Chapter Ninety: The Sudden New World, The Wishes of the Departed

Qi adjusted the plain glass spectacles that had somehow appeared on his nose and said with a blank expression, “The reason is very simple. We want to find a way back to our original world, because there are bonds there that we cannot let go of.” Chelsea explained her purpose earnestly and plainly.

Yes, it was truly simple: they had left home, so they wished to return. Qi believed it.

Mikoto Misaka, having only just arrived here, did not feel the longing for home very strongly. Still, she said, “That strange person can send me back. He said he has already sent one person home, so I’ve been wandering around with him.”

“Mikoto, that is a total betrayal of your teammates. Even if we’ve only known each other for less than two days, at least we’re still closer than someone you’ve known for less than one,” Qi growled through clenched teeth, glaring at the little Misaka.

“What? You have a way?” The one who spoke was the black-veiled woman, Liliang.

But the girl beside her suddenly rushed straight at Qi. With excitement all over her face, she reached out both hands for his shoulders.

Qi, still wearing the plain glass spectacles, did not retreat as he had before. He simply looked at her with calm eyes and an equally calm expression.

“What way? Tell me quickly. As long as I can go back, I’ll do anything.”

Looking at the agitated girl, Qi calmly lifted a hand, intending to push away the pale jade-like claws on his shoulders. “I do have a way, but you...” The instant his hand touched her palm, his vision blurred, and the scene before him changed into a bustling street full of people coming and going.

Even Qi, in his spectacle-wearing state, could not help but freeze for a moment. He pushed up his glasses and carefully examined the street. It was a rather strange street.

That was his first thought. There were buildings reminiscent of the cultivation world, buildings like those of modern technology, and even structures in a western style. Combined together, they formed a prosperous street, and how could it not feel eerie?

Was this an ambush by a cultivator? An illusion? Who was it? Chelsea? Or someone else?

The sun of the bustling city fell upon the youth’s pensive profile, furrowed in thought. A serious man was the most charming—someone had once said such a thing—but now Qi was truly the center of everyone’s attention.

Noticing the gazes around him, Qi frowned and lifted his head, only to see the people nearby staring at him with strange eyes and murmuring among themselves.

His astonishing hearing caught a few key phrases.

“Has the imperial capital really decayed to this extent already?”

“That man doesn’t look tall, but he’s actually pretty sturdy.”

“Is he out here naked on purpose, trying to sell his body?”

“Look below—he’s got quite a package. He must be one of those kept men.”

Qi lowered his head expressionlessly, though in truth he had already gone rigid, and then his figure vanished from the street in an instant.

What is going on? My body is actually ten times heavier, and why am I completely naked? Is it an illusion spell? No, this is too real. I can even make out an ant on the ground and dust in the air. Entirely naked... The last time I was completely naked was when I first arrived in the world of the black cat, but back then it should have been because I had personally stuffed everything into the Book of Qi.

Hiding in an empty corner, Qi summoned the Book of Qi.

— The dying will of the dead: destroy the empire and restore peace to the people. Success rewards fifty thousand soft sister coins. Failure deducts fifty thousand soft sister coins. —

“Was this really your doing? Why was I naked, and where did all my storage items go?” Come to think of it, the gravity in this world is ten times that of the cultivation world. Is it meant to restrict my power, or what?

— This is a mandatory mission. No items may be carried, and no goods may be exchanged. This world was originally like this. —

Damn it, calm down first. Qi told himself that. What had happened had already happened, and there was no point in dwelling on it. For now, he should find some clothes to wear.

After mysteriously losing one set of clothes from a certain clothing shop, Qi finally walked the streets with some peace of mind. The language here was still Japanese, so this was no coincidence. But the mission was to destroy the empire? Then he should first learn more about this world.

Qi adjusted his glasses... well, the glasses were gone too. By then night had already fallen. Leaning against a bridge, Qi gazed up at the pure white moon of this world. The sky was clear, and the stars shone brightly as well.

First, the empire mentioned in the mission was the most powerful nation in the world. The only country able to rival it was the kingdom in the west, while the southern islands and the frozen northern lands were relatively backward, and the eastern island nations were still uncivilized.

The highest ruler of the nation was the Emperor. Beneath him, the governing structure was divided into civil officials who handled politics and military generals who handled warfare. The chief of the civil officials was the Minister, and the chief of the military was the Great General.

And the city Qi was in was the imperial capital, where the Emperor and the Minister resided. Though it was the center of the empire, it had rotted to the core, and the people lived in great misery. Rumor said the true culprit was the Minister, who manipulated the Emperor from behind the scenes.

Qi’s judgment of this was that the fellow had all the style of Dong Zhuo. And the defining feature of this world was the danger species that lived in the wild—powerful beasts akin to demonic creatures, except that the former had intelligence no greater than a beast’s.

What could contend with them were the empire’s imperial arms.

About a thousand years ago, in order to maintain long-term rule, the founding Emperor used the empire’s immense wealth and power to gather the finest craftsmen from all over the world. Using materials from legendary and extremely dangerous species, along with rare metals such as Orichalcum and large numbers of long-lost secret arts, they developed forty-eight weapons that could not be replicated, and called them imperial arms.

After their creation, these imperial arms helped the empire achieve brilliant victories. But five hundred years ago, the empire suffered large-scale unrest, and many of the imperial arms were lost among the common people, or even abroad.

Now the decaying empire was facing the resistance of the Revolutionary Army, which sought to overthrow it and bring happiness and peace to the people. Among them, the most famous in the imperial capital was the assassin group known as Night Raid. Qi was considering whether he should join Night Raid and take a look, since after all, their mission was the same.

Slowly, a red carriage drove over from one side of the bridge. The carriage was luxurious in appearance; at a glance it was obvious that no ordinary rich man could own it. It must belong to some great noble. Qi thought this, then withdrew his gaze and considered where he might find members of Night Raid.

“Miss, you’ve come again. She doesn’t look as though she’s in any trouble, does she?” said the escort driving the carriage in a low voice.

“There’s nothing that can be done. I’ve always been like this. If she really isn’t in trouble, then we’ll leave. But if she’s someone who needs help, I can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

Hearing such a conversation, Qi could not help but shake his head with amusement. So he too had a day when someone would pity him.