Chapter 1064: I Smelled It
"What... do you mean?" Zheng Yingxiong asked.
"Pavlov's dog," Qi Xia said. "Simply put, every time the dog was fed, a bell was rung. Over time, just ringing the bell would make the dog salivate."
"This...?" Zheng Yingxiong seemed to understand the principle but felt something was off.
"Now we need to add another layer to this theorem," Qi Xia said. "As soon as the dog starts salivating, humans will start frantically ringing the bell as if possessed."
"Huh?"
"Since we've already forcibly associated ringing the bell with feeding, let's make the association even stronger," Qi Xia said. "Starting now, you are the 'Great Bell'. As long as you speak, they can obtain 'Resonance'."
Zheng Yingxiong felt that Qi Xia truly deserved to be the master he had chosen. His thinking far exceeded his imagination.
He himself used 'Spiritual Smell' to declare others' 'Fragrance' and let them truly obtain it, but in the end, no one would ever know that 'Spiritual Smell' had never been activated at all.
Qi Xia was very much like Wan Cai, who once ruled over 'Jade City', but not entirely the same. His thinking surpassed Wan Cai's.
Zheng Yingxiong organized his thoughts and asked, "If I just say it... they'll believe me?"
Qi Xia shook his head. "Making them trust your words is no simple task. You need to pay attention to timing and frequency. If they become suspicious even once, it'll be very difficult to regain their trust afterward. After all, some teammates are hard to convince."
"For example, Chen Junnan," Zheng Yingxiong said.
"Yes, for example, Chen Junnan," Qi Xia said. "To fool him and make him believe he truly obtained 'Resonance' will take some effort on your part."
"Alright..." Zheng Yingxiong nodded with a serious expression. "You said this was the first phase of the task. Is there a second phase?"
"There is," Qi Xia said. "Once you've mastered the first phase and truly made our teammates obtain 'Resonance', you can proceed to the second. But likewise, if you fail repeatedly in the first phase, forget what I said about the second."
"Mm, go on."
"The second phase is to declare the disappearance of the enemy's 'Resonance' when you encounter them." Qi Xia paused and added, "But this second phase is very difficult. It's enough if you succeed just once. It doesn't matter whose 'Resonance' you break. And I won't mind if you try multiple times."
Zheng Yingxiong was silent for a while, as if unsure whether he could do it.
"Qi Xia..." Zheng Yingxiong called out. "Logically speaking... if this method works, shouldn't you first make me believe I've obtained 'Fragrance', and then have me go tell them 'I've smelled the Fragrance'? Why tell me the truth directly?"
"Zheng Yingxiong..." Qi Xia said. "Do you think you don't have 'Fragrance' right now?"
"Huh...?"
"You can smell strange odors here, but we can't," Qi Xia said. "You've never doubted whether you are what you call a 'Fragrance Bearer', because in your memory, you have no idea what it feels like to lose 'Fragrance'."
"So I've always carried 'Spiritual Smell'..." Zheng Yingxiong blinked. "It's just that in this chaotic place of odors, I have no way to use my 'Spiritual Smell'."
"No way to use it?" Qi Xia chuckled. "Aren't you using it right now?"
"Huh...?"
"Fake usage is still usage," Qi Xia said. "Only you can do this task, so I'm counting on you."
"I'll do my best." Zheng Yingxiong said with a serious expression.
"By the way, you can go find Tian Tian first," Qi Xia said. "I've already found a way to make her 'Resonate'. Go deepen her power of 'Resonance'. It'll also be good practice for your lying skills."
"Okay!"
After seeing Qi Xia leave the room, Zheng Yingxiong immediately took a few deep breaths.
The next task felt very strange to Zheng Yingxiong. For nearly ten years or more, every single day he had passed judgment on the 'odors' of others. What he was about to do was no different—except he had to lie.
He had to pretend to smell something when he couldn't smell anything at all.
Since he had never done this before, even Zheng Yingxiong himself didn't know what his chances of success were.
He only remembered someone kneeling before him, begging him to lie so that person could get food.
But Zheng Yingxiong refused, and that person became the first soul to die under Wan Cai's command.
If only he had known this day would come... if he had agreed back then and learned to lie earlier, would everything be different now?
Zheng Yingxiong snapped back to reality and carefully considered his next strategy.
The first step was naturally to find Tian Tian. Practicing on someone who already had 'Fragrance' would definitely be the best scenario. The lie would come more naturally, and there would be no guilt.
But what about next?
Qiao Jiajin was currently lying seriously injured on the ground, so he could be deprioritized.
If he had to choose the easiest target in the entire team, the one most likely to be fooled, Zheng Yingxiong immediately thought of Han Yimo.
Although he was also an adult, Han Yimo gave Zheng Yingxiong a strange feeling. That person seemed to have already gone mad. His mind was now filled with the thoughts of a lunatic, so he should be easy to convince.
Next was Lawyer Zhang. But the reason Lawyer Zhang would be easy to fool was different from Han Yimo's. She wasn't stupid. It was just that he had acted together with her earlier and had seen through the person disguised as Chen Junnan right in front of her. So currently, her trust in him was very high. What he said should be believable.
But she had seemed to fall into some game after they separated, and he hadn't seen her for a while.
Finally... there was Chen Junnan, the 'peak' to conquer. To make Chen Junnan believe his words would truly require careful planning. Perhaps ordinary methods wouldn't work anymore.
Zheng Yingxiong could only secretly be grateful that he didn't need to use such tactics on Qi Xia. Otherwise, even 'planning' would be futile.
He adjusted his mood, searched through a few rooms, and finally found Tian Tian.
At that moment, Tian Tian was murmuring something with her eyes closed, occasionally opening them to look around, as if confirming her results.
"Sister?" Zheng Yingxiong called out tentatively.
"Huh? Little brother Yingxiong." Tian Tian turned around and called out. "Why are you here...?"
"I was in the next room just now... and suddenly smelled a very fragrant scent..." Zheng Yingxiong said. "Sister... have you 'Resonated'?"
"I...?" Tian Tian smiled. "Yes, little brother Yingxiong. So you knew. I wasn't quite sure myself just now, but if even you say so, then it must be right."
"Mm." Zheng Yingxiong nodded. "Sister, I smelled the Fragrance of 'Ingenious Items'."