Watching the car gradually drive away, Li Chengyi stood still on the spot. He wanted to chase after it, but the meaning in the man’s words made his heart freeze.

 

The man’s friends and son seemed to have died in Dead Ends.

 

This world… seemed peaceful, but dangers like Dead Ends seemed to be everywhere.

 

And what did the man’s last sentence mean?

 

Why would calling the police lead to losing his last glimmer of hope?

 

Many thoughts ran through Li Chengyi’s mind, but he didn’t have any clue.

 

He picked up his phone and kept searching for information about Dead Ends.

 

The sky gradually darkened, and the street lights by the roadside lit up with yellow lights.

 

Some students began to stroll around in groups of twos and threes.

 

The stores on both sides of the street lit up one after another, and the halos of various colors illuminated this area.

 

Li Chengyi was still standing on the spot, frantically searching for information about Dead Ends.

 

But there was nothing.

 

All the information seemed to have been censored and deleted, leaving only some simple missing person cases circulating online.

 

He lowered his phone in disappointment and looked up at the sky.

 

In the sky, the full moon was hanging quietly in the middle.

 

There must be a way… Li Chengyi looked back at the cafe but didn’t return. Instead, he put away his phone and walked toward the bus stop.

 

When his pant legs approached the strip of greenery between the street and the sidewalk, a line of clear black words once again emerged on the back of his right hand.

 

Li Chengyi didn’t pay attention to it, nor could he see it. He kept thinking about the strange underground parking garage and the bizarre giant human face.

 

The intense pressure and panic filled every part of his body. If he hadn’t forcibly controlled his body, he might have been trembling in fear.

 

He walked along the greenery.

 

All kinds of methods were flashing crazily in Li Chengyi’s mind, methods that might be able to get him out of the Dead End.

 

He planned to go back and prepare various weapons, knives, alcohol fuel, strong pepper spray, and so on. Anything was better than nothing.

 

He should make use of everything that could help.

 

He also had to prepare food and water. In case he got rid of the human face monster but was still trapped in the Dead End and couldn’t come out, he would need to eat and drink.

 

There was also the cassette player. He recalled that he had been playing music on it before entering the Dead End.

 

So he had to take it as soon as he returned.

 

In addition…

 

Right! A thought suddenly flashed in his mind. The pattern on the back of my hand! That pattern looks very mysterious. It might be able to help me!

 

A glimmer of hope quickly rose in Li Chengyi’s heart.

 

He raised his hand, but he couldn’t see anything on the back of his hand. The pattern needed to be reflected in a mirror to be seen clearly.

 

He quickly walked to the display window of a clothing store and looked at the back of his hand through the reflection of the window.

 

At this moment, the words on the back of his hand had disappeared, and the black pattern had reappeared.

 

So, how do I use this thing? What is the use?

 

Looking at the black pattern on the back of his hand, Li Chengyi thought of a solution. He turned on his phone’s camera and pointed it at the back of his hand.

 

As expected, he could clearly see the black pattern on the back of his hand on the phone screen.

 

It was a flower pattern formed by small black flowers.

 

They seemed to be swaying in the wind and were slightly tilted. They also seemed like black flames burning, throbbing and deep.

 

Maybe there’s a trick? Li Chengyi looked at the black pattern and reached out to touch it carefully, but his fingertips couldn’t feel anything, as though the pattern didn’t exist.

 

I can’t wait any longer. Time is running out. I have to prepare other things first!

 

Without knowing what use this pattern had, Li Chengyi quickly turned around and jogged toward the bus stop.

 

He needed to prepare all kinds of items as soon as possible.

 

Even though the middle-aged man had said that weapons were useless, he was just a stranger, and Li Chengyi couldn’t believe everything he said.

 

Without any delay, he got onto the bus. This time, nothing went wrong. Before the sky turned completely dark, he returned to the entrance of Happy Community.

 

Instead of going back, he walked along the road outside the neighborhood to a chain supermarket by the roadside and started buying food with long shelf lives.

 

He bought a large bag of compressed biscuits, jerky, and bottled water.

 

In addition, he bought a folding fruit knife, a sharp-pointed kitchen knife for cutting meat, a few windproof lighters, respirator masks, and so on.

 

Under the threat of his life, Li Chengyi erupted with 1,000% execution power and completed all the preparations in only half an hour.

 

Then he checked his phone and filled in any gaps.

 

Finally, he bought a small first-aid kit from a small pharmacy beside the supermarket.

 

Everything was ready.

 

It was 7:40 p.m.

 

Carrying a big bag, Li Chengyi entered the neighborhood and looked at the windows of his house on the fifth floor. There were no lights.

 

He quickly entered the corridor and pressed the elevator button to go upstairs.

 

While waiting for the elevator to come down, he was still thinking about the use of the black pattern on the back of his right hand.

 

Before me, there were definitely people who made the same preparations. If such ordinary and simple preparations can get through Dead Ends, then the people online wouldn’t be so pessimistic. So…

 

Li Chengyi had a feeling that his true hope of survival might lie in the pattern on the back of his hand.

 

But he had no clue how to discover the use of this pattern.

 

Ding.

 

The elevator reached the first floor.

 

The doors slowly opened, revealing a dim and old space.

 

Li Chengyi was about to enter when he suddenly saw the faint, dim light and stopped in his tracks, feeling a little apprehensive.

 

He paused for a while before retracting his leg, turning around, and choosing to rush up the stairs with his items.

 

He rushed to the fourth floor in one go. Fortunately, he often ran and exercised. Otherwise, most people would be out of breath if they rushed to the fourth floor so quickly while carrying more than five kilograms of stuff.

 

He opened the door with the key. There was no one at home.

 

The three-bedroom house was dark, with only a little moonlight shining in from the living room window and the lights from the other side.

 

“Phew.” Li Chengyi exhaled deeply, placed the bag on the living room floor, changed his shoes, and entered.

 

As soon as he entered, he noticed the faint, dirty footprints on the floor.

 

Clearly, someone had entered the house without changing their shoes.

 

Was it Li Chengjiu’s guest? he guessed.

 

After finding a place to sit down and taking a sip of water, he took out his phone again and used the camera function to carefully study the pattern on the back of his right hand.

 

Perhaps it requires a certain incantation?

 

He began to recite random incantations to the pattern.

 

He tried alibaba, open sesame, and all kinds of incantations, but there was no reaction at all.

 

Perhaps I need to drip blood on it for it to recognize me as its master? The various novels in Li Chengyi’s previous life influenced his thinking.

 

He gritted his teeth, took a small knife from the kitchen, gently pricked a fingertip, and dripped a drop of blood onto the black pattern.

 

Unfortunately, it was still useless.

 

Should I try tracing it with a pencil and drawing it? he suddenly thought.

 

He found a piece of white paper and started tracing the pattern carefully with a pencil.

 

Unfortunately, his skills were too bad. After drawing for a long time, he ended up with a lump-like child’s drawing.

 

There was still no reaction.

 

After he busied himself for a while, it was gradually half-past eight.

 

A slight wave of sleepiness began to well up in Li Chengyi’s heart.

 

He immediately became vigilant.

 

The first two times he entered the Dead End, he had felt sleepy beforehand. Now, it was here again. Was it going to be the third time soon?

 

His heart tightened as he forced himself to stay awake. He grabbed the bag with his hand, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to bring it in after he left.

 

If I die, will I transmigrate again? A strange thought popped into his mind.

 

I really don’t know where that black flower comes from. It can actually do such an unbelievable thing…

 

Li Chengyi sighed inwardly. Now that the end was coming, he was strangely not as nervous as before.

 

This was a very strange feeling. It was as though his mind had suddenly become empty and clarified a lot, and his thoughts quickly became clear…

 

Wait!

 

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed across his mind.

 

The pattern appeared because of the small black flower. I transmigrated because I came into contact with the black flower bush.

 

The major my predecessor studied was plant conservation. All of this involves plants…

 

So, is this pattern also related to plants?

 

Once this connection was formed, it quickly occupied all of Li Chengyi’s thoughts.

 

The more he thought about it, the more likely he felt that it was. I’ll give it a try!

 

Immediately, he looked around. There were no plants at all.

 

With the bag in hand, he changed his shoes, quickly rushed out of the house, ran down the stairs, and rushed to the area between the buildings of the neighborhood.

 

Simple oval gardens were built in these area.

 

There were small trees, green grass, and small flowers.

 

The outside was simply surrounded by a fence with a sign that said, “Be careful of stepping on flowers and plants.”

 

But Li Chengyi couldn’t care less about being careful now. He turned and crossed the fence. As soon as his feet touched the grass in a garden, his body quickly reacted.

 

The black pattern on the back of his right hand quickly distorted, squirmed, and turned into a line of clear words.

 

[Please keep touching for ten seconds to activate.]

 

Li Chengyi picked up the phone camera and looked at the back of his right hand. This time, he clearly saw this line of text.

 

It was the most commonly used Chinese characters in his previous life!

 

Sure enough! I’m right! A numbing sensation like an electric current flashed across his scalp.

 

The countdown began to appear on the back of his hand.

 

[Six.]

 

[Five.]

 

[Four.]

 

[Three.]

 

[Two.]

 

[One.]

 

Swish!

 

In an instant, all the words disappeared. The black on the back of his hand returned to the black pattern.

 

Streams of invisible information instantly entered Li Chengyi’s mind through a mysterious method.

 

[Activation successful.]

 

Buzz!

 

In an instant, a deep, dark fog appeared out of thin air from all directions.

 

This fog enveloped Li Chengyi’s entire body.

 

The surroundings turned pitch-black.

 

This is…?! He was at a loss and stood frozen, not daring to move.

 

Ding…

 

A clear and reverberating echo resounded like jade hitting a bell or zither. He couldn’t tell what instrument it was.

 

In the darkness far away…

 

A tiny purple light slowly emerged, brightened, and approached.