Chapter 1 First Cry

This was the first time Li Cheng颐 had ever seen his sister cry.

He stood in the kitchen, holding a glass of water he had poured, watching Li Chengjiu tremble, crying uncontrollably, completely baffled.

"Okay, I'm going back. It's nothing." Marian gently patted Li Cheng颐 on the back.

"Everything will be alright...."

She released Li Chengjiu, sighed, and turned to walk towards the door.

Passing the kitchen, she smiled slightly at Li Cheng颐.

*Bang.*

The security door closed with a thud.

Li Cheng颐, holding the water, understood that there was no need to deliver it anymore.

He watched Li Chengjiu standing there, sobbing convulsively, and tilted his head back to finish the water in the glass in one gulp.

Li Chengjiu was willful, bossy, self-righteous, disregarding her parents and family, only knowing how to take from them.

Both the previous owner of this body and he himself had a terrible impression of her.

So, even seeing her cry now, he didn't feel anything. Perhaps the conversation just now might easily lead one to suspect that Li Chengjiu had some hidden secret, but the previous owner knew his sister – even if there was a secret, it would never be anything good or positive.

Instead, it was that sudden surge of malice that had come so inexplicably.

He had to remember that when he had Song Ran help him beat up those petty thugs outside, he only got a few points of malice at a time.

But just now, in a matter of seconds, the malice had instantly surged from 89% to 100%!

This terrifying speed was something he couldn't have imagined before. It had only happened when he first encountered Meng Dongdong.

But at that time, Meng Dongdong, cornered in a dead end, had generated a powerful and intense killing intent towards him. Only after he killed her was he able to absorb it.

But this time, Li Cheng颐 felt like he had won without lifting a finger.

'After the malice is generated, it has to be directly eliminated before it can be absorbed. That means, in that little bit of time just now, someone generated a powerful malice towards me, and then it inexplicably disappeared completely??'

Li Cheng颐 put down the glass, walked out of the kitchen, passed by Li Chengjiu, sat down at the dining table, and continued eating his breakfast.

He suspected that perhaps the source of the malice was that Marian from just now.

She had generated malice towards him in one thought, and then it had quickly disappeared due to some change in her thoughts.

That was very possible.

Thinking about the changes that had just occurred, Li Cheng颐 slowly peeled the eggshell and ate the egg bite by bite.

'No matter what, the first evolution of the Wisteria Flower Scale Armor is finally complete. Next should be the second evolution. Perhaps....'

No matter how the malice came about, the fact that he had absorbed it completely and it was enough was the best thing!

Next was to complete the second evolution, which would allow him to unlock a new Flower God position.

'Evolution complete, Flower Scale Armor enhanced, Flower Language enhanced.'

Suddenly, a new message flowed into Li Cheng颐's mind. The Evil Flower on the back of his right hand began to glow with a faint purple light.

One of the twelve sub-grids belonging to the second grid, right next to the wisteria flower grid, also began to glow with a new purple-black shimmer.

'Completing one evolution unlocks a new Flower God position. The second evolution does not provide any enhancements, only to increase the ability to fuse with external armor.'

'Second Flower God position unlocking....'

'Unlocked. Please select a new flower to fill the position.'

Li Cheng颐 was about to peel his second egg, but at that moment, his hand froze.

He had thought that he would have to evolve twice to reach the limit before unlocking a new Flower God position.

He hadn't expected that the purpose of the second evolution was only to fuse with external armor.

*Bang.*

The heavy closing of the door pulled Li Cheng颐 out of his thoughts.

He came back to his senses and realized that he was the only one at home. His sister Li Chengjiu had already left, not knowing where she had gone.

He didn't care. Instead, his heart was filled with anticipation for the new Flower God position.

What flower he should use for the second position, and what Flower Language he could obtain, was what he was most looking forward to now.

For a time, a large number of various Flower Language abilities flashed through Li Cheng颐's mind, data that he had collected from trying various things before.

Quickly eating the second egg, and swallowing the biscuit with a few gulps of milk, he quickly got up, grabbed a charging cable and power bank, and hurried out the door.

He entered the elevator, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the nearest botanical garden.

Twenty minutes later, at the entrance of Wanhe Botanical Garden.

Li Cheng颐 opened the car door, got out, paid the fare with his phone, and looked up at the entrance of the botanical garden.

The five large characters of "Wanhe Botanical Garden" were written in gilded letters and protruded outward. The ground was covered with gray-white square stone bricks.

The entire botanical garden was like a zoo, with people selling tickets at the entrance.

The gate was a two-story trapezoidal stone building. The lower right corner, with two simple white railings and a ticket-collecting middle-aged woman, formed a fast lane for verifying tickets.

Li Cheng颐 glanced over and saw that there were already more than a dozen people queuing in the lane, waiting to enter.

He hurried forward a few steps and looked inside from the entrance of the fast lane. He could see a long, winding white path.

The white path was about five meters wide, with flower beds planted on both sides, all planted with pansies and small yellow chrysanthemums, which were in bloom this season.

At a glance, dense clusters of yellow, red, purple, and white flowers swayed in the breeze, a beautiful sight.

Li Cheng颐 suppressed the anticipation in his heart, kept his face calm and composed, and quickly walked towards the fast lane.

He queued up and moved forward. After about five minutes, it was his turn.

Following behind two middle-aged women who were taking photos together, he received an admission notice and a map of the botanical garden.

"Over here, over here, friends of Group 3, come this way!" A young tour guide wearing a red hat shouted loudly with a megaphone in the open space to the right of the entrance, under a large tree.

"Uncles and aunties of Group 3, gather over here. If you need to go to the toilet, take care of it first, as it may be a long walk before we encounter the next one inside."

The tour guide shouted while handing out armbands to the people who gathered around.

Li Cheng颐 didn't walk behind them, but instead passed through the small tour group from the side, and walked forward along the flower bed on the right side of the road.

Most of the flower beds were filled with pansies and chrysanthemums of various colors.

He had touched pansies before.

But the varieties in front of him seemed a bit different. With the thought that he might encounter a new variant, Li Cheng颐 extended his demonic claws and gently touched a cluster of yellow pansy petals.

'Yellow Pansy: Relatively cold-resistant, likes cool temperatures, likes light. The length of sunshine has a greater impact on flowering. Medicinally, it can kill bacteria and treat acne, pimples, and allergy problems, etc. Flowering period: April-July.'

'Flower Language: Bittersweet (Activating the Flower Language will grant a two-sided coin. Flipping it, catching it in the palm, and having the front side facing up will grant good luck for a certain period of time; the back side facing up will grant bad luck for a certain period of time).'

'Flower Scale Armor Collection Rate: 1%, Number of Evolutions Possible: 1.'

A useless ability.

Li Cheng颐 withdrew his hand and sighed inwardly.

What he wanted most at the moment was the gladiolus Flower Language. He had searched for many flowers before, most of which were related to love and romance, which were useless to him.

Only a few, such as the gladiolus, had the rare Flower Language of 'Fortitude'.

The ability was also as the word implied, able to greatly increase the fortitude of one's body and mind in a short period of time, preventing oneself from being destroyed or shaken by external forces.

This was a divine skill that would be very practical if used well. Li Cheng颐 wasn't worried about anything else, only about how much this fortitude Flower Language would enhance.

Withdrawing his gaze, Li Cheng颐 walked forward along the road of the botanical garden, heading deeper inside.

The entire park was very large. In the distance, there were small lakes, hillsides, and wooden bridges.

It had the air of a sightseeing and tourist attraction.

However, perhaps due to budget issues, many of the park's facilities had aged, and some corners were broken and not repaired.

Along the way, Li Cheng颐 touched here and there. Although he had touched many flowers before, to prevent himself from mistaking them and missing out on variant flowers, he still touched them one by one.

This resulted in others who had entered the park with him having already disappeared, while he still stopped every few steps, touching every few steps, moving slowly and not even finishing the small path of the flower beds at the entrance.

Although most of the flowers he touched were repeats, Li Cheng颐 was still happy to do so.

Soon, a small flower with white petals and orange-yellow stamens attracted his attention.

In the flower beds, some weeds still grew beneath these artificially planted flowers.

Among these weeds, some of these small flowers that looked like chrysanthemums bloomed.

Li Cheng颐 didn't notice it at first, until he pushed the flowers aside a bit when touching the pansies, and then he saw these small flowers hidden underneath.

He thought it was a chrysanthemum. He had touched many chrysanthemums, but in order not to miss any possibility, he still reached out and touched it.

Anyway, there was no harm in touching it.

'Annual Fleabane: A herb of the Erigeron genus in the Asteraceae family. Seedlings can be used as green manure, and the leaves can be steeped for a diuretic effect. Extremely vital, seeds can germinate in large quantities within three days in a suitable environment, and seedlings can be seen within two days under extremely suitable temperatures.

Flowering period: March-May. Flowers close at night, and the flowering period usually lasts for a month or a month and a half.'

'Flower Language: Easy Adaptability (Passive ability, can quickly change one's physique according to the environment, allowing oneself to better adapt to the environment, and can obtain stronger survivability from the environment. Change adaptation time: two days)'

'Flower Scale Armor Collection Rate: 1%, Number of Evolutions Possible: Unknown.'

Easy Adaptability??

Li Cheng颐 was stunned.

This was the first time he had encountered this Flower Language. It allowed him to adapt to the surrounding environment within two days and obtain stronger survivability from the environment?

What did this survivability include?

He was very curious.

Judging from the vitality of this annual fleabane, the seeds could sprout in just two days, which was indeed impressive.

'But now it's already July, past the flowering period, so these small flowers are probably just remnants, temporarily not withered due to the temperature conditions.'

He was a little tempted. If he could obtain this strong adaptability, he might have a certain ability to protect himself when entering any dead zone environment.

Although the time was a bit long, requiring two days, couldn't it be evolved?

And wearing the Flower Scale Armor could also enhance the Flower Language ability....

'According to the data, not all dead zones are ordinary environments that are harmless to people. Some require facing great dangers upon entry: lack of air, high pressure, high radiation, etc. Without timely and adequate preparation for these harsh environments.... Then, this annual fleabane's Flower Language could play a huge role.'

Unfortunately....

Li Cheng颐 withdrew his hand, somewhat regretful. If he hadn't been burying himself in training to deal with the Gelius Parking Lot, he wouldn't have missed this small flower with a special ability.

He remembered that he had seen this annual fleabane everywhere on the roadside some time ago, in large quantities. If he could choose the second Flower God position and make it the main flower, perhaps....

Unfortunately, there were not so many ifs in the world.