144 You’re Overthinking It
Finding his window seat on the plane, Wang Heng sat down. He didn’t put his backpack in the overhead compartment but placed it on his lap.
After a while, when the plane was ready to take off, a flight attendant came over and reminded him, “Sir, please place your luggage under the seat in front of you. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Wang Heng did as he was told, and after putting the bag down, he obediently fastened his seatbelt.
A few minutes later, he saw a small gray figure dart under the seat in front of him and silently burrow into the side pocket of the backpack—although he knew this guy would be fine, seeing it with his own eyes still made him breathe a sigh of relief.
After waiting for a long time, the plane finally started to taxi, circled the runway a few times, and took off.
This was the first time Wang Heng’s current body had flown, but in the memories of the first timeline, he was all too familiar with it. The acceleration during takeoff, the body trembling with the fuselage, the feeling of being pushed back into the seat, and the weightlessness of suddenly leaving the ground and rushing into the sky were all familiar experiences.
When the plane climbed steadily to a certain altitude, Wang Heng picked up his backpack and placed it on his lap.
He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, then took the little thing out of the side pocket of the backpack, unzipped the main compartment, and put it inside.
This way, it was easier to communicate. He just had to bury his face in the backpack to hear the hamster’s whisper. The sound was blocked by the canvas material of the backpack, so other passengers around him wouldn’t hear it.
The hamster: “What do you plan to do after landing? Where are you going to buy the stuff?”
Wang Heng: “Don’t worry about this. I’ve arranged everything.”
The hamster: “Using the dark web?”
Wang Heng: “Yeah. Edo is an international metropolis with many dark web users. The little thing I want can be solved with one Bitcoin.”
After speaking, he didn’t hear the hamster’s response, only a rustling sound, as if… the hamster was rummaging through things?
A moment later, the hamster said faintly, “You didn’t bring melon seeds.”
Wang Heng: “You didn’t remind me either.”
The hamster: “Why does this line sound so familiar?”
Wang Heng: “Learned it from you.”
The hamster: “…”
“How about this? As long as you complete the mission successfully, I’ll buy you melon seeds immediately, as many as you want!”
Just as he finished speaking, Wang Heng heard the flight attendant’s slightly puzzled voice:
“Sir, what are you doing?”
Wang Heng looked up, looked at the flight attendant, and then at the middle-aged woman beside him who looked disgusted and silently moved away from him—what were their expressions?
The flight attendant added, “Sir, are you feeling unwell? There is a sickness bag under the tray table in front of you…”
Looking at their strange eyes, Wang Heng finally understood where the misunderstanding lay.
“Uh, I don’t want to vomit, and it’s impossible for me to vomit in my backpack. I just want to be alone for a while.”
Want to be alone, so you stick your head in your bag?
The flight attendant and the middle-aged woman beside him didn’t say anything more, but their eyes became even weirder.
And Wang Heng secretly resolved that for the rest of the journey, he would just look at the clouds outside the window. Anyway, he couldn’t talk to the hamster anymore.
**
At dusk, the plane landed at Edo International Airport.
Carrying his backpack, Wang Heng got off the plane calmly and walked into the terminal along the passage. After exchanging a lot of cash, he walked out of the terminal and took a taxi.
If it were Wang Ke, who often read original Japanese manga, he might be able to talk to the driver in half-baked Japanese. But Wang Heng, apart from “Kimochi” and “Yamete,” didn’t understand many words. Fortunately, the advancement of technology made communication easier and easier.
Wang Heng took out a smart translator, said where he wanted to go, and then played the translated Japanese for the driver.
The driver didn’t hesitate, agreed, and stepped on the gas. And of the driver’s sentence, Wang Heng could only understand the first “Hai.”(Yes)
Outside the window were well-arranged street scenes and a clear blue sky. Although it was also a modern metropolis, it had to be said that the cityscapes of different countries were still somewhat different.
However, Wang Heng was not in the mood to appreciate the exotic scenery. Thinking about what he was going to do later, a vague anxiety lingered in his chest.
After half an hour of silence, Wang Heng finally arrived at his destination. Paid, got off.
This was a seemingly ordinary grocery store located on a deserted street corner. Wang Heng took out his phone to identify it and confirmed that the destination was here, this grocery store.
But he didn’t walk in. Instead, he took the hamster out of his backpack.
“It’s up to you now. Go, Pikachu.”
Wang Heng threw it out.
The hamster landed on the ground, rolled twice, turned back, and wanted to give him the middle finger. However, a hamster’s paw only has four fingers, which means it’s impossible to define one as the ‘middle finger’.
So the hamster could only stick out its tongue at him viciously and pat its butt to show contempt. Then it twisted its body and rushed into the grocery store.
Wang Heng sat on a bench by the roadside and observed the surroundings.
Very good. No pedestrians, no cameras or anything like that. So there would be no extra witnesses to what was about to happen.
A moment later, the hamster ran out with a stationery bag in its mouth and returned to his feet.
If this scene were filmed and put on YouTube, it would obviously become popular, but unfortunately, no one noticed.
Wang Heng scooped up the hamster and put it into his backpack along with the stationery bag. Then just as he was about to get up, he heard the hamster’s protest:
“Buy melon seeds first!”
“The whole mission isn’t finished yet,” Wang Heng reminded.
The hamster clung to the zipper of the backpack and refused to go in, shouting, “Half finished. Advance payment, give me the advance payment first!”
Wang Heng lowered his head and pondered, “Advance payment…”
The hamster kicked him on the back and said heartbrokenly, “Sincerity! You have to show your sincerity! How can you be so stingy when asking for help?”
Wang Heng sighed. “Fine, I’ll give you a few first.”
“Heavens!” the hamster lamented. “Only a few?”
Wang Heng: “I’ll buy you a bag, okay? The problem is, where can I buy melon seeds around here?”
The hamster: “Remember the subway station we passed on the way here? Take the subway, go two stops east along the Tozai Line, then exit the station, and you can see a small pet supply store.”
Wang Heng nodded, took a few steps, but suddenly stopped.
He asked suspiciously, “If I go there, will I run into Lu Qi?”
The hamster: “You’re overthinking it…”
Wang Heng: “With you, I have to overthink. Don’t evade my question, don’t change the subject. Tell me directly, is it possible to run into Lu Qi if I go in the direction you said?”
The hamster fell silent.
Wang Heng held it in his hand and stared straight at it.
After a long while, the hamster finally sighed. “Fine. Walk three hundred meters west, and there’s another small pet supply store.”
Wang Heng sneered. “Am I overthinking it?”
