"Can you get the airline to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport? That man took off about an hour ago and should be approaching Hong Kong by now. We need to intercept him."
The urgency of the matter quickly spurred Nianzi into action. She turned to Joseph Joestar and said, "Even though Shunan is DIO's son, DIO stole your ancestor's body to resurrect himself, so that child also carries your family's blood. You’ll save him, won’t you?"
"This has nothing to do with whose child he is. Of course we’ll save him if we can!"
Joseph Joestar agreed swiftly but then frowned, explaining the core issue. "But even I can’t guarantee the airline will comply with such a request. Without extraordinary circumstances, they won’t authorize an emergency landing. By the time their executives hold a meeting and approve the plan, the plane will likely be near Singapore. And the bigger problem is that his accomplice has issued a terrorist threat—the airport will remain locked down until he’s caught!"
"Then we’ll just find his accomplice."
Kujo Jotaro, who had been silently listening, cut in.
"It’s not that simple!" Joseph shook his head. "'Gray Fly' has successfully carried out attacks for over twenty years without ever being caught. Every crash he engineered left no survivors, and since they all happened over the ocean, the wreckage was never recovered. No one knows his true identity. The international police’s initial profile only suggests he’s a man over forty, but there are tens of thousands of people stranded at the airport right now. Frankly, it’s impossible to narrow it down."
"No, there’s a way."
Nianzi answered with firm resolve. "We don’t even need to hunt for 'Gray Fly.' The enemy’s goal is clearly to stop us, so if we insist on boarding a flight, he’ll have no choice but to be on the same plane—and he’ll definitely make a move. Once he exposes himself, we just kill him."
At that moment, Nianzi felt her intelligence stat had skyrocketed to 9. This was the perfect plan.
"……"
But her proposal left both Joseph and Kujo Jotaro stunned. They gaped at her, falling into a long silence.
System Notification:
Joseph Joestar disapproves.
Kujo Jotaro approves.
"No, this is far too reckless!" Joseph snapped out of his shock and vehemently opposed the idea. "The fatality rate in plane crashes is extremely high. We know too little about our enemy, and he clearly has a way to survive a crash. What if he kills the pilots first? We can’t gamble with the lives of other passengers!"
"Then what do you suggest?" Nianzi frowned, displeased. "If you’re afraid of a plane crash, should we never fly again? When there’s a problem, we should find a way to solve it."
If they were too scared, she’d just board the flight alone. She’d been itching for a fight, and ordinary opponents gave too little experience. She couldn’t afford to miss any of DIO’s subordinates.
"I’ll figure something out."
Joseph paused, then looked at Nianzi with sudden seriousness. He extended an unexpected invitation.
"Our goal is to find DIO and settle things once and for all. DIO is gathering evil individuals worldwide to expand his influence. If we leave him unchecked, he’ll bring chaos to society and ruin innocent lives. You, like us, possess extraordinary power. So I’m asking you to join our team. But this is entirely voluntary—I won’t force you, and I can’t make any promises. This will be an extremely dangerous mission. There’s a good chance none of us will make it back alive..."
"I’m in."
Nianzi cut him off before he could finish. "When do we leave?"
"Not that soon..." Joseph was taken aback by her immediate agreement. "I still need to prepare. For now, go home and pack. If you change your mind, that’s fine—just give us your answer tomorrow morning when we come to pick you up."
"Fine."
Nianzi agreed for the time being. Since flying wasn’t an option right now, she’d wait and see what the old man had planned for tomorrow.
"Going to Egypt isn’t a quick round trip. I’ll bring everything I need."
"Then it’s settled." Joseph nodded, then turned to Kujo Jotaro. "You take her home."
"Don’t order me around."
Despite his words, Kujo Jotaro started his motorcycle and drove Nianzi back to the café. He didn’t speak a word to her, only giving her a brief glance before speeding off down her street.
Back in her attic room, Nianzi scribbled a quick note for Mr. Mikawa, telling him she’d be on a school hiking trip for a few days. Then she tossed some clothes, lockpicking tools, trap-disarming gear, and homework into her suitcase.
She wasn’t sure why she owned so many suspicious items—maybe she was the sketchiest one here.
But the homework was non-negotiable. Finals were approaching, and good grades would give her a major charm boost—essential for this dating sim. She had to manage her time wisely.
After washing up, Nianzi succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep, only to be plagued by fragmented nightmares.
Usually, her dreams involved her killing people, being Hannibal Lecter, or getting parasites shoved into her by octopus-faced monsters. But this time, she found herself in a dark, endless void, inches away from something—when suddenly, someone stabbed her from behind.
As she collapsed, she saw a woman with pale, pupil-less eyes, clad in armor made of human flesh and tissue. The woman cackled madly as she dug, scooped, and sliced into Nianzi’s brain until consciousness slipped away...
"!!"
Nianzi jolted awake, gasping. The experience felt so real it left her breathless.
Was this someone else’s memory? It couldn’t be hers...
She instinctively touched the back of her head—her skull was intact, no wounds. Aside from her jumbled memories, her brain showed no signs of damage. Besides, no one could survive that kind of mutilation...
Shaking off the nightmare, she dragged her packed luggage downstairs, brewed a cup of coffee, and waited for the Joestars while watching the morning news.
For some reason, they were late.
It wasn’t until past nine that a car finally pulled up outside the café. Joseph and the others stepped out, but they all looked unusually grim. Among them was Kakyoin Noriaki—no surprise there. Nianzi figured he’d want to settle things with DIO too.
"You’re late."
Nianzi frowned as she looked at them, then greeted Kakyoin. "Are you planning to come along?"
"Of course. Isn’t that the same for you, Nianzi?"
Kakyoin smiled gently at her. In his usual state, he carried the polite yet reserved demeanor typical of many Japanese—not overly warm, but undeniably courteous.
"Thank you again for what happened earlier. Let’s continue to work together, and don’t hesitate to ask if there’s anything I can do."
Nianzi’s gaze lingered on the health bar above Kakyoin’s head before she abruptly asked, "Can we fight again?"
She was still 78 experience points short of leveling up. With no enemies in sight, she’d spent the entire night thinking about how to grind for more.
Joseph Joestar was off-limits if she wanted to maintain his goodwill. Kujo Jotaro wouldn’t go easy on her, making him a tough opponent. And Avdol, who was close with Joseph, was also out of the question. That left Kakyoin Noriaki—maybe she could negotiate another sparring session.
"..."
Kakyoin’s composed expression faltered for a moment before he let out a strained laugh. "...Please spare me. I’ve just recovered from serious injuries, and my head still hurts."
He refused.
"Enough joking around!"
Joseph’s face was heavy with worry. He dismissed Nianzi’s remark and gravely explained the reason for their delay.
"Something happened this morning. My daughter collapsed due to DIO’s curse, so we were held up. My other child, Josuke, is also running a fever because of it. First, the youngest fell ill, then Holly. The curse will keep weakening them—if we don’t defeat DIO, they have only about fifty days left. To prevent DIO from targeting them, we moved Josuke and his mother from Sendai Hospital late last night. They’re now under the care and protection of the SPW Foundation’s medical team."
So the [Defeat DIO] quest really was the main storyline...
Nianzi nodded in understanding but pressed further. "Then how are we setting off? Has the airport lockdown been lifted? And what about Hol Horse’s plane—did it manage to land?"
"Yes, my lawyers assured them we’d cover all damages. It made an emergency landing in Singapore," Joseph elaborated. "The lockdown’s been lifted, and passengers were temporarily evacuated from the airport. Flights haven’t resumed yet, but we can’t risk flying anyway. With enemies lurking, a midair attack would be fatal. After some coordination, we’ve decided to take a ship to Singapore."
Money really could solve most problems.
The news eased Nianzi’s tension slightly—at least they’d bought some time. Still, she remained uneasy. "A ship from Japan to Singapore will take at least four days. Hol Horse will have fled by then. Will we make it in time?"
"That shouldn’t be an issue. We’ve already contacted Interpol. Hol Horse is an American—if he tries to transfer flights or appears in public, he’ll be arrested on charges of child abduction. He won’t be able to board another plane or leave Singapore."
If DIO’s goal was to drink Shunan’s blood, Hol Horse would undoubtedly keep the boy alive until delivery.
"Alright, I’m in."
The plan sounded reasonable enough, so Nianzi agreed to the sea route. She followed Joseph to the car, and they soon arrived at the harbor.
A ship bound for Singapore was scheduled to depart that day, but tickets had already been sold, meaning other passengers would be aboard. Joseph had tried to charter the entire vessel, offering compensation to convince the other travelers to disembark. Yet a few stubbornly refused.
Among them were a balding old man with graying hair, a silver-haired Frenchman with an eccentric spiked hairstyle, and a caged gorilla—reportedly being transported to a Singaporean zoo.
An odd group.
"Can’t we negotiate further? This journey is dangerous. Whatever demands they have, we’ll meet them. Let them name their price."
Frustrated by their refusal to leave, Joseph Joestar rubbed his temples as he bargained with the captain.
With four days at sea, an ambush could happen when their guard was down. Joseph didn’t trust strangers and wanted to avoid dragging innocents into danger. Aside from the crew, he insisted on having no other passengers aboard—no matter the cost.
"But if they won’t budge, there’s nothing we can do," the captain replied dismissively, barely humoring his wealthy client.
"They’re still insisting even after being warned about the danger?"
Without waiting for explanations, Nianzi strode up to the group and coldly threatened, "Get lost, or I’ll rip your spines out."
"..."
A stunned silence fell over the negotiating party. Everyone gaped at her. The old man visibly trembled but quickly bristled with anger. "You think threats will work on me?! I’m not leaving!"
"Good. That settles it."
Nianzi clasped her hands together, and a spectral mage hand materialized behind her. In one swift motion, it shoved the old man into the sea.
"Miss Nianzi! How could you do that to an elderly man?!" Avdol cried in shock. "What if you’re wrong?!"
"If they still refuse to leave after that, they’re obviously enemies."
As the others stared in disbelief, she stated it like simple logic. And if she was wrong? Well, too bad—they weren’t allowed on the ship.
But her judgment proved correct.
The moment the old man hit the water, his companions—the spiky-haired Frenchman and the gorilla—instantly turned hostile. The gorilla began pounding its chest, while the Frenchman, red-faced with fury, summoned a metallic humanoid Stand.
"We planned to take you out on the ship, but since you’ve figured us out, so be it! Let’s settle this now!"
