Chapter 694: My Life Here

At first, I really wanted to cry.

But Jiejie Siwei kept comforting me, which made me feel a lot better. She said I was a true "hero" and that I had saved everyone. I held onto her hand the whole time; all the adults made me feel scared, but Jiejie Siwei didn't seem to.

"Jiejie, are we going to walk with them?" I pointed to the group of aunties and uncles ahead.

Ever since they stepped out onto the street, their scents had become really complex, as if they were thinking about a lot of things.

"Little hero, I don't really like them either, but this creepy place is too strange," she said, furrowing her brow and looking around the rundown city. "No matter what, it's better to have more people than fewer. If it's just us two, we might be in even more danger."

"Ah...?"

I found it hard to understand. The leader uncle clearly gave off a scent of "killing intent"—hadn't Jiejie Siwei noticed it? Or had she noticed but still thought he was safe?

At the time, I didn't think deeply about what Jiejie Siwei said, and I didn't realize that only I could smell that strange odor. Looking back, that was probably the most painful decision of my life.

After walking a few hundred meters, the leader uncle seemed to think of something and turned back to stare at Jiejie Siwei.

She looked a bit scared but still tried to hide me behind her.

"What is it?" she asked.

The leader uncle grinned and stood in front of us.

"Little girl," he called out, "what's your name?"

"Li Siwei."

"Good name." He nodded. "I could tell right away that you're a smart one. How about we team up?"

"Team up?"

"Yeah." He smiled broadly, though his scent was unpleasant. "Siwei, I'm quite the big shot out in the world—I love working with smart people. It makes me feel unstoppable. So, why not join us?"

With that, he pulled a small cloth bag from his pocket, opened it, and revealed the emerald-green stones inside.

"That dragon-headed person said we need to collect tens of thousands of these little stones, and the more people we have, the faster we'll get it done," he said. "Do you know what the most important thing is when accomplishing a big task?"

"Staying alive," Jiejie Siwei replied.

"No, it's building an unbreakable team." He chuckled. "I have endless experience in forming teams, and I'll make the most of everyone's strengths. You've got a sharp mind, so I'm inviting you to join me. Together, we'll head toward success."

I hid behind Jiejie Siwei, too afraid to speak, and kept smelling the heavy scent coming from the uncle.

Jiejie Siwei hesitated for a moment, her brows furrowing, and asked, "What's your name, sir?"

"I go by Wan Cai," he answered. "And don't call me 'sir'—I'm only just forty."

This uncle was really odd; only when he talked about his name and age did his heavy scent lighten a bit.

"Wan Ge," Jiejie Siwei corrected herself, "I've met some big figures before, but none of them talk like you. Have you really formed a lot of teams?"

"Oh..." Wan Ge's gaze toward Jiejie Siwei changed slightly, and his scent eased a little. "Didn't expect someone as young as you, Little Li, to have seen so much. I have indeed formed many excellent teams, and I'm always the leader. You don't have to believe me now—I'll show you my capabilities in our future collaborations. In return, I hope you'll shine and contribute to our big family."

"Big family...?" Jiejie Siwei asked, puzzled.

"I've already talked to a few of them." Wan Ge gestured to the aunties in the distance and laughed. "From now on, we'll treat each other as family. That way, we'll be more united and more motivated. We'll all be part of one big family—what do you think?"

Jiejie Siwei's scent of confusion grew stronger.

"Wan Ge... if I join this so-called 'big family' of yours, what would I have to do?"

"Not much at all," Wan Ge replied. "The only rule is that we discuss everything together. Our family guarantees fairness and justice. We just have ten days, so let's give it our all and collect these stones together."

After thinking it over, Jiejie Siwei finally agreed to Wan Ge's request that day.

Our lives changed completely from then on.

The first few days weren't anything special; Wan Ge really acted like the head of the family. He divided everyone into groups, assigned them to some games, and had the aunties who weren't suited for the games go out to find food.

But whether the aunties couldn't find any food or if there just wasn't any in this place, they came back empty-handed for two days straight. It wasn't until the third day that they brought back some hard-to-eat canned food and mineral water.

Wan Ge's scent smelled angry, but he still greeted them with a smile, saying, "We're all family," though his unpleasant scent was unmistakable.

I often saw Wan Ge's eyes turn icy cold in the middle of the night; he didn't like to sleep. He just stared at the others, and his scent grew more terrifying.

Since my dad used to come home drunk all the time, I never slept too deeply. Any little noise at night would wake me up instantly, which let me notice everything Wan Ge was doing.

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As soon as someone turned over in their sleep, I'd wake up and instinctively look at Wan Ge—he never slept.

By the way, maybe this is my "special talent"?

I mean... I wake up faster than anyone else, so that should be my "special talent," right?

Why am I only thinking of it now...?

Back when the teacher asked us to write down our "special talents," I thought for a long time and could only write "none." The kids who had talents got praised by the teacher, and we all had to applaud for them—I clapped harder than anyone.

I don't know why I clapped so hard, but I just kept going. I really wanted to have a "special talent."

But now it's great—if the teacher asks again, I can write "waking up faster than others." She'd praise me, right?

Would the other kids applaud for me?

Will I... ever see them again? Or Xu Jiahua...?

I still really want to cry.

Even though I don't miss my mom and dad or my teacher, I really want to cry.

Every night, I sleep leaning on Jiejie Siwei's shoulder. I don't like the adults; I only like her.

But Jiejie Siwei has looked so tired lately—she even cut her palm today.

She keeps telling me "it's nothing," but I feel like something's wrong; her scent has started to get murky.

Wan Ge didn't assign me any tasks; he just had me stay in the house all the time.

Luckily, I can clean up. Every day, I make the house spotless for when everyone comes back.

But the adults' atmosphere is getting tenser by the day, and their arguments are increasing. Finally, on the sixth day, things took a turn for the worse.