Smell Carefully—This Is the Scent of an Awakened

The wind pouring in through the car windows blew much of the smell inside the car away.

The driver's expression visibly relaxed.

After driving for a while, he glanced at Gan Ming through the rearview mirror.

"Sir, you had pretty good luck today, huh? Staying until this late."

"Not bad." Gan Ming leaned against the plastic sheet with his eyes closed. "Just escaped death a few times."

The driver chuckled and did not press further.

Streetlamps flashed past the windows one after another.

The gravel road became asphalt, and the walls on either side became storefronts.

The city's lights brightened ahead.

"My luck was pretty good today too."

The driver spoke cheerfully.

"After dropping you off at noon, I was driving back empty when I got another job to the Ruins Zone not long after."

"When I stopped and checked the time, it was already past four."

"I figured I might as well stay and see if I could pick up another fare when people got off work."

He slapped the steering wheel.

"Didn't expect to run into you again. I've earned back my gas money today. Once I drop you off, I'm done for the day."

Gan Ming grunted.

Ten minutes later, the car turned onto Sixth Street and stopped before a seven-story gray building.

Three words hung over the entrance: Travel Peace Residence.

Gan Ming got out and took his ID card from his ring.

"How much? Swipe it yourself."

The driver hurriedly waved his hands.

"Oh, thank you, thank you. That one contribution point you gave me at noon was already enough."

Rubbing the steering wheel, he smiled a little sheepishly.

"Actually, it's mainly because the company has a hard quota. We have to get at least one contribution-point order a week. I've already met my target this week. Taking more won't improve my performance pay anyway—I'd just be handing money to the company for free."

"Just give me some cash this time."

Seeing this, Gan Ming said nothing more.

He put his ID card away and slipped his right hand into the ring, feeling around inside.

There was a black canvas bag in the ring, filled with cash he had taken from the masked woman's ring.

Together with the loose cash from the other three, it came to roughly one hundred seventy or one hundred eighty thousand.

Four level-sixteen or seventeen guild Awakened had carried more cash in their pockets than he had touched in his entire life.

Gan Ming pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and handed it over.

The driver accepted it with both hands, his movements extremely solemn.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you!"

He carefully folded the bill and tucked it into his breast pocket, then pulled a business card from the compartment behind the sun visor.

"Sir, here's my number. If you need a car in the future, contact me anytime. Day or night, I'll be there within half an hour."

Two words were printed on the card.

Zhou Sheng.

Gan Ming took it and tossed it into his ring.

"All right."

He was about to push open the door, but paused with his hand on the handle.

"Old Zhou."

"Yes!"

"Run an errand for me."

Gan Ming turned around and took another five hundred-yuan bills from his ring, placing them on the front passenger seat.

"Buy me a set of clothes. One size fits all is fine. Just ordinary clothes, nothing too conspicuous. Once you've bought them, deliver them to the front desk and tell them they're for a guest surnamed Gan."

"If it isn't enough, I'll make up the difference later. Keep whatever's left."

Zhou Sheng looked at the five bills. He froze for a moment, then nodded hard.

"It's enough, it's enough! Don't worry, sir. I'll go right now and have them delivered within twenty minutes!"

The taxi engine started up again, and its taillights swayed as it turned out of Sixth Street.

Only then did Gan Ming turn around and examine the gray seven-story building before him.

Travel Peace Residence.

Its exterior was painted a pale gray-beige, neither new nor old, while the sign above the entrance glowed with a warm yellow light.

Clean, orderly, and without any flashy decorations.

It was unlike the inns in the Lower District, where every door was covered in footprints.

And unlike the luxury hotels in the heart of the Central District, whose doors he had not even dared approach.

This place was just right.

The poor could not afford it, while the rich could not be bothered with it. Perfect for him to remain an invisible man in between.

Gan Ming pushed the door open and walked in.

The lobby was not large, only around a hundred square meters.

The front desk was on the left, with two rows of sofas on the right.

Behind the front desk stood a short-haired woman in her early twenties, looking down as she flipped through a registration book.

Hearing the door open, she raised her head and looked at Gan Ming.

Her expression immediately shifted in a way visible to the naked eye.

But she did not say anything.

At a hotel that specifically received Awakened returning from the Fallen Zone, she had seen all kinds of guests.

It was just that this one...

Smelled rather stronger than most.

"Hello, do you need a room?"

"One good room, for one night."

"Our best room is a suite on the fourth floor. Five hundred per night, including toiletries and breakfast."

"Fine." Gan Ming handed over his ID card. "Add a dinner delivery to the room too. Make it a lot of dishes, don't hold back. A driver surnamed Zhou will bring some clothes later. Have someone take them straight up."

After registering his information, the receptionist handed him a key card.

"Room 403. The elevator is to your right. We'll arrange for someone to bring up your dinner and clothes. If you need anything, dial zero on the room phone at any time."

Gan Ming took the key card and headed for the elevator.

Once he had walked ten meters away, the air quality behind him instantly rose by a full grade.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened.

He had barely stepped one foot inside and had not yet pressed a floor button when a shout came from the end of the corridor.

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait a second! Please wait!"

Gan Ming moved his finger away from the door-close button.

Three people came around the corner of the corridor.

At the front was a man, tall and thin, easily over six feet.

He had the kind of face that drew a second glance wherever he went.

His shoulder-length black hair was loosely tied behind his head with a ribbon.

His features were finely defined, with high brow bones and a straight nose.

He wore a well-tailored black long coat.

One woman was tucked beneath each arm.

Both women were well dressed, with exquisite makeup and stiletto heels, but the way they walked...

How should one put it? They did not look willing to be held at all.

The three squeezed into the elevator.

After entering, the man smiled and nodded at Gan Ming.

The smile was natural, carrying the easygoing air of someone who had seen it all.

He completely ignored the stains and smell on Gan Ming, not even wrinkling his nose.

But the two women could not manage that.

As soon as the elevator doors shut, Gan Ming's complex odor instantly reached saturation level in the cramped space.

The woman on the left cracked first. She dry-heaved and clamped her right hand tightly over her mouth and nose.

The woman on the right followed immediately, her face turning pale as she twisted toward the elevator doors to get away.

"Out... I want to get out..."

She did not finish.

The man's long arms drew in, yanking both women back.

Then he did something even Gan Ming had not expected.

With one hand each, he directly pulled down the hands covering their noses.

He did not use much force, but the gap in strength was too great. The women's hands were pried apart as easily as paper.

Then he turned both women's faces toward Gan Ming.

"Smell it properly for me."

The man's tone was not particularly fierce, but he was absolutely not joking.

"Do you know what this smell is? This is the smell earned by risking your life in the Fallen Zone."

"I put up with this smell every day to make money for you two. Got it?"