The Way of the Leaf

The girl's voice echoed in their ears for a long time. Finally, Owl nodded and reached out a hand to Xu Xiaoyou. "Welcome to the Night Walkers. I'm their big sister."

Xu Xiaoyou did not shake it, her tone remaining indifferent.

"I told you, I will leave Red Heaven once the month is up. I don't want to establish any lasting connection with you. It would only bring unnecessary trouble for both of us. We can just take what we need from each other."

Owl sighed helplessly and said nothing more.

"What a weirdo," Night Owl muttered.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate and Mori no Natsu Kuri was wondering how to break it, the sound of an elevator descending came from outside. With a ding, the green light indicated the elevator had reached the third basement floor. Everyone frowned. From outside the room, a man's charming and seductive voice drifted in:

"Little ones, such a distinguished guest has come to the shop today, and yet no one told me?"

Xu Xiaoyou's eyes narrowed instantly. It was Ivy, the Queen of Spades. As expected, he recognized her. She hid a Fireball Bombardment card in her sleeve. An attack of this level wouldn't affect a grade 5 fixer, of course, but it could trigger the fire suppression system above, creating the conditions for her escape.

Mori no Natsu Kuri noticed Xu Xiaoyou's expression, her eyes flickering.

The door opened. Besides Ivy, another woman entered. She was dressed in tight-fitting clothes, her skin fair, and her face looked familiar. She exuded a cold, invisible killing intent. Most prominent was the King of Spades mark on her—the King symbolizing death!

This woman was also a grade 5 fixer.

In this small room, two grade 5 fixers were gathered. To an outsider, it might have looked as if the blonde girl they were facing was some kind of atrocious demon.

Xu Xiaoyou's heart raced, but her surface remained calm, maintaining a composed facade.

"Sister Tao, Ivy, you two..." Mori no Natsu Kuri blurted out.

"Little ones, listen to my advice and wait outside for a bit. We need some private time with this guest. Don't worry, it'll be over soon, and the process will be very friendly~" Ivy licked his lips and sat on the woman's lap.

"If you do anything to Yuzu, I promise I won't let you off," Mori no Natsu Kuri threatened in a low voice, sensing the tension in the air.

Before anyone could react, the woman waved her hand. Everything in the room shifted through an invisible force field. In the blink of an eye, the others were moved elsewhere, and the heavy door slammed shut with a dull thud, isolating them outside.

"Dammit!" Mori no Natsu Kuri pounded on the iron door, but it didn't budge. her gaze darkened. She had personally designed the soundproofing of this secret base; it was so effective that even an explosion inside wouldn't make a sound outside. "Yuzu..."

Beside her, the Night Walkers members were still trying to figure out what had happened, staring at each other in confusion.

Inside the room, under the scrutiny of the two, Xu Xiaoyou pulled over a chair and sat down. The two fixers shared a knowing look before the woman spoke first:

"Let's get straight to the point. You've likely guessed our identities. As you can see, I am the King of Spades of the Dawn Society.

You can call me Tiger Tail Orchid. He is Ivy, the Queen of Spades of the Dawn Society."

Xu Xiaoyou was momentarily speechless from the sheer amount of information. She opened her mouth but ultimately let silence speak for her. Her intuition told her these two grade 5 fixers were into some very strange things in private.

Tiger Tail Orchid's presence was consistently dominant. Though her body wasn't massive compared to the man in her arms, she commanded a presence that brooked no dissent, like a king of a lion pride flaunting her trophy. The woman propped her legs up on the table and looked at Xu Xiaoyou with interest.

"Come up to the second floor with me. I'll take good care of you."

Xu Xiaoyou: "?"

"I enjoy bullying the weak, but I also love conquering powerful prey. Compared to the beginning, the current you arouses my desire for conquest even more, Dark Gold Rose."

Hearing that name, Xu Xiaoyou's pupils constricted, though she managed to hide her instinctive reaction with a blink. She remained silent, waiting for more information.

Ivy spoke in a rising tone. "The core technology the Dawn Society possesses is the spacetime traceback protocol. Everything on that island was restored and traced back by us long ago. I have to admit, your disguise was excellent. The name of the Dark Gold Rose is practically a legend in the outside world, but you can't hide from us and our core technology."

"The outside world... Dark Gold Rose?" Xu Xiaoyou frowned.

"Wait, you don't know—" Ivy began to speak, but Tiger Tail Orchid slapped his rear hard.

"Are you trying to talk more than me?" Tiger Tail Orchid barked. "Don't open your mouth until I tell you to!"

Ivy let out a muffled groan, his muscular, ox-like frame shrinking silently into the woman's arms.

"It seems you really don't know what's happening outside?" Tiger Tail Orchid curled her lips.

"The recording has already gone viral out there. Almost everyone in the association has seen it—the powerful combat form of the mysterious Dark Gold Rose. If you hadn't heavily wounded the Siren King, Specter wouldn't have been able to deal with that guy so easily."

"Recording?" Xu Xiaoyou realized that besides her and Anya, someone else must have been present, filming her while she was using the Bad Girl Workshop.

"I heard it only took a single day from the moment someone reported your title to the Council of Elders to those old fossils passing a resolution regarding the Dark Gold Rose. It seems you must have a hidden past, yet you look so pitiably weak right now." Tiger Tail Orchid swept her gaze over Xu Xiaoyou.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that the famous luminous prism grade fixer was the petite, slender blonde girl before them, whose aura barely reached grade 3.

This person must have suffered a severe injury to have withered into this state. Perhaps long ago, before the New Era Calendar, she had been active on the world stage with other luminous prism grade fixers, only to fall into a deep slumber for some reason, her name erased by the association until now. Only upon her awakening did this shadow of the old world begin to reflect the world's light once more, catching the association's attention.

The two of them began to fill in the blanks on their own, never even considering the possibility that the existence of the Dark Gold Rose itself was a fallacy.

"So, what is your purpose in finding me?" Xu Xiaoyou looked up. Judging by their expressions, she determined these two grade 5 fixers didn't actually suspect her identity.

"Aside from the Dawn Society, no one outside currently knows your true identity. We've all been strictly ordered to keep it secret, so don't worry."

"As for the purpose."

Ivy and Tiger Tail Orchid looked at each other and smiled playfully, their faces full of mischief.

"Come with me to the second floor."

"Become a green leaf in the Mint Green Leaf Shop. Serve those beautiful ladies and experience the way of the leaf."