Chapter 16: Cooperation II (Thanks to Chief Alliance Pingchuwu)
Tap tap tap.
Pausing in place, Li Chengyi heard the sound of gunfire and hurried footsteps approaching from around the corner.
He knew he didn’t have much time left to make a choice.
“Let’s gamble!”
Biting his teeth, he quickly headed for the crevice.
Rather than placing his hopes on his nearly depleted strength, he might as well try this sudden opening.
In this unchanging underground garage, this suddenly appearing crevice could very well be the only variable that could lead to an escape.
Bang.
Just as he was about to rush into the crevice, suddenly a spark exploded on the wall next to the gap.
“Stop!” The voice of the gunman echoed once again.
“Indeed. It appeared! Hahaha!” He charged around the corner, speeding towards Li Chengyi.
Clearly, he seemed to have known that the crevice would appear and managed to chase him down somehow.
“You!” The man ran while aiming his gun at Li Chengyi. “Draw that monster away!”
Only then did Li Chengyi see the huge human face chasing after the man as well.
The two-meter-tall black and white face, floating in mid-air with an emotionless expression, emitted a black gas from its mouth and was even slightly faster than the man.
The distance between them, about ten meters, was slowly closing as time passed.
And Meng Dongdong, that woman, was nowhere to be seen.
With the gun aimed at him, Li Chengyi stiffened. Looking at the crevice nearby, he dared not make any movement.
Should he dash into the crevice or stay put, using the Drunken Flower Hand to deal with the monstrous face?
The thumping of footsteps rapidly approached.
The gunman and the face were closing in fast.
Li Chengyi froze, his mind racing with various thoughts as time seemed to slow down at this moment.
Sweat beads formed on his forehead, shining under the cold white light of the garage, trickling down drop by drop.
Some slid down his nose, some into his eyes.
But he didn’t dare blink, or perhaps he had forgotten to.
“What do I do!?”
“What do I do!?”
“What do I do!?”
Li Chengyi watched as the gunman and the giant face drew closer, his mind in turmoil.
Finally.
The man was about to reach the crevice, gun aimed at Li Chengyi.
“Draw it away! Quick!!”
He bellowed, his mouth so wide you could see his yellowed, smoke-stained teeth.
The voice seemed to drift from afar.
“Now die, or possibly die later?”
Li Chengyi knew he had no choice.
“Ah!!”
He clenched his teeth and let out a low growl only he could hear.
His veins seemed to burst, eyes red.
Lunging, Li Chengyi suddenly turned around and charged towards that giant-faced monster.
Shh.
In an instant, he brushed past the gunman.
His hand lightly grazed the man’s arm.
Then without stopping, he pressed against the right wall.
Puff.
The Drunken Flower Ability activated!
The Flower of Evil·Drunken Hand!!
An invisible connection instantly linked the man to the wall.
The man screamed, his entire body uncontrollably pulled by a force against the wall, unable to move.
The pistol fell from his hand, clattering to the ground.
Li Chengyi rushed towards the crevice without looking back.
Crack!
A splash of crimson blood splattered behind him, staining the floor and walls bright red.
Followed by the sounds of chewing and the crunch of bones being ground.
At this moment, Li Chengyi was almost exhausted, depleted of energy, but his mind was clearer than ever.
Walking through the crevice, he looked back over his shoulder.
Outside the crevice, the giant black and white face was stuffing a muscular leg into its mouth.
Blood gushed from the severed part of the leg, covering the ground.
Accompanied by the face’s shrill chewing, everything in front of him began to blur and fade.
Darkness gradually enveloped his vision.
A deep tiredness and dizziness suddenly overwhelmed him.
He involuntarily closed his eyes.
Soon, the harsh sounds quickly diminished, replaced by a faint whisper of wind, carrying the fragrance of flowers and the scent of grass.
Shh.
Li Chengyi reopened his eyes.
He was standing in the middle of a small park’s running track, staring blankly, not knowing how long he had been standing there.
He was out.
This sudden fact didn’t bring him any sense of relief.
Standing still, he didn’t move, looking down, his pupils slightly dilated, as if he was stunned.
In the darkness, a breeze blew, lifting his black hair to the left.
Between the strands of hair, a pair of eyes stained with traces of blood, reflecting the dim lights around.
“I really made it out.”
Li Chengyi raised his hands, silently squatting down, covering his face.
He didn’t know why he felt this way, only that he was very tired, so very tired.
And,
Some things seemed to have changed completely from the moment he decided to use the Flower Language Ability.
Pat.
In the gloomy moonlight, a pair of dark brown high-top men’s boots quietly walked up to him.
The boots had two vertical rows of silver metal buckles on the outside, and the top was polished to a mirror shine, faintly reflecting Li Chengyi’s twisted figure.
“You seem to be quite lucky.”
In the darkness, a deep male voice sounded.
Then the light of a lighter igniting a cigarette, a red glow quickly lighting up, with the slender smoke dispersing in the wind.
“Though it’s only temporary.”
Li Chengyi slowly unclenched his hands and slowly raised his head, blood beginning to flow from the corners of his eyes again.
Two streaks of blood flowed down his face, drawing two red lines.
He recognized the man, the middle-aged man who had spoken to him in front of the café.
“Is it not over yet?” he asked, his voice suppressed and low, even unbeknown to himself.
“Of course. Perhaps it will never end.” The man took a puff of his cigarette, flicked the butt away, and stomped it out with his foot.
Then he looked down at Li Chengyi as he was now.
“One month, twenty thousand, including room and board, weekends off, work from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, salary paid daily.”
He extended his hand, opening it.
“Be my assistant, what do you say?”
Li Chengyi was stunned for a moment, the previous quietness having restored some of his strength.
Now looking at the hand stretched out to him.
The hand emerging from the sleeve of the black windbreaker, the skin pale yellow, loose, old, and dim.
The nails were exceptionally neat, with a slight yellowing on the segments of the index and middle fingers.
Close enough, you could still smell the faint scent of cigarettes, pungent and irritating.
Li Chengyi didn’t smoke in his previous life, and he didn’t in this one either.
But at this moment, this faintly unpleasant smell somehow made him feel calm.
“I still don’t know anything,” he said.
“No worries, I’ll explain everything you need to know. The first successful escape grants you at least two months of rest,” the man replied.
“Also, the information about Dead End, you won’t find it on the public internet.” He smiled inexplicably. “Do you know how I found you?”
The conversation that followed was left unsaid, but Li Chengyi immediately understood.
The internet leaves traces.
“Don’t worry,” the man said, “My people have cleaned up your trail. Besides me, probably no one else can find you so quickly.”
“So, you’re saying, besides you, I have no other choice?” Li Chengyi asked.
“Every year, at least five thousand people might die in Dead Ends, just in our country. You’re not unique, young man.” The man laughed. “Of course, you can also refuse me, go on your own, enjoy the last two months of your life. Or call the police for help from government departments. It’s all up to you.”
Li Chengyi fell silent.
He tried to stand up, took out his phone, and checked the time, which was 9:15.
All the supplies he had prepared were gone, left behind in Dead End.
“I hope you’re not lying to me,” he finally extended his hand, slapping it onto the man’s hand. If he wanted to understand Dead End quickly, this man was undoubtedly a shortcut.
“My name is Cheng Yi.”
“Sindra,” the man smiled, “You can call me Sindra, Li Chengyi.”
“Let’s go. Let’s get your injuries treated first. If we delay, your eyesight might get damaged, which would be troublesome. I’ll also show you the things you’re interested in.”
He released Li Chengyi’s hand and walked towards the exit of the small park.
Li Chengyi exhaled, lowered his hand, took a step forward, and slowly followed.
At the park entrance, beside the road, a black SUV stood parked.
The SUV, with its distinct angular lines as if folded from paper. Two triangular headlights emitted bright white beams onto the ground.
A triangular silver logo stood on the front bonnet, marking behind it two silver letters: Fog Flag.
The man walked to the rear of the vehicle, opened the trunk, and took out a metal first aid kit with wound treatment supplies.
Turning around, he quickly treated the cuts on Li Chengyi’s eyes.
Then he rummaged through the trunk again, soon holding something that looked like makeup pencils.
“Need to cover it up?” he asked.
“Will it help?” Li Chengyi was skeptical.
“Very much. I’ll disguise you a bit so your family won’t worry,” Sindra nodded.
“Then let’s try,” Li Chengyi agreed.
“Close your eyes,” Sindra instructed.
Li Chengyi did as told, and soon he felt something cool being applied to his face, seemingly being painted on.
In a few minutes,
“All done,” Sindra retracted his hand and looked at the young man in front of him, looking just as he did before any injury.
“Just three minutes, rejuvenated, back to a spirited young man,” he said satisfied.
Li Chengyi, speechless, opened his eyes, took out his phone, and switched to selfie mode.
In the night mode, his face in the phone screen showed no sign of any wound, and the cuts on the corners of his eyes felt cool and comfortable.
“The makeup has medicinal effects that can speed up wound recovery, specially made, not available outside,” Sindra explained on the side.
“Alright. Now what? Can you give me the information? About Dead End,” Li Chengyi calmly said.
“What you should do now is go back and get a good night’s sleep, rest up, regain your energy, then consider other things,” Sindra said. “Also, do you think your phone is safe?”
“All in paper?”
“Of course not,” Sindra paused, giving Li Chengyi a look as if he was looking at a fool.
“Do you know how much information there is? Where would I find space to store it all if it were all on paper? Independent storage. Know what a K-drive is?”
“Alright, see you tomorrow,” Li Chengyi turned and walked away.
“Need the contact info?” Sindra’s voice came from behind.
“Wait for your call,” Li Chengyi didn’t turn back; since the man had even found his real name, how could he not find a phone number?
There was no response from behind. He didn’t bother to look back; at this moment, all he wanted to do was go home, to his room, and fall asleep.
Then, the first thing after waking up was to repair the Flower Scale Clothing!
(End of Chapter)