"Don't move." Cloud didn't loosen his grip—if anything, he held her tighter. "There are... people behind us."
Mai froze, only then realizing that Cloud's broad back was pressed firmly against the cold wall.
The two of them had perfectly hidden themselves in a blind spot at the corner of the corridor.
Seconds later, a patrol squad marched past them at a brisk pace.
They didn't notice a thing. Right under their noses, an intimate little "corner play" was unfolding, dripping with tension and... something else entirely.
Only after the patrol had moved on did Cloud finally release her.
Mai sprang from his embrace like a startled rabbit, spinning around with her back to him. Her heart pounded so hard she swore it might leap right out of her throat.
That bastard... just now... he was definitely holding me that tight on purpose... Ugh... but... why is my heart racing so fast...
Andy watched this scene unfold—practically floating in pink bubbles—and silently turned his head away.
He felt like he really, really shouldn't be here right now.
He should be under a car somewhere.
At the same time, a wave of genuine gratitude and admiration for Cloud welled up inside him.
This man wasn't just powerful and sharp—he was truly willing to put his life on the line to protect Mai.
Andy realized that the last traces of resentment he'd harbored toward Cloud had completely evaporated in this moment.
...
After infiltrating the underground prison without further incident, they were immediately hit by a thick, pungent mixture of blood and disinfectant.
The place was dark, damp, and reeked of despair.
Row after row of cells made from specialized alloy held fighters whose life force had clearly been drained. Most were unconscious, tubes and strange devices attached to their bodies, pumping unknown substances into their veins.
The others, however, had gone completely mad—shrieking and howling inside their cells, smashing their heads against the walls, eyes blood-red and utterly devoid of reason.
From each of them, Cloud could clearly sense a dark, malevolent aura—the same twisted energy that emanated from Geese, violent and ominous!
"These are... Geese's experiments!" Andy's voice trembled as he took in this hellish scene.
Cloud's expression turned ice-cold.
That lunatic... is using living people as test subjects! He's creating puppets controlled by the 'Riot of the Blood'!
"Joe!"
Andy's shocked cry snapped Cloud back to attention.
In a cell at the deepest section of the prison block, they finally found the familiar figure they'd been searching for.
Joe Higashi—once the spirited Muay Thai champion—now hung from the wall in chains, covered in blood.
His body was a canvas of wounds, his breathing shallow. One leg was bent at an unnatural angle.
"We need to get him out now!"
Cloud wasted no time. He stepped forward, his fist blazing with golden flames, and punched a massive hole straight through the alloy door—the same door supposedly capable of withstanding rocket fire.
Just as they prepared to free Joe, a voice called out from a neighboring cell. A middle-aged fighter, battered but still conscious, struggled against his restraints and shouted:
"Y-Your Majesty... the King of Fighters? Is that you?"
Cloud turned. The man looked vaguely familiar—someone he'd seen before in the underground fighting circuit.
"That's me."
"Run... run now!" The man's voice was urgent, frantic. "This is a trap! Geese... he knew you'd come to rescue them!"
"And there's more—before this, he met with a terrifying woman!"
"A woman?"
"Yes!" The fighter's entire body shook as if remembering something unspeakably horrifying.
"She was incredibly seductive... but her eyes were cold—inhuman! She said... her name was Mature..."
"She said that her Divine Tribe... was about to return to earth!"
"She said that the godly power in Geese... was nothing but scraps from her master's table!"
Divine Tribe?!
Mature?!
At those two names, Cloud's pupils contracted to pinpoints.
Finally... I've touched the core secret of this world—its most dangerous truth!
The Orochi clan... was about to surface!
And just then—
The entire underground prison exploded with red light!
Piercing alarms screamed from every corner!
"Intruders! Intruders detected! Seal all exits!"
The cold electronic voice announced their fate—
Their cover was completely blown!
When the shrill alarm of Geese Tower's underground prison pierced the air like a death knell, Andy and Mai's hearts sank to the floor.
"This is bad! We're surrounded!" Andy's face went pale as he instinctively moved to shield Mai.
"Stay calm."
Cloud's voice remained as still as ancient water, without a single ripple.
He used his Battle God Golden Flames to melt through the alloy chains binding Joe, hoisting the unconscious Muay Thai king over his shoulder. Simultaneously, his Mind's Eye scanned the enemy signatures flooding in from every direction.
"All four elevators are locked down. Both emergency stairwells have at least thirty heavily armed guards. The ceiling above us is reinforced with super-alloy plating over a meter thick."
He analyzed their desperate situation like an emotionless AI.
"So..." Mai's voice wavered slightly. "We're... trapped here?"
"No." Cloud turned to face her, flashing a grin so bright it was almost excessive—practically radiating "chaos gremlin" energy.
"In the Dragon Nation Team's dictionary, there's no such thing as a dead end."
"Only walls... that we personally punch through!"
...
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