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0006 – The Power of Smell

Just as she opened the door, a scent of red wine wafted in, emanating from another apartment on the sixth floor.

Zoe Carter remembered her neighbor, Benny, bringing back a bottle of red wine last night. This scent should be from there.

After sniffing carefully, Zoe felt the aroma of fruit, vanilla, and oak, with a hint of smokiness.

In the past, Zoe could only smell the scent of red wine at most, unable to distinguish the components in this complex aroma. Obviously, her sense of smell had also changed, a part of the yet-to-be-discovered changes as mentioned in the records. Considering that she hadn't noticed any abnormality in her sense of smell while experimenting in the room last night, Zoe felt that perhaps her body was still undergoing changes, and this sense of smell ability might have just appeared.

If that's the case, things would become even more complicated.

Thinking, Zoe silently made a mental note of this matter, planning to record it later after returning.

As for now, she didn't forget that she needed to purchase some materials for the upcoming experiments and daily life. According to the phased summary and planning listed before, this purchase mainly consisted of exercise equipment and food.

The exercise equipment was to assist her in maintaining a certain amount of exercise every day, within a degree that wouldn't harm her, to study her own physical changes as much as possible, and to quickly familiarize herself with the slightly unfamiliar body after the changes.

As for food, it was a persistence of a foodie. What if she could actually eat something? Perhaps there were some things that didn't taste like wax when eaten, she just hadn't discovered them.

With this thought in mind, Zoe decided to regularly purchase small quantities of various types of food to try. Zoe was calculating the list for this purchase while waiting for the elevator.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a door opening not far behind her, and she saw Benny, with a slightly flushed face, coming out with a box of playing cards. A fragrance of red wine enveloped Benny from head to toe as she approached. This was the smell of a hangover. At this moment, it was so clear to Zoe's nose.

Zoe saw Benny holding cards in his hand. She understood that this elegant little chubby guy was about to start teasing the old men in the neighborhood again. He had a great skill in playing cards.

Anyway, Zoe couldn't see any flaws, she just felt that it was indeed very impressive. Usually, when she was bored, this fat guy would set up a small table next to the garden in the neighborhood. He would spread out the playing cards on the table and compete with passersby to see who had the higher cards. They didn't play for money, purely to pass the time.

Zoe had never played with him, but when she went to the rookie station next to the garden to pick up things, she often saw old men who doubted life after losing to Benny.

However, today was early morning. It didn't seem to be the time when Benny usually went out to play.

"It's only a little past eight, and you're already going out to play cards?" Zoe asked curiously. Having confirmed that the changes in her body wouldn't pose an immediate danger and might bring benefits in the long run after last night's confirmation, Zoe felt much more relaxed than when she first discovered the changes. Plus, Zoe discovered that her sense of smell had also changed due to the scent of red wine on Benny.

So, she became curious.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Only a little past eight?" Benny blinked, rubbed his still drowsy eyes, then glanced at his watch. After confirming that it was indeed a little past eight, he blinked again.

He, who often boasted about his good alcohol tolerance to Zoe, would never admit that he got drunk last night and was now confused about the time due to a hangover. So, he politely and somewhat awkwardly replied, "The early bird catches the worm, right?"

As soon as the words fell silent, the air grew quiet. The two of them stared at each other. Zoe didn't expose the fact that Benny had mistaken the time due to a hangover.

Luckily, the sound of the elevator arriving rang out the next moment. Zoe silently stepped into the elevator, and Benny followed suit. His principle of not taking the elevator when going downstairs didn't apply at this moment.

According to him, when going downstairs, everyone's destination was basically the first floor, so the probability of being discovered living on the top floor while taking the elevator was very low.

The two of them quietly rode the elevator to the first floor. They silently walked out of the elevator together, then prepared to go their separate ways to their respective destinations.

However, after walking out of the building, Zoe looked at Benny's gradually speeding figure and couldn't help but smile silently. It seemed like Benny stumbled a bit upon hearing the laughter. Then, he pretended to continue walking away as if nothing had happened. Seeing this, Zoe suppressed her smile and turned to walk towards the entrance of the community.

After this little episode, it was time to get down to business.

At the entrance of Wings Gone New Village, there was a clinic, two supermarkets, and a market. Most of Zoe's shopping needs for today could be met at the entrance of the community. After walking for a short while, she arrived at the market.

In the early light of dawn, the market was already bustling. On the stalls, fresh green peppers, prickly cucumbers, and slender green onions were neatly arranged. The air was filled with the fresh grassy scent of freshly picked vegetables. The vendors were shouting and bargaining, their voices intertwining.

Zoe closed her eyes and focused. After shutting off her visual and auditory attention, the intensity of her sense of smell began to soar. The unusual sense of smell she had just discovered was vividly manifested at this moment.

Countless scents from the market kept flowing into her nostrils. Countless smells danced in the air, weaving into a wonderful melody like musical notes. The green vegetables, the red tomatoes emitted the breath of life under the sunlight. Garlic and onions stimulated her nostrils, like secret ingredients of chefs. And the salty and fresh smell from the fish stall reminded her of the vastness of the ocean.

This was... a completely new sensation of being able to see through everything around her with just her sense of smell. This was... a magnificent olfactory world!

The world under this new sense was too complex.

After all, most people's world was mainly dominated by superficial vision and hearing. Although the sense of smell was important, it was not considered powerful. This kind of clear perception that could directly replace vision to perceive the world through smell had never happened before.

Even for a moment, it made Zoe feel uncomfortable. If this feeling of discomfort had to be described, it was like a pair of eyes growing on the back of her head, allowing her brain to receive all the scenes within a 360-degree range. This was completely different from the way she had perceived the world in the past twenty years or so of her life.

However, in the next moment, this feeling of discomfort, filled with countless smells, dissipated into thin air. Zoe found herself accustomed to this feeling, as if she had possessed this ability for a long time. Using it seemed to have become an instinct.

She could distinguish the source of countless smells without much difficulty. Zoe tried to open her eyes. This sharp sense of smell didn't disappear, it just blurred for a moment before returning to normal.

Standing at the entrance of the market, Zoe carefully experienced this completely new sensation brought by her superhuman sense of smell.

Besides being able to remotely discern the specific locations of various scents, there was also a special aspect. It was as if, deep down, there was a mysterious feeling that allowed Zoe to understand that all the smells she smelled at the moment were inedible foods.

Because the taste of all foods was just for smelling. This made her frown involuntarily. Although she didn't feel nauseous, she could clearly perceive her body's dislike. It was as if her body was saying: Don't just put anything into your mouth. Obviously, through smell, she could directly judge whether food was edible. Understanding this, Zoe smiled slightly and stopped her steps towards the market.

This saved her the trouble of buying groceries everywhere. Immediately, she stepped aside from the busiest place at the entrance, closed her eyes, and focused her senses in a slightly secluded corner. She earnestly felt the various smells in the entire market and the adjacent supermarket.