Even if her sudden disappearance didn't cause any immediate chaos—since neither the ongoing battle nor picking up the Commander's son were insurmountable issues—there was a much bigger problem at hand.
Her organization was a highly secretive, quasi-espionage agency. If she didn't hurry back, by the time she finally returned, she might very well be branded a traitor and put on international wanted lists.
Their organization was absolutely no joke. Tokyo-3 was a city built for the sole purpose of intercepting Angels. In this city, even the street sweepers held official clearances, and the ice cream vendors were their informants. Virtually every industry existed to serve them.
To put it plainly, Tokyo-3 was like an ancient fortress, and Misato Katsuragi was one of the generals commanding it. For her to vanish halfway through a mission...
In short, the only thing she wanted right now was to get back to her own world.
"Oh?"
Li Ke tilted his head and looked at her.
"From your tone, it sounds like you're hunting that monster too?"
He looked at Misato with genuine interest. She was a mature beauty by any standard, and her form-fitting outfit was exceptionally eye-catching.
It was a bit of a shame, though. He actually preferred her in denim shorts. This tight, hip-hugging dress paired with a red jacket was honestly a bit average by his personal aesthetic standards.
Still, it was basically her classic look.
That was exactly how he had been able to identify her with such certainty.
However...
"What you're saying is quite intriguing, beautiful lady. But I'm more curious about how you managed to track me down. You know, the Hong Kong police in this world aren't all useless."
Li Ke studied her casually. He was genuinely curious. None of Hong Kong's protagonist-level cops had managed to catch him, so how did Misato find him?
This matter was actually quite important to him.
After all, with so many Jackie Chans, Jet Lis, and Andy Laus running around as super cops, he couldn't see how they would fail to find him.
"Because their superiors don't believe in the supernatural," Misato explained. "From what I've gathered, this place is full of demons, ghosts, and even spiritual power tournaments. Yet, the police bosses firmly believe in science. They think this is just a standard terrorist attack. They have plenty of officers on the streets, but because they're looking in the wrong direction, they naturally can't find you. And besides..."
She pointed toward the nearby river.
"I just picked a bar along the riverbank, had a few drinks, and waited for you. It was only natural that I'd cross paths with you."
At that, she couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
"But a guy like you clearly doesn't know the meaning of restraint. You went straight back to committing crimes."
"Calling it a crime sounds so harsh. I'm just enforcing justice," Li Ke replied smoothly. "If that's all you wanted to ask, I suggest you find a safe place to stay, beautiful lady. After all, getting mixed up in this kind of business might just get you pregnant."
Li Ke scoffed and gestured behind him toward a guy who was perfectly healthy, yet completely stripped of his five senses and four limbs.
To ensure he didn't actually kill anyone, he had been using Living Flame quite heavily.
It was mostly just bad luck on their part. For anyone not involved in the drug trade, Li Ke would usually just give them a quick bullet. Unfortunately, all of these triad bosses—including Chan Ho-nam—were pushing powder. Even a certain gang that famously claimed they didn't touch drugs was actually dealing them under the table.
Against scumbags like this, Li Ke naturally had to be ruthless.
As for their money?
Li Ke only took a few tens of thousands of dollars, planning to just fling the rest out onto the streets. Since it wasn't his own cash anyway, he might as well enjoy the thrill of throwing money around like confetti.
Honestly, if he weren't wary of the potential supernatural forces in this world and the need to proceed with a cautious, step-by-step approach, he would have blown up the Governor's Mansion by now. What right did that place even have to be called a mansion?
"Pregnant?"
Misato Katsuragi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Are you really that confident in your charm?"
Ever since Li Ke saw her, his eyes had been sizing her up, paying special attention to her legs and chest. He didn't care at all that she was watching him back. His blunt, piercing gaze left her unsure whether to call him refreshingly honest or completely shameless.
But his words truly made her want to laugh.
"It's not that I'm confident in my charm. For a mature, strong-willed woman like you, the fastest way to get you would be to force myself on you after a few drinks. I don't care for that method. The reason I can guarantee you'll end up pregnant if you get involved is very simple: I'm not sure if you came from another world and are theoretically my teammate, but the reality is, your strength is simply too low."
Li Ke looked at Misato and laid out his reasoning.
He pulled out a coin and flicked it fiercely with his thumb straight at her. Instantly, it grazed past her head and embedded itself deep into the wooden wall behind her.
"You're too weak. You will inevitably end up needing me to save you over and over again. When that time comes, between the suspension bridge effect, the theory of gratitude, and your inability to offer a reward that satisfies me, you'll naturally have no choice but to pay with your body."
Li Ke stated his reasoning very directly.
If it were an ordinary person or a little girl, he would just save them and leave it at that. But with a gorgeous beauty like this, he naturally had expectations. If it happened once or twice, it wouldn't be a big deal, but by the third time, he would definitely get annoyed and demand to take her to bed.
By that point, Misato wouldn't resist too much either. She would yield with a mix of reluctance and compliance, allowing him to have his way.
So Li Ke was absolutely certain he wasn't lying. He was simply stating her future.
"Huh?"
Misato let out a light chuckle.
"Don't get too arrogant, okay? I might not have your superpowers, but I'm no helpless little girl either."
In a flash, Misato whipped out a handgun and gripped it firmly. The bag behind her was bulging noticeably, clearly stuffed with automatic rifles or similar weapons.
Only now did Li Ke glance down at her pockets. They were packed full, looking exactly like they were stuffed with hand grenades.
This time, she was undoubtedly packing real heat. Li Ke took a closer look and recognized the standard Tokarev "Black Star" pistol. He immediately realized that Misato had done the exact same thing as him—finding a bunch of gangsters to fleece for supplies.
Those underworld thugs really amounted to nothing in the grand scheme of things.
While Misato's combat capabilities were practically nonexistent in front of Li Ke, she could completely crush those mobsters. She was a proper, professionally trained operative after all.
As for the triads' tactical discipline, it wasn't even worth mentioning. No matter how formidable they looked in underground deathmatches, without the backing of a regular military force, they were nothing but a joke.
The only reason they could oppress the Hong Kong police was simply because the cops' .38 revolvers were absolute garbage. Furthermore, whenever the police shot a criminal, they faced immense scrutiny from their own internal affairs, being aggressively cross-examined on whether they fired with the intent to kill. If not for those restrictions, the triads would have been wiped out long ago.
Thus, the triad issue wasn't something that could be solved just by how capable the Hong Kong police were. The status of the Hong Kong police was nowhere near as high as that of mainland public security.
"These absolute failures are truly pathetic."
Li Ke cast another look of disdain at the useless mobsters, then turned his eyes back to Misato Katsuragi.
"Yeah, yeah, you're tough, but—"
The moment the words left his mouth, he was already right next to her. He grabbed her arm in a flash, only to realize she hadn't even taken the safety off.
"No matter how powerful modern weapons are, they're useless if the person pulling the trigger is just a regular human. Or did you honestly think you could handle ghosts that walk through walls?"
Li Ke let go of her arm and gave her forehead a gentle flick.
"Just find a place to rest for a while, and wait until it's time to head back to your own world, Miss Katsuragi."
With that, he turned around, ready to leave.
If she possessed an AT Field, he wouldn't mind bringing her along. But someone who just carried modern firearms and knew a few special forces tactics was completely useless to him. If she ran into a low-level monster like the one he fought this morning, she would absolutely die.
Even though killing that creature had been easy for him, its speed was by no means slow. The absolute baseline strength of those Sailor Guardians was already formidable. Misato would likely barely manage to fire two shots before the monster closed the distance, leaving her at the mercy of its tentacles to be violated in every imaginable way.
It seemed she had come fully prepared.
Furthermore, he could tell she was an Endless Traveler from another world. The Tokyo-3 of this particular world certainly wasn't a massive fortress built to intercept Angels. If it were, he would already be surrounded by their operatives, and she wouldn't be reduced to relying on a basic Black Star pistol.
Most importantly, now that humanity possessed nuclear fusion, would they even need to fear Angels? It couldn't be helped—while Evangelion was originally styled as sci-fi, its technology didn't seem all that advanced anymore in this current era.
"But I can still be useful, can't I?"
Misato didn't look surprised at all; she had already witnessed his fighting style firsthand.
"You must need someone to handle logistics. Things like erasing your wanted status, hacking into local mainframes, and dealing with influential figures. Besides, you really are from another world, aren't you? And by the looks of it, this isn't your first time dealing with this kind of situation."
She looked at him with absolute certainty. Her guess had been spot-on. Li Ke was incredibly familiar with those monsters. He might even be a veteran who, just like her, was professionally brought here to hunt them down.
"More or less... Anyway, if you're really determined to interfere, be prepared for death or pregnancy. Just don't follow me. Someone of your level isn't an asset. Strictly speaking, you're nothing but a liability."
Li Ke found the situation somewhat amusing, but he didn't care much for what she had to offer. Dealing with influential figures was entirely pointless; it would only create a vulnerability for him.
Misato let out a light chuckle.
"Then what about perfectly legal fake IDs?"
As she spoke, she slipped out two identification cards, waved them in front of his face, and tossed one over to him.
"The gangs here might be weak, but they have excellent connections. I used their leverage to secure quite a few identities. I even made a fake one for you. If you want, your status as a wanted fugitive can be wiped clean right now. According to the records, you weren't even in Hong Kong at the time—you were at a conference in the United States."
She smiled playfully. Although the computer technology of this era differed from her own world's, it was incredibly primitive. Even with her basic technical skills, using the triad's muscle to infiltrate the civil affairs bureau and forge a few identities was remarkably simple. She had even found the time to fabricate these documents.
She had sorted out the firearms later on. She had even taken the time to create fake travel logs for him. Aside from lacking the physical paper trails at customs, the records were virtually flawless.
"..."
Li Ke stared at the brand-new ID card in his hand, then looked back up at her, his mind completely blank with bewilderment.
He truly couldn't comprehend how she had managed to accomplish so much in such a short window of time, let alone find the leisure to set up a shell corporation.
"I'm an elite operative for a reason, so don't look down on me. NERV doesn't keep useless dead weight around. And honestly, the computer technology in this world is just too backward."
She lightly shook the phone in her hand, causing Li Ke's mouth to twitch slightly.
Her phone wasn't a brick-sized mobile or a flip phone. It was a smartphone.
Li Ke didn't even know how to begin criticizing it. Japanese anime always suffered from these kinds of continuity issues, especially franchises that spanned several decades, so he couldn't be bothered to complain.
After all, back when the original series aired, brick-sized mobile phones were still a novelty. Japan had just fallen from its golden economic era, and no one could have predicted how massive the future technological shifts would be.
Still, since he could now move around with a legitimate identity, he naturally had no complaints.
"I suppose you do have some uses after all. But can this really fool the Hong Kong police?"
Misato Katsuragi let out a light chuckle.
"We just need to leave the territory once. We'll take a quick trip to Japan and then come right back, and that will be the end of it. Also, we need to apply a bit of makeup."
She grabbed Li Ke by the collar, pulling him right down in front of her face. Reaching quickly into her pocket, she pulled out some cosmetics, deftly brushed a few strokes across his face, slapped a fake mustache on him, and pushed him away.
Li Ke glanced at a nearby mirror. His features had indeed altered slightly, and with the mustache attached, he barely looked like his usual self anymore.
"Is this kind of disguise really going to cut it?" he couldn't help but complain.
Misato shrugged, then pulled a suit out of her backpack.
"It's not like disguise is my specialty. As long as your background records check out, it'll fine. Besides, you have a rock-solid alibi, so there won't be any issues. The laws in Hong Kong are practically running on loopholes anyway..."
She tossed the suit over to him just as the sound of police sirens finally echoed from outside.
"Back door."
Li Ke submissively let her pull him along, taking the opportunity to slip into the suit she had bought.
When he exposed his chest muscles, Misato didn't show even the slightest hint of shyness. Instead, she automatically reached out and took a feel of his pectorals and abs, casually asking, "Getting a physique like this couldn't have been easy, right?"
She could see it clearly. His musculature wasn't the kind of overblown, explosive bulk built on performance-enhancing drugs. This was the real deal—densely packed, functional muscle forged through brutal conditioning, radiating immense explosive power.
But achieving a physique like this was practically impossible without a massive investment of grueling time and a flawless, strict diet.
"Yeah, it was brutal. I had to get chased and bitten by fish the size of islands."
Li Ke's mouth twitched. To this day, he still occasionally had nightmares about being hunted down by those Sea Kings. Even though it was now physically impossible for him to drown in the ocean, the experience had left him with an increasingly severe case of thalassophobia.
It couldn't be helped—the deep ocean in One Piece truly held nightmares!
Still, there was no denying that Gol D. Roger's training methods were incredibly effective. His entire muscular foundation and core strength had been forged during that harrowing period.
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? Are the monsters in other worlds really that terrifying?" Misato couldn't help but comment.
"The worse ones come later," Li Ke replied. "Before this, I was actually chased down and beaten by a mountain. And I don't mean that as a metaphor—it was a literal, moving mountain. Though to be fair, my own contribution to winning that fight wasn't particularly large."
Li Ke shuddered as he recalled that maddening, colossal black mountain range. That thing was an adversary he couldn't possibly defeat with his own strength, which was why he still felt a bit faint-hearted whenever he thought about it.
You couldn't really blame him, though. Those monsters were clearly completely broken!
"That really is..."
Misato Katsuragi couldn't be sure if Li Ke was telling the truth, but she could tell that the dread in this man's heart was genuine. He truly was a highly experienced warrior.
"Alright, let's go."
Li Ke didn't waste any time now that he was suited up. He wrapped an arm around her waist, guided her onto the main street, and seamlessly melted into the passing crowd.
Barely a moment after they left, the back door of the bar burst open. In rushed three Jackie Chans, five Jet Lis, eight Jordan Chans, and ten Louis Koos.
Oh, and let's not forget twelve Andy Laus and eight Nick Cheungs.
It was an absolute constellation of stars.