That earth-shaking "battle of the immortals" at KOF 97 had ended.
The world, after experiencing brief panic and reconstruction, had returned to its usual peace.
People's casual conversations had shifted from "what do we do about the apocalypse" to "when's Athena Asamiya's new album dropping."
Humanity's ability to forget was always so excellent.
As the final "cleanup crew" of that great battle, our protagonist Cloud was currently lying flat in a luxury villa in central Tokyo—complete with an enormous heated pool—enjoying a decidedly decadent post-war life.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows onto the floor.
"Cloud, look this way. Put power into your waist, yes, just like that—"
In the center of the living room, the sexy and graceful Mai Shiranui was patiently teaching Cloud to dance. Her curvaceous figure swayed with the music, her fan opening and closing, stirring up a fragrant breeze.
Cloud was learning decently, but his eyes kept involuntarily drifting toward certain key areas.
They seem even bigger... I'll need to personally inspect tonight.
"Ahem." He faked a cough. "Mai, I feel this move demands too much core strength. Maybe we could switch to something... simpler?"
"No way!" Mai looked back with a smile, radiating charm. "This is our Shiranui-style Butterfly Dance. It not only improves body flexibility but also enhances energy control! You need to learn it properly."
Meanwhile, by the poolside—
"Ta-da~ Freshly made summer-limited strawberry smoothie, enjoy~"
Yuri Sakazaki, wearing a cute bikini, bounced over like a happy little butterfly carrying two smoothies. She handed one to Cloud, then plopped down beside him and grabbed a game controller.
"Cloud, Cloud! That co-op game we were playing yesterday—we're just one final boss away from clearing it! We're definitely beating it today!"
And from the garden pavilion not far away came the sound of heavenly singing.
"You can change the world~"
Athena Asamiya, the psychic idol, was strumming her guitar, offering her most beautiful song to this leisurely afternoon.
That voice seemed to carry magic, capable of soothing all irritation from one's heart.
Cloud looked at this "paradise" before him—smoothie in his left hand, game controller in his right, an idol's exclusive concert in his ears, and a world-class dancer giving him a live lesson...
He let out a long sigh.
"Ah, life is just so... simple and unadorned."
If any of the corporate slaves hustling to make a living outside heard this humble-brag, they'd probably cough up blood on the spot.
However, behind this "land of gentle pleasures," Cloud harbored a secret he couldn't speak of.
With a thought, he pulled up the system panel only he could see.
[Host: Cloud]
[Titles: Four-Time Champion, God-Slayer, Orochi Imitator (Fake), Debtor]
[Source Points: -399,997]
[System Friendly Reminder: Dear User, your "Credit Balance" is severely overdue. Please repay as soon as possible. Friendly reminder: failure to repay will authorize the System to randomly confiscate one of your harem's most precious panties as collateral.]
"..."
The corner of Cloud's mouth twitched violently.
He felt his temples throbbing.
Great! He'd worked his ass off, transforming and whaling, saving the entire world—and in the end, not only did he not get a single coin as reward, he owed the system a mountain of debt!
This system was darker than capitalists!
Just as he was sighing over that long string of negative numbers, the system's long-absent mechanical synthesized voice suddenly chimed.
[Ding! Hidden Quest "Save the Sacrificial Maiden" completed!]
[Quest Objective: Save the reincarnated soul of Princess Kushinada—Yuki.]
[Evaluating quest completion...]
[Evaluation Result: SSS-Rank Perfect Rescue! (Host not only saved her soul but also gave the final boss a beatdown in passing. Truly a model of professional excellence.)]
[Issuing Perfect Rescue exclusive surprise reward...]
[Congratulations, Host! You've received... Miraculous Thousand-Pull ×1!]
"Thou... thousand-pull?!"
Cloud's eyes instantly went as wide as saucers!
He suspected he'd heard wrong.
This stingy system that would even recycle "Thanks for Playing" messages—had it... changed its ways today?
It was like a lifetime non-luck player suddenly pulling a max-constellation, max-refinement limited five-star character in a gacha game!
This happiness came too suddenly!
"System, do you have a fever?" Cloud asked uncertainly.
[This System utilizes quantum cooling. It never overheats.] The system replied in its eternally unchanging tone.
[This is a hidden reward for a special quest, with unique properties. Would you like to immediately use the Miraculous Thousand-Pull?]
"Yes! Absolutely! Right now!"
Cloud was so excited he was practically rubbing his hands together.
Though his power was already quite formidable and he didn't lack for martial arts manuals, who could resist the joy of "free gacha pulls"?
[Miraculous Thousand-Pull activated! Wishing you overflowing luck—may you pull gold in one shot!]
The system even helpfully added an extremely hype gacha BGM.
The next second, a massive, glittering golden virtual gacha wheel appeared before Cloud's eyes.
The wheel was covered in densely packed prizes of all kinds.
Then the wheel began spinning at speeds exceeding light!
Whirrrrrrr—!
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You received: Thanks for Playing ×10!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You received: Expired Ramen Coupon ×5!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You received: Kyo Kusanagi Signed Photo (Footprint Edition) ×2!]
...
Cloud's face instantly darkened.
Great. What happened to the "miracle"? Wasn't this the same old formula, the same old taste?
Out of a thousand pulls, probably nine hundred were these "participation prizes," right?
Without another word, he opened the system's newly added [Resource Recycling] function.
"One-click decompose!"
[Ding! Thanks for Playing ×10 decomposed successfully. Obtained: Source Points +10.]
[Ding! Expired Ramen Coupon ×5 decomposed successfully. Obtained: Source Points +5.]
[Ding! Kyo Kusanagi Signed Photo (Footprint Edition) ×2 decomposed successfully. Obtained: Source Points -10. (Note: Processing fee deducted for causing mental pollution to Kyo Kusanagi.)]
Cloud: "???"
I'm recycling garbage and I have to PAY for it?!
...
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