The mission begins

[Host background changed to an underworld mercenary hired by Dr. Jack Byron, leader of the Rainforest Exploration Technology Team at Byron Mitchell Biotech, to protect him on his journey to Borneo to collect Blood Orchids.]

[Current time: one hour before the Rainforest Exploration Technology Team boards its flight.]

[Note: during all missions, the host gains proficiency in the world's major spoken and written languages.]

"Hey, buddy, that's a cool outfit."

Just as Kazuhiko Uchiha finished receiving this information, a young Black man pushed open the door and walked in. He stared in surprise at Kazuhiko's ninja outfit, then asked warmly, "We're about to leave. Are you ready?"

Kazuhiko Uchiha recognized him as the lucky survivor who had barely made it to the end of the movie. He stood up and answered with a light smile, "Of course. Ready whenever you are."

"Then let's go. Dr. Jack can hardly wait."

Following the young Black man, Kazuhiko Uchiha joined the members of the Rainforest Exploration Technology Team and headed to the airport to catch their flight to Borneo.

Along the way, the friendly young man, Kerr, introduced everyone, giving Kazuhiko Uchiha an overview of the entire team.

There was the brilliant scientist Dr. Jack Byron and his beautiful assistant, Sam Rogers; Jordan Mitchell, the burly Black man responsible for the team's finances; Gail Steed, who supervised the expedition's work; Ben Doug, the team doctor; and Kerr Burris, the young Black man in charge of planning their route.

Apart from Kerr, everyone regarded Kazuhiko Uchiha with distrust. Even Dr. Jack Byron, who had posted the mission on the black market, wondered whether he had been swindled. After all, Kazuhiko Uchiha looked like nothing more than an ordinary middle-school boy.

Kazuhiko Uchiha offered no explanation. He would have plenty of opportunities to prove his strength later, so he simply continued his training throughout the journey.

A day later, they arrived in Paran Province, Borneo, ready to board the passenger boat they had chartered and travel to the rainforest where the Blood Orchids grew.

What the expedition had not expected was that the rainy season had arrived early that year. Water levels in every river had surged, flooding the formerly safe routes.

As a result, all passenger boat companies had suspended their services. Even those with advance bookings had received refunds of their deposits along with compensation.

"Damn it, there's only one week left in the Blood Orchids' flowering season."

Upon hearing the news, Dr. Jack punched the wall. He had fought hard to secure this opportunity from the company to search for the Blood Orchids. He could not simply give up.

Fortunately, his beautiful assistant, Sam, came over just then with information she had gathered from the locals. "There's a local captain named Jin Song. Apparently, he's willing to take anyone upriver, as long as they pay him enough dollars."

"Then let's find him right away."

Determined to catch the last of the flowering season, Dr. Jack made an immediate decision. With Kazuhiko Uchiha accompanying him, he went to a bar packed with a motley crowd and found the private boat captain known to the locals as Jin Song, whose actual name was Bill Johnson.

After some bargaining, Dr. Jack hired Bill's boat for fifty thousand dollars.

The next day, Kazuhiko Uchiha boarded Bill's boat, the Bloody Mary, with the rest of the team and set off toward the rainforest upriver.

The Bloody Mary sounded like the name of a luxurious cruise ship, but it was actually a battered little boat with sheet-metal patches covering even its cabin.

There was little room inside, and with everyone aboard, it felt extremely cramped. Combined with the tropical heat and humidity, this made Kazuhiko Uchiha, who had always lived in a dry, temperate climate, somewhat uncomfortable. The effect on his combat strength, however, was negligible.

When the weather finally cleared, Kazuhiko Uchiha jumped onto the cabin roof and gathered some leaves that had fallen onto the boat. He practiced controlling his primal energy by separating the veins from the flesh of each leaf.

Primal energy was a benefit granted upon activating the system. It replaced the host's original energy attribute with a primordial chaos attribute capable of merging with and imitating the energies of myriad worlds, allowing the host to strengthen himself using items from different times and dimensions.

Although the energy's attribute had changed to primal energy, neither its quality nor its total quantity changed. Kazuhiko Uchiha's energy remained at the quality of chakra. Only after he obtained a way to acquire higher-level energy, such as the power of nature or immortal energy from an immortal realm, could he raise his primal energy's quality to the corresponding level.

Before long, the other members of the expedition gradually came out to get some air beneath the canopy on the forward deck, discussing the next stage of their journey.

"From here, we follow the main channel, enter the Man River, then turn at this fork and go straight to our destination. Ha ha, I'm a genius." The talkative young Kerr took out his laptop and proudly described the route he had planned.

"Then we'll take that route," Dr. Jack said, placing considerable trust in Kerr's abilities. He turned to Captain Bill and asked, "Can you get us there within three days?"

"Don't worry. I'll get you there." Captain Bill, who had spent years navigating these rivers, was full of confidence. Unfortunately, he had no idea what terrifying creatures awaited them at their destination.

Just as Kazuhiko Uchiha used up all the leaves and prepared to practice Taijutsu, a scream suddenly rang out from the cabin.

Not knowing what had happened, Kazuhiko Uchiha instantly jumped down from the roof and positioned himself in front of Dr. Jack to protect him.

Everyone stared nervously toward the cabin. Jordan, the burly Black man, shouted inside, "What happened?"

Gail, the supervisor, ran out and threw herself against Jordan's chest. Pointing toward the cabin in panic, she cried, "Something attacked me! There's something in there!"

Kazuhiko Uchiha's mission was only to keep Dr. Jack safe, so he did not leave his employer to investigate the cabin. Captain Bill, the boat's owner, refused to believe that anything could have sneaked aboard his little vessel. Ignoring the others' objections, he entered the cabin alone.

But Kazuhiko Uchiha soon recalled what had happened in the movie. He cast a speechless glance at Gail, who was on the verge of tears, then jumped back onto the roof and began his basic Taijutsu training.

Soon, Captain Bill emerged carrying a white-throated capuchin with a white head and black body. He teased her with a smile, "Hey, beautiful, you've scared my Little Gang half to death."

Seeing that the "attacker" was an adorable pet, everyone relaxed after the false alarm and looked teasingly at the still-shaken Gail.

Gail grew increasingly embarrassed under their gazes. Her face flushed as she pulled away from Jordan's arms, glared fiercely at Captain Bill and Little Gang, then retreated into the cabin in mortification.

Captain Bill shrugged, set Little Gang down, and returned to the forward deck to rest. Still, recalling Kazuhiko Uchiha's swift, efficient movements earlier, he could not help feeling curious.

That evening, Captain Bill used several large fish he had caught along the way during the day's voyage to prepare a lavish fish feast for everyone.

Kazuhiko Uchiha did not eat Captain Bill's meal. Instead, he took some packaged food he had personally bought in a city shop before boarding out of his storage space. After eating a little, he returned to the cabin to rest with his eyes closed.

Late that night, Kazuhiko Uchiha opened his eyes from his light sleep and silently jumped onto the cabin roof without disturbing anyone.

Gazing at the pitch-black forest along the riverbank, Kazuhiko Uchiha frowned slightly and murmured, "I didn't expect to encounter giant pythons here already. Looks like there are far more of them in this rainforest than in the movie."

After thinking it over, Kazuhiko Uchiha decided that this was only natural. The movie from his previous life had used special effects, after all. With the technology available at the time, creating too many giant pythons would have driven the costs so high that few investors would have accepted them.

This, however, was a real world. After years of survival and reproduction, the giant pythons probably numbered dozens of times more than those in the movie.

Even so, Kazuhiko Uchiha was confident that he could keep Dr. Jack alone safe, provided the doctor did not go looking for death himself.

He kept watch on the roof for a while longer. Only after the mutant giant pythons in the forest moved away did Kazuhiko Uchiha return to the cabin to rest with peace of mind.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, until an urgent cry for help once again shattered the Bloody Mary's peace the following morning.