Origami Tobiichi was completely breaking down inside. She simply couldn't fathom why she had to be the one cursed with such terrible luck.
No matter how she looked at it, this kind of miserable misfortune should have been reserved for those bastards known as Spirits.
Why was someone like her suffering through this instead?
She just didn't understand.
"What a nightmare... especially that bastard Li Ke..."
Staring at the wanted poster of Li Ke inside the convenience store, Origami crushed the plastic water bottle in her hand. Although her face remained entirely blank, the sheer force of her emotionless grip sent a sudden crackle through the air, instantly scaring off a few local punks who had been eyeing her cute looks and working up the courage to flirt.
Being suddenly stranded in an alternate world was frustrating enough. But the absolute sole reason she didn't dare check into a hotel right now was entirely because of that bastard!
Yet, no matter how violently the storm raged inside her, her face remained perfectly calm and cold. Not a single trace of emotion slipped through, let alone any outward display of distress.
Even her screaming was done strictly in her head. For someone like her, emotional volatility was incredibly rare, almost nonexistent.
"Don't let me catch you, you bastard."
The plastic bottle crinkled sharply under her grip. If Li Ke hadn't gone on a massive killing spree, and if he hadn't made such a loud, public spectacle of it, the police would never be raiding every cheap motel in the city. She could have easily kept sleeping in comfort just like her first night here, rather than being forced to loiter on the streets.
Right now, the Hong Kong police were tearing the city apart like madmen searching for him.
The cheap motels were completely out of the question now.
Granted, Li Ke had done what every cop in Hong Kong secretly wanted to do themselves, but there was no denying he had openly spat in the face of local law. As a result, anyone acting slightly suspicious or lacking an ID card was immediately interrogated or locked up.
That was the exact reason she could no longer find a place to stay.
It was unavoidable. For a peaceful society to witness a mass casualty event with over a hundred dead or wounded in just two days—and a brutally violent one at that—was utterly intolerable for any government.
In fact, if he killed just a few dozen more, the military would likely deploy straight into the streets.
This wasn't an exaggeration. It was a fact, an absolute certainty.
Thus, Origami could only crouch quietly in a dark alley corner, dodging the flashing lights of the patrolling police officers while she waited for the storm to blow over.
As for Li Ke...
He had already crossed over to the mainland and was currently enjoying a meal inside a private dining room.
The taste was average at best, though still decent. However, Misato Katsuragi was eating with absolute joy. In her own world, so many ingredients had vanished entirely. Even with her high-ranking status and access to rare rations, she could never afford to eat with such reckless abandon.
But here...
Li Ke watched as Misato Katsuragi aggressively stuffed lobster and various other dishes into her mouth, unable to hold back a snort of derision.
"Is your world really that starved for supplies?"
"It's not me who lacks them, but the overall environment is definitely starved," Misato ranted between bites. "Besides, trying to get authentic Chinese cuisine in my world is incredibly difficult..."
He simply rolled his eyes. "I thought Japanese people couldn't stand Chinese food?"
"That's only true for some! Most of it is absolutely delicious, okay? It's not like we're Westerners with entirely different culinary traditions! As for the ones who claim it tastes bad, they simply haven't eaten the good stuff!"
While continuing to devour her meal, Misato grabbed a piece of watermelon meant for dessert and shoved it straight into her mouth. He could only shake his head at the sight.
This was something he had wanted to complain about back in the Food Wars! (Shokugeki no Soma) world. The Japanese diet was almost completely Westernized. While their obsession with rice meant they still ate a few stir-fried dishes, their version of a stir-fry was practically an insult to the word itself.
Even at Tootsuki Academy, Chinese cuisine was limited entirely to Sichuan food... and they hadn't even mastered that fully.
Thinking of this, a sudden realization hit him. If he remembered correctly, this world featured Stephen Chow, which meant the God of Cookery naturally existed here. He wasn't particularly fond of cooking himself, but there was no harm in learning a bit or recording some recipes, right?
With that in mind, he opened his map and checked the location of Jusenkyo. The Cursed Springs were located in Qinghai, whereas they were currently in Chongqing waiting for a flight to Qinghai later. He took a moment to ponder the route.
"When we head back, should we take a trip to the Guangdong Shaolin Temple?" he asked, studying the map.
Even if he didn't learn the recipes from the Guangdong Shaolin Temple himself, he could record them for Erina to practice. After all, culinary arts were her absolute favorite. And if he actually possessed any talent in that area, learning a few tricks wouldn't hurt.
Granted, the anime magic and the Blood-Qi Secret Technique he possessed had absolutely nothing in common with traditional internal martial arts or cultivation, but he was still highly curious. He couldn't help but wonder if there truly were any internal cultivation manuals hidden there...
"Yeah, sure, sounds good. It's not that far from Hong Kong anyway... Wait, the Guangdong Shaolin Temple?"
Misato looked up from her food. Slurping down a noodle, she stared at him as if he were a complete idiot.
"Are you sure you aren't messing with me?"
She genuinely felt like he was pulling her leg.
"You'll see when we get there. Besides, the food there is incredible."
He decided not to elaborate. After all, the "Dongguan Shaolin Temple" sounded completely sketchy no matter how you sliced it, and the abbot himself was far from a conventional monk. It was a bizarre place that taught chefs how to make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, of all things...
"You better not be lying! The thing I hate most in life is a man using food to deceive me!" Misato declared without hesitation, finishing off her noodles.
"Why would I ever lie to you?"
Li Ke pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open, only to see the hands spinning erratically in circles again. He couldn't help but sigh.
"When is this thing ever going to work properly?"
After eating and drinking their fill, the two rested for a brief moment before heading back out to catch their flight. On their way to the airport, he scanned the latest news reports, all of which were covering him as a terrifying serial killer.
This prompted him to complain once again.
"In novels, the protagonists kill hundreds of people in Hong Kong without causing even a ripple. Why is it such a massive headache when I do it?"
He massaged his temples while scrolling through novels on his phone. He couldn't help it—he had spent a bit too much time studying mathematics recently, and it was giving him a headache.
"Your case would be considered a horrific crime in any era," Misato Katsuragi chuckled softly. "The only reason you got away with it so easily is because the Hong Kong police haven't realized you fled the area yet."
If the local authorities had even suspected he could just board a flight and leave, getting away wouldn't have been this simple. Based on conventional tracking methods, they assumed that even if he didn't stay hidden in the city, he would try to escape through smuggling rings. Boldly taking a commercial flight?
To be fair, they truly hadn't anticipated that.
Of course, the police were monitoring the security footage, but against the laptop in her hands, those networked surveillance cameras were practically a joke.
There wasn't much she could do about the offline cameras, but she had given him a thorough makeover using makeup. With the city's current detection technology, it was virtually impossible to spot him.
Combined with his ability to slightly alter his facial features using Life Return, they were completely safe.
"Still, I think it's pretty incredible," she said, stretching her arms. "You can actually control your fingernails and facial muscles for a period of time. Is that some kind of Chinese Kung Fu?"
He gave a slight nod. "Not quite. It's called Life Return, a special technique from another world."
She nodded in understanding, feeling a bit envious. The ability was incredibly practical.
However, as much as she wanted to learn it, she knew she likely didn't have enough time, and there was no guarantee he would even teach her.
As a result, the remainder of their journey became rather quiet. It wasn't just because the two of them weren't particularly close yet, but also because the first-class cabin was fully packed, making it an inappropriate place to discuss confidential matters.
The pair took a short nap during the flight, and the plane smoothly touched down in Qinghai. However, when he looked out at the current state of the region, all he saw was a rustic, rural landscape.
On second thought, it made sense. Even though this world already possessed controlled nuclear fusion, developing rural areas still required time. He didn't let it bother him, and after purchasing a few supplies with her, they immediately set off toward Jusenkyo.
He didn't idle around either; he bought a massive stack of newspapers and began flipping through them to see exactly who else might exist in this world.
Because the urban infrastructure was still heavily underdeveloped, taxis disappeared entirely once they left the city limits. After waiting for a while, the two finally managed to find a local willing to drive them toward Jusenkyo on his tractor.
As they rattled along toward their destination, Misato finally couldn't hold back her curiosity anymore and looked over at him as he continuously flipped through the papers.
"What exactly are you looking for?"
Since he clearly seemed experienced and possessed an excellent tool for tracking things like his pocket watch, she assumed he brought her to Jusenkyo because he knew exactly what was here. Yet, looking at him now, it seemed like he was just as clueless, given how he was obsessively digging through newspapers.
"I just feel that since controlled nuclear fusion exists here, this place will naturally become the center of the world. And with an area this massive, it would make absolutely no sense if there wasn't some kind of plot happening here."
Li Ke kept flipping through the newspapers, but not a single familiar name jumped out at him. As his irritation mounted, he finally turned to the elderly driver who was giving them a lift on his tractor.
"Hey, uncle, do you know of anyone famous around here? Like, someone incredibly powerful who knows how to fight?"
His voice caught the old man's attention, prompting him to speak up immediately.
"Gotta hand it to ya, you little Japanese devil, your Chinese is pretty damn good..."
"..."
His face instantly contorted into an awkward grimace. Misato Katsuragi finally realized why everyone had been giving them such bizarre looks whenever she and her companion spoke in Japanese!
"I'm a local, old man! Have you ever seen a Japanese devil this handsome? Watch your mouth, alright!"
"Oh yeah? Then how come you married a devil wife?!"
"..."
He desperately wanted to explain that there was absolutely nothing going on between him and Misato, but the old man had already lost interest in that topic.
"As for who's the best fighter, that's hard to say... But if you're talking about someone powerful and famous, you ever heard of Yan Shuangying? And then there's that divine marksman who used martial arts to snipe a devil machine gunner from four hundred kilometers away... what was his name again..."
Yan Shuangying...
Sniping a devil marksman from four hundred kilometers away using martial arts...
He buried his face in his hands.
This was a timeline filled with superhuman anti-Japanese heroes!
But the old man paid no mind to his despair, excitedly rambling on to Misato—who was an actual Japanese person—about the legendary exploits of Yan Shuangying and the other superhuman resistance fighters.
Stories of a single man tearing an entire enemy battalion to shreds, ripping invaders in half with bare hands because his palms would itch if he didn't do it dozens of times a day, and demolition geniuses who could turn buns, steamed bread, and tomatoes into live explosives...
By the time the rural driver dropped them off at their destination, Misato's eyes had completely lost their light.
"What in the world is wrong with this timeline..."
She didn't doubt the old man's stories for a second. After all, magic literally existed in this world, so accepting these kinds of feats wasn't that big of a leap.
There was only one thing she couldn't wrap her head around.
If this was reality, just how incredibly brain-dead were the leaders back in Japan to ever attempt an invasion in the first place?
"You get used to it. Doesn't Japan have its own overpowered nationalist heroes in fiction? And they never admit their wrongs either."
Thinking of Tatsuya Shiba, he patted her shoulder.
People from his original era viewed Japan with utter contempt, leaving his own attitude toward the country somewhat complicated.
If given the chance, he wouldn't mind triggering a disaster to sink the island, though if he actually went through with it, he would probably drive out the innocent civilians first.
As for how many were actually innocent...
That was strictly a matter of personal conscience.
Looking down at the newspapers he had taken from the old man, he couldn't help but sigh.
He had actually spotted quite a few familiar names, but they were all slightly off. Strangely, several historical figures who should have been long dead in his own history were still alive and well, alongside a ton of names he had never even heard of.
It was just that...
"There's no good narrative hook to exploit here..."
He did come across a few names tied to potential plotlines. One was Qin Huairu and another was Sha Zhu, but the article mentioned they had been arrested for theft, meaning the drama of Siheyuan was effectively dead before it started.
Besides, what kind of status did he have now? Why would he waste time bickering in a courtyard house drama?
That would be a massive step down.
Aside from those individuals, there was also someone named Xia Luo, but he had zero interest in getting involved. Xia Luo was the type of person who practically begged to be punched and had no idea how to utilize his advantages.
There was nothing wrong with earning a first pot of gold by singing and dancing, but continuing to coast on that without transitioning into real business was something he thoroughly looked down upon. The man's vision was just too narrow.
Any transmigrator with a normal IQ would never end up in such a pathetic state.
If nothing else, simply buying up real estate in Beijing would have allowed Xia Luo to build a massive commercial empire...
"Looks like my only real options are Hong Kong and Japan."
Li Ke sighed softly. He had officially abandoned all hope of finding a usable storyline on the mainland.
It wasn't like he could just go around looking for Big Head Son and Small Head Dad, The Northeast Family, or Home with Kids.
And even if he did find them, how on earth was he supposed to disrupt their plots to get rewards?
"Ah... so you're definitely hiding something from me, aren't you?"
Misato Katsuragi had finally figured it out. He was absolutely keeping secrets from her, and they were crucial details that couldn't just be brushed aside.
"Something like that, but it doesn't make much of a difference to you."
He had no intention of explaining the concept of fictional plots to her; it would only cause unnecessary headaches.