Hidden Dead Ends - Chapter 16: Cooperation (II)

Bang, bang, bang!

After standing still for a moment, Li Chengyi heard gunshots approaching from the bend and hurried footsteps.

He knew that there was not much time left for him to choose.

I’ll take a gamble! He gritted his teeth and quickly rushed toward the gap.

Instead of placing his hopes on his almost exhausted stamina, it was better to try this crevice that suddenly appeared.

In this unchanging underground parking garage, this crevice that suddenly appeared was very likely the only variable that could allow escape.

Bang!

Just as he was about to rush into the crevice, a spark suddenly exploded on the wall beside the gap.

“Stop!” The voice of the man with the gun sounded.

“As expected… as expected, it appeared! Hahaha!” He rushed over from the bend and quickly approached Li Chengyi.

Clearly, he seemed to have known that there would be a crevice, but he didn’t know how to get it to appear.

“You!” The man aimed his gun at Li Chengyi while running. “Go lure that monster away!”

Only now did Li Chengyi see the giant human face chasing after the man.

The two-meter-tall, black-and-white human face was floating in the air with a dull expression. Black gas was emitting from the corner of its mouth, and it was even faster than the man.

The distance between the two was about ten meters, and as time passed, this distance was shrinking bit by bit.

And Meng Dongdong was gone.

Being aimed at by the gun, Li Chengyi’s entire body froze. He looked at the crevice in front of him but didn’t dare to move. Should I charge in or stay where I am and use the Hand of Captivation to deal with the human face monster?

The sound of thumping footsteps was rapidly approaching.

The man with the gun and the human face were swiftly approaching.

All kinds of thoughts flashed in Li Chengyi’s mind. Time seemed to slow down at this moment.

Large beads of sweat oozed out of his forehead, and the shiny sweat flowing down reflected the cold white light in the garage.

Some streamed across the bridge of his nose, while others flowed into his eyes.

But he didn’t dare to blink, or rather, he had forgotten to blink.

What should I do?!

What should I do?!

What should I do?!

His mind boiling, Li Chengyi looked at the approaching man with the gun and the giant human face.

Finally…

The man was about to run to the crevice, still pointing his gun at Li Chengyi.

“Lead it away! Fast!” he roared. Even his yellowish and smoke-stained teeth could be seen in his wide-open mouth.

The voice seemed to drift in and out from afar.

Die now, or maybe die later? Li Chengyi knew that he had no choice.

“Ah!” He gritted his teeth and let out a low growl that only he could hear.

His blood vessels seemed to explode, and his eyes turned red.

Li Chengyi suddenly turned around and rushed at the giant human face monster at full speed.

Whoosh.

In an instant, he brushed past the man with the gun.

His hand gently brushed against the man’s arm.

Then without stopping, he pressed against the right wall.

Thump!

Activating Flower Language Ability!

Flower of Evil · Hand of Captivation!

An invisible connection instantly connected the man to a wall.

The man screamed as he was involuntarily pulled by an external force and pressed against the wall, unable to move.

The gun fell from his hand and hit the floor.

Li Chengyi quickly turned around and rushed into the crevice without looking back.

Click!

Scarlet blood splattered from behind, dyeing the white wall behind him red.

Immediately after, there was the soft sound of chewing, accompanied by the crunching sound of bones being chewed.

Li Chengyi’s entire body was almost totally exhausted, and his stamina was on the brink of depletion, but his mind was unprecedentedly calm.

He turned sideways and scuttled into the crevice.

Outside the crevice, the giant black-and-white human face was lifting a muscular human leg and stuffing it into its mouth.

Blood gushed out from the severed leg and splattered all over the floor.

With the ear-piercing chewing sounds of the human face, everything in front of Li Chengyi began to blur and fade.

Darkness gradually enveloped his vision.

A deep sense of fatigue and dizziness instantly assaulted his eyes.

He couldn’t help closing his eyes.

Not long after, the ear-piercing sound quickly faded away, replaced by the sound of a slight breeze blowing against his ears.

The breeze was mixed with the fragrance of flowers and grass.

Whoosh.

Li Chengyi opened his eyes.

He was standing in the middle of the running track in the park in a daze, not knowing how long he had been standing here.

He came out.

This sudden fact didn’t make him feel any more relaxed.

Standing on the spot, he lowered his head, and his pupils dilated slightly.

In the darkness, a breeze blew, causing his black hair to flutter to the left.

Under his hair, a pair of eyes with traces of blood remaining reflected the dim lights around him.

I’m really out… Li Chengyi raised his hands, crouched down silently, and covered his face.

He didn’t know why he was like this. He only knew that he was very, very tired.

Furthermore…

Some things seemed to have completely changed the moment he turned around and decided to use the Flower Language Ability.

Click!

Under the dim moonlight, a pair of dark brown high-top men’s leather boots quietly walked in front of him.

The outside of the boots had two rows of silver metal buckles, and the insteps were as smooth as a mirror, faintly reflecting Li Chengyi’s distorted figure.

“Looks like you’re lucky.” A deep male voice sounded in the darkness.

Immediately after, a lighter lit a cigarette. A red dot quickly lit up, and a slender stream of smoke dispersed with the wind.

“… Although it’s only temporary.”

Li Chengyi silently unclenched his hands and slowly raised his head. The corners of his eyes began to bleed again.

Two bloody streams flowed down the sides of his face, drawing two red lines.

He recognized this person. It was the middle-aged man who had spoken to him in front of the cafe.

“Isn’t it over yet?” he asked, his voice low and depressed.

“Of course. Perhaps it will never end,” the man replied and took a puff of his cigarette. “I didn’t have any hope for you at first, but I didn’t expect that among the few candidates I found, you were the only one who survived.”

He exhaled the smoke, threw away the cigarette butt, and stepped on it to extinguish it.

Then he looked down at Li Chengyi. “Twenty thousand a month, food and accommodation covered, weekends off, working hours from nine a.m. to five p.m., salary paid daily.”

He reached out his hand. “Do you want to be my assistant?”

“…” Li Chengyi was stunned. The silence just now had allowed him to regain some stamina.

He looked at the hand stretched out toward him.

The palm stretched out from the sleeve of the black coat had pale yellowish skin, loose, old, and dim.

The nails were trimmed extremely neatly, and there was a faint smoky yellow in the middle of his index and middle fingers.

At close range, he could even smell the faint spicy and pungent smell of smoke.

Li Chengyi didn’t smoke in his previous life, and it was the same in this life.

But at this moment, this unpleasant smell of smoke made him feel inexplicably at peace.

“I don’t know anything yet,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll explain everything that needs explaining to you. The first time you successfully leave, you have at least two months to rest,” the man replied.

“In addition, it’s impossible for you to find information about Dead Ends on public networks.” He smiled inexplicably. “Do you know how I found you?”

He didn’t say the following words, but Li Chengyi instantly understood.

The internet would leave traces.

“Don’t worry,” the man said. “My people have cleaned up your traces. Other than me, there’s probably no one else who can find you so quickly.”

“In other words, other than you, I have no choice?” Li Chengyi asked.

“There are at least five thousand people who may die in Dead Ends every year in our country alone. You are not unique, young man.” The man smiled. “Of course, you can also choose to reject me, go ahead on your own, and enjoy the last two months of your life. You can also call the police to seek help from the state. These are all your freedoms.”

Li Chengyi was silent.

He struggled to stand up and take out his phone to look at the time. It was 9:15 p.m.

All the supplies he had prepared were gone, left in the Dead End.

“I hope you’re not lying to me.” He finally reached out and grabbed the man’s hand. In order to understand Dead Ends as soon as possible, this person in front of him was undoubtedly a shortcut. “My name is Cheng Yi.”

“Sindra,” the man said with a smile. “You can call me Sindra, Mr. Li Chengyi.

“Let’s go treat your injuries first. If you delay any longer, it’ll be troublesome if your eyes are damaged. And I’ll show you what you’re interested in.”

He let go of Li Chengyi’s hand, turned around, and walked out of the park.

Li Chengyi exhaled, lowered his hand, stepped forward, and slowly followed.

At the entrance of the park, a black off-road vehicle was parked by the road.

The car seemed to be folded like paper and had sharp edges and corners. The two triangular headlights emitted bright white rays of light that hit the ground.

There was a triangular silver logo on the hood of the car, and above the logo were two silver words: Fog Flag.

The man walked to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and took out a metal first-aid kit and some injury treatment utensils.

He turned around and quickly treated the tears in Li Chengyi’s eyes.

Then he turned around and rummaged through the trunk. Soon, something that looked like a makeup pen appeared in his hand.

“Do you need to cover it up?” he asked.

“Is it useful?” Li Chengyi didn’t trust this.

“Very useful. I’ll disguise you so that your family won’t worry.” Sindra nodded.

“Then, I’ll give it a try.” Li Chengyi nodded.

“Close your eyes.”

Li Chengyi closed his eyes. Then he quickly felt something cold rubbing against his face, seemingly smearing something.

A few minutes later.

“Okay.” Sindra stopped and looked at the young man in front of him. He didn’t look injured.

“In just three minutes, you became a radiant and energetic young man again,” he said in satisfaction.

“…” Li Chengyi was speechless. He opened his eyes, took out his phone, and opened the selfie mode.

Under the night mode camera, there were no wounds on his face at all. Moreover, the tears at the corner of his eyes were still cold and very comfortable.

“The cosmetic has medicinal effects that can accelerate the recovery of wounds. It’s specially made and can’t be bought outside,” Sindra explained.

“Okay. What now? Can you give me the information about Dead Ends,” Li Chengyi asked calmly.

“What you should do now is to go home and have a good sleep, rest, and recover before doing anything else,” Sindra said. “Also, do you think phones are safe?”

“All paper?”

“Of course,” Sindra paused, “not.”

He looked at Li Chengyi as though he were looking at a fool. “Do you know how much information there is? Where can I find a place to put all the paper? Independent memory. Don’t you know about K drives?”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.” Li Chengyi turned around and left.

“Don’t you want to exchange contact info?” Sindra’s voice came from behind.

“I’ll wait for your call.” Li Chengyi didn’t turn around. Since the other party could even find his real name, how could he not find a phone number?

There was no response behind him, and he couldn’t be bothered to look. At this moment, the only thing he wanted to do was to go home, return to his room, and fall asleep.

But first, he would immediately repair the Flower Scale Gear!