Chapter 702: Everyone Is So Amazing

Uncle Wan turned around with a cold laugh and said to the crowd:

“Everyone, I’ll say it again—I won’t force anyone to stay or leave. But sooner or later, you’ll realize that this place will never have someone as generous as me again. Right now, more than anyone, I want to distribute food to reward all of you for today’s hard work. But I really can’t. Once the idea of ‘getting something for nothing’ spreads in our ‘big family,’ no one will be willing to contribute anymore. I truly hope you all understand. If everyone gets food and ‘jade’ today, what does that make those who work hard tomorrow?”

His tone gradually softened, but a heavy weight lingered in his words.

“Ah, Brother Wan, don’t say it like that. We understand.”

“I genuinely feel for everyone who contributes to this family,” Uncle Wan said with a bitter smile. “But you’re not left with nothing either. I’ve said it before—starting tomorrow, every new member must pay ten pieces of ‘jade,’ and that ‘jade’ will eventually end up in your pockets.”

I never could have imagined that from that day onward, the number of people in our supermarket would multiply exponentially.

And Uncle Wan kept revising the “rules” of our big family.

As he put it, because the numbers grew far beyond his expectations, he had to ensure fairer distribution of rewards. From then on, bringing in new “family members” would earn you ‘jade,’ not food—though food could still be traded for ‘jade.’

Though Uncle Wan didn’t follow the rules set by the dragon-headed man, he still amassed a huge amount of ‘jade’ in a short time.

By the third day, some had fully grasped the rules and began actively recruiting new members.

Uncle Wan’s strategy worked. Though each team received only a little food, everyone got enough daily to avoid starvation.

But what puzzled me was that he gave me a can of food every day, which I shared with Brother Gu Yu and Sister Siwei.

We didn’t do anything, yet we still had food.

Brother Gu Yu left early and returned late every day—I had no idea what he was doing.

By the fifth day, our “family” had grown to two hundred people.

Every day, Uncle Wan rallied everyone with fiery speeches, and each time, he’d bring me before the crowd to sniff their scents.

Strangely, their smells grew fainter day by day—as if they were losing their individuality.

From all the sniffing, my nose ached, but it was still better than nothing. I had no other duties—just to smell people.

On the seventh day, the first “Fragrant One” besides us finally appeared.

It was the chubby brother.

He’d said from the start that he wanted to leave, yet he never did.

That day, the scent of “Thunderclap” clearly radiated from him, and I immediately told Uncle Wan.

Uncle Wan was overjoyed. He pulled the chubby brother before the crowd and loudly announced that our “big family” had finally birthed a “Fragrant One,” then demanded he demonstrate “Thunderclap” right away.

But the chubby brother just stood there, baffled, with no idea how to summon this so-called “Thunderclap.”

Uncle Wan brushed it off and gave his team double rations, declaring, “The highest rewards always go to the first to succeed.”

Though no one saw “Thunderclap,” the news of success spread. They cheered, hugged, as if we’d already escaped this place.

Then Uncle Wan asked the chubby brother to share his success story. But the chubby brother said he hadn’t done anything special—just played a “Human Rooster” game, and when he returned, he’d become a “Fragrant One.”

What made me happiest was that when Brother Gu Yu returned that night, he too carried the scent of the Fragrant Ones—just like when I first met him.

But his expression was grim. He slipped past the bustling crowd to reach me and Sister Siwei. Sensing something amiss, Uncle Wan quickly approached.

“Oh, what are our ‘core members’ up to here?” Uncle Wan asked.

“Brother Wan…”

Brother Gu Yu picked up a stone from the ground, clenched it in his hand, then turned his palm over—the stone was gone.

“What’s this, Xiao Gu?” Uncle Wan chuckled. “A magic trick at this hour?”

“No.” Brother Gu Yu shook his head. “Brother Wan, this isn’t magic. It’s ‘Fragrance.’ I’ve awakened.”

“Oh…?” Uncle Wan froze, then smiled. “That’s great, Xiao Gu. If we ever return to this hellhole, you’ll keep your memories.”

“Yes. But I think this massive organization is heading the wrong way.”

Brother Gu Yu opened his hand, and the “air” in his palm fell to the ground with a crisp *clink*.

“How so?” Uncle Wan asked sternly.

“Gathering everyone here to chant slogans won’t turn them into ‘Fragrant Ones,'” Brother Gu Yu said coldly.

“H-How can that be?” Uncle Wan pointed at the chubby brother in the distance. “Today, we welcomed our first ‘Fragrant One’!”

Brother Gu Yu followed his finger, then sighed. “I ran into him on the street. He only gained ‘Fragrance’ because he played a ‘game,’ didn’t he?”

“…”

“I’ve been exploring for the past seven days,” Brother Gu Yu said. “But alone, I’m limited. All I can say is… this ‘Fragrance’ isn’t acquired by chance. It requires certain conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“Exactly.” Brother Gu Yu nodded. “I’m not sure if they’re the same for everyone, but after playing many games, I’ve reached this conclusion.”

“You’re saying…” Uncle Wan pondered. “If we want more people to gain ‘Fragrance,’ they need to go out and play games?”

“Yes.” Brother Gu Yu confirmed. “If you really want to build an army of superhumans, staying passive won’t work. You have to push them into danger.”

I remember Uncle Wan stayed up all night again. The next day, he reshuffled the teams and sent everyone out to play games.

He strictly forbade participation in games starting with “Earth,” but every “family member” had to join games starting with “Human.” Teams had to pair up and supervise each other. Winners had to bring back ‘jade,’ which Uncle Wan would redistribute the next day. Anyone caught hoarding ‘jade’ would face collective punishment—cut off from all food.

I have to admit, Brother Gu Yu was brilliant. Following his method, the family gained more and more “Fragrant Ones” each day.

By the ninth day, over twenty had awakened. Some could even wield their “powers.”

That day, the one who gained “Fragrance” was the aunt who’d been with us from the start. Uncle Wan, thrilled, asked her to share her success story.

After thanking Uncle Wan, she excitedly announced to the crowd:

“I believe I succeeded in gaining ‘Fragrance’ for two reasons: first, Brother Wan and our big family’s support, and second—I paid respects to a ‘Divine Dragon.'”