020 Anran 2

"You're thinking too much; I'm just a father who's not content. I have some money, some strength, and all I want is to find my son," Xindela shook his head.

"So, when do we start? How do we start?" Li Chengyi asked.

"First, go for a comprehensive physical checkup. After the results come out tomorrow, I'll arrange training courses.

For now, you need to describe in detail every scene of the Blind Spot you entered to facilitate modeling and restoration."

"What can we do after the restoration?" Li Chengyi frowned.

"Blind Spots are places that once existed but later disappeared. Finding traces is the only way to figure out how to leave completely," replied Xindela.

Li Chengyi kept busy in the New Century Building until after four in the afternoon, when he finally walked out, exhausted, and stopped at the bus stop at the parking lot exit, quietly waiting for the bus to arrive.

Modeling required depicting many detailed features, and then he had to verify them against the examples found, which was both time-consuming and laborious.

Fortunately, now that it's done and the modeling is a complete success, all that's left is to wait for the results.

'Next is dealing with the Floral Dress....the other mutations of Wisteria Flowers, perhaps the botanical gardens have the most.'

Li Chengyi took out his phone to check the time: four fifteen.

Then he quickly searched for the nearest botanical gardens.

Upon entering "botanical gardens" into the phone's map, several nearby options popped up immediately.

He decisively chose the closest one.

'Four kilometers away, not too far.'

After setting the destination, he let the map automatically plan the route.

He planned to go through the botanical gardens one by one and simultaneously contact flower sellers online to inquire if they could supply the finished Wisteria Flowers.

The gardens offering free access would be best; otherwise, he would have to spend a lot of money to build his own garden.

After all, the Floral Dress, when damaged, needed live flowers for repair, so growing them himself was naturally the most convenient.

'Additionally, the specific strength, amplification, and abilities of the Floral Dress all need to be tested thoroughly. It's impossible to conduct tests under secrecy with outsiders around. I'll have to invest in creating a testing facility, all of which require money, lots of money....'

After thinking it through, Li Chengyi suddenly felt that the salary Xindela gave was far from enough.

Testing the Floral Dress was urgent; he had to know what weapons it could protect him against when worn and whether it could stop bullets.

This was related to the direction of his upcoming training.

Soon, as he pondered, the driverless bus arrived, and following the flow of passengers, he got on, clutching the handrail as the bus lumbered along towards the nearest Dongsheng Botanical Garden.

Unfortunately, after wandering around the botanical garden for over an hour, it was time for them to close.

Li Chengyi had no choice but to leave.

He did touch many other flowers, but he failed to find any Wisteria variants.

In the evening, he sat on the bus home, weary all over.

Sitting in his seat, his eyes were heavy with sleepiness, and several times he nearly dozed off.

The people around him came and went, changing several times.

Li Chengyi wasn't paying any attention initially, only wanting to take this time to rest properly.

However, a few elementary school students chatting loudly with their backpacks on, standing next to his seat, caught his attention.

They were three children wearing blue and white school uniforms, two boys and one girl.

"Today, my mom brought me a succulent that grew a layer of green fur; do your succulents do that too?" the little girl asked with some sadness.

"I don't have one," another little boy said, wiping his nearly dripping nose and smearing it on his trousers.

"I do! I watered my succulent with milk and shampoo! The shampoo is colored, and mixed with milk it looks super pretty. Now it has changed color in several places, some parts turned yellow; it's so pretty!" the last boy with the flat-top proudly said.

"Won't the shampoo kill it?" the girl worriedly asked.

"How could it? We use it to wash our hair and it's fine. My dad says that my type of succulent is very tough. As long as you don't mess it up, it definitely won't die," the boy with the flat-top said confidently.

"That's so cool; I want a color-changing succulent too..." the girl's eyes began to shine.

"I'll tell you, I've also secretly poured my dad's hair growth tonic in it...." the flat-top boy whispered loudly.

"Wouldn't that kill it?" the boy with the runny nose inquired.

"What die? Some plants are super resilient; they'll absorb nutrients on their own. Who knows, maybe any random nutrients could cause a mutation," replied the boy with the flat-top.

Mutation??!

The last word sparked a flash of insight in Li Chengyi's mind.

It seemed like an inspiration had flickered through his mind.

'Right, how did plant variants originate in the first place?'

All of a sudden, that occurred to him.

He immediately perked up and quickly started searching on his phone.

The screen filled with rows of various information.

He soon found the answer.

'Causes of plant mutation include: 1 influence of chemical substances, such as irrigation or soaking with special solutions. 2 irradiation from radiation sources, such as space cultivation. 3 viral invasion. 4 significant changes in the growth environment soil and water, leading to long-term adaptation.'

"That means, I can induce and create mutations myself!"

Li Chengyi had an idea now.

However, this should be later, after all current variants were absorbed and found useless, then he could manufacture variants himself.

Remembering this, Li Chengyi felt a lot more anticipation for the rest of his journey home.

He also had quite a few ideas about the development direction of the Evil Flower.

When he got home, his sister Li Chengjiu had already returned and was talking with her parents, showing little reaction to his arrival.

However, his mother Feng Yurong stood up, hurriedly serving him rice and handing him chopsticks.

Li Chengyi was fully focused on how to evolve the Floral Dress, showing no interest in this former sister.

After a hurried meal, he lay in bed and scrolled through his phone.

His phone provided a wealth of various data and knowledge, which helped him quickly recall parts of his predecessor's memory that were forgotten or unclear.

*

*

*

Suiyang City, Lan District.

In a hillside villa area, within a villa at the corner.

In the backyard on the lawn, Meng Dongdong suddenly woke from a nightmare, sweating profusely on a recliner with her heart rate nearly hitting 140.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and propped herself up from the recliner. Looking around at the walls of her yard, even though the top of the wall was lined with electric fencing and spikes, she still didn't feel the slightest bit safe.

Picking up her cellphone, she quickly dialed a number and waited for the ring, then the call connected.

"Hello, Dad, have you found a solution yet?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"I've consulted with a sage, and to safely get out each time, one person must die."

"One person must die?" Meng Dongdong's pupils involuntarily shrank at the words.

She remembered that if it wasn't for the gun-wielding man who had drawn the monster's attention last time, she might have been the one to die. Later, she inexplicably made it out, which could very well be because one of the other two people had died...

"Yes, as long as one person dies, the others can quickly escape. So, if you want to survive, you'll have to... let someone else die!" the man on the phone answered.

"...." Meng Dongdong fell completely silent upon hearing this.

"According to your description, there were three entrants, including yourself and two others.

Last time you came out inexplicably, one must have already died. That means the remaining person, if no newcomers appear, will be your next target to confront," the man explained.

"Is there really no other way?" Meng Dongdong bit her lip lightly.

"You sketch out their portraits, and your mother and I will help you look. We'll do facial comparisons, and since the others are likely locals, as soon as we determine their identities, everything will be easier to handle," the man continued.

"Dad... do you intend to...!?" Meng Dongdong knew their family company had some shady dealings, but from her father's tone, it seemed he was already prepared for something specific.

"I've asked the sage, and if we find the other participants and kill them outside just before it's time to enter, it can also extend the interval between entries," the man said.

"Dad..." Meng Dongdong shivered, trying to say something else.

"I won't let you die, Dongdong," the man interrupted her, "You also need to be mentally prepared. Next time you go in, you need to learn how to use a gun, I will prepare everything for you."

*

*

*

The next day dawned.

Early the next morning, Li Chengyi hurriedly got up, cooked himself a bowl of egg noodles, ate quickly, and left to catch the bus to New Century.

The trip was uneventful, taking about fifteen minutes to reach Hongjin Biopharmaceutical Company, also known as Xindela's shell company, where the woman who had guided him before was already waiting for him at the entrance.

"The boss hasn't arrived yet, I'll take you to the place for physical training, and we'll start by testing your physical fitness," said the woman with a smile, her expression extremely formulaic.

"Also, I am your exclusive liaison. If you need anything, you can contact me, the boss might not always be around. But I'll convey messages when I can," she added.

"Understood," Li Chengyi nodded in understanding.

They still took the side route, taking the elevator to the eighteenth floor.

As the elevator doors opened, rhythmic drumbeat music hit them.

There was no corridor, no transition; just outside the elevator was a floor covered with gray mats.

Directly ahead of the elevator entrance was a spacious rectangular space.

Li Chengyi stepped out of the elevator and looked around.

Above him was an array of bright, high-power light bulbs, and on the right-hand side, the whole wall was covered in mirrors.

To his left were various types of black workout equipment rack after rack.

At a glance, there were no fewer than twenty different devices.

In the corner on a mat were two dumbbell racks, and a blonde, blue-eyed woman with a short ponytail was training her forearm muscles with a dumbbell in each hand.

When she saw Li Chengyi enter, she stood up, placed the dumbbells down, and walked towards him.

"Kristin," she said, extending her hand, which hovered in the space between them.

"Cheng Yi," Li Chengyi stretched out his hand and shook hers. "You're not from Yi Country?"

"No, I'm from White Star, Erunbalu State. I will be your physical fitness coach." The blonde woman replied, her Yi Country language was very fluent, if not for her appearance, it would be impossible to tell she wasn't a local.

"I hold three White Star professional fitness training certifications, with fifteen years of experience. I've been invited to teach physical enhancement courses at several Star Ring Universities. So when it comes to physical fitness, I'm the most professional."

"Then I'm counting on you," Li Chengyi said, nodding earnestly.

The Star Ring University system was the premier educational certification in White Star, a top-tier university alliance consisting of the best thirty universities. Representing the highest educational quality in White Star and, indeed, the entire world.

To teach a physical enhancement course there meant that this blonde woman's salary was undeniably high.

"The boss suggests completing your physical strength reconstruction as quickly as possible. So, you're going to have to work hard, young man," Kristin said coolly.

"Understood!" he replied.

The more brisk his response, the more painful the training would turn out to be.

A full day of training, coupled with massage, medicinal baths, and stretching recovery, confirmed for Li Chengyi that others couldn't see the Evil Flower on his hand.

It also made him painfully aware of just how poor the physical condition of his body was.

Just the endurance training left him completely exhausted; after completing the standard amount, he didn't even have the strength to get up.

Thankfully, the recovery methods prepared by Xindela were powerful; after the massage and medicinal bath, he could at least stand up and go home.

Time passed slowly day by day.

Every morning he went to the company for training, and in the evening he would leave to wander in flower shops and botanical gardens, looking for varieties of Wisteria, and also gathering the powers of other flowers to prepare for what lay ahead.

Meanwhile, after receiving his salary from Xindela, Li Chengyi immediately ordered a variety of Wisteria products and seeds online, planning to find a place to cultivate them himself.

Before he knew it, a week had passed, and the goods he had ordered finally arrived. The new variety of Wisteria was named White Wisteria.