A heatwave swept over the area.

This wasn't some flower-language ability, nor a special equipment effect.

It was simply the inherent damage of the Ultimate Titan Sunflower's Floral Scale Armor.

Merely wearing it would inflict indiscriminate high-heat damage to everything within a dozen meters.

This high heat was also mixed with the purifying effect of a light radiance field, possessing a special aura like that of the sun.

The heatwave spread.

The air began to distort.

The edges of the merchandise on the shelves began to show signs of scorching.

The posters on the walls began to shrink and curl up.

Whoosh!

A plastic wrapper on a packaged product spontaneously combusted, the bright yellow flames rapidly blooming like flowers, quickly igniting throughout the small store.

Left, right, corner, behind.

The cardboard boxes of merchandise everywhere began to burn.

Li Cheng颐 stood in place, his whole body enveloped in the center of the heatwave, a faint layer of yellow flames burning on the surface of his armor.

He was burning as well.

From the moment he switched to the Floral Scale Armor to the moment everything around him was ablaze, no more than two seconds had passed.

The crocodile-headed humanoid, no longer under the control of the light radiance, also felt the rapidly rising temperature around him.

The scorching heat and purifying aura of the air made him extremely agitated.

Bang!!!

He stepped on the ground again, cracking the floor, and charged towards Li Cheng颐.

The three-meter distance closed in an instant.

The crocodile-head stretched out his right hand, a claw grabbing at Li Cheng颐.

His hand didn't have five fingers, but three thick, sharp black spikes, forming a sharp claw.

The claw, carrying terrifying force, slammed hard against the raised tower-shield on Li Cheng颐's right arm.

Bang!!!

A ring of yellow flames was shattered by the force, scattering outwards as a ring of fire.

Li Cheng颐's body was knocked backwards. The amplification of the Ultimate Floral Scale Armor was strong, at least five times stronger than before.

But his own physique was insufficient. Even with this amplification, he was still no match for the crocodile-head.

But... what determined victory was never mere strength!

'Hui Shan!!!'

The rhombus crystal between Li Cheng颐's eyebrows suddenly shone brightly.

The complete flower language released by the body's Floral Scale Armor exploded completely at this instant.

A speck of golden light bloomed from his right shoulder.

The surroundings instantly became quiet, as if all sound had completely disappeared.

Only that speck of golden light illuminated the surroundings, rapidly expanding.

And then...

Explosion!

Boom!!!

Golden flames instantly engulfed all the space inside the surrounding small store.

The crocodile-head was the first to be swallowed.

Then came the surrounding shelves, merchandise, ground, lights, counters, walls...

Everything was completely submerged and devoured by the fully released golden flames at this moment.

Including Li Cheng颐 himself.

Puff puff puff puff!!

The windows and glass doors of the silent small store were shattered one by one by the flames and shockwaves.

The shattered pieces scattered all over the ground.

The golden flames rushed out of the doors and windows, spewing outwards for several meters before slowly dimming, turning into sparks, extinguishing, and dissipating.

Everything quieted down.

The small store was filled with thick smoke, and fires were burning everywhere.

The freezer was overturned, the shelves were charred, and the burning of some flammable materials further increased the temperature inside the store.

Some strange existences that had been hidden between the shelves of merchandise were also indiscriminately burned into black smoke and vanished.

In the depths of the smoke and flames, a golden-armored figure covered in flames slowly walked out.

The rhombus crystal between his eyebrows was slowly dimming the golden light of Hui Shan that had just been released.

"So, that's why I don't want to use this armor..."

Li Cheng颐 sighed.

Just wearing this Ultimate Floral Scale Armor would naturally cause indiscriminate destruction to the surroundings.

And he had long been aware of the situation here. Causing area damage to the silent small store and killing the other monsters hiding in the corners might allow him to survive this dead corner. But the next time, the difficulty would definitely increase significantly.

This was also the reason why he had always been reluctant to use the Ultimate form casually.

The silent small store was connected to another strange store. No one knew how many monsters were hidden within.

Unfortunately, there was no other way in the end.

He walked to a pile of fire between two collapsed shelves.

With a muffled thud,

a black arm lifted the still-burning shelves on the ground.

The crocodile-head slowly supported himself from the ground, shaking his somewhat dizzy head.

His body had shrunk considerably in size compared to before.

Obviously, the explosion had also caused him a lot of damage.

Finding Li Cheng颐 right in front of him, the crocodile-head opened his mouth and let out a silent roar, a claw grabbing fiercely at Li Cheng颐's head.

'Hui Shan.'

Boom!!!

The golden flames exploded, once again sweeping through the entire small store.

The blinding golden sparks spewed out of the broken doors and windows of the silent small store, like golden sand in the dark night sky, drifting away, dimming, and disappearing in a beautiful display.

A moment later.

The flames in front of Li Cheng颐 faded and dissipated.

The scene of the silent small store began to distort and blur.

With a thought, he quickly unequipped the Floral Scale Armor.

In the blink of an eye, the dead corner receded.

He had returned to his bedroom at home.

Standing in front of his desk, facing the window, looking at the scattered lights of the neighbors in the opposite building.

The pain in his left hand returned at this moment.

In the end, that crocodile-head didn't die, his body was just one size smaller. His tenacity was the strongest he had encountered among the dead corner monsters.

But he still got out.

It was time to go shopping.

It was just that while he got out, the merchandise he wanted to buy was gone, burned to ashes.

So many monsters in the corner crevices were caught in the crossfire, indiscriminately purified and destroyed.

Li Cheng颐 himself couldn't estimate how much the difficulty would increase next time.

He had used the ice-breaking method on the silent small store before.

But the outer layer of its walls was extremely tough. No matter what means he used, he couldn't break through or smash it down.

Otherwise, he would have simply broken the ice completely this time.

Exhaling, Li Cheng颐 gently grasped his left hand, and moved it.

The pain instantly intensified.

It was fractured.

He was ambushed by that crocodile-head at the beginning. The opponent's strength far exceeded his, and his forearm was broken even while wearing the Floral Scale Armor.

This was the first time he had encountered this.

"Looks like I have to go to the hospital."

Li Cheng颐 took out his phone and quickly contacted Da Xiong.

Fortunately, her family owned a hospital. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to explain this inexplicable injury to his family.

He just needed to have the bone set first, and then use the light radiance field to accelerate the healing.

After the call connected.

Soon, in less than twenty minutes, the phone rang again.

Li Cheng颐 quickly went downstairs and got into a business van, heading straight to Da Xiong's hospital.

Although he had the flower-language ability of light radiance field, which accelerated healing, a fracture was not a minor injury.

If the position wasn't set properly, accelerated healing could cause new problems, such as deformities.

Half an hour later.

Inside a small private hospital ward in Suiyang City.

Li Cheng颐 had one hand bandaged, fixed with splints, and hanging from his neck, while the other hand held a cup of fruit tea, which he slowly drank.

Rainbow Candy, Da Xiong, Dragon Gate Crane, and other members of the Garden of Fate had all arrived.

They all looked at the left arm hanging from his neck, wondering what had happened.

They didn't know that Li Cheng颐 had been using the silent small store to farm Jie Mao Fei Lian's flower energy.

Everyone thought that Li Cheng颐 had already escaped the silent small store.

So, they didn't quite understand his injury.

"Did Brother Cheng go in again?" Dragon Gate Crane blinked and asked.

"The signal was cut off for a while, he must have gone in. The point is, where did he go?" Rainbow Candy frowned.

"His arm is broken, it feels like we're done for," Dragon Gate Crane said in a deep voice.

"Can you speak properly, you idiot!?" Rainbow Candy slapped him on the head.

"No, I mean, we feel like we're done for..." Dragon Gate Crane covered his head, a little helpless. "I'm about to get my period."

"...Me too," Da Xiong followed.

"Me too," Da Hei also spoke up.

"What do we do now?" Rainbow Candy looked at Li Cheng颐. "Brother Cheng, do we need to switch out?"

"...I just broke a little bit of bone," Li Cheng颐 was speechless. "It hasn't reached the point of needing to switch out..."

"Then what do we do now? Three of us are about to get it."

At this critical moment, this sudden incident clearly made everyone doubtful about whether Li Cheng颐 could still help with flashing and investigating clues.

"It's okay, isn't there the exoskeleton? Don't worry," Li Cheng颐 said with a smile. After the bone was set, he could clearly feel his left arm healing rapidly under the effect of the light radiance field.

"That's true..." Da Xiong nodded. "Just one arm won't affect much. Everyone, don't worry."

"Did you think that I went into the dead corner to fight the monsters head-on?" Li Cheng颐 put down the fruit tea and laughed. "Even if my hand was fine, I wouldn't do such a thing, would I?"

"That makes sense," Dragon Gate Crane nodded. "Since Brother Cheng is okay, let's all leave. Let's go back and continue with the preparations."

"Don't worry, I'm here. I've already told the hospital to use the best nutrient solution to promote healing and absorption. It'll be fine in half a month at most," Da Xiong said with a gentle smile.

"Alright, alright, everyone, leave. Brother Cheng is fine," Dragon Gate Crane turned around and slipped out the door in a few steps.

This guy smelled of perfume when he came in, clearly having been out messing around so late.

The others, seeing that Li Cheng颐 was indeed okay, were relieved and said goodbye one after another, preparing to leave.

They had flown in from so far away in the middle of the night and had to go back and catch up on sleep.

"Oh, right, Candy, wait a moment," Li Cheng颐 said.

"What's wrong?" Rainbow Candy turned around.

"Could I borrow that adaptive life suit you used last time?" Li Cheng颐 had learned from her casual chats before that Rainbow Candy had survived by relying on the life suit to buy time.

So, he was very familiar with the suit's effects.

"I can lend it to you, but..." Rainbow Candy suddenly became a little awkward. "It's a women's model, and the customized shape isn't very suitable. Although it's made of elastic material, it might affect the concealment effect."

"Where is it not suitable? You guys are about the same size, aren't you?" Da Xiong interjected.

"..." Rainbow Candy stared at her and fell silent instantly.

"..." Li Cheng颐 didn't know what to say.

"Oh...sorry," Da Xiong said a little awkwardly. "Sister Candy, I've got a new shipment of breast-enhancing fluids, especially for you..."

"Ah!!" Rainbow Candy grabbed her face and pinched and twisted it.

Li Cheng颐, watching Da Xiong constantly begging for mercy and the two of them messing around, couldn't help but smile.

But in his heart, he was considering the risk of entering the silent small store next time.

This time, the difficulty had increased too much.

The strength of that crocodile-head was much stronger than the previous monsters.

So next time, he had to escape it completely.

'I can't continue shopping anymore. Well, it's just as well. I only need one more round of stroking the flower to completely complete the collection of Jie Mao Fei Lian.'

His intention in borrowing Rainbow Candy's life suit was to sneak in quietly during the flash and touch it before running.

As long as he was fast, his safety would be guaranteed.

He planned to flash into the silent small store once before he was forcibly pulled in next time, completing Jie Mao Fei Lian in advance.

In order to deal with the increased difficulty next time!

Otherwise, he had already had a hard time this time, and next time, it might be even more troublesome. What if that golden vertical pupil...

The amplification of the Floral Scale Armor was very strong now, but the improvement of his basic physical fitness was too slow.

(End of Chapter)