Chapter 722: The Collapsing City

Hearing this, Siwei Jiejie smiled and shook her head. "I don't want to become 'Tu'; I can't do it anymore."

"Can't do it...? Why?" Gu Yu Gege asked.

"Because I've already become 'Yanzi.'" Siwei Jiejie flashed her signature smile and reached out to pat my head.

At those words, I couldn't hold back my tears any longer.

For nine years, I had been trapped in this hellish darkness, and this was the first time I cried out loud.

Who could come and save me?

Who could come and save Siwei Jiejie?

Who could come and help this sick city?

"Kuaile Wangzi" had already started losing his things—this was just the beginning, and he would lose even more from here on.

In the days that followed, I drifted through them in a daze. All I remember is that the team that lost the "Yu" didn't find it within two days and was dragged outside and executed. Later, Gu Yu Gege left too.

Before he went, Gu Yu Gege looked at me sadly and said,"Hero, remember, 'Bu Po Bu Li.' Those four words are my final help to you."

It took me almost half a year to finally emerge from the pain of parting with Gu Yu Gege.

Time kept moving forward—perhaps another year passed.

Just as Gu Yu Gege had predicted, my position had become increasingly unstable.

That morning, after I "judged" a man and wearily said, "No scent," he suddenly flew into a rage.

"What the hell are you kidding about?!" the man yelled, startling me. "It's already the ninth day! How the hell don't I have a scent?!"

No, he did have a scent—it was "anger."

"Is your nose even working?!"

"I..." I was so exhausted that I didn't know how to respond right away.

I remembered this man; he had been one of Wancai's enforcers back in the day. After Wancai's death, he'd been hanging around here. The other subjects knew he had a bad temper, so they rarely interacted with him.

"Smell me again, damn it! I've done everything I could—why don't I have a scent?!"

His scent carried a mix of fear and a hint of terror; he was afraid of losing his memories.

But the truth was, he really didn't have a scent—what could I do about that?

"Let go for now..." Siwei Jiejie said from the side. "What's the point of pressuring Hero? He can only smell the scent on you, but he can't create one for you."

"I absolutely can't lose my memories!" the man shouted. "There's only one day left... just one day!!"

"That's not how you put it." Siwei Jiejie shook her head. "It's not 'only one day left,' it's 'still one day left.' Zhou Ge, calm down first. We can all help you think of a way."

Smack!

"Think my ass!!"

The man slapped Siwei Jiejie across the face with tremendous force, sending her sprawling to the ground. The action shocked everyone watching.

Seeing Siwei Jiejie get hit, a surge of rage overwhelmed me.

I lunged forward to tackle the man, but he was too big and strong for me to budge. Instead, I sank my teeth into his arm.

In that moment, I clearly smelled "killing intent" on myself.

"Ahh!!"

The man cried out in pain and started flailing his arm wildly. I felt like my teeth might come loose, but I didn't let go—I tore off a large chunk of flesh from his arm.

"Ahh! You little shit...!"

He shoved me to the ground and clamped his hand around my neck.

My crown fell to the ground once again.

"You little brat..." he growled, "you're targeting me on purpose, aren't you...? Everyone else has a scent, just not me...?"

In that instant, I felt a bit dazed.

Because I sensed the man had changed; his scent was coming alive, and he was forming his own thoughts.

Was this actually a good thing?

"Who do you think you are..." I spat out the bloody flesh in my mouth and said to him, "Do you think I'd waste time on you on purpose? That I'd target you?"

"What...?" The man was clearly stunned, not expecting me to say that. "You little brat, you're crazy... I treated you as 'Hero'... and this is how you treat me?"

"'Hero'? Whoever wants to be it can be it..." I snarled fiercely. "I'll never sniff your scent again. You could kill me right here, and it wouldn't change a thing."

"You... you... I get it now..."

The man's eyes darted around as he quickly pieced together his thoughts, and a chilling idea entered my mind.

"This is bad... Siwei Jiejie... run..."

Before I could finish, the man released me and grabbed Siwei Jiejie.

He wrapped his fingers around her throat and turned back to me. "Little brat, this girl's your weak spot, isn't she?"

"Let her go!" I demanded.

"Listen up, kid." The man sneered. "You might not fear death, but I want you to figure out a way to make me emit 'Qingxiang' right now, or I'll make this girl suffer. Got it?"

For the first time in my life, I felt this level of fury. I couldn't beat him, I couldn't kill him—what was I supposed to do?

"You all..." I turned to the onlookers, "Can't you see what he's doing right now?! Are you just going to stand there and watch?!"

Only then did some hesitant voices pipe up: "Hey... Zhou Ge, don't do this. Let's talk it out."

"Yeah, yeah. We're all family here..."

How powerless those words sounded.

"I suspect we've all been tricked by this kid!!" the man roared on. "Why should we believe him when he says there's a scent or not? I don't buy it anymore. I want to see if he can really smell it on me!"

The situation was dire; his killing intent was thick, and Siwei Jiejie was in real danger.

"Zhou Ge..." Siwei Jiejie, lying on the ground, spoke up. "Hero's ability has been proven over the years—everyone's seen it and benefited from it. Saying this won't help."

"Yes!" the man replied. "I admit he has some ability, but why haven't we escaped after following him for so long?! What gives an eight-year-old kid the right to lead a group of adults? Are we really just here to survive like this?!"

He scanned the crowd and shouted, "Don't any of you want to get out? Are you planning to spend the next few decades stuck here?!"

He was changing the scents on everyone.

"This city needs a change of leadership," he said angrily. "Since this kid hasn't gotten us out after all these years, it's time for me to try!"