I knew it was a silly show,
but I thought a connection to a TV station might come in handy.
That's not what I'm asking.
I expect you to behave like a Hebinuma.
You are much too vulgar.
I will take it to heart, Father.
Miyuki, come closer.
What's the update on Gene Terra and the Zirconian project?
We're currently gathering information.
We're not ready to present it to you.
I'm prepared to take action should your plan fail.
Don't mistake me for just a lonely old man.
I would never.
It doesn't have to be Zirconians.
You already secured vessels for orthodox clones.
Did you think I didn't know that?
On a different note, I hear you have a new pet dog.
Oh, welcome home, Miyuki-chan!
You went to your dad's house, right?
You must be tired.
G-Gwen-sama...
You're still here?
Oh, I never gave you palimony, did I?
Let me issue you an electronic check.
You can name your price—
Are you messing with me?
I need you to talk to me.
Did something happen with your dad?
It doesn't concern you.
Revenge isn't what you really want to live for, is it?
I will decide what I live for.
It's none of your business.
Stop ruining your future yourself!
Miyuki-chan, choose me.
I'll follow you no matter where you go, and I'll take you wherever you want to go.
You shouldn't promise something like that.
You'll never be free to go anywhere.
If you don't leave, I'll call someone—
Pain helps you remember, right?
Like the other pains you carved into your body.
Get out.
Miyuki-chan... I love you.
"Never be free to go anywhere," huh?
Do you like goldfish?
Huh?
You're always admiring them.
Oh, did you used to keep one?
Oh, no, never.
I can't keep a pet.
Because then you'll never be free to go anywhere.
Oh yeah...
Here. The Landing Case Files.
The Landing Cases File Part 2 \hBy Yu Asahi
You don't have Part 2, do you?
I wanted to know what happened next.
I'm actually good.
What?! You're not curious what happens next?
Part 1 wasn't interesting enough for you?
Oh, it was.
That's why I don't want to read it.
It'd be a shame if the sequel is boring.
Right now, it's in the perfect spot. So I won't wish for anything more.
I don't want to change my world.
I don't want to regret it.
Why would you say that when you've got such good luck?
I don't regret things, even when I lose.
Isn't that how life is supposed to be?
I love that about you, Hajime-kun.
Stop using "-kun" for me.
Oh, I think it's cute.
KOWLOON NEWS SECOND KOWLOON WALLED CITY TO BE DEMOLISHED HEBINUMA GROUP
Still, they've decided to demolish Kowloon.
I hear the residents will be forced to vacate.
What will you do?
Waiting for instructions from the company.
Either go back to Japan or get transferred to Hong Kong, I guess.
Gwen, what about you?
I'm a drifter, so I guess I'll live hand-to-mouth in Hong Kong.
Then I'll see you again.
Crap! I'm meeting with Xiaohei.
Xiaohei?
Yeah! She was looking for a room in Kowloon, but I guess that won't work out.
Xiaohei is?
Xiaohei, huh?
Yeah? What of it?!
It's nothing.
You don't want to make her wait.
R-Right.
Let's get drinks tonight, Gwen.
I'll stop by again later.
Oh no, he left it behind.
Are you really not going to read it?
No.
My story is not going to end, nor will it continue.
Maaumi Workshop
Fabric
Sewing Tools
This is Cactus Transport!
I'm here to pick up your packages.
Thank you, I've been waiting for you!
Hello.
What a hottie!
May I ask what your name is?
I-I'm Gwen Tao.
Crap, she was so forceful, I blurted out my real name.
Gwen-san!
My name is Yaomay.
Nice to meet... huh?
He's tall, has long hair, and his name is Gwen.
You fit the description Reko-pon gave me.
Are you the server from Goldfish Teahouse?!
So you've been looking for me?
You know Reiko Kujirai, right?
I do. The one that's not you.
Then there are two of me? I'm a clone?
There are two of you too, no?
It seems that way. But not a clone.
Then what is it?
I don't know that either.
And the second version of me is gone.
How do you know that?
Because he is a fake.
I'm real, so I'm here.
The Reiko Kujirai I know is the real one as well.
Hold on!
If you say you're real since you're here,
then isn't Reko-pon real? She's here too!
Your case is different than mine.
Because the real Reiko Kujirai is dead?
Did I say it so clearly?
Kudo-san told me.
He said he killed her.
Did Kudo-san say that?
Yes.
Kudo-san didn't kill her.
They'd just gotten engaged.
Th-Then I'm going to flat out ask you.
How did she die?
You're in love with Kudo-san, aren't you?
Do you really want to know?
The cause of the death of the person you're derived from...
You might follow the same fate if you hear it.
I mean, you already have feelings for Kudo-san like she did.
Who I like is because of my own feelings!
I'm not copying anyone.
That's right!
We are our absolute selves!
You don't remind me of Reiko-san like the last time I met you.
What?
You look like you.
Oh, my break is over.
I have to go back.
I'll stay a while longer.
I want to speak to Gwen-kun a little more.
Right.
Um, I'm glad I got to speak with you today.
Can we talk again?
Sure, that's fine.
Mmm, so yummy!
You should have some.
I'm good. Thank you, though.
I don't remember seeing someone
as eye-catching as her when I was in Kowloon.
How long have you been in Kowloon, Yaomay-chan?
About six months, I guess?
You didn't know about Kowloon before that, by any chance?
Wait, how did you know that?!
This place is much more dangerous than you think.
Really?
Have you been feeling okay since you moved here?
Huh? I feel just fine.
But I guess I've gone through a change, of a sort.
What sort?
Well, the way I look now isn't how I've always looked.
But the other day, I went back to my former appearance.
Former?
It wasn't a hallucination or anything.
Strange, huh?
I believe you. I had a second version of myself, after all.
How did you fix it?
It was thanks to Reko-pon!
She made my current me into my absolute self.
You mentioned "absolute self" earlier.
What does it mean?
It means believing in yourself!
In your clothes, shoes, food, and words...
It's about choosing what your heart desires.
Choosing...
People tend to tell small lies to themselves, you know?
If you do that for too long, you'll end up as a fake self.
But if you quit doing that and continue to do what your heart truly desires,
you can become your absolute self.
Even if I come to regret it, I'd rather be a real me than a fake one.
I will decide what I live for.
Maybe it was the same for Miyuki-chan.
Hmm?
Oh, never mind.
Hey, are there other people who have second versions of themselves?
Oh, maybe. But—
Kudo-san!
Kudo-san?
There's something about him.
Gwen-kun, I'd like for you to meet him and see if he's real.
Okay. I was going to see him anyhow.
Thank you!
Kudo-san is real, no doubt about it.
Who could have done something so cruel?
In order to achieve immortality,
concrete memories matter more than a lasting body.
Generic Terra makes that possible.
If you lose your memories due to an accident or sickness,
you can be restored to yourself by syncing to the memories stored in Generic Terra.
Memories you don't want to lose, memories that need to be protected...
Have you never wished that for yourself or someone else?
Hey! I was saving those cup noodles for when I have to work late!
I'm sorry. I didn't get to eat lunch today.
You seem to be enjoying yourself lately.
Your crow's feet have gotten worse.
That's none of your business!
Wrinkles are the proof of what kind of life that person has led so far.
So more wrinkles means that I'm alive.
Don't forget to restock the cup noodles.
We can go buy some together.
Sure, we'll do that tomorrow.
Okay.
That's right.
Eating good food with friends and enjoying myself...
Feeling happy over things people say to me.
Things like that are carved into me, and they become proof that I am me.
Wow. I have turned into me!
Then what about Kudo-san?
He lost his fiancée.
He longs for nostalgia and despises change.
And he works with me, a total stranger with the same face as her.
What do Kudo-san's days look like from his point of view?
Wong Clinic
Next patient.
You're here early, Miyuki.
It's nice to see you, Dr. Wong.
Can I get pregnant?
According to my assessment, no.
Your body has both female and male genitalia.
But neither has reproductive function.
Then what about becoming a vessel?
A vessel?
You mean using in vitro fertilization to transfer an embryo to your uterus?
Still impossible. It wouldn't develop.
Is this related to Gene Terra?
Dr. Wong, you're still against the Gene Terra project, aren't you?
Did you say Miyuki is here?
You're awfully early.
Good morning, Yulong.
What were you two talking about?
That Dr. Wong is against Gene Terra.
Oh, that again?
But you know what, doctor? That thing can be used for treatment.
But that's not its true purpose.
Hebinuma's... no, your intention lies—
I was hoping to speak with Yulong today as well.
I haven't much time, so please excuse me.
Miyuki, it's not commendable to live for revenge.
Your dad wants to restore his dead son.
He believes this will be possible with Gene Terra's memory back-up function
But you have no interest in helping him do that.
I'll simply restore his son without any memories.
His looks, voice, warmth, everything will be just as it used to be.
But the beloved son won't have any of his memories.
Get his hopes up and kick him down to hell.
What a lovely person you are.
Well, it sounds entertaining, so I won't interfere.
That place has dead people living there just as they used to be.
That's exactly what we're trying to create:
the Zirconians.
It's not just those who've passed.
They replicated the Second Walled City of Kowloon that no longer exists.
We need to know how that works to move forward.
While some can see the restored Kowloon, others can't.
I loved Kowloon!
How come you can see it and I can't?!
That's not fair!
Not my problem.
We both grew up in Kowloon, but there's a discrepancy.
There's got to be a condition, a reason why some can see it and some can't.
It can't be about length of residency, though.
Right.
I'm sure Gwen didn't live in Kowloon as long as I did, but he can see it.
Oh, your ex-boyfriend.
He lived there until the Second Kowloon was destroyed,
and says the current Kowloon looks different from what he remembers.
Hmm. This Kowloon is different from the one in your ex's memory.
Oh, speaking of which, there's a celebrity in Kowloon.
A celebrity?
The daughter of an actress, Yangli, named Yaomay.
That's not the face I know.
Plastic surgery?
The medical record I hacked is a match for the info
you got from her health checkup in Kowloon.
There's no doubt it's her.
She lives there? When she's actual flesh and blood?
Why would someone like that choose to live in Kowloon?
Judging by the news from back then, she disappeared all of a sudden.
She was a sheltered girl,
so maybe she didn't know about Kowloon?
That means even people who don't know Kowloon can see it.
That broadens the criteria.
We'll have to broaden our way of thinking as well.
Meaning?
Hong Kong, as a place, attracts incredibly strong energies.
And Kowloon's share of it is massive.
If you make something like Generic Terra right above Hong Kong,
it's only natural that things would be affected somehow.
Now we're talking about feng shui?
Anti-Gene Terra people talk about concerns with disturbing the climate,
but feng shui is only superstition.
You think so?
At the bottom of it, I think feng shui is very scientific.
Environmental engineering, geography, architecture, astronomy...
They're all sciences that help people better navigate their lives, which is feng shui.
Continue.
Here's my hypothesis.
Gene Terra disturbed the flow of energy, then it resonated with something
and materialized an illusion of the Second Kowloon.
And only those who resonate with it can see it.
Resonate with what?
That, I don't know!
Can you really call that a hypothesis?
That's why I'm saying we need to broaden the criteria.
It's about the possibilities!
What on earth would I be resonating with?
Well, human beings can't help but see what they want to see.
Your pitch for Gene Terra exploits that too.
You say it's whatever they want it to be,
and hope mass psychology leads them to feeling positively about it, right?
Are you saying that Kowloon is the same?
That I see it because I want to?
I wish I could say that, but...
That unfortunately doesn't stand, since I want to see it but can't,
and those who don't know Kowloon can see it too.
You can't want to see something you don't know.
So Kowloon isn't the common denominator?
Kowloon appeared when it resonated with something,
but we don't know what that "something" is.
And there are people like me who resonate with it,
but we don't know why that is, either.
Right.
I'm leaving.
What can I do? I don't have enough information!
I'll look into it myself.
Continue your work with Gene Terra.
Got it.
That's right on track.
Who's that?
A new assistant I hired.
He's an interesting one. Wears all kinds of outfits.
I'm counting on new information on Kowloon from you.
Keep an eye out for anything unnatural.
Catching stuff like that should give us a clearer picture.
Anything unnatural...
You keep your guard up too.
You need to keep your guard up too, Miyuki.
Don't get swallowed up by Kowloon.
I went to a sushi place for lunch with Yaomay,
but there was char siu pork on vinegared rice.
So typical when you're abroad!
International cuisine in Kowloon is somewhat Chinese style to begin with.
Maybe I need to go to its birthplace to taste authentic food.
You can find world cuisine right here.
Huh?
Instant Noodles
That's just instant noodles.
You idiot! Take a good look!
Saag gosht noodles from India!
Saag Gosht Noodles
Escargot Noodles
Escargot noodles from France!
Tteokbokki noodles from Korea!
Taco noodles from Mexico!
Borscht Noodles
Goulash Noodles
Goulash noodles... where is that from?
They're all cup noodles!
Made in Japan, no less!
Come on, cup noodles are an epoch-making invention Japan should be proud of!
Forget it.
I'll buy detergent while we're at it, since we ran out.
Travel Guidebook
A trip, huh?
I've never thought about it.
Oh, this looks good.
I wonder if Yaomay would go with me.
A trip? Are you really interested in traveling abroad that much?
I mean, I want more than cup noodles.
I only know Kowloon, so I want to go visit different places.
Seeing all kinds of sights and eating all kinds of food...
If I like it, maybe I'll think about moving there.
Huh? Are you—
Because...
In his treasured, nostalgic, and unchanging days...
In Kudo-san's life, the only thing that's fake is me.
I've been thinking that it might be better if I weren't around you.
I mean... don't you think so?
If I hang around you all the time with the same face as your late fiancée,
you'll never be able to move on.
Oh no, I can't stop myself.
It would be better if I weren't in Kowloon—
Don't go anywhere.
Stay by me.
Always.
But...
What's going on?
An explosion?!
It's in the direction of Sai Hing Tower!
I'll go check it out!
You go back to the office, all right?
Butter corn Noodles