"Ten minutes. I'll just rest my eyes for a bit, and then we'll search for the exit together!" Li Chengyi answered decisively.
At this moment, his body was severely drained.
Wearing the Flower Armor seemed to take a toll on both his physical and mental energy.
Then, constantly staying on high alert, searching for an exit, consumed more of his strength. Slamming the door and grappling with the monster, followed by using the floral language ability to hold the door in place, had completely exhausted him.
Now, being able to stay awake without falling asleep was already a sign of strong willpower.
He estimated that in his current state, if the situation from earlier occurred again, whether the floral language ability would still work was uncertain.
"Okay!" Meng Dongdong nodded seriously.
The recent conversation, coupled with the shared local identity, gave her some comfort.
If all she had to do was keep watch while he rested for ten minutes, without having to do anything else, she was willing to help.
"You should rest somewhere. This place is huge. If it's just me, finding the exit won't be easy. Once you're rested, we'll split up and search," she suggested seriously.
"Alright!" Li Chengyi nodded seriously.
He scanned his surroundings and quickly found a corner. He walked over and sat down cross-legged, leaning against the wall.
"By the way, if you hear anything from that door across from us, don't worry about it. Don't open it. Whatever happens, don't open it. Wait until I'm rested, understood?" He added his last piece of advice, concerned that she might accidentally open the door leading to the monster affected by the floral language ability.
"Got it!" Meng Dongdong replied earnestly.
After giving her the instructions, Li Chengyi put his hood on, took a deep breath, and squinted his eyes slightly—he didn't close them entirely, beginning to rest.
Now, with someone else watching, he could relax a little more than when he was on his own.
As he squinted, he had intended to keep some awareness of his surroundings.
After all, Meng Dongdong was still a stranger, and he couldn't trust her completely. It wasn't safe to rely solely on someone else for security.
But he was simply too exhausted.
Before today, he was just an average college graduate who ran occasionally. It wasn't even long-distance running.
His endurance was slightly better than average, but his other physical qualities were standard.
After everything that had happened, remaining calm and not losing his composure was impressive, even for someone who had "traveled" to this world.
As he kept his eyes slightly closed, the exhaustion took over, and his vision grew blurry.
Click.
Suddenly, he heard a faint sound.
It seemed like something—a plastic bag—had fallen and hit the ground.
A cool breeze, carrying the scent of flowers, brushed against his face.
Flowers?
Li Chengyi's mind snapped awake. He opened his eyes wide and looked ahead.
In front of him was a small park bathed in moonlight.
The dark red rubber track, tree branches swaying in the wind, and dimly lit solar-powered street lamps.
Everything around him clearly indicated one thing:
He was outside!
I...!? Li Chengyi stood frozen, too shocked to move.
He was worried that he might be hallucinating.
He had just been talking to Meng Dongdong, asking her to keep watch while he rested.
How had he suddenly ended up outside?
No... Wait!?
He suddenly noticed that the rubber track on the ground looked completely new, as though it had never been used before.
The surroundings were also blurry, and nothing was clear.
Is this a dream? Did I fall asleep?
No! I can't sleep! If I fall asleep, I'll lose all awareness of my surroundings. What if something happens?
Li Chengyi tried to control himself, trying to wake up from what seemed like a dream.
But he had just fallen asleep; there was no way to wake up so quickly.
As he struggled to become fully awake, Meng Dongdong, leaning against the pillar, watched as Li Chengyi slowly closed his eyes, cross-legged on the ground with his back against the wall, his breathing becoming more even and steady.
She exhaled quietly, glancing around, then her gaze focused on the maintenance door across from them.
Yes, she had noticed it earlier. This man, Cheng Yi, was clearly unstable, frequently glancing at the maintenance door.
He thought she hadn't seen, but she had noticed, just hadn't mentioned it.
Standing by the pillar, Meng Dongdong gently set down her shopping bag, putting on her coat.
She glanced at Li Chengyi, who hadn't moved, still resting with his eyes closed.
From the side, she could see the whites of his eyes through the slight squint.
Meng Dongdong sighed, crouched down, and took off her platform shoes, walking around in her socks.
Seeing Li Chengyi still motionless, she steadied herself, then suddenly sped up, running toward the maintenance door.
There was no exit above or below, and the man was so fixated on this door. It was highly likely this was the entrance or exit to this hellish place!!
Monsters? Danger? All of that was just him trying to scare her.
It's the age of technology—there's no way monsters exist. What kind of story was this, trying to convince her with such nonsense?
Thud.
Meng Dongdong grabbed the handle of the maintenance door.
"Stop!!" Li Chengyi's voice urgently called out.
He had just woken up, and as soon as he saw her grabbing the door handle, he immediately shouted in a panic.
"Don't open the door!!"
"Still trying to fool me? Go to hell with your insanity!!" Meng Dongdong yanked the door open with a triumphant smile, charging forward.
But as she looked inside, her smile froze.
Inside the door, there was nothing—just an empty little storage room.
Standing at the door, Meng Dongdong stood frozen.
She hadn't expected that the door Li Chengyi was so focused on would reveal nothing but this. The gap between her expectations and the reality was far wider than she'd thought.
Behind her, Li Chengyi was also frozen.
He had used the floral language ability to keep the monster behind that door in check, but now...
"This is your monster?" Meng Dongdong turned back to look at Li Chengyi, her eyes filled with doubt.
"..." Li Chengyi was equally stunned.
He had clearly sensed something being controlled behind that door, but now...
"Looks like you've rested. Should we look for the exit now?" Meng Dongdong's eyes shifted, and she didn't continue pressing the issue.
She now seemed to believe that Li Chengyi might have mental issues, maybe some hallucinations or delusions.
"..." Li Chengyi remained silently focused on the open maintenance door, where there was nothing but emptiness.
No monster. No tools. It looked like a freshly renovated single room.
Could it be that the appearance of the monster is time-limited? A thought flashed through his mind.
He was certain the monster had existed, but the situation in front of him now was impossible to explain. He had clearly felt the door being struck earlier.
But now...
Thud.
At that moment, Meng Dongdong closed the maintenance door, and seeing Li Chengyi's lack of reaction, she had lost all hope.
This was just a mentally unstable man, pretending to be calm.
Li Chengyi saw what she was thinking, but he had no way to prove his claims.
Unless he exposed his floral language ability—but that was impossible.
No matter what, in any environment, he couldn't let anyone see his final trump card.
Right now, in the Dead Corner, with the Flower Armor shattered, his only reliance was the floral language ability.
In a surprise move, its effectiveness could take down even that mysterious and terrifying monster. So he could never reveal it.
"Let's go. We need to find the exit." Meng Dongdong looked around, her eyes flickering, clearly thinking.
Li Chengyi stood up, feeling a bit dizzy, but it was much better than before.
At least the brief rest had helped him regain a bit of energy.
He still didn't believe the woman, though. He glanced again at the small door, and it was tightly shut, looking perfectly ordinary.
He checked again with Meng Dongdong, then picked up his bags and walked toward the maintenance door, carefully inspecting the marks on the door and the footprints on the floor.
Although the ground was cement, his running shoes still left tiny friction marks.
But no matter how hard he searched, there were no traces.
This reminded him of the earlier situation, where the marks had vanished.
Li Chengyi stood up straight and looked at Meng Dongdong.
He suddenly realized something about her behavior.
Earlier, I thought I had managed to calm her down, that she had believed what I said. But now it seems the situation is reversed.
She was deliberately calming me down, making me think she believed me, only to act when I rested. She was planning to open the door herself.
Realizing this, Li Chengyi couldn't shake the feeling that Meng Dongdong wasn't as simple as she appeared. While she acted friendly, she was quick to adapt and think on her feet.
Click.
He opened the maintenance door again, saw the empty room inside, then closed it with a quiet sound.
There was really no monster.
"How do you think we should find the exit?" Li Chengyi asked, not bringing up the monsters again.
Meng Dongdong seemed to focus on the issue at hand.
"You said you came from the bottom floor, right?" she asked.
"Yes."
"All the scenes you've seen on the way up are the same. The only doors that open are the maintenance doors, right?" she asked.
"That's right. I'm only sure that two doors open," Li Chengyi answered. The two doors—were the ones where the monsters had emerged.
"That's enough. Simple analysis: our best chance of getting out is probably through these maintenance doors," Meng Dongdong said seriously.
Li Chengyi furrowed his brow. Was she really intent on pushing through these maintenance doors?
"No matter whether you believe me or not, when the door turns from the inside, do not let it open. It's dangerous!" He warned again.
"Monsters are just nonsense," Meng Dongdong frowned.
"Exactly. There are no monsters. I'm so tired of this place. Even if there were monsters, I'd kill them one by one!" Li Chengyi was about to speak when, suddenly, a loud, angry male voice came from the distance.
Another person?!
He quickly turned to look in the direction of the voice.
From around the corner, a tall, muscular young man emerged from the upper floor.
The man had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and wore a white short-sleeve t-shirt, with a small microphone clipped to the collar. His skin was brown, his body muscular, and his short hair neatly cropped.
From a distance, Li Chengyi could see the calmness and steadiness on his face, as though nothing could shake him.
The most important detail: he was holding a black handgun. The gun's grip was thick, and the barrel had a decorative silver ring, making it quite noticeable.
A gun?!
Before Li Chengyi could determine whether it was a real gun, the man quickly closed the distance between them, stopping just a few meters away.
"Someone said I'm going to die. Once I'm in this hellhole, I'm never getting out... Hey..." He sneered. "I don't believe that!"
He raised his hand and clicked the gun's safety off.