Chapter 1 The Beginning

　　Huff.

　　Huff...

　　Huff....

　　His vision blurred, swaying.

　　It felt as if something viscous was flowing from his eyes.

　　Li Cheng颐 reached out with the back of his hand to wipe away the sticky liquid running down the side of his cheek.

　　Red.

　　A thick smear of bright red instantly appeared on the back of his hand.

　　‘I'm bleeding...'

　　He bent over, his chest burning, with a severe stinging pain.

　　He didn't know where he was injured.

　　But...he had survived.

　　He had survived.

　　Li Cheng颐 straightened up, panting heavily, and looked at the huge human face that had completely disappeared before him.

　　After being torn apart, the human face vanished without a trace, as if it were a hallucination.

　　As if it had never appeared in the first place.

　　He lowered his head and tried to find the remaining fragments on the ground, but strangely enough, not only were there no remnants, but even the black smoke spewed out by the human face had completely dissipated.

　　If it weren't for the fact that he could still find the dust from the ceiling that had been shaken down by the sound, he would have even suspected that everything he had just encountered was a hallucination.

　　‘Now, it should be safe.'

　　‘No, I haven't left here yet!' He closed his eyes, eased the stinging in his eyes, and rested in place for a while.

　　But after only resting for a few dozen seconds, he felt that something was wrong.

　　The Flowery Scale Armor that he had just put on was slowly becoming lighter.

　　‘What's going on!?' He hurriedly opened his eyes and raised his hand, looking at the armguard on his arm.

　　Sure enough, the Wisteria Flower Scale Armor was slowly fading, becoming transparent.

　　Only now did he realize that the Wisteria Flower Scale Armor was already covered with dense, tiny cracks.

　　Obviously, the Scale Armor had not been undamaged in the confrontation with that strange human face.

　　It had just been supporting him until now, before finally showing the damage.

　　Whoosh.

　　Finally, after a few seconds, the entire Flowery Scale Armor completely scattered, shattered, and turned into countless wisteria petals, fading and disappearing.

　　Li Cheng颐 collapsed to his knees with a thud. When he was wearing the Flowery Scale Armor, he felt physically strong and everything was easy.

　　But when the Flowery Scale Armor disappeared, all the fatigue in his body seemed to surge out at once.

　　A sense of emptiness, of having lost his protection and defense, welled up in his heart.

　　Having just encountered danger in this environment, and suddenly losing the protection of the Flowery Scale Armor, made his slightly relaxed mood tense up again.

　　‘Does it have a temporary amplification ability?'

　　He didn't panic, but instead calmly analyzed the situation.

　　Now that the danger had been temporarily lifted, the need for the Scale Armor wasn't as great.

　　The key was the information being transmitted from the Wisteria Flower Divine Seat on the back of his hand: the Flowery Scale Armor was damaged, and to repair it, he had to absorb new wisteria flowers again.

　　After resting on the ground for a while, and feeling that his body was slightly better, he stood up and began to collect the bags that had been scattered on the ground.

　　Some of the compressed biscuits in the bag had been scattered and rolled everywhere.

　　He bent down to collect them while cautiously paying attention to the surrounding movements.

　　In particular, the small maintenance door from which the human face had emerged was the focus of his attention.

　　Soon, everything was collected and put back into the bag.

　　He breathed a sigh of relief, and feeling that the dried blood on his cheek had hardened, he carefully peeled it off with his hand.

　　Carrying the bag, he looked left and right, and quickly found a place against the wall and sat down.

　　With his back against the wall, his eyes scanned the front and sides.

　　The outburst just now had been a drain not only physically, but also emotionally. In addition, he had been running frantically when he first entered, so his physical exertion had been great.

　　At this time, Li Cheng颐 felt exhausted and a wave of drowsiness washed over him.

　　But he didn't dare to sleep. In this unfamiliar place, he didn't know what would happen if he fell asleep. If he fell asleep and another human face popped out and killed him in one bite, that would be a real injustice.

　　Under the cold white light, at the gray-white base of the wall, he squatted on the black ground, put the hood of his sportswear on his head to keep warm.

　　Gusts of cool wind flowed constantly around him, chilling and quiet.

　　He took a nut chocolate bar from his pocket, tore open the packaging, and stuffed it into his mouth.

　　The dark plastic outer packaging was printed with messy letters and a miscellaneous brand logo. He took a bite and frowned slightly.

　　The taste was awful, too sweet, sickeningly sweet, and the nuts were pitifully few.

　　He stopped after eating one piece, and unscrewed a bottle of purified water to eat with it.

　　The faint smell of cement wall ash, with the surge of air, constantly drilled into his nostrils, tickling his nose.

　　Now that he had calmed down, Li Cheng颐 had time to recall everything that had just happened.

　　‘Although I'm not sure how powerful that human face is, it's enough as long as the Flowery Scale Armor can save my life! It's a pity that the Flowery Scale Armor is now broken, and can only be repaired after going out and finding wisteria flowers.’

　　Raising his hand, Li Cheng颐 carefully looked at the ring on the back of his hand.

　　Although the Flowery Scale Armor was broken, he could feel that he could still use its attached Flower Language ability.

　　As long as he moved his mind, his right hand would quickly be covered with a layer of invisible film.

　　According to the information described by Flower Language, as long as this film touched any creature, it would produce a temporary negative state of being obsessed with a designated thing.

　　But because there was no amplification from the Flowery Scale Armor, the Flower Language ability could only be half as effective.

　　‘Hand of Infatuation....’

　　‘If I can make that human face temporarily focus its attention elsewhere, then even without the Flowery Scale Armor, as long as I'm fast enough, I can ensure my safety when I encounter the human face again.’

　　‘It's just that this Flower Language ability can only be used at close range, which is extremely dangerous. And whether it will be effective against that human face will have to wait for a chance to try it later.’

　　In fact, he hoped that he would never have the chance to try it.

　　Because trying it at close range was tantamount to risking his life.

　　He didn't even know if that human face was a living thing or not. What if it didn't work....

　　After sitting in place and resting for a while, Li Cheng颐 replenished his food and water, and his physical strength had recovered a lot. He also used the prepared dry towel to wipe the sweat from his head to avoid getting sick.

　　‘Next...it's time to find the exit. I can't just stay here all the time. I'll never get out if I stay in the same place.’

　　He smoothed his hair back to keep it from falling down and blocking his vision.

　　Picking up the bag, he looked left and right.

　　The left was where he came in, and also where he had just fought with the human face.

　　But what stunned him was that some of the footprints and traces of sonic vibrations that had remained on the ground had quietly disappeared without a trace.

　　To the left of the open space where the human face had disappeared, there was only a space of a dozen meters, and at the end was a white wall, a dead end.

　　Li Cheng颐 turned his gaze to the right, and looked towards the distant end of the garage that seemed to go on forever.

　　‘It seems that I can only go this way. There's only one choice.’

　　He moved his ankles, picked up his bag, and strode towards the right.

　　As he walked, a sharp fruit knife was already quietly in his right hand.

　　The sound of footsteps echoed continuously in the empty garage.

　　Li Cheng颐's sense of solid ground beneath his feet as he walked through one white-lined parking space after another, and the little bit of confidence he had gained from taking down a human face, reduced the panic in his heart a lot.

　　Of course, the most important thing was that he could use his Flower Language ability, Hand of Infatuation, at any time.

　　If used properly, this ability could play a big role in saving his life.

　　As he walked along the garage, he kept a wary eye on the small maintenance doors he passed on both sides.

　　One small door after another was passed. Finally, after passing the fifth small door, a corner appeared in front of Li Cheng颐.

　　The corner was a right-hand sloping ramp, extending upwards to a higher level, seemingly a passage for vehicles to enter and exit.

　　In the center of the black ground, a huge white arrow was painted.

　　The arrow pointed to where Li Cheng颐 was standing.

　　At the base of the walls on both sides, bright yellow and black alternating warning strips were painted, rough and conspicuous.

　　Li Cheng颐 stood in the center of the road and looked forward.

　　‘Should I go up? Since the underground garage is located underground, then...there must be an above ground. What will the above ground here be like??’

　　Thoughts flashed through his mind, and a mixture of curiosity and extreme tension mixed together.

　　He tightened his grip on the knife handle, took a deep breath, and raised his foot to move forward.

　　On the ground ahead at the corner, the shadow of a layer of white light was reflected from the curve.

　　Light and light can also produce shadows.

　　Such light and shadows always appear when the light from dim lamps and bright lamps intertwine.

　　This is a natural phenomenon caused by different light intensities.

　　Lightening his steps, Li Cheng颐 slowly walked towards the corner, step by step, closer and closer, turning the corner.

　　Soon, he narrowed his eyes slightly and entered the upper level of the underground garage.

　　No change.

　　Standing at the bend, he looked forward, just as he had when he first entered.

　　It was still a garage.

　　Two cold-colored light tubes, like two long marking lines, divided the garage space in half, extending to the end of the line of sight.

　　The scene in front of him was exactly the same as the next level.

　　The position of the light tubes, the position of the stone pillars, the position, size, and shape of the small maintenance doors were all exactly the same.

　　‘.....’ Li Cheng颐 vaguely felt a sense of foreboding in his heart.

　　He raised his foot and continued to walk forward along the ground. This time, he sped up.

　　Before long, he came to the corner again, another upward slope.

　　In the center of the black ground, an identical white arrow was clearly visible.

　　On both sides, there were still yellow and black warning coatings to prevent cars entering and exiting from not seeing the position and distance of the wall.

　　Li Cheng颐 didn't stop and continued up the slope.

　　Crossing the corner, he saw the same scene as before again.

　　It was another straight, long garage space, and at the end was an upward sloping curve.

　　‘This place!’ He started jogging. This time, it only took him five minutes to run to the corner, then up and out of the curve.

　　The third time!

　　In front of him, it was still the exact same garage!

　　Li Cheng颐 gasped for breath, standing in place with his bag, no longer moving.

　　Standing at the bend, his face was pale, and he felt that his physical strength was a little overdrawn.

　　He took out the purified water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. The cool water nourished his dry and painful throat, and also calmed him down a little.

　　‘It seems that dead ends are indeed not so easy to escape. Not only is there the danger of that monster human face, but finding a way out is also a challenge.’

　　Determined that there was no way to leave, Li Cheng颐 found a corner of the wall, sat down cross-legged, and put the big bag aside.

　　The corner of the wall was sheltered from the wind, which could reduce body temperature loss.

　　In addition, the location he had found was directly facing a small maintenance door in front of him, so he could keep a close eye on this dangerous spot at all times.

　　After resting in place for a while, he vaguely began to feel a bloating in his lower abdomen, and the urge to urinate came over him.

　　Immediately, he looked around and aimed for a pillar to walk over to.

　　In this garage, there were two gray-white round stone pillars standing every distance, seemingly for load-bearing purposes.

　　Walking to the shadowed side of the pillar, Li Cheng颐 pulled down his pants zipper and began to pee.

　　Even while urinating, Li Cheng颐 had been keeping a close eye on the nearest small door.

　　At this moment, hearing a slight noise coming from the small maintenance door on the side, his whole body shuddered.

　　Click.

　　Even while urinating, Li Cheng颐 had been keeping a close eye on the nearest small door.

　　At this moment, hearing the movement, his whole body shuddered. He pulled up his zipper, without thinking, and rushed forward in a few steps.