Xu Xiaoyou looked up at the abandoned factory and walked straight inside.
Behind her, in the shadows on the ground, swirling black mist surged from the earth, and a dark figure rose up.
The dark figure had a sinister expression, its tattered, lusterless robes swaying in the wind. Its muscular arms were covered in thick brownish-gray fur, and its snout was long and bare.
The Dye Thief's sharp claws extended, slicing silver lines through the air.
Its gloomy gaze was fixed intently on the young girl heading deeper into the factory. In its world, everything was black and white, the outlines of objects blurred and indistinct, with only 'dye' possessing color.
It could smell the scent of the 'dye' inside people’s heads. The color of everyone's 'dye' was different—some were primary colors, others were varied hues, and some were even multicolored. Their scents differed as well, ranging from spicy to bitter.
It loved the smell of the 'dye' inside people who had just come out of the entertainment districts most; it was as sweet as nectar.
'Dye' was people's memories.
Especially the golden-haired girl currently before its eyes.
The golden 'dye' inside her head was a color it had never seen before—so vivid, so dazzlingly beautiful.
It was driven nearly insane with obsession.
This past week had been the most difficult period of its life. For some reason, the lunatics in the city were searching everywhere for its whereabouts, including those powerful law enforcers.
Sensing the dangerous aura in the air, it had been forced to hide in the darkness. For an entire week, it hadn't been able to taste a single drop of 'dye'. It felt like it was going crazy, its primal hunger nearly consuming its sanity.
Fortunately, heaven had smiled upon it, allowing it to discover such wonderful prey. It had noticed her from the moment she left the flower shop and followed her all the way. This fool was actually so thick-skinned as to run alone to the outskirts of the city in the dead of night, a place where those law enforcers couldn't reach.
Heaven was helping it!
The Dye Thief let out a sinister, rasping cackle.
Its figure dove back into the darkness, surging toward the golden-haired girl ahead at top speed.
The hundred-meter distance vanished in an instant. The Dye Thief leaped into the air with a grin, a cold light flashing as its claws lunged toward Xu Xiaoyou's head, its eyes filled with longing!
It couldn't wait to properly savor the taste of this prey's 'dye'!
The silvery moonlight shone diagonally into the factory along the corrugated roof. Suddenly, its eyes widened as it saw the golden-haired girl sway and turn around, a smile playing on the corners of her lips.
Alarm bells rang in its mind.
Gentle yet resilient water elements formed a water barrier around Xu Xiaoyou. The seemingly sharp and long claws only managed to pierce a few dozen centimeters into it before they could penetrate no further, firmly trapped!
The Dye Thief realized things were going south and tried to retreat into the darkness, but it was already too late.
Xu Xiaoyou reached her hand into the air. With a crisp snap of her fingers, rows of overhead lights on the ceiling flickered to life with a buzzing sound, casting down large swathes of blinding white light.
The entire factory building was illuminated brilliantly. The pale pillars of light fell directly around the Dye Thief. It frantically tried to dive into its own shadow to escape, only to find that all the surrounding shadows had receded in the white light, leaving it with nowhere to run.
Xu Xiaoyou raised a blade wreathed in flames and thrust it into the shadow, pinning it to the ground!
"Ah!"
The shadow writhed frantically but couldn't pull away from the burning blade in the slightest. The roaring flames scorched its will and body, and the Dye Thief let out a series of painful wails.
A dark red liquid, as thick as blood, began to seep out from the shadow on the ground.
"Do you have any idea that I haven't had a good night's sleep all week because of you?"
Xu Xiaoyou covered the hilt of the sword with both hands, resting her chin on them with a smile.
She looked at the still-struggling Dye Thief with an amused gaze and stepped on the shadow, restricting its movement.
"Because of you, I've had to worry every day that if you showed up again and were caught by those tuners, my previous lies would be exposed. That would be very troublesome."
"So you were the one who framed me! Why me?" the Dye Thief's voice trembled. "I clearly didn't provoke you before."
Xu Xiaoyou pondered for a moment before saying, "Because you're quite unlucky."
After a moment of silence, the shadow on the ground surged violently once more. Just as the Dye Thief was about to make a desperate final stand, several turbulent water bullets shot over, knocking it back to its original form.
Tang Xin stepped out from the darkness, water elements condensing in her palm. Xu Xiaoyou gave her a slight nod.
"Don't be so sad. So many people have died because of you; this time, it's just your turn to die. Smile."
As if accepting its fate, the Dye Thief's shadow became as still as stagnant water.
Seeing this, Xu Xiaoyou didn't intend to waste any more words.
"Goodbye. I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight."
With that, she intended to use a fireball to deliver the final blow.
Just then, the Dye Thief suddenly took the initiative to emerge from the shadow, kneeling on the ground, and said hurriedly, "You're an urban legend too, right? I can sense it! Don't kill me, I can be of use to you!"
Tang Xin's eyes flickered, and Xu Xiaoyou's expression darkened.
Xu Xiaoyou didn't bother to explain, only saying calmly, "How can you be of use to me?"
"Fuse with my traits, like this."
As if afraid she would change her mind, the Dye Thief's body began to glow. A ring of purple light rose from beneath it, rippling outward like water.
At the same time, a strange sensation welled up from within Xu Xiaoyou. She could actually feel the 'submission' of the urban legend creature before her, and she stood superior to it.
Every cell in her body seemed to be clamoring for fusion. Her Gaze of Spiritual Vision opened uncontrollably once more, her dark red eyes imprinting the creature within them.
The Dye Thief, who had still been harboring thoughts of a lucky escape, saw those dark red eyes and looked as if it had seen something extremely terrifying. The fawning and flattery on its face were entirely replaced by profound fear. It screamed and tried to flee, but it was in vain.
The light on the Dye Thief grew brighter and brighter, and the purple glow completely enveloped the two of them.
After a moment, the glow receded. The Dye Thief had vanished, replaced by an urban legend card in her hand, the purple patterns on its back shimmering like amethysts.
【Urban Legend Card: Dye Thief】
【Quality: Limited (Purple)】
【Effect: Equips the card upon use. Grants partial traits of the urban legend creature 'Dye Thief'. Note: Equipped cards can be removed.】
The cover of this urban legend card depicted the Dye Thief in a deep-sea cage, its final moments of terror recorded and frozen in time.
【Equip Urban Legend Card: Dye Thief?】
Xu Xiaoyou directly chose to equip it. The amethyst-like patterns of the urban legend card lit up and then shattered, turning into points of light that merged into her Gaze of Spiritual Vision.
【Your understanding of domains is deepening.】
【Obtained Agility +5, Constitution +5, Intelligence +5.】
【Dye Thief Resonance: Color Mixing unlocked.】
Tang Xin watched the entire scene. Seeing Xu Xiaoyou actually absorb the Dye Thief, her worldview seemed to collapse, and she subconsciously took a step back.
Xu Xiaoyou noticed the blue-haired girl's astonishment and calmly opened her panel to check the newly acquired resonance trait.
【Color Mixing (Mastery): Your understanding of the ■ domain is profound enough to break limitations and fuse with the traits of the urban legend creature 'Dye Thief'. While the Urban Legend Card: Dye Thief is equipped, you gain the 'Color Mixer' effect.】
【Color Mixer: You will be able to extract the 'dye' from within others' heads and add new colors. You can delete or tamper with others' memories. Note: The target must be in a relaxed or unconscious state.】
After seeing the effect, Xu Xiaoyou let out an imperceptible smile.
She slowly stood up and walked toward the blue-haired girl, her expression gentle and normal:
"Tang Xin, are you willing to trust me?"
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