"I can't take it anymore, I have to take a shower today!" Michiko stood up with great willpower and walked towards the bathroom. She had been so busy these past two days that she hadn't showered, and she felt like she was starting to smell. Many people seemed to change their expressions when they passed by her, and Michiko absolutely couldn't stand those looks.
As for Zhang Lei and his group, all that is required is for two people from the Silver Sword to specifically monitor them. Zhang Lei and his group only need to avoid Michiko slightly. Even if others see them face to face, they may not recognize them. However, when the two sisters go out for some fresh air, the five people from the Shangguo Yiju must accompany them. They are already close to the finish line, so they must not fall down before the finish line.
The Isabelle was simply too big. Even though Michiko had been working almost non-stop for two days, she had only covered half the distance. Of course, this was also related to the fact that she felt she had to slow down.
Several of her friends originally possessed tracking abilities, but Watanabe kept them all behind. Among the ability users in Japan, such special abilities were relatively rare, and they needed them there too. The others who boarded the ship with Michiko this time all possessed combat abilities; Watanabe explained that this was to give them some resistance should they encounter Chinese people.
Although they didn't explore every single area, Michiko had traversed all the suspicious sections. They had far more information about Isabel than Zhang Lei and his group, knowing which areas passengers frequently disembarked midway and which areas, even if vacant, the Isabel wouldn't sell tickets specifically for them.
As expected, the championship video that Zhang Lei and his friends had been worried about wasn't released. The organizers probably really felt that this result was embarrassing, and it's said that the betting amount dropped by 30% the next day because of this incident. However, Zhang Lei wasn't foolish enough to go back to that boxing ring, so they could only vent their anger on the other two boxers. Zhang Lei's status as a tourist left them helpless. If Linghu were willing to go, they could let him act in the play again.
However, Zhang Lei did not expect that he would not be included in the championship highlights, but would appear in other promotional videos.
The authorization letter Zhang Lei signed granted the organizers the right to edit and broadcast his combat footage at will, but Zhang Lei didn't read it carefully. In fact, even if he had read it carefully, he wouldn't have understood it.
The organizers could easily guess why the two boxers they controlled had withdrawn: they were terrified by Vlad's horrific condition and feared they'd be unable to have sex for the rest of their lives. So why did Zhang Lei withdraw? Any talk of health reasons? Only a fool would believe that. (Earth, Man, Ghosts, and Gods jumped in, but even old ghosts wouldn't believe that!)
So most likely he just didn't want to be in the limelight. Fine, you don't want to be in the limelight? Then we'll make sure you're in the limelight! The boxing match organizers could only use this method to retaliate against Zhang Lei, but Zhang Lei was completely unaware of it.
When Zhang Lei and his team returned, they nervously watched the closed-circuit television. When the championship highlights were shown, they discovered that the winning date was the day before. In other words, they had reheated old material. They didn't produce that embarrassing episode, so they were relieved. With so many shows coming up and money available, who would watch TV or commercials?
However, the organizers then produced a highlight reel, which mostly featured Zhang Lei. His agile evasion, dramatic knockout victory, and powerful kick to Vlad were all incredibly impressive. More importantly, the organizers emphasized that he was a guest star who, although he withdrew for other reasons, would have been the undisputed champion if he hadn't withdrawn.
Michiko emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a bath towel. Just then, a companion pushed open the door to the inner room. "Michiko-neechan, come and see what this is?!"
Episode 3: The Bloody Path to Adulthood, Chapter 54: A Feast for the Senses (Part 1)
A person can fool an amateur's eye with makeup, for example, by adding a mustache or thickening their eyebrows. These things can completely change the way someone looks.
However, it is not easy to deceive someone who has received specialized training, especially someone who is paying close attention.
"Big sister, come and see! I suspect this person has superpowers, and he seems to be one of those Chinese people!" Although she didn't want to admit it, these Japanese superpowered individuals did know a little more about these things than the Chinese superpowered individuals, which might be related to cultural differences.
It has been said long ago that Chinese martial arts emphasize personal cultivation and pay less attention to practical combat skills. While this may be a generalization, as China does have many martial arts aimed at killing and which are also very profound, this is indeed the case for most martial arts practitioners.
Over the years, Chinese martial arts have become increasingly practical, but the deeply rooted traditions of thousands of years are not so easy to change, and there are still quite a few remnants. However, it is not necessarily clear whether these remnants are good or bad. This is also part of culture, and martial ethics is one of them.
Back at Michiko, who had just come out of the bathroom, her companions wouldn't pay much attention to Zhang Lei. To them, he was just one of the fourteen people being hunted. But to Michiko, he was the murderer of Fujita. She spent at least four or five hours a day looking at Zhang Lei's photo.
It wasn't because she had a crush on Zhang Lei and fantasized about his photo; that was resentment from the bottom of her heart. You could say that even if Zhang Lei poured a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid on her face, as long as there was any trace of his features remaining, Michiko would recognize him from that single clue. Of course, Zhang Lei wasn't that bored, and Michiko's ability was also related to her special powers.
"Send a message to headquarters immediately. It's confirmed that the Chinese are on the ship!" Unlike them, Michiko recognized Zhang Lei at a glance.
...
"Haha, Zhang Lei is just unlucky. He got diarrhea from eating something raw!"
At this moment, Zhang Lei was occupying a toilet in the cabin. He hadn't come out for at least two hours. He would go out and then immediately go back in. He might as well make it his home.
The cruise ship travels very slowly, especially in international waters. Weather permitting, the Queen Elizabeth moves at a speed even slower than a sailboat. The purpose of these people taking the cruise is to enjoy themselves, not to travel in a hurry.
Along this route, various fishing boats frequently serve as supply vessels, bringing the freshest seafood to the cruise ship. Since it is relatively close to Japan, Japanese cuisine makes up a large proportion of the food served on board.
Although I don't have a good impression of the Japanese, Japanese sushi and sashimi do have their own unique characteristics. If you go to Japan and don't even try authentic sushi, it would be a real shame.
In Japan, I was too busy to have much time to eat, mostly relying on the food kindly provided by the original owner of the hideout or some convenience foods. Now that I have money, why not treat myself? It's said that the Isabelle has hired top-notch chefs in Japan, so the food here will definitely be much more authentic than what I had in Japan.
This is also a unique feature of the Isabelle. Whenever it arrives at a new place, it invites several of the most famous chefs from that region to board the ship. During that stretch of water, the chefs mainly serve the local specialties, and the local chefs consider it an honor to be able to board the Isabelle.
"Are you alright, Leilei?" Tianxiao asked from the doorway, pinching his nose.
"It's nothing, just a little bit!" The sound of a waterfall cascading down a thousand feet came from the toilet again.
"Damn it, none of those Japanese things are any good!" Perhaps Zhang Lei's stomach is really weaker than the average person's. Others might feel uncomfortable after eating them, but they would be fine after one or two times at most. No one is like him.
"Who said that!" Liu Yun joked from outside. "If there really wasn't anything good, we wouldn't have come on this mission. We came here to snatch these two Japanese treasures back!"
These past two days, perhaps the little girl has gotten used to changing her stance, and these people also feel that they have abandoned their "original" Japanese identity. These two little girls are actually quite cute. Even Umekawa Naiyi, under her father's strict upbringing, is quite cute and doesn't have Tianxiao's unruly spirit at all. Compared to her, Tianxiao really seems like a wild girl.
Therefore, their relationship became noticeably closer, which Zhang Lei attributed to the two girls' attraction to the large sum of pocket money. However, their sweet and affectionate address of "Big Brother" and "Uncle," coupled with their slightly accented and rudimentary Mandarin, naturally made the man's bones feel a little weak.
The contrast between the inside and outside of the toilet was stark. Inside, Zhang Lei had severe diarrhea, his stool was watery, and to prevent dehydration, he had brought in a large bucket of drinking salt water to replenish his fluids.
Outside the toilet, the meal was still in full swing. These people were not afraid of the lesson learned inside the toilet at all. According to them, Zhang Lei was just unlucky.
"Um, I hope Brother Zhang Lei will be alright!" On the contrary, the one with the silver sword had a bit of a conscience.
"It's alright. Don't forget what his special ability is: self-examination. If there's really something wrong, he won't miss it. It's just a simple stomach upset, not even food poisoning, so don't worry!" Linghu added. "We've had it a bit too easy this time. It's good that Zhang Lei has run into some trouble. It'll balance things out, haha!"
Zhang Lei, listening from inside the restroom, gritted his teeth. To be honest, the taste was quite good, especially the tuna, which was smooth and creamy, probably similar to the texture of a woman's breasts. Zhang Lei had long forgotten his childhood memories of that, but for some reason, Tian Xiao's towering breasts appeared in his mind's eye. He wished he could take a bite and compare the texture. Zhang Lei swallowed hard.
"But I must prioritize strengthening my digestive system, otherwise it would be a shame to miss out on good food!" Zhang Lei made up his mind and immediately put it into practice. He started a self-examination instantly. He had accumulated too much internal energy in the past few days, so much that his dantian was swollen. Under this state, it seemed that the speed of internal energy absorption had slowed down a little.
"Zhang Lei, what's wrong?" The people outside the door all sensed the fluctuations of supernatural power.
"It's nothing, just check your body!" Zhang Lei already knew that his internal energy absorption speed was ridiculously fast compared to theirs, but there was no need to say it and make them jealous, much less let others know that his special ability could guide internal energy to strengthen his body.
Episode 3: The Bloody Path to Adulthood, Chapter 54: Good Fortune (Part 2)
Humans have four basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Among these, the enjoyment of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation comes more indirectly from others than from our own direct experience.
It's like buying a designer outfit for tens of thousands of yuan. Few people can tell the difference between wearing it and a cheap, low-priced piece from a street stall. Even if they could, is the difference worth thousands of times? But wearing that outfit on the street or in social situations, feeling the admiring and envious glances of others—that's worth it. That's what's called indirect enjoyment. It sounds silly, but how many people can ignore this seemingly silly enjoyment, even if they clearly understand it? Zhang Lei is no exception.
But food is different; it's the most direct enjoyment, the most direct sensory experience. Aside from the hungry or the very craving, few people would enviously watch others eat. And frankly, it seems few people enjoy being watched while they eat, so this indirect vanity is practically nonexistent.
Of course, there are also some people who like to show off what they ate for breakfast or lunch, but usually, people will look at them like they're a fool.
Therefore, Zhang Lei did not feel it was a waste to focus on strengthening his stomach and intestines with his internal energy. He even regretted not thinking of this sooner, letting them spend their money to feast outside while he was also having a great time inside, only excreting.
Zhang Lei hoped he could emit some foul odor outside so they couldn't eat, but in reality, the bathroom on the Isabelle was filled with air fresheners, exhaust fans, and odor absorbers, so there was hardly any odor. Didn't you see Zhang Lei drinking water in there...?