Blind Spot
Chapter 183 - 172 Fusion 4 (Alliance Hierarch Xie Lan Die’s Wing)

Chapter 183: 172 Fusion 4 (Alliance Hierarch Xie Lan Die’s Wing)

Li Chengyi stepped forward and picked up the damaged tablet computer.

The computer felt somewhat moist, as if it had been soaked in water.

He lifted it and sniffed, catching a faint, briny stench of seawater.

Having been stable for so long because of successfully resolving one Blind Spot after another, everyone had somewhat let down their guard against Blind Spots.

But now...

It was too fast. In just ten minutes, everything was over.

Although Li Chengyi was a High-Frequency Blinker, he couldn’t guarantee he could always step in to help within ten minutes.

More crucially, he hadn’t expected Da Hei to not even last ten minutes.

In this moment, everyone deeply realized that Blind Spots were becoming increasingly difficult—a critical factor.

"We can’t go on like this...." Li Chengyi looked at Rainbow Candy.

"Even if we can’t find a way to completely eliminate the Blind Spots, we must at least find a way to prevent their difficulty from increasing!" he said gravely.

"Yes!" Rainbow Candy and Da Xiong responded at the same time.

As expected, Da Hei was gone. The little team that had been all smiles and harmony was now down one member, and one person had lost a hand. If not for Li Chengyi’s timely rescue, Da Xiong would probably be gone as well.

Having been at ease for so long, everyone seemed to have forgotten how terrifying Blind Spots could be....

Rainbow Candy was the only one who had managed to survive the premonition on her own, owing to her equipment, strength, intelligence, bravery, and attention to detail.

The others might have had the intelligence, but some Blind Spots didn’t give you any time to think.

Once technological equipment was limited... the outcome was essentially predetermined.

The death of Da Hei and the ordeal of Da Xiong and Dragon Gate Crane struck the entire squad like a bolt of lightning, jolting them awake from their previous comfort.

In the following days.

Da Xiong and Rainbow Candy went to other provinces to investigate the Blind Spot hot spring and search for a way to break free.

Li Chengyi and Xiao Zhong helped Dragon Gate Crane investigate the Blind Spot clues of the soccer field.

Luckily, their bad fortune didn’t continue to spiral, and at the hot spring, they found the original site—a hot spring resort that had been gradually abandoned and closed more than sixty years ago due to the drying up of the spring waters.

The owner, due to a broken capital chain and the inability to bear the heavy loans, set fire to his own shop and slit his wrists, committing suicide in his own hot spring pool.

After many twists and turns, Rainbow Candy managed to find the former neighbors of the hot spring resort and, through two surviving children who had played hide-and-seek inside the resort, found a way to break free from the Blind Spot.

Things were a bit more complicated for Dragon Gate Crane. But they also found a suburban soccer field that had become deserted.

The only difference was, this field wasn’t for human players; it was for robot soccer.

More than thirty years ago, an incident occurred where one of the playing robots suddenly went berserk under hacker control, rampaging and slaughtering the surrounding spectators.

The tragedy resulted in thirteen dead and five injured.

They, too, successfully found the original site and a way to break free.

December 30th, New Year’s Eve.

Inside Everpeace Garden.

The Garden of Fate Squad gathered together once more.

Outside, the night sky was incessantly pierced by fireworks, bursting open into various shapes of flowers, words, and even animals and buildings.

But in the lobby on the first floor, the five of them were silent.

Da Xiong’s shoulder was wrapped in bandages, the result of a burn from the last escape from a Blind Spot.

Dragon Gate Crane had a mechanical leg, having had his left leg ground to bits by an invisible robot during the Blind Spot escape.

Time passed by silently.

Until the hanging clock on the wall gave a soft chime.

24:00 sharp.

Bang!

Rainbow Candy slammed her hand onto the coffee table.

"What’s the deal!? Da Hei is gone, and now we’re just waiting around to die one by one?"

Her beautiful eyes swept over the group.

"Didn’t we all know from the start how terrifying Blind Spots are!? What is this, everyone acting so scared and frightened? Who are you putting on a show for?! Does being afraid help? Will it stop eating you if you’re scared?!"

"I’m not afraid to die,"

Rainbow Candy continued, her gaze firm, "but that doesn’t mean I want to die!"

With a bang,

she stood on the coffee table, legs astride, looking down at them imperiously.

"If I must die, it will damn well be on my own terms! No one can control me! Not even the Blind Spot!"

She tore open her white blouse at the chest and pulled out a black rubbery water pouch-like object from her bra, tossing it onto the coffee table.

"Weibang energy t10 enhanced liquid bomb. If I have to die, it’ll be by my own explosion."

"I’ve lived so many years, and apart from having no breasts, there’s nothing else I’m afraid of!"

"Let’s find the clues," Xiao Zhong said, her eyes red and swollen, suddenly speaking up. "Let’s find the clues to completely break free from the Blind Spots. I want to be normal! An ordinary person who can get married, have children, and live a quiet life!"

"Me too," Dragon Gate Crane, unusually somber, said, "Wasn’t that our goal when we first came together?"

Bang!

"Then let’s do it, damn it! We can’t continue to live in ease like this!" Rainbow Candy slammed the table again, shouting out loud.

"Sister Tang! You’re right! Damn it! What’s dying, right!? Tonight I’ll come to your room..."

With a bang, Dragon Gate Crane was sent tumbling to the ground with a kick and rolled twice, shivering in pain.

His new left leg, still not fully adapted, and his arm hadn’t completely healed either. That truly hurt.

"My brother... he might not be dead! Anyway, if we head in this direction, it can’t be wrong!" Xiao Zhong stated earnestly.

"I believe in Sister Tang." Da Xiong said softly and resolutely.

"Brother Cheng, what do you think?" Rainbow Candy finally turned to the silent Li Chengyi.

"During this Blind Spot buffer period, we’ll head to Yunshan County. According to the clues my boss once provided, his son Lien is very likely just one step away from completely escaping the Blind Spot. We’ll start by following Lien’s route," Li Chengyi said.

"Who sent out this message?" Rainbow Candy challenged. "I’ve also investigated Lien’s case. He vanished mysteriously, even the backup memory banks for cloning were gone. Completely unclonable and unrecoverable. But just this alone isn’t enough to prove he’s only one step away from totally escaping the Blind Spot."

"My boss told me. I’ve had my doubts too, but regardless, Yunshan County is a must-visit," said Li Chengyi in a grave tone.

"You mean... the effect of the Blue Book itself?" Rainbow Candy knew quite a bit about the Blue Book, and instantly caught on.

"Correct." Li Chengyi nodded, "I want to try if a wish from the Blue Book can help us completely detach from the Blind Spot!"

A wish!?

Everyone perked up upon hearing this.

"Perhaps Lien had the same idea originally. He might not have succeeded, but he must have found some kind of clue from the Blue Book, otherwise, he wouldn’t leave a message on it!" Rainbow Candy inferred impulsively.

"Correct. So, the Blue Book, we must possess it!" Li Chengyi’s eyes narrowed.

After experiencing abnormal team member losses, he was once again awakened to the fact that the dangers of the Blind Spot were far beyond his previous understanding.

Even he, should he suddenly fall into the scenario of the last scene in the Silent Store.

Such difficulty, he feared, would kill him in an instant.

So, he must start preparing now!

As for the Blue Book requiring human sacrifices, weren’t those power-hungry murderers, the perfect expendables?

"This is quite the coincidence." Rainbow Candy took out her phone and brought up a message. "My dad wants me to go back, he found a trainer for me to work on my stamina during this time."

"But just now, the Jiu Yi Commissioner from Suiyang sent out an invitation to explore the Blind Spot to all surrounding areas. They’re heading to Wolf Cave’s Blue Book," she said softly.

"It’s simple, your dad wants to protect you," Li Chengyi said.

"But that’s just running away, no fun at all. My dad doesn’t understand me," Rainbow Candy dismissed carelessly.

"My family called me too, wanted me to come back for a gathering," Da Xiong followed up. "Seems like this exploration invite is very dangerous."

"Should be. So, if we’re going, let’s prepare thoroughly," Li Chengyi nodded.

He glanced at everyone.

"Actually, the best approach would be for you to stay here, and Xiao Hao and I can go. You haven’t undergone special training, facing danger, you won’t be able to respond in time."

"Brother Cheng, it’s come down to this, it’s just death," Xiao Zhong said seriously.

"Brother Cheng, don’t underestimate us," Dragon Gate Crane climbed back in, sat down, and grinned. "I’ve been training with guns continuously, my family doesn’t care about me, I smuggled some good stuff, kept training by myself. I may not be as good as you against the Blind Spot, but against people... heh, see my leg?"

He slapped his cybernetic leg.

"What? You’ve got a lot of leg hair?" Rainbow Candy glared over, startling him into a frozen expression, and he hurriedly explained earnestly.

"No, that’s not it... my leg holds something good."

Carefully bending over, he opened a small compartment on the side of his leg bone, scooping out a palm-sized black metal missile.

"Automatic Tracking Black Flying Fish Missile, cost me all my savings, but I got this one. Once launched, it can split into thirty smaller bomblets, covering all my designated targets!"

Dragon Gate Crane looked very pleased with himself.

"Nice!" His forehead was smacked hard by Rainbow Candy’s hand.

"Finally, some awareness!"

This was the first time Rainbow Candy praised him.

Although the slap was painful, Dragon Gate Crane still showed an almost contented expression.

The rest shook their heads internally; such a fine young man had gotten himself manipulated...

"Since everyone is aware, let’s go together," Li Chengyi said in a deep voice. "We don’t have the professional standing or resources that other forces do, neither in stealth nor in manpower. But our greatest advantage... is that they don’t know our true intentions!"

"So when we get there, hold back at first. Besides, just going there so openly would affect our future business and lives.

Therefore, we need to prepare uniform gear that can conceal our identities. Once outside, we cannot use our real names but code names instead, no objections, right?"

"Brother Cheng is thorough!" Da Xiong nodded first in approval, "I can provide special biological materials to create uniform gear that can withstand the Blind Spot. As for stealth, my family imports a large variety of materials and can patch together enough for our use."

"I can do the handcrafting, making outerwear uniforms isn’t difficult," said Xiao Zhong gravely.

They definitely couldn’t outsource the work.

"I can get hold of the necessary contraband equipment; high-grade shielding devices, penetrating communication devices, military exoskeleton modules, and the like, I have universal models for all of them! White Star quality, very efficient," Dragon Gate Crane chimed in.

"So, when we act covertly, we can’t keep using the ’Garden of Fate’ name, keep it simple, how about just ’The Garden’?"

"The name is too similar, it’ll lead to being searched and connected," Rainbow Candy rebutted, "Change it up a bit, how about ’Flowerpot’?"

"Let’s call it ’Flower Court’... ’Flowerpot’ sounds too, you know..." Dragon Gate Crane muttered.

"Then it’s ’Flower Court.’ As for code names, how about using our favorite flowers?" Li Chengyi suggested.

"Alright!"

"No complaints!"

"Agreed!"

They each extended a hand, Li Chengyi’s hand at the bottom, others stacking theirs on top.

Last was Rainbow Candy.

"Only we can decide our own fate!" said Li Chengyi somberly.

That was also a thought he had when he chose the name initially.

"Yes, only we can!" Rainbow Candy declared seriously.