Stepping out of the mental hospital, Su Jin squinted up at the sun.

He had met the client and completed the negotiation. Much of his tension had faded, but his mind was still shrouded in a heavy fog, a knot of unease tightening in his chest.

He wondered if this alien sun would give him a tumor.

Screw it.

As things stood, he was completely cut off from the company. He had no way of getting home unless he completed the mission they had forced upon him.

Even if he did get a tumor, it would be a problem for a decade or two down the line. Right now, he had to prepare for the immediate future.

Pulling out the notebook and map Fu Qingdai had given him, Su Jin started walking.

Under the wide-eyed stare of the gate guard, he swaggered out of the mental hospital.

Reaching the street, Su Jin stopped and gazed into the distance.

According to the map, the complex where Fu Qingdai lived was called Rencai Community, about nine kilometers from the mental hospital.

There were taxis on the street he could take.

But renting a place in Rencai Community wasn't his top priority. There was more important intel to gather first.

After studying the map for a moment, Su Jin set off to his right.

After a few steps, he seemed to remember something. He took a rope from his briefcase, tied one end to the handle, and fastened the other securely to his wrist.

He covered it with his trench coat before continuing on his way.

This place wasn't economically developed, and the rule of law seemed weak. If some motorcycle snatch thief made off with his bag, there'd be no one to cry to.

Even though it was broad daylight, it was better to be fully prepared.

His immediate destination was a large wet market nearby.

Whether the local food was drastically different from Earth's, or if it was even edible, were all unknowns.

For now, it was best to eat the food he'd brought with him. He would buy some everyday ingredients at the market and test small amounts overnight.

...

Inside the wet market, Su Jin walked and observed.

The market itself was unremarkable, with no major surprises.

But the sight of all the colorful fruits and vegetables still left him in a daze for a moment.

The good news was that many of the vegetables looked familiar. The bad news was that a portion of them were completely alien.

Radishes with strange patterns, giant single-leaf vegetables, red vines...

Weaving between the stalls, Su Jin secretly plucked off leaves from the vegetables as he went. He would occasionally stop and pretend to inquire, just to learn the names of the produce.

He'd just grab a few samples to test back at his place. Until he confirmed the food was safe, he couldn't afford to waste a single penny.

Besides, plant-based foods weren't his main target. The priority was meat.

If his knowledge from Earth still applied here, then common sense dictated a safety ranking for unfamiliar foods.

Generally, it should be: Meat ≥ Seeds > Plants.

Large, meat-producing animals usually don't have toxins in their muscle and fat.

Massive animals tend to rely on their physical prowess for survival. Generally speaking, creatures with poor physical survival skills are the ones that evolve special mechanisms, like toxins, to protect themselves.

Furthermore, if an apocalypse were to strike, cold storage units would mostly contain meat. It's high in calories and relatively safe to eat even if it starts to spoil, making it a reliable and well-rounded food source.

But testing the safety of vegetables was still essential.

The key was to indirectly verify the safety of processed foods from the supermarket.

After a lap around the vegetable section, he came to the meat and seafood area.

Seeing the rows of pinkish lights hanging over the butcher stalls, Su Jin couldn't help but be amused.

He never would have thought... they used the same trick to sell meat in this other world.

Shine a light on it to make the meat look better.

However, seeing the large cuts of marbled meat and the ferocious, ox-like animal heads for sale suggested that the meat was probably safe to eat. This was a good sign.

He had pilfered a few scraps of vegetable leaves for testing, and the meat seemed fine. All that was left was the seafood.

In the seafood section, rows of fish tanks were connected together.

Su Jin stopped in front of one of the tanks to take a look.

The fish in the tank were a motley bunch, but for the most part, they looked quite ordinary, like common river fish.

As he was watching, his gaze suddenly locked onto something.

A massive gray fish had turned its body to face him directly, its large mouth pressed against the glass.

When he got a clear look at the gray fish's face, a shock ran through Su Jin's entire body.

"What the... this fish...!?"

*Risking my life to infiltrate an alien seafood market. Live footage from the scene.*

*An alien mega-carp!*

*It had a mouth like a human's, full of teeth, and—the crucial part—the mouth was vertical! It was terrifying... something about it felt deeply wrong.*

"Little brother, I see you've been looking for a while. Want to buy a fish? They're all fresh," the female stall owner said enthusiastically, coming around from behind the counter. "I'll scale it and knock its teeth out for free."

"Ah?! No, thanks..."

Su Jin swallowed hard, waved his hand in refusal, and walked away.

After making a full circuit of the market, Su Jin let out a long sigh of relief.

The food seemed reliable for now, but he couldn't let his guard down. The tests still had to be done.

He looked around for a moment, then set off again.

After walking a hundred paces or so, he entered a pharmacy.

Two clerks stood behind the counter, chatting idly, clearly with no intention of paying him any mind.

After pausing at the entrance for a few seconds, Su Jin headed for the health supplements section.

A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled.

His eyes scanned the shelves twice before he picked up the most prominent bottle of multivitamins.

He took out a bottle of Centrum he had bought earlier and began to compare them seriously.

Right before he knew the company was going to transport him, besides stocking up on a massive amount of food at the supermarket, the things he bought the most of were cigarettes and multivitamins.

Ten large bottles of Centrum vitamins.

His reasoning at the time wasn't complicated. If he was really being sent to a strange place, food would obviously be a problem, but there was another equally serious issue: vitamins and various trace elements.

He was a fitness enthusiast and had done a fair bit of research on nutrition.

A long-term deficiency in trace elements would start to affect his athletic performance within a month.

The effects would be especially pronounced under high physical load and stress.

If the deficiency continued, his bodily functions would suffer damage, and illness would naturally follow.

A decline in physiological function and disease—either one could be fatal.

Comparing the two bottles of supplements, Su Jin's tense mood eased considerably.

The vast majority of the nutritional components matched up. Even the unfamiliar ones looked vaguely recognizable, though he wasn't an expert.

Similar species, same nutritional components... It seemed that even without testing it himself, the food was ninety percent guaranteed to be safe.

Putting the supplement back, Su Jin turned and left the pharmacy.

He had seen most of what he wanted to see. There was one more stop. After that, he'd buy a few things and head straight to Rencai Community to rent a place.

...

Video Store.

There was one just down the street, less than two kilometers from the wet market.

Su Jin stood at the entrance of the video store, a deep sense of nostalgia washing over him.

Through the glass window, he could see walls covered in movie cases and simple paper sleeves for discs.

The two worlds were so similar...

He couldn't help but remember renting Lam Ching-ying movies as a kid. Those were probably the most carefree days of his childhood.

After a moment of reflection, Su Jin pushed open the door. Seeing the owner right at the central counter, he got straight to the point.

"Boss, do you have any disaster movies?"

---

Proofreader: Peter Pan