Infinity, The Arcade Age

When deciding who to summon with the Game Coin, Qin Ming had meticulously weighed his options.

This coin was his only trump card for turning the tide in desperate situations, and he couldn't afford to make a hasty choice.

The target had to be one of the Hakkesshu (Eight Heralds). Only they would guarantee action; summoning anyone else might result in indifference or even apathy.

But even within the Hakkesshu, his options were limited.

Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie, and Chris—known as the Earth Trio—had not yet awakened their memories or powers. Calling them would be useless.Ryuji Yamazaki, a rogue who cared little for Orochi's revival, would most likely refuse to help.Leona, though carrying the Orochi bloodline, lacked the Hakkesshu's memories or allegiance, making her unreliable.

This left only three plausible choices: Goenitz, the leader, and his two lieutenants, Vice and Mature.

Summoning Goenitz was out of the question. Despite his seemingly gentle demeanor, the man was ruthless and thorough. Not even a favorability score of 400 would guarantee survival.

Even if he spared Qin Ming, he would never leave loose ends like Mai Shiranui or Mary alive.

Vice? Even worse. The sadistic War Maiden's idea of "mercy" was likely torture. Relying on her favorability? A terrifying gamble.

That left Mature, the Ruthless Beauty.

Though cold-blooded, Mature's cruelty was reserved for those outside her circle. This made her the most dependable option for a desperate summon.

The moment she appeared, Qin Ming wasted no time, immediately stacking his trump card consumable onto the Game Coin's innate favorability boost:

+100 Favorability (Game Coin)+300 Favorability (Parcy Village Certificate of Honor)

Oh, and let's not forget the +1 Favorability from his cheesy compliment.

Now, with Mature's favorability exceeding 400, she had entered the "Confidant" tier.

This left her caught in a strange predicament. Despite wanting to kill Qin Ming as part of her cover-up, she found herself hesitating.

More puzzlingly, Mature couldn't understand her reaction.

Why did she feel an inexplicable pull toward this bloodied and battered man who had been reduced to a wreck by a mere third-rate adventurer?

Surely, she didn't have a soft spot for pitiful weaklings?

Surely, she wasn't into scruffy-looking nobodies?

What was wrong with her?!

Unable to resolve her confusion, Mature turned to the simplest outlet for her frustration:

She grabbed Qin Ming, who was barely clinging to consciousness, and proceeded to beat him to a pulp.

Mai Shiranui and Mary, watching this unfold, tried to intervene despite their injuries.

They failed.

Both women were promptly knocked out and received a beating of their own.

After thoroughly venting her frustrations, Mature flung the bruised and battered Qin Ming to the ground. She delivered a few extra kicks for good measure before storming off, muttering under her breath.

"Something is wrong with me! I need to see Vice. Maybe she can help fix whatever this is!"

Her footsteps grew fainter as she quickly disappeared into the distance.

The Shiranui Dojo fell silent.

Time passed. Finally, amidst the three sprawled bodies, Qin Ming twitched.

Lying face down, he began to laugh, the sound low and rasping.

He had gambled and won.

His laughter caught Mary's attention. Still lying face down, she weakly reached out and smacked him.

"Don't laugh! It's annoying!"

Despite herself, she began to laugh as well.

Mai joined in shortly after.

Neither woman understood who Mature was or why she had helped them.

In their eyes, this had simply been an unexpected intervention. Perhaps the adventurers had a grudge with someone more powerful, and that "someone" had come to settle the score.

All they knew was that, by some miracle, they had survived.

After spending the night on the brink of death, the relief was overwhelming.

Qin Ming rolled onto his back, staring up at the moonlit sky.

For the first time in what felt like forever, the three of them let out a collective sigh of relief and closed their eyes.

They were alive.

At the base of the mountain, a masked woman crouched in a thicket.

Her fingers trembled as she pulled them away from her temple, where she had been channeling her Omniscient Eye ability.

Feng and Tu were dead.

Her face twisted in disbelief.

Despite being heavily fortified by their team's resources and boasting powerful talents, they had fallen to a lone rogue adventurer.

What kind of joke was this?

She couldn't shake the thought that she might have acted too late. Perhaps the Shiranui Dojo had already summoned Fatal Fury's protagonist, Terry Bogard.

If that was the case, their defeat would make sense. After all, Terry was a top-tier fighter.

But…

Why would Terry kill them? He wasn't a bloodthirsty character. With their survival items, Feng and Tu should have been able to escape.

The masked woman struggled to process what had happened.

Her Omniscient Eye confirmed her teammates' deaths, leaving her reeling in shock.

This wasn't an opponent she could face.

Making a swift decision, she turned and ran, retreating into the shadows without looking back.

While some might have considered scouting the situation or scavenging for loot, she dismissed the idea.

First, combat wasn't her strength.Second, the loss of her teammates had crippled her.

The three adventurers had been bound together by a KOF Invitation, a permanent silver-grade item that allowed them to form a team and enter the same world.

While it boosted their stats—+5 to all attributes for a normal silver-grade invitation—it came with a fatal flaw:

The death of any member immediately revoked the bonuses and imposed a -20% penalty to remaining attributes.

With her companions gone and her stats reduced, the masked woman knew she stood no chance.

She fled.

If the mysterious force that had killed her team found her, it would already be too late.

(End of Chapter)