that moment when she felt incredibly lost and frustrated—the moment when Xiaoying let go of her hand and walked towards the other two girls.

Yes, she can understand this behavior now; she has figured it out in her self-reflection just now.

For Xiaoying, Liuli and Yinxue were partners she had known earlier and with whom she had a closer relationship. In that situation, given Xiaoying's gentleness, she would naturally choose to comfort the two more vulnerable people who needed her more.

This is only natural.

but----

Xingxian's fingertips curled up unconsciously, as if she could still feel the touch of Jiying's soft black hair brushing against her last night.

A rational understanding cannot completely suppress the extremely strong sense of loss and resentment in my emotions.

The scene from last night flashed uncontrollably through my mind—that petite girl who embraced me with unwavering strength and comforted me with sincere tenderness when I lost control due to pressure.

That unconditional warmth was a sense of security she hadn't felt from anyone in a long time.

But this sense of security, this warmth that she thought she could approach with peace of mind, ultimately led her to choose someone else.

"I still lost." Xingxian sighed softly in her heart, "In the competition I valued so much, I lost to two Stardust-level newcomers."

This feeling made her feel incredibly alienated and irritated.

She, Ye Zixuan, is an inspector of the Magic Kingdom and a recognized genius.

From childhood to adulthood, whether in academics, extracurricular activities, or after becoming a magical girl, she had almost never tasted such a complete defeat.

This defeat did not stem from a lack of ability, but from something she had never had for a long time, yet longed for desperately—an intimate bond.

"Since that's the case—then I'll let you see it clearly."

A fierce, unprecedented glint of competitiveness flashed in Xingxian's eyes.

"I will resolve this crisis in my own way, find Jingjue's whereabouts, and prove to you that I am the strongest, most reliable, and most trustworthy partner!"

"Mirror Lord's trap? This is perfect! This is my best opportunity!"

Lord Yijing — Although you have been scheming, don't underestimate the inspectors of the Magic Kingdom.

Even if it's a trap set for me, with my strength, I'm not without the possibility of maneuvering against you and figuring out your true strength. I'm not so easily defeated.

She wanted to completely thwart Jingjue's conspiracy and bring his clues back to Xiaoying as "trophies."

She wanted Xiaoying to understand that all Liuli and Yinxue could offer her now was daily companionship and comfort; and that she herself was the one qualified to be her closest partner.

"Just you wait, Xiaoying—"

This intense, almost obsessive thought swept away Xingxian's confusion and hesitation, replacing it with soaring fighting spirit and unwavering determination.

However, we must always prepare for the worst. If I really do get caught up in it, someone must know what happened.

Thinking of this, Xingxian quickly regained her composure and, while flying at high speed, took out her cell phone with a cute snowflake pendant from "Tears of the Star".

She quickly unlocked the screen with one hand, her slender, fair fingertips darting across the screen until she found the special contact "Xiaoying" that she had pinned to the top of her contacts.

Immediately afterwards, she quickly typed a very short message and pressed the send button.

[Xiaoying, I received Yuexi's distress signal and am on my way to the location where the signal was sent. I have already shared the coordinates with you.]

After confirming that the message had been sent successfully, Xingxian immediately put away her phone, looked up, and gazed at the silhouette of the building that was faintly visible in the rain in the distance. The light in her eyes became even more firm and resolute.

She took a deep breath, and the magic power within her surged wildly, causing her flight speed to increase dramatically.

Like a resolute purple meteor, she streaked with brilliance as she resolutely plunged into the unknown darkness.