Chapter 16 Rescue

“Ten minutes. I’ll just close my eyes and rest, then we’ll look for an exit together!” Li Cheng颐 replied decisively.

His body was severely overdrawn at this point.

Wearing the Flowscale Coat seemed to consume his body as well – a dual drain on his physical and mental energy.

And then, constantly straining his mind searching for an exit also consumed a lot of physical strength. Ramming the door, wrestling with the monster, and finally using the Floralglyph ability to completely hold the door shut had exhausted him.

The fact that he could still hold on without falling asleep already spoke volumes about his willpower.

He estimated that in his current state, if the previous situation were to occur again, whether he could even use the Floralglyph ability was unknown.

“Okay!” Meng Dongdong nodded seriously upon hearing this.

The previous conversation, as well as their shared identity as locals, had given her a lot of reassurance.

If she only needed to keep an eye on the surroundings and wait for ten minutes, without doing anything else, she was willing to do that.

“Find a place to rest. This place is too big. Relying on me alone, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to find the exit. Once you’ve rested, we can split up and search separately,” she said earnestly.

“Okay!” Li Cheng颐 nodded seriously.

He scanned the surroundings, carrying his things, and quickly found a corner, walked over, and sat down cross-legged with his back against the wall.

“Also, if you hear any sounds from the door opposite, ignore them. Don’t open the door, absolutely don’t open the door. Wait until I’ve rested. Understand?” he instructed as a final reminder, lest she open the door for the monster influenced by the Floralglyph ability.

“Okay!” Meng Dongdong replied earnestly.

After giving his instructions, Li Cheng颐 put on his hood, took a long, deep breath, and narrowed his eyes slightly without completely closing them. He began to rest.

With someone watching over him this time, he could relax a little more compared to being alone before.

With his eyes narrowed, he originally planned to keep some of his attention on the surroundings.

After all, Meng Dongdong was just a stranger. He couldn’t entrust all his safety to an outsider.

But he was simply too tired.

Before today, he was just an ordinary college graduate who jogged occasionally, and not even long-distance running.

In the end, his endurance was only slightly better than others. All other physical qualities were average.

To be able to stabilize his mentality and not lose his composure after experiencing so much, even as a transmigrator, he felt he was already very strong.

As he narrowed his eyes, his vision gradually became hazy.

*Thump.*

Suddenly, a subtle sound came to his ears.

It sounded like a plastic bag falling and hitting the ground.

A cool breeze, carrying the scent of flowers, blew across his face.

The scent of flowers?

Suddenly, Li Cheng颐’s spirits lifted, and he opened his eyes wide, looking ahead.

In front of him was a small park shrouded in moonlight.

A dark red plastic track, branches and leaves swaying gently in the wind, solar streetlights with dim light.

Everything clearly indicated that:

He was out!

“I…!?” Li Cheng颐 stood on the spot, not daring to move.

He was worried that he was hallucinating.

He had clearly just been talking to Meng Dongdong, asking her to watch over him while he rested with his eyes closed.

How could he have suddenly come out in the blink of an eye??

No!

He suddenly noticed that the plastic track on the ground was very new, as if no one had ever used it.

The scenery in the distance was also blurred, and he couldn’t see anything clearly.

‘Is it a dream? Did I fall asleep?’

‘No! I can’t sleep. If I fall asleep, I’ll completely lose my ability to be vigilant about my surroundings. If something happens…’

Li Cheng颐 tried his best to control himself, trying to wake up from the dream.

But he had only just fallen asleep and couldn’t wake up so quickly.

Just as he was trying to wake up, Meng Dongdong leaned against a pillar, watching Li Cheng颐 gradually narrow his eyes, sit cross-legged on the ground, lean his back against the wall, and his breathing became even and steady.

She breathed a sigh of relief, looked around, and then her gaze focused on the small maintenance room door opposite.

Yes, she had noticed a long time ago that this man who called himself Cheng Yi was in a very unstable mental state, and his peripheral vision frequently glanced at the small door opposite.

He thought she hadn’t noticed, but she had seen it all along, just hadn’t said anything.

Standing by the stone pillar, Meng Dongdong gently put down the shopping bag in her hand and put on her coat.

She looked again at the sitting Li Cheng颐. He hadn’t woken up and was still resting with his eyes narrowed.

She could even see the whites of his eyes from the side.

Meng Dongdong exhaled, bent down, took off her platform shoes, and stepped on the ground in her socks.

Seeing that Li Cheng颐 was still not moving,

She steadied herself, suddenly accelerated, and rushed towards the small maintenance room door.

She couldn’t find an exit anywhere above or below, and that man was so concerned about this place, it was very likely that this was the entrance and exit to this damn place!!

What monsters? What danger? They were all just made up by that man to scare people.

This was the age of technology. There was no way monsters could exist. To take out such a trick to fool a three-year-old and expect her to believe it was underestimating her too much.

*Poof.*

Meng Dongdong grabbed the handle of the small maintenance room door.

“Stop!!” Li Cheng颐’s voice came in a hurry.

He happened to wake up at this time. As soon as he woke up, he saw Meng Dongdong holding the doorknob with one hand. In his anxiety, he shouted loudly.

“Don’t open the door!!”

He shouted loudly.

“Still trying to trick me!? Go to hell, you psycho!!” Meng Dongdong suddenly twisted the doorknob, pulled it open, and rushed in with a smile of success on her face.

But as soon as she looked inside, the smile on her face suddenly froze.

Inside the door, there was nothing, just an empty little utility room.

Standing at the door, Meng Dongdong was stunned.

She didn’t expect that the inside of the maintenance room that Li Cheng颐 was so concerned about would be like this. The contrast completely exceeded her expectations.

Behind her, Li Cheng颐 was also stunned.

He had clearly just used the Floralglyph ability to stabilize the monster behind that door, but now, there was nothing behind the door.

“This is the monster you were talking about?” Meng Dongdong turned her head to look at Li Cheng颐, her eyes full of doubt.

“…” Li Cheng颐 also looked surprised.

He had clearly felt something being affected by his Floralglyph ability, but now…

“Looks like you’ve rested. Shouldn’t we go find the exit?” Meng Dongdong’s eyes shifted, and she didn’t continue talking about this topic.

She now increasingly believed that this person was sick, and most likely had mental problems, such as hallucinations.

“…” Li Cheng颐 suspiciously stared at the open door of the maintenance room. It was empty inside, with nothing.

No monsters, no maintenance tools, just like a newly renovated room.

‘Could it be that the appearance of that monster is time-limited?’ A thought flashed through his mind.

He was sure that the monster existed, but the current situation was difficult to explain. He had clearly felt the door being hit before.

But now…

*Bang.*

At this moment, Meng Dongdong closed the door of the maintenance room. Seeing that Li Cheng颐 had no reaction, she had given up hope.

This was just a seemingly normal mental patient.

Li Cheng颐 saw through her thoughts, but he couldn’t prove that what he said was true.

Unless he was willing to expose his Floralglyph ability, but that was impossible.

At any time, in any environment, he must leave himself a trump card to turn the tables.

Now, in a dead end, without the Flowscale Coat, the Floralglyph ability was his only reliance.

Unexpectedly, even that mysterious and terrifying monster would be caught off guard. So he couldn’t tell.

“Let’s go. We have to look carefully to see how to leave this place.” Meng Dongdong looked around, her eyes flickering, obviously thinking.

Li Cheng颐 stood up, feeling a little dizzy, but it was better than before.

At least resting for a short while had restored a bit of his overdrawn physical strength.

He still looked at the small door with disbelief.

The small door of the maintenance room was closed, quiet, ordinary, and without any unusual traces.

He looked at Meng Dongdong standing beside him, and then he lifted the bag and walked to the door of the maintenance room to carefully examine the traces on the door and the footprints on the ground.

Although the ground was concrete, the sneakers he was wearing would still leave subtle friction marks when he exerted force.

But no matter how he looked, there were no traces here.

This couldn’t help but remind him of the disappearance of traces before.

Li Cheng颐 stood up straight and looked at Meng Dongdong.

He suddenly understood, understood the woman’s performance just now.

‘I thought I had stabilized her, thought she believed everything I said. Now it seems that the situation is completely reversed.

It was this woman who deliberately stabilized me, making me think she believed it, and then, while I was resting, she took the opportunity to act, rushed out and opened the door.’

Thinking this, Li Cheng颐 felt indescribable. This Meng Dongdong, who seemed simple on the surface and spoke as if money wasn’t an issue and could solve everything,

was actually quick-witted and responsive.

*Click.*

He reached out and opened the small door of the maintenance room. It was empty inside, and then he closed it, making a soft sound.

There really were no monsters.

“Do you have any ideas on how to find the exit?” Since the other party didn’t believe the monster theory, he didn’t mention it. Now the most important thing was not to prove whether there were monsters, but to find the exit.

“You said you came up from the bottom floor, right?” Meng Dongdong asked.

“Yes.”

“The scenes you saw along the way were all the same. The only thing you could open and close was this small maintenance room door, right?” she asked again.

“It should be. I can only confirm that two doors can be opened,” Li Cheng颐 replied. The so-called two doors were the doors where monsters came out twice.

“That’s enough. Simply put, our hope of getting out is likely on this maintenance room that can be opened,” Meng Dongdong said seriously.

Li Cheng颐 frowned upon hearing this. Was she going to fight to the death with the maintenance room?

“Whether you believe it or not, when the handle of the maintenance room door is turned from the inside out, don’t let it open. It’s very dangerous!” he warned again.

“Monsters are nonsense,” Meng Dongdong frowned.

“That’s right. There are no monsters. I’ve had enough of this damn place. Even if there are monsters, I’ll kill them one by one!”

Li Cheng颐 was about to speak when suddenly a violent male voice came from not far away.

Someone else!?

He quickly looked in the direction of the sound.

He saw a tall, strong young man coming down from the upper floor at the corner.

This man had thick eyebrows and large eyes, wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt with a miniature microphone clipped to the collar. His brown skin was muscular and strong, and he had a buzz cut.

From a distance, one could clearly see the calmness and composure on his face, as if nothing could shake him.

Most importantly, he was also carrying a black pistol in his hand. The pistol grip was very thick, and the muzzle had a decorative silver ring, which was very eye-catching.

A gun!?

Before Li Cheng颐 could confirm whether it was a real gun,

the man had quickly walked to a few meters away from the two of them and stopped.

“Some people say I’m going to die. Once you enter this damn place, you can’t get out alive, huh…” He sneered, “I don’t believe it!”

He raised his hand, released the safety on the pistol, and made a clicking sound.