Chapter 177 Forever Botanical Garden

In the early morning, the cool sunlight slanted across the greenhouse surfaces, reflecting a faint golden light.

Li Cheng颐 gently covered the soil around a white chrysanthemum and watered it with nutrient solution.

He suddenly understood why white chrysanthemums had been selling so well recently.

Because too many people had died.

No matter how high-sounding or grand the slogans of the Ideal Land were, they couldn't change one fact.

They brought death.

And a death that most of the people were unwilling to accept.

If it were a chaotic world, it would be one thing, but in a stable country like Yi, to carry out such terrorist attacks was truly disregarding everything for their own ambitions.

Coming back to his senses.

Li Cheng颐 straightened up and turned to look behind him.

Rainbow Candy was blowing bubble gum, wearing large headphones, and leaning against the wall by the door, shaking her head, seemingly immersed in the music.

"What brings you here again?" he asked.

"Just came to see you." Rainbow Candy took off her headphones. "Brother Cheng, the person you asked me to find has been located. Pretty good-looking, works at a karaoke bar."

"What's her family situation like?" Li Cheng颐's purpose was simple: he couldn't help in the Blind Spot, but he could help with some of the aftermath outside.

"Only has a younger brother with a rare disease, hooked up to a ventilator in the hospital, needs a large sum for surgery," Rainbow Candy replied.

"How much?"

"Eight hundred thousand."

"Can Da Xiong help reduce the costs?" Li Cheng颐 asked. "I'll cover the expenses."

"I'll ask." Rainbow Candy put on her headphones, pressed a button, and quickly got through to Da Xiong on the phone.

After asking a few questions, she nodded to Li Cheng颐.

"She said it's no problem on her end."

"Thank her for me." Li Cheng颐 nodded.

Helping her cure her brother's illness would settle the matter.

"Oh, right, I might have to go out for a few days. Could you help me watch the botanical garden?"

"No problem. But Brother Cheng, you should really hire a professional assistant," Rainbow Candy raised her eyebrows. "Preferably not one of us."

"I understand what you mean."

Blind Spot people were very unstable and could have accidents at any time, so a stable job like manager wasn't suitable.

But the botanical garden had too many secrets, and Li Cheng颐 didn't trust anyone else. He couldn't find a suitable candidate in the short term, so he had to wait for an opportunity.

Thinking of this, he felt an even stronger desire for a Hua Yu (flower language) ability that would increase trust.

If he had a Hua Yu ability to control the risks in this area...

Returning upstairs, Li Cheng颐 quickly packed what he needed to prepare.

He needed to think about where to test the Jie Mao Fei Lian (Bristle Awn Spiderwort) flower scale armor and Hua Yu ability.

There were surveillance cameras in the city, and making too much noise was not advisable.

After all, he had just registered with the Jiu Yi (Nine Rituals) commissioner and made promises.

'I still need a separate, hidden space.'

After thinking it over, he could only go to the wild wilderness outside the city.

But in this era, wild wilderness was becoming increasingly rare. Many places that were said to be wilderness actually had all kinds of people hidden within them.

Many people with shady backgrounds who couldn't make a living in the city hid and lived in the wilderness.

That was how Zhong Hui's small villa had come about.

He took out his phone, swiped back and forth on the map, and after searching for a long time, found a place between Suiyang City and Qinggang City that had no markings at all.

'This is it.'

Taking the things he had packed and leaving behind his phone and all electronic devices, Li Cheng颐 quickly went out.

He didn't take a taxi, but slowly strolled toward the area.

The botanical garden was already in the suburbs, sparsely populated, with only a few villages surrounding it.

After walking only a few miles, he was in an uninhabited area.

After making sure no one was around, he quickly sped up.

At first, he ran at a normal person's pace, but as the surroundings became more desolate, his speed increased.

The enhancement brought by the flower scale armor had already made his physical fitness far exceed that of ordinary people.

Whether it was strength, speed, physique, or endurance.

Twenty minutes later.

Li Cheng颐 left the main road and entered a forest on the side of the road.

Following the slope of the forest upward, he gradually climbed up a small hill, but didn't stop, continuing to hurry into the distance.

He continued to cross five or six small hills, stopping only in a dense forest with straight trees that were more than ten meters tall.

The ground of the forest was covered with fallen dead trees.

Yellow and black fallen leaves and branches were everywhere, some rotten, some broken into pieces, with weeds and small flowers of varying heights growing between them.

Li Cheng颐 casually picked a few wildflowers, mostly of the chrysanthemum family, dandelions, and purslane that he had picked before.

After confirming there was no fresh Hua Yu, he got up and looked around.

The surroundings were empty and fresh, and other than being a little wet, cold, and gloomy, there were no traces of human activity.

Streams of cold sunlight penetrated the forest and struck the ground, like slanted pillars.

'This is the place.'

Li Cheng颐 took a deep breath, raised his hand, and looked at the evil flower mark on the back of his hand.

With a thought.

Silently, strands of black shadows, like thin threads, climbed up from under his feet.

Soon, the shadows completely covered his body, turning Li Cheng颐 into a black man.

Buzz.

A faint sound suddenly spread.

Countless purple-red Jie Mao Fei Lian petals appeared in the surrounding area out of thin air.

The petals condensed into pieces of black armor, which fell on him.

Hands, legs, torso, head.

All positions were covered with pieces of armor that looked like scales.

In the blink of an eye, he was wearing a set of jet-black, hideous armor with small bone spurs protruding everywhere.

Taking out a mirror and looking at it, Li Cheng颐 was stunned.

Not because the armor was too black, but...

His helmet was completely shaped like a crocodile's head.

From a distance, it looked like a huge, hideous crocodile skull, its mouth open, engulfing his entire head.

To be more precise, it was as if his head was growing out of the crocodile's throat.

This strange feeling made him curiously touch the helmet.

Strangely, the material of the helmet was different from before, not purely hard, but mixed with toughness.

'So, those crocodile heads were indeed related to the Shadow Dragon?'

The appearance of this flower scale armor further confirmed Li Cheng颐's guess about those crocodile heads.

He held the mirror, hung it on a tree, and carefully examined the new armor on his body.

The armor was covered in black spikes, but these spikes were not long like the sword thorns of the sword orchid flower scale armor, but more like bone spurs.

Overall, it looked somewhat like the full body armor worn by ancient generals. There were small purple-red patterns on the shoulders, and upon closer inspection, the patterns were in the shape of Jie Mao Fei Lian.

His arms no longer had fingers, replaced by sharp black claws.

Li Cheng颐 casually clenched his hands to make sure the flexibility wasn't affected.

He casually swiped at a tree trunk beside him.

The fingernail on his right index finger passed through the tree surface without any resistance. He didn't even feel anything blocking him.

Chih.

A sharp scratch appeared on the bark, and a small amount of tree sap slowly seeped out.

'I don't know about the defense, but these claws are very strong.'

After thinking about it, Li Cheng颐 made a grasping motion with his left hand, and golden light flashed, golden sword orchid petals appeared, condensing into a short-handled golden sword.

A golden sword in one hand and claws in the other.

He scratched the golden sword with his claw fingernails.

Tzz.

A clear scratch appeared on the surface of the golden sword, and it was very deep.

'The sharpness is very strong! It can easily break through the protection of the sword orchid flower scale armor.'

Then, he picked up the broken golden sword and used the remaining blade to slash at the claws.

Puff.

The sound was like cutting leather.

A shallow mark was left on the claws.

But as soon as the golden sword was picked up, the mark quickly disappeared, as if it had never been there.

Li Cheng颐 was a little surprised and used more force, cutting hard at the claws again.

Puff!

Another muffled sound.

A deeper mark appeared on the claws, but that was it.

The mark disappeared again when the golden sword was picked up.

'The recovery speed is too fast... it's a bit like living armor!'

This was the first time Li Cheng颐 had seen a flower scale armor with self-healing capabilities.

The defense was also stronger than the sword orchid.

The sword orchid flower scale armor had already evolved once, and it still couldn't compare to Jie Mao Fei Lian.

While Li Cheng颐 was pleased, he also became more certain that ordinary flowers should be the first choice for Hua Yu in the future.

The strength of ordinary flower scale armor was a bit too different from these mutated flowers.

'In the future, unless it's a flower with a very powerful and rare Hua Yu, it's best to use mutated flowers as the main flower whenever possible.'

Of course, he also knew that not all mutated flowers were good, after all, they were too difficult to obtain and the cycle was too long.

After testing the weapons and strength.

He began to carefully feel the changes in his body.

After wearing the Jie Mao Fei Lian flower scale armor, he clearly felt that his whole body was cooling down.

Not just his body temperature, but also his mood and mentality. Everything cooled down completely.

The excitement and anticipation from before were completely gone.

It was as if his fever had broken and his body and mind were soaked in cool water.

'Unfortunately, I don't have professional equipment to test the data, so I don't know how much it amplifies the body. I guess I can only figure it out later.'

Li Cheng颐 skipped this step and focused on the Hua Yu.

'Next, determine the Hua Yu ability!'

He raised his hand, palm up.

'Hua Yu – Inferior Shadow Dragon Bloodline!'

As his thoughts activated.

A bone-chilling coldness instantly exploded from his heart.

The coldness was like an invisible light, instantly flowing through the blood vessels to the entire trunk, and into the limbs and head.

'Warning, once the bloodline Hua Yu is activated, it will begin irreversible physical changes. It cannot be reversed, it cannot be restored, please confirm whether to completely activate the Hua Yu?'

The information from the evil flower also flowed into his mind along with the coldness.

Li Cheng颐 was stunned.

This was a rare active feedback prompt from the evil flower.

This thing was like a semi-automatic program, it wouldn't actively remind you unless you touched certain areas.

But now it was actually issuing an active prompt...

Without hesitation.

'Confirm!'

Li Cheng颐 answered in his mind.

Hadn't he spent so much time and energy for this moment?

'Confirmation successful.'

The evil flower's feedback completely disappeared.

Instead, a large amount of coldness suddenly accelerated, circulating frantically throughout Li Cheng颐's body.

Puff.

He couldn't bear it and knelt on one knee.

His body felt as if it was freezing, becoming colder, more numb, and weaker.

Just as he was enduring the erosion of the coldness, in the surrounding forest.

Shadows in the forest, like living things, were silently flowing towards him.

Within a fifty-meter radius, all the shadows, like water, quietly separated a strand and gathered towards Li Cheng颐.

Buzz.

Faintly, the eyes of the crocodile head on Li Cheng颐's helmet gradually lit up with a red light.

(End of chapter)