Blind Spot

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Hiss.

The box cutter gently scored a line across the cardboard box, pulling open a gap.

Li Chengyi, filled with anticipation, lifted the lid to find a red porcelain flower pot secured within white foam.

The pot was filled with soil, scattered throughout were white wisteria flowers and their branches.

In the center of the flower pot, a brown branch about half the width of a palm was adorned with delicate white blossoms. They hung in clusters, entirely different from the purple ones.

White wisterias are white with a hint of purple, whereas common wisteria flowers are purple with a trace of white.

"It's here, it's here...." Li Chengyi took a deep breath, faintly smelling the light fragrance of flowers.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart and reached out to gently touch the slightly wilted white flowers.

'White Wisteria: A deciduous liana, a variety of wisteria, with a strong fragrance, blooms in May and June.'

'Flower Language: Drunken Hand.'

'Floral Dress: Would you like to begin absorption and evolution?'

The moment Li Chengyi saw the last line of information, he felt a huge sense of relief.

'That's right! This is it!'

There are many varieties of wisterias, but he chose the white wisteria because it's a type with few commercial growers in mass cultivation.

This would make it easier for him to absorb and evolve later, as well as repair the Floral Dress.

Right then, he confirmed the inquiry from the Evil Flower.

'Yes.'

Instantly, a threadlike coolness flowed from his fingertips that had touched the wisteria petals into his body.

Unlike before, this sensation didn't flow into the Evil Flower Ring but traveled up his palm, along his arm, and into his chest.

And from the chest, it spread throughout his body.

A mint-like coolness gradually enveloped Li Chengyi, making him shiver slightly.

Luckily, no one was home.

His parents were at work, and his sister, Li Chengjiu, went to train every day in preparation for the upcoming assessment.

Li Chengyi looked down at the back of his right hand where the Evil Flower Ring was emitting a faint purple glow.

A line of new information entered his mind.

'Floral Dress evolving....'

'The evolution process is influenced by individual personality, beliefs, physical constitution, and goals, and different nutrients can be added midway to enhance the strength of the Floral Dress.'

'Different nutrients can cause the final strength and form of the Floral Dress and even the Flower Language Ability to change, please try with caution.'

"Nutrients?" Li Chengyi narrowed his eyes slightly; would the Floral Dress change along with its wearer?

But he then realized that ancient armors and such were definitely custom-made, so it did make sense for the Floral Dress to have this feature.

With this realization, his anticipation grew even more.

'What does this nutrient refer to?'

As this question emerged in his mind.

New feedback from the Evil Flower swiftly flowed into his consciousness.

'Nutrient: There are two types. Before the evolution of the Floral Dress is complete, flower essence must be absorbed to take shape.'

Once shaped, apart from repairs, flower essence is no longer needed; instead, the absorption of all external evil thoughts is required.'

'Evil Thought Absorption: By completely defeating an individual with evil intentions, causing their emotions to transform, the absorption can be completed.'

Current evolution progress: 1%, Evil Thoughts: 0.'

Evil Thoughts!?

It was only now that Li Chengyi truly realized the significance.

'No wonder the ability is named Evil Flower... a flower cultivated by evil thoughts... it indeed perfectly matches the name.'

'That means, with different wearers, the evil thoughts absorbed during the process may result in a Floral Dress that evolves differently at the end...'

With this in mind, he carefully lifted the flower pot out of the foam packaging, took it to the bathroom, dampened a cloth, and meticulously cleaned its exterior before placing it in his bedroom.

"My room is still too small; if only I had my own garden...."

With the addition of the pot of white wisteria, the previously empty space now seemed a bit cramped.

The idea of renting his own place grew stronger.

Sitting at his desk, Li Chengyi took out his phone and, without any need for secrecy, searched directly for the shipment location of the white wisteria.

He planned to visit in person, finish the evolution of the Floral Dress in one go, and then come back.

Once it was fully evolved, he would only need to go there for repairs. That would be it.

'It seems that in the future, the development of the Evil Flower will require a vast variety of plants; I should probably consider starting my own floral base...'

This thought gradually took root in his mind.

Due to the insecurity of the phone, he simply disguised his interest as someone who just loves fresh flowers, making sure all the information searched on the phone was entirely non-confidential.

It didn't take long for him to find the retailer that shipped the white wisteria.

He dialed the number.

"Hello, is this Treasure Source Florist?"

"Yes, may I ask who's calling..."

After a brief and swift exchange, Li Chengyi fixed a time to visit their flower base in person. The pretext, of course, was that he wanted to wholesale a batch of white wisteria.

Once the time was confirmed, he looked again at the flower pot in his bedroom and felt a lot more at ease.

'Next, it's time to find a way to test the actual strength of the Floral Dress....'

In the past few days, he hadn't been idle and had thought about many things. Alone at night, he had repeatedly tried and succeeded in controlling the automatic wearing speed of the Floral Dress.

Li Chengyi discovered that as long as he keeps issuing commands during the short period when he is affirming to wear the Floral Dress, telling it to slow down again and again.

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He could then control the Floral Dress to cover only parts of his body.

For instance, just his hands, legs, or just the torso.

In this way, it became much easier for him to test the strength of the Floral Dress. After basic physical training was over, he would begin firearm training courses. Then, he would just need to find a suitable opportunity.

*

*

*

Suiyang City, Xicheng District.

On the side of the old streets lined a row of five-story residential buildings.

The first floors of these buildings were all small shops.

The shops' yellowing walls were adorned by buzzing air conditioning units hanging on the side.

In front of one of the shops, which had blue shutter doors tightly closed, crouched a slightly overweight man in a silver jacket, smoking a cigarette.

He took drags from the cigarette, occasionally turning his head to look around, as if he was waiting for someone.

"Little Ding." A bald man with a bag in his hand slowly walked up the sidewalk and greeted the crouching chubby man.

"Ah, Brother Zeng, you're here?" The chubby man quickly stood up, his face breaking into a broad smile.

"Whatever it is, just say it. The boys are all waiting," he said cheerfully as he approached, taking out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket to offer one.

"Thanks. The boss said he needs two people. Your sister's tech skills are top-notch, right? Have her help look into it. You won't be short of benefits afterward," Bald Head whispered.

"Who are we looking for? We dare not meddle with sensitive figures," Little Ding hesitated.

"Not any sensitive person. Just help us find them. The usual price, fifty thousand per search," Bald Head said softly. "One search is a month's salary for your sister, and it's not even illegal. Just a screenshot will do, even if you blot out all the identification marks. How easy is that? As long as no one talks, who'll know it was your sister's doing?"

Little Ding hesitated for a bit, then nodded.

"Alright, I'll ask her."

"These are the profiles of the two people. You don't even have to screenshot them. Handwritten notes or a copied transcript would work as well." Understanding his hesitation, Bald Head added with a smile.

"Got it." Little Ding took the two synthetic photos from him and looked them over.

In one of the photos was a man bearing an uncanny resemblance to Li Chengyi, and in the other was that gunman from the blind spot.

Little Ding took out his phone, snapped a couple of photos, then walked aside to make a call.

Soon, he returned with a smile on his face, ending the call.

"Done. I'll bring you the info later. These two aren't any problem."

"That's what I like to hear," Brother Zeng smiled back. "If possible, try to get a complete family profile; they usually have those records online, don't they?"

After all, in modern society, committing murder was definitely a last resort. If they could first threaten the person through their family and relatives to protect the young lady within the blind spot, achieving their goal with less fuss, that would be ideal.

"No problem. Registration info always has names. Easy to follow up. My sister said she can help with direct phone tracking. When do you need it?" Little Ding asked.

"The sooner, the better," Brother Zeng quickly replied.

"Alright, my sister says she can get it done within an hour. But the money..." Little Ding said with a laugh.

"The usual place, half upfront. You can pick it up shortly," Brother Zeng nodded.

"The boss is generous!" Little Ding beamed.

*

*

*

New Century Building, Hongjin Company.

Xindela stood with his arms folded in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the sunny Suiyang City Area, silent as stone.

His gaze was deep as though lost in thought, his right thumb unconsciously rubbing the edge of his arm.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door was knocked upon.

"Sir, we've found them," a voice with a slight nasal tone called from outside the door.

"Ah Ran? Come in," Xindela turned and looked towards the door.

The door was gently twisted open, and a strong man with a flat-top haircut entered.

The man's complexion was sallow as if he was ill, and his eyes slightly cloudy. His towering presence, over two meters tall, strode in as rigid as a door.

Stopping three meters from Xindela, he dipped his head slightly.

"Based on Mr. Li Chengyi's profile sketch, we've located the remaining survivor. Here's the information for your review," he said.

Xindela took the document, flipped through it.

"Only one forewarning?" He frowned slightly, evidently unsatisfied.

"Yes, this Meng Dongdong seems to have a weak spirit. She appeared only once in the premonitions of the blind spot, and the second time she went straight in. Based on Li Chengyi's description, she must have gotten lucky to survive temporarily," the stout man named Ah Ran explained.

"Potential too low. Li Chengyi had three premonitions, the most among all the contractors we've dealt with. The more premonitions, the more likely to survive. This Meng Dongdong, no value," Xindela closed the file with a slight shake of his head.

"Plus, with her affluent family background, it's unlikely she would cooperate with us," Ah Ran added.

"Yes, forget her. Focus on Li Chengyi," Xindela affirmed.

As they spoke, rapid footsteps approached the door once more.

The newcomer stopped at the doorway.

"Boss, Cheng Yi's phone is subject to a hacking attempt to pinpoint its location. Someone is trying to access Cheng Yi's and his family's related information from the communication operator's database," they reported.

"Cut them off and give them a warning," Xindela ordered calmly.

"Also, regarding Meng Dongdong. Since there's no chance she'll become one of my contractors, she's worthless to us. Remove her from the selection process," he continued.

"Then... should we..." Ah Ran lifted his hand, miming a throat-slashing gesture.

In order to ensure the contractors' safety and prolong their survival to explore the secrets of the blind spot to the fullest, they had done this before.