Chapter 4: Odor

The man who had just unfolded the hidden Psionic space sat next to the totem, his brow furrowed in deep contemplation. He looked back at the half-empty space that was as still as a canvas, shaken by the mystery it held. He sighed and shook his head helplessly, feeling the weight of the unknown. With a sigh, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and started playing Tetris, seeking solace in the familiar puzzle game.

"Buddy, why do you sit here and play with your mobile phone all night? Aren't you afraid of encountering ghosts?" A passerby walked over from the opposite road and was immediately intrigued by the unusual scene.

He could only see the man, unaware of the enigmatic square area within the totem. What he witnessed was an illusion, a mere glimpse of the man's reality.

The man glanced up at the passerby, his expression a mix of resignation and amusement, then lowered his head and continued to operate his phone. "I have nothing to do, I'm free," he replied, his voice tinged with a hint of sadness.

The passerby smiled, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and extended it towards the man. "Care for a smoke, friend?"

The man waved his hand and said solemnly, "During working hours, I don't smoke."

The passerby chuckled, noticing the absurdity of the situation. "Hey, you squat on the road and play with your mobile phone, is this also work?" he quipped, joining in the lighthearted banter.

The man ignored the passerby and kept his focus on the game, Tetris pieces falling and shifting on his phone's screen.

"All right," the passerby shrugged and began to walk towards the street behind the man.

"Where are you going?" The man spoke suddenly, his tone more urgent than before.

"Go home," the passerby replied, slightly confused.

"You can't go back, at least not now," the man said with a hint of concern.

The passerby frowned, "What do you mean?"

"This road cannot be entered now," the man pointed to the sign behind him, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

The pedestrian followed the direction of the man's finger and saw the sign that stood inexplicably in the middle of the road. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the four large characters "Forbidden Zone" on the sign flashed away, vanishing into thin air.

Suddenly, the pedestrian's eyes took on a glazed, distant look.

After a few seconds, he turned around stiffly and left, his eyes full of confusion as he retreated.

The man seemed to have grown accustomed to these bizarre occurrences. Just as he was about to continue playing Tetris, the voice of another man in his headset suddenly sounded.

"Andre!"

The moment this voice sounded, the man playing with the mobile phone abruptly stood up from the ground. The leisurely and drowsy expression on his face disappeared, replaced by an unmistakable seriousness.

"In! Captain, what happened?" Andre's voice crackled with concern as he listened to the urgent message over his headset.

"Something went wrong. A ghost beast king was promoted from this group of ghosts and beasts. While we were encircling other ghosts and beasts, Deanna was severely injured and escaped from the sewer. The scope of Psionic," the captain's voice conveyed a sense of urgency and tension.

"Ghost Beast King?" Andre's face twisted with a mixture of alarm and determination. "Which direction did he run? I'm going to intercept it!"

"No, Andre, you are not good at fighting, you are not its opponent. The Ghost Beast King will leave it to me to chase," the captain warned.

Andre was taken aback, his mind racing. "Then what do you need me to do?"

"After the Ghost Beast King fled, two more ghost beasts took the opportunity to escape into the sewer, and the others were clearing the remaining ghost beasts and couldn't get away."

"In which direction?" Andre asked, ready to take on the task.

"North."

"Okay, leave it to me," Andre responded with determination. His eyes flashed brightly as he sprinted to the other end of the street, hopped into a black commercial vehicle, slammed on the accelerator, and roared away in a buzzing sound, leaving behind a trail of dust.

In the passenger seat, a black cloak lay neatly folded, concealing his identity.

And in a sheath beside him, a straight knife awaited, a last resort in his mission to protect against the mysterious and dangerous creatures lurking in the city's shadows.

...

In the moonlit tranquility of Green City's park, Elena gently pushed Yaso, her concern evident in her eyes.

"Okay, Elena, it's getting late, we should go back, otherwise Mei will worry about you," Yaso suggested, looking out for her friend's well-being.

Elena nodded and stepped down from the slight hill they were on, her gaze lingering on the serene surroundings. She turned to Yaso and spoke, "You're right; let's head back."

As they began to make their way out of the park, a group of young people strolled by, their voices catching Elena's attention.

One of them commented, "I heard that the old town of Green City has been a bit peaceful recently, and there are perverted murderers."

"Perverted homicidal maniac? Really?" Another person in the group appeared skeptical.

"Of course it's true!" The first man looked around cautiously and lowered his voice, "You may not know about this. In recent days, more than a dozen people have died in the old town one after another."

"A dozen people? It's impossible. If there was such a big incident, the news would have been reported a long time ago," the second person countered, shaking their head.

The first man leaned in and whispered, "This is true. A friend of mine works in the police station. It was news from inside them."

"It is said that..." The man paused, his voice dropping even lower as he shared a mysterious piece of information with his intrigued friends.

"It is said that the corpses of those who died were incomplete, and only a mass of bloody flesh was left. The murderer's murder technique was extremely ferocious!" The words hung in the air, sending a shiver down the spines of those who heard them.

As the cool evening breeze blew, the people listening could feel a sudden chill, from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads.

"Are you sick? You scared me by saying this all night!" one of the girls exclaimed, her timidity evident. She looked around the silent street, her face drained of color, and her voice carried a touch of irritation.

The location was close to the old town, on the outskirts of Green City, and the park was devoid of many pedestrians. The unsettling topic had genuinely unnerved her.

Even Elena, who had been pushing Yaso's wheelchair, felt a tinge of fear when she heard those words. She cast a worried glance at the narrow path ahead that led to their home.

Yaso and Elena couldn't help but overhear the conversation between the group of young people.

Yaso pondered for a moment, then quietly asked, "Are you sure...these things are done by humans?"

If the previous words had sent a shiver down their spines, Yaso's question caused a full-blown shudder.

"Yaso, you..." Elena's body trembled, her voice filled with a mix of disbelief and dread.

The eyes of the young people looking at Yaso suddenly took on a strange, almost alarmed expression.

One of the passersby stared at Yaso in surprise. "Buddy, do you think so too?"

"Don't tell ghost stories at night! I'm heading home soon!" another passerby interjected hastily, eager to escape the increasingly eerie conversation.

"This is not a ghost story…" The young man who first spoke clarified, a hint of seriousness in his voice.

Another, more fearless young man shrugged and decided to leave the eerie conversation behind. He took the lead and headed towards the front. "If I don't talk nonsense with you here, I don't believe in these things anyway, so I'm leaving."

"Alan, wait for us," one of his friends called after him.

The group of young people gradually made their way toward the narrow path leading out of the park.

But one girl in the crowd, annoyed by the boy who had been sharing the horrifying tale, glared at him. She took a few steps forward but then abruptly stopped.

She sniffed the air deeply, her face wrinkling with mild discomfort. A hint of doubt crept into her eyes.

She turned to the others and asked, "Do you smell that?"

"The smell?" someone inquired.

"It's the kind, there's the smell of something rotting," she explained.

"I didn't smell it. How about you, chubby?" another one chimed in.

"Neither did I... Ugh!" Before the two young people could finish their sentences, their expressions suddenly changed. They clamped their hands over their noses and looked around in terror.

Yaso and Elena were not far behind this group of young people, and then they, too, were hit by an overwhelmingly disgusting odor. It was like someone had thrown a piece of decaying meat, left to rot for more than ten days, into a septic tank and then stirred it with rancid egg liquid. The mere scent made their stomachs churn violently.

Yaso found this stench to be the foulest he had ever encountered in all his years. Elena, overcome by the putrid odor, squatted down and retched.

"Damn, what's so stinky?!" A young man at the front of the group clamped his nose and shouted in disgust.

"I don't know," the girl replied, her brow furrowed. After a moment of contemplation, she extended her hand and pointed toward a dimly lit alley. "But judging from the direction the smell is coming from, it seems to be emanating from there."

Suddenly, a dreadful scream pierced the night air, echoing through the silence.

"Allan!" Several other passersby recognized the voice and called out in unison. They exchanged alarmed glances and dashed toward the small alley ahead.

Yaso and Elena stood still, their expressions growing increasingly solemn. Even though they weren't sure what was happening, an ominous feeling gnawed at Yaso's heart.

Outside the old town, talk of perverted murderers, the strange stench, and now, the blood-curdling scream—something was clearly amiss.

Yaso stood hesitating in place for what felt like an eternity, his thoughts locked in a psychological struggle. Finally, he made the difficult decision to instruct Elena to retreat to the safety outside the alley.

The reason was simple: someone had just screamed in front of him, and that meant something terrible had occurred. It could be a dangerous situation, involving robbery, murder, or the witnessing of a horrifying crime scene. Yaso wanted no part in any of it. He lacked the intense curiosity to investigate further, and he wasn't fueled by a surge of compassion to be a hero.

Moreover, the most crucial factor was his physical incapacity. He couldn't fight, and he couldn't even walk properly. If he got involved and things turned violent, the consequences could be dire. Yaso had recently made progress with his legs, and he had no desire to risk his life at this moment.

As Yaso and Elena retreated, the stench in the air grew stronger, reaffirming Yaso's decision to distance himself from whatever was happening in that dark, ominous alley.