Chapter 384: New Arrivals in the Store (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

"Whew... you mean to say you're all using this kind of power now?!" While strictly adhering to her "instant noodle therapy," Shui Xianyun spoke with a face full of shock, her chopsticks holding a tangle of noodles suspended right before her mouth. She was talking about Orochi's Sunlight, unable to snap out of her daze for a long time.

"Indeed," Daoist Master Xichi nodded.

"Are you saying... we can learn it too?"

"Of course. This shop encompasses all manner of supreme techniques, and what the boss used is merely one of them." At this, Daoist Master Xichi drained the remaining instant noodle broth in one gulp. "Say no more, Yun'er is calling me to play The King of Fighters."

"..."

"Something's not right..." Having eaten instant noodles for several days now, Shui Xianyun muttered in bewilderment, "How is it that not only is the spiritual essence in my body becoming increasingly pure, but the demonic energy is growing purer as well? This is merely purging the impurities from the demonic energy within me, rather than expelling the demonic energy itself..."

"What should I do?!"

"Jie jie jie jie..." Right at that moment, a patch of dark cloud drifted in from behind her, accompanied by a sinister laugh. "This shop cannot solve your problem, but this venerable one can. You already possess a partial demonic constitution, and only this venerable one can assist you!"

"Beat it!" Shui Xianyun wanted nothing more than to smash the instant noodle box right onto its head.

Though she refrained from doing so, she rained down a volley of heavy fists instead.

"You wretched fiend, how many blasts of the boss's Sunlight do you think you can withstand?! How many percent of Old Demon Youquan's power do you even possess?!"

"Ow ow ow ow...! You dare defy this venerable one? Rebellion! Absolute rebellion! Watch as this venerable one gathers spiritual energy to properly discipline you, little girl!"

A deep breath... furiously inhaling spiritual energy.

On the other side, Boss Fang looked at the progress bar of the teleportation array: "Eh...? Why has it gone up again?!"

...

At this time, within Boss Fang's space.

A separate alcove had been cordoned off in Boss Fang's living room, where a dozen or so joystick arcade cabinets were arranged: "It doesn't matter if you don't have gold coins to buy the game, come to this boss! Fifteen gold coins a token, insert coin to play! Insert coin to play!"

Mo Xian led Shui Xianyun inside. There was quite a crowd; a white-haired elder (Nalan Hongwu) and a youth clad in purple (Song Qingfeng) sat together on a long bench, furiously rattling the joysticks.

"Clack clack clack!" Nalan Hongwu's palms, as large as cattail leaf fans, slammed against the buttons with a clattering din, his face drenched in sweat.

Song Qingfeng was controlling Iori Yagami: "Scum Gale, Heavy Claw into Aoi Hana, ha!"

"Short hop! Low kick! Three-stage Aoi Hana!"

"Dizzied?" Song Qingfeng triumphantly executed Iori Yagami's ultimate move, even mimicking Iori's voice lines for a custom voiceover: "Ding! So many donkeys on the small hill!"

"Clack clack clack clack!" Nalan Hongwu shook the joystick violently, as though shaking it harder would allow him to break free, making a thunderous racket as he pounded the buttons.

Watching from behind, Mo Xian's face twitched as she whispered, "Let's go watch someone else. This old sir is so terrible."

Nalan Hongwu's face darkened, twitching uncomfortably: "..."

Soon, the two arrived before the seats of Liu Ningyun and Daoist Master Xichi.

They heard Liu Ningyun introducing: "If you want to practice King of Fighters, you must come here. Only here can you learn the most authentic King of Fighters combos. Master, look, I'll demonstrate it for you."

With that, she stared intently at the screen and began fighting the computer AI: "Look at this big fat guy opposite us, his name is Chang Koehan. Watch how I combo him!"

"Mhm! Mhm!" Daoist Master Xichi watched with utmost seriousness.

"This fat guy hits very hard, so we must first avoid his sharp edge before looking for an opening to strike," Liu Ningyun explained just as Chang Koehan swung his iron ball and chain across the screen.

"See, I have already grasped his attack rhythm now," Liu Ningyun said as she controlled Kyo Kusanagi. "Next, we dodge past him! And..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the big fat guy on the screen grabbed the dodging Kyo Kusanagi and slammed him violently back and forth against the ground!

"A mistake... a mistake... let's try again!"

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Kyo Kusanagi on the screen was caught and slammed around yet again, his health bar instantly dropping by two-thirds.

"Ai—?!" Disbelieving, Liu Ningyun snapped, "One more time!"

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

"Miss Liu, your opponent's Chang Koehan plays the yo-yo quite well," Lin Shao and the others muttered as they leaned over to watch, completely missing the point. "Defeating Kyo Kusanagi flawlessly with a single move?!"

Liu Ningyun's beautiful face flushed bright red: "..."

Daoist Master Xichi: "..."

Shui Xianyun: "..."

"Maybe... I should go look for the boss instead," Daoist Master Xichi hesitated. "They say the boss is incredibly skilled at King of Fighters."

Liu Ningyun gnashed her teeth: "..."

...

At the tea seating by the sofas in front of the shop.

"I heard that the Grand Jin Kingdom won another major victory?" A strange, exotic youth with white hair and white clothing sat on the sofa, eating spicy sticks.

"Yes... and it was an exceptionally easy win." Black Demon nodded repeatedly from the side; even though his strength had increased tremendously by now, he dared not show the slightest disrespect to this youth.

Although the youth before him looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, in truth, back when the King of Samsara's Samsara Hall was merely a minor faction in the outer city, he was already standing at the absolute pinnacle of the inner city.

Black Demon explained: "They actually utilized something called... information warfare. One set of those methods originally spread out from our Half City. Coupled with the communication jades they used that can emit special waves, they completely toyed with an allied army gathered from dozens of factions. This kind of warfare... who could have imagined it without hearing it firsthand?!"

"Oh, right... they are even offering a portion of the technology for purchase!"

"Purchase what?!" The exotic youth waved his hand. "If they can research it, can't we? Take me to try it out in a bit. Didn't they say there are even better things inside?"

"Uh..." Black Demon froze for a moment before replying, "Right away!"

He immediately gestured to several Black Demon Guards: "Bring a few men, let's go rob the Pacific Standard Bank! Get ourselves a few more Kurumas!"

"Robbery? Bank? Kuruma?" The youth stared strangely at Black Demon while munching on his spicy stick.

"Yes! That's the fastest way to make money!" Black Demon said enthusiastically. "With money, we can research all sorts of things. I heard the Wuwei Daoist Alliance has already started manufacturing spiritual crystal cars!"

"I see... then this seat shall bring more men along to rob that whatever bank!"

"Let's go, let's go! Drive, drive!"

"..."

...

Clearly, Boss Fang's livestream had prompted many players to take up The King of Fighters. By now, sales of the King of Fighters mini-game had broken past nine hundred copies and were still climbing. Even the dedicated King of Fighters room within Boss Fang's space was bustling with people, joysticks flying wildly. Following his usual international tradition, Boss Fang played Cantonese songs like "Glorious Years" and "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" in the room.

On the other hand, because the Grand Jin Kingdom's foreign war had been won in such a bizarrely victorious fashion, many forces began studying the mechanics behind it. Word spread like wildfire, and sales for Grand Theft Auto V began to surge rapidly once again.

Meanwhile, Boss Fang looked at the wheel on his system panel, which displayed a total of three items, three movies, and four games.

"Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children? A Chinese Ghost Story? Devil May Cry 3, Onimusha 3, Resident Evil 3, 'Divine Weapon Shard,' 'Senzu Bean,' Random Bloodline Elixir..." Looking at the array of games, movies, and items, Boss Fang spun the wheel.

"Bloodline Elixir?" Boss Fang's heart stirred. "This is good! Who will dare claim this boss lacks talent in the future?!"

One rotation, two rotations, three rotations...

Next, Boss Fang's eyes locked onto the wheel: "Devil May Cry 3."

"..."

At the same time, a notification suddenly popped up on Boss Fang's system panel: A single (high-priced) mini-game has broken a thousand sales. Achievement 'Making Money Daily' completed. Achievement gift pack received. Open it?

Open.

Obtained: Red Bean Milk Tea (Only sold during winter)

Boss Fang: "..."

.