Dream World, within the forbidden zone of the Woodland.
Dorothy, in her Dragon mimicry, stood on the grass, gazing at the Black Dog in front of her. The massive, terrifying appearance of the Dragon exuded majesty and pressure, but at this moment, Dorothy's heart was incredibly complex.
'Damn, how did my bedtime stroll this time end up with me running into my older brother? Do you also habitually come to the Dream World for a bedtime stroll?'
Dorothy thought this. She had originally, as usual, planned to stretch her wings in the Dream World, which had almost no one, before officially falling asleep, to see if she could bump into anything. This time, she indeed heard some sounds she hadn't heard in a while, and even sensed the whereabouts of the Little Fox she had encountered before.
And when she rushed over excitedly, what she saw were two Black Dogs, and the voice of one of them... was unusually familiar! It was actually Grego!
'Black Dog mimicry... Is this the standard mimicry spell of the An Yin Bureau? No wonder you're always called Black Dogs.
'But speaking of which, older brother, you're too careless coming to the Dream World. You don't even turn on a voice changer when you go online, you just speak in your natural voice, afraid others won't recognize you, aren't you?'
Dorothy looked at Grego, whom she was meeting for the first time in the dream, and thought to herself. The reason she could recognize Grego was entirely because he used his natural voice when speaking, without any voice alteration. In fact, any dream mimicry could perform a certain degree of voice alteration, but Grego didn't use it.
Of course, this wasn't because Grego was careless; it was purely because he himself didn't know. He had only been an Extraordinary for a year and had rarely been active in the Dream World before. Even when he occasionally came to the Dream World, he acted with people from the Bureau, so there was no need for voice alteration, and no one had taught him. As for why Dorothy knew how to do mimicry voice alteration, it was purely because the "dream records" she had read at the time had very detailed annotations.
Dorothy just watched Grego like this, and her gaze made Grego's heart uneasy.
Grego, in his Black Dog mimicry, stood there dumbfounded, watching in astonishment as Jade, who had just been chasing and framing him, instantly turned into dots of Spirituality light. For a moment, he couldn't speak. He didn't know what to do now.
'Did that Jade... say something wrong just now? Or do something wrong? Why did he suddenly anger this Dragon?'
In his astonishment, Grego also thought this in his heart, while also feeling a wave of panic, because he felt that the Dragon in front of him was not only incredibly powerful but also seemed somewhat unpredictable in its moods. Now Grego was very worried that the other party might sweep him away with its tail in the next second.
"Dragon, you turned him into..."
Facing the Dragon in front of him, Grego slowly and worriedly opened his mouth, while the huge Black Dragon silently turned its head to stare at the large pile of Spirituality light points left by Jade.
"Don't think of deceiving me."
The Black Dragon said this. Hearing the deep sound in his ears, Grego was slightly startled. Only then did he realize that the Dragon in front of him had actually seen through Jade's deception from the very beginning, which was why it had instantly killed him.
Deception is equivalent to insult, and the consequences of deceiving a Dragon are quite severe.
'Can this Dragon see through deception? Does he have the ability of foresight? Or did he sense our situation from a very far distance? Or can he see through our thoughts?'
Thinking this, Grego became even more cautious facing the Black Dragon in front of him. What he didn't know was that the Black Dragon believed it had destroyed Jade not because she could detect lies...
"Thank you, Dragon..."
Grego bowed his head and said respectfully. Regardless, the Dragon had seen through Jade's deception and eliminated his enemy. No matter how wary he was, he had to remain humble now.
"Heh... you do need to thank someone, but the first person you should thank is not me, but the one who led you here, the little dog from the An Yin Bureau."
Listening to Grego's words, the Black Dragon turned its gaze back to him, and then said in a softer tone. Hearing the Black Dragon's words, Grego paused, and only then did he realize that he seemed to have overlooked something. After thinking for a moment, he realized, where was the Little Fox that was originally on his back?
'Huh... where did that fox run off to?'
Just as Grego was turning his head to look around, a complaining voice came from the bushes nearby.
"Hiss... I should indeed be thanked. If it weren't for me, this half-baked Black Dog would have been screwed over by his own colleague long ago."
Hearing this voice, Grego looked towards the bushes nearby, only to see a white Little Fox walking over with a limp, her eyes full of pride as she looked at Grego.
When the Black Dragon had just arrived, she, being lighter, was directly blown away by the wind pressure. Since her leg was injured, she was only slowly walking back now.
"Good evening~ Dragon, we meet again."
After walking back, the Little Fox first respectfully bowed to the Black Dragon. After seeing the Black Dragon nod slightly in response, she stood up again, looked at the somewhat astonished Grego next to her, and then shouted loudly.
"Hey! Dragon just told you to thank me! Did you hear that!"
Hearing the Little Fox's words, Grego suddenly reacted. Thinking that he should indeed say thank you, he said to the Little Fox.
"Thank you, Miss Fox, for your help. If it weren't for your reminder and suggestion, my mimicry would indeed have been destroyed by now, but..."
Saying this, Grego glanced at the Black Dragon next to him again before continuing to speak.
"But Miss Fox, do you know this Dragon?"
"Of course I do! When Dragon first descended upon this Woodland, I was a witness! I've been under its protection all this time~" The Little Fox said proudly, puffing out her chest. Hearing the Little Fox's words, Dorothy, in her Black Dragon mimicry, was puzzled.
'My protection? When did I protect you?'
Dorothy thought this confusedly, but the truth was, ever since she occasionally logged into the Dream World Woodland and scared away the Dream World creatures in this area, this forbidden zone had become the Little Fox's sanctuary.
Although under Grandpa's request in reality, the Little Fox didn't dare to actively approach the Black Dragon Dorothy in the dream, she had become very skilled at utilizing the influence Dorothy brought.
For example, the Little Fox now often roams around the edge of the forbidden zone. After provoking the Black Dream Hunter Group or Dream World creatures she couldn't defeat, she would dive into the forbidden zone, and then no one would dare to chase after her.
Over the past few months, the Little Fox had been using the forbidden zone as a safe haven, tirelessly teasing the Black Dream Hunter Group and Dream World creatures. So she claimed to be under the Dragon's protection. Of course, Dorothy was unaware of all this.
'Protection? I didn't expect this Little Fox to be so amazing, actually knowing this Dragon. Fortunately, I saved her back then. Thanks to her, I was also saved...'
After hearing the Little Fox's words, Grego thought this. At this time, he believed that he was saved because of the relationship between the Little Fox and the Black Dragon, and thus felt a wave of Rejoice.
Dorothy, in her Black Dragon mimicry, naturally didn't know what the Little Fox and Grego were thinking. Her current target was the pile of black light points left by Jade. Hearing the Little Fox's words, Grego was just attacked by his colleague, which made Dorothy a little worried.
"Internal strife among Black Dogs, is your official covert organization in Prit already so incompetent?"
Dorothy slowly said in the posture and tone of a Dragon. She wanted to understand what had happened to Grego, and hearing the Dragon's words, Grego immediately replied.
"Dragon, you may not know, but in recent years, the activity of various secret societies in reality has shown signs of increasing. Many of our branch offices have been infiltrated. I think the attacker I encountered this time may be the result of infiltration. He may not be a member of our An Yin Bureau. It is more likely that someone from an outside society obtained our mimicry spell and secret code, transformed into the appearance of a Black Dog in the dream, and mingled with us to carry out tasks..."
"Therefore, please do not misunderstand us based solely on this incident, Dragon."
Grego quickly said. He didn't want the mysterious Black Dragon of the Dream World in front of him to have a bad impression of internal strife within the An Yin Bureau because of this incident, while Dorothy changed the subject and responded.
"You have a mission here?"
"Ah, yes, but please rest assured, Dragon, our task is merely to hunt the Dream World creatures driven away by your pressure at the edge of your territory. Normally, absolutely no one dares to step into your territory; my situation this time was just an accident."
Grego immediately explained, but his explanation also resolved a long-standing confusion in Dorothy's heart.
'Damn, no wonder I never saw anything after entering the Dream World each time; they were all scared away.
'This Black Dragon's Dream World mimicry... did it actually mimic Dragon might? Naturally, no Dream World creature would dare to approach, but it seems the Extraordinary's mimicry is significantly weaker in perception compared to Dream World creatures, so they can't quite sense me.'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. According to this situation, if she wanted to explore the Woodland, she would probably need to prepare more mimicries. This Dragon mimicry directly scared away all the monsters; it was the type where you couldn't find a place to hunt monsters even if you wanted to.
Just as Dorothy was about to continue speaking, she suddenly felt that the upper limit for maintaining her mimicry today was almost reached and she had to leave now, so she changed her words and said.
"Hunting? If that's the case, then continue hunting in peace. Next time, be more vigilant. You won't get such a good opportunity every time, Little Dog of the An Yin Bureau."
Saying this, Dorothy flapped her giant wings and soared into the air. The fierce wind stirred up made both Grego and Little Fox unable to open their eyes for a moment. Little Fox desperately grabbed onto the tree roots on the ground to barely avoid being blown away.
"Farewell."
Murmuring, the Black Dragon that Dorothy had mimicked flew towards the high sky of the Dream World. As the wind pressure gradually subsided, Grego and Little Fox only saw the massive figure rapidly disappearing in the distance.
"He... just left like that. Dragon of the Dream World, what kind of existence is this..." Looking at the disappearing figure in the distance, Grego murmured, saying that he was now extremely curious about the origin of that Dragon. Meanwhile, Little Fox, who was tidying up her wind-blown fur on the other side, spoke proudly.
"Hehe... you wouldn't know this, would you? Dragon, he is not some Dream World creature, but a powerful being from ancient times mimicking in the dream."
"What? That form is actually a mimicry? A Dragon's mimicry... is that true or false..."
Listening to Little Fox's words, Grego said in astonishment, if the mimicry in the dream was a Dragon, then how powerful of an Extraordinary must such an existence be in reality? This would at least be at the leader level of a large organization...
"Of course it's true, Dragon told me himself, and you still don't believe it?" Raising her head and puffing out her chest, Little Fox continued to wag her tail and show off proudly in front of Grego. After experiencing what happened before, Grego naturally believed it and thought to himself.
'This Little Fox is not simple either. She could witness the Dragon's arrival, and the Dragon even told her such a thing personally. This proves that her relationship with that Dragon is not shallow, so she cannot be easily offended...'
"Believe, believe, believe. Since Miss Fox said it, then of course I believe it," Grego said. Little Fox glanced at him and then nodded.
"Hmm, that's more like it. I think you're a decent Black Dog, quite responsible, just a bit clumsy and more clueless about Dream World matters than a complete novice. I don't know what kind of medicine your Black Dog Bureau leaders took to send someone who doesn't even know basic common sense to the Dream World."
Little Fox said with some disdain. Hearing her words, Grego was a little angry, but when he thought of the other party having a more intimate relationship with the Dragon, he couldn't help but endure it again and didn't say anything. Seeing that Grego didn't speak, Little Fox became even more energetic.
"Although you're a bit clumsy and lack Dream World experience, at least your luck is pretty good. You met the Dragon and you met me. I'll reluctantly give you a hand. How about this, starting from today, the two of us will cooperate. I'll teach you Dream World experience, you run some errands for me, and we'll operate together around the Dragon's territory. You listen to me, and I guarantee that whether it's Spirituality or anything else, you'll get it easily~ No need to scheme and hunt with those colleagues of yours anymore."
Little Fox continued speaking to Grego, and Grego obviously hadn't expected the other party to say such words. He said in disbelief.
"I listen to you? We operate together in this area? And there's Spirituality and other things?"
"Of course! Although my mimicry is a bit weak now, my familiarity with the Dream World is dozens of times yours! Absolutely stronger than any Dream World expert in your Black Dog Bureau. Think about it, if I hadn't guided you to find the Dragon, you would have been screwed over by your dog colleague long ago.
"You cooperate with those dog colleagues of yours to hunt, over ten people splitting that little bit of Spirituality. You cooperate with me, the spoils of war are split between the two of us, at most we'll take out a little bit to show respect to the Dragon. Think about who is more worthwhile? Besides, your hunting there has quota restrictions, each person can't hunt for many days, don't think I don't know."
Little Fox said so righteously. Listening to Little Fox's words, Grego felt that there was indeed some truth to it. Based on her previous performance, this Little Fox was indeed very familiar with the Dream World, and more importantly, she knew the Dream World Dragon. Her ability could indeed be trusted. Acting alone in the Dream World with someone else also didn't affect the bureau's regulations.
"Hmm... Miss Fox, what you said does make some sense, but if we act freely in the Dragon's territory, will he..."
"Oh dear~ Don't worry about that anymore. Think about it? What did the Dragon say to us before he left? Farewell, farewell! That is to say, he doesn't mind seeing us again, right? This is the Dragon's approval of us. With this approval, of course, we can act freely within his territory."
Little Fox said as if doing reading comprehension, which made Grego stare blankly.
"Is, is that how it's understood? I feel like it was just a normal farewell."
"Of course, that's how it's understood. If the Dragon didn't approve of us, would he specifically bid us farewell?"
"But I think..."
"Oh dear, stop with the 'but'. Are you more intimate with the Dragon, or am I more intimate? Do you understand the Dragon better, or do I understand him better?"
Little Fox said directly, which left Grego speechless. It did seem that the other party was more intimate with that Dream World Dragon.
"Hmm... Since Miss Fox says so, then alright."
Grego said this after pondering for a moment. After hearing Grego's words, Little Fox jumped up happily.
'Oh yeah, successfully recruited a subordinate! Finally, I have a thug in the Woodland from now on~'
Little Fox thought happily. This move of hers was purely borrowing the Dragon's might. She used to use the deterrent power of the Dream World Dragon to hide from the Black Dream Hunter Group and Dream World creatures. After mastering this trick, she directly used it on Grego. In fact, she had only met Dorothy's Dragon mimicry once.
"Alright, then let's quickly split the Spirituality left behind by your black-hearted colleague. It looks like there's quite a bit." At this moment, Little Fox pointed to the Spirituality floating nearby and said, while Grego spoke with some reservation.
"This is the Dragon's spoils of war. It doesn't seem right for us to just split it like this."
"Oh dear, how could an existence at the Dragon's level possibly care about this little bit of Spirituality? If he didn't absorb it on the spot, he must have specifically left it for us. Hurry up and come split it!"
"Oh, oh..."
Thinking that this indeed made sense, Grego ran over and, together with Little Fox, absorbed the Spirituality left by Jade, which also included Thomas's share. The more Grego absorbed, the more he felt that Little Fox's words made sense. This little bit of Spirituality might just be enough to fill a gap between the teeth for a Dream World Dragon; it was normal to look down on it.