Blind Spot
Chapter 293 - 273 candidates, first one

Chapter 293: 273 candidates, first one

At this moment, within a private room of the Catherine Bar.

A few young men and women were gathered chatting idly, with tiny dust-like blue light points floating and dancing around them.

They would occasionally tap these light points with their fingers.

This seemed to be a game, used to compete to see who had the faster reaction speed.

The blue light points would suddenly change direction and speed up to evade being touched.

Whoever touched one first would make one of the others drink a small glass of liquor immediately.

While these few were playing the game, a girl with short hair, wearing a striped sweater, was sitting in a corner.

The girl’s clothes were alternating black and white, with the sweater’s hem dragging down to her knees; her short legs stretched out in front of her, as she lay slouched on the sofa, somewhat boredly watching her friends play not far away.

"Da Zhuang, why do you seem to be in a bad mood today?"

A girl playing the game quietly leaned over and asked softly.

"Nothing, just feeling a bit bored," replied the short-haired girl listlessly.

"Bored with what?"

"Here, home, school - everywhere’s boring," Da Zhuang waved her hand as though she wished to shake off the uncomfortable and oppressive feelings in her mind.

Although she knew it was futile, at least she was resisting in her own way. It helped to relieve some of the pressure in her heart.

"Then let’s go out for karaoke. There’s a new and handsome bartender; maybe he’s your type?" her friend whispered with a teasing laugh.

"What’s the point?" Da Zhuang remarked, her expression unchanged.

"No point, but wouldn’t it be nice to feel relaxed for a while?" her friend responded carefreely.

"I’m not interested in those things," Da Zhuang refused.

Feeling depressed did not mean she was willing to indulge herself; although she was average in looks and figure with no distinctive features, she couldn’t be bothered with cosmetic surgery or body sculpting.

Just let it be.

At home, she was also an overlooked presence, her siblings vying with each other, flaunting their dazzling, prominent achievements and success.

As for someone like her, lacking talent, unloved by the family, without resources to lean on, no amount of effort could change anything.

Might as well give up.

"Really not going? If you don’t go, I will," her friend said with a laugh.

"Go ahead, it’s on me," Da Zhuang raised her glass to clink with hers, then tipped her head back and downed the drink.

Money, her monthly allowance she could never spend up all, allowed her to spend freely. Compared to the young from ordinary families, she was carefree and relaxed, joyous and satisfied.

But it was meaningless.

She would rather not have so much money and just wanted freedom.

Absolute freedom.

Drinking, Da Zhuang’s eyes imperceptibly began to fill with a mist of tears.

She looked through the bubble-like outer wall, watching the ebb and flow of people coming and going outside, appearing to start daydreaming.

Huh?

Suddenly, her expression fixed.

’That is...’

She wasn’t quite sure and squinted her eyes. Three red focusing light points appeared automatically in her eyeballs, and the high-precision camera implanted in her eyes began to adjust the focus.

She saw at the bar near the entrance of the bar.

A girl in a gray coat and bright red dyed hair under a gray hat, wearing a mask, her eyes full of zealous curiosity as she scanned her surroundings.

This was a rookie, probably not often at such venues.

Chicks at the bar were a dime a dozen, but this one, she felt a sense of familiarity.

Especially those eyes...

’Wait... could it be...’ Da Zhuang suddenly thought of something, and her pupils constricted sharply.

The girl in the gray hat had beautiful eyes, curved as though always smiling, bright and happy, filled with curiosity and innocence.

’Could it be... Zhao Xianrou?’ The more Da Zhuang looked, the more she felt it resembled her.

She said a few words to her friends and got up from her seat, heading towards the girl.

Thud.

A freshly prepared glass of honey goji berry milk was placed in front of Li Chengyi.

"Thank you," he replied quietly.

In this place, his stocky and robust frame was not remarkable amidst the young patrons wearing external skeletons as though they were clothing.

With clothing as a cover, no one would know if his muscles were real or just an external skeleton.

It had been half an hour since he entered the bar. He had carefully observed many people, but their mental state did not meet his criteria for choosing the Holy Infant.

So he simply sat down near the entrance to wait.

In doing so, he could closely feel each person coming in and going out.

Taking a sip of the honey milk, Li Chengyi sighed and surveyed the other patrons.

To his left at the bar stool, sat a young blonde man who constantly spun around, adorned with earrings, nose rings, a chin ring - all the rings one could think of, and with one eye red and the other blue, his lips painted a dark red, displaying two sharp fangs.

It was hard to tell what he was dressed as, perhaps a vampire?

Li Chengyi glanced at this blonde man busy on a phone call and then turned his gaze to the other side.

To his right was a young woman in a gray coat and a gray round hat.

She was also wearing a mask, and her eyes were quite attractive.

Beside her was a handsome man, actively engaging her in conversation and clearly hitting on her.

The two seemed to be having a good time, the girl’s laughter subdued by her attempts at restraint.

During the conversation, the handsome man’s arm naturally brushed past a glass of drink in front of the girl.

In that instant, the skin under his arm split open, revealing a crevice.

From within the crevice, a device leaked a drop of clear liquid that fell into the drink and dissolved instantly, becoming invisible.

The whole process took less than half a second.

In the jumbled lighting, no one around noticed this.

Except for Li Chengyi.

He watched as the girl picked up the drink and was about to pour it into her mouth.

Thud.

Out of good-hearted conscience, he reached out and gave a pat.

The girl’s arm was jostled, and the drink in her hand spilled out, drenching the table.

"Sorry, I accidentally bumped into you. Let me buy you another drink," Li Chengyi offered as he regally pulled out a tissue and handed it over.

"...."

The girl blinked and looked at him.

"Are you the ’good person’ everyone’s talking about?" she asked in a pleasant, fine voice that sounded like a musical instrument lightly humming.

Even a normal question from her seemed cute and coquettish.

"Why would you say that?" Li Chengyi asked.

But the girl was too preoccupied to answer.

A good-looking man at her side’s face turned cold with annoyance at the interruption, and he immediately approached Li Chengyi and grabbed at him.

"What are you doing? On purpose?"

The man grabbed Li Chengyi’s shoulder and forcefully tried to pull him off the stool.

But he didn’t budge....

His face shifted slightly as he was about to call for help.

But then a sharp pain in his shoulder followed as a broad hand enfolded him.

The man was held tightly against Li Chengyi’s side, unable to move.

"You!?"

"I recorded you drugging her," Li Chengyi said softly.

"!!?" The handsome man’s face changed slightly. "What do you want?"

"Does your family have money?"

"? Yes... not much."

"Do you have ten million?"

"... No."

"Then you must be quite influential around here?" Li Chengyi asked again.

"I’m... just average," the good-looking man said, feeling something was amiss as his wariness soared.

"Let me tell you, I have something here that can change your fate, change your life, something that will take you to the pinnacle of success from this point on..."

"Wait, I’ll give you money! Thank you, I don’t need it, don’t contact me, goodbye!"

The good-looking man’s face underwent a dramatic change, and he immediately slapped a wad of cash from his pocket, shrinking down and turning to run away like a slippery eel.

All he left behind was a jacket in Li Chengyi’s hand.

Li Chengyi looked perplexed, not knowing what had just happened.

But the fear +1 feedback from Evil Flower authentically reflected that the handsome man was truly scared and had run away.

The girl in the gray hat who had nearly been drugged was now laughing heartily.

Not only that, but those close to Li Chengyi began unconsciously distancing themselves from him.

It was as if they were afraid he might do something.

"What does this mean?" Li Chengyi felt a little lost.

"Good person, big brother, they think you’re a missionary," the girl with the gray hat said after a bout of laughter, clutching her chest to catch her breath as she explained.

"You knew?" Li Chengyi was surprised.

"Yeah, that guy wanted to drug me, I saw it," the girl nodded.

"Then why aren’t you scared?" Li Chengyi wondered.

"Because there’s no need. After all, I just wanted to tease him," the girl said with a laugh.

"Alright... it looks like I was being nosy."

"No, it’s different for me. If it were someone else, they might have fallen prey to him. You didn’t do anything wrong, big brother. Society needs more of your positive energy," the girl in the gray hat said earnestly.

"You’re a bit strange..." Li Chengyi laughed.

"Is this your first time here, big brother?"

"Yeah, I’ve never been to Chaoyu before; it’s even my first time in this city," Li Chengyi stated honestly.

"No wonder you don’t know... This place usually has a lot of Sea Sand Sect missionaries. They often look for good-looking men under the guise of mission work, to bring them back for brainwashing and abuse. It’s said that many who are rescued end up brainwashed to stupidity," the girl whispered in explanation.

"The Sea Sand Sect...?" Li Chengyi was at a loss for words. "Why do they only deceive men?"

"I don’t know... but it might have to do with their doctrine, which says something like only opposite sexes should reproduce, and true love exists only between the same sex..." the girl in the gray hat shook her head.

She found it all very interesting. It was only her fourth day out, and she had already encountered something fun.

It wasn’t her first time being drugged either – to be precise, this was the sixth time she was drugged in a bar.

But among all these incidents, only this time someone stepped in to stop it; other times, bystanders just watched the excitement.

The only good Samaritan was the dark-haired big brother with glasses by her side.

She snuck out of home for some excitement, for a different kind of life.

Now, it seemed she had found it.

"Good person, big brother, what’s your name?" the girl asked. "My name is Zhao Xiaoli."

"Li Zhenchun," Li Chengyi made up a name on the spot.

"Are you in Chaoyu on business, big brother Li?"

"I’m just inexperienced with big cities and self-sustaining towns, came to broaden my horizons, no specific agenda."

The two of them chatted awkwardly, exchanging sentences back and forth.

Both were using fake names, with no intention of exchanging contact information. They were just idly passing the time.

Time slowly passed.

Li Chengyi said goodbye to Zhao Xiaoli and left the bar; another day had passed without accomplishment.

Although he had identified a few targets, they all required further investigation.

He had just stepped out of the bar when, not far away,

a faint, pained moan emerged from a side alley.

He had a vague impression he had heard this voice before.

Turning, he walked into the alley.

Having not gone a hundred meters and rounding a bend, he saw a dismembered body lying on the ground in the dark alley, with only a torso and head remaining.