According to Jangxia's earlier investigation, the sports car spotted on surveillance was being driven by Stalker No. 1.
And Stalker No. 1 was headed straight to Yoko Kinoshita's apartment.
So Jangxia grabbed his tools, hopped onto his motorcycle, and also made his way toward Yoko Kinoshita's place.
Just as he twisted the throttle and shot out of his yard, he caught sight of Dr. Agasa trudging toward his house, cradling a bizarre-looking contraption.
Hearing the engine roar, Dr. Agasa looked up. He spotted Jangxia and enthusiastically waved, clearly hoping to rope him into trying out his latest invention.
Jangxia paused mentally for a mere 0.1 seconds, torn between "stop and listen to the old man" and "pretend I didn't see anything." Naturally, he chose the latter.
Out of 100 of Dr. Agasa's inventions, 80 either explode or electrocute you.
Usually, Jangxia would suit up in full-body armor and check out the doctor's latest gadget—sometimes, they actually turned out useful. But not today.
Today, he was busy.
Very busy.
And he was not in the mood to be blown up.
He revved the motorcycle and zoomed past Dr. Agasa without mercy.
The good doctor was left choking in a cloud of exhaust. He coughed and waved away the fumes, watching Jangxia's shrinking silhouette with a sigh. It was the same kind of sorrowful vibe as someone carrying a guqin to play for their soulmate, only to discover said soulmate had moved cities in the night.
…No, Jangxia wasn't that kind of person.
This must've just been a misunderstanding. Surely, Jangxia didn't see him—he was wearing a helmet, after all. That must've blocked his vision.
Dr. Agasa consoled himself with this theory and immediately felt better.
He patted the invention gently and decided to just show it to Jangxia tomorrow.
Hopefully, it wouldn't be broken by then.
With that, Dr. Agasa turned back toward his house.
Just as he reached his front door, he saw Shinichi Kudo walking up the street with a rather cheerful expression.
Dr. Agasa's eyes lit up. He waved and called out, "Something good happen? Come check out my new invention while we chat!"
Shinichi awkwardly scratched the back of his head and answered only the first part of the question: "Nothing special… I just lost a bet with Ran, so now I have to take her to Tropical Land this weekend."
Then his expression shifted. He flatly rejected the second part of the invitation: "No."
Clearly, he too understood that Dr. Agasa's gadgets were a fire hazard waiting to happen.
"…Tch." Dr. Agasa sighed deeply. These bratty kids.
Jangxia, at least, knew how to respect his elders. Other than being almost blind, the kid had no major flaws.
Feeling unappreciated, Dr. Agasa trudged back inside with his invention, radiating disappointment.
…
Jangxia's house was closer to Yoko Kinoshita's apartment than Stalker No. 1's starting point.
By the time he arrived, the stalker's car was still en route.
Jangxia had seen Yoko's schedule—she had a livestream this afternoon and wouldn't be home any time soon.
Her apartment building had 30 floors, and the front door of the building was locked.
Jangxia could pick locks—he'd learned how—but he hadn't found the energy source to heal his wrist. No more casual flicks to pop a lock open in seconds. These days, it took too long and carried a high risk of getting caught.
Still, there was a simple workaround.
He hung around nearby, pretending to do nothing in particular.
Soon enough, another tenant returned. Jangxia silently followed behind them and slipped into the building. If questioned, he planned to say he'd just forgotten his key.
The elderly auntie he'd tailed inside glanced back suspiciously after the door closed.
But when she got a proper look at him, her expression softened.
Once inside the elevator, she even helped him press the button and nodded at him with a kind smile.
…
Yoko Kinoshita lived on the 25th floor.
To play it safe, Jangxia exited on the 27th and used the fire escape to go down.
Once he confirmed the hallway was empty, he ducked into the stairwell's shadows and set up a small camera behind the door, angling it for a clear view.
A few minutes passed.
Ding—the elevator arrived.
The clack of high heels echoed down the corridor as someone stepped out and walked directly toward Yoko's door.
Jangxia peeked out from the stairwell.
A slim woman with a back uncannily similar to Yoko's stood in the corridor.
This was who he had dubbed "Stalker No. 1"—Yoko Kinoshita's professional rival, Yuko Ikezawa.
Jangxia silently aimed his camera.
This world really was matching up to the anime he'd seen—only the details were off. Like "Miss Yoko" having a different surname… and a miscarriage...
Anyway, the point was: with spoilers on his side, life got much easier.
Jangxia activated his totally fake "prophetic" power.
—If memory served, there were actually two stalkers making Yoko miserable.
One was the woman now strutting around in stilettos, Ikezawa Yuko.
The other was Yoko's clingy ex-boyfriend.
The ex wanted to get back together.
Ikezawa, meanwhile, was just a petty queen who couldn't handle Yoko being more popular and wanted to ruin her.
A while back, Ikezawa had stolen Yoko's spare house key from her manager, thus beginning a long-running harassment campaign.
Now that he'd pieced things together, Jangxia felt this could be resolved fairly easily.
Neither stalker was that impressive. Worst-case scenario, he'd just toss them in sacks and teach them a lesson.
But more important than punishing them was making sure the ghost involved accepted reality...
…
Ikezawa had looked around nervously when she first exited the elevator.
But after that brief glance, she relaxed. Holding the stolen key, she confidently opened the door to Yoko's apartment.
Most people get anxious breaking into unfamiliar places.
Not Ikezawa. She'd done this before. By now, entering Yoko's home was more familiar than going back to her own place.
She was totally at ease—too much so to notice the camera recording her from the darkness.