Kowloonfront (FRONTA) 5/5

Ah! You must be the feng shui master Xiaohei told me so much about. I am Xia.

So, this city's influence truly bled out into Yang...

I was afraid that would happen. It was only a matter of "when".

Xiaohei came to me for information on the "Day of the Fire", but I was unable to determine its date for her.

You see, the yin-yang calendar assigns each and every date with one element: Tree, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water.

Sadly, even with Xiaohei's almanac, "Fire" alone does not give us as specific a date as the girl needs.

But I'm not worried about the date so much as I'm worried about her.

I fear she's being led into a trap by the resonating power called "jiaming". It's a power born from ill will.

More specifically, jiaming is an ingenuine version of mingli. You've logged onto the Net, right?

The power those Net users are so addicted to is actually jiaming. It looms over Kowloon like a shadow.

If Xiaohei and her sister are in fact twins, they're vulnerable to jiaming should it be used against them!

You know, I recall there being an entrance into the Deep from nearby, but it's blocked off now.

I figured it out! Look at my bracelet! It was my mother's keepsake, but check out these two little engravings... The first is the element "Earth", and the second is the zodiac "Rat". Together, the make up a specific date! Using this as a key, maybe Mr. Xia and I can zero in on the Day of the Fire!

I need to dig through the almanac one more time with his help! If we hit gold, I'll let you know!

I've been holdin' a contest, invitin' people to go capture some bad guys for me, but no one's succeeded yet.

Heehee... Would you care to scratch backs with a humble taxidermist?

I heard you did great work over on Lun' Shin' Road. Is that true?

If it is, then maybe... catchin' these bad guys will help with your fen' shui problem.

I'm tryin' to catch the Three Corpses. One, two, three out on Lun' Shin' Road.

Capture them all, and I'll give you my masterpiece, which is worth 500,000z!

Here's a Corpse Bottle. This one bottle can fit all three.

Corpse Bottle acquired.

If you need it, I'm also sellin' this deluxe guilü ball, made from extracts of all the guilü I slave to collect. Hit a guilü of any element of malice with this, it'll vanish into thin air!

Paid 1500z.

Guilü Ball acquired.

Our basement door that leads back to Lun' Shin' Road is unlocked, so go get that malice and make us ALL happy!

We need you to come with us. This won't take long.

Mr. Chen would simply like a word with you.

The Man is waiting.

I don't show no mercy to nosy snoops like you...

I know! Lemme tell you a story. One time, this guy walked into the nightclub on Men's Street.

The guy wore a belt with a ginormous, shiny buckle on it.

'e opened 'is jacket and let that buckle glare straight in my face! Wanna know what I did then? Well!

I followed 'im out, aaaaall the way 'ere to the Seafood Centre, see?

Buckle Boy stepped in to drink three glasses of turtle blood.

But when 'e did, I saw him spill a few drops right on that buckle.

You shoulda seen the way he started wiping the blood off. Real meticulous.

Hehe, but that's when it all clicked! That buckle had a camera in it!

And no one records me at no nightclub and lives to tell about it, see?

So, what did I do next? Hehe!

I drained 'is blood and gave it to these turtles to sip up! Hehehe!

We didn't spare no drop!

If Buckle Boy's blood lives on, it's in every last drop of turtle blood served, see?!

Turtle blood!

Hehe! What good're you now?

Once the Dragon wakes, and I get my miracle, I'll never need you again!

Immortality will be MINE! You believe it too, don'tcha? The almighty gift of immortality?

If you don't learn your place, I'LL BE GIFTING YOUR BLOOD TO THE TURTLES, SEE?! HEHEHEHE!

Mr. Chen will earn the power of immortality very soon.

As will we, but there is nothing for you in Kowloon, is that clear? ... Good. Now, get lost.

Bubbling Man's Eyeball acquired.

We had planned to make contact sooner, but were, to our dismay, intercepted. Did you see that man turn into bubbles? That happens when humans travel between two places of differing qi saturations.

Now, give us Zhang Lu's card. We've still yet to reach him.

It's unlikely that his cover was blown by the Snakes, but...

Thank you. With this, we can track the Snakes' ongoing activities.

As we speak, Lung Chun Road's qi flow also shows signs of disturbance.

As you straightened up Lung Shing Road, other districts fell into disarray.

Based on our findings, Lung Chun Road's erratic qi flow within its hutongs marks the presence of a Divine Beast, but it is not Qinglong inside. There was a change in Divine Beasts.

We can't uncover Lung Chun Road's Divine Beast, nor its condition.

You need to go there in person and conduct the Divine Choice.

There used to be an entrance to Lung Chun Road from this alley, but it was closed before you came.

We will use Zhang Lu's access card as a tool to spy on the Snakes.

We have to know our enemy first. We'll contact you once we find a lead.

I'm Charlie, by the way. Can I get a "hyo-hyo-hyola"?

Always happy to help the everyman! Nice doing business with you.

So, this is the house you want busted into so badly?

It's not like I won't do it, but if anyone asks, I was never here... Now, let me... Mira, mira... Ah-hah! This door's doubled up with an electric lock which...

doesn't work right now? Guess Xia only uses the one housekey.

I'd better get out of here.

Speak, hear and see no evil. That's the secret to happiness.

Don't worry about payment. Just don't make me redo it, h'okay?

Come on, don't tell me I did all that for you to not steal anything good!

It seems I underestimated you. Are those Zecoo this-or-that boys yanking your hapless little chain? You won't save anyone in Kowloon, not even this little bird!

Oh, snap! You're still here? Xiaohei said she was going after you. Mr. Xia must've told her how to enter the Deep or something, but that's no place for a girl to go by herself!

Who the blazes would do such a thing t' Baihu? Our plan's gone pear-shaped, innit. As it stands, this might be your porridge too now, but there's still time t' sort it! G'wan then. Break the seal stones on Lung Chun Road. Make the Choice. Supreme compass's innat district som'ere. Find it, and stay true t'yer duty.

Connie's Hand Mirror acquired.

You rescued Xiaohei, didn't you? Is she doin' all right? Seems she met the onmyoji over Hyper-Comm. The onmyoji's a sorcerer and scientist from overseas who studies the arts of controllin' space-time. A real enigma.

But why has Xiaohei done this? Her recent behavior is utterly unpredictable to us.

There's also the deal with today's "seminar": based on our ongoin' crawl with Zhang Lu's access card, there's no record of a seminar havin' been scheduled for today. Anywhere. Why're people so prepared for this one?

Seminars often come after a pair of twin mingli users are found.

Once the seminar starts, the twins' dormant powers are awakened for the first time. That power is, without question, true mingli in its purest form. But the Snakes seek to corrupt that power and use it for their own bidding. That corrupted power is "jiaming".

There aren't many twins out there that're expected to acquire mingli.

That is why seminars had been either cancelled or cut short in the past. Still, a seminar without prior notice is unheard of. Which pair of twins is this seminar being held for?

Between Orientation abruptly endin' and Kowloonet suddenly goin' dark, somethin' fishy's gotta be going on. What're the Snakes plottin' for this seminar? The whole thing's concernin'.

Yes. And, speaking of the Net, Connie Yang has gone missing. If you know anything, do tell us. We want to be of use to you.

Zhang Lu's still missin' too, but we'll continue to analyse his access card.

Let's see. Today is May 22nd, 1997, and you'll be going to... 1850! That's right! May 22nd, 1850! The era? Qing, as in, Qing Dynasty! Now, what time is...? Oh, forget it, the hour of day won't matter. Looks like some idiot got that part of the clock stuck anyhow... All right! It's time! It's time to connect you with the past! ... Wait, I forgot to ask before, but did you bring a hand mirror? No? You're gonna have a bad time over there if you don't have one.

Did you bring a hand mirror? No? You're gonna have a bad time over there if you don't have one.

Presented Connie's Hand Mirror.

You're the only one going, but don't worry! My ancestor is waiting for you on the other side. You'll definitely make it back. As for the hermit statue... When it comes to small items like that, who knows where it landed. Go look for it once you're there. Ready to go? Of course you are! It's like a TV show, and now, you're the star making history! Which means... woah... That means that, at this very moment, I'm making history too! RE-KI-SHIIIII!

This cannot be used now.

Did you bring a hand mirror? No? You're gonna have a bad time over there if you don't have one.

This cannot be used now.

Glad I found you! Awful things happened while you were gone.

Half of the district went "poof"! Half of Lung Shing Road is gone!

Our district linked up with another district, and my family's shop vanished in the process! It was terrifying!

Actually, I was on my way to the seafood steamer with this batch, but let me give you some peeled shrimp.

These shrimp have a special gift. I had no issue coming here, even with the unstable qi saturation.

That's because peeled shrimp has the power to ward off evil!

Peeled Shrimp (x5) acquired.

Other purifying charms like these peeled shrimp exist, but unlike those, peeled shrimp can only be used once.

This whole thing about my sister is nothing but a bad dream.

That's the only conclusion I can come to after talking to Mr. Xia. I'm sorry for getting you involved.

Mr. Xia went back to the seminar. ... He has business there.

I see my ancestor did a bang-up job!

Plus, I'm starting to see why you're jumping from time to time. It must be the Day of the Fire!

The Qing Dynasty date you went to, May 22, 1850, and today, May 22, 1997, are BOTH Days of the Fire!

My ancestor did specify one more date that counts as a "Day of the Fire" that you should travel to,

but I forgot which date it was! I haven't the slightest idea! To make matters worse...

my ancestor's records for that Day of the Fire got corrupted!

Yes, my poor database! It went, "Sayonara!" on me!

Maybe it was a virus? But now what? And how will you travel now?!

The records all show that you HAVE travelled to that date, or should I say, that time!

Well, I have no damn clue what date that Day of the Fire is!

Nor the era, nor the place! There's no way for me to know! Not with my database down...

But you were there. That much is written in history.

Ugh, what a pain! If only my database were fixed!

Hell, thank you for... Wait, you're not a customer yet! You do have a phone call, though. Please, take my mobile phone!

Mobile Phone received.

We'd like for you to come to our room. It's on the third floor.

We'd like to ask your assistance in regards to the seminar.

Returned Mobile Phone.

Done with your call? Then do enjoy your visit.

Help yourself to the stairs. For 312, go up and shoot left. That's where their party is staying.

Yes?! Unlike SOME of you busybodies, I don't have all day! Well? What's up? Are YOU going to West City Road too? The water in their river's so polluted! West City Road is no place to live. ... Oh, you want to know about Zong? Some real fashion disaster asked me all this same stuff. So, like him, YOU can pay up. Can you guess what I want?

Grandpa must be wanting facial cream right now.

I'll trade you some for a unisex wig...

Well, well, well! You had what I wanted after all!

Facial Cream acquired.

This stuff is convenient to have for those time-to-times when I feel like presenting as a man.

There's no point in hiding this from you any longer, but I am the leader of Zecoo.

It was I who ordered the Hongtou to track you. I hope you understand.

Our group knew from the start that we would eventually need your help.

In our crawl of Zhang Lu's access card, we came upon his secret diary.

There, we learnt that he'd considered infiltrating the Twin Centre before.

Shortly after you entered the arcade and first met the younger brother, Zhang Ling, the Snakes targeted him.

Zhang Ling is being held prisoner within the Twin Centre as bait to lure in his older brother, Zhang Lu.

If Zhang Lu takes the bait and the twin brothers make contact, Zhang Ling will awaken prematurely.

When mingli is forcibly awakened, twins cannot contain the power surge.

We stabilised Zhang Lu's mingli, but if his untrained brother is forcibly awakened first, both men lose control.

If their mingli were to go haywire, both of the Zhang brothers would be vulnerable to the Snakes' control.

To make matters worse, the Snakes called in Bà Đồng, a powerful medium from Vietnam.

She can mediate twins the same way Mafei does, but her true capabilities are said to be immeasurable.

We fear that she could trigger a fatal mingli output from both brothers.

This could, in turn, manifest laoli. That's the only power we can think of that the Snakes would use in order to awaken the Sleeping Dragon.

Laoli is a higher power than anything ever produced by the Twin-child policy.

Qinglong's candidate was a monk who turned himself into a wooden statue to stop the evil that defiled his ritual.

That evil, which the monk had trapped in his body, is a vengeful spirit.

And today, that vengeful spirit control the Snakes from the very top, above even the Four Gemini Masters.

The Snakes' true leader is Yaodi, the disgraced feng shui master who failed to steal a chance at becoming Qinglong.

If the Sleeping Dragon awakens to evil, Kowloon will be overtaken by malice.

That is what the Snakes call the miracle of immortality.

We must stop laoli from manifesting and triggering that "miracle" by any means necessary.

The Snakes, no, Yaodi is impatient.

He'll stop at nothing to manifest laoli and make the Dragon's power his own. Seminars were the tip of the iceberg.

Hmm. To tell you the truth, Xiaohei has been on my mind for some time.

We didn't pursue her for Project Fuqi originally,

but if she is a twin with the potential to awaken her mingli, the Snakes are certain to target her.

I have Hongtou No. 1 tracing her steps as we speak.

For the rest of us, the prevention of any and all laoli manifestation must take top priority.

On Bà Đồng's shoulders are the corpses of twins that they made into ghosts. Yaodi's pumped ample malice into them.

You must exorcise her malice first. Surely, you know how that works?

Your one chance to strike will come when Zhang Ling starts to awaken. It'll be all Bà Đồng can focus on!

We were looking for you! Listen, they already started!

It's Zhang Lu...! They triggered Zhang Lu's awakenin'!

The seminar only just started, but it's all happenin' so fast!

Get lost! You shouldn't be here! Get out of here NOW!

What are you doing here, pest? This area is OFF limits!

How many times must we say it?! Get lost! Mosey on out of here!

Get lost or we'll MAKE you get lost, understand?

!!!

Ohoho! Don't underestimate me!

I'll eat those pesky grunts and heal until Zhang Ling eventually awakens. You will never stop his awakening!

It's time. Use Hyper-Comm to call my brother on the outside.

Now that Hyper-Comm no longer connects to anything, we can use it as a sort of shelter.

At this rate, my mingli won't hold out for much longer,

and that mirror won't save us once the old woman wakes up.

... You. Do you have anything on your person that could work to expel a ghost?

I used my lead status to steal information from the heart of the Snakes, which I then gave to Wei.

The Snakes are rushing to attain laoli. Go! Make the Divine Choices before Yaodi can steal the Dragon's power.

To awaken the dormant monk who became a Buddha statue, use the hermit statue. Once he's awake, conduct the Divine...!

We reported everything to Mr. Wei.

He then raced to West City Road in an effort to catch up to Xiaohei.

Xiaohei is looking for a wangren, but we did not learn their name.

What do I want? "That", "that" and more "that". That's all!

What I really want is a wig, especially one that makes me look male OR female! I'll give you facial cream in exchange.

Facial Cream acquired.

G-G-Grandma's condition only got worse! This trash won't do her any good now!

I've been looking all over for you!

Maybe it sounds obvious in hindsight, but we think you using Xia's access card caused the terminals to act up.

F-W-I-W, it's hiiighly possible the Snakes planted a virus on his card. Let me see if I can wipe it...

I dunno if the virus was our only issue, but I'll keep tabs on it.

Hahaha, what's happening to meee?

My cooonsciousness is... floooating? Hahaha, sooomeone put a hell of a cuuurse on me, no doubt. Hahahaaa...

You knooow, I haaave heard of a curse capable of teariiing a huuuman connnsciousness from its bodyyy.

Hahahaha! Oooh, Xiaoheiii. She was looking for a wangren, but then she disappeeeared!

When I found out, it tore me apaaart. Hahaha, I wonder if she is afflicted by the same cuuurse as I ammm.

This is Little Tongji's Curse, which tears a soul out from its body.

Someone planted a strand of Mr. Wei's head hair into Little Tongji, a doll.

For now, we've got our barriers up just to keep Mr. Wei secure.

Whoever did this to Mr. Wei was most likely after a much bigger target. We're worried that target is Xiaohei.

If Xiaohei's a genuine mingli user, it could mean bad news for her.

The strength of the curse'd trigger her powers to awaken prematurely.

Her mingli, once out in the world, would be stolen and fed to the Dragon.

After the Snakes failed with the Zhang brothers, she'll be next on the docket.

It's a shame what happened to them, but none of us expected to see the Four Gemini Masters appear either.

They seem to be rather... on edge.

Anyways, we have to stop the curse.

Little Tongji gets its power from a drug called "Blue Crow".

The doll is pumped with Blue Crow before spittin' out these curses.

Our first mission is to locate Little Tongji.

Unfortunately, none of my brothers can leave this room for the time being. We need you to find the doll for us.

Hey, how've you been? It looks like you've gotten yourself into some trouble.

Are you headed to Wangren Road? We would help, but that isn't our turf.

We can't escort you in or out.

In the world of wangren, delusions are sort of a trickling commodity.

If you go, you have to bring some delusion material of your own, or the wangren's delusions will take you.

You'll find the entrance to Wangren Road in the staff dorms, next to the Dragon Hotel.

You might find material there. Also, let me see your card. We can record our memories to it.

You might find material there. Also, let me see your card. We can record our memories to it.

Which would you prefer: my memory, or Little Fly's memory?

The memory is on your card. Now, go in with caution.

If you don't, there's a fair chance you'll never make it out.

If you have business in West City Road, we'll refer a good friend to your aid.

Access Card acquired.

Handed over Access Card.

I'm telling you, you can't come in.

It's a card. You'll run out of delusion material right away if this is all you have... Maybe you're passing this on to an electrical wangren?

Wangren do often ask outsiders to fetch fresh delusion material... And I can't ruin a promise, can I? A number of people come in to see close family too, so it's fine.

Once I find a safe place to hide, I'll open the door. In these staff dorms, you'll find a hanging scroll. Stand in front of it to enter Wangren Road, but don't think.

A lust for adventure is the last thing you want, okay? See you!

Don't you have any material to delude yourself with?

If you don't, you yourself will be made a source of delusion. Your life ends if that happens. That danger is why I can't let you through to Wangren Road.

How were the guys on Wangren Road?

Did you score those glasses? Those glasses will let you talk to those door and window wangren.

All wangren who live on Wangren Road actually live inside the head of an elderly man named Ma Shantong.

Do you know what I mean by that? I mean, the world they live in is all that one old man's delusion.

... It's as complicated as it sounds.

Vanity Mirror acquired.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.

The mirror merchant hasn't returned since he entered the hutongs alone.

Kowloon's backstreets all lead to large labyrinths called "hutongs". The word "hutong" means "alley", but our hutongs are city blocks that were built so haphazardly, they choked the qi flow. The mirror merchant entered the hutongs to fix the qi flow, so if you plan to find him, ask the locksmith for help.