I had really wanted to cry.

But Siwei-jie kept comforting me, which made me feel much better.

She said I was a true “hero,” that I had saved everyone.

I kept holding her hand the whole time. All the adults made me feel afraid, but Siwei-jie seemed different.

“Sister, do we have to walk with them?” I pointed at the several aunties and uncles ahead.

Ever since they had walked onto the street, the scents on their bodies had become very complex. They seemed to be pondering many things.

“Little hero, even though I don’t really like them either, this ghostly place is too strange.” She frowned as she looked around at this dilapidated city. “Either way, having more people is better than fewer. If the two of us walk alone, it might be even more dangerous.”

“Ah…?”

I found it a bit hard to understand. That leading uncle’s body clearly emanated the scent of “killing intent.” Could the lady not smell it? Or perhaps she smelled it but still thought that uncle was safe?

At the time, I didn’t carefully consider what the lady said, nor did I know that only I could smell that strange scent. Thinking back later, this might have been the most painful decision of my entire life.

After walking several hundred meters, the leading uncle seemed to think of something and turned back to stare at the lady.

The lady looked somewhat afraid, but still tried her best to hide me behind her.

“What is it?” she asked.

The leading uncle grinned and stood before the two of us.

“Young lady,” the uncle called out. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Li Siwei.”

“Good name,” the uncle nodded. “Just now I thought you were a very clever girl. How about we cooperate?”

“Cooperate?”

“That’s right,” the uncle said with a face full of smiles, but his scent was unpleasant. “Siwei, out in the world I’m more or less someone who commands wind and rain. I usually really enjoy working together with smart people—it makes me feel like I have infinite strength. So how about joining us?”

After speaking, he pulled out a small cloth bag from his pocket. Opening it revealed emerald green stone fragments inside.

“That Dragon-Head Man said earlier that we need to collect tens of thousands of these little stones. The more people we have, the faster we can complete it,” the uncle said. “Do you know what the most important thing is for accomplishing a great task?”

“It’s staying alive,” the lady said.

“No, it’s forming an invincible team,” the uncle smiled. “I have countless experiences forming teams, and I’ll do my best to utilize each person’s strengths. You’re a girl with a sharp mind, so I’ve come to invite you to join me. Together we’ll walk toward success.”

I hid behind the lady, not daring to speak, continuously smelling that heavy scent on the uncle’s body.

The lady hesitated for a while, her brow furrowing. She opened her mouth to ask: “What should I call you, uncle?”

“My surname is Wan, Wan Cai,” the uncle replied. “And don’t call me ‘uncle’—I’m only just over forty.”

This uncle was really so strange. Only when talking about his name and age did the heavy smell on his body lessen a bit.

“Brother Wan,” the lady changed her form of address. “I’ve met some big shots before, but none of them talked like you. Have you really formed many teams?”

“Oh…” Uncle Wan’s gaze toward the lady changed, and the scent on his body also decreased somewhat. “I didn’t expect Little Li to be so young yet so experienced. I really have formed many excellent teams, and I’ve been the leader of all of them. It’s fine if you don’t believe me—I’ll let you see my abilities in our future cooperation. Similarly, I also hope you’ll shine brightly and contribute to our big family.”

“Big family…?” the lady asked in confusion.

“I’ve already talked with those few people,” Uncle Wan pointed at the several aunties in the distance and smiled. “From now on, we’ll get along as ‘family.’ That way everyone will be more united, and we’ll have more motivation when doing things. From now on, everyone will be family in one big family. What do you think?”

The scent of “confusion” on the lady’s body grew stronger and stronger.

“Brother Wan… if I join this so-called ‘big family’ of yours, what would I need to do?”

“Nothing much really,” Uncle Wan replied. “The only requirement is that everyone discusses things together. Our family guarantees fairness and justice. Anyway, we only have ten days. Let’s push ourselves and collect these stones together.”

That day, after thinking it over repeatedly, the lady still agreed to Uncle Wan’s request.

Our lives completely changed from that day forward.

The first few days weren’t particularly special. Uncle Wan really did act like a patriarch. He divided everyone into groups, arranged for them to participate in some games, and arranged for the remaining few aunties who weren’t quite suited for participating in games to go out looking for food.

But whether the aunties really couldn’t find food, or whether this place simply had no food at all, they had already returned empty-handed for two consecutive days. Only on the third day did they bring back some very unpalatable canned food and mineral water.

The scent on Uncle Wan’s body smelled very angry, yet he still greeted them with a smiling face. His mouth said “we’re all family,” but the unpleasant scent on his body couldn’t be concealed.

I would often see Uncle Wan’s gaze become extremely cold in the dead of night. He didn’t like to sleep—he just stared at other people in the deep night, and the smell on his body grew more and more frightening.

Because Father often came home drunk, I never dared to sleep too deeply. Every night, at the slightest disturbance, I would wake up instantly. This also allowed me to notice Uncle Wan’s every move at night.

Whenever someone turned over, I would wake up. After waking, I would instinctively glance at Uncle Wan. He never slept.

Oh right, this might be my “special talent,” right?

I mean… I wake up faster than others—that should be my “special talent,” right?

Why am I only thinking of this now…?

Before, when the teacher had us write down our own “special talents,” I thought for a long time and could only write “none.” Those children with special talents were all praised by the teacher. The teacher had us applaud them, and I clapped harder than anyone else.

I didn’t know why I clapped so hard, but I just kept clapping my hands. I really, really wanted to have a “special talent.”

But it’s good now—if in the future the teacher has us write down our “special talents” again, I can write “wakes up faster than others.” The teacher will praise me, right?

Will children applaud for me?

Will I… still be able to see them? Will I still be able to see Xu Jiahua…?

I still really wanted to cry.

Although I didn’t miss my father, mother, and teacher, I really wanted to cry.

Every night I slept leaning on the lady’s shoulder. I didn’t like those adults. I only liked the lady.

But the lady had looked very tired lately. Today even her palm had been cut.

She kept telling me “it’s nothing,” but I always felt something was wrong. Her scent was starting to become murky.

Uncle Wan also didn’t arrange any work for me—he just had me stay in the room the whole time.

Fortunately, I could tidy up the room. Every day I would clean the room very neatly, waiting for everyone to return.

But the atmosphere among the adults grew more tense day by day. They also began arguing more and more. Finally, on the sixth day, an incident occurred.