After crossing the street and dodging a few speeding e-bikes, Li Chengyi stepped onto a white pedestrian bridge with automatic escalators. He walked across, descended the other side, and followed a stone-tiled sidewalk for another 350 meters.
At last, he arrived at the building Sindra had mentioned: New Century Tower.
Before he even reached the front entrance guarded by security, a young woman in office attire approached him.
"Mr. Cheng Yi?" she asked with a professional smile.
Her outfit was sleek—a black OL suit, skirt slightly above the knee, showing off long, fair legs. Her hair was a soft brown-blonde, curled loosely over her shoulders, and her eyebrows were over-trimmed like two pencil lines.
"That's me," Li replied, immediately recognizing she'd been sent to meet him.
"Please follow me. The company's entrance is on the side." She gestured politely, then led the way.
Li glanced up at the towering building, a faint urgency rising in his chest.
According to Sindra, the Dead Zone would return in two months. There were no rewards, no second chances. He had to prepare now—fully—if he wanted to survive.
And if Sindra could help him evolve his Flower Scale Armor, his chances would rise dramatically.
From the moment he used the Flower Language ability to shred the monster's face and escape alive, Li had realized—the Evil Flower was his greatest hope.
He wasn't a genius. Intelligence alone wouldn't save him.
Following the woman, they entered through a side door meant for employees and took a private elevator up to the 19th floor.
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open.
Inside was a pristine office floor—rows of white desks on black flooring, silver ceiling panels, and lush green plants in the corners. Staff sat neatly at their stations, some on phones, others typing at computers—everyone looked busy.
"This way," the woman said gently, walking ahead.
Li followed her through the open-plan office, toward a dim hallway in the back. At the very end was a half-open door.
Inside, standing before a floor-to-ceiling window, was a man smoking a cigarette—Sindra.
Silver-black suit. Crisp white shirt. Slicked-back hair. One hand in his pocket, the other holding a cigarette.
Li recognized him immediately.
The receptionist gestured toward the door, then stepped aside.
Clearing his throat, Li entered the room.
"You came," Sindra said, stubbing out the cigarette in an ashtray.
"There's a contract on the desk. Read it. If you agree, sign. If not, walk away." He motioned to a simple desk.
The office was small and sparsely furnished—black leather sofa, coffee table, whiteboard, a couple of computer chairs, and a rectangular wooden desk.
Honestly, it looked a bit like a shell company.
Li's eyes fell on the desk. Three bottles of drink: two black Khaki Cokes and a red-labeled bottle of Yunshan mineral water, each 500ml. The contract was held in place by the water bottle.
He moved it aside, picked up the document, and skimmed it.
It was simple—just a note that he'd be working under Sindra's company, with regular hours. No job description, no restrictions. The salary and benefits, though? Generous.
With no reason to hesitate, he signed.
"Leave your bank account with Finance later," Sindra said casually.
"What about the information? On the Dead Zones?"
Sindra lit another cigarette and closed the door.
"Let me ask you this—do you know how many types of Dead Zones there are?"
"Types?"
"Yes. There are many. So, to help you properly, I need you to describe your Dead Zone. Then I can pull the correct data." He retrieved a small silver-black object from his pocket—looked like a fancy USB stick—and handed it over.
"Just point it at a wall or whiteboard."
Li examined it. It resembled a mini flashlight, with a switch on the side.
He pointed it at a white wall and clicked it.
Shhhk.
A beam of white light projected onto the surface, forming a massive 4-meter-wide screen filled with rows of yellow folders—hundreds of them.
"These are all my collected Dead Zone files," Sindra said.
"There's a lot…" Li narrowed his eyes, trying to read the file names. Just numbers.
Sindra continued, "There are two main ways to escape a Dead Zone."
He raised two fingers.
"First, if multiple people enter together, each time someone dies, the others get to leave temporarily. Then they're pulled back in about two months later.
"That's one reason it's called a 'Dead Zone'—death paves the way out."
Li's pupils shrank.
"You mean… what happened to me?"
"Exactly. Someone in your group must've died, so you were allowed to leave. The two-month timer is just an average—it can vary."
Sindra took a puff of his cigarette.
"The second method: find the unique exit mechanism of that particular Dead Zone. Every one has one, though they vary wildly. That's why I founded this company—to research and uncover them."
"How many people have joined you, like me?"
"Not many."
"How many is 'not many'?"
"With you, that makes two."
"...The rest all died?"
"Maybe. None of them ever came back. No bodies. No signals. Just... vanished."
Li felt a chill creep up his spine.
"So if a lot of people enter a Dead Zone at once... and one dies each time, the others could stay out longer, right? Until they find the exit?"
"In theory, yes," Sindra replied. "Some have tried."
"But?"
"But each death… makes the Dead Zone more dangerous the next time."
Li's breath caught.
"How much more dangerous?"
"No one knows. My son disappeared in one. I want answers too."
Li was silent for a moment.
"What about those who did find exits?"
"They still get pulled into new Dead Zones two months later. Over and over... until they disappear."
Now Li understood why they were called Dead Zones.
"Don't worry. One guy from the government survived over thirty Dead Zones. You can too, if you try."
Sindra patted his shoulder.
"So… you're doing this to find your son?"
"Maybe. Maybe he's just missing."
"...Alright. Where do I start?"
"Tell me everything—how you entered, what you saw, how you got out. Start from the beginning."
Li nodded and recounted his story—from the early premonitions to the monsters, the strange passageway, the events that led to his escape.
He left out everything about the Evil Flower—no mention of Flower Scale Armor or Flower Language.
That was his trump card. He wasn't about to share it.
"You said someone had a gun?" Sindra asked, frowning.
"Yes. He came in prepared—he even ran straight toward the secret passage like he knew about it. I also saw a strange symbol near the crack."
"Premonitions help people prepare. If he had gun access, maybe he brought it legally. But official agents wouldn't act like that… No, I doubt he was government."
"So what should I do now?"
Sindra turned to the whiteboard and wrote three words:
Stamina. Weapons. Response Patterns.
"You'll spend the next two months training these. If you want to survive."
"You have a plan?"
"Of course. I've rented the floor below as a training center—for you and the other assistant. As for weapons, you'll learn how to defend against them first. Only after that, how to use them."
"Why wait to teach weapon use?"
"Because most conventional weapons—guns included—barely work in Dead Zones. They're more useful against other people."
"...I thought you had some big organization behind all this," Li muttered.
[🔥 Interactive Ending – Mystery + Survival Theme]Dead Zones aren't just about monsters. It's the humans you really need to fear.What would you train first—strength, weapons, or escape tactics?📌 Add this story to your library and leave your survival plan in the comments!