That pattern....

What exactly is it?

Clang.

Suddenly, a muffled sound came from behind.

It sounded like someone had kicked a metal can, creating a loud noise.

Li Cheng颐 trembled slightly and quickly moved his hand away from the angle visible in the rearview mirror.

Instinctively, he didn't want anyone to see the pattern on his hand.

Being different from others might bring opportunities, but he was more worried it would bring danger. Striving for benefits while ensuring his own safety was always his style.

Clearing his throat, he pretended nothing had happened, lifted his foot, and stepped forward, passing between two cars.

The car on the left was black, and the one on the right was white, both SUVs. The car logos were unfamiliar, a Z shape and a cross shape.

A large tire was hanging on the back of the white car, and a line of circular writing was printed on the tire: Yuncheng Auto.

Pausing, Li Cheng颐 walked through the vehicles and glanced at the back of his hand again. Confirming that it was smooth and without any patterns, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward, heading towards the school gate.

Pa-tuk.

Pa-tuk.

Pa-tuk.

The sound of footsteps echoed clearly on the ground.

It was the sound of his hard leather shoes hitting the stone tiles.

But....

'Isn't this sound a little too loud?'

Li Cheng颐 frowned slightly, suddenly feeling something was wrong.

It was broad daylight, and there were usually many people in the school, students coming and going. How could it be so quiet? Even the sound of his leather shoes hitting the ground echoed clearly.

He looked up and around.

The surroundings were empty, with a dry fountain pool not far away on the gray-white ground.

Beyond the pool, several somewhat old, ten-story teaching buildings stood quietly in the thin mist.

'Mist? When did it get foggy??' Li Cheng颐 felt even more uneasy.

He clearly remembered that when he had just entered, there were many students coming and going. What about now??

Standing in place, he scanned a large circle from right to left.

But what made him feel even more horrified was that the usually lively university campus was now deserted.

He quickly turned back and looked at the office building where his tutor was.

Several rooms in the building were lit, the bright yellow light tranquil and mysterious in the mist.

No voices, no footsteps.

Glug.

Li Cheng颐's throat involuntarily went dry, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

'Where is everyone!?' He began to feel nervous.

Pa-tuk, pa-tuk.

He lifted his foot, hovering in the air.

Then, he suddenly turned around, his leather shoes screeching against the ground. He took a step forward, walking towards the office building he had just left.

Entering the gap between the two cars again, his surrounding vision was completely blocked.

The SUVs were very tall, completely blocking his view of the surroundings, leaving only a strip of space in front and above his head.

Whoosh!

Li Cheng颐 stepped out of the car gap.

Slap.

Suddenly, a large hand grabbed his shoulder.

Li Cheng颐's body trembled, and his black-brown pupils quickly contracted from a scattered state, narrowing to pinpoints.

"Xiao Li? What are you still doing here?"

Tutor Chen Shan's voice seemed to float from a distance, sometimes blurred, sometimes clear.

"I...." Li Cheng颐 felt as if he had suddenly broken through the surface of the water, and his hearing became clear all at once.

He looked carefully.

Tutor Chen Shan was standing in front of him, looking at him with some concern.

The dark red tie at his collar looked like a patch of blood, clear and glaring.

At this moment, the surrounding sounds quickly flooded into Li Cheng颐's ears.

The sound of cars, students talking, footsteps, the sound of the starting gun from the sports field in the distance—the heavy sounds were like a flood, rushing into his ears and making his eardrums ache.

"I... I was a little distracted. Sorry, Teacher Chen," Li Cheng颐 finally came back to his senses and seriously lowered his head to answer.

He didn't know what had just happened, and even suspected that he had experienced a hallucination, but in any case, before he thought and investigated clearly, it was best not to say anything.

Taking advantage of the moment he lowered his head, he looked at the back of his hand again.

No black patterns.

"That's good. Looking at your mental state, you don't seem to be in good shape. It's best to go back and get some rest first," Chen Shan said with a frown.

"Yeah, I know. I'll go back now," Li Cheng颐 nodded seriously.

He had been scared by what had just happened.

Could it be that there was really something wrong with his mental state??

Last night's events, coupled with the situation just now, made him feel worried.

After saying goodbye to Chen Shan, he quickened his pace and walked through the gap between the cars again.

This time, the strange situation from before did not reappear.

Looking around, there was nothing unusual in the school. Sunlight shone through the clouds, falling to the ground and forming a scattering beam of light. The beautiful scenery of the Tyndall effect was exceptionally clear and real.

'Just now... wasn't it not foggy?' Suddenly, a strange doubt surged into Li Cheng颐's mind.

Only fog would create such a beautiful beam of light, but when he entered the university before, he hadn't seen any fog at all.

With this doubt, Li Cheng颐 suddenly felt a desire to leave this place.

He quickened his pace and strode towards the school gate.

The letter of introduction given by his tutor was still in the inner pocket of his clothes, but at this moment, he had no intention of pursuing a job at all.

The black pattern on the back of his hand in the rearview mirror lingered in his mind like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

Did something grow on his body? Or was he hallucinating?

Transmigration, the parking lot that seemed like a dream, and the strange scene he had just seen at the school.

All of this seemed to be foreshadowing—perhaps he was really hallucinating??

In one breath, he walked out of the university gate, and Li Cheng颐 looked back at the school.

Many students were formally dressed, preparing to put up banners to welcome successful alumni.

Several media vehicles slowly drove into the school gate, passing by him, with the white words of the local news media printed on the vehicles.

Further away, the loudspeakers of the main teaching building began to play melodious, atmospheric music.

Li Cheng颐 steadied himself, feeling much more normal. He stood in place and watched the media vehicles for a while, waiting until they had all slowly driven into the tree-lined bend that he could no longer see. Only then did he turn around and walk towards the bus stop back.

Rows of leafless gray-black trees were planted on both sides of the street, the dry branches like large hands grasping towards the sky.

While walking along the street, Li Cheng颐 held up the back of his hand and looked at it carefully.

The skin on the back of his hand was clean and smooth, without any scars.

He walked past two large green trash cans and stopped in front of a dessert shop with dim yellow lights.

Facing the glass window next to the shop door, he turned the back of his hand towards the glass and looked at it carefully again.

Black!

Li Cheng颐's heart clenched again.

This time he saw it very clearly.

There was indeed a large patch of black pattern-like marks on the back of his hand.

The feeling that the mark gave him... was somewhat familiar.

It was like the patch of black flowers he had last seen before he transmigrated!

"Want to come in and take a look? Maple syrup croissants just came out of the oven," the older sister in the shop, wearing a bear apron, came out with a yellow wooden basin. Seeing him standing at the door, she casually greeted him.

"Uh... no, thank you," Li Cheng颐 quickly put down his hand, preventing anyone from seeing it.

He followed the chrysanthemum-like gray bricks on the ground, quickened his pace, passed the dessert shop, and hurried on his way with his head lowered.

One passerby after another passed by him, but he didn't pay any attention to them.

All his attention was focused on the pattern on the back of his hand.

'What exactly is that pattern?'

'Were the previous things hallucinations?'

He vaguely had a feeling that the black pattern might be the culprit that brought him to this world.

As for what it was, he might have to rely on himself to slowly discover it.

He kept his head down and hurried on his way. Unconsciously, time passed, and when he came back to his senses, he had already passed the bus stop by several hundred meters.

The surrounding area was an unfamiliar street, with trucks carrying vegetables and fruits coming and going on the road.

Li Cheng颐 stopped and looked around.

Across the street was a farmers market.

At the entrance of the market, under the trunk of a leafless tree, many simply dressed middle-aged people were gathered together, seemingly playing chess and cards.

At this time, the light became brighter and the temperature rose.

Li Cheng颐 withdrew his gaze and didn't look at the crowded farmers market. Instead, he went to a coffee shop next to him.

He was a little hungry and regretted not buying a maple syrup croissant at the dessert shop earlier.

But the coffee shop was also good. The one he entered was called Yesili Coffee, and it sold self-service desserts at a reasonable price, making it one of the most cost-effective places when hungry.

For just thirty yuan, a two-hundred-pound glutton could fill his belly.

The coffee shop's door was white, with a round sign with a white background and black letters suspended in the air on the right side of the door, with a large silver-black metal cylinder supporting it.

'The latest magnetic levitation technology.'

A flash of common knowledge memory flashed through Li Cheng颐's mind.

Apart from the sign, the entire door was made of transparent glass, with a circle of flowers and plants at the bottom of the door.

Green leaves and pure white flowers, each very eye-catching.

Li Cheng颐 waited for a couple inside the door to push it open. He quickly stepped forward, reached out and grabbed the automatically rebounding glass door, and walked inside.

However, what he didn't notice was that as his footsteps passed the white flowers by the door, a faint black pattern flashed on the back of his right hand.

"Welcome, please scan the code to order."

A sweet automatic electronic sound rang out.

Inside the coffee shop, the floor was pure white and the ceiling was black, with water-like patterns.

There were two floors in total. On the first floor, the lobby entrance was the counter, and next to the counter was a plastic model of a black rabbit that was taller than a person.

The rabbit's eyes blinked, its large ears folded down, and its fingers pointed to a black round code on its chest.

"Please scan here."

The sweet electronic sound rang out.

Li Cheng颐 glanced at the shop assistant behind the counter who didn't even bother to look at him, took out his mobile phone, scanned the rabbit's round code, and then found a seat.

Some white tables and chairs were scattered in the lobby on the first floor. About forty or fifty tables were sparsely occupied by a dozen or so customers.

Most of these customers were young people, with some cheap desserts they had taken themselves placed in front of them.