Chapter 994: The Overpowering Stench

Chu Tianqiu’s team composition was far more complex than Qi Xia’s, so a cacophony of voices rose and fell in waves.

Dr. Zhao and Xu Liunian both wore expressions of confusion. Not only did they loudly question why Chu Tianqiu had chosen them, but they even asked Di Long if they could switch members now.

In contrast, the situation on Qi Xia’s side was much calmer. Although the appearances of Lawyer Zhang, Sweetie, and Zheng Yingxiong seemed somewhat unexpected, the three of them appeared to fully trust Qi Xia—they neither asked many questions nor voiced any doubts.

Qi Xia simply stepped forward and said to them, “Sorry to bother you, but I really need you right now.”

“It’s fine…” Sweetie replied, patting Zheng Yingxiong’s head. “Not many people in this place actually need me. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

“Good.” Qi Xia nodded. “Honestly, I don’t even know what kind of help this game will require, since the rules haven’t been revealed yet. But everyone I’ve chosen is someone I trust. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

Lawyer Zhang, standing nearby, nodded solemnly and muttered under his breath, “For such a large-scale game… not revealing the rules first is just unfair to us.”

“Fairness doesn’t exist here,” Qi Xia said. “Lawyer Zhang, they’ve always been trying to kill us in every way possible. So this makes sense.”

Han Yimo, standing behind the group, seemed uncertain about his own role. He took a step forward and stood among them, hesitantly asking, “Qi Xia… you said everyone you chose is someone you trust?”

“Yes.” Qi Xia nodded.

“Including… me?” Han Yimo pressed.

“Of course.” Qi Xia smiled. “Han Yimo, this game is anything but ordinary. Not only is Di Long, the leader of the ‘Earthly’ class, overseeing it, but Qing Long is also observing.”

“Qing…?”

“One of the rulers of this place,” Qi Xia explained. “Every move we make will be under his watch. Try not to be too scared.”

The more Qi Xia spoke, the more terrified Han Yimo felt. He couldn’t even handle ordinary ‘Earthly’ opponents, let alone figures like Di Long and Qing Long.

He could only comfort himself silently, repeating that following the ‘Savior’ shouldn’t lead to any fatal dangers.

“A protagonist might endure countless ‘setbacks’…” Han Yimo whispered to himself. “But they’ll never actually be killed by the villains…”

Just as Qi Xia was about to assign tactics to the group, a faint, barely audible groan reached their ears.

Zheng Yingxiong clutched his nose and crouched on the ground, his face twisted in pain.

“Hero!” Sweetie gasped, kneeling beside him. But Zheng Yingxiong’s condition was far from stable—his complexion was rapidly paling, and his expression was more agonized than ever.

Qi Xia frowned and quickly moved to check on him.

“Qi Xia…” Sweetie said. “He hasn’t been right since we got here…”

“Yeah, Lao Qi…” Chen Junnan added from the side. “The kid’s nose has been bothering him since we stepped in. He might not last long… Is there something weird about this place?”

Qi Xia had expected Zheng Yingxiong to be affected after entering, but he hadn’t anticipated the impact would be this severe.

Leaning closer, he waited for Zheng Yingxiong’s breathing to stabilize slightly before asking, “What do you feel…?”

“This place…” Zheng Yingxiong gritted his teeth. “The scent is too overwhelming… I’ve never felt anything like this.”

“How would you describe ‘overwhelming’?” Qi Xia pressed. “Is the scent more ‘intense’ or more ‘widespread’?”

“N-no… neither… It’s like…” Zheng Yingxiong squinted in thought for a few seconds. “Before, scents always drifted from a specific person or place… But this time, it’s as if all of us are standing inside the ‘scent’ itself…”

“Standing inside the ‘scent’…?”

Qi Xia followed Zheng Yingxiong’s logic and felt he was starting to understand. The ‘inspiration-type’ echoes weren’t being suppressed here—rather, they were being disrupted by something far more potent.

This meant that whether they saw, heard, smelled, or touched, they would only receive distorted information.

“What kind of ‘scent’ are we in?” Qi Xia asked. “Can you identify its name?”

“I don’t know…” Zheng Yingxiong said. “It’s too vast… so vast I can’t even discern its name…”

His words left the others momentarily bewildered.

Chen Junnan scratched his head. “‘Too vast to smell its name’… What a niche way to describe something…”

“It’s not hard to understand,” Qi Xia said. “Imagine this ‘scent’ as a giant word sculpture. If you stand beneath it and look up, you wouldn’t be able to tell what the word is either.”

“But if that’s the case…” Chen Junnan glanced at Zheng Yingxiong. “Then this kid’s ability is just sniffing, right? If there are too many other scents here, doesn’t that mean he’s useless? It’s like spraying perfume in a bathroom—who’d even notice?”

Though Chen Junnan didn’t want to put it so bluntly, this was a seven-person team. While Chu Tianqiu’s team seemed unstable, they were by no means weak.

Having someone unable to activate their ‘echo’ in such a situation would naturally put them at a disadvantage.

“It’s fine,” Qi Xia said. “Just by coming here and telling me this, he’s already helped me greatly. It confirms some of my suspicions.”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone noticed thin streaks of blood trickling from Zheng Yingxiong’s nostrils.

Only then did Qi Xia realize the situation might be even more complicated than he’d thought. Zheng Yingxiong’s nose bled whenever he overused his ‘echo,’ and it wouldn’t stop until the scent dissipated.

But if he remained in this space… wouldn’t that mean his nosebleed would never cease?

“Zheng Yingxiong…” Qi Xia called. “Cut off your ‘echo.’ Unless absolutely necessary, don’t use your ability for now. Focus on staying alive.”

“I… I…” Zheng Yingxiong clutched his nose, looking distressed. “I don’t know how to cut it off…”

“You don’t know…?” Qi Xia frowned. “It’s just an ‘echo.’ If you know how you awakened it, you should know how to suppress it.”

“I don’t even know how I got ‘Fragrance’…” Zheng Yingxiong admitted. “I just remember waking up one day, and this ‘fragrance’ was already part of me. I’ve tried countless times to suppress it—even tried to discard the ability—but I’ve never succeeded.”

Qi Xia felt the situation growing dire. If Zheng Yingxiong couldn’t suppress his ‘echo,’ there was a high chance he’d die here.

“Fist.” Qi Xia turned to Qiao Jiajin. “If he can’t cut it off, you do it for him.”

“Ah, sure.” Qiao Jiajin nodded, but before he could say anything else, Zheng Yingxiong interrupted.

“No need,” Zheng Yingxiong said. “I’ll be fine. If I lose this ‘Fragrance,’ then I truly have no reason to be here. Let me keep it.”

“You’ll die if you keep using it,” Qi Xia warned.

“My death doesn’t matter,” Zheng Yingxiong replied. “As long as my ‘death’ can bring ‘life’ to others, then it’s all worth it.”