Daily Evolution from Mastering Tai Chi-Chapter 37: The Dead Silence Deep in the Corridor

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: The Dead Silence Deep in the Corridor

As for why Wang Ye could recognize the scent of blood, it was because whenever he cut his fingers while chopping vegetables, he would easily smell this scent, reminiscent of rust, mingled with a faint trace of fishiness. And as for the odor of decay, it needs no explanation. Beef, pork, and various kinds of protein-rich meats left out for too long emit a pungent, sour, and decaying odor due to the breakdown of proteins by microorganisms.

Wang Ye’s steps came to a slight halt.

He closed his eyes and carefully sniffed the air for these two types of scents. Although the blood scent was somewhat faint and elusive, even the decay odor resembled that of sour and decaying pork, beef, and lamb.

Yet Wang Ye was certain that the blood scent in the air was undoubtedly the smell of human blood, for only human blood carried such a distinctive scent.

And that strong odor of decay seemed to be mingled with the faint scent of blood...

Of course, it was also possible that Wang Ye was overthinking it. This mixed odor of decay and blood was most likely just from a pile of rotting pork waiting to be processed, with someone nearby having cut their skin and spilled some blood. In a restaurant kitchen like this one, it’s not unusual for the leftovers of decaying meat to emit such an odor.

But this elusive and eerie sensation made it impossible for Wang Ye to remain calm. This mingling of the scent of familiar blood with the unsettling odor of decay completely stirred up Wang Ye’s deep-seated genetic fear of death among his kind, causing an indescribable sense of impending crisis to well up in him.

Suddenly.

Wang Ye’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"Xiao Ye, come eat," called his mother from not far away.

Wang Ye extricated himself from the endless dangerous speculations and walked towards the only empty seat at the dining table in the private room.

At the table were mostly familiar relatives, who, upon seeing Wang Ye approach, began to greet him with smiles, asking questions about his job salary, and some inquiring why Wang Ye had lost weight.

Also at the table were cousins of the same age, but these younger people were noticeably more silent, not as chatty as the older generation.

The main character of the engagement party, Wang Liquan, was at each table offering toasts, his originally dark cheeks flushed red, clearly having drunk quite a bit. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Wang Ye sat down, poured himself a glass of wine, and toasted the elders at the table.

"Sorry for being late, I’ll penalize myself with a drink, everyone else feel free."

"Oh, Xiao Ye, no need to be so formal. We’re all family, no need for so many formalities. What are you doing for work now, Xiao Ye? I heard your salary was over ten thousand before; it must have risen to twenty or thirty thousand by now," said a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties with curly hair, raising her glass with a smile.

Wang Ye was taken aback by these words, opened his mouth, but didn’t make a sound.

He initially intended to reply that he had quit his job and was currently unemployed.

But upon seeing the slightly embarrassed expressions on the faces of his parents beside him, Wang Ye suddenly realized something and quickly stopped himself from saying those words.

Though Wang Ye was no longer with his family and didn’t often interact with these old relatives, his parents still lived in the neighborhood and had to frequently engage with these relatives.

Consider this: if their son quit his job and became jobless, it would certainly be difficult for the parents to hold their heads up in front of relatives. This isn’t due to pride, but because many sharp-tongued older folks love to bring such incidents up in conversations, mocking Wang Ye’s parents for poor upbringing, mocking Wang Ye for being idle at thirty, and so on.

Over time, even someone who doesn’t care much about face would feel somewhat uncomfortable.

After thinking it over, Wang Ye replied, "Auntie, I’m now involved in the internet sector, saved up some money and want to start my own business."

The title of "entrepreneur" might sound unreliable, but it’s certainly more respectable than being jobless. Additionally, Wang Ye had been one of the more successful young people among his peers, with relatively outstanding academic and professional achievements from a young age, lending more credibility to his words.

"Oh, entrepreneurship, not bad, better than us workers," the aunt visibly lost interest in the conversation and promptly changed the topic, starting to chat with others.

Meanwhile, his parents looked at Wang Ye in surprise.

His mother quietly asked, "What are you talking about? Entrepreneurship? Are you hiding something from mom?"

Wang Ye softly replied, "It’s nothing risky, just making some short videos and posting them on Douyin, the platform you two watch often."

"Oh, you’re making short videos? How many followers do you have?" His mother beamed with delight, "Remember to show us later!"

"Okay," Wang Ye nodded.

He began to eat.

Occasionally responding to the elders’ questions and the children’s antics at the table.

On the surface, Wang Ye was silently eating alone.

But in reality, he was discreetly paying attention to where the odor of decay and blood was coming from.

Through his observation, the odor originated from the innermost private room down the hallway.

In his sensory assessment of smell and hearing, there were only three middle-aged men inside that private room, silently drinking and smoking, with an extremely eerie and dead atmosphere, starkly contrasting the lively wedding scene around Wang Ye.

The most intense source of the odor seemed to come from a 33-inch suitcase.

Combining these facts, it could essentially be confirmed to be a murder case.

"Better to steer clear later,"

Wang Ye said quietly.

He didn’t want to attract unnecessary trouble.

Even though he now possessed almost extraordinary powers, when faced with a suspected murder case, he still felt somewhat insecure and reluctant to get involved.

As for the saying in superhero movies, "With great power comes great responsibility"... Wang Ye actually thought it was complete nonsense.

Why the hell should my great power have anything to do with others?

Wang Ye always believed that the initial drive behind everyone’s efforts to become stronger was actually self-preservation, to safeguard their own life, needs, status, and so on by honing their abilities. Although he awakened to a system and gained the ability for continuous evolution, he was, at most, just an ordinary person with a family and aspirations. What’s wrong with avoiding disaster for self-preservation?

As long as those three didn’t cause trouble, Wang Ye didn’t even want to call the police.

Reporting it meant getting entangled in a heap of troublesome affairs.

It might even delay tomorrow’s marathon.

Wang Ye let his thoughts drift away, rubbed his hungry stomach, picked up a few pieces of braised beef brisket, and put them in his mouth.

He considered whether to stay out and have an extra meal at the restaurant later.

In this banquet, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he was genuinely too embarrassed to eat much.