Chapter 1 Cool Breeze

Marian looked at Li Cheng颐's outstretched hand, smiled, and finally reached out to gently shake it.

"Actually, I don't like this way of greeting," she said softly. "In my hometown, hands are important weapons. Once people get close and touch each other, they might be seized by the opportunity and killed with one blow."

"Your hometown? May I ask where that is?" Li Cheng颐 asked.

"A small country called Liberia. It's very chaotic and backward there." Marian pulled out a chair, sat down gracefully, and crossed her legs slightly.

"It's full of gangs, drugs, smuggling, arms... every crime you can think of, it's there."

"It must have been hard to struggle out of a place like that, right?" Li Cheng颐 asked.

"Not really," Marian said, looking at Li Cheng颐, who was also sitting down, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed. "As long as you learn to completely nip any hint of threat in the bud, you can live well even if you go there."

"Haha... you're joking. But it sounds a bit like the chaotic zones inside." Li Cheng颐 chuckled dryly. "I've never seen a place like that. I've been in Suiyang since I was born, and I've only been to a handful of other places."

"So you're very cute." Marian leaned forward slightly, seemingly oblivious to the hint of white skin revealed by her black-purple tube top.

She stared at Li Cheng颐.

"Compared to your sister, you are much cuter."

"Ms. Marian, could you not describe me that way? I'm a grown man in my twenties, after all," Li Cheng颐 said with an awkward expression.

"Then do you know how old I am?" Marian smiled.

"Twenty-seven?" Li Cheng颐 guessed.

"I just had my fifty-third birthday last week." Marian stated her age without hesitation. She spoke the Yi language very well, without any need for translation devices.

"Fifty-three!?" Li Cheng颐 was genuinely surprised this time.

No matter how he looked at her, he couldn't tell that Marian was fifty-three.

Even though there are many gene drugs in this world that can be used to maintain the body and delay aging, it's still too exaggerated to look like you're in your twenties at fifty-three.

He had obtained Marian's information from the owner of Xindra.

Marian West, this is an extremely dangerous woman, who has been expelled from many countries and has done far too many dangerous and illegal things.

She is not on the same level as a small character like him who only dares to make small troubles and quietly kill people in a small city.

After he got the information, he was basically able to judge that the last time his evil thoughts suddenly inexplicably filled up at home, it was very likely that he had absorbed Marian's.

He wasn't stupid, and he could also infer some facts from the way Marian and his sister Li Chengjiu acted.

"May I ask, what is the relationship between my sister Li Chengjiu and Ms. Marian?" Without any concealment, Li Cheng颐 directly asked the question.

"Just a normal relationship between a newcomer and a senior," Marian said with a smile. "You can call me Marlene, that's the name I use in the Yi country."

"Alright, Marlene, can you briefly tell me which company or unit my sister and you belong to?" Li Cheng颐 looked like he was just curious and not trying to inquire about sensitive information at all.

"We all belong to Hongli Group. I was recently transferred to the branch in Suiyang, saw your sister's job application, and thought she was pretty good, so I hired her." Marian spoke a blatant lie that no one would believe.

"What about you?" Suddenly, she leaned closer, her eyes revealing a strange excitement.

It was a natural craving and curiosity that arose when seeing something of interest.

"Little Cheng颐, you have a... not-quite-washed-off smell on you."

"Smell?"

Li Cheng颐's heart tensed, and he narrowed his eyes. He wasn't used to this kind of overly close invasion of his space. Unconsciously, his Flower Language ability was already faintly gathering in his hand, ready to strike first.

He lowered his head, pretending to drink his juice, but in reality, he was hiding the killing intent that was naturally sprouting in his heart.

Some things cannot be easily hidden with just a pair of glasses.

"Alright, it's getting late, let's exchange contact information?" Marian stood up, seemingly in a better mood than before.

She gently tapped her glasses, obviously she was wearing AR as well.

Soon, a friend request was sent to Li Cheng颐's phone.

This was the close-range face-to-face transfer function.

Li Cheng颐 quickly took out his phone, confirmed, and added her.

He looked up.

Suddenly, he was stunned to find that Marian had silently circled behind him.

A faint fragrance wafted from the back of his head.

"Next time... remember to wash the blood off your body before coming out, little Cheng颐."

Marian's voice was soft and bewitching, faint and elusive, like a whisper in his ear.

The fragrant breeze quickly left.

The smile on Li Cheng颐's face slowly disappeared.

He stood up from his seat and turned to look at Marian, who was gradually walking away, wondering how she had seen through his flaws.

Standing in place, he watched Marian gradually disappear into a silver-gray sedan on the side of the road with two bodyguards.

Before getting into the car, Marian looked at him from afar, her blue eyes hinting at a smile.

Only then did Li Cheng颐 withdraw his thoughts of secretly killing the three of them.

'Is it really that obvious?'

He was thinking about what she had just said.

Where exactly had he been seen through?

Watching the sedan slowly drive away and disappear at the end of the road.

Li Cheng颐 didn't sit down again. He casually picked up the juice on the table and drank it all.

Then he paid the bill and quickly left.

He had to find out the root cause of how Marian had seen through his problem as soon as possible.

Of course, perhaps she was just joking, but the odds were too low, and he didn't dare to gamble.

In less than ten minutes, the two of them left the snack stall one after the other. www.

Lin Sang stood to the side, her face flushed red, her hands clenched tightly. She watched Li Cheng颐 leave, and until he left, he didn't look at her again.

She watched Kun Ge and the rest of his companions chatting and laughing, pointing at her, and then getting up and leaving on their own.

The others were laughing, and Kun Ge was laughing as well, but that smile was completely different from usual. Although he was smiling, his face revealed a clear hint of anger.

Until the very end, none of them looked at her again, just like Li Cheng颐.

At this moment.

The sense of shame in Lin Sang's heart finally reached its peak at this moment.

Her lips trembled, and she squatted down in place, covered her head, and began to cry.

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Li Cheng颐 walked forward with his head down, trying not to let anyone see his eyes.

He looked at the time on his glasses, 17:32 in the afternoon.

'That's right, the first evolution of Sword Orchid is complete, so, the new Flower God position should be able to be opened, right?' Suddenly, he stopped, and the wild red flowers in Zhao Mountain came to mind again.

The Flower Language carried by the wild red flowers in the dead corner of Mist Street was the key point that he had been unable to give up until now.

But as soon as he thought of those wild red flowers, he thought of another aspect.

'If I choose the wild red flowers for my third position, then... for a long time to come, I will definitely be stuck at this progress point.

After the dead corner is destroyed, it will restart at least once a week. If I want to repeatedly rely on the restart of the dead corner to absorb the wild red flowers, let alone whether it will work, even if it does, I will have to wait for an unknown amount of time to collect the quantity and meet the basic prerequisites for using Flower Language.

Of course, it is also possible that one flower will meet the requirements for the Flower Scale Armor to form.

But he didn't dare to gamble.

After that, to complete an evolution and open a new Flower God position, it will inevitably be delayed for a long, long time. And if, in the middle of this, the dead corner of Mist Street fades and disappears, I may face a completely stuck situation.'

Li Cheng颐 unfolded the logic in his heart. He was very clear that choosing those wild red flowers was not the best choice. But the desire for high-level martial arts kept him from giving up this idea.

He couldn't give up the idea of positioning the third Flower God position to the wild red flowers.

Following the edge of the street, he walked aimlessly all the way.

Unconsciously, he walked into a street full of bars, KTVs, and barbecue restaurants on both sides.

The slightly noisy music and rhythmic drumbeats were constantly approaching and receding in his ears.

The flow of people around him also gradually became crowded.

Young people coming out for a walk after dinner, couples, fat old women trying hard to show off their figures, and a few old men dancing in an open space on the street, playing music from a portable stereo as if no one else was around.

Two girls in tube tops, drunk and singing silly songs, swayed past Li Cheng颐.

The strong smell of alcohol pulled him back from his entanglement.

He stopped.

'What am I struggling with? In any case, the wild red flowers are just a pie in the sky for me now. The quantity of only one flower is too little, too little. Since such an abnormal flower can appear once in the dead corner, then there will definitely be a second and a third time!'

'When I can face the dead corner more calmly, I will consider abnormal flowers like the wild red flowers!'

Finally, he made a complete decision - temporarily give up the wild red flowers.

At the moment of making this decision, Li Cheng颐 felt as if a big stone had fallen from his heart. He felt much more relaxed.

He turned to look at the outer glass of a milk tea shop on the right.

The glass vaguely reflected his face at this time.

Ordinary, seemingly smiling, and... cold eyes that even glasses can't completely block.

'It seems that the problem lies in the eyes.'

Li Cheng颐 tried to adjust his eyes, but he didn't succeed after several attempts. That bone-chilling coldness was still constantly seeping out from the depths of his eyes.

He was slightly annoyed, and listening to the noisy music and drumbeats in his ears made him even more upset.

He turned around and quickly walked to the end of the street, wanting to leave this street as soon as possible.

He accelerated forward in one breath, and it took him a full five minutes before he quickly left the street.

At this time, it was already getting dark.

A row of cars of various colors was parked along the street, including many luxury cars worth hundreds of thousands or millions.

Li Cheng颐 naturally walked towards the less crowded direction.

Passing by a small supermarket, he felt a little thirsty, paused, and pushed the door open, wanting to buy a bottle of drink.

Ding-dong.

An automatic electronic greeting sound came from the doorway.

In the bright little supermarket, shelves were arranged with colorful goods of various kinds.

On the side of each shelf, a white plastic sign hung with the category name of the corresponding goods.

Snacks, drinks, daily necessities, fruits and vegetables, frozen.

Li Cheng颐 walked to the beverage section, scanned it, and frowned slightly.

'All of them are ones I've never had before.'

He looked up at the ceiling, where several white light tubes were hanging on a white plastic board. The light shone down unevenly, faintly emitting a subtle humming sound of electricity.

After looking at it, he casually took out a bottle of strawberry-apple mixed juice, looked at the brand, which was a line of unfamiliar letters. The logo was a blue strawberry, with a classic smiley face made up of three curved lines drawn on it.

Li Cheng颐 took the juice and walked towards the cashier at the door.

The cashier was just a glass counter more than two meters long, with black, white, and red cigarette boxes inside.

On the counter was a rotating cylinder filled with lollipops, and a box of cheap lighters with the lid open.

"Boss, cash register." Li Cheng颐 stood at the counter, and when he saw that there was no one at the cashier, he shouted loudly.

No one responded.

The small supermarket was silent, with only the faint sound of electricity emanating from the light tubes.

"Boss?" Li Cheng颐 raised his voice.

Still no answer. Only his voice faintly echoed throughout the small supermarket.

(End of this chapter)