Barbara watched Andrew's figure disappear beyond the doorway, the smile on her face gradually faded, revealing a contemplative expression.

She didn't pay much attention to Andrew's earlier question about the "space storage equipment."

However, she quietly made a decision: after the issue with Desert Speaker Rose is resolved, she must find time to thoroughly understand who this Andrew really is!

Beneath Barbara's exquisite and perfect exterior, there truly lies a heart with high emotional intelligence, that is true.

She previously didn't press Andrew on how he helped her escape Humboldt's pursuit, how he killed Humboldt while she was unconscious, or how he walked out of that laboratory's teleportation stone—Barbara never asked about any of these. She also didn't press just now on how Andrew had marked Rose.

But now her thoughts have somewhat shifted.

Because, the moment Andrew operated "Tear Scar" to share Rose's coordinates with Barbara, Barbara had the chance to make contact with the "Tear Scar" magic!

At the moment of contact, the "Warm Fire Order" on Barbara's chest emitted a slight tremor and reaction.

"The last time the Warm Fire Order reacted was when I was driven to desperation by Humboldt, and the Warm Fire Order guided me to this Andrew. Rather than saying it guided me to Andrew, it would be more accurate to say it guided me to a 'path of survival.'"

Barbara thought, "This time, though, it's entirely the 'Warm Fire Order' having an unusual reaction to Andrew's magic!"

Andrew would never have imagined that not long ago, the young lady from the Warm Fire Commerce Association, who blushed for the first time because of him, is now truly keeping an eye on him!

Barbara originally had some guesses about Andrew's background: suspecting that he was a disciple of some reclusive master from the Southern Retreat Land.

But now she begins to think: it's not so simple!

The Retirement Land indeed harbors hidden talents, and as the daughter of the commerce association president, her father has always wanted to win over the entire Southern Retreat Land's support. But now we're talking about causing the "Warm Fire Order" to react! One of the only two surviving Warm Fire Orders in existence.

"Stay calm, don't rush, and observe slowly. Eventually, I'll figure out that guy's background!"

Barbara turned her gaze away from the closed door, "Right now, taking care of Rose is still the top priority!"

She is a strong-minded girl who can let go when necessary. She shook her head slightly, temporarily erasing Andrew's image from her mind, and began to focus on preparing for the actions against Rose.

Inside every seemingly overwhelmed Tower Battle God is actually immense anger.

Barbara has already decided which move of Warm Fire Magic to use to strip and brutally beat that Desert Speaker Rose...

Outside the door, Andrew listened as the door closed behind him and let out a gentle sigh.

The changes in Barbara's mind were unknown to Andrew. No matter how magical water magic is, it wouldn't allow anyone to probe the psychological activities of a "Heart Fire Series" cultivator.

At this moment, Andrew silently unfolded the "Water Spirit Sensing," encompassing everything within Wildfire Town—in fact, it should now be called the "Wildfire Territory"—within his sight.

One could see the entire Wildfire Territory, as if it were a giant living organism, actively preparing for the upcoming battle.

"Very well! This way, I can take some time to research those desolate beast corpse issues." Andrew thought, striding toward the laboratory's basement.

Earlier, when I returned to town to find Barbara, I specially asked Ivan to help settle the desolate beast's corpse in this laboratory's basement. It should be almost settled by now.

Andrew was not particularly hurried but walked unhurriedly on the spiral staircase toward the basement, while calculating the current situation in his mind—

That Desert Speaker Rose is indeed very strong, and his cunning nature is enough to disgust someone.

Fortunately, on our side, we now possess a great advantage: we marked Rose without letting that guy realize. Looking at it this way, the current situation is actually quite favorable!

"But we must not be careless because of this."

Andrew's eyes flashed with seriousness and severity.

In his mind, he recalled once more the moment when he and Ivan went out to rescue Zi and Xiao Bai—what he saw on the desolate beast.

Apart from Andrew himself, even Ivan didn't know what Andrew saw on that desolate beast at that moment.

A human figure.

From the desolate beast, Andrew vaguely saw a muscular human figure!

For a moment, Andrew nearly thought it was an illusion.

Because the human figure overlapped with the desolate beast's corpse, reminiscent of a ghostly image. Judging from the outline, Andrew almost believed it was the deceased Sheriff Raymond or even Cook's partner Sally, who is now captured and imprisoned.

The image flashed by, and when Andrew tried to capture it again, no matter how he operated the "Water Demon Vertical Pupil," he couldn't see it again.

An illusion? A trick of the eye? Andrew didn't know.

That's why he had to bring the desolate beast's corpse back for research. Although he has marked that Rose and in the moment of planting the "Tear Scar" mark, he silently saw through Rose's real tier level. Yet, at the same time, a new perplexity arose. Surrounding the desolate beast's mysteries.

A voice inside him said, "Don't make side issues. The priority now is still to deal with Rose. As for the desolate beast's issues, take time to study them after taking down Rose."

This is the voice of reason.

The desolate beasts, being one of the three major issues in the Inner Sea Desert, hold many riddles. The origins of the desolate beasts, why their corpses can't be stored in space storage equipment, the causes of the desolate beast sand tides... these are puzzles that to this day have had no conclusive answers.

From a rational standpoint, it indeed wouldn't be appropriate to go research desolate beast problems at such a crucial and tense pre-battle moment.

How can he hope to solve a problem that so many intelligent people in the Flame Realm haven't figured out for years? There's a high chance nothing significant will come of it.

"But firstly, I just can't resist," Andrew sighed.

Reflecting on the moment he saw the blurred human figure on the body of the desolate beast, Andrew actually felt an inexplicable and immense sense of fear.

A terrifying sensation that made his hair stand on end.

Clearly this was the hot and dry Flame Realm, with the morning's blazing sun almost exposing every nook of the Inner Sea Desert, yet Andrew felt inexplicably cold!

"Secondly, if that image was not just an illusion, if I can indeed research something out of it, it might be beneficial in the upcoming confrontation with Rose."

Andrew thought, "Rose is the only Earth Fire Mage able to control desolate beasts, perhaps he discovered some significant secret on them to become the 'Desert Speaker'. If I can understand his method of controlling the beasts and devise a countermeasure, he will pose no threat at all."

These are the two main reasons Andrew is heading to the basement to study the desolate beast's corpse now.

Thinking all this, Andrew headed to the basement.

There are three underground floors in the laboratory — two serve as dormitories for Humboldt's former magic apprentices, and one is a warehouse. The warehouse has a goods lift powered by a magic array leading directly to the surface.

"Ivan, is it ready? The warehouse should be big enough to hold the desolate beast's corpse, I remember this warehouse being quite large."

Andrew pushed open the warehouse door, speaking as he did. With no one else present, there was no need to use their "secret communication channel" for transmitting messages.

The door opened.

Inside the warehouse, the desolate beast's head and headless body lay quietly. Ivan was reliable; he'd already settled the beast's corpse.

However, Ivan didn't respond to Andrew's words.

The underground warehouse was indeed large, and the ceiling was high, nearly ten meters tall. Looking around, the entire warehouse was empty, with few things placed inside. It was almost a clear view.

Andrew's gaze slowly swept around, but he didn't see Ivan anywhere.

While Ivan had settled the desolate beast's corpse, he himself was not in the underground warehouse!

"..." Andrew kept silent.

He didn't rashly shout out, "Ivan, where are you?" or say anything unnecessary.

Silently activating the soul connection between himself and Ivan, Andrew tried to sense Ivan's whereabouts, and the result was—

He disappeared.

Ivan had disappeared.

Not only from the underground warehouse but from the entire Wildfire Territory.

"Did he go to find that Rose?" The thought flashed in Andrew's mind but was quickly dismissed. Ivan isn't like that. Earlier, he'd already been told it wasn't time to strike yet, and it's impossible for him to act alone without saying a word.

Most importantly, Andrew had a vague sense that the soul connection with Ivan wasn't broken, just faint and intermittent.

Through this faint soul link, Andrew carefully felt Ivan's current location—

Right here in the warehouse.

Still here in the warehouse!

Ivan should have settled the desolate beast's corpse as requested then encountered something.

But what exactly did he encounter, that he couldn't even notify Andrew before disappearing from this seemingly empty underground space?

Although the warehouse is underground, with magical lighting, it's very bright. Yet Andrew was intensely vigilant, as if exploring some unknown dark domain, circling slowly around the warehouse.

The soft sound of footsteps became exceptionally clear in the vast warehouse.

Besides the sound of footsteps, the only thing Andrew heard was his own heartbeat.

The "Seed of the Water Spirit" flashed invisibly at his brow, keeping him absolutely calm.

But after one circle, Andrew found himself unknowingly sweating in the palms.

Stopping again, Andrew paused before the desolate beast's head.

Standing here, facing the beast's lost luster and large eyes, Andrew felt the faint soul link with Ivan strongest here.

Magic Power was already in a "Multiplication State".

Andrew quietly activated the "Water Demon Vertical Pupil", staring at the beast's corpse before him.

No matter how he looked, this corpse showed no signs of life, but at this moment Andrew was on high alert.

Because this time, Andrew saw it clearly: there was indeed a blurred human figure on the beast's head and headless body.

Watching that figure, Andrew's fingers slightly moved, ready with a "Zero-Distance Water Cannon".

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