Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

1979, summer.

"Good evening, viewers. This is the latest news on Typhoon Hope. This typhoon is the most destructive since Typhoon Ruth in 1971. Yesterday, it rapidly crossed the New Territories, with maximum gusts reaching 100 knots on average, and even 130 knots on higher ground. It has already caused 12 deaths and 260 injuries… The typhoon will soon pass, so please continue to take precautions, keep doors and windows locked, avoid going out, and be sure to pay attention to safety. Reported by Ng Kwok-yan, RTV."

Late at night, Houhai Bay.

The night was pitch black, and a strong wind whipped up the waves on the sea. Five or six figures floated up and down in the waves and moonlight.

"Wei Chao, I can't hold on much longer, help me!"

"Help me, my leg is cramping!"

"I can't swim anymore, pull me, pull me!"

"Four dogs—"

Amidst the surging waves, two or three figures were instantly swallowed up and quickly disappeared.

Zhang Shuai'an, who was swimming at the front, was suddenly hit hard on the head by a foreign object floating on the water. He lost consciousness instantly and drifted away into the distance.

The tall, thin young man behind him immediately reached out and grabbed him: "Hey, Wei Chao, hang in there! Wake up!"

"Cough cough..." Zhang Shuai'an coughed violently after being forced to swallow a mouthful of salty seawater, and he regained consciousness, though his eyes were full of confusion. Soon, some memories that did not belong to him appeared in his mind.

After processing these memories, Zhang Shuai'an's face showed a bitter expression. He had actually traveled from the end of 2025 to the summer of 1979. The fatal thing was that he was smuggling himself into Hong Kong through Houhai Bay. If he had traveled over a few seconds later, he would have been dead.

"Wei Chao! Look ahead! It's the shore! We're almost there, just hang in there!" The hoarse shouts of the burly man in front of him pulled him back to reality from the chaotic fragments of his memory.

"Keep swimming!" Zhang Shuai'an gritted his teeth, forcing himself to concentrate. Whether it's 2025 or 1979, survival is the only thing that matters.

With their last ounce of strength, the two were finally washed ashore on a muddy beach. Zhang Shuai'an collapsed onto the wet sand, gasping for breath, his throat filled with the salty taste of fish. The tall, thin young man knelt on the ground and began vomiting, his body trembling uncontrollably.

The other man was named He Weibing, a friend from the same village. Actually, there were four other people traveling with them, also from the same village, but unfortunately, they weren't able to hold on and were swept away by the waves, leaving only the two of them. The reason they chose this day, when the typhoon was almost over, was simply because the original owner believed that no police or smugglers would come to arrest them at that time.

"Is this Hong Kong? We...have we arrived?"

He Weibing looked up at the barren beach, his face filled with a look of despair: "But Si Gou, Hong Xing, and... they're all gone, waaaaah! We even made a promise that we'd eat and drink like royalty in Hong Kong, eating abalone and lobster one by one and throwing them away! Now, only the two of us are left."

"Alright, stop crying." Zhang Shuai rested for a while, regained some strength, stood up and said, "Life and death are predestined, wealth and honor are determined by fate. These are not things we can choose. Let's go to the city as soon as possible."

Zhang Shuai'an wasn't very clear about the policies in Hong Kong. He only vaguely remembered seeing an old Hong Kong movie called "Snake Fighting," which was about smugglers catching illegal immigrants and extorting them. The people who were caught all suffered terribly, and he didn't want to end up like that.

"Wei Chao, which way should we go?" He Weibing looked around at the desolate mountains and wilderness, looking completely lost.

At this time, it was still dark and the surroundings were still pitch black, but a rather bright star hung in the low sky due east-northeast.

Zhang Shuai'an's heart skipped a beat; this might be the Morning Star, and summer was indeed the best time to observe it. The Morning Star is usually visible two to three hours before sunrise, so if the sun rises at 5:30, it's probably around 3:00 AM now.

"I know the way." Zhang Shuai'an found a sheltered spot, took off his wet clothes and pants, wrung them out, and hung them on a rock to dry. "Wearing wet clothes won't get me far, and I'll easily catch a cold. Let's dry them first, and then rest for a while before we set off."

"Oh, oh." He Weibing immediately did as he was told, taking off his underwear to reveal a small plastic bag containing some old Hong Kong dollars and a relative's address: "Thankfully, it didn't get wet, it's all fine."

"Wei Chao, where's your plastic bag?"

He Weibing then turned to Zhang Shuai'an and asked with concern, "Your cousin's address is inside, along with over a hundred Hong Kong dollars."

Zhang Shuai'an gave a wry smile: "I was swept away by the big wave just now."

"What should we do then?" He Weibing was tall and strong, but not very bright, and he was prone to panic in the face of trouble. "Weichao, why don't you come with me to find my aunt first? She said she opened a small shop in Kowloon and is short-staffed."

"We'll see," Zhang Shuai'an waved his hand, then reminded him, "Don't call me Wei Chao anymore. I've changed my name to Zhang Shuai'an. You'd better change your name too; it'll reduce some of the discrimination from people here."

"Oh, actually, I did think about changing my name before," He Weibing said somewhat embarrassedly. "My aunt told me that there are three wealthy men in Hong Kong: one named He Hongsen, one named Li Ka-shing, and another who makes jewelry, what's his name? I'd like to take one character from each and call myself He Jiatong. What do you think?"

Zhang Shuai'an didn't bother explaining that He Hongsen was from Macau; he simply gave a thumbs up: "Great name, you'll definitely surpass them!"

After resting for an hour, their clothes were almost dry. The two put their clothes back on and started walking towards the city center.

After walking for several hours, it was already broad daylight, but we still couldn't see any sign of the city.

"Wei...Shuai'an, I'm so hungry, can we find something to eat first?"

Having just changed his name, He Jiatong rubbed his rumbling stomach and said weakly, "I see there are a few houses nearby. Let's ask some locals for food, or we can buy it with money."

"Don't flaunt your wealth, don't you understand?" Zhang Shuai'an warned coldly, "What if they get greedy, kidnap you, and then blackmail your aunt, threatening to sell you to Southeast Asia to mine if they don't pay? You'll be in for a world of trouble!"

"We need to eat something, we're so hungry, we don't have the energy to keep going... Ah."

Before He Jiatong could finish speaking, she tripped over a stone and fell straight into the roadside bushes.

The fall immediately startled something in the grass.

"Snake, there's a snake... Ah!"

He Jiatong was so frightened that she scrambled to her feet.

Zhang Shuai'an's reaction was surprisingly calm. Before his transmigration, he was a graduate of a sports university, had received professional physical training, and had studied martial arts. He later became a seasoned motion capture actor. During that time, he also filmed several ancient fantasy web movies and actually learned some snake-catching techniques.

"You're hungry, right? This is perfect!" Zhang Shuai'an quickly took off his pants, added the rope tied around his waist, and made a simple catching tool.

As if sensing danger, the snake darted into the bushes and made its escape.

"Do you think I'd let you get away?" Zhang Shuai'an sneered and immediately gave chase.

After chasing for a while, he was running out of energy, and when he saw an opportunity, he pounced.

The mask is covered and then quickly tied up, the movements clean, efficient, and seamless.

The series of movements were so fluid and seamless that even Zhang Shuai'an himself was somewhat surprised. The coordination and strength of this body seemed to surpass even his own as a physical education student.

A woman's scream suddenly came from the bushes ahead.

"Who's there?!" a woman's voice shouted in Cantonese.

Zhang Shuai'an subconsciously looked up and saw a figure hurriedly stand up from the bushes.

In the dim morning light, he could make out that she was a young woman of about twenty years old, with delicate features, wearing a floral shirt and dark trousers. At that moment, she was frantically pulling up her trousers, her face filled with fear and anger.

Oh no, that woman just relieved herself in the bushes!

Zhang Shuai'an was startled: Could she think I was a pervert who came specifically to spy on her?

Sure enough, the woman glanced at Zhang Shuai'an, whose legs were exposed, and immediately screamed and ran away: "There's a pervert! Help!!"

"Hurry up!" Zhang Shuai'an grabbed He Jiatong, who was still in a daze, and started to run.

But it was too late. In less than two minutes, seven or eight men, armed with wooden sticks, watermelon knives, and other weapons, rushed over after the woman and surrounded the two of them.