Ryu's body shook violently again!
He felt the killing intent within him—originally wild as an unbridled stallion—miraculously calm down the moment it touched Cloud's energy!
Like a rebellious problem child encountering an even more unruly, even more unreasonable kid boss, instantly becoming docile and obedient.
An unprecedented clarity surged through Ryu's mind!
He seemed to... understand something.
So... this power really could be controlled!
He looked at Cloud. The crimson in his eyes slowly faded, returning to clarity.
But unlike before, there was now a depth and dominance in his gaze that hadn't existed before.
He had found his direction.
An entirely new "path" where he could control the killing intent rather than be controlled by it!
"Thank... thank you for your guidance!" Ryu bowed deeply to Cloud.
This bow came from the depths of his heart.
Cloud had not only defeated him in combat but had also enlightened him on the path of martial arts.
This debt of gratitude was ten thousand times more important than defeating him in battle!
[Ding! Detected transformation in target Ryu's martial heart.]
[Successfully collected special energy sample: Satsui no Hado (Seed).]
[Successfully analyzed and plundered core skills: Hadoken, Shoryuken, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku—complete set.]
[Side quest "Martial Guide" completed. Reward: Special title "Combat Mentor," 50,000 Source Points.]
Hearing the system's "harvest" notification, Cloud's face showed the satisfied smile of an "old farmer."
This round of playing the "spoiler," he'd not only given the protagonist an "assist" but had also packaged and taken away all the "local specialties" he wanted.
Killing two birds with one stone. Pure profit!
...
Inside the monitoring room.
Bison quietly watched everything happening on the screen.
His masked face showed no expression.
But the oppressive atmosphere that had dropped to freezing, and the trembling researchers around him who didn't dare breathe too loudly, made it clear that the General's current mood was very... displeased.
"Trash... a bunch of trash!"
He looked at those fighters being thoroughly beaten by Cloud one by one, at Vega who had been one-shotted by Chun-Li, and at Ryu—his originally most-favored "vessel"—who had just been "turned" by Cloud.
His plan had encountered serious deviations!
He had originally thought this would be a perfectly controlled "talent show" under his complete command.
Instead, it had become Cloud's "personal variety show"!
"General..." a researcher summoned his courage and asked tremblingly, "What... what do we do now? The man called Cloud has completely gone out of control. Our plan..."
"Plans change."
Bison slowly turned around. His purple eyes glinted with cold, cruel light.
"I admit I underestimated him." He spoke coldly. "He's not a subject that can be tamed. He's... a virus even more dangerous than me!"
"Since he can't be recruited, then we can only..."
A grim curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"...completely delete him!"
He pressed a red button on the console.
"Initiate Plan B."
"Yes, General!"
...
On the arena.
Cloud and Ryu's "friendly exchange" had just concluded. The host was about to take the stage and announce the result of this "battle of the century."
At that moment—chaos erupted!
In the audience seats, around the arena, even among some eliminated contestants still in the backstage area—
Dozens of figures suddenly sprang into action!
Their eyes, at the exact same moment, turned the same fanatical purple as those enhanced soldiers from before! Waves of powerful, evil "Psycho Power" erupted from their bodies!
"For Lord Bison!"
They roared, launching indiscriminate attacks on the defenseless spectators and contestants around them!
An ordinary-looking karateka suddenly threw a punch, purple spiritual energy sending a nearby contestant flying!
A "fan" who had been cheering for their idol one second ago had their eyes flash purple the next, pulling a dagger from their jacket and stabbing at their companion!
Below the arena, security personnel also defected, raising their stun guns and firing at the panicking reporters!
BOOM!
AHHH!
The entire Hong Kong Coliseum instantly transformed from an ocean of joy into a living hell filled with blood and wailing!
"It's mind control!" Chun-Li looked at the suddenly rampaging people and shouted in shock. "Bison... he actually planted this many pawns controlled by his Psycho Power in the arena!"
"That bastard! He wants to turn everyone here into his sacrifices!" Guile also roared in anger, sending one of the attackers flying with a Sonic Boom.
Ryu immediately assumed a fighting stance, knocking back several enemies trying to rush the arena with a Hadoken.
Chaos!
Unprecedented chaos!
Bison, having discovered he couldn't control the situation through normal means, had finally torn off his hypocritical mask and bared his most vicious fangs!
He would use this "bloody carnival" to forcibly collect enough "negative emotions"!
"Looks like the buffet is turning into a battle royale."
Cloud stood at the center of the arena, looking at the apocalyptic scene before him. Rather than showing any panic, a cold smile appeared on his face.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the coliseum's dome, meeting the cruel, smiling purple eyes in the monitoring room.
...
The Hong Kong Coliseum had completely become a bloody Asura field.
Bison's planted pawns, like activated virus programs, spread chaos and fear madly through the crowd. Screams, explosions, and the roars of fighters intertwined into an apocalyptic symphony.
Chun-Li, Guile, Ryu, Ken, and the others had all become "firefighters."
They fought desperately to protect the defenseless ordinary spectators, blocking the frenzied attacks of those mind-controlled assailants who feared nothing, not even death.
But there were simply too many attackers.
Among the tens of thousands of spectators in the venue, no one knew whether their "companion" who had been cheering for contestants one second ago would suddenly have purple light flash in their eyes the next, pull out a watermelon knife, and give you a backstab.
...
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