What gave Cloud the biggest headache was taking them shopping.
Yun Ying, as a girl from ancient Chang'an, was curious about absolutely everything in the modern city.
She could shop from eight in the morning until ten at night, her energy so boundless it was as if she had a perpetual motion engine installed.
"Wow! This thing called ice cream is actually sweet! And cold! So delicious! Mister, give me ten more!"
"What's this blinking light for?" She pointed at a traffic signal. "Oh oh, red means stop, green means go! I get it! It's the same principle as the ward gates in Chang'an opening and closing!"
"Heavens! You have iron boxes that run by themselves without horses!" She stared at a car. "Amazing! What kind of hay does it eat?!"
Nakoruru, on the other hand, was full of wariness and pity toward all modern industrial creations.
Passing a construction site, she would stop and quietly pray toward the rumbling excavator: "I'm sorry, Mother Earth, for making you endure such pain."
Seeing sunlight reflected off glass curtain walls, she would extend her hand, trying to shade the scorched grass below: "Little grass, don't be afraid. The sun is too harsh—I'll protect you."
In shopping malls, seeing fur coats would leave her so upset she wouldn't speak for the rest of the day, just hugging Mamahaha and silently weeping.
Cloud felt like he wasn't leading two teammates, but rather "One Hundred Thousand Whys" and "The Walking Virgin Mary."
After a month without fighting a single match, his heart was already as exhausted as if he'd fought three hundred.
...
Finally, the Round of 16 was about to begin.
Cloud led his two teammates—who now had a preliminary understanding of modern society (one was addicted to arcade halls, the other had fallen in love with visiting pet stores)—into the exclusive lounge prepared for Round of 16 teams.
He looked at the massive bracket on the wall and found his team's name.
Their first opponent was—Korea Team!
Composed of the "Righteous Educator" Kim Kaphwan and his two disciples who were "suffering yet happy"—Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge.
"Oh ho." Cloud stroked his chin.
Beside him, the moment Yun Ying saw the opponent's name, her face went pale in an instant.
Voice trembling, she grabbed Cloud's arm and spoke in the tragic tone of someone being led to the execution grounds: "It's over... Cloud... we... we have to fight the homeroom teacher in our very first match..."
...
Tokyo Dome Stadium. The flames of the Round of 16 had been ignited.
When the commentator screamed "Next Battle!" in his signature voice—as if he might keel over at any second—the entire venue's lights dimmed instantly. Only two spotlights remained, each illuminating one end of the competitor tunnel.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Coming up next is the most anticipated team of this tournament! They are—led by our legendary three-time champion, Mr. Cloud—the Three Clouds!"
The moment the announcement ended, the venue's speakers suddenly began playing music that... clashed completely with the hot-blooded atmosphere of a fighting tournament—a romantic saxophone piece.
The entire audience: "???"
In the broadcast room, Norton slammed his desk: "Who put on that BGM?! This is a fighting tournament, not a dating show matchmaking finale!"
"Sir, this was... a special request from Mr. Cloud's team," Weiss replied with a smile.
Indeed, this was the "masterpiece" of Lady Yun Ying.
In her words: "The Three Clouds ensemble is officially debuting today! Our entrance BGM absolutely must have presence! It needs to highlight our noble, mysterious, and slightly romantic vibe!"
And so, accompanied by music reminiscent of "Going Home," Cloud and his two cross-dimensional teammates slowly walked onto the stage.
When the spotlights clearly illuminated the three of them, the entire stadium first fell into deathly silence, then erupted into what could only be described as an earthquake of gossip-fueled hooting.
"Ohhhhh—!!!"
"I knew it! I knew it!"
"Of course it's like this again! Competitor Cloud, he... he's brought two more pretty girls no one's seen before to compete!"
"Iron-clad Cloud, ever-changing pretty teammates! Player confirmed!"
"Look at those two girls! One with red hair, spirited and heroic, one with black hair, pure as snow! What kind of godly visuals are these? I hereby declare—from today on, I'm an iron-loyal fan of the Three Clouds!"
In the audience, male spectators wore expressions of envy and jealousy, while female spectators cursed him as a "playboy" even as they couldn't help stealing more glances at Cloud's face—so handsome it offended both gods and mortals.
The competitor spectating area had become a massive "eating melon" scene.
Kyo Kusanagi elbowed Benimaru beside him: "Hey, Benimaru, look—did that Cloud guy just break his girl-getting record again?"
Benimaru produced a small comb, elegantly grooming his hair as he commented: "Good taste. The one on the left is the passionate type, a little firecracker; the one on the right is cool as moonlight, the 'first love' type. Mm... a master, truly a master."
Terry scratched his signature blonde hair, looking puzzled as he asked Andy: "Andy, Cloud's friends... they don't seem like they're from our circle, do they?"
Andy was silent for a moment, then calmly analyzed: "Bro, the point isn't who they are—it's that they were able to become Cloud's teammates. This means their strength absolutely cannot be underestimated. Mai, be careful."
Mai Shiranui, who was enthusiastically cheering for the "Three Clouds" team, immediately puffed out her chest, battle-ready: "Hmph! I'm not scared! But... Cloud-kun's teammates this time really are... a bit unfair! One's cute, one's innocent—they're totally potential love rivals!"
Hearing the commentary from all directions, Cloud felt like someone had written two characters on his forehead in marker—"SCUMBAG."
He helplessly glanced at his two teammates beside him.
Yun Ying, appearing on such a grand stage for the first time, had her little face flushed red with excitement. She stood with hands on hips, smugly basking in being the center of attention, as if this were her personal concert.
Nakoruru, on the other hand, was clearly frightened by this tsunami of commotion.
She clutched Mamahaha nervously, her small face pale, her body trembling slightly. If Cloud hadn't been supporting her, she might have performed a "fainting in place" right then and there.
...
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