“What…?” The uncle’s scent wavered with hesitation.
“Pull me up right now, or we’ll all die together,” I said. “I don’t even know you anyway…”
“Yes! Exactly!” My sister’s muffled voice shouted from afar. “Little brother, don’t let them win!”
She smelled furious.
The uncle hesitated for a moment, but eventually decided to have everyone pull me up first.
To survive, I scrambled desperately. My palms, already scraped raw, stung badly from the water, but I couldn’t let myself cry—otherwise, I’d be scolded.
By the time I finally climbed out of the well, I had no strength left. My limbs were weak and trembling.
The uncle, reeking of foulness, strode over, snatched the key from my arms, and immediately rushed to the door.
I saw my sister pinned down by a few aunties, one even trying to cover her mouth. When she noticed I’d climbed out, she broke free with a fierce struggle and ran to me.
“Little brother, are you okay?” she asked, her voice laced with worry.
“I’m fine, sis…”
Her scent was still so comforting—clean and pure.
“It’s open! It’s open!” an auntie yelled.
The crowd turned excitedly toward the machine in the room, only to find the countdown still ticking.
“What does this mean?” the lead uncle demanded. “Can we leave now?”
As everyone stared at the ongoing timer, their scents filled with confusion.
The door was open—shouldn’t the countdown have stopped? Couldn’t they just run now?
Noticing my scraped knees, my sister quickly scooped me up, equally puzzled as she glanced at the masked figures.
“Of course, you’ve passed the game,” the rabbit-masked figure nodded. “Go. The losers will face judgment automatically.”
Losers…?
I distinctly caught the scent of confusion wafting from my sister.
After speaking, the rabbit turned to the dog and tiger-masked figures behind him, and the three murmured quietly among themselves.
“Any of you want to leave?” the rabbit asked. “If there’s unfinished business on the ‘train,’ you can go first. I’ll stay and die.”
“Nothing urgent,” the dog-masked figure shook his head. “I can die first too. Everything’s settled. What about you, tiger?”
“Should I live?” the tiger-masked figure scratched his head. “Nah, not worth it. I’ll die this time. Let the rabbit go.”
They discussed death so casually—no fear, no hesitation. Their only scent was a strange, unfamiliar stench.
The masked figures didn’t stop us as we fled the room. Outside was a long hallway lined with doors on both sides.
The uncles and aunties hesitated, unsure whether to go left or right, freezing in place.
My sister, carrying me, was the last to leave.
Even at the final moment, she remained confused—until the countdown ended, and the machine released a yellowish-green gas. Only then did her scent shift to panic.
From her arms, I watched the gas engulf the masked figures. Only the rabbit waved a hand, dispersing the fumes before following us out.
He shut the door from the outside, sealing the other two masks and the gas inside, then stood beside us.
“What… does this mean?” the uncle asked. “Is it over? Can we leave now?”
“Yes, go ahead,” the rabbit replied.
“But what about the ‘reward’?” an auntie pressed. “You dragged us here for this game. Do we get money for winning?”
“Right… Even if we all survived, shouldn’t there be a prize?” another uncle added.
The rabbit fell silent for a moment before answering, “Every time you wake up, it’s always about money. I’m tired of explaining. Go die outside. You all lived and still want rewards?”
Later, I learned we’d woken up in that room many times before.
But so much still didn’t make sense… Why didn’t I remember any of those past awakenings?
Why didn’t the others remember either?
Had I smelled these strange scents before?
Sometimes I wondered—if I’d known what would happen next, if I’d foreseen my sister’s fate and the future of “Jade City,” I’d have stayed in that room forever.
I’d have let the gas kill me, just like the others. I’d have forgotten everything.
But I couldn’t.
From the moment I began smelling these scents, forgetting became impossible.
Following the rabbit’s instructions, we walked down the hallway. At the end stood another masked figure—this one monstrous. He handed us a handful of small, emerald-green stones, explaining they were called “jade.” If we collected 57,600 pieces within ten days, everything could be saved.
This monster-masked figure stank worse than the others.
When he opened a strange door and led us into the city, my nose finally found relief.
It wasn’t as foul here.
But when I turned back, I saw the other eight covering their noses—the outside air seemed unbearable to them. To me, it was fine.
Things kept getting stranger. They could tolerate the stench inside but not the air out here?
To me, the masked figures smelled far worse.
From that day on, burdened with unshakable memories, I truly arrived in this land.
“Little brother, what’s your name?” my sister asked.
“Zheng Yingxiong,” I answered.
“Hero?” She laughed at my name.
“No, no—not ‘hero.’ ‘Yingxiong,’ fourth tone.”
I waved my hands nervously. I was just a petty thief, someone destined for prison. I didn’t deserve a name like “hero.”
I suddenly thought of Yue Fei.
Only someone like him could be called a hero. Whoever the hero was, it definitely wasn’t me.
“Zheng… Ying… xiong?” My sister mulled it over, then laughed again. “Such a weird name. Sounds ancient, like something from my dad’s generation.”
She called my name old-fashioned, but I liked it. Better than “Xu Jiahua,” at least.
“Jiahua” was common. “Yingxiong” was rare.
“Sis, what’s your name?” I asked, clutching her hand.
“Li Siwei.” She ruffled my hair. “How’d such a tiny baby end up with such a serious name? It’s so mismatched.”
“Tiny… baby?” I frowned. “I’m in second grade… I’m almost eight.”
“Alright, alright.” She nodded. “You’re not a baby. You’re a real ‘hero.’”
“Huh?” I looked up at her. “Why?”
“Because we all survived thanks to you,” she said. “If you hadn’t gone down that well to retrieve the key, we might’ve died in that room.”
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