Hidden Dead Ends

“Yes, yes, everything you say is right, sis,” Li Chengyi replied, smiling.

“Don’t be shy! Alright, see you!” Chen Pi said, her voice a bit slurred.

“See you.” He closed the car door as she sped away in the taxi.

Li Chengyi stood there, debating whether to call a cab himself. But when he checked the price on his phone—18 yuan—he hesitated, feeling a bit reluctant to spend the money.

Remembering his ambitions to own a botanical garden and buy a Feiyi, every penny suddenly felt precious.

‘I really need to start making money.’

Turning toward the bus stop, he paused, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Across the street, near the entrance of a bar, he spotted a familiar figure in the bustling crowd—a blonde woman with soft, blue eyes, dressed in a white long-sleeve top and pants.

Marianne!

He recognized her instantly. Even though she hadn’t revealed her face fully when visiting his house, her distinctive golden braid and calm, gentle aura were unforgettable.

Marianne was talking to a tall, slender Black man. She wore a slight smile, while the man seemed anxious, gesturing animatedly.

Sensing his gaze, Marianne glanced over, meeting his eyes. She smiled warmly at him.

“Who’s that?” The Black man followed her gaze, frowning.

“It’s the little genius’s brother. What a coincidence,” Marianne replied with a smile.

“Li Chengjiu, right?” The man furrowed his brow.

“Yes. She has a lot of talent but a terrible attitude, making enemies left and right. In this business, without financial backing, you’re nothing. She’s arrogant, thinks her talent and hard work will break through any barrier, but unfortunately…” Marianne glanced at Li Chengyi, watching him walk away slowly.

“I can’t stand her—sharp-tongued, hot-tempered. Didn’t she say she wouldn’t care even if we wiped out her whole family?” the man said, mocking Li Chengjiu’s tone.

“At first, yes. But when I went to her house, prepared to take action, she backed out at the last minute.” Marianne adjusted her collar, covering more of her exposed chest.

“Pathetic. If she couldn’t give up everything, she shouldn’t have made such bold claims. Instead, she just revealed her weakness,” the man sneered.

“Actually, I think she genuinely didn’t care at first. Selfish, temperamental, yes, but in the end, she probably realized that once certain things are gone, they’re gone forever. There’s no going back, no regrets to undo it. That’s why she changed her mind.”

Marianne turned, walking away under the streetlights.

“Let’s go.”

“Go? What about my money? My pay?! You promised me commission!” the man suddenly remembered his purpose for being there, following her excitedly.

“Why ask me about your pay? Isn’t all the funding in the group?” Marianne responded dismissively.

The two figures gradually disappeared around the corner, their silhouettes vanishing under the streetlights.

Once they were out of sight, Li Chengyi finally turned back toward the bus stop.

He took the bus home, exchanged a few words with his parents, and then went to bed, lying down with the sounds of passing cars outside his window.

Strangely, those sounds, which he used to find noisy, now brought a sense of comfort. At least he could hear them, a reminder that he was still in reality, not trapped in a dead-end realm.

Lying with his hands behind his head, he stared at the ceiling, pondering his choice for the second flower deity.

‘Since the strength of the Flower Scale Armor doesn’t hold up against modified humans or Intellective Engineers, my choice should center on flower language.’

‘Flower language… ideally, it should complement my current skill, the Enchantment of the Hand, forming a system that covers attack, defense, and recovery.’

Closing his eyes, he recalled Ding Ning’s demonstration of the ultra-fast Feiyi.

‘That speed… no ordinary person could react to that. If I ever faced such an opponent, what would I rely on for protection?’

He racked his brain but couldn’t think of any effective defense.

‘I guess the only way would be to attack first and eliminate the opponent.’

At this point, he had no idea how to counter Feiyi.

Whether it was gladiolus, round-leaved morning glory, pure white floribunda rose, Spring Erigeron, or crepe myrtle, none seemed fast enough.

Previously, he had favored the floribunda rose because of its “Dawn of Despair” flower language, which was incredibly useful for exploring dead-end realms.

But on reflection, he realized that Dawn of Despair only activated in moments of desperation.

This meant it was only useful in certain situations—only when he was forced into a corner. 

If he had a moment to react, that might be fine. But if he were killed before he even had a chance to feel despair, it would be pointless.

‘So…’ Li Chengyi sighed inwardly.

‘It seems there’s only one optimal choice.’

With this realization, his mind settled, finally bringing a sense of calm.

He slept peacefully that night.

The next morning, before six, he was already up, speeding toward the botanical garden.

This time, he went to Dongsheng Botanical Garden, the one closest to his workplace, where he had first tried his random flower-touching experiments.

Compared to Wanhe Botanical Garden, Dongsheng was much smaller. Its entrance was no different from an ordinary park, with no ticket booth, just an automatic ticket scanner.

Inside, three paths branched off toward separate gardens: Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Rose.

They also had a rose section, though it was smaller than Wanhe’s and not as well-organized.

Li Chengyi quickly chose a path, practically jogging down the quiet road.

Soon, he reached a field of red, yellow, purple, and white flowers.

In the early morning, the only other people were two staff members wearing face masks and spraying pesticide.

Taking a deep breath, Li Chengyi approached the field.

He reached out toward the nearest flower—a pale yellow bloom.

‘Yellow Gladiolus: Also known as sweet flag, named for its sword-like leaves. The bulb has medicinal properties, bitter and cooling, it clears heat and detoxifies, often used for treating mumps and lymphadenitis. Prefers warmth, dislikes cold, and needs long sunlight hours. Blooms from July to September.’

‘Flower Language: Fortitude (Upon activation, greatly increases physical and mental resilience. Each use lasts fifteen minutes and requires an hour’s cooldown.)’

‘Flower Scale Armor Collection: Would you like to designate this as the primary flower for the second flower deity?’

This was it!

Li Chengyi had considered other interesting flower languages, but after witnessing Feiyi’s deadly speed, he knew he needed something that boosted his real combat capabilities.

Gladiolus’ fortitude flower language might seem like a temporary defense ability, but it had a hidden potential.

The strength of the Flower Scale Armor depended on the wearer’s physical toughness. This meant that activating Gladiolus’ fortitude could significantly increase the Flower Scale Armor’s defense.

This dual-layered boost would give him unimaginable enhancements.

Of course, this was only possible if his hypothesis was correct.

But regardless, Gladiolus was the flower language that would most quickly improve his combat strength.

Confirming his selection, he watched as his right hand slowly glowed yellow.

The light matched the hue of Gladiolus petals.

A cooling sensation flowed from his fingertips into the grid on the back of his hand.

At the same time, he noticed a change in the Flower Scale Armor’s status.

‘Flower Scale Armor Collection: 1%. Evolution Potential: 3 (Each unlocked flower deity slot grants +1 evolution potential for all primary flowers. Note: Flowers have inherent limits and cannot be forcibly evolved beyond their ultimate form.)’@@novelbin@@

Impressive!

Li Chengyi hadn’t expected such a change—an additional evolution potential. Could it be that his Wisteria could evolve further?

He reached out and touched the first grid.

Immediately, Wisteria’s details appeared.

‘Second Evolution Status: 0%. Evolution Potential: 3.’

As he read this, his eyes lit up with excitement.

He had already seen the strength of Wisteria, and now it had an additional evolution potential. If he could eventually unlock all the flower deity slots, he could elevate it to an extraordinary level.

Initially, he had worried that as he grew stronger and obtained more powerful Flower Scale Armors, Wisteria might become obsolete.

But now it seemed the increased evolution potential was an indirect boost.

With that worry put to rest, he focused on increasing Gladiolus’ collection to 100% to fully unlock its flower language.

He set off, methodically touching each Gladiolus in the field, moving in circles to avoid missing a single one.

The morning passed by quickly.

He bought some snacks—a couple of hot dogs and a pack of sandwich cookies—from a stand near the botanical garden’s entrance and continued his search.

By 3 p.m., he had finished with all the Gladiolus at Dongsheng, reaching a collection level of 73%.

He then headed to Wanhe Botanical Garden, where he’d previously found the crepe myrtle and floribunda rose.

Arriving around 4 p.m., he quickly purchased a ticket and headed straight for the Gladiolus section.

Near the sunflower garden, he found a large Gladiolus field.

Without hesitation, he dove in, touching each flower he could find.

Cool energy flowed into the Flower of Malice with every touch.

78%.

82%.

89%.

94%.

100%!

Within minutes, he stood frozen, stunned.

On the back of his right hand, the second grid of the Flower of Malice

 began to glow a soft yellow, revealing a delicate image of Gladiolus.

A strange feeling swept over him. He could now sense the new flower language ability as clearly as he could lift his arm or nod his head.

He could also mentally switch between Flower Scale Armors, adding a prefix to summon a specific one.

For example: Wisteria Scale Armor, Gladiolus Scale Armor.