Li Cheng颐 stood in front of the counter, his nerves stretched to the breaking point.

His five senses were alert to every movement around him.

The fluorescent lights emitted a faint electrical hum.

A subtle cardboard smell wafted through the air.

His hands, one gripped a golden sword, the other held the high-powered handgun he had seized from Meng Dongdong.

Silence.

Li Cheng颐 stood there, detecting nothing.

'What does that sentence mean?'

He tried to slow his breathing, his gaze constantly sweeping across the spots he considered dangerous.

One was the half-open small door behind the counter.

Another was the glass door leading into and out of the shop.

Finally, there were the shelves to his left.

Li Cheng颐’s eyes, under his helmet, rapidly scanned every corner and detail.

The cigarette and alcohol rack behind the counter.

The blue plastic trash can by the small door.

The pitch-black screen of the cash register.

No reaction.

'What exactly does "ten minutes" refer to?'

*Pa*.

*Pa*.

*Pa*.

Suddenly, a faint sound of footsteps drifted from between the shelves.

The sound wasn't loud, even faint.

But in Li Cheng颐’s ears, now highly focused, it was as clear as the only light source in the darkness.

He turned his head to the left, his gaze focused.

Near the innermost freezer shelf, a pair of human feet were slowly appearing in the gap at the bottom.

A pair of pale, dirty feet, covered in wounds and cracks.

From Li Cheng颐’s angle, he could only see that they were the feet of a child.

Everything above the ankles was blocked by the merchandise on the shelf, with only glimpses of white clothing visible through the gaps.

The clothing was equally dirty and tattered.

Li Cheng颐 stood motionless.

Every nerve in his brain was screaming warnings.

Danger! Danger! Danger!!

A strong premonition kept surging through his mind.

It was a primal urge to run, a terrifying impulse to turn and flee.

But at this moment, he knew that running away was the most foolish thing to do. It was tantamount to completely abandoning all resistance and evasion, exposing his most vulnerable points to the enemy.

For a moment, he stared at the child behind the shelf.

The child also stood still, quietly facing him across the shelf, watching him.

Although he couldn't see the other person's face, Li Cheng颐 could clearly feel that they were watching him.

Time ticked by.

The second hand on the wall clock moved on and on.

A full half-minute later.

The child's feet finally began to move.

He lifted his foot and gently stepped out from behind the shelf.

A bizarre thing happened!

The child's feet clearly walked out from behind the shelf in front of Li Cheng颐.

But at the edge of the shelf, he couldn't see any sign of a person.

The feet disappeared inexplicably after stepping out from behind the shelf.

As if they had stepped into another space.

Li Cheng颐’s eyes widened, and even though he was wearing the Jianlan flower scale armor, he felt an icy chill rising constantly. Every hair on his body stood on end, and he felt cold sweat rapidly seeping out, condensing into lines, sliding down his back and cheeks.

Seconds later, the gap under the shelf was empty of the child's feet.

He seemed to have already stepped out.

But from Li Cheng颐’s perspective, there was nothing in the open space by the shelf.

Not even a footprint, let alone a person's feet.

'Where did it go!!?'

Li Cheng颐’s whole body tensed, his scalp tingling, as he scanned his surroundings with heightened vigilance.

*Puff!*

Suddenly, he grunted and turned around.

A gash had inexplicably appeared in the center of his back.

The gash cut through the flower scale armor, and even tore through the bulletproof vest underneath, leaving a dark red wound on Li Cheng颐’s flesh.

Blood slowly seeped from the wound, bright red and stinging.

Li Cheng颐 endured the pain and slashed behind him with his sword.

But he found nothing.

There was nothing behind him, only the empty counter.

*Shh!*

Another soft sound, and his left arm was also slashed.

The flower scale armor, along with the bulletproof vest, was cut open, and blood dripped rapidly down his forearm.

This time he felt it, the thing that had cut him was something cold, hard, and even somewhat smooth.

Without the slightest hesitation.

He gripped his swords in both hands and suddenly spun around.

In an instant, the two golden swords created a circle of sword arcs.

The incomparably sharp blades swept through every angle within three hundred and sixty degrees in a single second.

Considering that his opponent might be a child, Li Cheng颐 had deliberately spun and slashed slightly downwards.

But it was useless.

The golden swords hit nothing, only emitting a circle of air-splitting sounds in mid-air.

*Puff.*

More blood splattered, and a cut appeared on Li Cheng颐’s left leg. The wound wasn't deep, seemingly because the flower scale armor had absorbed most of the force.

Li Cheng颐 quickly realized that he couldn't seem to repel this unknown danger.

Immediately, he strode forward, ignoring the wound on his leg, and rushed into the depths of the supermarket.

'If I can't block, then run! Evade!'

Li Cheng颐’s current body had been indirectly strengthened by the flower scale armor, coupled with his constant training, and had improved significantly.

Wearing the flower scale armor, even if it wasn't the most amplifying Wisteria flower scale armor, he was far superior to ordinary people.

He rushed past the three-meter distance in one stride, then plunged between the shelves, crouching to hide himself.

*Pa pa pa...*

Just then, he heard a burst of footsteps coming from behind him.

The sound was coming closer, rapidly chasing after him.

Li Cheng颐’s heart stirred. He ran to the corner and looked back through the gap at the bottom of the shelf.

Sure enough.

He saw a pair of pale child's feet chasing after him along the route he had just taken.

'So, I can only see them through the shelves!?' Li Cheng颐 quickly concluded, his eyes fixed on the child's feet. Seeing that they were about to get close, he immediately circled around, moving away in the opposite direction.

*Pa pa pa...*

The child's feet quickened their pace, but at best, they were only moving at the speed of an ordinary person, unable to catch up with Li Cheng颐 at all.

This gave him a slight sense of certainty, knowing that he had found a method.

'Could it be that the so-called ten minutes is about avoiding the pursuit of this thing and holding out for ten minutes?'

He dodged while pondering the meaning of the writing.

Time ticked by.

The second hand on the wall clock kept moving forward, pushing the minute hand forward.

Just as Li Cheng颐 was concentrating on dodging the child's feet.

Behind him, under another shelf, a new pair of child's feet slowly appeared.

Those feet were slightly smaller, equally dirty, with pale skin, wounds and cracks, like fragile porcelain, and some areas were covered in black and gray stains of unknown origin.

Unlike the first pair of child's feet, this pair was wearing pink girl's leather shoes, exposing the instep and ankles.

It moved silently, quietly approaching him from behind.

At this time, Li Cheng颐 was focused on dodging and moving to the left and right with the first pair of child's feet, completely unaware of the additional danger behind him.

Slowly.

Slowly.

The second pair of child's feet got closer and closer to Li Cheng颐.

Five meters.

Three meters.

Two meters.

Li Cheng颐 seemed to sense something and glanced back.

At that moment, the girl's feet lifted into the air, rose, and disappeared into the gap at the bottom of the shelf, avoiding his gaze.

Li Cheng颐 didn't see anything and quickly retracted his gaze, continuing to stare at the first pair of child's feet in front of him.

And just after he retracted his gaze, the girl's feet in leather shoes silently landed again, stepping on the ground.

After pausing for a moment, the girl's feet continued to approach Li Cheng颐 from behind.

At the same time, a pale, cracked, slender little hand was quietly reaching out from the shelf, grabbing towards the back of Li Cheng颐’s head.

Slowly, getting closer and closer... closer and closer...

When it was only half a meter away from him.

*Whoosh.*

The small hand suddenly accelerated, no longer concealing itself, and fiercely grabbed towards the back of Li Cheng颐’s head.

"Die!!" a roar.

Li Cheng颐 suddenly turned around, drew his swords, and slashed with all his might.

*Whoosh whoosh!!!*

The enormous force accompanying the sharp blades cutting through the air emitted a thin, high-pitched whistle.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The swords in his hand reflected a faint golden light under the lights.

'Flower Language: Entangling Hands.'

A purple light flashed across the sword blade.

*Shua!!*

The two blades rotated on the spot, the sword tips forming a golden ring.

Golden and purple light rotated simultaneously, accompanied by the blades, creating two streaks of purple-gold light.

*Shua shua shua!*

Li Cheng颐’s eyes were ice-cold, rotating at high speed on the spot, his swords carrying the Flower Language Entangling Hands, quickly covering everything within a two-meter radius around him.

At this moment, Entangling Hands could no longer be called hands, but should be called swords!

Entangling Swords!

*Chh!!!*

Circles of blades swept through the empty air, slashing at the pale, cracked girl's arm.

They also slashed at the merchandise on the shelves on both sides, cutting the shelves and merchandise into pieces, scattering them all over the floor.

Seeming to sense something, Li Cheng颐 lunged forward, actually rushing straight towards the direction of the first pair of child's feet!

*Bang!*

His body crashed through the merchandise on the shelf, and a golden sword light flashed in mid-air, carrying the first stage release of Entangling Hands, and suddenly slashed past the first pair of child's feet.

After the sword light passed.

Li Cheng颐 released his grip, not even looking at the golden swords, rolled away to the side, and half-knelt on the ground.

He covered his right shoulder with one hand, where a bloody gash was oozing blood.

Without stopping, he got up again, using his heel for leverage, and turned around.

*Shua!*

He drew the longest golden sword from the sword wheel behind him with both hands.

This time, he used all his strength, gripping the sword with both hands and activating Flower Language.

The nearly three-meter-long golden sword swept a wide fan shape in mid-air, slashed through something, activated Flower Language, and slammed hard against a wall.

*Dong.*

The golden sword shattered. Similarly, the two pairs of child's feet were controlled by the Flower Language Entangling Hands for the second time, and crashed into the wall.

Li Cheng颐 stood there with a ferocious expression, drawing a new golden sword from behind again, activating Flower Language, and slashing. Repeating the previous action.

The Wisteria flower's Flower Language ability, Entangling Hands, could be repeatedly used on a single target, which he had tested before.

And during the Grius parking lot incident, he had tested that Entangling Hands was also effective against supernatural beings.

So just now, he pretended not to see the second pair of child's feet, but instead lured them close, and then suddenly used the Flower Language-fused Entangling Sword to stick both pairs of child's feet together.

Then, while they hadn't broken free from the Flower Language, he used the long golden sword to fix them to the wall.

The Jianlan flower scale armor's defensive ability was subpar, and the Wisteria flower scale armor was temporarily unrepairable. All he could do was maximize the use of his existing Flower Language to buy time.

(End of this chapter)