A gentle hiss echoed through the air as the paper cutter delicately sliced through the cardboard, revealing a narrow opening.

With eager anticipation, Li Chengyi lifted the lid, revealing a red porcelain flowerpot secured in place with white foam inside.

Inside the pot lay a scattering of soil, interspersed with delicate white wisteria flowers and their branches.

At the center of the pot, on a brown branch about half the width of a palm, delicate white flowers bloomed, distinct from the usual purple hues.

White wisteria, usually a mix of white and purple, presented a unique sight.

"Finally..." Li Chengyi took a deep breath, catching a faint whiff of floral fragrance.

Suppressing his excitement, he reached out and gently touched one of the slightly wilted white flowers.

"White Wisteria: Deciduous vine, different from common wisteria, with a strong fragrance. Blooms from May to June."

"Language of flowers: Enchantment."

"Flower Scale: Is evolution absorption beginning?"

As he read the final line, Li Chengyi felt a rush of relief.

"Yes! This is it!"

While there were many variants of wisteria, he chose the white wisteria because it was rare and not widely cultivated by commercial growers, making it easier for him to absorb its essence and repair his Flower Scale.

With determination, he confirmed the inquiry about the Evil Flower.

"Yes."

Instantly, a cool sensation, like fine threads, flowed from his fingertips as they brushed against the white wisteria petals.

Unlike before, this sensation didn't flow into the Evil Flower ring but traveled through his palm, arm, and into his chest, spreading throughout his body.

A refreshing coolness, akin to soaking in mint-infused water, gradually enveloped Li Chengyi, causing him to shiver slightly.

Fortunately, no one was home.

His parents were at work, and his sister, Li Chengjiu, was at training every day, preparing for the upcoming assessment.

Li Chengyi looked down at the back of his right hand, where the Evil Flower ring emitted a faint purple light.

A new stream of information flowed into his mind.

"Flower Scale evolving..."

"The evolution process is influenced by individual personality, beliefs, physique, goals, etc. Different nutrients can be added midway to enhance the Flower Scale's strength."

"Different nutrients may cause changes in the final strength, form, and even the language of the Flower Scale. Please proceed with caution."

"Nourishment?" Li Chengyi narrowed his eyes. Could the Flower Scale change according to the wearer?

But then he realized that ancient armors were often custom-made, so it made sense for the Flower Scale to have this functionality.

However, this only increased his anticipation.

"What are these nutrients?"

With his curiosity piqued, new feedback from the Evil Flower quickly entered his mind.

"Nourishment: Divided into two types. Before the Flower Scale evolution is complete, it needs to absorb floral essence to take shape."

"After formation, apart from repairs, it no longer requires floral essence but instead absorbs all kinds of negative thoughts from the environment."

"Absorbing negative thoughts: Completely crush individuals harboring evil intentions, allowing their transformation into other emotions to complete absorption."

"Current evolution progress: 1%, negative thoughts: 0."

Negative thoughts!?

It dawned on Li Chengyi at that moment.

"No wonder it's called the Evil Flower... a flower cultivated from negative thoughts... truly fitting its name."

"In that case, depending on the wearer, absorbing different negative thoughts midway could lead to different Flower Scale formations..."

With this realization, he carefully lifted the flowerpot from its foam packaging, took it to the bathroom, dampened a cloth with water, gently wiped it clean, and placed it in his bedroom.

"My room is a bit small... It would be nice to have my own flower garden..."

Looking at the slightly crowded space now adorned with a pot of white wisteria, the idea of renting a house externally grew stronger in his mind.

Sitting at his desk, Li Chengyi took out his phone and, without any secrecy, directly searched for locations where white wisteria could be shipped from.

He planned to visit the place in person, complete the Flower Scale evolution in one go, and then return.

As long as the evolution was complete, he only needed to visit for repairs when necessary.

"It seems that the development of the Evil Flower will require a large variety of flowers. Perhaps I should consider opening my own flower nursery..."

The idea gradually took root in his mind.

As his phone wasn't secure, he disguised himself as an ordinary person who loved flowers dearly, ensuring no sensitive information was revealed in his search history or keywords.

Soon, he found the florist that shipped white wisteria.

He made a call.

"Hello, is this Baojuyuan Flower Shop?"

"Yes, may I ask who's speaking?"

After a brief exchange, Li Chengyi arranged a time to visit the florist's flower nursery. He would claim to want to wholesale some white wisteria.

With the time set, he felt much more at ease looking at the flowerpot in his bedroom.

"Next, I need to find a way to test the specific strength of the Flower Scale..."

During these days, he hadn't been idle. During the nights, he repeatedly experimented on his own, successfully controlling the automatic wearing speed of the Flower Scale.

He found that as long as he continuously issued commands to slow down the wearing of the Flower Scale within a short period, he could control it to only cover certain parts of his body.

For example, he could wear it only on his hands, legs, or torso.

This made it much easier for him to test the strength of the Flower Scale. After the basic physical training ended, he would start firearm training, and he could find a suitable opportunity then.

Sunyang City, West District.

Along the old streets stood rows of five-story residential buildings.

The ground floors of these buildings were occupied by small shops.

In front of one of these shops, with its blue roller shutter tightly closed, squatted a slightly chubby man in a silver jacket, smoking a cigarette.

He smoked while occasionally looking left and right, as if waiting for someone.

"Xiaoding." A bald man approached leisurely, carrying a bag of goods, and greeted the chubby man.

"Oh, Brother Zeng, you're here?" The chubby man quickly stood up, smiling broadly.

"What's the matter? Speak up. The brothers are all waiting," he said, grinning as he approached, taking out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offering it.

"Thanks, the boss over there said he's looking for two people. Isn't your sister very skilled? Ask her to help check. There'll be a reward for you afterward," whispered the bald man.

"What kind of people? We can't mess with sensitive targets," the slightly chubby man, Xiaoding, hesitated.

"It's nothing sensitive, just help with the investigation, as usual, fifty thousand for each," the bald man whispered. "Just do a simple check, it's equivalent to your sister's monthly income. It's not illegal, just take a screenshot, blur out any identifying marks. As long as no one talks, who would know it was your sister?"

After a moment of hesitation, Xiaoding nodded.

"Okay, I'll ask."

"These are the side profile portraits of those two individuals. If you find them, there's no need for screenshots. You can type it out or transcribe it yourself," the bald man understood Xiaoding's concerns and smiled.

"I understand." Xiaoding took the two composite photos handed to him and looked down.

One of the photos bore an uncanny resemblance to Li Chengyi, while the other depicted the man holding a gun in the blind corner.

Xiaoding took out his phone, snapped two quick photos, then walked to the side to make a call.

Soon, he returned with a smile on his face after hanging up.

"It's done. I'll send you the information later. There's no problem with those two individuals."

"That's good." The bald man, Zeng, also smiled. "If possible, make sure you get as much information about their families as possible. Usually, it's all registered online, right?"

After all, in modern society, direct murder was certainly the last resort. If they could threaten the target through their family members and force them to protect the miss in the blind spot, it would be the best and simplest solution.

"No problem, all the registration information has names. It's easy to find with a search. My sister said she could help track their phones directly. When do you need it?" Xiaoding replied.

"Sooner is better," Zeng quickly responded.

"Okay, my sister said she could get it done within an hour. It's just... the money..." Xiaoding answered with a smile.

"At the usual place, half as a deposit first. You can pick up the rest later," Zeng nodded.

"You're a straightforward boss!" Xiaoding grinned.

New Century Building, Hongjin Company.

Sindra stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, hands clasped, gazing out at the sunny Sunyang City without a word.

His gaze was deep, seemingly lost in thought, absentmindedly rubbing the outer edge of his arm with his thumb.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door was tapped.

"Sir, we've found them," a nasal voice came from outside the door.

"Arang? Come in," Sindra turned around, looking towards the door.

The door was gently pushed open, and a sturdy man with a crew cut walked in.

The man's complexion was waxen, like that of a sickly person, his eyes slightly cloudy. Standing over two meters tall, he strode into the room with military-like precision.

Stopping three meters away from Sindra, he bowed slightly.

"Based on the side profile portrait of Mr. Li Chengyi, we've found the surviving individual. Here's the information for your review."

The man handed over a document.

Sindra took it and skimmed through it.

"Only one premonition?" His brows furrowed slightly, evidently unsatisfied.

"Yes, this Meng Dongdong should have weak mental strength. She only experienced the premonition once. According to Mr. Li Chengyi's description, she got lucky and survived temporarily," explained Arang, the sturdy man.

"Her potential is too low. Mr. Li Chengyi has had three premonitions. Among all the contracted individuals we've encountered, the more premonitions, the easier it is to survive. This Meng Dongdong has no value," Sindra closed the file, shaking his head slightly.

"Moreover, her family is well-off, so it's unlikely she'll cooperate with us," Arang added.

"Yes, let's give up on her. Focus on Li Chengyi," Sindra decided.

As the two were speaking, rapid footsteps sounded outside the door once again.

The newcomer stopped at the door.

"Boss, Mr. Chengyi's phone is being hacked for location tracking. Someone at the telecom company is trying to access Mr. Chengyi's and his family's information."

"Cut him off and give him a warning," Sindra said calmly.

"In addition, for Meng Dongdong, since she's unlikely to become one of my contractees and has no value to us, remove her from the shortlist."

"Do you want me to..." Arang made a slashing motion across his neck.

To ensure the safety of contractees, extend their survival time, and explore the secrets of the blind spot as much as possible, they had done this before.