Hidden Dead Ends

Chapter 12

The handle of the small door was turning as though someone was twisting it and wanting to come out.

Li Chengyi held his breath, rushed a few steps, pounced, and slammed into the small door without hesitation.

Bang!

He slammed shut the small door that was about to open.

As long as the door doesn’t open, that damn thing won’t be able to come out! This was the only thought in his mind.

He pressed his body firmly against the door, blocking the cold red maintenance door from opening.

Thump, thump, thump.

In the maintenance room, a heavy object kept hitting the door, making loud thuds.

Something was trying to push the door open and come out.

But after Li Chengyi slammed into the door, it was closed and locked again. The lock and the resistance of his full strength made it impossible for the small door to open.

Thump, thump, thump.

Thump, thump, thump.

The collisions continued without stopping, getting heavier and heavier each time.

The heavy impacts brought about vibrations that made Li Chengyi’s eardrums buzz, and his arm and shoulder pressing against the iron door began to feel numb.

He gritted his teeth, slanted his body, and pressed against the iron door, not daring to relax.

However, the impacts were becoming bigger and heavier, and the speed at which the impacts became stronger shocked him. No! I have to think of a way! If this continues, I will definitely die!

Previously, the Flower Scale Gear had helped him block a disaster. Now that it was damaged, he only had the Flower Language Ability left and couldn’t fight a human face head-on.

Moreover, the first time was a human face. Who could be sure that the second time would be the same?

What if it was some other troublesome monster...

I absolutely can’t let it out! Li Chengyi pressed against the door firmly as all kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind.

Suddenly, a thought popped up in his mind. Since I can only use the Flower Language Ability by touch, then... can I use it through touching objects?

I’m next to the door, and the monster on the other side is also next to the door. Does this count as contact?

As soon as this idea appeared, it quickly sprouted in his mind.

Should I give it a try?! He made up his mind. He quickly flipped his right hand and placed his palm on the door.

A cold and hard touch spread along his palm to his mind.

With a thought, an invisible and transparent layer of distortion quickly covered his palm.

As soon as the distortion came into contact with the iron door, it spread out evenly, seeped into the door, and disappeared.

Boom!

At the same time, another heavy impact came from behind the door.

But this time, the impact only lasted for a moment.

Li Chengyi felt that there seemed to be a line connecting his hand to the door and something behind it. It works! Next, touch what will captivate the target.

The complete effect of the Hand of Captivation had two steps.

First: Specify the target.

Second: Determine what the target is captivated with.

This was the first time Li Chengyi used it. He felt that the connection was like a thin thread that was continuously extracting his physical strength out of his body.

This extraction speed was very fast. It felt as though he were running on a track non-stop. In just half a minute, his stamina might be completely drained.

I have to be fast!

His mind was racing as his blood-stained eyes quickly scanned his surroundings. Without stopping, he pressed his right hand against the iron door in front of him again.

He was outside, so no matter what he specified, the thing inside would definitely come out.

Therefore, he might as well use this iron door as the captivation object!

Let the monster be captivated by this small door!

Over there was a bend leading further up.

With the shout, faint footsteps slowly came.

It seemed like this person was approaching this floor.

The footsteps were muffled, and they didn’t seem to be leather boots or hard-soled shoes but shoes with soft rubber soles.

Li Chengyi patiently hid behind the pillar, standing with his body turned sideways. He completely hid behind the grayish-white pillar with a diameter of half a meter and waited for the footsteps to get closer.

The tip of his nose was almost touching the rough surface of the stone pillar, and he could smell the faint smell of concrete.

As the footsteps got closer and closer, they became louder and louder.

“Is anyone here?” The female voice sounded again. This time, it was much clearer, and faint panting could be heard. Clearly, the woman was also a little tired.

Li Chengyi carefully exposed the corner of his eyes as he glanced at the bend, waiting for the woman to appear.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

Finally, a person slowly walked out from the bend in the distance.

It was a long-haired woman dressed completely in black and holding a brown and white checkered coat on her arm.

The woman looked around calmly, but judging from her constantly accelerating footsteps, she wasn’t as calm as she appeared.

“Is anyone here?” she called out again as she walked toward Li Chengyi.

As the distance narrowed, Li Chengyi gradually saw her appearance.

The woman’s skin was fair, and her facial features were above average. There were slight traces of plastic surgery at the corners of her eyes and chin. The arcs and lines were abnormally standard.

She had long black hair that reached her chest and a thin black trench coat on her upper body, making it impossible to see her curves.

She was wearing tight black pants and black platform shoes with heels that were as thick as half a palm.

Li Chengyi noticed that this woman was holding a large shopping bag in her hand. There was a mall logo on the outside of the white bag: the word Kanemina and a pure white garland surrounding it.

Kanemina was a shopping mall that appeared in Li Chengyi’s memories. It was a high-end shopping mall with high consumer traffic and was in the city center.

The summary characteristic was one word: expensive.

The woman walked for a while before stopping and taking out her phone from the pocket of her trench coat. It was in a black case with a pink cartoon cat pendant on the back.

She looked at her phone screen and seemed to be checking the signal.

After confirming that there was still no signal, she lowered it in disappointment, and her chest rose and fell more vigorously.

At this moment, Li Chengyi confirmed that she wasn’t a monster but a real living person.

Li Chengyi heaved a sigh of relief and glanced at the small door of the maintenance room that he had closed earlier. After confirming that there was no movement, he slowly walked out.

“Were you suddenly pulled in too?” he asked in a low voice. He had recovered some of his stamina, making his voice calm and powerful.

The more unfamiliar and unsafe the environment, the less people could show their weak side.

This was not a principle of life. It was just people’s instinctive defense of their sense of security.

“?!” The black-haired woman seemed to be frightened and took a step back when she saw someone come out.

At this moment, the two of them were about ten meters apart. She was more than 1.7 meters tall, slightly shorter than Li Chengyi. But this was due to the increased height from her exaggerated platform shoes. Her true height should be much shorter.

The woman was so frightened that her body tilted and almost fell back.

But she immediately stabilized her body, showing good balance. Then she stood still and looked at Li Chengyi with a pleasantly surprised expression.

“I finally found someone! Where is this place? Are you a staff member here?! Can you take me out?! I can give you money! Is a thousand dollars enough?!” she asked anxiously.

The calmness on her face completely dissipated at this moment.

Li Chengyi sized up the woman and glanced at the knees of her black pants and the back of her shoes.

There was fine white dust and traces of wear and tear in both places, indicating that she had fallen before.

In addition, the two of them were more than ten meters apart. Even from so far away, he could smell her peach perfume. It was imaginable how much perfume this woman must have sprayed on her body.

“Sorry, I’m not a staff member here, so I can’t take you away. Don’t you know what this place is by now?” Li Chengyi didn’t believe that this woman wouldn’t know this was a Dead End after two omens.

Even the stupidest person should know to search for information about that extremely clear omen experience.