Kowloonfront (FRONTA) 3/5

That's the seminar! It just started! Can you hear all that nasty commotion?

I hear that creepy old hag gets her powers from corpses, and that her body is pumped full of malice!

I hear that creepy old hag gets her powers from corpses, and that her body is pumped full of malice! ... Sorry. Did I say something?

I bet that old hag has every element of malice inside of her...

I bet that old hag has every element of malice inside of her...

The seminar is starting. Keep your volume down and stay out of the way! I'm not trying to be mean, you just need to stay quiet!

They're going to awaken the twins they caught in the arcade.

They even invited that old hag from overseas to watch over the seminar. She gives me the creeps!

The old woman is malice's spawn! ... Huh? What was I saying?

The upstairs shop is opening soon, meanwhile my gaming cabinets are still acting up after some time... Makes me wonder if something outside is messing with them.

Guess what's finally open: the Cyber Centre upstairs!

You'd be their first customer if it weren't for today's business ban. The only shop running up there is the used terminal store, "Kowloon Circuit."

Like I said, it's used, so don't expect to run into anything top-of-the-line.

How'd it go? Did any of the terminals on the second floor stand out to you?

Their inventory's made up of preowned indoor terminals. Y'know, for home use.

People use indoor terminals to enter Hyper-Comm with an access card.

Did Zhang Ling come back? I didn't think he was acting himself when he walked outta here mid-game.

You ever try heading upstairs? If the magnetic field doesn't reach, their terminals should be safe to use.

The arcade cabinets work again! Everything's playable now.

Today's the seminar!

I can feel the power pouring in!

Yes, even into nobodies like us...

Mere sheep who flock in our ignorance until we do as our shepherds ordain... That power comes even for us...

No idle thoughts, no idle thoughts, no idle thoughts, no idle thoughts... Isn't... that how this works? Then I won't think about anything!

They're holding a very impromptu seminar at the Twin Centre today.

Thankfully, you weren't invited. The last thing anyone needs is YOU creeping in to raise a ruckus!

Handed over Emperor's False Beard.

Dancer's Wig acquired.

Are you keeping an eye on the seminar too?

Are you keeping an eye on the seminar too?

How did the seminar go? Did the twins awaken their powers? Based on what I've heard, even the tiniest speck of pure mingli would be enough to bring about the miracle.

I wonder how West City Road and Tai Chang Road are doing. Are the qi flows bad there too? Hey, what's that you got there? That fake beard sure looks old... Mind if I take a look at it for you?

Woah... A-Amazing...! Is this actually yours?! This thing is genuine! How can I convince you to part ways with it? I've heard of them, but this is my first time seeing the real thing. I'll trade you this dancer's wig. It'll prove useful. How about it?

I say that because this city is going to the dumps...

It ain't just the people runnin' it. You need to watch out for your hair. Literally.

That dancer's wig you have is genuine. By that, I mean it was made from a real dancer's hair.

GRANDPDASHF... BROT... FDADJIS! COMPYTER... ADDICTION... XZCVW!

GRANDPA'S BROTHER... -THER... -THER! COMPUTER ADDICT... -DICT... -DICT!

Woah, that seminar tonight is really going to happen? Any time they say there's going to be one, they call it off last minute. Did they find a Newborn powerful enough to pull it off this time?

I haven't seen the shrimp peelers' son. Did he go out to play today, or did his parents say he wasn't allowed to? I've been told that nobody's supposed to go out on walks during a seminar.

Have you seen him yet? The little shrimp peeler?

He's normally hauling shrimp over to the Seafood Centre.

Are you delivering peeled shrimp in the kid's place?

If you're going to the Seafood Centre, you'd better watch your back, because that's Mr. Chen's territory.

The magnetic energy dissipated. Even the fortune-vending machine is calm.

The magnetic energy is really strong in the Seafood Centre. You know what "magnetism" is, right? It isn't your average qi flow. When energy in the magnetic field spikes, electric devices malfunction. And right now, it's through the roof!

Do you feel that magnetic energy? I've never felt it like this before!

What's going on at the Seafood Centre? It feels like one thing after another today.

You got into the Seafood Centre? I'm shocked you figured out what the guy at the door's favourite food is. Are you feng shui masters psychics?

Woah, you really can read minds...

The twins are set up to unite their mingli during the seminar.

That's when the overall balance of qi starts going haywire.

Adding to that, I heard they called in the old woman, Bà Đồng, today.

She's a powerful medium.

Heehee, the malice lies in wait, wearing the skin of a human being.

Without the power to see through lies, that malice will be the end of you.

I see all, you know. I see... Heehee, I see you coming back with some facial cream for me. The snake handler woman who passed by was carrying a lot of the stuff. I don't care where she's staying, I need facial cream for my old lady!

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I too just want the quiet life.

No one wants to get caught up in all this hullabaloo.

Go on... Get out of here...

You must be stubborn if you wanna soak in the magnetic field so bad. Your shoulders must be so stiff... If you want in, you have to bring me my favourite snack.

Man, I wish I didn't have to see that kid walk by with all that gorgeous peeled shrimp...

Did you... remember to bring my favourite thing?

It's rare to see magnetic energy get so strong out here, but it's even stronger in the back of the Seafood Centre. Hehe, if you give me what I want first, I might let you in to see for yourself.

Heeheehee! You remembered to get me my favourite thing!

Heeehee, do you think you can buy me over with these things? Hmm, what to do, hehe... Get in.

You come to the Seafood Centre to bathe in the magnetic field, yeah?

Hehehe, it's grown really strong in there all of a sudden.

Eating peeled shrimp makes me feel a bit human again.

It's like... all the negativity inside just slips out of my body.

My brother loves peeled shrimp too. In fact, all of us do.

You know my brother, don't you? He's standing guard on Men's Street.

You don't want the Man to see you here. He "owns" the entire Seafood Centre.

Aww, what gives! The magnetic energy here...

It feels like it suddenly left?

But my shoulders are still stiff!

Thanks to that peeled shrimp, I feel a little bit human. I'll give you some advice. You shouldn't stay here for long.

I'm not kidding. It's... bad. It's... driving me up the wall. I'm telling you. Don't goof off!

Where'd you run off to? Xiaohei's looking for some kind of doctor this time. Said he needs to be taken back to his rightful place. I don't know. And who is this "doctor", huh? Certainly not her sister...

The whole city's on edge now, what with that seminar afoot.

It might not be a good time to draw attention to yourself.

Looks like you got an e-mail, but I doubt you'll be able to read it with things being as they are. Something's not right here.

The terminal was making noises before. Did it fix itself?

Hey, you got an e-mail! It's from Wei. He's got something to tell you.

What's he need help with? Something happen at the seminar? Wei is the leader of Zecoo. They're the resistance that's trying to stop the Snakes.

What are you doing at this hour? ... Me? I'm blocking your way! I need you to stay quiet, unless... you have something to grease my palms. Plain old zi zaat will do it.

You're giving me this much? Man, now I feel kinda bad... You're still not getting in, but I'll tell you something good. The guy guarding the Seafood Centre loooves peeled shrimp, hehe.

This isn't much, but it'll do. I'll tell you a little something.

Y'know that guy over there? Hehe, he loves smelly stuff. You get me? Fishy, smelly stuff.

What? This is all you've got? Man, now I feel kinda bad... You're still not getting in, hehe. Maaaybe I'll change my mind if you've got something better for me.

No, not now. I might change my mind later.

By "later", I mean sometime after today's seminar.

I've been told not to let outsiders in.

But where do you have to come from to be deemed an "outsider"?

Why would the Man take this random stranger in as his underling?

You're generous, you know that? Me? Let's say I'm... charitable. My charity doesn't come free, though, if you catch my drift. Heeheehee!

You want to get in here? If you want my help, you'd better make it worth my while.

Hehe, this reeks of "S-H-R-I-M-P". Freshly peeled and looking tasty! I'll pay you back with something nice. You won't regret it. Go ahead! Access the terminal later.

You have nothing to do here. Me? I'm just a lowly watchman. I don't know anything. By that, I mean you can't get anything out of me... or can you?

The terminals are fixed. You're going to use one, right?

Then I can finally show you how charitable I really am...

Well? Aren't you lucky that I'm such a Good Samaritan? If they found out I helped you, it wouldn't look good for me...

Handed over every last zi zaat.

Where did you go?

The people here are finally warming up to the idea of helping you. We all have our little quirks, but, if anything, that means we can each help you in our own ways.

... ... ...

Even if I were expecting sales today, I don't have anything I can divvy out. But don't blame a looker like me!

These seaweed masks are the secret to my beauty!

The only loyal customer I have now is Grandpa Zong's wife, but I've never seen her face in person.

What was that loud noise? Don't start any horseplay here. It's a nuisance to all of us!

Hey, you know we can't do business during the seminar, don't you?

Furthermore, you reek of shrimp. Reminds me, that kid hasn't come today. I still have leftovers from last week, no one'll know it's bad... You keep this a secret, okay? What's up with the magnetic field? My shoulders aren't stiff from it, but even I can tell it's too powerful.

You're just in time! I've still got last week's leftovers.

Now that that seminar's up and started, business will be real slow today.

You've been in Mr. Xia's place, right?

You might want to check it again. People heard a big tussle in there.

What the heck happened in there? There was a huge sound...!

Okay, okay. What'll it... Wait, you're...!

You're the feng shui master to whom the Man gave that stern talking-to. Haven't you learnt your lesson? The Man is out on business. Get lost before he comes back!

Okay, okay. What'll it... You again?! Listen, the Man is on his way back.

If he sees you creeping around here, he'll snap my head off, all right? Get out! Go home!

Okay, okay. What'll it... Dangit! The hell are you doing here?!

And why do you keep going in and out of that dingy old man's house?

Heh, what's the matter? You're in Mr. Chen's turf now.

He's scum of the lowest order that doesn't treat people as people.

The Man's been making a drug inside the Aged People Centre.

That drug is called "Blue Crow".

Blue Crow is used to awaken twins and draw out their mingli.

The Man is striving to make a drug called "Blue", I think.

Blue is a medicine that's supposed to be able to raise people from the dead. More importantly, this magnetic energy is making my cookware rattle! So weird! This isn't normal!

If you administer Blue Crow to a normal human being, they'll become a wangren, just like that. It's intensely potent.

What was that noise I just heard? Maybe I was hearing things...

The magnetic energy here is gone. I'm glad my cookware stopped rattling.

Zecoo is fighting the Snakes. Always have been, feels like. It sounds like you are too. Maybe it'll help if you know this:

Malice mirrors draw out malice, and peeled shrimp ward off evil.

It sounds strange, but the forces of evil have a distaste for shrimp.

Genuine Hermit Statue acquired.

Where are you going? You're done here already?

The nightclub at the end there is Great World Venus.

The stairs to the right... lead to that weird guy's lab.

Y'know, there used to be all sorts of shops on Men's Street, but now it's one lonely nightclub.

Heheh, I'll sneak something into your e-mail later. Keep it under wraps for my sake, but read it before the seminar starts.

Dang. Today's rotten for business. Not a customer in sight, and the magnetic field is all messed up. At least it's not as bad here as it was in the Seafood Centre.

You're carrying two access cards? Talk about moving up the ladder!

You got an e-mail from someone named "Guattari", but... it got deleted.

He might send it again, so come back later.

What are you trying to use, Hyper-Comm?

You can log onto the terminal here, so long as you have a card, but...

you won't have an easy time making any connections during the seminar.

Oh, it's you. You got that e-mail. The one that got deleted at first. What weirdo deletes e-mails?

I can notify you when you get e-mails.

In return, you be careful up here. These are my goods you're handling.

I don't see any new e-mails for you.

The seminar... is over.

You stopped it, didn't you...

I'm tired of this. Twins, powers, you name it! I'm sick of it all!

There's a place here where twins are drained of their powers.

It's in the Twin Centre basement. But no one can talk to Door Man.

He's a wangren, after all... You'd need to put on specific glasses in order to talk to him.

To complicate matters, those glasses are only found on Wangren Road, and that place is impossible to navigate!

You took out the old lady? If you can do that, then do something about freaking Chen! Enough is enough! He's in the basement of the Twin Centre!

Mr. Chen is gathering power from twins in the Aged People Centre. The Snakes hired him to do it. I also heard rumours that the Snakes made Mr. Chen by injecting malice into a human corpse.

I guess magnetic energy was to blame, but everything feels fine now.

The upstairs manager was making a real stir up there.

Dunno why. The magnetic energy around here's phased itself out!

What was all that hullabaloo?

... Ah, yeah. I've heard of Hyper-Comm randomly warping folks who overuse it. Don't play with fire, okay?

The Hongtou just came looking for you. I think they went to the Kowloon Hotel. There's a lot of noise around the Twin Centre too, so keep yer head low for a bit, or it won't be pretty.

You need to watch your back.

There're plent of folks around the Twin Centre who don't mean well by you.

You're working with the Hongtou? I see... but you're not on their task force or anything? Surely not.

Fauceting, fauceting... Splurt! Oops, that was water! It gushed out so hard too... I'm such a good little faucet.

When I gargle, water comes up from the back of my throat. I do it juuust like thiiis... Hehehe, I love how cold it feels!

Hahaha hahaha! If that's a faucet, what are you?

Let me guess: a hose?

What am I? I'm...water!

That's it! Water, water, water! It's great, because water gets everywhere and soaks into things. Plus, the water's surface always reflects something interesting!

Word on the street is that a twin showing high promise has been discovered.

Twins with power are all we need, not you and your little feng shui SCAM!

Once we collect enough power, we will awaken to our miracle!

Is it true that cutting your hair short also cuts down on your intuition?

It's not every day you see the Kowloon Navi office open like it is. Will you hire a navigator today?

Don't underestimate a good wig.

Wigs make bad hair days disappear, and the last thing you want is to drop a loose hair in this city. If someone finds it, you're screwed!

Everyone here hides their hair to keep it from being used for any wrongdoing.

You need to protect your head hair. If someone were to pluck a strand and implant it into a cursing doll, you'd be in for a world of hurt!

BROTHER SUIJIAN -JIAN -JIAN NO ESCAPE! BROTHER CUIJIAN -JIAN -JIAN NO ESCAPE!

GRANDMA -MA -MA REJUVENATION! BLESSING -SING -SING REJUVENATION!

How did the seminar get cancelled?

Ah, you stopped it, didn't you... You're playing with fire here, but I guess you got away with it.

We were all tricked, weren't we? Dammit all! Could... Could this mean I don't have a brother after all?

If that's how it is, I might as well tell you about the Snakes.

They have a weird mirror that drains twins of their powers.

The mirror's in the Aged People Centre. That Aged People Centre is also where the Blue Crow drug is produced.

On top of that, the door to get in is also a wangren.

Unless you can somehow talk to wangren, you'll never get inside.

The qigong therapist went into the alley Grandpa hangs around.

I wonder if that fortune-telling old coot will swindle him next. His greed will get him nowhere.

I always thought those Snake guys smelled fishy. Figures I was right!

The Snakes store the power they've stolen and send it off to the Dragon.

There's a cursing doll there that's set up to stop people from getting in. You do NOT want to get cursed!

The young age away with every wrinkle. It's scary, isn't it?!

... ... ...

Huff, huff!

You can't take someone's card without their permission! Huff, huff! Kids these days...!