Zoey was indeed scared. She couldn't wait until tomorrow night. At this mont, she was rushing to the hospital to find out more about Sanchez's condition and if the White family had uncovered any valuable information.
Ariana didn't hide anything and told her everything.
For Zoey, hearing that Sanchez had beco half-crippled wasn't necessarily good news. Facing a powerful and mysterious enemy, Zoey didn't mind temporarily setting aside her hatred and forming an alliance with Sanchez. But now that Sanchez had beco a shadow of her forr self, what use was an alliance?
Additionally, from the cruel way that Sanchez had been dealt with, Zoey began to wonder if the incident where her second ear was blown off had been orchestrated by the sa enemy.
But it was too late to change anything. The friction between the White and Lopez families had escalated, and many subordinates had died on both sides. An apology wasn't enough. To stop the conflict now, soone would have to take responsibility. And besides, the Lopez family had only acted to "please" Zoey by attacking the White family.
There was no way she could now claim it had all been a misunderstanding.
Ariana also shared another piece of news: two individuals had broken into the White family estate last night. Both had **Disguise** abilities, one could turn into a shadow and phase through walls, while the other's bullets could track targets and even change direction.
Ariana detailed their skills, infiltration thods, and approach. She even ntioned the nas the intruders had used, even though she knew they were fake identities made up specifically for the White family. Sotis seemingly trivial information could turn out to be crucial to others.
By the ti Zoey left the hospital, she and Ariana had reached a secret agreent—one that did not involve the Lopez family officially. Zoey was only willing to offer ten uses of her **Hope Song** in exchange for what the White family knew. She also insisted she would only co once a week, on Sunday evenings, no matter how much Josephine tried to pressure her.
However, once Zoey left and Ariana held up the signed contract, she smiled and studied each word of the agreent.
Josephine poured two glasses of wine, conjured ice balls, and set one of the glasses in front of Ariana. "So, you were right… Sis, by your logic, do you really think Zoey will go after Matthew Mateo?"
Ariana responded confidently, "Of course. No one wants to live under constant threat. Instead of being blackmailed forever, it's smarter to make soone else share the problem. Soon enough, Matthew Mateo will be more anxious than Zoey."
Josephine nodded. "But doesn't that give us more leverage over Zoey? Even if Matthew doesn't know who's behind it, we'll figure it out."
Ariana smiled. "That depends on whether she gets her hands on the dragon."
If Zoey succeeds, the White family would beco her best ally. If she fails, Ariana would turn her into the White family's most valuable tool.
---
On the morning of September 1st, after breakfast, Rita was getting ready for the day—dragon-hunting day.
Like last ti, she dressed in modest gear: a black, traditional robe with her long hair tied high, a red belt around her waist holding a quiver of arrows, silver tal bracers on her wrists, and understated black boots.
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Her right hand bore two rings—one red, one black—both gifts from Rick. The rings were just decoration, as she had equipped a different **Fire Spirit Ring** on her belly button and a necklace that reduced skill cooldown tis by 15%.
Nivalis was also more attentive this ti, carefully drawing dragon marks on Rita's face. Last ti, Nivalis had just casually swiped her paw across Rita's face, but today she was more precise. She not only recreated the claw mark from before but added a special dragon rune.
After five minutes, Rita looked at the blue rune Nivalis had drawn on her right forehead. It resembled a musical note **♪**, but the middle was slashed by three claw marks, giving it a dangerous beauty.
Despite Nivalis's clumsy claws, the rune looked elegant, like calligraphy.
"Beautiful~," Rita whispered as she gently touched the rune. "Is this a dragon's magic symbol?"
Nivalis nodded. "Yes, when combined, it is."
Thinking about the magic symbols she had learned from the Moonfox tribe, Rita asked curiously, "So, what does this magic symbol an in dragon language?"
Nivalis generously explained, "It ans 'scratch .' When I was growing new scales, they itched a lot. So whenever I'd send this symbol into the air, my mom or dad would co to help scratch ."
Rita was speechless.
It felt like she was that foreigner who got a tattoo that said "spicy shrimp" on the back of their neck, proudly showing it off without understanding it.
"Oh well, it's fine," she thought. No one else would be able to translate it anyway. Poor little dragon, she just left her mother too soon.
—**"Pfft!"**
Rita turned around with a black face. Little Ice Dragon was holding her belly, laughing so hard her legs kicked in the air.
Rita: **?**
Rita: **!**
When Rita and Nivalis arrived at the eting point, it wasn't ti yet, and no one was outside. Last ti, they had agreed to et inside the dungeon. Rita stepped into the dungeon's light curtain, and as she entered, the gathered players turned in unison to look at her, their eyes fixed on the little ice dragon perched on her shoulder.
Shadow.Q's eyes lit up before his expression turned awkward.
The small light-blue dragon, about the size of a phone, sat on Rita's shoulder, wearing half of an empty eggshell like a little hat, pouting and chattering to Rita in a soft voice.
Shadow.Q approached curiously, "Is that her little hat?"
Rita smiled. "Yep." It had taken her a little extra ti to make that eggshell hat, which was why she was running late.
Shadow.Q complinted, "She's adorable!"
Nivalis adjusted her eggshell hat with her wingtip. "That's because I'm an adorable dragon."
Shadow.Q nodded seriously, "I see. I will rember this truth."
Rita: **Enough already…**
Nivalis stood up on Rita's shoulder, wings raised dramatically in salute, "∠(°ゝ°)! Salute!"
Shadow.Q instantly mimicked her, giving a real-life salute, "Salute!"
As Rita sensed the gaze of everyone in the dungeon shifting from awe to confusion, she silently hung her head and covered her face with one hand.
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