Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui.
Brother MK's small shop had expanded. It was now a proper arcade, featuring several Atlas games alongside other imported arcade machines.
Business was booming. More importantly, it was far less stressful than running slot machines and medal games. Back then, he lacked the means to launder the money and lived in constant fear. While his current establishment wasn't exactly a "wholesome" family venue, at least he didn't have to worry about sudden police raids.
The new shop was just as rowdy as the old one—a haze of cigarette smoke filled the air, with plenty of drinking and cursing going on. But Brother MK had grown to love it.
Right at the entrance stood a Street Fighter machine. Beside it, a notice was written in bold, hollow letters:
— PK MODE: USING CHAN KA-KUI IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED! VIOLATORS WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES! —
The reason was simple: Chan Ka-Kui was completely broken. While top-tier players could handle him, he was devastatingly overpowered against anyone with a slight skill gap. With equal skill, the player using Chan Ka-Kui would always win.
"Dammit! How much did Jackie Chan pay the Japanese to make him this strong?"
Brother MK glanced up. Right in front of him, two guys were playing Street Fighter. One of them was trying to convince his friend that Chan Ka-Kui was the weakest character, all while using him to beat the friend to a pulp.
Brother MK shook his head and went back to reading his magazine, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Hong Kong had its own video game magazines. Some were translated from overseas content, while others were officially licensed imports. The one Brother MK was reading was an official Taiwanese edition of Kadokawa Game Magazine. Some of the terminology was a bit different from what they used in Hong Kong, but he could still understand it.
As he read, Brother MK suddenly sprang to his feet.
"Holy shit! That's so generous!"
He quickly did the math in his head.
Twenty million yen!
Converted to Hong Kong dollars at the current exchange rate, that was a fortune.
Money for participating, and they were even funding the company. With an offer that good, Brother MK would have gone himself if he knew how to make games.
He flipped through the magazine some more, his shock deepening.
There's a player tournament too!
He leaned in close, scanning every line, terrified he'd miss a single word.
"A video game tournament will be held on-site, featuring Street Fighter. The champion will win a Street Fighter II arcade machine and a cash prize of one million yen—Holy shit!"
Brother MK rubbed his eyes.
It's just Street Fighter. I can play that!
However, the registration requirements were a bit complicated. Although they accepted self-registered players, such players had to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. Only those truly passionate about the game would bother.
But the organizer, Atlas, also mentioned that they would send invitation letters to arcades with outstanding sales. These arcades could then invite players to Tokyo for the Atlas Carnival and the corresponding Video Game Tournament.
All expenses—food, lodging, and travel—would be covered.
A few flashy young men, who had just finished a few rounds of a game, came over to look at the magazine with Brother MK. Brother MK pointed to the news item and showed it to them.
"No way! You can get paid for playing games? A million!"
"It's a million yen. Read it carefully."
"Yen is still money, isn't it? A million yen is a lot! If I can get paid to play games, and I'm this good, can't I just go to Japan and make a fortune?"
The young man who spoke had a red mohawk. His name was Mai Yaozu, and he was the best Street Fighter player in the Tsim Sha Tsui area. His M. Bison was so skillfully played that even Chan Ka-Kui could put up a fight against him.
Brother MK scoffed.
A bunch of punks wanting to go to a tournament.
"Wake up! Going to Japan costs so much money. The tournament lasts for several days. Who's going to pay for your food and lodging? If you run out of money, you might as well stay in Japan and work illegally."
"Who says I don't have money? Hey, I can at least afford the travel expenses!"
Mai Yaozu immediately retorted, though he felt a bit guilty.
After all, a trip to Japan would cost a lot of money. What if they won the competition and got prize money? But what if they lost!
The group flipped through the magazine over and over, finally finding a crucial piece of information.
"Doesn't it say that arcades have invitation letters? Brother MK, just give the invitation letter to Brother Yaozu to represent us from Hong Kong to compete in Japan. If he wins a prize and comes back, we'll all have face!"
These few sentences made Brother MK so angry he laughed.
He raised his hand and pointed to the shop.
"How many arcade machines do I even have in this shop? Would they even look at me, let alone send me an invitation letter?"
Although there were many arcade machines from Atlas and Capcom in the shop, Brother MK didn't think Atlas would send him an invitation letter from thousands of miles away.
Just as they were joking, the mailman came in from outside and waved the envelope in his hand.
"Brother MK, which one is Brother MK? You have a letter, sent from Japan!"
Brother MK: ??
Full of suspicion, he opened it to take a look. It was clearly a gold-stamped invitation letter, written in Chinese, Japanese, and English. The gist was that the holder of this invitation letter could go to Tokyo to compete. By keeping the tickets, one could ask Atlas to reimburse the travel expenses and board and lodging.
Some more popular arcades were able to get seven or eight invitations. Brother MK's place fell a little short, only receiving a single invitation.
Brother MK looked up from the invitation and met the gazes of the others. A dozen or so pairs of eyes were all fixed on him.
"Give it to me! I want to go to Japan for the tournament!"
On a movie set, Jackie Chan was filming the sequel to Police Story.
This was originally Police Story 2, but it had now become Police Story 3. The filming process was nearly complete, and it was scheduled to be released in Hong Kong in August.
Jackie Chan wasn't very literate, having spent his early years struggling in opera troupes. However, after becoming famous, he feared people would laugh at his lack of education, so he taught himself a lot—at least enough to read scripts.
Just then, while taking a break after filming a set of shots, his assistant jogged over and handed him an envelope.
"Jackie, there's a letter for you. It was sent from Japan."
Jackie Chan glanced at it.
"Who would send me a letter? I don't even know anyone in Japan."
It couldn't be Akira Furuya, could it?
Jackie Chan skimmed the letter, reading a line at a glance, and was stunned.
Atlas had sent him an invitation to attend the Atlas Carnival as a guest for their video game tournament. The champion of the Street Fighter tournament would be presented with the award by Jackie Chan himself—a truly high-profile arrangement.
Jackie rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't mistaken.
They weren't asking him to film a movie; they wanted him to present an award! Although it came with a travel stipend, this was a first in his entire career.
Jackie pondered for a moment, then asked his assistant about his schedule.
"Nothing scheduled for September? Great! Reply to them and say I'm available!"
As for Street Fighter, Jackie was actually quite good at it.
The Jackie Chan Stunt Team had a few arcade machines set up, and Jackie would occasionally play a few rounds with his crew. He usually played as Chan Ka-Kui, and the rest of the team almost always lost.
At first, Jackie thought the character Chan Ka-Kui was just too overpowered. He switched to M. Bison, then to Zangief, only to realize that the real reason he kept winning was his own skill all along!
Please Support me by becoming my Patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon