Chapter 551: The Odorless

In the following days, I worked hard to familiarize myself with the new changes in “Paradise”… Sorry, I always struggle to correct myself.

I mean, the changes in “The Land of the End.”

That night, I went to the dark, foul-smelling basement to see Chu Tianqiu. Through the door, I recounted the day’s events to him.

Not only had Qi Xia arrived, but he had also brought along eight other teammates.

Chu Tianqiu didn’t ask about Qi Xia’s teammates. Instead, he just kept staring at me with a smile—one that sent chills down my spine.

“What’s wrong?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Xiao Nian, could you do me another favor?”

“Go on.”

“I want to know what kind of ‘scent’ they carry.”

“Scent…?” His words left me utterly bewildered. “You mean Qi Xia?”

“No, not just Qi Xia,” Chu Tianqiu chuckled. “I want to know the ‘scent’ of everyone in Qi Xia’s room.”

“But I don’t understand…”

“You don’t need to,” he said with a smile. “Just go and sniff out their scents, then come back and describe them to me—the more detailed, the better.”

Again, I couldn’t fathom what Chu Tianqiu was thinking.

“Alright, I’ll go gather them all.”

“No, this must be kept secret,” Chu Tianqiu interrupted. “No one can know about this.”

“You…”

Secret?

So, I had to stealthily sniff out the scents of everyone in Qi Xia’s room without being noticed.

For a moment, I couldn’t even tell who was making demands anymore, or who was using whom.

“Xiao Nian, you know… if I were to expose you right now, it wouldn’t be me who suffers.” Chu Tianqiu seemed to read my thoughts. He let out a soft laugh and slowly approached the door. “I don’t need your ‘core’ to act, but right now, you need my ‘shell.’ I’ve humbled myself by hiding in this wretched basement—shouldn’t you repay me in some way?”

Hearing this, I took a deep breath and nodded.

Yes, Chu Tianqiu wasn’t wrong. The initiative lay in his hands, not mine. If he decided to expose me, I’d be the one at a disadvantage.

But this wouldn’t last forever. I couldn’t stay passive indefinitely.

“I understand. I’ll go now,” I agreed.

“Wait—lock the door when you leave,” Chu Tianqiu added.

Just as I was about to leave, his words made me pause. I glanced down at the basement’s lock.

The lock could only be secured from the outside, trapping whoever was inside.

“Tianqiu, why do you always ask me to lock the door when I leave?”

“To put your mind at ease,” he replied. “Once the door is locked, I can’t leave. I won’t interfere with anything you do—isn’t that proof of my sincerity?”

Oddly enough, even though I was the one locking him in, a sense of foreboding crept over me. It was as if, the moment that lock clicked, I’d be the one imprisoned.

But what harm could locking him up possibly bring me?

I ran through countless scenarios and couldn’t think of a single disadvantage. So, without hesitation, I reached out and locked the basement door.

“That’s more like it, Xiao Nian,” Chu Tianqiu’s voice came softly through the door. “Only by showing mutual sincerity can we forge a partnership that satisfies us both.”

Without another word, I left the room and began devising a plan.

Fortunately, everyone in Qi Xia’s room was staying together. If I could find a way to sneak in, I could gather all their scents at once.

Still, I didn’t understand why Chu Tianqiu was suddenly so curious about their “scents.”

Despite our endless cycles in “The Land of the End,” our bodies were constantly renewed, always carrying the “scents” of the real world. Was Chu Tianqiu trying to uncover their pasts through these smells?

Armed with my usual dagger and a rope from the storage room, I ventured into the corridor under cover of darkness. By then, all the bonfires in the classrooms had been extinguished.

I tied the rope across the hallway in advance and made my way to Qi Xia’s room.

The night was pitch black—so much so that I couldn’t even see my own hand, let alone expect anyone to spot me.

Twisting the doorknob, I stepped inside with a soft click.

Though visibility was poor, I could sense they were all asleep. Moving forward, I approached the person closest to the door.

I reached out, felt their hair—a woman—and leaned in to sniff. There was no scent at all.

Without dwelling on it, I moved to the second person, a large figure whose heavy snores suggested a strong, muscular man.

Just as I was about to smell him, something felt off.

This was only the second day of their rebirth… Why did that woman have no scent at all?

Was it even possible for a person to carry no scent?

If she had recently bathed or changed clothes, there should at least be a lingering fragrance. If she hadn’t tended to herself in a while, there’d be an unpleasant odor.

But why nothing?

“Strange…” I muttered under my breath.

I knew this opportunity wouldn’t last. Even if someone had no scent, there was no need to dwell on it. I just had to report it faithfully to Chu Tianqiu.

With that in mind, I sniffed the burly man before me. His scent was unpleasant—heavy with smoke and sweat, as if he hadn’t bathed in days.

Turning around, my eyes had adjusted enough to the dark to scan the room.

Something felt off. Unless I was mistaken… there were eight people inside?

A chill ran down my spine. It was pitch black outside—had someone left in the middle of the night?

Maybe I was seeing things. I counted carefully with my fingers—yes, eight.

One person wasn’t sleeping here.

If they weren’t here and couldn’t have left, where were they?

This was getting dangerous. In any other room, it might not matter, but this was Qi Xia’s.

A small coincidence like this could be a fatal flaw.

Realizing this, I abandoned everything and bolted for the door. At the same time, a shadow moved, lunging toward it as well.

His goal was to shut me in—I just had to be faster.

When he saw he couldn’t close the door in time, he reached for me. I dodged just in time and sprinted down the hallway.