Chapter 699: Wan's Good Idea

I thought everything would be the same as before, but it felt a little different somehow. Although Wan Bobo still remembered me, his scent was as unpleasant as ever, and while Siwei Jiejie didn’t remember me, her scent remained so clean and fresh.

This time, I was even more confident and volunteered to go into the well. But unlike last time, Wan Bobo took the initiative to tie the rope around my waist and warned me repeatedly not to get into any trouble. Even though his scent was still awful, his attitude toward me seemed a bit different from before.

We left the house just like old times, and Siwei Jiejie was still praising me as a true “hero.” I asked her countless times, “Do you remember me?” but each time she just smiled and shook her head. So, I had to tell her that I’m not a “hero,” but “Yingxiong,” with the xiong in the fourth tone.

I was a bit sad about it, but thinking about being with her for ten days made it not so hard to accept. Even though she didn’t remember me, I still remembered her.

When we came out to the street through that magical hallway, Gu Yu Gege was already waiting for us there. He didn’t seem interested in the fact that Wan Bobo remembered him; instead, like me, he went straight to Siwei Jiejie. But she didn’t remember anyone.

Wan Bobo said to the other aunts, “Let me introduce everyone. This is Gu Yu, or Little Gu. From now on, he’s part of our big family. We need to get along, love one another, and build a future together.”

Gu Yu Gege didn’t object; he just stood next to Siwei Jiejie and explained the situation to her in general terms. He told her that this was our second time here, and that he still had memories from the last time. Having an adult around really helps—there’s no way I could explain all that clearly.

After he finished, he looked at me, and I nodded along: “Gu Yu Gege, I remember you too.”

He smiled in relief and patted my head: “That’s great.”

He speculated to Siwei Jiejie that only people with “Qingxiang” seem to retain their memories—like me, like him, like Wan Bobo.

As he was saying this, Wan Bobo was standing nearby, quietly listening, and his scent kept changing—it was really hard to figure out.

In the days that followed, Gu Yu Gege really joined our group. To find a safe place for over ten of us, Wan Bobo led us wandering through the city; he seemed to have a new goal.

We found a large supermarket, and in its basement level two, there was a warehouse. Wan Bobo and the others had to work hard to break the door open, and inside, there were plenty of canned goods.

We had food now, and Wan Bobo said it would last us several months.

But to everyone’s surprise, he only gave food to me, Siwei Jiejie, and Gu Yu Gege, and nothing to the others.

Wan Bobo closed the warehouse door and said seriously, “Everyone, I need to set some rules for our family now. This isn’t the first time we’ve gathered here—it’s the second time—and several of us still have our memories. So, I feel that escaping this place isn’t something we can do in just ten days; it’s going to be a long process.”

The aunts looked at each other, not sure what he was getting at.

“You might not understand fully, but we’re trapped here,” Wan Bobo continued. “From now on, I need you all to recruit people.”

“Recruit people…?” one of the aunts asked in confusion. “What kind of people?”

“Even though we’re a ‘big family’ and we’re all family to each other, we still need to establish some ‘family rules,’ or it’ll be hard to manage later.” Wan Bobo pulled me over from the back of the crowd and brought me to his side. “I need you to bring in new ‘participants’ to our ‘big family.’ Every person you bring in has to be taken to this child. As long as this child senses that the person has a ‘Qingxiang’ scent, then both the new person and their ‘upline’ can get food.”

“‘Upline’…?” The aunts seemed to be trying to understand what Wan Bobo was saying.

“That’s right. And another important point…” Wan Bobo picked up a stone and drew a pyramid shape on the wall. He pointed to the base of the pyramid. “The ‘downlines’ you bring in can go on to recruit more ‘downlines.’ As long as they bring in someone with ‘Qingxiang,’ all the ‘uplines’ still get food. If you’re strong enough, the whole team will become very wealthy.”

The aunts nodded after hearing this, but Gu Yu Gege and Siwei Jiejie’s expressions turned grave, and their scents weren’t very pleasant.

“Additionally, for every three ordinary people or one ‘Qingxiang’ person you recruit—whether it’s you or your ‘downlines’—the team leader will get an extra ten ‘Yu’ from me.”

Wan Bobo threw the stone away and spoke earnestly to everyone: “Don’t think I’m being too harsh. As I said, we’ve been here before, but last time, we failed because we weren’t united, and we all ended up dying here. If we can’t find a way to unite, the outcome will be the same as last time.”

I could smell the hesitation in the aunts’ scents.

“Everyone, go out and recruit some people today,” Wan Bobo said. “Tomorrow night, we’ll meet back here. I’ll give you a detailed plan for our future development—call it our first ‘mobilization meeting.’ For our bright future, I might need each of you to put in tremendous effort. Do you have confidence?”

One of the aunts said softly, “Yes…”

“DO—YOU—HAVE—CONFIDENCE?!” Wan Bobo suddenly shouted.

“Yes!” they replied.

“We can definitely escape from here, right?!”

“Yes!” they said.

Just as everyone was getting excited, one of the aunts’ scents changed. She looked a bit older than my mom but dressed more nicely.

She stepped forward and said to Wan Bobo, “Mr. Wan… this doesn’t seem right. Even if we manage to gather everyone someday… will that really get us out?”

After hearing her words, Wan Bobo’s scent suddenly became terrifying, but he still kept a smile as he said, “Anyone who doesn’t believe can feel free to leave. We need ‘unity,’ not ‘internal conflict,’ so I won’t force anyone to stay here.”

“I…” The aunt lowered her head, looking troubled. If she left the group and went out alone on the streets, who knew what dangers she might face?

“I’m not forcing you,” Wan Bobo raised his voice, “but I have to make this clear: anyone who goes it alone here is as good as dead. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try.”