Lien's voice remained cold, but with less hostility than before. "Who exactly... are you?"
"I'm Cloud, a peace-loving gourmet," Cloud said, munching on chips he'd redeemed from the system, his face showing a benevolent smile. "So, beautiful assassin lady, who's chasing you? And why are you investigating Mephistopheles?"
Lien's eyes instantly became guarded again.
"That's none of your concern."
"Really none of my concern?" Cloud's smile grew enigmatic. "From what I know, you're investigating an organization called Addes. And this organization seems to have intricate connections with a mysterious group called 'Jiao.' You're looking for your brother, Alba Meira, who was taken by them, am I right?"
BOOM!
Cloud's words struck like a bomb in the frozen lake of Lien's heart, creating massive waves!
Her body trembled uncontrollably! Her grip on her ring blade tightened instinctively!
"How... how do you know that?!" Her voice was filled with unprecedented shock and disbelief!
These were the deepest secrets in her heart! The only motivation that kept her walking through the darkness!
How could this man possibly...
"I told you, I'm a gourmet." Cloud shrugged. "I'm just interested in the stories behind various ingredients. And your story smells pretty good."
[System: Warning! Host is making creepy remarks! Please mind your words and don't scare away new conquest targets!]
Cloud: "..."
...
Just as Lien was still drowning in her massive shock—
Cloud's brow suddenly furrowed tightly, without any warning.
He abruptly raised his head, his gaze shooting like twin blades toward the distant peak of that black skyscraper belonging to "Mephistopheles"!
"This aura..."
The playful smile that always hung on his face completely vanished for the first time.
What replaced it was an icy killing intent filled with "divine wrath"!
"What is it?" Chun-Li sensitively noticed Cloud's emotional shift and asked anxiously.
Cloud didn't answer.
Because in that instant—
His spiritual sense, enhanced by Orochi's power to cover the entire globe, had detected an aura at the top of that building that felt both familiar and utterly revolting!
That aura was filled with the will of "destruction" and "nothingness."
That aura shared the same origin as the [Orochi Power] within him!
But!
It was too weak!
Too impure!
Filled with the cheap stench of "artificial synthesis"!
Like a clumsy imitator mimicking the posture of a god!
Like a third-rate painter defacing a masterpiece!
Like a bottle of "Kang Shuaifu" instant noodles pretending to be "Master Kong"!
It was the most naked desecration of the "divine"!
"Interesting... truly interesting..."
Cloud slowly lowered his head.
The smile returned to his face.
But that smile made both Chun-Li and Lien beside him feel a chill from the depths of their souls!
That smile held no warmth whatsoever.
Only rage about to erupt!
...
Mephistopheles Headquarters, top floor of the skyscraper.
Before the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, a handsome man in a white suit with long silver hair leisurely swirled a glass of red wine, gazing down at the city lights spread below like a chessboard.
This was the current underground emperor of South Town, the leader of "Mephistopheles"—Duke.
Behind him stood a tall man with a cold expression, wearing a black trench coat. This was Alba Meira, the brother Lien had been desperately searching for.
"Alba," Duke swirled his wine glass, speaking in an elegant voice brimming with control, "your sister Lien seems to have run into a bit of trouble."
"The signals from everyone I sent to her location have gone dark."
Hearing this, Alba's cold face showed no change of expression.
"Aren't you worried about her?" Duke asked with interest.
"She has her own path to walk." Alba's voice was like eternal ice. "Besides, I believe no one can hurt her."
"Oh? Is that so?" Duke's lips curled into a mysterious smile. "But what if what she encountered wasn't human?"
With that, he snapped his fingers.
"Come out, my masterpiece."
As his words fell—
A "person" slowly emerged from the shadows behind him.
That person had a face identical to Alba's, identical build, even the same black trench coat.
The only difference was that his eyes held no emotion whatsoever.
Only the coldness of a program.
Even more eerie was the energy emanating from his body—that same knockoff "Orochi Power" filled with the will of "destruction" and "nothingness" that Cloud had sensed!
"This is..." Alba looked at this "copy" identical to himself, his eternally frozen expression finally showing a flicker of emotion.
"Allow me to introduce him." Duke looked immensely proud, as if showing off his favorite toy. "Code name: Jiao. He was created using blood samples the former NESTS organization extracted from that god's remains, combined with our Addes organization's cutting-edge bio-cloning technology—the most perfect artificial life form!"
"He possesses the power of a god! Though only a degraded version."
"He will become my sharpest sword for dominating this world!"
Duke's eyes blazed with madness and ambition.
He—or rather, the "Addes" organization behind him—had actually used the blood samples left over from NESTS's Orochi research (which were actually drops of Cloud's blood scattered during his fusion with Orochi) to create an artificial human with "degraded Orochi Power"!
This was the true face of the "Jiao" organization!
They were despicable thieves who had stolen the power of a "god"!
...
Just as Duke was still reveling in his "masterwork"—
"BOOM—!!!!!"
An earth-shattering explosion suddenly came from below the building!
The entire skyscraper shook violently! As if struck head-on by a meteor!
"What's happening?!" The smug smile on Duke's face froze instantly!
On the giant screen behind him, the security feed immediately switched to the building's ground floor.
Then they witnessed a scene they would never forget.
The building's massive gates—forged from special blast-proof alloy capable of withstanding rocket attacks—had been reduced to a pile of twisted scrap metal!
And in the center of that wreckage—
A man was slowly withdrawing his fist, which was still trailing wisps of golden smoke.
It was Cloud.
He had punched through the entire building's defense system with a single blow!
"He... how is he here?!" Duke stared at the figure on the screen and cried out in shock.
He had naturally investigated the mysterious man accompanying Lien when he sent people to "deal" with her.
But he never imagined this man would be this powerful!
What terrified him even more was...
From that man's body, he sensed a pressure that made even his artificial god "Jiao" tremble!
It was the instinctive fear of a "knockoff" encountering the "licensed, original manufacturer, genuine article"!
...
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