Infinite Gods Reign Supreme

Chapter 123 - Something's Getting Increasingly Wrong

silence.

The silence lasted for a fleeting moment.

"What kind of arrogant person dares to cause trouble at Howard Tower?!"

The guards realized what was happening.

They were all agile and robust. They immediately pulled out standard-issue pistols, designed for indoor combat, from under their suits. Shouting, they pointed the guns in Si Ming's direction.

'Click—' The safety latch opens.

'Clang—' The gun fell to the ground.

Si Ming's gaze swept over them. In that brief exchange of glances, an unparalleled sense of crisis and fear devoured the courage and heartbeat of these elite bodyguards.

will die.

If you take action, if you fire a gun, you will definitely die.

The scene after the shooting flashed before everyone's eyes; in that instant, everyone clearly saw their own death. The bravest among them gritted their teeth, their bodies frozen in place, cold sweat pouring down their backs. The slightly less brave ones, however, collapsed to the ground, their legs and weapons giving way, trembling uncontrollably, too afraid to utter a sound.

Si Ming's gaze then returned to the pale-faced receptionist in front of him.

“Inform Geese Howard.” His tone remained calm and elegant. “Thank you for your trouble.”

He then walked past her and slowly ascended the stairs behind her.

"Yes, yes!" The receptionist's stammering voice didn't come out until he had walked more than ten meters away. The next moment, alarms blared throughout the Howard Tower, accompanied by screams and screams of unrelated people fleeing.

An atmosphere of fear spread.

Si Ming's steps were steady and upward.

The voices of his companions, teasing yet puzzled, echoed through the mental link, swirling around his ears as Si Ming moved forward.

Valentina: [Oh dear, our professor has turned into a god and is bullying children! Could you explain this a little? If he's just bullying ordinary people, I, as a 'Ranger,' will be angry!]

Liesel: [Uh... well, Professor Liesel probably has his own ideas. Hmm, should it be 'God' now?]

Valentina: [...Ugh, you're so serious, it makes me look really awkward when I'm just trying to lighten the mood.]

Si Ming: [I do have some ideas. Keep an eye out for people in Howard Tower. If you see anything or anyone noteworthy, please let me know.]

Valentina: [Understood... The building's surveillance system is quite comprehensive. However, we haven't seen anything particularly strange yet... Hmm, Geese is still on the top floor, and security has come looking for you. The other ordinary people seem to be just running away and evacuating normally. Have you noticed anything unusual?]

Si Ming: [Not yet.]

Not yet.

A slight sense of crisis welled up in Si Ming's heart. Even without seeing or hearing anything, he sensed that an elite security force of about thirty men was gathering behind the door on the upper floor. His pace remained unhurried, when suddenly he heard a roar.

"Fire!"

A series of gunshots rang out from behind the door. It was heavy firepower; the spray of large-caliber machine gun bullets mingled with the hurling of grenades and stun grenades. They tore open the door and slammed violently into Siming, who had stepped onto the stairs. But…

no effect.

The 20mm caliber ammunition belt, more like a cannon than a gun, spewed out trails of light debris, ultimately futilely lingering on the mist that appeared on Siming's body.

It wasn't a fight in the dark.

It's not the Night Demon Armor.

Si Ming simply stirred up the qi and blood in his body, and his body, which was so powerful that it spontaneously generated invisible fighting qi on its surface.

Perhaps this is the true meaning of 'fighting spirit'.

Unlike the somewhat supernatural power of the Night's Battle Aura, this spontaneously emanating aura from his physical body possessed equally formidable strength and agility—hundreds of bullets hovered in vain before changing direction. He simply continued walking forward unhurriedly. The bullets suspended on the colorless aura, along with the grenades about to detonate upon impact, swiftly flew back to their original positions!
"BOOM!!!!"

The explosion behind the door was accompanied by sharp, piercing screams. Si Ming continued forward, past the bodies of the security guards who had committed suicide—several clerks who hadn't managed to escape were huddled in a corner, trembling. Some of them were even wearing Howard Tower security uniforms, but they just cowered there, afraid to make a sound.

Si Ming ignored them.

He simply continued walking up the floors.

Valentina and Liesel scanned the Howard Tower with their eyes, but they didn't find anything unusual.

Valentina: [Does that count as Geese's men running away fast? Hmm, he's supposed to have 'charismatic leadership,' but many of his security personnel are rather... Ah, I saw their personnel files. It seems like they're all new employees who only joined a few weeks ago. That's not surprising.]

Si Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

He went up to another floor. Liesel's voice rang in his ear.

Liesel: [Professor... Mr. Celestial, another elite security force is approaching you. Ah, and there's a fighter with a name among them. It's Billy, Billy Kane. The gentleman with the staff.]

His attention shifted slightly as information raced through his mind—Billy Kane, the head of security and second-in-command at Howard Corporation, a loyal subordinate of Geese. He cherished his sister above all else, and his greatest skill was close-quarters combat using a long staff.

Within the King of Fighters universe, his strength falls into the mid-tier among fighters. He's stronger than those unknown fighters eliminated in the KOF qualifiers, but far from being qualified to compete with top-tier fighters.

A good warm-up target—perhaps.

Meanwhile, on the other two sides of South Town, the Borscht Duo had just arrived at the entrance of the Kyokugenryu Dojo. And Yu Zhiwei had just stepped into the Phantom Bar.

'boom---!'

His thoughts were slightly interrupted. A powerful grenade exploded violently in the air in front of Siming.

"Hey! You there."

The dust suddenly parted in front of Siming. A man wearing a headscarf, looking somewhat irritable and unruly, stood at the end of his line of sight. He held a long staff in a ready-to-pounce stance, while behind him stood dozens of men in black suits carrying machine guns, grenade launchers, and even rocket launchers. "Although I don't know what grudge you have against Mr. Giss, just barging in like this is really disrespectful."

He raised his thumb and rubbed his nose.

"I can sense that you're very strong. But I won't let you pass so easily... Hey, how about we just go back like this? Let's just consider what happened before a normal misunderstanding."

He received no reply.

Si Ming simply stood there, quietly watching him.

They didn't speak, they didn't utter a word. And this attitude, naturally, was clearly expressed.

"Tsk, is that not good enough?" The young man holding the stick spat lightly. He immediately switched the stance of his stick, and then his entire body burst forth with power.

"I'm on it!"

He roared and lunged forward. The aura of flames flowed with the movement of his staff, and he became like a fierce tiger, accompanied by wind and fire.

Clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger. The first strike was delivered with full force, accompanied by the all-out fire of the elite security forces behind him.

Then——

Flames are released.

The power emanating from the body itself transformed into a blazing tide overflowing outwards.

Si Ming raised his hand.

The young man wielding the stick, along with a large number of gun pellets and various high-powered explosives, was frozen in mid-air by the flames.

The intensity is lower than expected. And...

—According to the character setting, is this person the type who can coordinate the use of infantry and artillery?
—I remember he seemed to enjoy pure combat more?
In one second, the fuse reached its end.

The young man's lips twitched suddenly.

"BOOM!!!!"

........................

Meanwhile, at another location in Nanzhen, Luo Yinglong and Song Tian, ​​who were preparing to challenge the Kyokugenryu Dojo at its entrance, paused briefly.

Their eyes met, and thoughts raced. Si Ming's actions were clearly displayed in their mental network, and as his teammates, they naturally guessed some things as well.

Si Ming seemed to have discovered something.

Si Ming seemed to be wary of something.

Since Si Ming didn't say it directly, there was no need for them to rashly change their plans. However, it was necessary to be more cautious when taking action.

Song Tian: [Distracted and overused, lacking focus.]

Luo Yinglong: [Is purity even useful?]

In any other situation, these two would definitely have used this as an excuse to start a fight. But considering they had serious business to attend to, they refrained from making any rash moves. Even so, the presence of two clearly extraordinary individuals at the entrance naturally attracted the attention of the dojo staff—immediately, a young man in dojo uniform stepped forward and offered a loud greeting.

"Gentlemen, this is the Kyokugenryu Gym. Unless it's something urgent..."

"Too weak." Luo Yinglong took a step forward and looked up.

The aura that roamed the six realms surged violently.

There was no need for the eight-colored true energy to burst forth; the mere surge of aura was enough to make the young man gasp in surprise. He was struck by the aura and stumbled backward until he stopped at a slender yet powerful hand.

A spirited girl wearing a headband supported him, her face serious.

"Step back, Aji, you are no match for these two." She pushed the young man behind her, but a glint of eager anticipation flashed in her eyes. "I am Yuri Sakazaki of Kyokugenryu Karate. What brings you two here?"

Luo Yinglong glanced at her, assessing the energy flowing within her. In terms of energy level alone, he seemed to have the advantage, but the question of who was stronger would require a fight.

“You can call me Mr. Sword. And this guy next to me is Mr. Knife. We came here because we heard there’s a karate master here. Or rather…”

Luo Yinglong's lips parted slightly.

"Tengu."

The girl's pupils suddenly contracted.

This is actually content from another game, and it's also the secret of the fighters Valentina discovered—the founder of Kyokugenryu Karate is named Takuma Sakazaki. A few years ago, he was controlled by a tengu mask that drastically altered people's personalities, transforming him into 'Mr. Karate' and causing numerous incidents. And now, this 'Mr. Karate's' daughter is in the sights of Rosso and his companion.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sakazaki Yuri arched her back slightly, her fur standing on end like a cat's. "The person you're looking for isn't here. Please leave."

Luo Yinglong tilted his head slightly.

Too mature.

This Yuri Sakazaki is too mature.

Normally, according to her character design, when they mentioned 'Tengu,' she should have already unleashed a 'Tiger Roar' attack.

and so……

—Did someone have a serious influence on her, or even change her?
The thought just started, and he frantically searched his mind for clues.

But on the surface, Luo Yinglong decided to do a little more.

"Theoretically, we just wanted to exchange martial arts skills. But since the karate master isn't here..." He raised his hand, his sword pointing out swiftly. "Then I'll see how much of his skill his daughter has inherited!"

(End of this chapter)