That day, Uncle Wan took several aunts to participate in a game and didn’t return until evening.
But only Uncle Wan came back.
He was covered in blood, his eyes bloodshot, and he smelled both furious and terrified.
I was grateful that my sister hadn’t gone with him because she wasn’t feeling well that day—otherwise, I might never have seen her again.
“Dammit… What the hell is a ‘Land Tiger’… That’s insane…” He stumbled back into our hideout, trembling all over, then slumped down in front of us. He didn’t even look at us, just muttered under his breath.
I grew even more frightened. He seemed dazed, just like Dad when he was drunk.
Sister Siwei saw the blood on him and immediately gave off a scent of fear. Then, in a quiet voice, she asked, “Where are Sister Fang and the others…?”
“All dead… Every last one…” Uncle Wan lifted his head, his entire body shaking. “I thought it was all fake… But this place actually kills people… What the hell kind of place is this…?”
“‘Land Tiger’?” My sister froze. “Wasn’t it always ‘Human Tiger’ before? Since when was there a ‘Land’ one?”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it too…”
Uncle Wan rubbed his hands together, as if reliving the moment. That’s when I noticed his hands were also caked in dried blood.
His scent carried both “heaviness” and “fear.”
“We were all locked inside this circular arena… That tiger told us to kill each other… But how could we just obey like that? We all stood there, frozen in place…”
He kept rubbing his hands.
“Then what?” my sister asked.
“Then that tiger… dropped a machete right in the center of the arena…” Uncle Wan gave a bitter laugh. “It’s ridiculous… That’s just how people are. When everyone’s unarmed, no one dares to attack. But the moment a weapon appears in the middle…”
As Uncle Wan spoke, my sister’s expression darkened. Her scent turned sorrowful.
“Everyone started fighting over that machete like mad…” Uncle Wan continued. “The whole place descended into chaos. But I know some people weren’t grabbing it to kill—they just didn’t want anyone else to have it. Because when the blade is in your hands, it feels safe. But the moment someone else holds it, all you feel is fear. That tiger played us like fools…”
“That makes sense,” my sister nodded. “So… you survived in the end?”
Her tone stiffened, and her scent grew cautious.
“Yeah,” Uncle Wan replied, his scent heavy.
“So…” My sister started rubbing her hands too, her scent tense. “You killed Sister Fang and the others?”
“I—” A strange look flashed across Uncle Wan’s face. He stared down at his bloodstained hands, then stammered, “How could I? They were the ones who tried to kill me first… I was just defending myself…”
As soon as he finished speaking, his aura shifted, and I suddenly froze.
A bizarre, fragrant scent wafted from him—so strong it was almost like my own, though slightly different, like two different bars of soap.
And in that moment, two words flashed in my mind—”Amplify.”
This was a fragrance called “Amplify.” It overpowered all other scents, forcing its way into my nose. I couldn’t escape it.
“Uncle…” I finally blurted out, “You smell really nice.”
“Nice…?”
He and my sister both turned to me, confused.
Uncle Wan glanced down at the blood covering him, and an angry scent flared up.
“You little brat, are you mocking me…?” he rasped. “I’m drenched in stinking blood… and you say I ‘smell nice’?”
Terrified, I shuffled behind my sister. I thought I’d said something adults would like, but for some reason, he was furious.
Whenever I complimented adults before, they’d always be happy.
My sister shielded me and spoke up. “Brother Wan, calm down. Hero barely talks—let’s hear him out.”
“Hear him out…? This is absurd. I must’ve been too soft on him.” Uncle Wan laughed coldly. “I thought having nine survivors in our room gave us an edge. But who knew we’d be stuck with a useless kid who does nothing but cause trouble? People just died, and now he’s mocking me…”
“I… I’m not causing trouble…” I hid behind my sister and whispered, “I wasn’t mocking you… You can all smell it… Uncle Wan smells really nice. The scent is called ‘Amplify.’”
“Amplify?” Uncle Wan eyed me skeptically, then lifted his arm to sniff. But the next second, he only seemed angrier.
“I actually believed your nonsense…” He slowly stood and advanced toward us. “You think I don’t have enough to deal with right now…? People died… Do you even get that?!”
I was so scared—so, so scared!
He reminded me too much of Dad!
He shoved my sister aside, grabbed my collar, and yanked me forward. “You think I won’t hit you?! You little punk, are you messing with me?!”
I was about to get beaten—
**”You little shit!”**
The moment Uncle Wan roared, his voice exploded like thunder, deafening me.
**”What the—?!”**
He clapped a hand over his mouth in disbelief, but the booming echo still reverberated through the room.
My sister scrambled up, shoved Uncle Wan away, and pulled me to my feet.
“Hero, are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine… I’m fine…” I trembled all over.
Then she turned to Uncle Wan. “Brother Wan… what was that just now?”
“I don’t know…” He stood frozen, still clutching his mouth.
After checking me over, my sister squared up to Uncle Wan. “Brother Wan, this wasn’t necessary. You went out for the game and failed—Hero had nothing to do with it. You shouldn’t take it out on him.”
Uncle Wan ignored her, too busy testing his throat. He tried making loud noises—sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
“Amplify…?” His eyes widened. “Is this what ‘Amplify’ does…?”
After a few attempts, he turned back to me, gripping my shoulders hard.
“Kid… What does ‘Amplify’ mean?!”
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