Chapter 18: The Scent of the Heart — The Different Kind

At that moment, Lu Xuening decisively closed her eyes.

She clenched her fists, sensing the changes coursing through her body.

Though Aunt Lu and Suo Hao were puzzled, they quietly stood guard by her side.

A warm sensation appeared on her arm, and before she could roll up her sleeve to inspect, a deep, ancient murmur—like that of a primordial deity—overwhelmed her, causing her to collapse to the ground.

“...Spirit... [Heart Scent]!”

“Xuening, what’s wrong?”

“Did something dirty happen?”

Aunt Lu hurriedly caught Xuening, her voice filled with concern.

Lu Xuening opened her eyes and signaled to her mother that she was fine.

Then she sat cross-legged on the ground and rolled up her sleeve.

There, faint but distinct, was a dark pattern.

She smiled genuinely.

“Xiao Ye, is this what you meant by the evolution unique to humanity?”

From a distance, Li Ye watched the three of them with satisfaction.

Unless one was a formidable chosen of the divine miracles system or similar, the awakening process seldom progressed swiftly; most required external stimulants like blood crystal marrow to aid their emergence.

Moreover, different abilities demanded different methods of stimulation.

For instance, the mental ability Lu Xuening had just awakened would respond best if a chosen could mobilize all their spirit and mind.

“Oh, the real show is finally starting,” Li Ye muttered to himself, intrigued.

“Ugh—this kind of mutant... seems even more disgusting than those rampant in the previous life.”

Following Li Ye’s gaze, a small figure, no taller than half a person, appeared not far from Lu Xuening and the others.

In an instant, Xuening stood up sharply, her expression graver than ever.

“Be careful, something’s approaching.”

She closed her eyes, and within a nearly twenty-meter radius, a 3D spatial map unfolded fully in her mind.

Suddenly, her delicate body trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat bursting forth on her forehead.

“You two go ahead. This damned thing isn’t your ordinary zombie.”

“Says who? We’re going together,” Suo Hao said, unusually reliable at this moment.

“You haven’t awakened your abilities yet. Run! This is a monster!” Xuening urged.

As they argued, the half-sized shadow drew closer.

A stench of blood and decay assaulted their faces.

Suo Hao, who had been somewhat brave moments ago, stepped back unconsciously, trembling and speechless.

A child-sized figure staggered closer, clad in tattered clothes.

Bloodshot eyes bulged unnaturally, and the left half of its face was completely rotten, raw red flesh hanging down toward the ground, exposing ghastly white skull beneath—a terrifying specter of death.

The most horrifying aspect was the patchwork of human skins faintly visible beneath its ragged clothing.

Those skins, devoid of flesh and vitality, hung like wrinkled masks over its form.

Though this was supposed to be a ‘hunt,’ they had become the prey of this mutant.

Xuening’s breath quickened, eyes tightly shut.

“Suo Hao, Mom, it’s too late to run. Grab stones and throw them at that thing.”

Finally snapping out of their shock, the two picked up stones and hurled them fiercely at the mutant.

It didn’t dodge, letting several stones strike its body.

Cold sweat spread across Xuening’s skin.

She ‘saw’ the mocking glint in the mutant’s bloodred eyes—like a predator toying with its prey before the kill.

Perhaps it had lost patience or sensed that these three were weak and hollow inside.

It moved.

With a whoosh, a putrid gust swept past Xuening’s face.

“Watch out!”

A streak of blood sprayed across her cheek.

Xuening finally reacted, screaming sharply.

“Mom!”

Aunt Lu stepped in front of Xuening, but the mutant child’s fingers plunged deep into her thigh.

“Beast!”

Blood flowing, Suo Hao’s eyes flashed red with fury as he charged forward.

Without shoes or socks, the soles of his feet were pierced and cut by sharp stones under the heavy pressure of his steps.

The mutant tried to pull back its arm but found its fingers firmly locked into the woman’s flesh.

It instinctively looked up at its prey.

The woman gritted her teeth, her gaze unyielding.

She held it fast in place, letting blood pool and flow from her thigh.

Suo Hao grabbed a jagged stone nearby.

With all his strength, he smashed it down on the mutant’s head.

The sharp stone collided with the creature’s skull.

As expected, the stone shattered into three or four pieces.

The mutant howled, its exposed tongue a vivid crimson through the missing flesh.

Still with eyes closed, Xuening suddenly shouted:

“Suo Hao, its neck!”

Suo Hao was consumed by a berserk fury.

No longer afraid of the flaccid, human-like faces.

He wrapped the mutant child in a bear hug, squeezing its neck tightly.

Both collapsed to the ground together.

A sinister smile appeared on the mutant’s half-rotted face.

Its arm twisted backward at a grotesque angle incomprehensible to humans, stabbing into Suo Hao’s arm.

Not once, but two or three times.

“Damn!”

Pain piercing to the bone made him instinctively tighten his grip.

“Ahhh!”

An enraged roar burst from Suo Hao as an unprecedented surge of strength exploded from him.

Crack!

The head of the child-sized mutant was torn off by Suo Hao.

Ten breaths later, until Lu Xuening spoke again:

“Its aura has vanished, Hao. You can let go now.”

Suo Hao gradually released his numb, lifeless arm.

A pool of fresh blood stained the ground of stones and wild grass.

“Aunt Lu, Xuening, I think I’ve awakened too.”

Suo Hao stared blankly at the sky, a face full of despair.

A pungent stench spread from him, causing the two women to instinctively cover their noses.

Lu Xuening moved closer to her mother, took a bandage from her small bag, and began wrapping the wound while asking:

“Xiao Ye said your ability is strong. Tell us about it?”

Suo Hao spat curses under his breath, his voice tinged with grievance.

“What rubbish ‘Fragrant Breath Master’—it’s just a stinky skunk!

Where’s the mind-blowing ability everyone’s supposed to be shocked by?!”

Aunt Lu, wincing in pain, couldn’t help but laugh at Suo Hao’s pitiful cries.

“Look on the bright side; you managed to break that zombie’s head just now. At least your strength has improved?”

“Look at my ability—I only enhanced my perception. No improvement in stamina or endurance whatsoever.”

Before Suo Hao could retort, Lu Xuening suddenly grew tense.

“Shh, can your ability mask the bloody smell?”

“Yes.”

Suo Hao nodded vigorously. The pungent odor around them gradually dissipated.

Instead, a fresh, grassy scent of abundant wild herbs replaced it.

Their breathing slowed noticeably.

Xuening’s closed eyelids began fluttering rapidly; her hands trembled, struggling to hold the bandages steady.

Within her [Heart Scent] vision,

there appeared, unmistakably, the same aura as the childlike zombie from before.

And not just one.