The very next day, Li Ke found himself on the wanted list.
Having slaughtered roughly twenty to thirty people, the entirety of Hong Kong Island was placed under a state of martial law. Countless people were trying to hunt down his whereabouts, and even the Special Duties Unit—the Flying Tigers—was on standby, ready to deploy at any moment.
Yet Li Ke had mentally prepared himself for this long ago.
Back in the Demon Slayer world, he had noticed that the universe showed immense favor to its original protagonists. Not only did it cause the Kamado siblings to arrive at his side right when internal strife erupted within the Demon Slayer Corps, but it even used Nezuko's body as a vessel to descend into the world, unleashing the power of the world's will.
Furthermore, the demons invading that world interestingly prioritized dividing and dismantling the Demon Slayer Corps first, even though the Corps was practically like ants in front of them.
Clearly, whether it was the so-called plot line or destiny itself, these concepts carried a certain amount of power—or rather, significance.
As long as he could disrupt these elements, he would be able to draw out a lot of hidden variables.
Li Ke did not believe in destiny. After all, back in the Demon Slayer world, he could have effortlessly hacked Tanjiro and Nezuko to death. If someone who knew nothing about the plot had been in his shoes, they might not have let Nezuko live.
Besides, if destiny truly existed, where did that leave someone like him?
Thus, Li Ke placed no faith in things like fate. However, if the original framework of a world was thrown into chaos, both the host universe and the invaders looking to disrupt the world to plunder its resources would bound to react.
The universe itself might not care. Having witnessed that level of authority before, Li Ke was filled with deep reverence for World Power.
But what about those invaders?
Would they willingly abandon such a massive advantage?
Li Ke thought not. They would absolutely never give up an edge like that. Especially under the circumstances where he was going on a killing spree for "no apparent reason," these people would never pass up the opportunity. And the moment they showed their heads, he would be able to spot them.
So, after slaughtering a handful of gang members tied to the plot, Li Ke immediately retreated to rest. After all, he had no desire to get cornered and wiped out by a modern military. He would wait and see how things played out first.
If worst came to worst...
He could always just flee to Japan.
At the end of the day, this was a fallback strategy born out of necessity. If he didn't do this, trying to investigate every single overlapping plot and protagonist one by one would take him until the end of time. And even if his hypothesis turned out to be wrong, this method would at least eliminate countless incorrect answers.
In short, staying put to wait, or manually tracking down every single protagonist, was the absolute stupidest approach. He had to step completely off the chessboard.
Fortunately, his gamble did not let him down.
"As expected, doing it this way has its perks."
Resting under a pedestrian overpass with his eyes closed, Li Ke suddenly sensed a subtle aura. It was the presence of World Power. This aura of World Power was rapidly closing in on his position, accompanied by a sensation identical to what he had felt back in the Demon Slayer world.
It was the unmistakable scent of a distorted World Power.
"They actually came."
However, this distorted World Power did not come looking for him. Instead...
"I hate this so much, ahhhhh!!!"
Under the summons of that dark, twisted World Power, the souls of the gang members Li Ke had slaughtered earlier rapidly converged. A man radiating a black aura—Crow, the iconic antagonist among the triad thugs—abruptly manifested his physical form right in the middle of the street, his scars mending at a visible rate.
However, his body immediately began to undergo a rapid, grotesque mutation. In practically the blink of an eye, he transformed into a half-fish, half-human monstrosity.
"Power! Power!!! Ahhhhh!!! I'm going to kill you all!"
The resurrected Crow had completely lost his sanity. He remembered the man who had killed him, and he remembered what it felt like to be alive. But now, staring at the vibrant, living humans surrounding him, Crow—who could no longer sense any life force within himself—roared in a mad frenzy, desperate to make these people taste the agony of death as well!
Leaping toward a dazed triad thug, he delivered a casual swipe that cleaved the man right in half, before stuffing the bloody, severed torso straight into his maw.
At that exact moment, Li Ke leaped up onto the overpass. Looking down at Crow not far away, a grin spread across the corners of his lips.
"Took your sweet time getting here. Still, you spent all that time looking for me only to transform a monster right next to me—did you figure out my identity? Fascinating. Let's see if this monster you summoned actually has what it takes to fight me."
Gazing at the distant Crow, Li Ke let out a soft chuckle. He drew his revolver, intending to test the waters. If this was the kind of monster that could be dealt with by a standard handgun, he would simply finish it off without a second thought.
Once he eliminated this creature and claimed the enemy's World Power, he would naturally be able to glean some information from the purified World Power.
However, another unexpected twist occurred.
The very instant Li Ke was about to step out and harvest his spoils, five brilliant, vibrant beams of light materialized directly in front of him. Following the flash, five gorgeous figures struck various dramatic poses, standing squarely in the path of the monster Crow, who was just about to start a bloodbath.
Then, a classic line reached Li Ke's ears.
"In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"
Li Ke: "..."
Sailor Moon?!
What the hell is wrong with this world!
Staring at the fair, slender thighs and pert rears of the five magical girls, Li Ke stroked his chin and observed them for a brief moment, arriving at a technical conclusion.
Their outfits were completely wardrobe-malfunction-proof.
Even though they were wearing ultra-short miniskirts, the outfits were actually leotards underneath, so they were fully covered.
"Pretty considerate design, but why on earth are the Sailor Guardians here? Just how many secrets is this world hiding? Don't tell me a robotic cat is going to pop out next!"
He felt a bit numb. Lost in thought for a split second, he suddenly saw two elementary school girls dash out from right beside him, followed by two lines spoken in Japanese.
"Sakura! Are those magical girls too? Do you know them?"
"I don't know them at all, Tomoyo!"
Li Ke snapped his head around and sure enough, he saw an adorable elementary schooler clutching a bird-headed staff.
"..."
The absolute pioneer of the moe genre, Sakura Kinomoto?
Cardcaptor Sakura?
What exactly was going on with this universe?
Nonetheless, seeing Sakura Kinomoto eager to jump into the fray alongside the magical girls in high heels, he walked right over and placed his hands firmly on the heads of the two elementary school girls.
"This has nothing to do with you kids. You'd better leave right now. I don't know why you ran all the way over here, but this is grown-up business."
He had absolutely no intention of letting elementary schoolers get mixed up in a world-level conflict. Granted, if the girl beneath his hand really was that Sakura Kinomoto, he might not even be able to beat her if she went all out. Even so, protecting kids was an adult's responsibility, not to mention he was the one who had lured the monster here in the first place.
However, before he could even finish his sentence, a figure suddenly flashed into his perception, ruthlessly aiming a hand straight at his head.
Without a single shred of hesitation, Li Ke whipped around and delivered a swift kick, sending the assailant's hand flying upward and knocking the weapon right out of her grasp.
"What..."
The attacker let out a shocked cry, but in the next heartbeat, Li Ke drove a heavy kick straight into her abdomen, sending the beautiful woman crashing violently to the ground.
Li Ke reached out and caught the object he had kicked into the air, only to realize that the item in her hand was nothing more than a toy gun so fake it was laughable.
"You've got some nerve. But tell me, did you actually realize who I am?"
Only then did he properly look at the woman he had kicked down. She was undeniably a beauty, radiating a powerful aura of a mature woman, even if she lacked any instantly recognizable, defining traits at a glance.
As for why she had tried to hold a gun to his head, the moment Li Ke noticed the protective, anxious gaze she directed at the two young girls, he understood everything. He immediately pushed the two elementary schoolers toward her.
The woman didn't hesitate for a second. She instantly scooped the two girls up, shielding them behind her back while maintaining a highly guarded stance against Li Ke.
Li Ke offered a casual explanation.
"Think whatever you want. Long story short, the only people I killed were scum. Since you're worried about these kids, take them somewhere safe. That's what I was planning to do anyway."
He didn't really have any hidden motives, nor did he plan on trying to chat up the Empress of Moe. Had Sakura Kinomoto been a middle schooler, he might have tried striking up a conversation to see where things went—after all, the legal age of marriage in Japan was sixteen.
But this was a literal elementary schooler!
Since this woman was so worried about the two little ones, he might as well let her take them away. After all...
Li Ke narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky.
The sky, which had only just seen the rising sun a moment ago, had now turned incredibly dark and gloomy. The dark energy of countless fallen gang members, filled with fury and resentment, was being violently absorbed into Crow's body. The influx was causing his size and rate of mutation to balloon exponentially. By now, he no longer retained a single shred of his original appearance; he had transformed entirely into a monster with a fish head, a human body, razor-sharp fangs, and vicious claws.
And as for those Sailor Guardians?
Watching the five of them attack with absolutely zero coordination and visibly amateurish moves, it was glaringly obvious that they were entirely overwhelmed.
Taking a deep breath, Li Ke gripped the hilt of the sword strapped to his back. In a single instant, the bedsheet wrapping his massive greatsword was incinerated into ash by a burst of intense heat, exposing the heavy, thick blade hidden beneath.
The woman's jaw dropped in sheer shock, only to see Li Ke swing the massive blade, sending a torrent of golden flames surging directly toward her direction.
She immediately threw herself over Sakura and Tomoyo to shield them beneath her body. The searing heat of the flames wrung a sharp cry from her lips. Yet, the moment the burst ended, she realized the physical exhaustion racking her body had completely vanished!
She stared at Li Ke in utter bewilderment. Li Ke merely offered a faint smile, fully intending to head out and deal with the monster himself.
After all, looking at Crow right now, the guy was already sprouting tentacles and visibly packing a massive amount of destructive rage. If he didn't step in right this second, those Sailor Guardians were going to suffer a devastating defeat!
However, the exact millisecond Li Ke charged forward, he caught sight of an identification badge pinned to the woman's chest.
And the name written on it...
Was Misato Katsuragi.
Li Ke nearly tripped over his own feet.
"It actually is fucking Evangelion?!"