“Friendship first, competition second.”
Shadow Girl stood up and adjusted her team uniform. “Besides, since this is an exchange match with a friendly neighbor, it’s only right to give the host some face.”
“Moreover…”
“That Captain Yuki has a reason he absolutely must win right now.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice for us to do him a small favor?”
Her teammates looked at each other, not quite understanding what their captain was up to.
However, out of respect for the seriousness of orders from above, they still nodded.
“Fine, then… should we just play around?”
……
If Pluto hadn’t appeared even by the finals, was it possible her target wasn’t the GSAC?
Jiang Jian Yue was currently pondering this question.
Whether to concentrate all high-level combat power at the New National Stadium or scatter them across Tokyo to prepare for a rapid response was a dilemma.
Although the SAT-EX and the Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu would also be responsible for Tokyo’s security, Jiang Jian Yue didn’t trust them because of the previous incident where the Curtain Cluster secretly colluded with the Saints.
Finally, Jiang Jian Yue reached a conclusion: if Pluto chose to attack elsewhere, it would be none of her business.
Though subsequent matches would definitely be affected, at least it would have nothing to do with the DRG.
The final result was that, except for a few Dark Crows defending Mejiro, almost all forces were deployed around the New National Stadium.
As for the interior of the arena, Jiang Jian Yue would oversee it personally.
Thunderous roars erupted from outside the VIP box.
After losing the first round, the Special Response HQ Unit 1 had adjusted its strategic focus in the second round and now held the upper hand — the difference was clear from the cheers.
No matter how many tourists were in Tokyo, the home-field advantage still existed.
Furthermore, Yuki Asahi finally used his Superpower in the second round — but strangely, the look on the girl named Shadow Girl’s face wasn’t one of surprise, but rather delight.
Shadow Girl wasn’t a battle maniac type, either.
Jiang Jian Yue had no intention of investigating these Tokyo University students’ secrets for now.
She watched Yuki Asahi fighting hard on the screen, a lingering worry haunting her heart. The resulting irritability made it impossible for her to sit there and enjoy the match.
‘I absolutely cannot let Pluto ruin the match.’
Jiang Jian Yue stood up from the sofa. After instructing Koji Hattori to handle the security command, she temporarily left the VIP box.
Dozens of drones were currently circling above the New National Stadium, transmitting the boiling scenes of the audience to the entire world in real-time.
Even though it was only the first tournament, the heat of the finals had completely exceeded the organizers’ expectations.
The 1:1 score also cranked the suspense to the absolute limit. Whether it was the 60,000 spectators on-site or the hundreds of millions of viewers on the other side of the network, everyone was holding their breath for this final battle.
“Ladies and gentlemen! This will be the final deciding round! Will the Special Response HQ Unit 1 defend their glory on home turf, or will the ART Team from afar take charge? Let’s wait and see!”
Inside the ART Team’s waiting room.
“Alright, it’s the last match.”
Shadow Girl clapped her hands, a hint of craftiness flashing in those eyes that always held a smile. “Even though I said to just play around, if the loss looks too fake, we’ll get scolded when we go back.”
“Especially you, Aqiang. Don’t act as over the top as you did in the last match.”
The young man who was called out scratched his head awkwardly. “I know, Captain… but the power that Yuki Asahi exploded with in the last match was indeed a bit scary.”
“Isn’t that good?”
“Only an opponent of this caliber is worth us being a little bit serious within the framework of a ‘friendly exchange.'”
“Go on, put a perfect end to this tournament.”
At another tunnel entrance, the five members of the Special Response HQ Unit 1 stood in silence. There was no need for extra mobilization or stirring speeches.
Yuki Asahi stood at the very front, taking a deep breath of the air that smelled of plastic and air conditioning.
He looked up at the gate that was about to open. His heart beat violently in his chest, not from nervousness, but from excitement.
A sense of unprecedented high spirits filled his body.
“Whew…”
Yuki Asahi slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, clearing his mind. He could feel that the power that once made him fear and feel lost was now as obedient as an extension of his arm.
Although his Golden Eyes had not yet ignited, he could already “see” the fine dust flowing in the air and “hear” the swallowing sound of a fat man drinking cola in the spectator stands hundreds of meters away.
This wasn’t just for Jiang Jian Yue; it was also a chance to prove himself.
“What are you thinking about? That smile is disgusting.”
Cuiyue glanced at him with disgust as she passed by. “Let’s go.”
“Ah.”
Yuki Asahi clenched his fists, and his golden eyes suddenly snapped open.
“We’re going to win. Let’s go, let’s take the championship!”
Boom!
As the gates opened, the mountain-like roars and sea-like cheers instantly submerged them.
Deciding round map — randomly selected: [Cyberpunk Rainy Night: District 9].
This was an extremely complex urban street-fighting map. Neon signs flickered in the continuous heavy rain, revealing flooded streets, intricate overpasses, and countless dark alleys to hide in.
Yuki Asahi ignited his Golden Eyes and felt the Vision from the entire world — most of the malice was smoothed out by the closer goodwill.
Although the boost wasn’t as exaggerated as the time he faced the GPRI Hunters, there was still some enhancement.
“I’ll break through!”
Without any probing, the match intensified from the very start. The two sides encountered each other in the central square.
Shadow Girl didn’t hide anymore. The Liquid Metal behind her was like a silver tsunami, and it was even more powerful in this heavy rain.
It instantly transformed into several silver dragons, roaring as they charged toward the Special Response HQ’s formation.
“Bring it on!”
Yuki Asahi didn’t retreat; he advanced. The asphalt road beneath his feet instantly shattered, and he became like a bolt of golden lightning, tearing through the curtain of rain.
Facing the Liquid Metal dragons capable of shredding tanks, he simply threw a punch.
It was the punch Jiang Jian Yue had “fed” to him last night, carrying an indomitable momentum and absolute confidence.
Boom—!
The air exploded, and the massive shockwave turned the rain into white mist. The silver dragons were forcibly shattered by this punch, turning into a rain of silver falling from the sky.
“Oh? You actually managed to crush my defense head-on?”
Shadow Girl stood on an overpass, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, followed by a broader smile. “Now this is getting interesting, Captain Yuki!”
Fierce collisions and the sounds of explosions echoed continuously within the Vision World. However, no one noticed that beyond this bustling arena, a true crisis was descending.
Above the dome of the New National Stadium.
This place was over 50 meters high, and the strong winds whistling past were enough to blow an ordinary person away.
But a figure stood steadily in the air, a few dozen centimeters above the roof.
It was an extremely tall and sturdy woman. She had wild, brownish-red hair like a lion’s mane, and her skin was a healthy wheat color.
She wore an ill-fitting, loose hoodie, but it still couldn’t hide her exaggerated muscle lines.
“Is this… the so-called feast?”
Pluto lowered her head, looking down at the egg-like building beneath her feet. Though separated by the thick roof, she seemed to hear the heartbeats of the tens of thousands of people inside — the rhythm of passionate life.
“Too noisy,” she evaluated expressionlessly, her voice raspy.
She slowly raised her right hand. In the palm of her hand, she held a strange object. It was a Ceramic Bowl that looked like it had been picked out of a pile of trash. The rim of the bowl had several chips, and the body was covered in the grime of age, looking just like a broken bowl used by a beggar.
However, at this moment, this broken bowl emitted a heart-pounding, deathly gray aura.
“Let’s begin,” Pluto muttered to herself, just as she was about to turn the bowl in her hand upside down.
Ttap—
A footstep on the roof appeared behind her. Although muffled by the sound of the crowd below, Pluto still heard it.
As a battle-hardened powerhouse, her perception of crisis was extremely keen; she actually hadn’t sensed anyone approaching at all.
Without the slightest hesitation, Pluto swung her hand back in a knife-hand strike. A physical, curved blade of energy tore through the air, instantly cutting the newcomer in half at the waist.
Pluto turned to look, only to find that the object was a Medical Mannequin. Looking back again, a girl wearing a Combat Suit appeared in front of her.
Pale gray hair flew in the gale, and her blood-red eyes were full of tyrannical killing intent.
Jiang Jian Yue gave a cold snort, her palm lunging forward in an attempt to crush Pluto’s shoulder blade while the Swift Sword on her other arm went straight for Pluto’s throat.
However, in the next moment, Jiang Jian Yue felt the world turn dark — no, it wasn’t turning dark!
1 second after flying backward, Jiang Jian Yue realized she had been hit. The pain in her face finally reached her brain belatedly. Quickly using the anti-gravity system to stabilize herself, Jiang Jian Yue spat out a mouthful of blood containing broken teeth and looked at Pluto.
“Are you Jiang Jian Yue?” Pluto didn’t seem annoyed by the sneak attack at all.
A faint smile appeared on her face as she spoke in English. As she spoke, she turned the bowl upside down and dropped it.
What did that mean?
Since she didn’t know the other party’s ability, Jiang Jian Yue didn’t act impulsively.
Hum—!
The Ceramic Bowl disappeared. Jiang Jian Yue suddenly looked up at the oversized bowl mouth covering the sky, and her expression changed.
The audience outside the arena was the first to notice something wrong.
The originally clear sky suddenly turned dark. It wasn’t the darkness of thick clouds, but an abrupt darkness as if the Sun had been swallowed whole by something.
“What is… that?” someone pointed at the sky in terror.
Directly above the New National Stadium, an incredibly huge cover appeared. No, it wasn’t a cover. It was an upside-down… bowl.
Turbid gray gas flowed on the walls of the bowl, and countless distorted human faces were faintly visible in the gray gas, letting out silent wails.
“Is it a holographic projection? Special effects from the organizers?”
“No… it feels so oppressive, I can’t breathe…”
Just as people were wondering, that huge “bowl” completely fell.
Dong—!
A muffled tolling of a bell echoed throughout Tokyo.
The entire New National Stadium, along with the surrounding plaza and some streets, was instantly completely covered by this huge bowl.
All signals were cut off at this moment. The Live Broadcast screen instantly turned into static.