He started by finding a blank sheet of paper and carefully began sketching the pattern with a pencil.

Unfortunately, his skills were terrible. After working for a long time, all he managed was a blob that looked like a child’s doodle.

Still, there was no reaction.

He busied himself for quite a while, and time gradually approached eight-thirty.

A faint wave of drowsiness began to wash over William Thompson.

He immediately became alert.

The previous two times, he had entered the dead zone after first feeling a wave of sleepiness, and now it was happening again. Could it be that the third time was about to come??

His heart tightened, and he forced himself to stay awake, grabbing the big bag with his hand, afraid that if he let go, he wouldn’t be able to bring it with him.

‘If I die, will I transmigrate again?’ A strange thought suddenly popped into his mind.

‘Those black flowers, I really don’t know where they came from. How can they do such incredible things....’

William Thompson sighed inwardly. Now that the moment had come, he oddly felt less nervous than before.

It was a strange feeling, as if his mind suddenly emptied out, becoming much clearer, and his thoughts quickly sharpened...

Wait!!

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.

‘The pattern appeared because of that patch of black flowers, and I transmigrated because I came into contact with that patch of black flowers.

My previous self’s field of study was also related to plant care. All of this is connected to plants...

So, could this pattern also be related to plants?’

Once this idea connected, it quickly took over all of William Thompson’s thoughts.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

“I can give it a try!”

Immediately, he looked around—there weren’t any plants at home.

So, carrying his bag, he changed shoes and rushed out the door, dashing down the stairs and running straight to the open space between the apartment buildings.

These spaces all had simple oval-shaped greenbelts.

Inside were small trees, green grass, and flowers.

A simple fence surrounded them, with a sign hanging outside warning to be careful not to trample the plants.

But William Thompson couldn’t care less about that now. He climbed over the fence, and as soon as his foot touched the grass in the greenbelt, his body immediately reacted.

The black pattern on the back of his right hand quickly twisted and writhed, transforming into a line of clear text.

‘Please maintain contact for ten seconds... Loading in progress.’

William Thompson picked up his phone camera and looked at the back of his right hand. This time, he clearly saw the line of text.

It was the Chinese characters he used most often in his previous life!

‘Just as I thought!! I was right!!’ A tingling jolt, like an electric current, shot across his scalp.

A countdown began to appear on the back of his hand.

‘Six.’

‘Five.’

‘Four.’

‘Three.’

‘Two.’

‘One.’

Swish.

In an instant, all the writing disappeared. The black on the back of his hand returned to the previous black pattern.

And lines of intangible information, through some mysterious means, instantly poured into William Thompson’s mind.

‘Activation successful.’

Buzz!!

In an instant, a deep, dense black mist appeared out of nowhere, surrounding William Thompson from all directions.

The mist engulfed and wrapped around his entire body.

Everything around him turned pitch black.

‘What is this...!?’ He was at a loss, standing still, not daring to move.

Ding....

A clear, ringing sound echoed, like jade striking a chime, impossible to tell what kind of instrument it was.

In the darkness, far away.

A faint purple light slowly appeared, glowing, drawing closer.

------------

009 Hope Three (Thanks to the Night Lord Xie Choujin)

William Thompson stared hard, looking toward the light.

He saw the purple light approaching, getting closer and closer.

It was a purple ring.

The ring was divided into twelve segments, each with a crystal base.

At the center of the ring was still darkness, but within that darkness, it seemed something was approaching, emerging.

William Thompson’s gaze was unconsciously drawn to the darkness at the center of the ring.

He tried hard to look, to observe, trying to see what was emerging.

Buzz!!!

Suddenly, two points of silvery light lit up in the darkness.

A set of purple-black, crystal-gem-like, fierce metal armor slowly emerged from the darkness.

The armor was assembled into a humanoid form, looking like a seated person.

The helmet was diamond-shaped, and on the cheeks, forehead, and everywhere were intricate, ornate patterns and script.

From the back of the head extended an X-shaped gray piece of armor, its purpose unknown.

On the back, in a figure-eight shape, were two massive, broad straight swords, like a pair of folded wings.

The straight swords were sheathed, their surfaces also engraved with exquisite, ornate patterns.

Overall, the armor was not thick, looking more like the decorative battle armor worn by ancient generals.

On closer inspection, there were signs of damage and age. The arms and legs showed broken gaps and web-like cracks.

It was as if it had been through unimaginably brutal battles.

‘Successfully loaded the Flower of Evil.’ A stream of intangible information flowed into William Thompson’s mind.

‘Please freely choose twelve different flowers. Each flower can form its own floral scale armor and possess its own floral language ability.’