Huff.
Huff...
Huff...
His vision blurred, everything shaking around him.
It felt like something viscous was leaking from his eyes.
Li Chengyi quickly wiped his face with the back of his hand, feeling a sticky liquid trickling down his cheek.
Red.
A thick streak of bright red appeared on the back of his hand.
I'm bleeding...
He bent down, his chest burning with intense pain, a sharp stabbing sensation coursing through his body.
He wasn't sure where he was injured.
But...
He had survived.
Survived.
Li Chengyi straightened up, gasping for air, looking around at the now completely vanished giant face.
After it was torn apart, it vanished like a mirage, without a trace, as though it had never existed in the first place.
He bent down and tried to find any remnants on the ground, but strangely, there was no debris at all. Not only were there no remnants, but even the black smoke that the face had emitted had completely dissipated.
If it weren't for the dust falling from the ceiling due to the vibration of the sound waves, he might have suspected that everything he encountered was just a hallucination.
It should be safe now.
No, I haven't left yet! He closed his eyes, trying to ease the sting in his eyes, standing still for a brief rest.
However, after just a few seconds of resting, he felt something was wrong.
The armor—the Flower Armor—that had formed around his body was slowly growing lighter.
What's happening!? He quickly opened his eyes and raised his hand, examining the armguard.
Indeed, the wisteria Flower Armor was gradually fading, becoming transparent.
At that moment, he noticed that the armor was covered in tiny cracks all over it.
Clearly, it had taken some damage during the fight with the giant face.
It had only been holding together until now, and the feedback was finally showing.
Rattle.
Finally, after a few seconds, the entire Flower Armor shattered, turning into countless wisteria petals that faded away into nothing.
Li Chengyi collapsed to the ground, feeling the exhaustion hit him all at once. When he had been wearing the Flower Armor, his body felt full of energy and everything seemed easy.
Now that the Flower Armor had vanished, the fatigue in his body surged to the surface.
An overwhelming emptiness washed over him as if he had lost his protective shield.
In this environment, having just encountered a danger, the sudden loss of the Flower Armor made the sense of relief he had felt earlier tighten into anxiety.
Does it have temporary boosting abilities?
He didn't panic but analyzed calmly.
The danger had temporarily passed, and the need for the armor wasn't as urgent.
The key now was the information from the wisteria Flower Deity slot, which indicated: the Flower Armor had been damaged and would need to absorb more wisteria flowers to repair.
After resting for a moment, feeling slightly better, Li Chengyi stood up and began collecting the scattered bags around him.
Some of the compressed biscuits had rolled out and scattered across the floor.
While bending down to collect them, he remained vigilant, keeping an eye on his surroundings.
He was particularly cautious about the small maintenance door where the giant face had appeared earlier.
Soon, everything was packed back into the bag.
He sighed in relief, feeling the dried blood on his cheek. He carefully peeled it off.
With the bags in hand, he quickly surveyed the area, finding a spot near the wall and sitting down.
Leaning against the wall, he scanned the surroundings.
The explosion of energy earlier wasn't just physical; it had also drained him emotionally. Plus, he had already burned a lot of energy running in earlier. Now, he felt exhausted, and a wave of drowsiness was creeping over him.
But he couldn't afford to sleep. In such an unfamiliar place, he didn't know what would happen if he fell asleep. If a giant face showed up and killed him while he slept, that would be the ultimate unfair fate.
Under the cold white light, in the corner of the gray-white walls, he crouched down, putting the hood of his gray workout jacket over his head to keep warm.
The cool, steady breeze continued to circulate, quiet and peaceful.
He took a nut chocolate bar from his pocket, tore open the packaging, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The dark plastic wrapper was covered in messy letters and a random brand logo. He took a bite, frowning slightly.
It tasted awful—too sweet, almost overwhelming, and there were barely any nuts.
After finishing a piece, he paused and opened a bottle of purified water to wash it down.
The faint smell of cement from the walls filled the air, the cool breeze carrying it straight into his nostrils, causing an itchy feeling in his nose.
Now that things had calmed down, Li Chengyi had time to reflect on everything that had happened.
Although I'm not sure how powerful that giant face was, as long as the Flower Armor can save my life, that's enough! Unfortunately, now the Flower Armor has shattered, and I'll need to find more wisteria flowers to repair it.
He raised his hand again, carefully looking at the purple-black ring on the back of his hand.
Although the Flower Armor had broken, he could still feel the floral language abilities were available.
With just a thought, a thin, invisible membrane would quickly cover his right hand.
This membrane, according to the information from the floral language, would cause any living being it touched to become temporarily mesmerized by a specific thing.
However, since there was no Flower Armor to amplify the power, the floral language ability could only have a partial effect.
Entranced Hand...
If I can distract that giant face, even without the Flower Armor, as long as I act quickly, I should be safe.
But this ability only worked in close proximity, making it extremely dangerous. He wouldn't know if it would even work on the giant face until he had a chance to try.
He hoped he would never have to try.
Because close-range attempts were a death sentence.
That face—he still didn't know if it was a creature. What if it didn't work?
Sitting there, resting for a while, Li Chengyi felt his stomach growl and a wave of urgency wash over him.
He immediately looked around and spotted a pillar nearby.
There were round stone pillars scattered throughout the parking garage, seemingly for support.
Li Chengyi walked over to one of the pillars and, without wasting time, zipped down his pants to relieve himself.
As he was finishing, he suddenly heard a faint sound from the maintenance door on the side.
Click.
Even while urinating, Li Chengyi kept his eyes on the nearest maintenance door.
Hearing the sound, his whole body stiffened. He quickly zipped up his pants and ran forward without thinking.