Chapter 25: Exploring Sense of Smell
Feng Yi decided to go out today because he had read the weather forecast.
Before going out, he wondered if he should challenge himself to smell how many people the elevator had carried in the last hour? And if there were any hidden secrets?
After going out, he met a middle-aged man in the elevator. The man had probably just cooked some fried food and had just come out of the kitchen. The smell of oil and spices penetrated Feng Yi’s mask, invading his senses and making him want to sneeze. This was already the result under Feng Yi’s control, otherwise he could smell even more.
Holding his breath, Feng Yi gave up the idea of exploring “secrets in the elevator”. He kept his expression under control and responded politely when the other party greeted him. It wasn’t good for those who lived in the same building to act too distant.
The elevator was narrow, the air circulation was limited, and there were many people who used the elevator every day. The smell was complex, and there were some smells that Feng Yi didn’t want to explore too much, so he gave up.
There were so many places to explore, why choose an elevator?
After getting off the elevator, Feng Yi went to a nearby park. At this time, there weren’t many people in the park. Moreover, the weather wasn’t too good today, so it seemed rather empty. But for the current Feng Yi, it was just right!
He took off his mask and breathed in the air.
It had just rained, and the pollutants in the air had either been blown away or washed away by the rain, and the gas pollutants weren’t as obvious. For Feng Yi, who had a sensitive sense of smell, this environment was quite friendly.
The public bench had recently been painted, and there was still an obvious smell, so Feng Yi avoided it and chose a stone bench to sit on. People probably sat on this stone bench a lot. There was no dirt on it, and it was very clean after being washed by the rain.
The nose captured odor molecules in the air, as well as particles trapped in water vapor. The brain identified the source of these smells. After a week of practice in seclusion, his brain’s ability to distinguish these odor molecules had greatly improved. If the smell was more complicated, there might be a delay, but he could still handle it.
Feng Yi distinguished these smells: flowers and trees, soil, and a faint smell of medicine that was probably sprayed by the people who took care of the park.
There were too many kinds of plants, and Feng Yi could only name less than ten percent of them. However, he remembered most of the smells of these plants, so maybe he would be able to slowly recognize them in the future.
If his eyes were closed, what kind of world would he be able to “see”?
Tourists, flowers and trees, birds, and benches all had their own scents. The smell wrapped around these people or things, forming air masses similar in shape to the body. People were in the shape of humans, and trees were in the shape of trees. These clumps changed shape depending on the direction and strength of the wind.
Air flowed into the nasal cavity, bringing with it not only these odor molecules and particles, but also other information. The sense of smell couldn’t pinpoint the exact location, but it could perceive it.
For example, the water vapor that rose and fell with the wind.
Another example…
Looking up at the sky, the clouds seemed to convey other information – when it was raining and when it was sunny, he could perceive that information.
Some tourists walked past him, clapping their hands and laughing at what they were saying. If he closed his eyes, he could “see” other interesting information molecules in the scent cluster around the two tourists. However, the information molecules that Feng Yi could currently detect were too few to accurately distinguish things.
He speculated though, that these interesting information molecules might be emitted by people themselves when they were emotional. Different emotions released different information molecules.
Feng Yi had been “watching” the world in the park. When night fell, he got up and left. A gust of wind blew past. Feng Yi raised his hand, caught a fallen leaf passing behind his head, and threw it into the trash can next to him. Without even looking, he could sense a passing leaf and grabbed it.
After leaving the park, Feng Yi did not go home right away, but walked through the streets of the city. There weren’t many people out on the streets on a rainy day, but the shops and malls were still busy.
The smells here were more complicated, and it was a bit difficult to distinguish things, but Feng Yi still tried to identify and record them. He also observed the information released by the passersby with various psychological emotions, but his perception of it was still very vague. Perhaps as his development progressed and his senses improved, his perception would be further enhanced. At that time, he would be able to more accurately perceive the information molecules released by emotions and see the “truth” of this world.
For example, under the disguise, he could feel anxiety, restlessness, joy, indifference… those real psychological reactions. Expressions could be disguised, but emotional information molecules couldn’t be concealed.
In the city under the night, neon lights flickered, and various light sources interweaved, forming a gorgeous night view of the city. Feng Yi walked down the street, and through the remaining scent molecules, he “saw” the person who walked the dog ten minutes ago, the passenger who waited for the bus at the bus stop five minutes ago… the person who waited for the bus even had extra spicy crispy pancakes.
By identifying these residual scent molecules, Feng Yi could “see” images that the eyes couldn’t see. Even though these images were made up of groups of scents, and he couldn’t distinguish their appearance or age, he could still know what they did.
Feng Yi walked in the direction of home without wearing a mask, identifying various scent molecules and the stories behind them along the way. It was interesting to slowly adjust to the information shock caused by these complex scent molecules.
Today’s super olfactory exploration√
At the entrance of the deli, a little boy of about five years old, wearing a dinosaur raincoat, looked at the large French windows outside the store as a mirror. A gust of wind blew the hood of his raincoat back, but he didn’t care.
When Feng Yi passed by him, he raised his hand and swept over his head, catching a large drop of rainwater that fell from above the child.
The little boy noticed the movement and immediately looked up at Feng Yi, quickly covering the top of his head with one hand, as if guessing what Feng Yi had taken from his head.
Feng Yi stopped three meters away from him, turned around and said with a smile, “The candy in your pocket has melted.”
The little boy hurriedly covered his raincoat pocket with his other hand.
At this time, the mother of the little boy in the store who had been paying attention to this side came out quickly. She looked at Feng Yi who was leaving, and then worriedly said to the little boy, “Why are you covering your head? Take your hand away and let me see!”
The little boy removed his hand. Except for a few clumps of dull hair blown up by the wind, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
The mother looked carefully to make sure there were no wounds or anything else before feeling relieved. However, when she thought about the scene she had just seen, doubts arose in her heart.
“What did that uncle… older brother do?” She hadn’t seen his face clearly, but he had to be younger.
The child’s wide-open eyes were full of doubt, and he made a quick gesture of waving and sweeping. “He just did that, swoosh~.”
“And then?”
“Then… then he told me that the candy in my pocket melted… Wow! It really melted and stuck to my clothes! How did he know! Does he have psychic eyes!”
“How many times have I told you that this candy melts easily! Don’t hide it in your pocket… We’ll talk about that later. And then what? What else did he say?”
“And then he left!”
“Have you ever met him before?”
“Yes!” The little boy jumped excitedly, as if he remembered something.
“Where?”
“On your phone!”
“Nonsense! I don’t have him on my phone!!”
“You do! Last time you said that this snake spirit’s really good-looking!”
“…”