Chapter 133: The Mystery of the Demon Wolves

Caro's shout of "Stop thief!" had a bizarre effect. Passersby who had been blocking Andy's path scattered in every direction, fearful of becoming embroiled in trouble. With the way cleared, Andy’s path became unobstructed, and he instinctively accelerated. This sight caused Caro, trailing behind, to roll her eyes in sheer frustration.

Suddenly, a blue-haired girl dashed out to intercept Andy. She wore a fox-shaped mask; it was Ahri, whom Andy had briefly encountered in the city of Dallas. She stood directly in his path, reaching out an arm to catch the "thief."

Seeing his target drifting further away, Andy grew anxious. He didn't even catch a glimpse of who had burst out in front of him, instinctively sidestepping to evade the obstruction. Though he was still brushed by the edge of his cloak, his swift movement caused the fabric to slip from Ahri’s grasp. However, that single lifted corner was enough for her to see the face beneath.

Ahri froze upon seeing Andy. She didn't regain her composure until he had already run far away, at which point she murmured softly, "Mr. Twisted!"

Her self-talk was overheard by Caro, who had just caught up. Caro immediately pressed her, asking if she had seen the thief’s face and if she knew who he was. Ahri nervously asked what Caro had lost. Caro replied that fortunately, she had discovered the theft early and hadn't suffered much of a loss yet. In truth, she no longer cared about assigning blame; she simply wanted to know the thief's identity to guard against future incidents.

Unable to withstand the persistent questioning, Ahri finally let slip the name "Twisted," repeatedly explaining that Mr. Twisted did not seem like the type of person to do such a thing. But Caro had no time for excuses. She etched the name "Twisted" into her memory, swearing that she would find him and uncover his secrets.

After thanking Ahri, Caro returned to the stone-gambling parlor. By chance, she had recently discovered that the birthmark on her body could not only gauge a person's potential but also the potential of the raw stones she touched. She had experimented by purchasing a stone with relatively high potential, and upon cracking it open, she found it indeed contained a small piece of source energy crystal.

That transaction had left Caro immensely thrilled. She eagerly sold the small source energy crystal and liquidated the three thousand contribution points she had embezzled from Andy Charles through the black market. With nearly eighty thousand magic stones in hand, she began her journey of stone gambling. As for Andy Charles—the boy she had once envied for receiving contribution points from her aunt—she no longer had the time to spare him a thought. She felt she was now a person dealing in hundreds of thousands every minute; it would be beneath her to haggle with a country bumpkin apprentice. She did intend to return the points to Andy in full; for now, it was merely a temporary diversion. She planned to buy them back from the black market once she had made a fortune, so as not to be discovered by her shrewd aunt.

Compared to the nervous others in the parlor, Caro was remarkably composed. She picked out several stones as if strolling through her own garden, paid the bill, and prepared to leave. A staff member approached and asked if she needed the stones cut, but Caro smiled and declined. She wouldn't dream of cutting them here; how else could she explain why every stone she bought contained source energy crystals?

The staff member then informed her that her spending at the Dark Moon Chamber of Commerce had reached fifty thousand magic stones, qualifying her as a Tier 1 VIP. He asked if she would like to be taken to collect her VIP card, which would grant her a five-percent discount on all future purchases. Caro, naturally, would not refuse such a benefit.

The girl processing the VIP card asked for details about Caro’s qualification and recorded her personal information before entering the data into an alchemical device at the workstation to forge the card. After Caro collected the card and departed, the girl gave a faint smile. She produced a strange jade talisman carved in the shape of a lifelike bee and whispered into it.

At that same moment, in a private residence within the capital, several girls were organizing documents when a honeycomb-styled device on the table began to ring. One girl quickly pressed it, and the voice of the girl from the card-processing desk emanated from within. The girls hurriedly recorded the incoming information, aggregating it for the Queen Bee’s review. This was the forty-second VIP profile from the Dark Moon Chamber of Commerce; since the Queen Bee had synthesized the "Message Hive" secret treasure, work efficiency had increased dramatically.

The Message Hive was a synthesized secret treasure. Every month, the hive would automatically produce three message jade talismans. Anyone holding a talisman could have their messages recorded in real-time by the hive within a range of a thousand miles. Because the Queen Bee highly valued the information of the Chamber's clients, she had granted the worker bees there priority access.

By now, Andy had exited the capital of Prontera. This pursuit left him deeply depressed, as he realized he was about to lose his target. Upon leaving the stone-gambling parlor, his attention was naturally drawn to the most conspicuous sight in the plaza: a giant silver-white wolf, not far from the Dark Moon Circus theater.

Seeing the wolf, Andy cursed under his breath. He recognized the beast, but how could it be here? It was the pet summoned by Wizard Bell when he had assassinated Peter. The wolf had fought Andy, leaving a lasting impression. It could fire light projectiles to spar with him, and more importantly, even when Andy had gone all-out, the demonic wolf had not been outmatched. Its cooldown for light projectiles seemed to rival Andy's own spells.

Andy possessed the "Infinite Firepower" talent, and his "Flame Sniping" was a spell he had painstakingly developed, possessing nearly the lethality of a Silver-rank spell. Even so, it hadn't been enough to overcome the wolf; he had only found a turning point in the battle after Catherine’s Forbidden Magic Curse took effect. Afterward, Catherine had teased him, mocking him for spending so much effort training a peerless spell only to be bested by a wolf. This had left Andy feeling deeply resentful. He had even secretly checked the wolf's information via a magic mirror behind Catherine's back, only to find an exorbitant price he could not afford.

His curiosity about the demonic wolf had only grown since then, but after Wizard Bell’s death, the wolf had been sucked into an alternate dimension, leaving Andy with no leads. He never expected to see it again in the capital.

A scantily clad girl was currently leading the demonic wolf, seemingly about to depart. Andy didn't stop to think, rushing to give chase, paying no mind to the person behind him shouting about a thief. He darted past the girl who had suddenly jumped out, not even sparing her a glance as he sprinted after the retreating shadow of the demonic wolf. He was chasing four legs with only two; Andy dared not be careless.