Since the sky was covered, the heavens began to show their holiness

"Black Rose's movements are swift."

Zhou Xian glanced at the beggar at the alley entrance, and as soon as he left, he sensed that he was being watched. The owners of those eyes were different - street vendors, diners in restaurants, and singing girls in brothels, all of them locked onto him with vague gazes, like an invisible surveillance network.

The tentacles of power that have infiltrated every corner of the city are only the tip of the iceberg of the Black Rose. These people are not even at the core of the organization, and most of them have never even heard of the name "Black Rose". However, they have unknowingly become the peripheral nerves of this huge dark web, and can be driven at will by the chess players behind the scenes.

Fortunately, Zhou Xian was not an ordinary person and had his own way of dealing with it. Although he was keenly aware of the secret spying, he found that the person behind the scenes had no intention of taking action for the time being, but was just arranging spies to monitor him. In this case, Zhou Xian simply kept his troops in place, pretending that he was unaware of the gazes all around him, and wandered around the street on his own.

Suddenly, a childish voice was heard.

"Little brother, have you seen my little bear?"

There was a hint of panic in her sweet voice, like a butterfly that accidentally stumbled into a spider web, causing tiny ripples in this undercurrent atmosphere.

Zhou Xian turned around and saw a delicate little girl looking up at him. She was wearing a puffy skirt and carrying a cartoon schoolbag, looking like a primary school student getting ready for school. Her almond-shaped eyes were moist under her eyelashes, revealing the innocence and eagerness that only children can have.

"Annie, the Daughter of Darkness?" Zhou Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of surprise rising in his heart. He really didn't expect to meet Annie in this remote border area.

The atmosphere of secret spying suddenly fluctuated due to Annie's appearance. Zhou Xian keenly captured the peeper's heartbeat that suddenly accelerated - as if a stone was suddenly thrown into a calm lake, and even the undercurrent in the air was slightly trembling. This unexpected variable was like a piece falling that disrupted the established pattern of the chessboard.

But Zhou Xian soon felt relieved - after all, Annie could become the "Daughter of Darkness" with the help of the Black Rose "King of Ideas". Many of the heroes she knew in her previous life were the result of her planning and layout, but their final direction was more or less out of her control, just like a carefully cultivated vine that eventually broke through the preset fence.

"Little brother, have you seen my little bear?"

Seeing that Zhou Xian didn't say anything, Annie asked again, her tone tinged with impatience. Zhou Xian keenly noticed that the fire elements around him suddenly surged, as if an invisible flame was dancing in the girl's pupils. The burning sensation in the air seemed to be some kind of danger warning - beneath this seemingly innocent questioning, there was a dormant destructive force that could erupt at any time.

Hearing this, Zhou Xian maintained a gentle smile and shook his head: "Never seen it."

Hearing this, the girl clenched her fists - the leaping fire elements were like restrained beasts, ready to move under her palms.

"Tibers..."

Anne clutched the hem of her skirt, her lower lips pursed until they turned pale, the shadow cast by her eyelashes trembling slightly on her cheeks, her shoulders hunched up like a small animal wet by the rain, her loss almost solidified - but the fire element lingering on her fingertips became more and more restless, as if silently warning of the undercurrent beneath her emotions.

"It's a power that cannot be controlled..."

Zhou Xian sighed. There is no shortage of lucky people on this continent who have encountered something extraordinary. Some people even gain power comparable to that of a demigod by chance, but it is not the foundation of their own development. Things that get out of control are not uncommon, and Annie in front of him is a vivid example - the fire element surging in her palm is like a captive horse, and if the reins are loosened, it will crush everything around it.

"Trouble." Zhou Xian frowned slightly. He could clearly sense the violent aura surging in Annie's backpack. The gradually awakening fiery energy was the legendary fire demon Tibers. Under the innocent appearance of the girl, there was a destructive force that could burn down a city.

"Roar--!"

The flames rose up with a roar, and the burning waves and scorching winds blew in the face. The creature was burning with red-gold flames, and its fur turned into dancing flames in the flames. Wherever its limbs stepped on, it turned into scorched earth. The ferocious bear head was looming under the crown of fire, its pupils were quenched with blood, and what it spewed out from its sharp teeth was not hot air, but falling sparks. The flames condensed into the outline of ferocious fire wings behind it, and every time it swung its claws, it splashed a wave of fire ten feet high, as if a demon crawled out of the cracks of purgatory. Wherever it passed, even the air twisted and wailed in the high temperature.

"Tibbers!"

Anne's tearful eyes suddenly lit up, and the mist on her eyelashes was illuminated by the fire. She stumbled forward, her fingertips almost touching the dancing flames - the red-gold flames around the giant bear suddenly curled up docilely, as if the beast recognized its master, and its huge body squatted in the scorching air. The blood-red pupils under the crown of fire reflected the trembling figure of the girl, and the sharp claws carefully retracted, fearing that they would burn the bow at the end of her hair.

"Thank you, little brother. I found Tibers."

Annie smiled innocently at Zhou Xian.

"You're welcome. Just find it."

Zhou Xian raised his eyebrows and chuckled, his eyes sweeping over the giant bear that was quietly crouching in the flames. Annie's fingers, which were holding the little bear doll, were still stained with tears, but she had already raised her face and revealed a sweet smile, and behind her, the red-gold flames were rolling up the fallen leaves and dancing in circles - if it were someone else, they would have fled in panic, but he was interested: "Your friend...is he more gentle than he looks?"

"Yeah, Tibers is super awesome!"

Anne buried her little face in the flames of the bear's legs. Not only was she not burned, but the tears on her eyelashes were even heated to produce tiny flames. When she looked up, the fire bear bent its legs and squatted, letting its furry fire ears rub against the top of her head, startling the little girl to giggle, and the bows on the ends of her hair ignited playful little flames: "It will help me roast marshmallows, and draw stars for me with its claws! Right, Tibbers?" The flames suddenly spurted out a crackling spark, which condensed into a crooked five-pointed star in the air, which sounded more like a response than any sweet words.

"Can I touch it?"

Zhou Xian looked at the giant bear in front of him with curiosity. It was his first time to come into contact with a creature like a demon, but he became interested.

"Of course!"

Anne raised her head and shook her fist at Tibbers, "Don't be so mean."

The flames suddenly became docile, and the giant bear's huge body fell heavily on the ground, and the flames condensed into a fluffy texture. As Zhou Xian's fingertips just touched the edge of the bear's claws, a warm airflow wrapped in sparks suddenly rushed over - it was not a burning pain, but it felt like being gently licked by a large warm campfire. The "fur" under the palm of his hand was dancing with tiny flames, seemingly burning but with a warm and intimate feeling, and he could even feel some kind of rhythmic "breathing" vibration.

"Is it snoring?" Zhou Xian raised his eyebrows and looked at the flames on the bear's belly flickering with the "snoring". There were still a few small sparks on his fingertips that refused to go out, like a handful of gold powder.

(End of this chapter)