Chun-Li and Guile listened to Cloud's villain-like proclamation, black lines of exasperation appearing on their foreheads.
"Hey! Is now really the time for this?" Chun-Li couldn't help but retort. "We have to stop him! We can't let his scheme succeed!"
"Stop him? Why would we stop him?" Cloud countered with a question of his own. "This is a golden opportunity. Of course we're going to... join in!"
"What?!" Chun-Li and Guile exclaimed in unison.
"What I mean is," Cloud smiled, "we sign up for the tournament ourselves. This isn't just Bison's talent hunt—it's also our hunting ground."
He looked at the two of them, a cunning gleam in his eyes. "Think about it. Where's Bison's hideout? We don't know. Where are his Four Heavenly Kings? No clue either. But now, as long as we fight our way through the tournament all the way to the grand finals, won't we be... hand-delivered right to his doorstep?"
"This is called using the enemy's own road to reach his gates—taking the fight straight to the dragon's lair!"
Chun-Li and Guile's eyes lit up simultaneously at his words!
Of course!
They'd been trying every possible method to locate Shadaloo's headquarters, only to fail repeatedly. And now, Bison himself had paved a highway leading straight to his heart and laid it right at their feet!
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Guile couldn't help but give Cloud a thumbs up. Though he still felt this guy was a bit unreliable, that brain of his was undeniably sharp!
"Then let's go register right now!" Chun-Li was fired up and ready.
"Hold on." Cloud stopped her. "Before we register, we need to do some prep work."
He pulled out a futuristic-looking tablet computer from his system space.
"First, we need to understand what special dishes are on this all-you-can-eat buffet."
His fingers flew across the screen, and immediately, detailed profiles of renowned fighters from around the world—those who had already made names for themselves and those with immense potential—appeared before them.
—Ryu, the solitary seeker of the true path of fighting.
—Ken, the Red Lotus Fighting King, heir to America's Masters Foundation.
—Dhalsim, the mysterious yoga master from India.
—Zangief, the Soviet wrestling giant known as the "Red Cyclone."
...
One legendary name after another, along with their detailed profiles, signature moves, and even some obscure personal quirks, were clearly displayed before Chun-Li and Guile.
The two were stunned once again.
"These... these files... where did you get them?!" Chun-Li stared at the classified intel that even Interpol's internal databases struggled to obtain, feeling like her jaw was about to hit the floor.
"I told you, I'm a dimensional cleaner," Cloud replied with an enigmatic smile. "Having a backend with elevated clearance—isn't that perfectly normal?"
[System: Host, please refrain from casually revealing this system's existence. Otherwise, your benefits package will be deducted.]
Cloud: "..."
He cleared his throat and pointed at the profiles on screen, addressing the two:
"Alright, now let's take a good look at these prey—ahem, I mean opponents."
"Our goals are—"
He paused, and a smile that made both Chun-Li and Guile feel a chill spread across his face.
"The championship? I want it."
"The prize money? I want that too."
"Bison's life? I especially want that!"
"Adults don't make choices. I want it all!"
...
The promotional video for the "Street Fighter" tournament spread like a virus across the globe.
Its impact was comparable to Jack Ma personally announcing at midnight on Singles' Day that "everything's 90% off, no limits."
The entire fighting world exploded.
Countless "martial arts masters" who normally stayed hidden away in remote mountains, dojos, and training halls emerged from seclusion.
Some came for money, some for fame, and others purely for the chance to throw hands.
Before long, registration points for regional qualifiers in major cities worldwide were flooded with queues longer than holiday travel rushes.
Hong Kong, as one of Asia's largest metropolises, was naturally a key regional venue for this "fighting extravaganza."
And our "Avengers: Street Fighter Division" trio was currently holed up in one of Chun-Li's safe houses, conducting their final "pre-battle briefing."
Said "briefing" was essentially Cloud's one-man show-off session.
He sat with one leg crossed over the other, sipping the premium pu'er tea Chun-Li had brewed, tablet in hand, holding court before Chun-Li and Guile.
"This big Russian called Zangief? Don't let those muscles fool you—he's basically a simple-minded meathead. Whatever you do, don't get close to him, or his Spinning Piledriver will turn you into a human pretzel. Kite him. Use ranged attacks to poke him down."
"And this Indian guy, Dhalsim—long arms, long legs, and he breathes fire. The guy's basically a rubber man who mastered pyrokinesis. When fighting him, patience is key; wait for his recovery frames after attacks. Though I have to say, his wife is pretty hot... ahem, getting off track."
"The one you really need to watch out for is this guy called Akuma." Cloud's expression turned uncharacteristically serious. "This one's a pure battle maniac who trained himself into a demon chasing power. His Shun Goku Satsu—the Raging Demon—is something else. Get hit by it and the screen goes dark, then you're just... gone. It's a no-nonsense instant-kill technique. Even I'd have to take it seriously."
Chun-Li and Guile were stupefied listening to him.
They felt less like they were strategizing for battle and more like they were getting a walkthrough from a veteran gamer explaining "attack patterns for the new patch's bosses."
And this guide was detailed to an absurd degree! He even knew whether someone's wife was attractive? What kind of backend did this guy have access to—the civil registry database?
"Um... Cloud," Chun-Li finally couldn't help but ask, "is all this... actually reliable?"
"Relax. I'm the Prophet Cloud—my calculations are never wrong." Cloud thumped his chest confidently. "Follow my guide and you're guaranteed to cruise all the way to the grand finals without needing a single health potion."
Just as he was in the middle of bragging—
Hummm—
An extremely subtle yet clearly malicious and aggressive energy fluctuation suddenly blanketed the entire building!
Cloud's brow twitched slightly.
"Oh? Speak of the devil. Looks like we're getting a room inspection."
Chun-Li and Guile were instantly on alert.
...
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