The next day.
Naoki was awakened by the ringtone of his phone on the bedside table. Still half asleep, his heavy eyes tried to focus on the vibrating phone screen.
The clock hands showed 07:10 AM.
"Hello... Who is this?" His voice was hoarse and lethargic, typical of someone just waking up.
From the speaker, a woman's melodious voice could be heard, filled with warmth and affection that couldn't be hidden.
"It seems I'm disturbing Naoki-kun's sleep time~" Her tone was joking, but there was a small sense of guilt in it.
Hearing that voice, Naoki's drowsiness vanished instantly. His previously drowsy eyes now widened slightly, then softened. A small smile appeared on his lips.
"Ah, it's you, Tenka!" He rubbed his face, trying to sound fresher. "What's up calling me? Isn't there no signal in Mato?"
"I secretly came to the real world just to be able to call you~" Tenka answered, giggling at her boyfriend's silly question. Her voice was like a silver bell vibrating softly. "As for why I'm calling Naoki-kun... I miss you. It's been a whole day since I saw you. Isn't that allowed?"
"How could it not be allowed?" Naoki answered earnestly. "Call me whenever you miss me!"
"Um." Tenka's voice on the other end sounded very happy. "I will. By the way, I've already heard the news about the commotion in Beijing yesterday. That was your doing, wasn't it?"
Naoki wasn't surprised. Tenka was the chief commander of the Anti-Demon Corps unit, her access to information must be extensive. Moreover, the incident at the Beijing shopping mall had already spread in certain circles.
"Yes, that was me."
"Good job, Naoki-kun~"
Although she had guessed it from the beginning, hearing direct confirmation from Naoki still gave its own satisfaction. And there was another reason why Tenka was pleased.
Diplomatic relations between Japan and China currently could be said to be bad, very bad.
Before Japan transformed into a new superpower thanks to the Mato dimension and Peach monopoly, China repeatedly provoked them. They often conducted large-scale military exercises in waters around Japan, exactly like North Korea did near the South Korean border—as a form of intimidation, pressure, and show of force.
Although Japan was now in the upper hand, the wounds and resentment from that past weren't easy to erase. So, hearing that her boyfriend had infiltrated the heart of Chinese power, and humiliated one of the Four Great Families...
Tenka couldn't hide her joy.
"Congratulations on successfully copying Su Ling'er's Peach Blessing. I knew you could do it."
"Thank you." Naoki replied while getting out of bed. "Although there were some problems in the process, ultimately the result was as desired."
With the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder, Naoki walked to the bathroom. Toothbrush, paste, water—the usual morning ritual. Tenka on the other end seemed patient listening to the sound of running water and the noisy toothbrush sound.
After finishing cleaning up, Naoki moved to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, taking out some leftover ingredients. While heating the pan and cracking eggs, he continued the conversation with Tenka.
"Naoki-kun, have you had breakfast?" Tenka asked curiously.
"Not yet. I'm cooking now."
"Cooking what?"
"Omelet, white rice, and soup. Simple."
"Sounds delicious~ I'm getting hungry."
"If you were here, I'd definitely make portions for two."
Their conversation flowed naturally, from serious topics about the Beijing operation, shifting to trivial topics that were actually the essence of this long-distance relationship.
Tenka told stories about Yachiho and Sahara who had been acting strange lately, often avoiding each other and blushing when they met. Naoki only responded half-heartedly while flipping his omelet, knowing exactly the cause of that strangeness.
Tenka asked whether Naoki had slept enough, whether he was eating regularly, whether he remembered to take vitamins. Naoki answered all those questions patiently, though inwardly he felt comfortable being cared for.
The two were like a couple in a long-distance relationship.
Just two people who missed each other, who shared their daily lives through voices at the end of the phone, creating the illusion that even though separated by oceans, they were still together.
Naoki scooped white rice onto a plate, placed the omelet beside it, and poured miso soup into a bowl.
"I'm starting to eat, Tenka."
"Um. Eat lots, Naoki-kun."
"Have you eaten yourself?"
"Just ordered food from the real world."
"Be careful not to eat too much junk food."
"Hey, you sound like a mother, Naoki-kun~"
"Whatever."
Tenka laughed on the other end, her cheerful voice filling the quiet little kitchen. Naoki smiled thinly while enjoying his breakfast, occasionally humming in response to his girlfriend's chatter.
Outside, the hustle and bustle of Beijing city began to be faintly heard—sounds of horns, traffic, vendors shouting. But inside this empty house, with the phone attached to his ear, Naoki felt like he was having breakfast with Tenka.
That was enough.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
After breakfast and warm morning conversation, Naoki and Tenka finally ended their call.
Not because they ran out of topics, but because international calls weren't cheap!
Naoki pressed the red button on his phone screen, sighing briefly.
The room returned to silence.
He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV in the living room.
The screen lit up, displaying a talk show. However, after listening for a few seconds, he realized the broadcast was entirely in Mandarin, and he didn't understand at all.
Completely losing interest, he turned off the TV.
"Rather than sitting idle in this empty house, I'd better visit some tourist destinations before returning to Japan."
He glanced at the clock. His flight to Tokyo was scheduled for 20:50 at night. There were still more than twelve hours before the plane took off. Enough time to go around.
With quick movements, Naoki packed his remaining clothes into the suitcase, making sure no items were left behind. After finishing, he stood in the middle of the living room.
«Pandemonium».
His pupils changed—an inverted golden-blackish cross pattern appeared, glowing dimly. The Qliphoth Tree diagram manifested briefly behind his back, the Thaumiel slot glowed, then dimmed.
A black portal opened in front of him, Naoki stepped in, pulling his suitcase. The portal closed behind him without sound.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Just as Naoki stepped out of the alley and joined the flow of pedestrians on the sidewalk, he passed directly by a policeman.
"Tsk."
The policeman briefly stopped and glanced sharply toward Naoki. Seeing the appearance and typical Japanese aura of the young man, the policeman clicked his tongue with a disgusted expression, then just left without paying him any further attention.
Naoki only smiled thinly.
He didn't care about others' rude attitudes. It wasn't his business to change public opinion. What mattered was, he passed without inspection.
He walked calmly, blending into the crowd of people on Beijing's streets. However, his eyes didn't stop moving, scanning the surroundings with his old habit as a former National Intelligence Agency member.
Along the street, Naoki could see many uniformed police, government agents trying to disguise themselves awkwardly, private detectives observing every corner, and tough women carrying the aura of Peach Blessings in their bodies.
All these people were looking for one person.
The bastard who had humiliated Su Ling'er, the young lady of the Su Family, in public.
Naoki walked past them all with a confident and relaxed attitude.
No one glanced at him twice.
No one stopped him.
No one checked his identity.
Why?
The reason was very simple, yet at the same time very ironic.
He was a man.
It had become basic common sense throughout the world that Peaches only gave superpowers to women. This was a universally accepted fact, no need to question it anymore, already embedded in society's logic for several decades.
Therefore, when Chinese officials gathered data and testimonies about the shopping mall incident, they automatically identified the perpetrator as female.
A woman with a mask.
A woman with superpowers.
A woman who could stop time and open portals.
They were looking for women. They were combing Beijing for suspicious women with space-time abilities.
Meanwhile, Naoki walked freely before their eyes, and even the policeman who passed directly by him only clicked his tongue because he was Japanese, without the slightest suspicion that he was the fugitive they were looking for.
(The most frightening thing isn't the unknown, but challenging the basic common sense that has been believed all this time.) Naoki thought inwardly, walking casually while pulling his suitcase.
The world believed that men couldn't possess Peach Blessings.
Therefore, when a man possessed a Peach Blessing, he became invisible.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Naoki spent the next six hours touring Beijing.
First, he took a taxi to the Great Wall. He chose the most famous and easily accessible Badaling sector.
The mountain air was refreshingly cold.
He walked on ancient stones that had stood for thousands of years, witnessing the panorama of mountains stretching green as far as the eye could see.
A kind foreign tourist offered to take his photo. Naoki nodded, standing upright with the background of an ancient watchtower.
Then, he returned to the city center and visited the Forbidden City. The imperial palace from the Ming and Qing Dynasty era was unimaginably vast.
He walked through magnificent gates, white stone courtyards, and halls with yellow tile roofs symbolizing the emperor. Naoki didn't hire a guide; he just enjoyed the architecture and history that felt heavy in every corner.
He bought vanilla ice cream from a street vendor near the exit, sitting on a park bench while enjoying the afternoon that was beginning to turn to dusk.
His last destination was the Summer Palace. The vast Kunming Lake was thinly frozen at its edges, while the afternoon sun reflected golden orange colors on the water's surface.
Naoki walked along the long corridor decorated with classical paintings, cold wind hitting his face.
A vendor offered to take his photo. Naoki agreed.
*CLICK!*
A Japanese young man with white hair and a small suitcase, standing at the lake's edge, with Longevity Hill and the towering Buddha Temple in the background. On his face, a thin smile that couldn't be interpreted—was it happy? Was it satisfied? Or maybe just an ordinary tourist's empty smile?
Naoki saved that photo on his phone.
Maybe he'd show it to Tenka later.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
At 19:30, Naoki returned to the same airport restroom, waiting for his flight departure time. He activated Spatial Refraction, walking through immigration and security checks without obstacles, then boarded the plane.
The plane took off on time. Beijing gradually shrank behind the window, turning into a sea of glittering lights.
Naoki leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.
Four Qliphoth slots filled. One journey completed.
Now, going home.