Chapter 994: A Huge Smell

Chu Tianqiu's team had a more complicated composition than Qi Xia's, leading to a chaotic mix of voices.

Zhao Yisheng and Xu Liunian both looked confused. They not only loudly questioned Chu Tianqiu about his choices but also asked if Di Long would allow them to switch team members right now.

In contrast, things were much smoother on Qi Xia's side. Although the appearance of Zhang Lvshi, Tian Tian, and Zheng Yingxiong was somewhat unexpected, the three seemed to trust Qi Xia completely, asking no further questions and showing no signs of doubt.

Qi Xia simply walked up to them and said:

"It might be a bit of a disturbance, but I truly need you right now."

"No problem," Tian Tian replied while stroking Zheng Yingxiong's head. "In this place, not many people need me. If there's anything you need help with, just say it."

"Alright," Qi Xia nodded. "To be honest, I don't even know what kind of assistance this game might require since the rules haven't been revealed yet. But I chose each of you because I trust you. We'll just take it one step at a time."

Zhang Lvshi nodded solemnly from the side, murmuring quietly, "This is such a large-scale game, yet they don't even disclose the rules first. It's hardly fair to us."

"This place was never fair to begin with," Qi Xia said. "Zhang Lvshi, they're always trying every trick in the book to kill us, so this makes sense."

Han Yimo, standing behind the group, felt unsure about his role. He stepped forward into the middle and tentatively asked, "Qi Xia, you said everyone you chose is someone you trust?"

"Yes," Qi Xia nodded.

"Including me?"

"Of course," Qi Xia smiled. "Han Yimo, this game is no ordinary affair. Not only is the 'Di Ji' leader, Di Long, presiding over it, but Qing Long is also observing."

"Qing..."

"He's one of the rulers here," Qi Xia said. "Every move we make will be under his watchful eye, so don't be too afraid."

The more Qi Xia spoke, the more afraid Han Yimo felt. He could barely handle a regular "Di Ji," let alone figures like Di Long and Qing Long.

He could only reassure himself repeatedly in his mind, telling himself that sticking with the "Savior" shouldn't lead to any fatal dangers.

"The protagonist can go through all sorts of setbacks," Han Yimo whispered to himself, "but there's no way the antagonists can kill him off."

Just as Qi Xia was about to assign tactics to the group, a faint muffled groan was heard.

Zheng Yingxiong clutched his nose and squatted on the ground, his face contorted in pain.

"Little Hero!" Tian Tian exclaimed, crouching down, only to find Zheng Yingxiong's condition was worrisome.

His face grew paler by the moment, his expression more pained than ever.

Qi Xia furrowed his brow and hurried over to check on Zheng Yingxiong.

"Qi Xia," Tian Tian said, "Little Hero hasn't been right since we came in."

"Yeah, Lao Qi," Chen Junnan added from the side, "This kid's nose has been bothering him since we entered. He might not hold up much longer. Is there something weird about this place?"

Qi Xia knew Zheng Yingxiong would be affected after entering, but he hadn't expected it to be this severe.

He leaned in closer to Zheng Yingxiong, waiting for him to ease up a bit before asking, "What are you feeling?"

"This place," Zheng Yingxiong gritted his teeth and said, "The scent is too overwhelming. I've never felt anything like it."

"How do you mean by 'overwhelming'?" Qi Xia asked. "Is the scent more 'intense' or more 'widespread'?"

"It's neither. It's just like..." Zheng Yingxiong narrowed his eyes and thought for a few seconds before saying, "In the past, scents always drifted from a specific person or spot. But this time, it feels like we're all standing inside the 'scent' itself."

"Standing inside the 'scent'?"

Qi Xia followed Zheng Yingxiong's line of thought and pondered it, starting to get a sense of what he meant. These "Hui Xiang"-type abilities weren't useless here; instead, they were being disrupted by some powerful force.

This would mean that no matter whether they looked, listened, smelled, or touched, they could only pick up interfered information.

"What kind of 'scent' are we in?" Qi Xia asked. "Can you sniff out what it's called?"

"I don't know," Zheng Yingxiong said. "It's too vast. So vast that I can't even detect its name."

Zheng Yingxiong's words left the people around him baffled for a moment.

Chen Junnan scratched his head: "A scent that's so vast you can't detect its name? That's one hell of a niche way to describe it."

"It's not that hard to understand," Qi Xia said. "If you think of this 'scent' as a massive text sculpture, when you're standing at its base looking up, you wouldn't know what word you're seeing."

"But in that case," Chen Junnan glanced sideways at Zheng Yingxiong, "Then this kid's ability is basically scent detection, right? If there are a bunch of other scents around here, wouldn't he be useless? Like spraying perfume in a bathroom—who could smell it then?"

Although Chen Junnan didn't want to spell it out so bluntly, this was a team of seven, and while Chu Tianqiu's group seemed less stable, they weren't weak by any means.

In this situation, having someone who couldn't activate their "Hui Xiang" would put the team at a disadvantage in the game.

"It's fine," Qi Xia said. "Just by coming in and telling me this, he's already helped me a lot, since it turns some of my guesses into reality."

No sooner had he spoken than they noticed blood starting to trickle from Zheng Yingxiong's nostrils.

Only then did Qi Xia realize the situation might be more complicated than he'd thought. Zheng Yingxiong always bled from the nose when he overused his "Hui Xiang," and it only stopped once the scent faded.

But if he was stuck in this space the whole time, wouldn't that mean the bleeding wouldn't stop?

"Zheng Yingxiong," Qi Xia said, "Cut off your 'Hui Xiang.' Don't use your ability unless it's absolutely necessary—focus on staying alive first."

"I, I," Zheng Yingxiong clutched his nose, looking troubled. "I don't even know how to cut it off."

"You don't know?" Qi Xia frowned. "It's just a 'Hui Xiang.' If you know how it awakened, you should know how to stop it."

"I don't even know how I got 'Qing Xiang'," Zheng Yingxiong said. "I only remember that one day I opened my eyes, and this 'Qing Xiang' was just there. I've tried countless times to cut it off on purpose, even to get rid of the ability entirely, but I've never succeeded."

Qi Xia felt the situation was getting tricky. If Zheng Yingxiong couldn't cut off his "Hui Xiang," there was a good chance he'd die here.

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

"Oh, sure," Qiao Jiajin nodded, about to say something, but Zheng Yingxiong interrupted them.

"No need," Zheng Yingxiong said. "I'm fine. If I didn't have this 'Qing Xiang,' I wouldn't have any reason to be here. Let me keep the ability."

"With that ability, you'll die," Qi Xia said.

"It doesn't matter if I die," Zheng Yingxiong replied. "As long as my 'death' can bring about others' 'life,' it's all worth it."