Chapter 1

"Hey, it's really fun here, but I'm hungry~!"

As night fell, Annie, dressed in a red princess dress and wearing a little red hood, sat on a swing in the grass, swaying back and forth.

At just eight years old, she had been wandering around the Voodoo Lands earlier in the morning, carefree and without a care in the world. When she was in a bad mood, she would bully the monsters in the wild for fun, like trolls, giant snakes, crocodiles, and that old dragon! Oh, no, that old dragon had been burned to ashes by her a long, long time ago, so it no longer existed!

The entire Voodoo Lands were Annie's backyard. She would go out for a stroll every few days, and this had become a habit. Although the Voodoo Lands were very familiar to Annie, she could still occasionally find some fun little things, perhaps a beautiful gemstone or a cute little animal. Well, sometimes the animals were a bit large and looked a bit cute? (or vicious?) but this was no problem for Annie at all!

What? You say the Voodoo Lands are dangerous?

For a girl who could catch a fierce shadow bear at the age of two, (oh, my lord, can you please stop rubbing it in?) burn a tyrannical old dragon to ashes at the age of three, break through to the Heroic stage at the age of five, and approach the Demigod stage at the age of eight, with fire manipulation as easy as breathing, the Voodoo Lands being dangerous?

I'm afraid you must be joking, right?

Perhaps, the mysterious sorcerer Gregory Hastur and his wife, the Shadow Witch Amorine, were more worried that little Annie might accidentally burn some poor soul to a crisp?

So, for the wild creatures of the Voodoo Lands, every day, besides going out to forage for food and avoid predators, they had to add one more rule: never appear in the line of sight of the Great Demon Annie!

If, by some unfortunate chance, Annie did see them, they should quickly bow their heads and lie on the ground, never drawing her attention! Always remember: little Annie is the greatest danger and the most terrifying demon in the Voodoo Lands, with no exception!

Of course, this was what happened in the morning.

Earlier, when Annie was wandering around the Voodoo Lands out of curiosity, she passed through a portal that suddenly appeared, which looked like a misty barrier, and ended up here...

And this place was Earth's New York, Central Park?

By now, it was dinnertime, and Central Park was getting a bit deserted. Although the streetlights were all on, the frugal Americans had not installed many streetlights in the park.

According to the official explanation: they couldn't waste taxpayers' money! So, with the insufficient number of streetlights and the dense trees, the park would naturally become a bit dim at night, which was not surprising.

Now, Annie noticed that there were fewer and fewer people in the park. Even the beautiful sisters who liked to lie on the grass, bare-chested, reading books and sunbathing, had gradually left after the sun set. And just a moment ago, the kind black-skinned aunt who sold hamburgers and drinks at the edge of the lawn had also driven away her food truck!

Hmm... thinking of that thing called a hamburger, little Annie couldn't help but swallow her saliva. It was really delicious... She was still savoring the taste!

However, it was a bit unfortunate that the black aunt wouldn't accept her gold coins or gems? This was really annoying!

Gold coins and gems couldn't buy things? Instead, those colorful pieces of paper could? What kind of logic is this?

Her little bear Tibbers had tried to persuade her to take them by force, but Annie was a good girl and couldn't openly snatch things from others. It wouldn't look good, right?

Moreover, her mother Amorine had told her not to use magic to bully the weak or steal from others! The black aunt was definitely a human, not an animal, so little Annie didn't dare to snatch anything.

Annie still remembered that in the morning, when she ran to the strange black aunt's food truck and tried to buy a hamburger with a handful of gold coins, it really scared the black aunt!

The black aunt named Jenny stared at her for a long time but didn't take her gold coins.

In the end, she kindly gave little Annie a triple-decker hamburger for free. After all, a cute little girl always has some privileges, doesn't she?

Thinking about it, this was the first time Annie had relied on her looks to get something for free. It made her feel a bit embarrassed.

After all, in the Voodoo Lands, she always relied on her strength, either openly or covertly, or with various threats, or by pulling out fireballs to force others to give her what she liked for free.

That's right, it was given! Absolutely not stolen! You mustn't go around saying that.

Little Annie looked at the pile of gems and gold coins in her spatial pocket and sighed helplessly.

These gold coins and gems were found in the wild of the Voodoo Lands, where Annie always found some interesting little things. Some were given by her parents, and some were taken from the Gray Order's treasury because they looked pretty. However, a large part of them were found in the old dragon's lair after she burned it to ashes.

"Who let it refuse to fly with Annie? It was a bad thing!"

This was Annie's original words. After Gregory Hastur and his wife learned the truth, they could only deeply mourn the old dragon and enthusiastically help Annie seize its inheritance.

However, the mysterious sorcerer Gregory Hastur did not embezzle his daughter Annie's spoils. The Gray Order was very wealthy. As the saying goes: even the poorest can't be as poor as a mage! Let alone a group of mages like the Gray Order?

For this reason, Annie's mother, the Shadow Witch Amorine, specially enchanted a dimensional space in Annie's clothes' pocket so that Annie could store her toys, interesting little things, shiny stones, or... spoils?

"Tibbers... I'm hungry now! Are you hungry too?"

(Tibbers didn't respond to its master's question through telepathy because no one knew its master better than Tibbers! After staying under her for six years, it wouldn't be fooled by her cute act anymore. Back then, she used her cuteness to trick it into eating her, but the result... well, let's not talk about it. Back then, she was only two years old! How could the wise and mighty future Shadow Bear King fall for her trick?)

Annie swung on the swing, pulling the toy shadow bear to her face and said while playing with its furry arms.

Although this place called the park was fun, much more fun than the Voodoo Lands, with swings, merry-go-rounds, many children to play with, and delicious cotton candy, fried chicken, and hamburgers... thinking of hamburgers, Annie felt even hungrier!

"Why hasn't Mom found us yet? Tibbers... I've already activated the coordinates! I think Mom must have forgotten! How annoying!"

Annie started to miss home.

In the past, when Annie got lost in the Voodoo Lands, she would activate the necklace her mother gave her, and within ten breaths, Amorine or Gregory Hastur would always come to her side.

This necklace was said to be enchanted with many interesting protective spells.

However, little Annie had never tested them or needed to use them. She herself was a powerful mage!

The most frequently activated spell was a spatial magic that marked her coordinates. When activated, Gregory Hastur and his wife would always lock onto Annie's coordinates and teleport to her side.

Originally, this spell was for Annie's protection, but she often used it when she got lost. Over time, she started to call it the "Great Summoning Spell" to summon her father or mother.

However, unfortunately, today, Annie's summoning spell failed for the first time, and she received no response.

(Regarding the failure of Annie's spell, Tibbers actually knew the reason. It knew that this place was not the main material world of Valoran but another different world. However, Tibbers didn't give Annie any warning. It was glad to be out of the safe Voodoo Lands and hoped this world was as dangerous as possible, so it could get out more often!

You see, in the Voodoo Lands, except for beating up the old dragon, it had been trapped in the toy bear for six years. Tibbers had once considered ending its bear life, but after thinking about human lifespans and its own thousands of years of bear life, it decided to endure. After all, it was just a matter of a few hundred years, right?)

Now, it was getting dark.

As the saying goes: in a big forest, there are all kinds of birds. The gold coins that the black aunt Jenny didn't dare to take in the morning had already been noticed by a group of vicious young thugs. They didn't dare to act when there were many people around, but now...

"Hey~! Little girl, come, look at this. It's a lollipop. Do you want it?"

In a dense part of the park, three rough-looking black youths suddenly appeared. They first looked around cautiously, then pulled their baseball caps lower to hide their faces. After confirming that the surveillance cameras couldn't see them, they surrounded little Annie, who was swinging alone on the swing.

One of them, named Bruce, held a large lollipop in his hand and extended it to Annie. His companions, Andy and Mike, stared greedily at Annie's pocket.

These three had worked in a gold shop before, stealing gold, but were caught by the shop owner and reported to the police. They spent several years in prison and were recently released on parole, currently unemployed.

In the morning, they recognized the gold coins in Annie's hand as real. They didn't dare to say anything at the time but secretly remembered it.

Originally, they planned to find an opportunity to steal them, but the park was too crowded, and they weren't professional pickpockets, so they didn't have the confidence to steal the gold coins from Annie's pocket without being noticed.

So, they kept an eye on Annie and waited until now.

Now, the park was deserted, and the dim environment made the surveillance cameras almost useless.

This was their best chance to act!

"Look! It's a lollipop. Do you want it? It's very sweet! Just give us some of those gold coins, and it's yours."

Annie tilted her head to look at the lollipop, then at the black youth Bruce holding it. She thought for a moment and pulled out a handful of gold coins and gems from her pocket.

"Are these the things you want?" Annie blinked her innocent big eyes and asked cutely.

(Sigh... these fools! Tibbers, held in Annie's hand, rolled its eyes. These three with less than five combat power dared to act against its master? This was suicide! Their combat power was so low that Tibbers felt it didn't even need to be released, so it decided to take a nap.)

Gold coins! And... gems?!

Bruce and the others immediately had red eyes, their nostrils flaring. They thought: we're rich, really rich! With these gold coins and gems, they could enjoy the nightlife, women, and those cute little powder packets for a long time!

Bruce was about to grab them, but Annie skillfully pulled her hand back and put the gold coins and gems back in her pocket. Then, she lightly jumped off the swing, grabbed one of Tibbers' hands, and skipped towards the park's entrance.

"I don't eat strangers' candy~! Annie wants to go home, see you!"

Seeing Annie about to leave, Bruce and the others panicked. The impulsive Mike immediately pulled out a small knife and chased after her.

"Don't be silly, guys, let's just rob her!"

They weren't good people! Just a few days ago, they had stabbed a man in a small alley for a few dollars. They didn't know if the man's body was still rotting in the sewer.

Seeing the three blocking her again, Annie tilted her head and frowned cutely. She didn't expect them to dare to act against her, which surprised her.

"White kid, no nonsense! Hand over all the gold coins in your pocket, or I'll cut your cute little face!" Mike brandished the shiny knife in his hand and reached for Annie's left pocket.

"Don't cut her! Mike, don't you think this girl looks delicate and pretty? Let's kidnap her too. Maybe some perverted rich people will pay a lot for her?"

"Right, right! Good idea! But first, hand over the gold coins and the gems!" Andy also reached out to grab Annie's right arm and tried to take the gold coins from her right pocket.

Bruce, who had arrived in front of her, had already thrown away the lollipop. He spread his hand and tried to cover Annie's mouth to prevent her from screaming and causing trouble.

"White kid? Hmph! Annie hates you, you're bad people!"

Annie skillfully jumped back, avoiding their attempts to grab her. They dared to touch her?

"Mom said: if you encounter bad people, you can burn them!"

As she spoke, she extended her free right hand, palm open, facing the three in front of her.

"Fire..."

——

Officer Rick Grimes was a patrol officer. He had just finished his patrol for the day, and his patrol area was Central Park.

He could have gone home ten minutes ago, but another officer mentioned over the radio that there was a little girl playing alone in the park, and it didn't seem like she had any parents with her.

So, the dispatch at the station asked Rick to check it out before he went home.

In this city, taxpayers were a powerful species. To avoid complaints of dereliction of duty and to get his meager bonus, Rick reluctantly delayed his shift a bit and decided to go to the location his colleague mentioned to check on the situation of the naughty little girl.

What a troublesome little girl... Maybe he would have to help her find her mother or take her home? This was really a hassle!

Rick was very hungry and just wanted to go home, take a hot bath, and have a good dinner.

However, he had to follow orders, or he would lose his job. So, he reluctantly complained to himself as he slowly walked to his destination.

Finally, after a while, Officer Rick turned a corner.

"Oh~! My God! This, this is... impossible!"

"Hey? Gentlemen... I think you won't believe what I just saw!" Rick pressed the talk button on his radio, staring at the scene in the distance, shocked.

In fact, he was more than shocked. The scene he just witnessed completely颠覆了瑞克数十年来的人生观！他永远无法想象，怎么可能发生这样的事情？