Chapter 67: Direction

On an international flight from Japan to China.

Inside the first-class cabin.

To accommodate passengers who needed rest, the cabin lights had been uniformly dimmed.

"Flight attendant, could I trouble you for a blanket?" Not far to Su Lin's left, a passenger said softly to the flight attendant who was currently serving Su Lin.

"Of course, please wait a moment." The flight attendant said softly, "Please enjoy, Mr."

"Mm, thank you."

The flight attendant glanced curiously at Su Lin — passengers wanting coffee in the dead of night were rather uncommon — then pushed the cart down the aisle toward the storage cabinet where the blankets were kept.

Su Lin held a ceramic cup that was a little hot to the touch, lounging lazily against the wide leather seat, gazing out at the scenery through the window on his right.

No different from what he had seen atop Water Mirror Peak.

The same detachment from the world's clamor — white clouds for ground, a golden moon hanging in the sky, stars arrayed in their places.

Steam rose from the hot coffee, the scent of fruit drifting to his nose; Su Lin blew on it lightly a few times.

He took a small sip — a sour taste carrying a faint sweetness, the rich fragrance spreading across his palate.

Su Lin felt he wasn't quite used to drinking it... adding some milk and sugar suited him better.

This was Su Lin's first time in first class. The last time he had been on a plane was when he was very young, in economy class back then; he still remembered the coffee on that flight had been Nescafé instant.

The freshly ground coffee in his hand stirred a bit of feeling in him — the differentiated service that money brought really was something to enjoy. No wonder some people wanted to make big money; wasn't it precisely for the sake of things one normally couldn't enjoy?

On this matter, Su Lin was quite grateful to Lu Mingze for the funds provided.

Although he could fly there himself, it was troublesome and tiring.

Every journey would one day reach its end; there was no need to rush. It wasn't yet the time to race against the clock — better to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Apart from Kassel and certain mixed-blood families who possessed black-tech, this era was just like the world he had lived in ten years ago.

At this point in time, Su Lin recalled he seemed to have just graduated from junior high? Or was it the third year of junior high?

Too long ago — he couldn't remember clearly.

He was now flying to this world's China to complete the first transaction he had agreed upon with another Lu Mingfei.

He planned to, aside from completing the transaction, take a proper look around this era ten years in the past. Time kept rolling forward — when an opportunity like this came, one ought to cherish it.

'Fortunately...'

Su Lin pulled a piece of paper from his black coat, on which several addresses were written.

'Most of these mixed-blood families have migrated to the same city.'

So it was that people climb upward while water flows downward — these beings who already surpassed ordinary folk naturally had their pick when it came to the environment they lived in.

'That should save me a few trips.'

Su Lin reclined his seat to 270°, rested his feet on the footrest, closed his eyes, and began to rest.

Meanwhile, Lu Mingfei, still in Tokyo, was staring blankly at the private-chat record before him.

Su Lin: "That's the situation — I'm skipping town back to the country, no need to contact me for a while."

Lu Mingfei: "?"

Su Lin: "Sayonara~"

Lu Mingfei: "??"

Su Lin: "Almost forgot — when you film that Tokyo Love Story thing, remember to call me."

Lu Mingfei: "???"

Back to the country? You're crossing worlds to go back to the country?

Skip town? You need to skip town? Even if all of Kassel came after you, you wouldn't need to run, right?!

What the hell are you playing at, bro! Don't mess with me! That scheming Juzheng Sect bastard is still there, putting on the act of a kindly, affable old yakuza boss while scheming how to drag their trio down with him.

Lu Mingfei was thinking: the main DPS has run off — how was a deadweight like him supposed to clear the stage?

But he didn't seem to feel much pressure. Whatever — if it really came to it, he'd just go build his foundation in another world first.

When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road; when the boat reaches the bridgehead, it will naturally straighten out.

Some things, in the end, one had to do oneself — one couldn't always be counting on others.

Even if Su Lin slacked off and his cultivation hadn't reached Foundation Establishment, he, Lu Mingfei, would still be invincible in Tokyo!

If it really came to it, he could still go find Lu Mingze.

"Time to go, Lu Mingfei." Caesar patted Lu Mingfei's shoulder, cutting off his reverie: "Besides the Akihabara trip, you've been out of it the whole day today — you really should get some proper rest."

Lu Mingfei shook his head like a rattle-drum. "Thanks, President. But I think I'm just hungry."

Yuan Zhisheng gave Yabuki Sakura a few instructions; the latter nodded, picked up her phone, and began to dial.

He walked over and said to the three of them: "There's no longer any value in continuing the investigation here. The ingredients have been swapped out for fresh ones, and the reception will proceed as planned. Might the three of you do us the honor?"

"Mm, let's go." Caesar took the lead, heading toward the helicopter on the rooftop.

"Let's go, senior brother." Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang followed close behind.

Yuan Zhisheng sighed and hurried to catch up.

At the banquet

Host and guests alike were delighted; a few glasses of liquor in, and the men had already established a preliminary friendly rapport.

Mixed-bloods could always find common ground in conversation — especially when it came to their wretched childhoods.

From their own childhoods, to the objects of their affections, to their pursuits in life, and finally to their outlook on life.

At least for tonight, this was the most relaxed stretch Yuan Zhisheng had had in several days.

He suddenly found that these three blockheads weren't all that bad.

Until, when it came to arranging the itinerary, Caesar Gattuso proposed: "I'm not interested in any of that stuff you mentioned — why not show us the real Japanese underworld you were talking about?"

And so, a fiery-red Ferrari FF sped along the elevated highway, its big-displacement engine roaring at full throttle.

Of course, they had designated drivers, and didn't rely on their mixed-blood physiques to drive drunk.

Yabuki Sakura, acting as the driver, piloted the sports car through the traffic.

Her excellent driving earned everyone's praise.

Lu Mingfei sat in the back seat. He actually wasn't looking forward to what would happen next; he just hadn't expected that, even though they were already an hour behind the original schedule, Yuan Zhisheng would still lead everyone to that street...

If nothing unexpected happened, there would only be a chuunibyou little thug who liked reading manga and wasn't all that bad at heart. The guy was just killing time and wouldn't have posed a threat to that manga shop—he'd merely broken the yakuza's rules.

Poor guy, like a Bronze V shouting for a 1v1 in public chat, only to have five pro players show up on the other side.

All five of them decided to 1v1 you.

Lu Mingfei decided to keep his mouth shut the entire time this round, instead of embarrassing himself like he did in the novel... way too cringy... looking at the things he said while drunk in the novel, he felt like he could dig out a castle with his toes.

The only difference was, when the car was almost at its destination.

The ground was covered in blood and weapons. Some people were cleaning up the aftermath of the two gangs' firefight, and the shrill sound of police sirens came from afar.

Only then did Lu Mingfei remember that two gangs would clash here tonight.

"Two logistics-dependent gangs just had a firefight here over territory." Yuan Zhisheng, sitting in the passenger seat, explained to them: "It's already over."

Flashing ambulance lights—an ambulance was parked by the road, and the paramedics were struggling to lift a stretcher.

On it was a young man in a black suit; the suit at his arm was torn, revealing a lion tattoo. A blade had sliced right across the lion's eye, and the paramedics had wrapped a bandage there, with blood seeping out through the gauze.

Lu Mingfei looked out the window as raindrops pattered down, washing over the scarlet blood, while the clubs and blades lay scattered across the concrete.

The streetlight's glow reflected in the puddles—looked like a mirror from afar, but up close, the puddles held only mud and reflections.

Whether they were late by that hour or not, the two gangs would have fought over profit; to eat, to survive, one side had to take a loss.

Because they were trapped in that stratum, forced to struggle within a fixed circle.

'Resources...' Lu Mingfei suddenly recalled the casual chat Su Lin had with him when he first arrived at Water Mirror Peak.

At most, intimidated by the Gen family's head, they'd stop fighting for an hour.

The final outcome wouldn't change at all...

It was destined.

'It's already over.'

Lu Mingfei glanced at Yuan Zhisheng in the front seat, mulling over what he'd just said, then looked back at the wreckage along the road outside.

'Nothing will change...'

The agitation and unease, the confidence and optimism he'd felt since returning from the other world—at this moment, it was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him.

He just leaned back in the rear seat of the Ferrari FF, quietly watching out the window, waiting for the bookshop he was destined to arrive at.

And,

The people he was destined to meet.