Chapter 722: The City of Continuous Collapse
Sister Siwei smiled and shook her head upon hearing this. "I don't want to become a 'Rabbit.' I can't do it anymore."
"Can't do it...? Why?" Brother Guyu asked.
"Because I've already become a 'Swallow,'" Sister Siwei said with her signature smile, reaching out to pat my head.
Hearing those words, I finally couldn't hold back my tears.
Nine years. I had spent nine years in this hell as dark as night, and this was the first time I cried out loud.
Who could save me?
Who could save Sister Siwei?
Who could help this sick city?
The "Happy Prince" had already begun to lose what was his. This was just the beginning. From here on, he would only lose more.
The days that followed were spent in a daze. All I remembered was that the team that lost the "jade" failed to find it within two days and was dragged outside to be executed. Later, Brother Guyu also left.
Before he left, Brother Guyu looked at me with a sorrowful expression and said, "Hero, remember this: 'Without breaking, there can be no establishing.' These four words are the last help I can give you."
It took me nearly half a year to finally move on from the pain of parting with Brother Guyu.
Time marched on. Perhaps another year had passed.
My position, as Brother Guyu had predicted, had become precarious.
That morning, after "judging" a man and wearily declaring "No scent," he suddenly flew into a rage.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" the man roared, startling me. "It's already been nine days! And I still have no scent?!"
No, it wasn't that he had no scent. The scent on him was "anger."
"Are your nose even reliable?!"
"I..." I was too exhausted to even know how to respond.
I remembered this man. He was one of Wan Cai's thugs back in the day. After Wan Cai died, he had been active here ever since. The other subjects knew he had a bad temper and rarely interacted with him.
"Smell me again! Damn it! I've done everything I could! Why is there no scent?!"
His scent carried a layer of fear, a fear of losing his memories.
But he truly had no scent. What could I do about it?
"Let go of him first..." Sister Siwei interjected from the side. "What's the use of troubling Hero? He can only smell the scent on you, but he can't conjure one up for you."
"I absolutely cannot lose my memories!" the man shouted. "There's only one day left... only one day left!!"
"That's not how you put it," Sister Siwei shook her head. "It's not 'only one day left'; it's 'there's still one day.' Brother Zhou, calm down first. All of us can help you think of a way."
*Smack!*
"The hell with that!!"
The man slapped Sister Siwei across the face with tremendous force, sending her sprawling to the ground. The sight startled everyone watching.
Seeing Sister Siwei get hit, I was suddenly consumed with fury.
I lunged forward, trying to tackle the man, but he was too tall and sturdy for me to budge. Instead, I immediately bit down on his arm.
At that moment, I clearly smelled "murderous intent" emanating from myself.
"Ahh!!"
The man cried out in pain and began furiously shaking his arm. I felt like my teeth were about to fall out, but I didn't let go. I viciously tore a large chunk of flesh from his arm.
"Ahh! Son of a bitch...!"
The man shoved me to the ground and clamped his hand around my throat.
My crown fell to the ground once again.
"You damn brat..." he growled. "Are you targeting me on purpose...? Everyone else had a scent, but I didn't...?"
At that moment, I felt a sudden daze.
Because I sensed a change in this man. The scent on him began to grow vivid. He had his own thoughts now.
Was this... a good thing?
"Who do you think you are..." I spat out the blood and flesh from my mouth and said to him, "Would I waste my time targeting you? Would I deliberately single you out?"
"What...?" The man was visibly stunned, as if he hadn't expected me to say such a thing. "You little brat, have you lost your mind...? I looked up to you as a 'Hero,' and this is how you repay me?"
"'Hero'? Whoever wants the title can take it," I snarled. "I will never smell your scent again, even if you kill me right here."
"You... you... I see..."
The man's eyes darted around as he quickly pieced together his thoughts. A chilling idea dawned on me.
"No... Sister Siwei... run..."
Before I could finish, the man released me and immediately grabbed Sister Siwei.
He wrapped a few fingers around her throat and turned back to look at me. "Little brat, this girl is your weak spot, isn't she?"
"Let her go!" I shouted.
"Listen carefully, brat," the man sneered. "It's fine if you're not afraid to die. I want you to find a way to make me emit a 'fragrant scent' right now, or I'll make this girl's life a living hell. Understand?"
Never in my life had I felt such fury. I couldn't beat him. I couldn't kill him. What was I supposed to do?
"All of you..." I turned to look at the gathered subjects. "Can't you see what he's doing?! Are you just going to stand there and watch?!"
Only then did some faint murmurs arise: "Hey... Brother Zhou, don't resort to violence. Let's talk this out."
"Yeah, yeah. We're all family here..."
How pathetic. How utterly pathetic were those voices?
"I think we've all been fooled by this kid!" the man continued to roar. "Why should we take his word for it? Just because he says there's a scent or not?! I don't believe it anymore today. Let's see if he can really smell anything on me!"
The situation was truly dire. His murderous intent was thick, and Sister Siwei was in grave danger.
"Brother Zhou..." Sister Siwei, lying on the ground, spoke up at that moment. "Everyone has seen Hero's abilities over the years. Everyone has been helped by him. Saying things like that won't do any good."
"Yes!" the man agreed. "I admit he has abilities. But why have we never managed to escape while following him?! An eight-year-old kid... what right does he have to lead a bunch of adults like us?! Are we really just living here day by day?!"
After speaking, he looked around at everyone present and asked loudly, "Don't any of you want to get out? Are you really prepared to spend the next few decades stuck here?"
He was changing the scent on everyone.
"This city needs new leadership," he said angrily. "Since this kid hasn't been able to help us escape after all these years, it's time for me to give it a try!"