Diavolo Is Really Unlucky (Requesting Recommendation Tickets)

Palermo, Punta Raisi Airport.

After making his decision, Diavolo packed his bags in just half an hour and took a taxi to the airport.

"Hello, I'd like to book a flight to Naples."

"Any class is fine, the earlier the departure, the better."

"Thank you for your trouble."

He spoke politely to the receptionist at the airport counter, his tone as gentle as if he weren't the dark emperor exuding an aura of dominance just moments before.

Because he wasn't.

He wasn't Diavolo now, but "Tonio."

Diavolo was a unique case of dissociative identity disorder, possessing two distinct personalities simultaneously:

The dominant personality, "Boss" Diavolo, and the subordinate personality, "Employee" Tonio.

He could switch between the two personalities freely, displaying completely different speech, behavior, and demeanor.

Most remarkably, when switching to the other personality, Diavolo's appearance and physique would change along with his personality.

When he was Diavolo, he appeared as a middle-aged man with a well-built physique, full of muscle, and firm features.

When he transformed into Tonio, his body would slowly deflate like a leaky balloon, eventually becoming a thin, shy, and youthful young man with tender features.

Under such circumstances, even if outsiders saw Tonio and Diavolo with their own eyes, they wouldn't consider them to be the same person.

Therefore, Diavolo usually used the Tonio personality to travel, perfectly hiding his own evil and terrifying true face behind this gentle and kind young boy's facade.

And Tonio was a completely independent personality:

He had no idea that he was Diavolo; he even considered himself a loyal employee who only followed Diavolo's commands.

"Please hurry."

Tonio leaned over the counter, staring at the young receptionist with his pure, innocent eyes:

"This is a mission the 'Boss' gave me, and it's very, very important."

"I must get to Naples as soon as possible!"

"Okay."

"I'll check the flights to Naples for you right away."

The receptionist smiled sweetly, a hint of natural affection for the shy young man in front of her subtly showing in her smile.

She busied herself with the clunky computer, but finally, she spoke with some difficulty:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tonio."

"There are flights to Naples, but they can't depart right now."

"What?"

Tonio blinked slightly and replied, "B-but that won't do!"

"I have to get to Naples quickly, or the Boss will definitely punish me!"

"I'm sorry."

The receptionist apologized again:

"There's air traffic control over Naples today, and most flights heading north are delayed."

"Air traffic control?"

"Why does it have to be at a time like this!"

Hearing this, Tonio broke out in a cold sweat from anxiety.

"This is an act of God,"

The receptionist patiently explained:

"You must have seen the news these past few days, right?"

"It's a special period now, so flight delays are very normal."

Seeing Tonio's anxious state, she tried to comfort him:

"How about you wait a bit?"

"If everything goes smoothly, you can depart in one to two hours."

"This..."

Tonio hesitated.

Meanwhile, the dominant personality, Diavolo, hidden in his mind, began to ponder:

It would take Li Qing's speed boat at least six hours to reach Naples port.

If he could depart in one to two hours, and then take an hour-long flight, he would still arrive before Li Qing.

Although it was a bit unlucky, since things had come to this, he would just wait.

"Damn it."

He suddenly regretted his usual low-key approach: "If only I had a private jet."

At 2:48 PM, the speedboat approached the coast of Naples.

The afternoon sun cast its rays upon the sea in Naples Bay, a vast expanse of blue, sparkling with light.

The symbol of Naples, the majestic and magnificent Mount Vesuvius, sat just outside the port city, standing silently beneath the bright, clear sky.

Beauty of mountains and sea meeting.

But Li Qing had no intention of admiring the beautiful seascape—

Nature's beauty failed to capture his interest; instead, the "strange birds" constantly crisscrossing the sky drew his full attention:

"My God."

"These things flying in the sky..."

After seven hours of travel and experiencing three near-death encounters, this was the first time Li Qing had shown such a moved and shocked expression:

"That's an F/A-18, the supersonic fighter-attack aircraft 'Hornet'!"

"And..."

He followed the direction from which the fighter jets had taken off and immediately spotted a colossal underwater beast forged entirely from steel on the sea's surface:

"Holy crap... an aircraft carrier?!"

Li Qing muttered to himself, then curiously turned to Andrew and asked:

"Hey, hey... Fatty?"

"Is there some kind of naval exhibition happening here?"

"Huh?"

Andrew was slightly taken aback, then hesitated for a moment before explaining:

"Sir, didn't you know?"

"Naples Port..."

"Is the home base for the 'United States Empire' Navy's Sixth Fleet!"

"The US Sixth Fleet Naval Command and the Southern European Allied Command are both stationed in Naples, so it's not unusual to see American warships occasionally."

"Also..."

He looked at Li Qing as if he were an alien:

"Haven't you been watching the news these past few days?"

"The Americans just declared war on the Balkan Alliance across the sea, and our Italy has become the front line."

"The Balkan Alliance is separated from Italy by only a narrow Adriatic Sea, less than a few hundred kilometers in a straight line."

"Those bombers delivering 'freedom' to the other side are all taking off from our Italy."

"For example..."

Andrew pointed to the steel behemoth floating on the sea: "From that aircraft carrier."

"Uh..."

Li Qing frowned deeply: "The United States Empire and the Balkan Alliance?"

As a casual military fan, no—

As a citizen of Dragon Country, he naturally knew about this unjust war that occurred in 1999.

But...

"Isn't it 2001 now?"

Li Qing asked this question with a look of surprise.

In his memory, the story of "Golden Wind" took place in 2001, so the time he traveled to should also be the beginning of the story in 2001.

However, Andrew, with an even more surprised expression, gave him a terrible answer:

"What 2001?"

"It's 1999, March 26th, 1999!"

"This..."

Li Qing's expression became somewhat awkward:

He had traveled all the way to Naples precisely to find a way to seek help from the two main characters of the story.

After all, he knew almost nothing about this world; even if he wanted to counterattack Diavolo and the Passion Organization himself, he wouldn't know where to start.

Bruno Bucciarati and Giorno Giovanna, these two main characters, were the only clues he could think of right now.

But now, the time was a full two years earlier than in the original plot.

"Two years... there's no way I can hitch a ride on the plot now."

"Then we'll just have to find Giorno and Bucciarati and see if they can offer any help."

"Wait a minute."

Li Qing suddenly felt something was off:

"I recall that guy Giorno with the rolled-up hair was only 15 years old when he first appeared, right?"

"So, doesn't that make him only 13 now?"

"13 years old."

"If he started school a bit later, he might not have even finished elementary school yet!"

Thinking this, Li Qing suddenly lost confidence in his plan to find teammates in Naples.