Blind Spot
Chapter 282 - 262 Gradual 2

Chapter 282: 262 Gradual 2

"This is not a threat, just stating a fact," Zhu Rui said. "In this world, going it alone just doesn’t work. As long as you care about something, about someone, you will have weaknesses.

And the people you care about will have their own concerns, things they care about. Layer upon layer, interlinked, endless."

"Indeed... you’re right," Li Chengyi spoke up. "That makes sense."

"But what makes you think that we should give the technology to you, and not someone else?"

"Because, by giving it to me, you can avoid harm from other forces to the greatest extent," Zhu Rui smiled.

"Ha, harm? Does Mr. Zhu really think that our friends, family, and other important people around us Blind Spot Individuals, are truly weaknesses to us?" Li Chengyi asked.

As he spoke.

A look of surprise clearly appeared on Zhu Rui’s face.

"You don’t think that just because you can cause trouble in Sutan, you can stir up the same commotion in Yi Country, do you?"

"Have you ever thought, Mr. Zhu, if someone does not care about the rules and harms the people around us, then why should we abide by the rules?" Li Chengyi countered.

"You don’t really believe that we, a group likely to die in the Blind Spot at any moment, all have weaknesses, do you?" His face, previously clouded with gloom, now transformed into a cold, mocking smile.

"What could such people, even in rebellion, possibly achieve?" Zhu Rui laughed.

"Why don’t you try and see?" Li Chengyi said, staring straight at the other man, without as much as a blink.

Zhu Rui’s expression gradually became solemn, his gaze locked onto Li Chengyi with equal intensity, but he said nothing more.

The conversation ended on an unpleasant note.

In the end, Zhu Rui said nothing more. However, when he left, he lacked his previous composure, as if everything was under control, and now there was more anger to him.

When Li Chengyi got up to leave, he was stopped by Liu Tongbei.

They stood side by side under the eaves with raindrops falling.

"Care for one?" Liu Tongbei offered a cigarette.

"No thanks, I don’t smoke," he declined.

"You know, you could have just played along to buy some time. There’s no need to offend the Zhu Family," Liu Tongbei said kindly. "The Zhu Family is one of the Chaoyu Nobility. They have a lot of influence in the provinces around us."

"Our new system is that attractive?" Li Chengyi asked, surprised.

"Pretty much. Right now, there are not many mature and complete systems among the various self-cycling cities. If you take your system, make some minor modifications and improvements, it can be used. Release it for commercial operations and that’s a massive arms business. The profits from arms are enough to make any family envious. Your system, although not that exaggerated yet, has that potential," Liu Tongbei explained.

"So, this is the crime of holding the jade?" Li Chengyi mused.

"More or less," Liu Tongbei sighed. "The best way to handle this now is to find a strong enough backer immediately to shield you from all the storms. Whether it’s cooperation, affiliation, or trade, you need to do it quickly."

"Thanks," Li Chengyi said, acknowledging the advice.

"What’s there to thank me for?"

After saying goodbye to Liu Tongbei, Li Chengyi got into the car to head back.

Whew...

Sitting in the car, he let out a long sigh.

"Tired?" Zhou Xingtong, driving the car, asked softly.

"A bit,"

Li Chengyi replied.

The Hall of Oblivion, the Flower Language Technique, the pressure from people like Zhu Rui, and the white-dressed woman who seemed to be from the Blind Spot.

Layers upon layers of issues piled up, leaving him no room to split his attention.

Although he had anticipated the likes of hungry wolves such as Zhu Rui, facing them was still profoundly unsettling.

"Directly back now?" Zhou Xingtong asked.

"Yes, back to the hotel in Zhaoshan," he confirmed.

As he gazed at the night scenery speeding past the car window, Li Chengyi felt an inexplicable heaviness in his heart.

He suddenly understood that those Blind Spot Individuals who persisted until the end faced increasingly immense psychological burdens as time went on.

Back at the hotel, he continued to pour through books until he could no longer stay awake and then fell asleep.

Quickly, another two days passed.

In the sound of rushing water.

Li Chengyi scooped up water with his hands and splashed it on his face repeatedly.

The shock of the cold water quickly revived his spirits.

Grabbing a towel, he dried his face and sighed lightly. From the serial comic inks and other drawing elements, he had not found any clues.

That made him increasingly impatient.

No trace of the Blind Spot clues regarding the person facing away had been found.

There was no lead on the Escape Method either.

He walked to the wardrobe, pulling the door open.

Click.

Li Chengyi’s movements froze again.

In the somewhat dark wardrobe, in that narrow little space, a woman in a white dress with black hair stood quietly.

She was still facing away from him, motionless.

The third time, huh...

Li Chengyi’s mind raced with information from Xiao Zhong, recalling that the person facing away usually turned around during the third encounter. And almost everyone who had a third encounter disappeared.

He had searched for details on the form and attire of the person facing away, but there were too many similarities—no clues at all.

’Since there are no clues... let’s try... if I can...’

Li Chengyi reached out his hand, and a trace of the Radiance Field silently spread around him.

But the field had no effect.

The woman in the white dress seemed to have felt something stirring and began to turn towards him.

Her movements were very slow, excruciatingly slow.

Gradually turning from her left side, she began to rotate toward him.

Li Chengyi’s hand automatically summoned the Golden Sword, and a ring of golden flames faintly ignited around him.

He wanted to try to see if the Blade of Destiny could completely solve this guy.

If the Blind Spot suffered enough damage, it could indeed collapse completely.

So...

He slowly raised the Golden Sword.

Snap.

Suddenly, a small hand gently grasped his wrist from behind.

"Brother, don’t."

Li Chengyi was startled, recognizing the voice.

"Yserine!?"

"Brother, listen to me! I’ll count one, two, three, and then you retreat with me and close your eyes, okay?" Yserine’s voice was tense and cautious.

"...I understand! Okay!" Li Chengyi replied. He watched the girl in the white dress slowly turning around.

Waiting for the voice behind him.

"One..."

Their footsteps began to retreat slowly.

"Two."

Yserine gently hugged Li Chengyi’s waist from behind, her pupils turning pitch-black with wisps of black smoke continuously emerging.

"Three!!"

Suddenly, Yserine pulled hard, yanking them backward.

Li Chengyi instinctively rolled backward, closing his eyes, tumbling over and grasping Yserine in his arms as they fell.

Thud!!

The two crashed heavily onto the master bedroom floor, rolling twice before quickly getting up.

Li Chengyi looked toward the dressing room again, indeed, the girl in the white dress had disappeared.

He turned his head towards Yserine.

The little girl now differed greatly from before.

Her golden hair draped to her shoulders, and she wore a black sleeveless women’s tank top; the lower half was a black pleated long skirt, with mysterious silver symbols hanging on the hem like decorations.

In her hand, she held a black wand the length of her forearm, while the other hand lifted the hem of her skirt as she slowly rose from the ground.

"Sigh... I’m glad we dodged in time, or it would have been a big problem."

It had been a while since he’d seen Yserine, and she seemed to have grown.

Now she looked fifteen or sixteen, almost as tall as an adult.

"That guy... quite troublesome?" Li Chengyi stood up and grabbed her, gently helping her to her feet.

"Extremely troublesome." Yserine said seriously, lifting her face. "I’ve been studying the Black Canon at the teacher’s place. I rushed back as soon as I felt the arrangement I left on you, Brother, was in danger!"

"Teacher?" Li Chengyi asked in confusion. "When did you...?"

"Let’s not talk about that. You have to be careful, Brother. That woman you encountered just now isn’t a real person, but a special kind of Blind Spot. The moment you see her face, she will ignite all your spirit in an instant."

"How do you know? Isn’t there a way to defend against it?" Li Chengyi frowned.

"Because that guy is not an ordinary Blind Spot, many species in the Black Sea have encountered it." Yserine answered gravely. "In the Black Sea, it goes by a common name."

"Afterimage."

"Afterimage..." Li Chengyi mulled over these two words, sensing that they concealed something significant.

"An Afterimage can’t be touched because it has no physical form at all, and each individual sees a different Afterimage. It’s a pure attack on consciousness," Yserine explained. "The instant you see an Afterimage turn around, it can make a complete life entity collapse and vanish."

"An attack targeting consciousness?" Li Chengyi realized with alarm, wondering if his Flower Language Technique could block it.

He felt uncertain.

On high alert, though he didn’t think the Afterimage could kill him in an instant, he was still sincerely grateful for Yserine’s help.

Looking around, he realized he had been pulled by Yserine into her own Tightening Grasp Blind Spot.

This unique transition Blind Spot belonging to Yserine could freely embed into any bedroom.

"So, is there a way to escape the Afterimage?"

"Of course, there’s a method, but it’s cumbersome. We’ll talk about it later; first, follow me, Brother!"

Yserine grabbed his hand, not crawling towards the bed but instead heading towards the exit door of the room.

Click.

She pushed the door open.

Outside the door was no longer a dim corridor and stairwell.

It was a spacious and square library.

Row upon row of empty bookshelves had only a few books sparsely arranged.

Two long tables were placed close to the floor-to-ceiling windows, beyond which a hazy mist obscured all sight.

"Brother, look! This is the teacher’s reading room! I begged him for a long time, and he finally agreed to let you come in!" Yserine pulled Li Chengyi into the room, her cute face sporting a radiant smile.

"The reading room doesn’t have many books, and there’s not much to see, but that’s not the point! This is the teacher’s domain, far more hidden than mine!

So it definitely won’t happen like last time, where we were forcibly separated by a large Blind Spot!"

"So... who exactly is this teacher you speak of?" Li Chengyi surveyed the reading room, feeling surprised, but mostly skeptical.

"The teacher is the teacher. He said not to tell, and you’ll know eventually, Brother," Yserine answered with a smile.

"Is that so..." Li Chengyi believed that Yserine wouldn’t harm him, but he remained cautious about this teacher.

"By the way, Yserine, since you’ve been to so many Blind Spots, have you ever encountered one that had a lot of flowers inside?"

"I have, but they’re all very dangerous types," Yserine replied. "Speaking of which, there are a few pots of flowers in my teacher’s study. I can show you sometime."

"Really?"

"Of course. Let’s deal with the Afterimage first," Yserine said with a solemn expression.

"Actually, it’s not difficult to deal with an Afterimage, but a direct confrontation would result in substantial damage."