My ex-girlfriend is a magical girl junior?

"What?!"

Jingjue turned his white mask toward Xingshuang, the shadow under his hat brim swaying slightly, and his tone finally revealed a hint of obvious astonishment.

He stared intently at Starfrost, at her battle suit, which, though covered in dust, was far from "damaged," and at the undiminished magical power surging around her.

The pink-haired magical girl before him, almost unharmed and brimming with fighting spirit, was a completely different person from the "prey" who had been disheveled and on the verge of collapse under his attacks just moments before.

How is this possible?!

He knew very well the power of that previous sneak attack; an attack of that magnitude could severely injure any unsuspecting Crescent Moon, rendering them incapable of fighting.

No matter how strong her recovery ability is, it's impossible for her to recover so...perfectly in such a short time!

unless……

In a flash, an even more unbelievable thought popped into his mind, causing his expression to contort for a moment.

"You...you're not injured?" His voice suddenly rose, carrying a hint of barely perceptible rage. "How could you not be injured?!"

Xing Shuang looked at his expression, a mixture of shock and anger, and a faint, slightly mocking smile appeared on her lips.

"Guess," she said softly. "If you guess right, I might tell you!"

This seemingly casual provocation was like a slap in the face to Jingjue, instantly replacing his hunter's composure with rage.

He'd been tricked! He'd been tricked by this seemingly naive magical girl from the very beginning!

Those pathetic postures, those painful groans, those seemingly desperate resistance... it was all a disguise!

"You... damned little brat!" Jingjue's voice became distorted with anger, and the black arcs of electricity leaping around his body became even more violent.

Xing Shuang calmly watched Jing Jue's mask constantly changing in the shadows, her heart filled with the pleasure of successfully outmaneuvering her powerful enemy.

Of course, she was well-prepared. From the moment she embarked on her journey to this industrial park, the alarm bells in her mind never stopped ringing.

After all, she had never forgotten that Ruby, the contracted spirit beside Liuli, possessed a more acute perception than the monitoring equipment of the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

Logically speaking, if such a large-scale erosion-level infiltration of the void had really occurred, Liuli would have noticed it in advance through Ruby and notified herself or Yinxue immediately.

But she didn't; her phone's call log was completely silent until just now.

While her own system might be slightly inferior to Ruby's in terms of perception range and accuracy, it was by no means slower than the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations' monitoring equipment.

However, the system did not issue any warning until the signal from the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs arrived.

These two unusual phenomena led her to an astonishing conclusion almost immediately—this infiltration of the virtual world was highly likely a trap set by an enemy lurking in the shadows, in collusion with a possible mole within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs.

Their goal was to lure out Jiangchuan City's only "high-level combat force" that could pose a threat to them, and then eliminate them in one fell swoop.

Although she had already anticipated becoming the next target after obtaining information about Yuexi, she never imagined that the enemy hiding in the shadows would join forces with a traitor within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs to set this trap.

She was shocked and furious at the fact that there was an enemy mole within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, but with the enemy right in front of her, it was not the time to delve into these matters.

We must concentrate all our efforts on defeating this real enemy before us, this executioner who takes pleasure in hunting magical girls.

It was precisely because of this judgment that she was on high alert from the very beginning, taking precautions against any possible sneak attack.

After entering the Void Realm bubble, she deliberately concealed her true strength, always using only the most basic magic beams to fight against the Void Beasts, without using her newly mastered unique technique "Star String".

Xingshuang knew that the enemy hiding in the shadows was very likely lurking in some corner, watching her every move and assessing her abilities.

She wanted to show that enemy, Mirror Lord, the image of a Crescent Moon-level magical girl who was "of decent strength but had a simplistic fighting style and became complacent after a victory."

Although Jingjue's sneak attack was insidious and ruthless, it was exactly what she wanted. The seemingly fatal blow was actually precisely blocked by her palm-sized spatial fragment technique, which possessed terrifying defensive power, causing only minor damage.

Neither physical impact nor energy erosion can overcome that seemingly invisible but actually indestructible barrier.

As for the torn marks on her combat suit, the bleeding wounds on her body, and the deliberate weakness and pain she displayed, they were all just carefully arranged disguises to quietly change the control of this "hunting game".

It seems her plan... succeeded.

Jingjue's anger surged like a volcano about to erupt, but he was, after all, a battle-hardened apostle of the Void Realm, and even in extreme rage, he did not completely lose his reason.

He could clearly sense the terrifying energy contained in the pink-gold magic orb that had condensed in front of Xingshuang.

Even he wouldn't dare to easily confront such a powerful burst of magic.

Get out of the way! You must get out of the way!

The thought flashed through his mind, and his figure instantly blurred as he tried to escape the magic orb's lock-on range as quickly as possible.

however--

"It's too late to try to escape now," Xing Shuang's cool voice rang out, accompanied by a light tapping of her fingertips.

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"

Countless nearly transparent pink-gold threads, like thorns growing from the void, shot out without warning from the towering steel supports, from the intricate pipes, and from the gaps in the massive machinery.

These threads are the "Starry Strings" that Xingshuang secretly laid when she lured Jingjue into this factory. This intricate industrial environment provided her with the perfect anchor point and space to unleash her magic.

In an instant, they wove together into a vast, inescapable net, each thread radiating a chilling sharpness that completely sealed off all of Jing Jue's escape routes.

Jingjue's figure stopped abruptly just before he touched the silk threads. He could feel the terrifying cutting force contained in those seemingly thin threads, as if they could easily cut through steel with just a light touch.

If he forces his way through, he will certainly pay a heavy price.

But the magical orb behind him was already hurtling towards him, and the earth-shattering energy fluctuations made his scalp tingle.

There is nowhere to retreat, nowhere to escape!

"Damn it!" Jingjue roared angrily, forced to make a decision in an instant.

He whirled around, crossed his arms in front of him to protect himself, and burst forth with dense black lightning, attempting to withstand this earth-shattering blow.

boom--!!!!

The enormous pink-gold magic orb collided violently with the raging black lightning in the center of the factory.

A terrifying energy shockwave swept outwards like a tsunami, and the entire smelting plant groaned under the intense tremors.

Countless pebbles and metal parts were thrown high into the air and then crashed to the ground with a clatter. Thick dust instantly filled the entire space, obscuring all vision.

Starfrost floated silently in mid-air, the afterglow of pink and gold magic flowing slowly around her. Her eyes were calm yet sharp, fixed on the core area of ​​the explosion.

A moment later, the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, revealing Jing Jue's figure. He was still standing there, but his posture was far less composed and elegant than before.

The top hat on his head was nowhere to be seen, revealing slightly messy short black hair; the elegant long trench coat he wore was also tattered, with wisps of smoke even rising from the hem.

Even on the pure white smiling mask on his face, a clear crack appeared, extending from the corner of his eye all the way to his chin, making the eerie smile even more sinister.

Clearly, even though Xing Shuang's long-charged attack had its power weakened by lightning, it still caused him considerable trouble.

Jingjue slowly raised his head, and through the crack in the mask, Xingshuang seemed to see his eyes hidden in the shadows, flashing with a cold and violent light.

"A unique technique for manipulating lines... It is indeed a bit troublesome in this environment." A deep voice came from behind the mask, carrying suppressed rage, "But in the end, you are nothing more than a new moon."

"Don't underestimate me, magical girl—"

Xingshuang's pupils suddenly contracted.

A strange thing happened: the last sentence sounded simultaneously from two different directions.

One of the voices came from Jing Jue in front of her, while the other voice clearly came from behind her...