Blind Spot

A series of news seemed to have all arrived with the opening of a world map link by Li Chengyi.

And as these messy news popped up, a vast amount of information about this world as a whole, macroscopic information, crazily surged forth from his mind.

'Hmm...' He put down his phone, gently covering his forehead, a burst of stabbing pain continuously emanating from the inside of his forehead

An overwhelming amount of data and memory, like a tidal wave, crazily gushed out, merging into his mind at this moment.

With the influx of information, he finally had a comprehensive understanding of his predecessor's situation.

This was a special era, one of bipolar contention, teetering on the edge of peace and war.

Yi Country and White Star, these were the two poles in the struggle, two great powers.

The Earth-Moon was influenced by a vast Empire known as Yi Country; within the whole Earth-Moon, no other nation could contend with Yi Country.

The place where he currently lived was Yi Country's Suiyang City.

Yi Country was a nation somewhat similar to Hua County, with similarities in culture, philosophy, and lifestyle, but there were also many differences in the details.

As for White Star, his predecessor didn't know much, after all, that was the empire of a truly different planet.

All he knew was that White Star's technology was more advanced than that of Earth-Moon, and right now, they were at an advantage in the bipolar struggle.

And his predecessor was just an ordinary one among the millions of university students in Yi Country.

If he hadn't come over, without any accidents, after repeatedly failing to find a good job, his predecessor would lower his standards to work in lower-income and lower social status jobs.

Then gradually improve himself, look for opportunities, increase income, marry and have children, engage in their education and training, worry about their future and continue this cycle over again.

Until he had lived out his ordinary and plain life.

Now, although he had the memories of his previous life, many things were not applicable in a changed environment and world; regarding what to do in the future, whether he could return or not, and what plans to make for the future, Li Chengyi felt somewhat bewildered in his heart.

He was still in a state of strangeness, as if he was forcibly placed into a disordered and harmonious environment.

Apart from these, in Li Chengyi's impression,

This world always felt very odd in many places.

He couldn't pinpoint where exactly, but it was just a feeling, a strange feeling compared to his last life.

After sitting for a while and checking various materials, he looked at the time, and it was about time to go to the university.

The time he had arranged with Mentor Chen Shan was half an hour later, which was just in time if he factored in the travel.

Ding dong.

Suddenly, a message notification sounded.

Li Chengyi was about to put away his phone when he heard the sound and quickly glanced at the screen.

Text message contents would automatically show up on the lit screen.

'A friend's small garden has a pest problem, aren't you majoring in this field? Come to this address and help check it out.' — Lin Sang.

Li Chengyi thought for a moment and quickly replied.

'What kind of pest, take a picture for me to see.'

'You'll know when you come here, just think of it as doing me a favor. It's the few people you saw this morning; getting along with them is beneficial for you, trust me!' — Lin Sang.

'How much will it cost?' Li Chengyi asked again.

'You're going to charge for helping a friend? Can't you be any more stingy? Hurry up and come over, you must arrive before two o'clock in the afternoon, or don't blame me for turning on you later.' Lin Sang spoke with a tone indicating she had a bit of a temper.

Whenever the three of them had any disagreements, her getting angry would ensure the other two would soften and start trying to coax her.

So this tactic was always very effective.

Li Chengyi glanced at the address she sent over, about thirty-two kilometers away. Public transportation would definitely be too late; he would have to take a taxi. The taxi fare, along with the required medicine and pest detection card, would amount to several hundred back and forth.

This was assuming the pests were of the easier type to deal with. If they were troublesome, just the medicine could cost at least a thousand.

Despite his desire to live according to his predecessor's habits and gradually transition to his own, this request was a bit outrageous. He didn't know these people at all, meaning if he went to help, he would actually be doing Lin Sang a favor.

Setting aside whether it was worth it or not, even now his memories were still blurred, and he was not capable of handling it.

Therefore, Li Chengyi decisively ignored Lin Sang and put his phone on silent mode.

Even if he had been his predecessor without the enhancement of romantic feelings, Lin Sang's requests would have been a waste of time and energy for him.

No longer paying attention to the vibrations coming from his phone, he quickly left home, catching a bus at the entrance to his residential area, and headed toward the school in the suburbs.

Suiyang University, situated to the south of the suburbs, was a local comprehensive university almost the size of a small town, with dozens of well-ordered buildings spread out across it.

By the time Li Chengyi arrived, more than twenty minutes had passed.

In building number one on the third floor of the university, he followed the signs and found the fifth office.

The office door was open, and not far from the door stood two young men wearing glasses and talking, one tall and one short, both dressed in shirts and long pants, looking refined.

Li Chengyi recognized them as the graduate students of Mentor Chen Shan. They were also his senior brothers.

'Rong Qing and Xu Nanhang coming to the university's symposium pleases me, but I really can't get any extra spots. I have several more on my hands compared to other professors already...'

Inside the office, beside a yellow wood bookcase, a bald old man with silver-rimmed glasses, clothed in a suit and tie with a dark red tie and a white shirt, was speaking in a low voice to a middle-aged woman in front of him.

He was the mentor specializing in plant cultivation, Li Chengyi's guidance mentor Chen Shan.

Upon seeing Li Chengyi enter, the bald man Chen Shan waved at him to wait a moment, then continued his conversation with the middle-aged woman.

The two seemed to be arguing over some sort of quota.

Bored while waiting, Li Chengyi didn't know why his mentor had asked him to come. He and Chen Shan's relationship began because he excelled in the university's plant cultivation courses, which led to Chen Shan's appreciation and a recommendation to participate in advanced plant cultivation studies.

Chen Shan had consequently become Li Chengyi's guidance mentor.

Both Chen Shan and Li Chengyi's predecessor thought that he would naturally apply for Chen Shan's graduate program.

Unfortunately, later on, Li Chengyi's talent and performance proved insufficient to continue down that path.

Later on, Li Chengyi gave up. After a big fight with his sister, he abandoned his major and his courses and chose to graduate and find a job right away.

After Chen Shan had spoken to the middle-aged woman for a while, the woman left with a few cold snorts and the forms in her hand.

Only then did Chen Shan, exhausted, take off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and looked towards Li Chengyi, who was sitting on the couch.

He had actually been quite fond of Li Chengyi, his disciple, in the beginning.

But now...

He had four students in total, the other three were his graduate students. One was now a high-ranking executive in a large corporation, another had started his own logistics company, which was on the rise.

Another stayed as faculty at the university and had published several articles in top journals, with a really bright future ahead.

But only Li Chengyi, the student he had once earmarked for success, was now...

"Xiao Yi, I've checked and your file hasn't been transferred yet; you probably haven't found a job, right?" he asked softly.

"No, but I'm looking. Don't worry, I've already got some leads," Li Chengyi stood up and walked closer, faintly discerning a hint of regret and helplessness in the eyes of the man in front of him.

The voices of the other two disciples chatting outside the door in the corridor drifted in softly, as if the last sister-disciple was also about to arrive by car.

"Don't be embarrassed. I know you well," Chen Shan said in a low voice. Although Li Chengyi had become despondent, as his mentor, he still decided to give him one last bit of help, especially since an opportunity had arisen.

As he spoke, he pulled open the second drawer of his desk and took out a locked file, unlocked the metal lock, and pulled out a brown envelope that had already been sealed.

'You could try at this company, this is a letter of introduction I've written, their general manager is an old friend of mine, they should be able to place you in a position,' Chen Shan handed the envelope to Li Chengyi.

"Mentor..." Li Chengyi was somewhat stunned, not sure what to say.

"I know a bit about your family situation. Your sister needs money, your parents have a low income, and now the factory is starting to cut wages, but you must believe that hardship is temporary. If you really have no way out, call me!" Chen Shan said earnestly.

"I..." Li Chengyi was suddenly moved. Although his former self was gone, it was extremely rare in one's life to encounter someone who genuinely cared so deeply.

"Remember, don't waste your talent..." Chen Shan sighed, patted Li Chengyi on the shoulder, and stuffed the letter into his hand.

Compared to the successful developments of the other students, Li Chengyi's situation seemed all the more difficult.

"Thank you," Li Chengyi said sincerely as he stepped back and bowed deeply.

"I'll remember."

"Go on, go on," Chen Shan gestured with his hand, looking somewhat forlorn.

He reached down to the edge of the desk to pick up a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and was about to look for a lighter, but after fumbling around, he decided to put it down,

and took the cigarette out again. Without saying anything more, he waved at Li Chengyi again, then turned his back, looking out at the pink blossoms outside the window.

Li Chengyi bowed deeply once more and then left with the letter.

Exiting the office, he was about to go downstairs when he nearly ran into a red-haired girl wearing a yellow leather jacket and tight gray trousers.

"Hey, you are...?" The girl paused as if recognizing Li Chengyi.

"It's Chen Pi's little sister, long time no see," Li Chengyi recognized her. The girl in front of him was Professor Chen Shan's daughter Chen Pi, who had been studying abroad until recently.

Back then, his former self was quite familiar with Chen Pi, and they often joked that when he made it big and started his own company, he would have Chen Pi be his secretary.

Now it seems...

"Chen Pi, hurry over here," Chen Pi was about to reply when someone from the office called out to her.

"See you at the alumni meeting tonight." She smiled and walked away quickly.

Li Chengyi didn't get a chance to reply before he saw her hasten away.

An alumni meeting was for people who had achieved some measure of success, not for someone like him with no job post-graduation...

He glanced back and saw the three of them coming together, the two elder-disciples looking every bit the successful individuals they were, chatting amiably with Chen Pi.

His previous self was meant to be part of that circle, but...

Without another word, he turned and continued down the stairs.

Two cars, one black, one white, were parked below, squeezed closely together.

Li Chengyi looked around and chose to slip through the narrow gap between the cars.

He hurried forward with his head down, and just as he was about to pass through the gap, he suddenly paused, stopping in front of the cars' side mirrors.

'What's that?'

He stared intently at the mirror before him.

In the mirror, on the back of his right hand, there seemed to be a pitch-black pattern, like a network of vines or tree roots.

That pattern extended from the back of his hand to his wrist, as if something was parasitizing his hand and growing roots.

Whoosh.

Li Chengyi raised his right hand, looked closely, and saw his backhand was blemish-free, with not a single mark.

No pattern and not even a scar.

He shifted his gaze back to the mirror.

In the car's side mirror, the reflection of his right hand showed a black pattern the size of an egg.

But in reality, as he waved his hand, there was nothing on the back of his hand.

Li Chengyi felt a bit dazed. He had just been deeply engrossed in thoughts about his future job and plans.

At that moment, this strange scene jolted him back from reality, reminding him of the previous night's strange experience.

A recollection of that dream, so real it seemed to be tangible.

And now this had happened...

'What is this thing?'

He carefully touched the black pattern in the mirror, but he could feel nothing; he could only see that the pattern's shape seemed very similar to the last flower bed he saw before his transmigration.

That dark, eerie, mysterious flower bed!