Faced with Xiang Nan's high-handed decision to force his way onto the team, Wang and the other remaining teammate finally chose to accept it.

As players, they didn't want their plans ruined.

If they failed to enter the KOF tournament, all their earlier effort would be wasted.

Besides, the fact that Xiang Nan had managed to kill one of their teammates proved he was strong; perhaps he could even raise the squad's overall fighting power.

Uncomfortable as it felt, they had to swallow the reality—after all, they could not let their own interests suffer.

As for the fallen teammate … well, once you're dead, nothing can be done about it.

Xiang Nan, for his part, was perfectly at ease; instead of feeling awkward, he cheerfully introduced himself.

Earlier that day, the TV station had interviewed more than one team of fighters, not just theirs.

Xiang Nan had chosen this particular squad for a simple reason: they were from "China," and so was he. The King of Fighters world is almost identical to his previous life, so all he had to do was set up a simple cover story—pose as a player from the main world, say very little, and no one would doubt him.

Wang and another player named Mao Wei both belonged to factions inside China.

Wang, however, did not come from a traditional martial-arts school but from the Flying Brigands Clan, a whole village of assassins.

Their combat skills leaned toward assassination techniques, and Xiang Nan vaguely remembered something about them.

In fact, "Flying Brigands" was a frightening assassin syndicate headquartered in North Hebei Province of China.

Within it, the branch most adept at poisoning was called Xi Du, Poison of the West.

After KOF 2000, a "Four Devas of the Flying Brigands" even appeared.

Yet the organization had apparently been betrayed and almost wiped out by its former leader, leaving few survivors.

Xiang Nan was unsure exactly when that happened.

Wang clearly had no desire to talk about the Flying Brigands clan.

Xiang Nan said he had trained at Shaolin in his early years, later learning martial arts among common folk; his fighting style was closer to free-style kickboxing.

Although Wang and Mao Wei were suspicious, they did not press him. After all, they had merely teamed up to enter the tournament; they were not relatives or sworn brothers, and everyone plainly had their own secrets. All they could do was take things one step at a time.

…

"I'll state this first: I put this team together, so this squad follows my orders," Wang announced in a dark mood, clearly directing the remark at the relaxed Xiang Nan. "My demands aren't high. There are fifteen teams in total; as long as we reach the top eight, that's enough. My goal is simple—to spread the Flying Brigands Clan's renown. As for you two … I don't really care."

"Relax, I know the rules," Xiang Nan replied, clapping his hands as though he were the picture of obedience. After all, Wang was the one who had obtained the KOF invitation; Xiang Nan was just catching a ride.

"Besides the eight canonical-story teams, do you have any intel on the others?" Wang asked.

"None, sorry," Xiang Nan said with a faint smile. "I've been in training and only just remembered the tournament is about to start, so I rushed here by plane without even arranging an invitation in advance. That's why I joined you in such an impolite way. But I'll do my best."

"Tch."

The more politely he spoke, the darker Wang's face became. In the end, Wang rather rudely showed Xiang Nan the door.

The next day, the three registered for the KOF tournament under the name "Team Flying Brigands."

Howard Group provided the venue, and plenty of reporters were on site.

Among the nine "story" teams attending the press conference, many canonical characters obviously knew each other and acted informally.

For example, Kyo Kusanagi was bowing to Chin Gentsai, another Chinese martial-arts legend.

By contrast, hostility simmered among many player-formed teams. Still, most eyes at the venue inevitably focused on Kyo Kusanagi's squad—he was handsome, heir to the famous Kusanagi clan of ancient Japanese martial arts, and together with Iori Yagami was virtually a main protagonist of the whole series.

Another crowd-pleaser was Athena Asamiya's team. Players generally viewed them positively because of pure interest: Athena was not only a sweet-looking high-school girl but also a pop idol with huge popularity in the primary world.

Most player squads, especially unknown "wild" teams like Xiang Nan's, were far less glamorous, drawing only scattered media attention. Quite a few players tried chatting up story characters, hoping to build relationships.

The scene was both lively and faintly bizarre.

After finishing the formalities, Xiang Nan leaned against a pillar in the lobby, quietly observing the story characters now revealed in the KOF world. His gaze locked onto Kyo Kusanagi.

"These story characters … the 'aura' they give off is tough and solid. Their bodies are clearly tempered, but the aura doesn't have a fixed flow; it spreads outward, which means their mental power is weak. The only one who's different … is him."

Watching Kyo, Xiang Nan's mind stirred. As someone who knew Nen—life energy involving both spirit and body—he could sense their aura and "essence." Energetic structures like these were often cross-compatible among worlds, and invaders such as themselves were "assimilated" by the system upon arrival.

To Xiang Nan, most story characters were still weak; Kyo alone was an exception.

His spiritual power wasn't particularly strong, either, yet Xiang Nan could vaguely sense some dormant power sleeping inside him. In KOF lore, the soul concept was indeed present: heirs of the Three Sacred Treasures and the Hakkesshu all had soul-level tricks.

"Interesting." Xiang Nan smiled. He remembered that Hell supposedly existed in KOF, too. Before Kyo could notice his scrutiny, Xiang Nan withdrew his gaze.

Nineteen-year-old Kyo Kusanagi was chatting with Benimaru Nikaido when his brow suddenly furrowed; he turned toward the crowd.

"What's up?"

Benimaru, still annoyed after a failed attempt to flirt with Yuri Sakazaki (stymied by Robert), had just complained to Kyo when he noticed his friend's strange look and followed Kyo's eyes, trying to see what he was looking for. He was clueless.

"Such a weird feeling …"

Kyo's eyes swept the contestants. Seeing nothing unusual, he turned back. Just a moment ago, he had felt a chill in his heart, as if someone had been spying on him, triggering an involuntary reflex.

"Nothing."

Kyo grinned, sounding eager. "The number of entrants is way beyond what I expected. Looks like a lot of strong fighters came—this should be an excellent match-up."

"Relax! With me, the great Benimaru Nikaido, on the squad, we're sure to win the championship," Benimaru declared, ever vain and self-confident.

Kyo exchanged a glance with Goro Daimon. The two communicated wordlessly, ignored Benimaru altogether, and walked away.

~~~

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