Li Chengyi listened intently while scrolling through his phone for information on qualifications, processes, and avenues for obtaining a Flyyi.

“There are two types of specialized Flyyi produced in Yiguo, as well as standard models for land, sea, and air. But you’ll need to qualify at the neural assessment center to purchase any of them. As for the exact process, I’m not sure. Maybe you can ask the boss,” Song Ran replied.

“The boss is busy with the investigation into Aixi Real Estate. I’ll ask him later,” Li Chengyi decided there wasn’t much more to extract from the conversation and resumed his combat training routine.

Song Ran was teaching him a popular combat technique known as Cross-Track Combat. The key to this technique was maintaining a stable stance while moving in a cross-shaped trajectory to evade gunfire and close in on opponents for close-quarters combat.

After an intense training session, evening settled in, and it was nearly 6:00 p.m.

Li Chengyi invited Song Ran to join him for spicy hotpot at a nearby restaurant, but Song Ran declined. So, Li Chengyi headed downstairs alone, planning to grab a meal at a rice noodle shop within the New Century Building.

He quickly found a Wuxi Rice Noodle Shop among a row of storefronts by the building.

The shop was mostly empty, with only two occupied tables among a dozen.

Li Chengyi sat down at a corner table and scanned the QR code to order.

He glanced toward the back of the shop where the serving counter was. Through the small opening, he could see the chef chatting with someone on his phone, a slight smile of amusement on his face.

Li Chengyi felt a strange pang of disconnection.

Since arriving in this world and era, he hadn’t experienced ordinary life. The Dead End had dragged him into a relentless fight for survival.

Sitting there, waiting for his order, he turned his face slightly and caught his reflection in the silvery tiles on the wall.

The tiles, polished like mirrors, showed a young man’s tired, somewhat disheveled face.

A man in his twenties, looking weary but strong. The black T-shirt hugged a body that was fitter than most.

The short black hair, longer than a buzz cut, added to the impression of quiet resilience.

*“At least I look better than before,”* he thought, trying to comfort himself.

A surge of nostalgia hit him as he recalled his old life. In his past life, he’d often go out alone for late-night meals.

Sitting alone in a restaurant, he could spend hours lost in thought if nothing else was pressing.

Maybe it was the exhaustion from training, or the relentless tension over the past weeks, but Li Chengyi found himself zoning out.

Time ticked by slowly.

He remained seated, waiting for his rice noodles to arrive.

*“Why is it taking so long?”* He realized it felt like an unusually long wait.

Still, there was no movement from the serving counter.

Li Chengyi frowned and turned his head. From his seat, he needed to turn fully to see the counter.

As soon as he turned, his expression shifted.

The shop was now eerily empty.

The white tables with black legs stood in silence, the customers from the two tables nowhere to be seen.

The serving counter was also vacant, showing only a pot full of soup waiting for noodles to be cooked. The ladle hung on the pot's edge, but the chef was gone.

Li Chengyi’s instincts flared; something was wrong. He pushed back his chair and stood up.

Looking around, the rice noodle shop’s ten or so tables were now enveloped in an inexplicable, uneasy silence.

The wall-mounted fan still spun lazily, and the small overhead lights remained bright.

The menu board above the serving counter glowed with white light.

Li Chengyi approached the counter and leaned through the semi-circular opening to peer inside.

The kitchen area was also empty.

Chopping boards and knives lay scattered on the counter as if someone had just been using them.

A bucket of dark cooking oil sat nearby with its lid ajar.

The grease-stained range hood glowed with its built-in light.

“Anyone here?” Li Chengyi called softly.

No response.

His eyes narrowed with tension.

He pulled back from the counter and turned around.

A pale face stared straight at him, just inches away.

“!?”

Li Chengyi’s reflexes kicked in, propelling him backward while bending at the waist and drawing his gun.

*Click.*

His finger was a hair’s breadth from pulling the trigger, but there was nothing there.

The pale face had vanished as if it had never been there at all, leaving him standing in an empty shop.

*Thump... Thump...*

His heart pounded as adrenaline coursed through him, reddening his face.

*“Wasn’t I supposed to still be in the Grius Parking Lot Dead End? Why... No, wait!”*

The realization hit him.

He’d nearly entered the mysterious university Dead End before as well.

*“That means just because you’re inside one Dead End doesn’t mean you can’t be pulled into another...”*

Li Chengyi’s mind raced.

This was a detail even Sindra hadn’t included in the information he’d shared.

*“Or maybe they didn’t even know. Sindra’s just a private company, after all. Their information could be incomplete. The official authorities might know more...”*

Li Chengyi cautiously moved toward the shop’s entrance, gun in hand and ready for action.

Thankfully, the pale face did not reappear as he walked.

Reaching the door, he was still surrounded by silence.

*Exhale...*

He released a quiet breath, reached for the glass door handle, and pushed.

*Creak...*

The hinges creaked softly as the door opened.

Li Chengyi stepped forward.

Suddenly, the world spun, and he felt like he was losing his balance.

In the blink of an eye, he was standing outside the rice noodle shop on a bustling street.

The neon lights of the New Century Building’s sign glowed brightly to his side.

“I’m out!” Li Chengyi felt a rush of relief.

*“It must have been a false alarm, just a temporary premonition.”*

The company’s records had mentioned such premonitions. They didn’t guarantee entry into a Dead End but served as warnings.

Li Chengyi glanced back at the shop. It was still there, and the two tables of customers had returned.

It seemed that the empty shop he’d seen was just an illusion.

*“But this is a sign that it’s close. I need to be ready.”*

With that resolve, he headed toward the hotel where he was staying.

*Tap.*

His second step brought the world into a sudden blur, spinning wildly as disorientation set in again.

When his vision cleared and his mind steadied...

Dim white lights illuminated the space in front of him.

Black pavement marked with rows of faded white parking lines stretched out before him.

*“Grius...”*

Li Chengyi’s body tensed as he quickly scanned his surroundings.

*Bang.*

A small red door marked as a maintenance room burst open with a crash.

A massive, black-and-white human face lunged out, moving at incredible speed like a beast, mouth wide as it charged at him.

*“Flower Scale Armor!”* Li Chengyi’s mind screamed as dark purple and black scales enveloped his body.

Countless petals of purple wisteria formed around him like glowing fragments, merging into a menacing suit of armor tinged with faint black smoke.

In an instant, the face was upon him.

Li Chengyi could only manage a hurried punch.

*Boom!!!*

Man and creature collided head-on.

Li Chengyi was sent flying, slamming against the wall and collapsing to the ground.

Agony shot through his body; his right arm felt numb, useless, like it had detached from his body.

The black-and-white face monster, the Big-Faced Monster, reeled dazedly against the opposite wall before lifting again and floating toward him.

“Damn it!” Li Chengyi slammed his right hand against the wall, activating the second phase of his *Flower Language* ability.

He had initiated the first phase, *Hand of Enchantment*, just before their collision.

Now, by touching the wall, he aimed to forcibly control the monster and buy himself time to attempt his escape plan.

As he had hoped, the Big-Faced Monster shifted direction and lunged at the wall he had touched instead.

*Bang.*

It smashed into the wall and stuck there, motionless.

Li Chengyi took the opportunity to push himself up and sprint away.

With the *Flower Scale Armor* active, his *Flower Language* ability was enhanced. He was confident the monster wouldn’t break free immediately.

He raced up the winding path, knowing that this was the lowest level of the Grius Parking Lot. The higher levels were where the crevices had been found before.

The placement of these crevices was random, so he had to search as quickly as possible.

Rounding the corner, he reached the next level without sight of the monster and felt a slight sense of relief. His eyes darted around.

Nothing.

He charged up to the next level at full speed.

Still nothing.

The third level, then the fourth, fifth, and sixth...

No crevices appeared.

A sense of desperation gripped him. The *Flower Scale Armor* was draining his stamina quickly, and if he couldn’t find a crevice soon...

Reaching the seventh level, he finally saw it!

A black crevice stood out on the right wall, hidden behind a support pillar’s shadow.

A surge of hope filled him as he dashed toward it.

*Boom!!*

An immense force struck his side, sending Li Chengyi tumbling.

The Big

-Faced Monster had reappeared, its gaping maw lunging at him.

It missed its bite as Li Chengyi rolled away just in time.

The monster spun and prepared to charge him like a car.

But it halted after a few meters, staying glued to the ground, immobilized.

*Another use of Flower Language!*

Li Chengyi scrambled to his feet and threw himself into the crevice.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a second Big-Faced Monster appear from another corner, charging at him.

*“Damn it, two of them!”* His heart pounded as he squeezed into the crevice.

The *Flower Scale Armor* was too rigid and broad to fit, leaving him trapped outside.

With no choice, he mentally dismissed the armor and slid inside.

*“It all comes down to this!”*

He wedged himself deep into the narrow space, about five or six meters in, and stopped.

*“What did Jiajier do back then?”*

*“Close my eyes!”*

Li Chengyi resisted the urge to watch the approaching monster and shut his eyes tightly.