Blind Spot
Chapter 257: Trip 239 heading to Three

Chapter 257: Trip 239 heading to Three

As the announcements resumed,

one by one, passengers took their seats.

The plane slowly tilted, ran, and spread its wings.

Whir!

Blue ash particles jetted out from the tail.

Under great propelling force, the entire aircraft suddenly soared, charging towards the distant sky.

Wow!

The slight vibrations seemed to have frightened a child in the cabin.

In the row of seats just ahead and to the right of Li Chengyi, a somewhat haggard woman in black was gently soothing the infant in her arms, trying to stop the crying.

Sitting beside her, a little boy was keeping his head down, engrossed in solving a Rubik’s Cube, silent. They were seated next to the aisle, looking like a family.

But the boy didn’t lift his head, as if he had long been accustomed to the sound of the crying baby.

The crying went on.

For a full half-hour, it remained loud and clear.

The woman in black rose apologetically to address the surrounding passengers.

"If you can’t control your child, don’t bring them out, okay? It’s affecting everyone’s rest! How can you have the nerve?"

"Could be hunger, why not give him something to eat and see?"

"I have a toy here; want to try?"

Finally, some of the surrounding passengers started to speak up.

Li Chengyi gazed at the stable cloud layer outside the window, wondering what it would be like if he were to fall from this height.

Could he survive intact?

He didn’t know whether the Wisteria Floral Dress’s jet flight could last that long.

Though he could fly, it was only for short distances and at a non-significant height. Nor could he maintain it for a long duration.

The crying was still ongoing.

The flight attendants had given the child several toys and some tasty snacks, but to no avail.

The mother and daughter sitting opposite Li Chengyi were getting irritated as well.

One was looking at the news on her phone with her head down, while the other simply put in earplugs for noise cancellation.

Click.

He unfastened the safety belt, stood up to have a look, and walked out from his seat.

From this angle, he could see the infant in the arms of the woman in black, crying with a face full of tears and snot.

Three flight attendants and two other passengers were close by, all trying to calm the baby, but to no avail.

Li Chengyi came closer.

"Perhaps he just wants a certain type of comfort. Not the kind from toys."

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and gently pointed in front of the baby.

Snap.

A crisp snap of the fingers.

The baby’s crying paused, seemingly captivated by his fingers, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Look, now he’s fine."

Li Chengyi smiled, and the invisible Radiance Field was condensed into a line, gently stroking over the baby’s body.

Gradually, the baby squinted, tilted his head slightly, and then, in less than ten seconds, peacefully fell asleep.

The few people gathered around uttered exclamations of surprise.

Such a challenging infant was calmed so easily with just a flick of a finger.

The three flight attendants exhaled in relief, stood up, and gave Li Chengyi a slight bow in thanks.

The woman in black also gave him a grateful look.

A few of the onlooking passengers, though curious about his method, were more relieved to be freed from the noise. Whatever the method was, as long as it achieved the goal, it was good enough.

"How did you do that?" asked the little boy sitting by the aisle, speaking up suddenly.

He only looked seven or eight years old but had a serious expression that made him seem like a little adult.

A black jacket, checkered shirt, jeans, somewhat yellowed black short hair, and a few small acne spots remaining on his face.

This was the entirety of the boy’s somewhat mature attire.

"When my brother cries, only my dad can soothe him. You’re the first, and the only foreigner who has managed to do it," the boy said softly.

"Maybe it’s because he likes me a bit more?" Li Chengyi said with a smile.

"Impossible. You must have something in your hand?" the boy guessed.

"Perhaps," Li Chengyi said, "Actually, I’m a third-rate magician, about to perform my personal rebirth show in Sutan. So soothing kids or the like is too easy for me."

"A magician? You don’t look like one," the boy shook his head. "Magicians have a lot of props, and their attire is usually elaborate, needing space to hide their tools. But I saw very clearly, you had nothing in your hands, not even sleeves."

"You’re very observant," Li Chengyi said, a bit surprised. A seven- or eight-year-old child with such keen observational skills was indeed remarkable.

"No, it’s just because my dad is also a magician," the boy answered.

"Is that so? What a coincidence," Li Chengyi laughed. "Then why didn’t he join you?"

"He stopped being a magician later on," the boy said. "He joined the military. To kill the baddies from White Star."

"Is that so? That’s great too," Li Chengyi smiled. "But Sutan isn’t exactly a safe place, you should have brought another adult along."

"Actually, my dad came with us too," the boy shrugged. Patting the black box he was holding in his arms, he said, "Here, he’s right here."

The smile on Li Chengyi’s face slowly faded as he glanced at the box in the boy’s arms, which seemed to be a finely made metal urn.

He didn’t speak again but just ruffled the boy’s short hair.

"Do you really do magic?" the boy asked again. "Magicians are rarely as strong as you."

"What do you think?" Li Chengyi suddenly stretched out his right hand, and with a flip—

Smack.

A white paper cup suddenly appeared in his hand.

The paper cup was thrown up, and he balanced it on the tip of his index finger, giving it a light flick.

Sshh.

The entire paper cup was abruptly sliced into three even pieces and fell.

"Did you see clearly this time?" he asked with a smile.

This was one of the small magic tricks he had specially designed to deal with performances.

In reality, it was all achieved through hand speed and the Golden Sword spikes of his Floral Dress.

"...This isn’t magic!" The boy’s eyes gradually widened as he insisted.

"No! This is magic," Li Chengyi asserted. "As long as you believe, it becomes magic."

"Okay, Paine, stop bothering uncle. You should get some good sleep, and when you wake up, we’ll arrive at Sutan," the lady in black quietly reminded from the side.

"I’m scared," the boy replied. "When I close my eyes, I feel like I’ll enter that place."

"It’s okay, mommy is here with you, right beside you. You’re as smart as your dad; you’ll be fine," the woman in black consoled him, her own eyes unwittingly revealing sorrow.

"I’ve checked the information, no one survives more than two years—so I think I should do more things I like while I can." Paine said seriously.

His words made Li Chengyi, who was about to return to his seat, pause in surprise.

"Death Corner?" he asked softly.

Paine gave a start, looking up at him. "You know about it?"

"Are you afraid?" Li Chengyi did not answer his question but continued to ask another.

It was his first time seeing such a young child entering the Death Corner.

At such an age, survival was almost certainly impossible.

"Very scared. But it’s okay, I’ll get used to it. Maybe I’ll meet my dad if I die this time," the boy trembled slightly, clearly not as nonchalant as he made himself out to be.

"You...this isn’t your first time at Death Corner?" Li Chengyi was taken aback, leaning in closer, asking in the gentlest voice possible.

"Third time," Paine answered.

Third time!?

Li Chengyi felt a jolt in his heart.

Having survived Death Corner multiple times himself, he knew all too well how dangerous it was.

Death Corner got its name because it literally means a corner of death, doesn’t it?

But how could a boy of only seven or eight years old have survived it twice? Or was it just a premonition? No, even premonitions are significant...

He couldn’t understand or even imagine it.

Consequently, the thought of returning to his seat faded, and he simply found an empty seat beside the boy and sat down.

"How did you get through it? As far as I know, Death Corner is very dangerous. Can you tell me more?" he asked quietly.

"I don’t know. But every time I go in, there’s a voice that tells me what to do, where to go," Paine replied.

"A voice? What kind of voice?" Li Chengyi asked again.

"I don’t know. I can’t really describe it. It’s like amidst all the chaotic noise around, suddenly there is a voice, clear and melodious, making me feel comfortable," the boy replied.

For a child of seven or eight years to describe it to this extent was already quite impressive.

This made Li Chengyi feel even more that the child was extraordinary.

"What’s your name?" he asked gravely.

"Paine."

"I’m Li Chengyi." Li Chengyi took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to the boy.

"Keep this. You might need it sometime."

The boy took the business card, bending down to have a closer look.

Suddenly, his entire figure blurred momentarily.

The blurring was so swift, like the blink of an eye, that even Li Chengyi with his excellent physical conditioning could barely catch the change.

Just a blur, and the clothes on the boy seemed wrinklier and his complexion paler, his pupils showed faint signs of scattering, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

"Sorry... I lost your card..." Paine said, looking down at his empty palm, stammering.

"It’s okay..." Li Chengyi gave him another card, "Did you just go in again?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes... but I’m not sure... it was like having a dream. I followed the voice and found my way out..." Paine said haltingly.

Li Chengyi touched the back of his hand—it was cold as ice.

He felt a chill in his heart and quickly activated the Radiance Field, gently enveloping the boy.

It took more than ten seconds for the boy’s body temperature to gradually return to normal and his pupils to regain focus.

He began to doze off, too tired to answer any further questions.

Li Chengyi didn’t disturb him further, letting him peacefully fall asleep.

He stood up and returned to his own seat, categorizing Paine as a person of interest and sending his information to Rainbow Candy for further investigation.

Even though departing for a foreign country meant that he had hardly any intelligence advantage, a quick internet search was still a piece of cake for Rainbow Candy, the top hacker.

Shortly, within just five minutes, a reply came.

"Paine: Male, eight years old. From Nanzha County, Chaoyu City. His father Pan Junhai was a Yi Country citizen, and his mother Dima Salta is a local from Sutan. They are heading to Sutan to seek refuge with his maternal grandfather."

"On the internet, except for the fact that his father Pan Junhai died in military service, his mother Dima Salta is in the late stages of an unusual neural tumor, with at most two months to live. Therefore, their departure from Yi Country to seek refuge with the grandfather is driven by necessity," Rainbow Candy provided a detailed reply.

"What about Pan Junhai’s parents?" Li Chengyi typed with a frown.

"He was an orphan, without parents."

"...I suspect Paine has a special talent for safely navigating Death Corner! Tang Tang, you must observe him closely. This child is very special!" Li Chengyi stated earnestly.

"A talent for safely navigating Death Corner!?" Rainbow Candy was clearly taken aback as well.