Kowloonet

I am prepared. Baihu's dragon vein is nearby. Once the den is found, my Divine Choice can finally be made.

I shall be one with the White Tiger. But, how does one perform such a rite as this on his own? In case I fail, I must leave the compass behind before I depart, and pray a feng shui master retrieves it from its haven.

Do my nightmares hold any meaning? One can only hope they aren't omens of calamity, but the one I worry for is my younger brother, Cuijian. Please. May no disaster befall him.*** Recorded on May 22nd, 1987 DRA387-1W: Suijian// >DELETE>DELETE>DELETE>DELETE>DEL///////////////

It's me. Xia. Listen up! The Day of the Fire is TODAY! Based on the engravings on Xiaohei's bracelet, today, May 22nd, is also called "Thunderbolt", which refers to a FIERY flame AKIN to thunder! Once I pieced it together, I got so excited, I told Xiaohei, but...

Xiaohei jumped up and said she was off to see the onmyoji?! The onmyoji is a foreign sorcerer who appeared out of the ether. Many a strange rumour precedes him. Shall I elaborate on this in person? I'll do more research for now, but come visit once you're caught up.

Mr. Xia solved the puzzle surrounding the Day of the Fire. The Day of the Fire is today... I felt it too. My sister's presence is stronger than it was yesterday. I can't stop thinking about it, so I've decided to ask the onmyoji. He should be able to help me.

I don't know how to contact him, but I'll do whatever it takes!

I'm sure you find my username striking, no? Now, today's theme is "trust". Shared trust deepens relationships more than any other trifle could. You were granted power out of trust, were you not? After all, this "you" only exists because it is allowed to.

Whether you swallow it or not, that is the truth. You may not see the full picture, but you do put on quite a show! Now, get to work, before the trust that warms your little heart tears it to shreds!

Hey, it's me! Kidz! I'm on another modded card right now. Can you spot what gives it away? ... Don't break your back over it. I'm just happy it works. Anyhow, this is gonna be hard to explain.

Xiaohei begged me a bit ago to show her how to use Hyper-Comm, so I did... She said there's someone who she can only contact through Hyper-Comm. You have any clue who that is?

There's something I think you should know. Each of us Net users comes from a different set of twins, all sharing a special power.

We're raised without ever knowing of our other halves. Then, one day, we begin to awaken to our powers. We believed this power was "mingli". Ever since I was a child, I found myself proud to possess this gift. Mingli allows twins to reconnect.

Then, I learnt the Snakes were abusing our power for their gain, and... that our mingli is not genuine. What we create is a malleable power known as "jiaming".

It wasn't even our other twins that we were sensing. Instead, the Snakes set us up to ring out to the Sleeping Dragon.

Old Snake's goal is to emit as many jiaming signals as possible in unison until they awaken the Dragon. For now, I'll try to gather info on Mafei from other people on the Net.

If you really are the all-knowing scholar of your era, surely you know where the elixir of life is. Have no fear. All you need to do is open your heart and join us.

If you hesitate now, you will miss your ride aboard the ark. Could you live with yourself after that, all-knowing scholar?

This database aims to further inform the public of the twin-child policy, thereby promoting participation. Due to Kowloonet's insecure nature, not all policy contents are shared. See the twin registry for details. I personally update this database by adding entries and edits as needed. Zhang Lu, Sight Lead Twin Centre Practitioners Board

窘(糴p*躬#~|:Wvz…おい、聞こえるか、読めるか？俺だ、リッチだ。小黒には会ったのか。あいつ、陰陽師にそそのかされて、あんたを追いかけて龍津路に入ったそうじゃないか。街のやつらが何か言ってなかったか。

しかし陰陽師の**E瞎*-*挺薮[＠[B490#G/藏腐***********************************************

It's your friend from Lung Shing Road. Uhh, the mainspring merchant is teaching me how to use this thing... Let me... Hello? Can you read this?

******************************************************* Let me handle this. It's me, the mainspring merchant.

Mr. Bottle Merchant here is a little out of it right now. He scored a heck of an earring. Collecting them is his thing, see. But get this, the earring's owner came here from West City Road!

Meaning, Lung Shing Road and West City Road are connected now! In exchange, the deeper half of Lung Shing Road straight up disappeared. Only the shrimp peelers' son escaped. Seems he went to Kowloonfront to find you. He wanted to give you his lucky shrimps. You should look for him.

It's Wei. We have need of your assistance. Come up to Room 312 in the Kowloon Hotel. Zecoo's hideout is there. You can reach the hotel midway through the tunnel to the Twin Centre. Please hurry.

いひひ、あんただろ、さっきのえびは、うまかったなあ。お礼に、いいこと教えてやろう。いいこととは、悪いことじゃない。もちろんだよな。そのいいことっていうのは、あいつらが雇ったババアのことだよ。あいつら、わかるだろ、あいつらさ。そのババアっていうのが、ベトナムからきたインチキ霊媒師らしい。うひひ、霊媒師だってよ、そんなのインチキに決まってらあ。ただ、そのババアは、たっぷり邪気を持ってるからな、ひひひ、あんた、まず邪気の鏡できれいにしてやる必要があるんだ。持ってるんだろ、邪気の鏡…そのあと、両肩に背負い込んだ物の怪をやっつけるんだ。物の怪どもは…そうさなあ…退魔の力のある4擦SVm錚ok槧Lb擇T3d瑣w苳FHU鯲/cR<

up! This is important! That Xiaohei girl's mingli has reached its complete form! No one can touch her now. No matter how hard they try to, the Snakes can't steal her mingli. Xiaohei is a full-fledged twin, which means her sister is real! But where is her sister then? And also, why did she wait so long before calling to Xiaohei? I wouldn't know, but what if the Snakes had pursued her first?

急にあなたの存在が消えたから…心配しました。私の方は大丈夫…場所を移動したの。それより聞いて、オールド嬲宦%$#が小黒の動きを追い始めたのよ…小黒は…また近くに感じるようになったわ…そして彼女が危機を強く意識している…気が伝わってくるの…

小黒がスネークに捕らえられでもしたら…宗澗痴@#譱#…%&傍93眺&&私はもう少し媽妃の動きを探ってみる。うまくいくと媽妃の動きを封じておけるかも知れない。…また連絡します。

e read reports on your efforts. The laws of Divine Choice in Yin have surpassed our imaginations. Still, you must conduct the Divine Choices on those born to live in the arms of the natural order via the Supreme Compass.

Reports show that the Association, dubbed "Old Snake", plots to take over the Divine Beasts' power. We fear they plan to intercept or even erase you. Even so, there must be a way forwards. Gather whatever clues you can, and poise yourself to awaken all four Divine Beasts.

Should any Divine Beast's power be sealed or fall unto evil, feng shui will never rise in Yin. This would throw Yin and Yang into disorder, and all would end in ruin. To remain, none can defy the natural order. You must fulfil every Divine Choice by any means necessary to prevent such a collapse. The world, nay, all known existence rests on your shoulders.

How much has Zecoo uncovered about the Snakes? And, can they be trusted? We await further reports. Supreme Committee of Feng Shui Hong Kong***************************

Can you read this? The other Net users and I would like a word with you. Mind logging into Rhizome?

Laoli, that marvellous power... It's running through the city. As it's only created by users of their own will, the Snakes couldn't take it. Once they hear that laoli has been raised, they'll pull all the stops. They'd redirect it towards their dragon if they could, but the mirror they used is gone. They're panicking.

You should seize the opportunity to approach the Sleeping Dragon and conduct the Divine Choice. I don't think we'll be able to hold out, so you need to hurry.

Oookay! I see it finally connected! Piece of junk, why I... Oh, right! The second you read this e-mail get to my place A! S! A! P! We have one more day! I found it! I restored my ancestors' database and found the Day of The Fire! Everything was kept well documented! There's no mistake, so listen! Get to my place on the double! But also! One problem: that date doesn't show up on my armillary sphere. I wonder what that means...

The last stone emerged. Come. Break the stone. Then, make the Choice for me. In this moment, my Path is clear. With the evil spirits at bay, I shall embrace my true power.

さっきは僕を助けてくれてありがとう。だからいいこと教えてあげる。変な注射で、ばあちゃんが急に動き始めて、そしたら兄ちゃんをむしゃむしゃ食べちゃったんだ。

そのあと、ばあちゃんは***<?穡wz*冤mLGsO臧鎬yU>4･`n;G23讎}^e湲埀~h^****

Geomantic feng shui involves the awakening of Earth's dormant powers to instill balance at grand scales. Geomancers revere natural terrains as "Divine Beasts", and we harmonise the world by seeking their protection.

The northern mountains form Xuanwu, the eastern ranges are Qinglong, the waters and lone peak to the south are Zhuque and the great road in the west is Baihu. The designative rites of these four Divine Beasts over any one city are what we call the "Divine Choices". Divine Choices are only performed by feng shui masters of vast experience.

If the rites are sound, dragon veins will open from within each Beast, and eternal tranquillity will gush forth. Any place where all four dragon veins intersect is called a "dragon's den". Any landmark where a dragon vein rises from underground is also a den. Dragon's dens brim with fiercely positive qi and unrivaled prosperity.

Once any dragon vein emerges, out flows an energy akin to an electrical current. Temples are often built to amplify and relay these currents to reach greater surrounding distances. Among the feng shui masters alive today, only a handful have ever found places that needed new Divine Choices.

Such places include uncharted lands and despaired places that need their previously unsound Choices corrected. Courtesy of Huangdi, 18th Supreme Feng Shui Master Supreme Committee of Feng Shui Hong Kong*********************

As blood circulates through the body, qi circulates through the air. The veins through which qi circulates around us, invisible to the naked eye, are what we call "qi flows". Disturbances in these delicate flows draw malice--a vicious, lethal qi.

Feng shui masters can see malice distortions through a feng shui scope. In spaces where malice is present, distortions look like a purple miasma. Humans cannot stay in the miasma for long before malice rots their bodies. Malice gradually and mercilessly drains life from its victims, so if a space is tainted, it must be cleansed.

There are four ways to expel malice: 1. Reshape the building Malice cannot stagnate where there is proper qi flow. However, ample planning before construction is required for this to be achieved.

2. Remove the source of the malice When malice manifests, it oft targets discarded objects first, turning them into ghosts that further the spread. Purge these fiends to subdue malice.

3. Hang mirrors to regulate qi flow Bagua mirrors are hung in order to repel malice, attract positive qi and uphold a proper flow overall. Alas, mirrors are delicate, and their effects are undone by so little as changing the angles of said mirrors.

4. Geomancy, or feng shui mastery If we can establish feng shui and invoke the higher powers from deep within the Earth's dragon veins, those veins will stay protected, and slight qi flow disturbances will not stir malice, even within unruly structures.

Though often confused, we take the position that a "qi flow" is an indoor qi current, and a "dragon vein" is an underground current born from a Divine Beast. Courtesy of Huangdi, 18th Supreme Feng Shui Master Supreme Committee of Feng Shui Hong Kong*********************

Objects have spirits of their own, just as humans and animals do. Once an object is discarded, its spirit might begin to deteriorate. Alas, if malice (negative qi) possesses the targeted object, that object will transform into a ghost. That ghost is called a "guilü".

Guilü amplify malice's influence over a space, making way for infestation. In time, spaces infested with malice and guilü become unsafe for humans. To cleanse a space, one must first defeat the guilü within by exploiting the different elements of malice that possess the cursed, discarded objects.

As we know, all things fall under at least one of these five elements: Tree ("T"), Fire ("F"), Earth ("E"), Metal ("M") and Water ("W"). Malice is no exception to this rule. To battle a guilü, it is imperative to learn its element(s), then attack with whichever element dominates that.

Remember the Five Paths: "Water drowns Fire. Fire melts Metal. Metal carves Tree. Tree drains Earth. Earth dams Water." We place these Paths on a five-point star, creating a pentagram.

Conversely and depending on location, if all five elements enter the sword at once, the united malice could form an overlapping mutuality. The completion of such a cycle would pose a threat to the sword's wielder.

In closing, I should mention that the term "guilü" is rather ancient. Courtesy of Huangdi, 18th Supreme Feng Shui Master Supreme Committee of Feng Shui Hong Kong*********************

Because elemental domination is our key approach to guilü slaying, those who fight guilü must travel with elements of malice in tow. Malice eats at the human body like radioactive material. It would be suicide to carry malice bare-handed. Hence, the Seven Star Sword was made. The Seven Star Sword was not designed for melee combat, but as a vessel for storing elements of malice. Only four elements should be stored at the most, for if all five elements are ever in one place, the Five Paths of malice will be met, overtaking the wielder.

If you, the wielder, encounter guilü, defeat the guilü by shooting them with malice of its dominant element. You can also remove a guilü threat by absorbing its malice into the sword. However, the Seven Star Sword cannot accomodate duplicates of any elements.

If you have four elements of malice stored in your blade, guilü hunting may prove a simple task, but beware! If you attempt to absorb malice of that missing fifth element, the Five Phases of malice will take shape to your immediate misfortune.

Ultimately, in the current world held by feng shui, the need for such a blade is a thing of the past. Courtesy of Huangdi, 18th Supreme Feng Shui Master Supreme Committee of Feng Shui Hong Kong*********************

As my brothers don't wish to dwell on this either, I will keep this entry short for everyone's comfort.

The twin-child policy was kickstarted by the Shelao Association (a.k.a. "Old Snake"). It's a scheme to gather twins and steal their mingli. They mean to generate enough mingli to awaken the Sleeping Dragon and enact the miracle of immortality. If that happens, all involved will be granted eternal life. It sounds far- fetched, especially with no sleeping dragons laying around...

The Snakes sure believe it, and the city residents at least want to. That's why citizens cooperate with the Snakes: they want eternal life!

According the Snakes' propaganda, if you gather enough mingli, you form an even greater power: "laoli". This ancient power is what awakens their Sleeping Dragon. I'd be shocked if the Snakes were at all close to attaining laoli, but they're clearly desperate.

Even so, they've put a great emphasis on increasing the twin count, going so far as to build production facilities. The Twin Centre appears to have some hidden method. All bets are on genetic manipulation or the supernatural. In the policy's early days, produced twins were othered under the term "Newborns". But now that all twins are Newborns, the moniker has died out.

But let's not forget the twins' mingli, or to be clearer, mingli-like powers. How does one take and accumulate it? All twins who lend their powers to the Snakes have Kowloonet terminals in their homes from which they transmit power via Hyper-Communication. That power goes to the Twin Centre, where it is collected and forwarded to the Sleeping Dragon. We have yet to confirm any deeper specifics.

The Snakes put up tight defences, making investigation difficult. Hongtou No. 5

A reminder to my brothers who need it:

You DO know what mingli is, right? It's the special power that allows separated twins to reconnect. Now, by "separated twins", we often mean two twins torn apart from the moment they were born. One twin goes to Yin. The other, to Yang. I hate to say it, but we exist in Yin, the negative world. Yang, the positive world, is our other.

Now, I've been told there's more to it: if both twins are born in Yang, but one gets taken to Yin later in life... those twins should be capable of mingli communication between the two worlds!

Twins are often rumoured to speak telepathically, and twins who grow up separated sometimes share similar life experiences as if bound to one another. For example, one pair of twins could date different people with the same surname, while another could get burns on matching body parts. It happens!

While the twins' shared experiences are not connected by causality, they are far too uncanny to be coincidence. Some have called this phenomena "synchronicity". A fancy term, if I've ever heard one...

How long has it been since twins and their powers first became this hot topic in Yin's Kowloon? Apparently, a certain someone who noticed this power conducted lengthy research to confirm its existence. That research introduced the world and the Snakes to mingli, and now, the latter seek to abuse it.

Only, the power used by the Snakes is not real mingli. Theirs is a weaker extraction: "jiaming". No matter how potent or skilled one is with jiaming, jiaming could never connect twins the way true mingli can. What's more, if two twins awaken and achieve true resonance, their mingli cannot be intercepted nor extracted by anyone.

There are, currently, no twins in Kowloon demonstrating that high of a resonance. If one such twin appeared, the Snakes would stop at nothing to drain them of their power. Hongtou No. 5

To remind my more forgetful brothers:

Project Fuqi exists to safely guide twins towards awakening their mingli. In this context, "fuqi" means "to awaken". When I'd first pitched the name, my brothers were against it, but it's earned its place over time.

You should read our "Mingli" file for more on mingli, but for now, it's a resonating power twins use to communicate with one another. Twins who show signs of this power are in an unstable state until it fully awakens. In this vulnerable interim, twins are highly susceptible to malice. Project Fuqi exists to awaken these twins to their powers slowly and safely. We must take the utmost care around such twins, for malice is not their sole predator. While we in Zecoo try not to discuss the Snakes' designs out in the open, one of our unstated goals is to keep the Snakes from stealing mingli for their own gain. They're only gathering twins to rouse the miracle of immortality.

Interestingly, the power the Snakes have been forcing out from twins is not genuine mingli. The power they collect and use is a shell of mingli. We in Zecoo call this power "jiaming", which means "empty resonance".

It's easy to confuse jiaming with mingli, as very few twins can invoke the latter power anymore. I've heard that now, almost no twins can emit mingli. Is that true? If so, we must stop the Snakes' schemes, but... how? Hongtou No. 5

Are wangren unhappy? This question never fails to get the room heated. Sure, citizens of Kowloon all fear becoming wangren, but tackling what comes after demands some nuance.

What is a wangren? Loosely put, a wangren is a human who has merged with an object they'd felt attached to, becoming half-man, half-object. To survive as a wangren, you must perpetually convince yourself that you are not human, but object. Break the illusion, and you risk becoming an inanimate object forever.

The fact that you, the human, can have delusions is proof that you, the human, exist. While a victim CAN have delusions about things other than their favoured object, once those delusions die, the victim dies with them.

Many wangren spend their human lives roleplaying. Have you ever spread your arms behind you like an aeroplane? Then you get it. Those who become wangren do so because the roleplay no longer satisfies them. Aeroplanes are easy to act out, but roleplaying as a magnet or keyhole? Talk about tricky!

Reaffirming a person's delusion is dicey by nature, but people would only become wangren after malice exposure. Even so, while malice does aggravate the delusions that transform people, it does not force people to start having them. That's why, even if we agree to disagree, I don't think wangren are all unhappy.

Maybe it beats living in fear of the outside world... There's been a change, though. Now, people who have never had delusions before are turning into wangren.

Oh! One last thing! A safe haven for wangren does exist. Supposedly, wangren can live there without their delusions ever running dry. Hongtou No. 5

Volunteer filers and producers are welcome to register at the twin registry, but any twins referred to us will be registered automatically! Background checks are carried out on all new filers to verify twinhood. 1997, THIRD FISCAL QUARTER FILINGS: 18 Filers 38 Producers

Filers and producers are required to attend Orientation soon after they register. Informative videos covering topics from the twin-child policy to effective mingli training are shown. We will also hold a mingli resonance drill. Attendees who perform well here will be invited to join our seminars.

Your mingli will thrive in our twin seminars. In seminars, attendees hone mingli by emitting at maximum output. Our mediators then amplify the signal. Beginning mingli users too are welcome to take this special journey with us. 16th seminar: "Solidarity" June 7th, Twin Centre 1F Hall

"To render millennia of history null." That is the miracle of immortality that the emperors of old dreamt of, the ultimate miracle of human history. Judgement Day is ////////************ All who cooperate with the twin-child policy will benefit from the miracle of immortality. Eternal life is the pinnacle of supreme joy for all!

Mingli is a highly revered power. All blessed with this gift are encouraged to joyfully manifest it via resonance. Because mingli awakens into the greater power of laoli. In order to attain it, all who show promise must cooperate. Laoli is the power we need to bring forth the miracle of immortality.

estroying the Aged People Centre, you killed the twin-child policy. If all goes well, laoli and the Sleeping Dragon will remain delusion. If only the Snakes gave up easily. They're plotting their next scheme, most likely. After all, tremendous power is needed to wake up a dragon.

If it looks and smells like laoli, the Snakes want it. That's why they're pumping malice into Wangren Road, to raid the dragon's den that opened there. They want its power. If another dragon's den opens in the city, it'll spark a contact reaction because the dragon veins of all four Divine Beasts intersect in Kowloon!

In any case, only one great power can hope to restore balance in the worlds of Yin and Yang: feng shui. The closer we are to feng shui, the closer it is to being stolen. Whatever you do, don't forget that. Hongtou No. 5

ly you've heard the buzz by now, but mingli is the power the Snakes aim to control. All they have is jiaming. The one true wielder of genuine mingli in this city is Xiaohei, and it's clear that her power is the power the Snakes really want.

And so, they used the Tongji doll to curse people. They wanted victims to emit mingli, but only got jiaming. The mirror storing the jiaming broke, and Mr. Chen became a mere corpse. What I want to know is, what happens once Xiaohei makes direct contact with her sister? That too could force Xiaohei to forcefully awaken, and I'm not sure she'd be able to survive it.

And then... a great force the world has never seen will be unleashed. That is the power called "laoli", which would awaken Yaodi's dragon. As for Xiaohei's sister, no one knows where she is. Our number one priority for now should be to make sure that Xiaohei is safe. Hongtou No. 5

ect Fuqi is... You know, right? That, by the time you get an e-mail over Kowloonet, some creep's likely tampered with it? It's D-O-A, friend! That's why I'd like to talk with you over here! It keeps things hush-hush.

Mind if I ask you one thing first? Where the heck did you find this access card? I swiped it from your navigator and checked it on the sly. But guess what? Strangely, the card's true owner is a feng shui master too! He had vanished ten years ago after entering Lung Chun Road. His card had to make some serious rounds since then for it to wind up in your hands.

His name was... Suijian, I think. People use cards that aren't theirs all the time in Kowloon. That's N-B-D! But here, it seems destiny's set you on a path that you can't stray from. Hongtou No. 5

妄人といえば、あんたも知ってると思うけど、小黒は妄人を捜してるんだってね。それも、医者の妄人らしいよ。そいつが、お姉さんについて、何か鍵を握ってるんじゃないのか？それと、妄人がらみで、もうひとつ。あんた、さっき妄人路に入っただろ？その時は、なんともなかったかい？

今、妄人路の妄想が強くなってきて、ひどい状態になってる。あそこは、馬山童に守られてる場所なのに…そこに邪気が及んで、妄想に影響を与えてるとなると…実は俺も、そこのところがよく分からないんだ。妄想が強くなるって、どういうことなんだろうね。たぶん、妄人路では、妄想も空気中の酸素みたいなものとして存在してるんじゃないかな。

とにかく、小黒は、妄人を捜してたって言うし…妄人路に入ったんじゃなければいいけど。それにしても、小黒が捜してる妄人って、どんな姿なんだい？何も手がかりはないのかい？紅頭５号　記