Palermo, Punta Raisi Airport.
After making his decision, Diavolo packed his luggage in just half an hour and took a taxi to the airport.
"Hello, I'd like to book a ticket to Naples."
"Any class will do. The earlier the departure time, the better."
"Thank you."
He spoke politely to the young woman at the airport counter, his tone so mild that he seemed nothing like the Dark Emperor who had radiated dominance earlier.
Because he was not Diavolo at all.
Right now, he was "Tonio."
Diavolo was a special kind of dissociative identity disorder patient. He possessed two utterly different personalities:
The primary personality, the "Boss," Diavolo; and the secondary personality, the "employee," Tonio.
He could freely switch between the two personalities, displaying completely different conduct, speech, styles, and temperaments.
Most amazingly, whenever he switched to the other personality, Diavolo's appearance and build changed along with his personality.
When he was Diavolo, he looked like a middle-aged man with a fit physique, well-developed muscles, and resolute features.
When he switched into Tonio, his body slowly shrank like a deflating balloon, eventually turning him into a slender young man with a timid temperament and youthful features.
Under such circumstances, even if outsiders saw Tonio and Diavolo with their own eyes, they would never think they were the same person.
Thus, Diavolo usually traveled about under Tonio's identity, perfectly concealing his evil and terrifying true face beneath that gentle, kind young man's appearance.
Tonio was also a completely independent personality:
He had no idea that he himself was Diavolo. He even regarded himself as a loyal employee utterly devoted to Diavolo.
"Please hurry."
Tonio leaned over the counter, staring at the young receptionist with his pure, innocent eyes:
"This is a task the Boss gave me. It's very, very important."
"I have to get to Naples as soon as possible!"
"Of course."
"I'll check the flights to Naples for you right away."
The receptionist gave him a sweet smile, one that faintly carried the natural fondness she felt toward the shy young man before her.
She busied herself with the bulky computer for a while, but eventually said with some difficulty:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Tonio."
"There are flights to Naples, but they can't depart yet."
"What?"
Tonio froze slightly before replying, "B-but how can that be?"
"I have to get to Naples quickly, or the Boss will definitely punish me!"
"I'm sorry."
The receptionist apologized again:
"There is air traffic control over Naples today, and most flights heading north have been delayed."
"Air traffic control?"
"Why did it have to happen at a time like this?!"
Hearing this, Tonio grew so anxious that cold sweat beaded across his forehead.
"This is beyond anyone's control."
The receptionist patiently explained:
"You've probably seen the news these past few days, haven't you?"
"It's a special period right now, so flight delays are perfectly normal."
Seeing how frantic Tonio looked, she gently tried to comfort him:
"Why not wait a little longer?"
"If all goes well, you'll be able to depart in one or two hours."
"This..."
Tonio hesitated.
Meanwhile, Diavolo, the primary personality hidden within his mind, fell into thought:
Li Qing's speedboat would take at least six hours to reach Naples Harbor.
If he could depart in one or two hours and then take another hour to fly there, he could still arrive before Li Qing.
He had been somewhat unlucky, but since things had come to this, he might as well wait.
"Damn it."
He suddenly regretted keeping too low a profile all these years. "It would've been nice to have a private jet."
At 14:48, the speedboat approached the coast of Naples.
The afternoon sunlight spilled across the waters of Naples Bay, where blue waves stretched endlessly and glittered in the light.
The symbol of Naples, the grand and magnificent Mount Vesuvius, stood just outside the harbor city, quietly rising beneath the bright, sunlit sky.
Mountain and sea met in a landscape of boundless beauty.
But Li Qing had no mood at all to appreciate the splendid seascape—
Nature's exquisite beauty failed to catch his eye. Instead, the "strange birds" constantly streaking through the sky seized all his attention:
"My god..."
"These things flying up there..."
After traveling through time for seven hours and surviving three brushes with death, Li Qing showed such a moved and shocked expression for the first time:
"Those are F/A-18 Hornets, supersonic fighter-attack aircraft!"
"And..."
He looked into the distance in the direction those fighter jets had taken off, and immediately spotted a colossal steel beast floating on the sea:
"Holy shit. An aircraft carrier?!"
After muttering to himself for a moment, Li Qing turned to Andrew with immense curiosity:
"Hey, hey, fatty?"
"Is there some kind of naval exhibition going on here?"
"Huh?"
Andrew paused in surprise and only explained after hesitating for a moment:
"Sir, you didn't know?"
"Naples Harbor..."
"Has always been the home port of the United States Empire Navy's Sixth Fleet!"
"The United States Sixth Fleet Naval Command and the Southern European Allied Command are both based in Naples. It's not strange to occasionally see American warships."
"And besides..."
He looked at Li Qing as if he were an alien:
"Haven't you watched the news at all these past few days?"
"The Americans have just declared war on the Balkan Alliance across the sea. Italy has already become the front line of the war."
"The Balkan Alliance is separated from Italy by only the narrow Adriatic Sea. The straight-line distance is less than a few hundred kilometers."
"All those bombers delivering 'seed oil' to the other side take off from Italy."
"For example..."
Andrew pointed at the steel behemoth floating on the sea. "From that aircraft carrier."
"Uh..."
Li Qing furrowed his brow tightly. "The United States Empire and the Balkan Alliance?"
As a half-baked military enthusiast, no—
As a citizen of the Dragon Country, of course he knew about that unjust war that took place in 1999.
But...
"Isn't it 2001 now?"
Li Qing asked in astonishment.
In his memory, the story of Golden Wind took place in 2001. The time he had traveled to should therefore have been 2001, when the story began.
Yet Andrew gave him an even more astonished look and delivered an utterly terrible answer:
"What 2001?"
"It's 1999 now. March 26, 1999!"
"This..."
Li Qing's expression became somewhat awkward:
He had come all the way to Naples in hopes of finding a way to seek help from the two protagonists.
After all, he knew almost nothing about this world. Even if he wanted to launch a counterattack against Diavolo and the Passion Organization himself, he did not know where to begin.
The two protagonists, Bruno Bucciarati and Giorno Giovanna, were the only leads he could think of right now.
But the time was a full two years earlier than the original story.
"Two years... There's definitely no way to hitch a ride on the plot anymore."
"Then I can only find Giorno and Bucciarati and see whether I can get any help from them."
"Wait."
Li Qing suddenly felt that something was wrong:
"I remember that the curly-haired kid called Giorno was only fifteen when he first appeared, right?"
"Doesn't that mean he's only thirteen now?"
"Thirteen."
"If he started school late, he might not even have finished elementary school yet!"
At that thought, Li Qing suddenly lost confidence in his plan to come to Naples and search for teammates.
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