The sky over the twin cities was shrouded in a thick layer of gloom.
The air was filled with anxiety and unease.
The emergence of the Rift Gate.
Like a heavy hammer, it temporarily set aside the long-standing conflicts of the twin cities.
Faced with this unknown threat, both cities had to put aside their prejudices and work together to confront the impending disaster.
At the edge of the city, large crowds were orderly evacuating.
The long lines snaked away, with anxiety and unease written on people's faces, but they still maintained order.
City managers made wise decisions early on.
To evacuate residents to relatively safe places.
This decision was undoubtedly correct.
Because of this, the subsequent disaster caused by demons had not yet affected the ordinary people.
On a towering rooftop in the city, a figure quietly arrived.
Zhu Jin came to the back of Black Rose and softly said:
"Master, I'm back."
Black Rose noticed Zhu Jin's arrival and showed a faint smile.
She turned slightly, her gaze sweeping the surroundings, but she did not find the expected other figure.
"Where's Tao Yao? Why haven't I seen her?"
Black Rose asked with a slight hint of confusion.
She had sent Zhu Jin to follow Tao Yao.
This arrangement had dual purposes.
On one hand, to let Zhu Jin assist Tao Yao in guarding the Rift mechanism.
On the other hand, it implied the intention to monitor Tao Yao.
Because of this, Tao Yao's absence caught her attention.
Upon hearing the question, Zhu Jin's face flashed with helplessness and some complaints, "Master, Tao Yao suddenly took control of the Rift's disaster beast, the Abyss Dragon, and left me behind to fly away with it."
"She left?"
Black Rose murmured to herself, frowning slightly.
She pondered for a moment, then relaxed her brow and continued:
"Forget it. Although I don't know how my old friend activated the Crimson Seed?"
"But from the looks of it, she doesn't seem to have any plans to cause trouble."
"That's good. Next, we just need to proceed step by step, take this opportunity to quickly launch the next phase of the plan and do what we need to do."
Zhu Jin immediately straightened up, her eyes sparkling with anticipation:
"Please, Master."
Black Rose's gaze turned towards the distance, as if she were watching a future only she could see.
She slowly spoke:
"The power of the Fire Fairy has now been partially released in the vessel, and, as I suspected, the fairy's personality and will have not managed to replace her immediately."
"This means that it is currently her weakest moment, and it is the most suitable time for us to explore the fairy's secrets."
"Next, you and I will enter the Rift together and find a way to bring the Fire Fairy back to headquarters."
Zhu Jin nodded seriously, "Understood, Master."
Black Rose's gaze swept over the inferno in the distance, and then she suddenly recalled something.
She then added:
"By the way, have the church secretly help the twin cities. After all, this is an important branch of the church, and it would be too unfortunate to let it be destroyed."
However, as soon as the voice fell.
The sudden commotion from the direction of the Rift attracted her attention.
She saw the area near the Rift Gate filled with heat waves, and everywhere there were figures fighting the fire.
At that moment, a giant dragon suddenly broke through the defensive line set up by the twin cities at the Rift Gate.
After circling several times in the sky.
It then returned back into the Rift.
Then.
A torrential rain fell from the sky.
This downpour came suddenly and violently.
It cleverly extinguished the flames that were about to spread outward and difficult to put out.
Raindrops fell on the scorching ground, making a "hissing" sound and rising puffs of white smoke.
The scene of a sea of fire.
Changed within just a few minutes.
Zhu Jin looked at this scene in surprise and couldn't help but exclaim:
"Is this ... that dragon? Did it bring this rain?"
Black Rose also showed a puzzled expression.
She felt confused about the current situation.
One must know that the flames caused by the Fire Fairy are very special and should be difficult to extinguish.
Connecting it to the fact that the Abyss Dragon seemed to also obey Tao Yao.
At the same time, Tao Yao had never mentioned to her that there was a fire extinguishing segment in the plan.
For a moment, Black Rose fell into deep thought, trying to sort out the clues.
Yet, no matter how she thought about it, she could not come up with a reasonable explanation.
But she always felt an ominous premonition lingering in her heart.
As if something important was beyond her control.
...
At the same time.
Inside the Rift Gate.
In this complicated and chaotic world, Tao Yao was sitting on a relic of debris.
She held a small mirror in her hand, awkwardly trying to put on makeup.
She appeared somewhat inexperienced, occasionally frowning, seemingly dissatisfied with her technique.
Tao Yao carefully tapped the brush against her cheeks.
Trying hard to make the foundation evenly cover her skin.
When she picked up the eyeliner, her hands trembled slightly, and the lines she drew were not very even.
While applying lipstick, she held her breath, trying to control her hand movements, hoping to achieve the perfect lip shape.
Finally, Tao Yao set down her makeup and looked left and right in the mirror.
She turned to the floating system spirit nearby and asked:
"Xiao Xiao, help me check if there are any makeup clumps this time?"
Xiao Xiao looked at Tao Yao seriously applying makeup, showing a bit of frustration and confusion.
[Master, you didn't take so much care in your appearance when meeting Hiyakura or players before...]
The previous Tao Yao.
One would think was very simple.
But today, strangely, she had put on makeup.
Such unusual behavior.
Made the system spirit a bit unaccustomed.
Hearing this, Tao Yao immediately straightened her face:
"I am very serious, can you please not sidestep my question!"
Xiao Xiao sighed helplessly, taking a careful look at Tao Yao's makeup.
In the end, she provided her evaluation.
[Very beautiful! At least Xiao Xiao didn't see any flaws.]
The massive body of the Abyss Dragon traced a graceful arc in the air, slowly landing in front of Tao Yao.
Its huge head lowered gently, bringing its eyes to the same level as Tao Yao.
The dragon's scales shimmered with a soft glow in the dim light.
Reflecting the surrounding scenes like a mirror.
Tao Yao reached out her hand, gently stroking the Abyss Dragon's head.
Her palm felt the temperature and texture of the dragon's scales, and she smiled slightly, softly saying:
"Thank you, I appreciate it."
Upon hearing Tao Yao's words, the Abyss Dragon blinked its enormous eyes.
It gently moved its head, nudging Tao Yao's palm, letting out a low and gentle rumble, as if in response to her.
Seeing this, the smile on Tao Yao's face deepened.
She continued to caress the dragon's scales, her expression revealing a hint of contemplation.
After a moment, she spoke: "If possible, could you help take care of Hiyakura in the future? Um... that red-haired girl you should have seen before."
Upon hearing this request, the Abyss Dragon's reaction was somewhat unexpected.
It suddenly lifted its head, its expression showing a hint of confusion and slight resistance.
The dragon's tail uneasily swayed, letting out a low growl, as if expressing its reluctance.
Seeing this, Tao Yao frowned slightly, then suddenly realized.
She chuckled and said: "Ah, you don't have a premonition that I'm going to die, do you?"
Hearing this, the concern in the Abyss Dragon's eyes became even more evident.
Tao Yao quickly reassured: "Don't worry, this is all fake, I'm just trying to find ways to trick her, just join in with me and let's trick her together!"
Her tone was light and cheerful, just like she was preparing some prank.
The Abyss Dragon stared at Tao Yao for a while, seeming to assess the truth of her words.
Finally, it slowly lowered its head and gently nudged Tao Yao's palm again.
Once it calmed the Abyss Dragon, Tao Yao's expression turned serious.
She turned to the nearby floating system spirit and asked:
"Xiao Xiao, how is the situation over there with Hiyakura now?"
The system spirit had been helping monitor the situation with Hiyakura.
Hearing the inquiry from its master, Tao Yao, it immediately responded.
[Very bad…]