Blind Spot
Chapter 140 - 129 ideas three

Chapter 140: 129 ideas three

’Why her again? Could this woman be following me all the time?’ Li Chengyi watched her, feeling a vague sense of unease in his heart.

It wasn’t fear, exactly. Nor was it discomfort, but rather a strange sensation.

Zhuang Yijing looked at him softly from a distance. The night’s autumn breeze was already turning chilly, lifting the hem of her skirt slightly.

With her good looks and graceful demeanor, coupled with an air of scholarly elegance and her long hair fluttering gently, it should have been a beautiful picture.

But combined with the inexplicable evil thoughts he had just sensed, Li Chengyi felt a strong sense of contrast at this moment.

’Interesting.’

He pondered how to dispel these malicious thoughts. Zhuang Yijing, able to suppress her inner desires without any outward show, was unquestionably one of the strongest-willed people he had ever encountered.

Such a strong character was the most suitable to be used as fertilizer!

He was thinking about how to absorb this kind of evil thought, as it was his first encounter with lust.

Zhuang Yijing, however, stepped forward a few paces, her face showing a hint of confusion and concern.

"Uncle, auntie, may I ask what happened just now? I heard the noise and came over to see."

Her words were naturally directed at Li Chengyi’s parents.

This woman, who clearly had likely witnessed the event just now, was now putting on an innocent face as if she knew nothing.

Li Chengyi couldn’t gauge her intentions. Hearing his parents hemming and hawing, attempting to hide the truth of the sibling fight, he didn’t expose them.

While contemplating the situation, suddenly he saw Zhuang Yijing glance at him under the pale moonlight, a hint of an inexplicable smile in her eyes.

He nodded slightly to her and turned to leave, walking towards the farmland.

The parents still needed to comfort the sister who had been brought to tears, as parents always tend to side with the weaker one.

Because the strong do not need pity or protection.

In the past, the original owner often experienced this. But this was the first time he and his sister had switched roles.

On the way back, he encountered onlookers like Li Qingpeng and Zhao Funing.

"Hey, Li Chengyi, what was that noise just now? Sounded like someone was yelling?" Li Qingpeng asked.

"Don’t know, maybe a child was crying?" Li Chengyi replied casually. "Excuse me for a moment."

He nodded to the group and brushed past them.

The group vaguely felt that Li Chengyi was somehow different, but couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Chen Xudong felt it most acutely, as he was closest to Li Chengyi and knew him the best. He watched as his buddy underwent greater and greater changes.

In the crowd, Yuan Lai watched his retreating figure, seemingly wanting to say something but remained silent due to the number of people around.

What she actually wanted to say... was that her best friend Zhuang Yijing had approached her, asking for Li Chengyi’s phone number.

Even though Zhuang Yijing was her best friend, Yuan Lai did not admire her character or lifestyle.

The two shared common interests in academics and a love for reading, but differed in many other fundamental values.

Especially in views on love.

Using the word most liked by the boys to describe it—green tea.

Zhuang Yijing was a typical ’green tea’ type, and an old brew at that, having played with the feelings of countless boys.

Her favorite thing was to conquer those who seemed strong of the opposite sex, and then, just as they became utterly devoted to her and were about to step into marriage, she would suddenly kick them to the curb.

But it was too late to say now, and Yuan Lai planned to call Li Chengyi later, or send him a message as a reminder. After all, he was her childhood friend, and the other was her best friend; it was best to prevent certain things from happening if possible.

Watching Li Chengyi return to the lawn chair to sit down and rest,

The group continued towards the creek, but before they got there, they ran into Zhuang Yijing returning quickly.

"Jingjing, what happened over there? There was such a loud noise just now?" Yuan Lai immediately asked.

Zhuang Yijing’s nickname was Jingjing.

"Uh... I didn’t see anything." Zhuang Yijing shook her head, "When I got there, it was already over. It seemed like Li Chengyi’s sister was injured, might have sprained her ankle, and fell over. I saw it was all swollen."

Her expression was very natural, her look bewildered, acting as if she was just as clueless as they were, as if all her information was based on guesses.

"Really? Li Chengyi’s sister used to be an outstanding military academy student! Could she have sprained her ankle that easily?" Chen Xudong said in disbelief.

"I don’t know about that. Anyway, when I went to check, that’s what it was like." Zhuang Yijing still looked clueless.

"Seeing Li Chengyi just now, could it be that the siblings had a fight?" Li Qingpeng rolled his eyes, guessing with a smile.

The others didn’t speak, but all seemed very keen on gossip.

That’s how modern people are, tired from the daily grind, they relish a bit of excitement and love to follow gossip.

And in gossip, they are particularly interested in the affairs of those close to them.

Before long, the group reached the creek.

The first thing they saw was a field riddled with pits and holes.

The whole lawn was a mess, as if it had been pummeled by meteorites, looking like the surface of a barren planet.

The once uniform green space had completely lost its beauty; on closer inspection, there were at least forty or fifty pits.

"Are you kidding? Was this brawl really fought by people?" Zhao Sikai, who had always been quite inconspicuous, couldn’t hold back and was the first to speak up.

Although he was dark and thin, he was very interested and knowledgeable about combat, boxing, and military equipment on a regular basis.

He could be described as a professional enthusiast.

It’s often said that you’re most interested in what you lack. That’s exactly the case with him.

Seeing the condition of the grass, he immediately speculated about the intensity required to cause such damage to the ground.

"I’ve seen the strength of the top students in military schools, they all have to take and inject strengthening drugs, otherwise they won’t keep up with performance assessments. The better the Strengthening Injection, the easier it is to absorb, the better its effects, and the less side effects it has.

But most military students don’t have much money, so they choose the poorer or average ones.

These kinds of drugs all have one thing in common: they require a lot of training to digest and enhance the absorption of their effects.

I’ve been on tours and the marks left by their training and sparring were not as exaggerated as this place."

His exposition gave everyone a bit more understanding of the battle conditions of this place.

"So, Li Chengyi and his sister are pretty good fighters?" Zhao Funing asked curiously. She didn’t understand this at all.

"Yeah, pretty good," Zhao Sikai affirmed seriously, walking to a shallow footprint and squatting down to touch it.

"Looking at this mark, it should have been made by pushing back. You can see the imprint of the front half of the shoe sole here, the soil and grass have been stomped together, flattened out. This level of force is substantial! At least more than three Strengthening Injections."

"How strong? Military students are definitely strong, right? If I could take a Strengthening Injection, I’m sure I could do it too," Li Qingpeng said with a laugh, unconcerned.

"The absorption rate of the Strengthening Injection for ordinary people is only half. With relentless training, military students can reach eighty percent. You wouldn’t make it," Zhao Sikai shook his head.

"Why not? Isn’t it just about paying for the injections? Just take more and it’ll be fine, right?" Li Qingpeng, feeling slighted in front of a few girls, suddenly became dissatisfied.

"There is a limit to the number of injections a person’s body can handle. Because the body develops a tolerance, the more injections you have, the less effective they become. It’s like people who eat chili peppers; the more they eat, the more they can handle the spice. It’s the same principle. For them, the sensation of spiciness is actually constantly diminishing, and they need to keep increasing the spiciness to maintain that strong flavor," Zhao Sikai explained earnestly.

"Heh, what’s the use of talking so much? No matter how good you are at fighting, can you beat guns nowadays?" Li Qingpeng’s face showed difficulty upon this realization and he spoke up sternly.

"We’re all adults here, part of society. Nowadays, when conflicts arise, what matters are connections, relationships, background, and resources. If you really go face-to-face and fight someone, just wait to be sent to jail," he added.

Everyone nodded at this, because modern society indeed works that way. The national army is the strongest force, and no matter how strong you train to be, a bullet takes you down.

Although Li Qingpeng’s words were harsh, the logic was sound.

Among this group, his resources, connections, and background were the strongest, so his words subtly reaffirmed his position in everyone’s mind.

By this time, the creek bank had already emptied.

Aside from a few other groups of tourists who had come to watch the excitement, Li Chengyi’s parents had taken Li Chengjiu to rest far away.

"There’s nothing more to see, let’s go, head back and continue singing!" Chen Xudong let out a sigh and motioned for everyone to return.

Having satisfied their curiosity, the crowd gradually started to head back.

"Right, we’ve talked so much about Strengthening Injections, but what exactly are they? Are they really beneficial to people?" Zhao Funing asked with interest.

"Yeah, can we common folks buy some to enhance our physique? I feel like sitting all day is going to cause a slipped disc sooner or later," Chen Xudong chimed in with a laugh.

"Since Li Chengyi’s family can afford it, it must not be too expensive. I’ll look into it when I get back and see if there’s a way to buy everyone a dose to try the effects. I’ll organize the next gathering, consider it a benefit for those attending, so make sure you don’t miss out," Li Qingpeng generously declared.

"The cheapest Strengthening Injection... they are sold on the market, but you need to order in advance," Zhao Sikai suddenly spoke somberly, "one costs three hundred and eighty thousand..."

Silence.

Li Qingpeng, who had just been smiling, froze instantly.

Three hundred and eighty thousand for one dose!?

And just now, Li Chengyi’s sister had taken at least three doses, wasn’t that over a million!??

And with the siblings fighting so viciously, had Li Chengyi also taken them?

How much would that cost??

Everyone’s mind instantly calculated the rough amount, and they all took an inward breath of shock.

And Li Qingpeng’s offer to buy everyone a dose as a benefit...

Aside from him and Li Chengyi, there were five people present...

"The key thing is, taking a Strengthening Injection is very painful... really uncomfortable! And ordinary people who want to buy can only get one at most, as the authorities are cautious about selling them to prevent accidents. So those who can buy three doses, either have military school access or very strong connections and resources," Zhao Sikai delivered another blow.

This time Li Qingpeng fell silent.

Li Chengyi’s sister was a military school student, but Li Chengyi himself was not...

"Peng bro." Zhao Sikai patted Li Qingpeng’s shoulder, "The average price of a small-sized apartment in the provincial capital is around three million."

"....." Li Qingpeng fell silent, his expression turning increasingly sullen.

"But since their family has money, why are they still living in an old house instead of moving out?" Zhao Funing’s question rescued him from the cold winter all too quickly.

"Alas, they probably spent all their money on their children’s development. With that money, it’d be more practical to buy a few apartments. I made a mistake earlier, didn’t realize Strengthening Injections were that expensive and made everyone laugh, don’t mind me," Li Qingpeng quickly showed an expression of helpless embarrassment.

Although his words did smooth over the situation, his image had diminished quite a bit.

The girls’ good opinion of him suffered as well, for his previous demeanor had been too pitiable.