Chapter 1 Crunch

At this moment, the handle of the small door had begun to turn, as if someone was twisting it, trying to come out.

Li Cheng颐 held his breath, rushed forward a few steps, and pounced, slamming hard into the small door without hesitation.

Bang!

The small door, which was about to open, was forced shut again by his impact.

'As long as the door doesn't open, that ghost thing can't come out!'

That was the only thought in his mind at this moment.

His body pressed firmly against the door panel, and the cold, red maintenance door was blocked, unable to open even a crack.

Thump, thump, thump.

Inside the maintenance room, a heavy object continuously crashed against the door panel, producing muffled sounds.

It seemed like something was trying to push the door open.

But Li Cheng颐's earlier impact had closed and locked the door again, and the lock, combined with the force of his full resistance, prevented the small door from opening.

Thump, thump, thump.

Thump, thump, thump.

The impacts were continuous, without stopping, and each one was heavier than the last.

The heavy impacts brought vibrations, causing Li Cheng颐's eardrums to buzz, and his arms and shoulders pressed against the iron door began to feel numb.

He gritted his teeth, angled his body, and pressed against the iron door, not daring to relax.

But the impacts grew larger and heavier, and the speed at which the force was increasing startled him.

'No! I have to think of a way! If this continues, I'm dead for sure!'

Before, he had the Hua Lin Yi to help him block a disaster, but now the Hua Lin Yi was damaged. He only had one Hua Yu ability left, and he had no way to directly confront that human face.

And the first time it was a human face, who could be sure that the second one would be the same?

What if some other troublesome monster came out...

'Absolutely, I can't let it out!!'

Li Cheng頤 held the door tightly, and all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.

Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind.

'Since the Hua Yu ability can only be used by touching, then... can it also work by touching through an object??'

'I'm touching the door now, and the monster on the other side of the door is also touching the door. Does this count as contact??'

As soon as this thought emerged, it rapidly sprouted in his mind.

'Try it!?'

He made up his mind, and his right hand quickly flipped over, slapping his palm against the door.

The cold, hard sensation flowed into his mind through his palm.

In an instant, his thoughts raced, and his palm was quickly covered with a layer of invisible, transparent distortion.

As soon as the distortion touched the iron door, it spread out evenly, seeped into the door panel, and disappeared.

Thump!

At the same time, another heavy impact came from behind the door.

But this time, the impact only lasted for a moment.

Li Cheng頤 felt as if a line had linked his hand, the door panel, and something behind the door panel together.

'It's working!! Next, the target for the second touch of Shen Zui (Enchantment).'

The full effect of the Hand of Shen Zui (Enchantment) was divided into two steps.

First: designate a target.

Second: determine what the target should be enchanted with.

The first time Li Cheng颐 used it, he only felt that the link was like a thin thread, continuously drawing his physical strength.

This extraction speed was very fast, like sprinting on a track non-stop. In just half a minute, his physical strength could be completely drained.

'Must be quick!'

His thoughts flashed, and his bloodshot eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. Without stopping, he pressed his right hand hard on the iron door in front of him again.

He was already outside, so whatever he designated would inevitably make the thing inside the door come out.

So, it would be better to use this iron door as the object of Shen Zui (Enchantment)!

Let the monster be enchanted with this small door!

With a crisp snap.

His palm struck the surface of the iron door.

And at the same time, the inside of the door fell completely silent.

Hiss... hiss....

Li Cheng颐 kept his mouth closed and breathed heavily through his nostrils, staring wide-eyed at the iron door in front of him.

He waited for a while, about ten seconds, or maybe a minute.

The door remained still.

He slowly relaxed his body, stepped back, and released his hand.

'Did it succeed??'

He didn't know, but judging from the reaction, it seemed to have succeeded.

Hiss...

Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from behind the iron door.

It sounded like someone was inside, gently stroking the door with their hand.

The hissing sound was endless, not loud, but persistent.

When Li Cheng颐 first heard the sound, his heart skipped a beat, but then, he found that the door showed no signs of being opened again, and his heart slowly relaxed.

'It seems to have worked.... As long as I don't actively open this door, there shouldn't be any problems.'

He could feel that there was a faint, fragile connection on the iron door, linking the door and a certain individual inside the maintenance room together.

As long as it was not interrupted by external forces, this state of Shen Zui (Enchantment) could continue until the Hua Yu ability itself expired.

He didn't know how long the Hua Yu ability would last; this still needed testing and recording.

But now, at least for now, he finally had an effective way to avoid danger.

After confirming that there were no problems, he took a few steps back, picked up the bag, and ran towards the bend in the road.

Even if he had temporarily stabilized the situation, he didn't want to stay near this small door any longer.

The feeling of being so close to the source of danger made his whole body stand on end and his heart beat faster.

If this continued, he wouldn't be able to rest and recover his strength.

He trotted all the way, away from the small door, and walked another hundred meters, stopping and sitting down behind a supporting stone pillar.

Using the stone pillar as cover, he could see the situation of the maintenance room door with a slight turn of his head.

The cold, empty garage was desolate, without a single car.

Li Cheng颐 carried the white plastic bag, panting, his face already turning pale.

The cold-toned lights reflected on his face, making it look even paler.

Just as he was about to squint and rest for a while.

"Is anyone there?"

Suddenly, he seemed to hear a voice.

Someone was calling out.

"Is there anyone here?" It was a young woman's voice.

The voice was full of energy, the tone calm, without any sense of panic.

'Someone!?' Li Cheng颐 was stunned at first, thinking he had misheard and was hallucinating.

People would experience this phenomenon after being in an extremely quiet environment for too long.

Because it was too quiet, the surrounding sounds were too subtle, causing the imaginary sounds in one's mind to mix with the subtle sounds from the outside world, making it difficult to distinguish between illusion and reality.

"Is anyone there? Is there anyone here?" The woman's voice sounded again.

This time, the voice was closer and clearer.

Li Cheng颐 opened his eyes wide and finally confirmed that he had not misheard. Really, there really was a second person besides him, making a sound!

He stood up abruptly, about to answer.

But immediately, the sound in his throat was instantly stuck, as if hitting the brakes, and stopped.

'No! This place even has monsters like that one before. It wouldn't be surprising if there was another monster that could imitate human voices! Wait, wait....'

His expression changed, and he dismissed the idea of answering immediately. Instead, he looked in the direction of the sound.

The woman's voice was coming from the right.

That side was a turn on the next level.

Along with the shouts, there was also a faint sound of footsteps slowly approaching.

It seemed that the person was approaching this level.

The footsteps were muffled, not like leather boots or hard-soled shoes, but rather soft rubber soles.

Li Cheng颐 patiently hid himself behind the pillar, standing up straight, tucking his waist, and leaning sideways, completely concealing his body behind the half-meter-diameter gray-white pillar, waiting for the footsteps to get closer.

His nose was almost touching the rough surface of the stone pillar, and he could smell a faint cement odor.

As the footsteps got closer and closer, louder and louder.

"Is anyone there?" The woman's voice sounded again, this time much clearer than before, and he could also hear subtle gasps for breath. Clearly, the woman was also a little tired.

Li Cheng颐 carefully revealed a sliver of his eye, aiming at the bend in the road, waiting for the person to appear.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

Finally, in the distance, a person slowly walked out of the bend.

A long-haired woman, dressed entirely in black, holding a brown and white plaid coat in her hand.

The woman looked around, her expression calm, but judging from her constantly accelerating footsteps, she was not as calm as she appeared.

"Is anyone there?" she called out again, walking towards Li Cheng颐.

As the distance closed, Li Cheng颐 gradually saw her appearance clearly.

The woman's skin was slightly pale, and her features were above average overall. There were subtle traces of plastic surgery on the corners of her eyes and chin, and the arcs and lines were abnormally standard.

She had long black hair that draped over her shoulders, reaching her mid-back. She wore a black, light trench coat that concealed her curves.

She wore black, tight-fitting pants, and black platform shoes with heels that were half a hand thick.

Li Cheng颐 noticed that the woman was also carrying a large shopping bag. The white bag had a mall logo printed on it: Kai En Mi Na (Cain Mina) in four artistic characters, surrounded by a circle of pure white flower rings.

Kai En Mi Na was a mall that Li Cheng颐 remembered, a high-end mall with a relatively high target consumer group, located in the city center.

The summary of its characteristics was one word: expensive.

The woman walked a short distance, stopped, took out her phone from her trench coat pocket, also with a black case and a pink cartoon cat pendant attached to the back as decoration.

She looked at the phone screen, seemingly checking the signal.

After confirming that there was still no signal, she put it down again in disappointment, and her chest heaved more and more violently.

At this moment, he determined that the other party was not a monster, but a real living person.

Li Cheng颐 breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the maintenance room door he had closed earlier, and after confirming that there was no movement, he slowly walked out.

"Were you suddenly pulled in here too?"

He spoke in a low voice. The physical exhaustion from earlier had recovered somewhat, making his voice steady and powerful.

The more unfamiliar and unsafe the environment, the less he should show his weakness.

This was not some profound life principle, but merely a person's instinctive defense of their own safety.

"!!?" Seeing someone come out, the black-haired woman seemed to be startled and took a step back.

At this time, the two were ten meters apart. She was a little over 1.7 meters tall, slightly shorter than Li Cheng頤. But this was due to the height increase from those exaggerated platform shoes. Her actual height should be much shorter.

Being startled, the woman tilted her body and almost fell backward.

But immediately, she stabilized her body, showing good balance, and then stood still, a look of surprise on her face as she looked at Li Cheng颐.

"Finally found someone!! Where exactly is this?? Are you a staff member here?! Can you take me out?! I can give you money! Is a thousand yuan enough?!"

She said several sentences in a rush.

The calmness on her face had completely collapsed at this moment.

Li Cheng颐 sized her up, glancing at the knees of her black pants and the instep of her shoes.

Both of these places had white fine dust and wear marks, indicating that she had fallen before.

In addition, even standing ten meters away, he could smell a strong scent of peach perfume, so one could imagine how much perfume this woman had sprayed on herself.

"Sorry, I'm not a staff member here, and I can't take you out either. Don't you know where this place is yet?" Li Cheng颐 didn't believe that after two premonitions, the other party would still not know about the Dead Zone.

That extremely clear premonition experience, even the stupidest person should know to search for information.