Black Eye regarded Guiyao, whose ears had just relaxed, and sneered, "You're still an ability user? Scared of me?"
"I'm not scared," Guiyao replied, "It's just that the scream from that black serpent earlier was... utterly uncanny."
"Uncanny? I felt nothing unusual," Black Eye said indifferently. Then he turned to the man beside him. "Master, what's the purpose of bringing him here?"
The man's voice was cold. "The Xiaofeng you want to kill is also his enemy. Not long ago, several of his brothers were slain by Xiaofeng."
Black Eye glared at Guiyao and asked icily, "Is what my master says true?"
Guiyao gave the man a puzzled look. "Since when did you take on a disciple without telling us?"
The man snapped sharply, "What—do I need your permission to accept disciples?"
Guiyao hastily waved his hand. "Sorry, that was rude of me!"
"Rude? That's your default setting. Now, go work out your alliance. I'm leaving—I ate well and just want to sleep. Nothing can be changed." With that, the man vanished before their eyes.
Black Eye stood nearly ten centimeters shorter than Guiyao, and looked slender and frail. Yet disdain glimmered in his eyes as he fixed Guiyao with a piercing stare. "Your enemy is Xiaofeng too?"
"Yes. He killed four of my comrades, so I must kill him to avenge them."
Black Eye sneered coldly, "Xiaofeng is the murderer of my father—I am even more determined to kill him."
"Your father? Who is he?"
Black Eye's expression turned solemn. "My father is the Black Dragon."
Guiyao's brow furrowed sharply. He had never imagined this small boy before him was the son of the Black Dragon—the very scion of the Evil Dragon Sect's Black Dragon. No wonder his hatred for Xiaofeng was so intense. "In that case, we shall stand side by side as comrades in arms from now on." With that, Guiyao reached out his hand to Black Eye, hoping for a handshake.
But Black Eye ignored him completely. Instead, he whistled sharply. The black serpent from before slithered up at his command. Black Eye vaulted onto the serpent's head and said to Guiyao, "Follow me up."
Guiyao disliked the black serpent intensely and shook his head. "You go ahead. I'll handle this myself." With that, he materialized his dark ability on both hands and climbed the large tree toward the small cabin atop it.
The black serpent slowly rose upright, acting like an elevator, ferrying Black Eye to the cabin's doorstep. Black Eye stepped inside without hesitation.
Moments later, Guiyao climbed up as well.
Upon entering Black Eye's cabin, Guiyao was struck with astonishment. Before him were rows of computers and monitors, large and small. "How come there are so many computers here?" he asked in surprise.
Black Eye ignored him, seated himself at one machine, and began typing furiously. Instantly, files appeared—profiles of the Alliance's Seven Fiends.
Satan, Jack, Yuan, Gundam, Zehong, Yezi, and Guiyao.
All seven dossiers were present, extraordinarily detailed. Guiyao was amazed, realizing he had never known so much about them. He asked Black Eye, "How do you know so much?"
"This isn't knowledge I've gathered; these are the Alliance's military files. Four of your Seven Fiends are dead?"
"Yes—Jack, Yuan, Gundam, and Zehong are gone."
"So that leaves three of you alive... No, two," Black Eye corrected himself instantly.
Guiyao pointed to himself. "I'm still here."
Black Eye gestured toward the screen. "Look at your file. Apart from being unkillable, what use are you? In actual combat, what fighting power do you possess? Who can you kill? Even if Xiaofeng doesn't slay you, he'll imprison you like a dangerous beast! The only usable ones are your leader Satan and Yezi. The three of us are still not enough."
Guiyao frowned. "Then how many more do we need?"
Black Eye summoned another file on a different computer—Xiaofeng's current team. "Look here: the core members are Xiaofeng, the soul of the group; Qin Tian, the invisible ability user; the powerful Giant; Pandora, a near-invincible melee fighter; and the firepower specialist Tugu. These five are the true strength of the X Corps, right? Rush has long severed ties with Xiaofeng since he belongs to Victoria Corporation, but even with him, a Level Eight ability user, they pose no threat to us. So, if we can eliminate these five, victory will be within our grasp."
Black Eye's calm and meticulous analysis impressed Guiyao deeply. He never expected such a young boy to possess such a clear strategic mind.
"If we find five opponents who can match them evenly, we stand a chance. Starting from the weakest—surely Tugu is the weakest? Can you defeat that mechanical beast?" Black Eye asked.
Guiyao shook his head uncertainly. Surprisingly, Black Eye showed no disdain, as if weary of such reactions. He continued, "Fine, I'll send my 'Little Black' with you—that'll guarantee a victory against Tugu."
"Who's Little Black?" Guiyao inquired.
Black Eye smirked coldly. "The black serpent you saw earlier. It's a creature beyond B-level magical beasts. Together, you two can absolutely take down Tugu. Next is Pandora. None of us have much confidence fighting such a fierce melee expert, but your leader does."
"You mean we rescue our leader?"
"Yes. We rescue Satan first, then he can handle Pandora." Black Eye continued his breakdown. "Yezi has already reached Level Ten ability user; she should be capable of handling the Giant. I'll take on Qin Tian. His invisibility is no match if I can sense his presence—I'll easily defeat him."
At that moment, Guiyao interrupted, "How can you sense Qin Tian when he's invisible?"
Black Eye tapped his temple. "My brain isn't like yours. I can adjust my mental frequency to match yours. I can't read your thoughts, but I can perceive your presence. Otherwise, how could I tame so many powerful B-level magical beasts? And I have even stronger beasts you haven't seen."
Guiyao froze. "What? You have A-level magical beasts?"
Black Eye sneered. "You're smarter than I thought. A-level beasts have far greater intimidation."
Guiyao nodded. "Indeed, they are terrifying. If you truly have A-level beasts, why not send them to annihilate Xiaofeng's group?"
Black Eye shook his head. "You're ignorant. Let me show you something." He pulled up a video of Qin Tian extracting a magical beast's crystal. After watching, Black Eye said, "See? Qin Tian kills A-level magical beasts effortlessly. No matter the level, none pose a threat to him. Understand?"
Guiyao nodded.
"If we want to use those beasts, we must keep Qin Tian firmly restrained. That important task falls to me."
Guiyao pondered, then asked, "Then who faces Xiaofeng?"
Black Eye grinned slyly. "I've already picked someone. On this earth, there is only one who can truly duel Xiaofeng alone."
He then connected to another computer and summoned a golden-haired boy, roughly his own age.
Black Eye greeted him, "Di, feeling good today?"
Guiyao looked at the boy, puzzled. "Who is he?"
Black Eye said nothing, instead gazing thoughtfully at the sorrowful boy on the screen.
The boy was none other than the son of Zeus and Hera. In Black Eye's eyes, this seemingly frail child was capable of matching Xiaofeng's level. What was Di's ability?
Di wore a cold expression and said gloomily, "My mother hasn't come home again today. I'm alone at home; it's so lonely I could die."
"I'm here with you—I can keep you company."
"But you're so far away. Even if you talk, it's not like you can come play. What good is talking?"
"Do you really want me to come and play with you?"
"Yes."
Guiyao stood silently, overhearing the exchange. An inexplicable unease settled over him. Had it been a boy and a girl speaking this way, it wouldn't have affected him so deeply. But two boys? Their words unsettled him profoundly.
Black Eye said to Di, "Alright, I'll come find you soon. I'll even bring a flying lizard for you to play with—how about that?"
Di's face brightened with a faint smile. "That sounds wonderful."
"Okay, I'm coming now..." Black Eye shut the monitor and glanced at the surprised Guiyao. Calmly, he remarked, "Who doesn't have a few friends?"