Chapter 1

Night, 21:44.

Nanzhou, capital of Fengnan Province. Boom!!

A deafening explosion ripped through the highest signal tower in the city center.

Orange-yellow flames shot skyward, accompanied by billowing smoke that swayed in the wind. The moonlight was temporarily obscured by the smoke and fire.

Alarms blared immediately, and from the surrounding Security Agency branches, beams of flying car headlights converged on the signal tower.

Layers of invisible energy swept rapidly over the tower, seemingly scanning for something. The crowds and vehicles below quickly fled, and within fifteen minutes, the circular streets were empty. Then, black and white police cars, flashing red and blue lights, sped to the scene and stopped.

The doors of one of the police cars opened, and several stern figures emerged, carrying silver briefcases. There were three of them in total: two men and one woman.

Leading the way was a tall man in a gray trench coat, with a navy blue police uniform underneath.

He had a neatly trimmed goatee, deep-set eyes, and thin eyebrows. His lips were tightly pursed as he stared at the smoking signal tower.

"Xiaocheng, Wanru, it seems that the anonymous warning email was real. Someone really intends to target Fengnan."

His voice was low, but both of the people behind him could hear him clearly.

"Since that person is willing to tip us off but doesn't come forward, it means their identity is likely compromised. But that's not important. Whatever their purpose, our goal is the same: to weaken and eliminate these Utopia terrorists!"

The man who spoke had a stern face, carried a dark red long sword on his back, and wore a tight-fitting black and red police uniform. He was none other than Ding Zaocheng, the deputy director of the Suiyang Security Agency.

He had come quickly to assist after receiving a plea for help from his teacher, Xue Weimin.

Zheng Wanru was the same; she and Ding Zaocheng had both been students of Xue Weimin. Xue Weimin had put in a great deal of effort to help them become Zhijiaoshi (Technician).

"We've checked all channels, but there are still no clues. This explosion has disrupted the main signal hub of the city, greatly affecting the coverage of Silent Fortress. If we can't repair it quickly within 48 hours, there will likely be more trouble."

The black-haired woman with a high ponytail replied in a low voice.

She was Zheng Wanru, the third-generation leader of the Zheng family, a member of the Union, and a key figure in the younger generation of the Zheng family. She was currently the director of the Special Investigation Division of the Provincial Security Agency, at the same rank as Ding Zaocheng.

"Perhaps that's the purpose of the person behind this," Xue Weimin said in a low voice.

He watched a team of police officers rush into the building entrance below the signal tower and was about to continue speaking when a rapid communication signal came from his device.

"Director, something bad has happened! Among the victims are Provincial Union Chairman Feng and his daughter, Feng Zhenyan!"

"What!? Feng Lu is also there!?" Xue Weimin's eyes widened.

The voice in the communication was not only heard by him; Ding Zaocheng and Zheng Wanru also shuddered, a chill rising in their hearts.

If it had only been a slightly larger explosion, it wouldn't have been much, but now, with Union Chairman Feng Lu and his daughter dying in the explosion, the nature of the situation had changed.

Although Feng Lu was the chairman, he was old and only represented the Feng family in the Provincial Union.

He was highly respected for his virtue and kindness, and he had a high reputation in the Union.

Moreover, the Feng family was wealthy and a truly powerful force in Fengnan Province, second only to the top power. Xue Weimin had never imagined that the target of the mastermind's attack would be the Union Chairman!

"Let's go! Take a look!" He was the first to step forward and head toward the burning signal tower. The other two followed quickly, their faces tense.

Both of them felt an indescribable gloom in their hearts, as if they could sense a storm brewing, about to sweep across the entire Fengnan Province.

*

*

*

Buzz.

A crimson dot flashed across the night sky and shot into the distance, like a red shooting star. In front of the Botanical Garden.

Li Cheng颐 slowly lowered his head, retracting his gaze from the night sky. He didn't know what those red lights were, but according to the boss, they were activity from the self-circulating city.

The difference between a self-circulating city and an ordinary city was like the difference between two worlds. Anything could happen.

But now, that wasn't the most important thing.

What was most important was that the power of the sunflower scale armor was truly effective against those invisible monsters! "This proves that my previous idea was correct!"

Successfully escaping the dead corner calmed his somewhat uneasy mood.

He had just emerged from the Silent Shop dead corner. He had originally thought that walking out of the shop would allow him to discover the external truth, as recorded in Zhong Hui's notes.

But unfortunately, when he was about to reach the open space outside the green belt, his vision suddenly blurred. In the blink of an eye, he was back at the entrance of the Botanical Garden.

And several hours had passed.

"Now, it's time to absorb the mutated flower qi of the wisteria and complete the second evolution...."

Standing at the gate, Li Cheng颐 pressed his AR glasses to make sure that everything in the dead corner had not been recorded, then took out his phone and dialed the number of the person on duty at the Botanical Garden.

"Uncle Li? Open the door, I'm at the garden."

"Director Li? Right away, right away, please wait a moment!" An elderly voice came from the other end of the phone. Soon, the closed iron gate of the Botanical Garden slowly flashed green lights and separated to both sides.

An old man with a buzz cut, wearing worn camouflage clothing and holding a remote control, stood at the door looking around. Li Cheng颐 strode in and put the cans he had taken from the Silent Shop into a pocket.

"Has the silver wisteria I ordered arrived?"

"It's already arrived, it arrived a few days ago. And the multiflora gladiolus has also arrived," Old Li replied. "I received all the goods. The workers have already prepared the transplant locations, and they're just waiting for you to take a look."

"Let's go take a look." Li Cheng颐's heart was set, and he asked him to lead the way.

The two entered the Botanical Garden together and found a large patch of pure white silver wisteria in the wisteria greenhouse. The petals of these flowers were larger than ordinary wisteria, not just a little larger, but much larger.

Perhaps because they had just been transplanted, the petals and leaves were a bit shriveled and lacked moisture.

"The previous wisteria have all been sold, and only one-fifth is left, specially to make room for these newly arrived silver wisteria," Old Li said with a smile. "These mature flowers are much more expensive, and there's not much demand for them. It's only someone with personal preferences like you, Director Li, who would buy them. Anyone else wouldn't have such a strong desire."

He seemed to be in a good mood.

Because he was the one who found the channels for purchasing these silver wisteria.

The source was provided by his relatives in the countryside, and he also took a cut of the price in the middle. He wished he could have this kind of job, where he could make money by simply connecting people, a few more times.

"Where's the multiflora gladiolus?" Li Cheng颐 took a deep breath and smelled a faint fragrance like peas.

"It's in another greenhouse, do you want to go see it now, Director?" Old Li asked.

"No need, I'll carefully inspect the flowers here first." Li Cheng颐 slowly walked under the silver wisteria trellis, reached out his hand, and gently touched the drooping clusters of mature flowers.

Shh.

A strand of cool flower qi flowed into his fingertip, then into the back of his hand, and entered the Evil Flower Mark. Instantly, a new feedback surged into Li Cheng颐's mind.

Second Evolution Progress: 16%.

The previous evolution progress was 15%, and then it had been stuck there, without any further increase.

Now, finally, after absorbing the mutated silver wisteria flower, the second evolution had finally made progress again. Li Cheng颐's expression did not change, but his heart was filled with an inexplicable sense of fulfillment.

He stood under the vast expanse of pure white silver wisteria, put down the Feiyi box and the bag, and constantly touched the surrounding white petals with both hands. The fragrant aroma and soft touch gave him a faint feeling of being immersed in them.

And the evolution progress was constantly increasing.

18.

19.

21.

25.

Although the numbers weren't increasing quickly, they were extremely steady.

Ten minutes later.

A faint, soft sound entered his mind.

Second Evolution Progress: 100%.

Completed! Finally completed! Li Cheng颐 let out a long sigh of relief.

"Next is the gladiolus."

Picking up his things, he quickly went to another greenhouse.

There, he saw the newly arrived multiflora gladiolus, which was also pure white.

Unfortunately, due to insufficient funds, the quantity of multiflora gladiolus was somewhat lacking, resulting in his absorption of the second evolution progress only reaching 43% before stopping completely.

Then Li Cheng颐 went to check the sunflowers, but unfortunately, they were the same as before, and even fewer because he hadn't restocked.

Disappointed, he didn't stay in the garden and quickly left the Botanical Garden, telling Old Li to guard the gate, and he called a car to return to the city center.

Sitting in the back seat of the car, he placed the Feiyi box on his lap, and the plastic bag with the cans on the side.

"Next, it's time to find evil thoughts.... As long as I complete the absorption of evil thoughts, I can complete the second evolution of the wisteria flower."

Searching for evil thoughts aimlessly like this is really too inefficient. The previous "two birds with one stone" was very good. It was a successful case.

Li Cheng颐 closed his eyes and pondered.

"From practical examples, the stronger a person's willpower, the more evil thoughts they produce. This is sustainable development. And people with strong willpower tend to only appear in a few types of people."

"First, people who have faith, ideals, and hatred, and who have also undergone arduous training."

"Second, people who have experienced painful lessons, come from poor backgrounds, and have climbed to high positions step by step."

"Third, people who walk on the edge of life and death, and need to withstand enormous pressure at any time."

Li Cheng颐 felt that he wasn't smart, so he could only summarize these three types.

Just like the woman he had saved before. She possessed a firm will because of her hatred.

So, it seems that people in terrorist organizations like Utopia mostly meet my needs....

But I can't find people from Utopia right now, while the second and third types are very easy to find.

The second type is just the leaders of those gangs. These people climb up from the bottom, relying on a ruthless streak to stand out, so their willpower is naturally very strong.

The third type... is the simplest. That is... the dead corner people!

Those who can withstand the entanglement of the dead corner again and again without dying, and can still remain normal, must have extremely tenacious willpower and can also become his fertilizer.