Infinity, The Arcade Age
Chapter 528: Qin Ming’s Base of Operations

Chapter 528: Chapter 528: Qin Ming’s Base of Operations

After signing the autograph, Qin Ming gave the trio across from him a rather peculiar look.

The three band members each responded with different expressions.

Chris, the boyish one, watched with curiosity. Shermie kept her head down, eyes hidden behind her bangs, not daring to look up.

As for their leader, Yashiro Nanakase, his gaze was openly hostile.

That’s right—hostile. Bare-faced, unfiltered hostility!

And you couldn’t really blame him. If someone you secretly liked kept talking about another guy all day, you’d probably be pissed off too.

That said, while he was clearly unfriendly, Yashiro wasn’t the kind of person who forgot his manners or repaid kindness with ingratitude.

Raising his hand in a respectful salute, Yashiro said in a deep voice:

"Thank you, Champion, for lending us your strength. But this isn’t the right place for a chat. I think we should leave as soon as possible. Perhaps we could invite you to a meal as a gesture of thanks?"

"Dinner? Forget it—it was just a small favor. I’ve got other things to deal with, so let’s eat another time."

"Oh? Something urgent?"

"It’s nothing big. The KOF ’97 tournament is about to be held, so I’m going to compete—aiming for a back-to-back championship."

The moment he said this, all three of them froze. Even the usually shy Shermie abruptly looked up in surprise.

Yashiro furrowed his brows and asked anxiously:

"It’s really happening? How come we haven’t heard anything?"

Qin Ming grinned.

Of course they hadn’t heard anything—because there was no official KOF ’97 tournament planned.

Chizuru Kagura was too busy messing around with Blue Mary and those biker brats—organizing a tournament was the last thing on her mind.

Ever since Chizuru had joined Qin Ming’s faction and enhanced her bloodline with vampire powers, she’d become less and less concerned about keeping the Earth’s Will sealed.

After all, she now had a backup plan. Recently, she had even been in talks with Qin Ming about leaving this world altogether.

Since she no longer planned to stay, whether Orochi broke free or not didn’t matter to her anymore.

That said, Qin Ming wasn’t exactly lying.

Because he really was planning to hold a KOF ’97 tournament—but not to stop the Orochi resurrection.

On the contrary, it was to help the Hakkesshu resurrect Orochi, and then...

Slay a god.

Qin Ming had his eyes on that ancient, world-ending energy that Orochi had stored up for millennia.

He planned to devour it—a final jackpot before making his exit from this world.

With his influence, Chizuru wouldn’t object, so the KOF ’97 tournament really was happening.

Of course, the three in front of him had no idea that Qin Ming himself was organizing the event.

They simply assumed that, as last year’s champion, he had received early news of the competition.

After confirming that the tournament was indeed going to happen, the trio exchanged glances, their expressions shifting as they began quietly discussing among themselves.

"Why don’t the three of us join the competition too?"

"What? Yashiro, there’ll be a lot of top-tier fighters there. And besides, we’re just singers. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate?"

"Inappropriate? Come on—remember Iori Yagami? He clashed with us before, and he joined the tournament. Not only did he fight, he gained a ton of popularity!

If he can join, why can’t we?"

Yashiro slammed the table excitedly, his mind clearly made up.

"Then it’s settled! We’re entering the tournament!"

As he said this, he glanced discreetly at Shermie.

Because truthfully, he had another reason for deciding to enter... one he hadn’t said out loud.

He was jealous.

So what if he’s the King of Fighters champion? What’s the big deal? Is that really something to admire?

I’m jacked too! If I can win the championship as well, wouldn’t that totally outshine this guy? Besides, I can sing and dance!

And while I’m at it, I can use the chance to finally confess my feelings to Shermie—this is the perfect opportunity! I’ll definitely succeed!

Truth be told, Yashiro Nanakase had liked Shermie for a long time.

But the problem was—he just didn’t dare confess.

Shermie was shy and introverted. If he failed and got rejected, they might not even be able to remain friends afterward, let alone keep singing together in a band.

The risk was too high. So all he could do was hold it in.

But now, a golden opportunity was right in front of him—he could aim for both career and romance.

Naturally, he wasn’t going to let it slip by.

Having made up his mind, Yashiro strode over to Qin Ming and said loudly:

"Champion of KOF! May I ask where we can register for this year’s tournament? The three of us would like to sign up!"

Qin Ming was momentarily stunned. Once he realized what was happening, a grin slowly spread across his face.

Well, well, well! Talk about luck! I was just worrying about how tricky it’d be to revive Orochi... and these three show up at my door all on their own!

"You want to register? No problem! I’ll take you there myself. Oh right, Miss Shermie, yeah? Come on, just sign here so I can add you to my Pokédex—I mean! Register you for the tournament!"

As he spoke, Qin Ming pulled out a small yellow notebook from his pocket.

Shermie hesitated and looked toward Yashiro, who nodded with a big grin and said:

"Sign it!"

With her team leader’s go-ahead, Shermie didn’t hesitate any longer and quickly scribbled her name.

A few moments later, Qin Ming made a call to the top brass of this world—those ancient geezers who, desperate for immortality, had sided with him through Chizuru Kagura.

Then he boarded a private car, taking the Geese Howard Band trio along with him toward the Kagura residence.

At this point, the Kagura estate had long since become one of Qin Ming’s major bases of operations.

As it turns out, in the face of eternal life, things like "ancient bloodline responsibility" or "sacred missions" meant nothing.

The Kagura clan elders, who once opposed outsiders stepping into their home, had completely changed their tune the moment they witnessed Qin Ming’s powers.

Thanks to their assistance, Qin Ming had built a vast and deeply rooted network of influence.

Such is the temptation of immortality.

Hours later, the car door opened, and Qin Ming and the others stepped into the inner courtyard of the Kagura estate.

The moment they entered, they saw rows of motorcycles and mechanical parts strewn across the ground.

A beautiful woman in a biker suit, her tight outfit outlining her curvy figure, lay beneath one of the bikes. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she was busy tightening bolts with a wrench.

Expressionless, Qin Ming walked over and gave her a light kick.

"Hey, quit messing around. We’ve got guests."

Hearing his voice, Chizuru Kagura poked her head out to look.

When she saw it was Qin Ming, she rolled her eyes and extended her hand toward him.

"Pass me the 14mm wrench."

"Tch... What’s with this weird hobby of yours? Tinkering with bikes all day—what’s the point?"

"Oh, and what about you? Chasing women all day—what’s the point of that? Now go to the main hall already. Don’t sneak off to the backyard for... ’breeding.’ Those old guys have been waiting on you forever."

"Can’t you just give them the First Embrace and turn them into vampires?"

"They don’t trust us, remember? They insist it has to be you. Now quit whining and get to work."

"Fine, fine. Oh, and set up rooms for these three—they’re from the Geese Howard Band, and they’re entering this year’s KOF tournament."

As Qin Ming turned and walked off, Chizuru crossed her legs and used the skateboard under her back to slide smoothly out from under the bike.

She then gave the trio a rather strange look.

Having entered the Nightmare Space herself, Chizuru now had a better understanding of the true plotlines in the KOF world.

The Geese Howard Band? Aren’t they the main force behind reviving Orochi? I can’t believe Qin Ming quietly rounded them all up like this.

Well, in that case...

"Shermie, right? Come over here—give me a hand. Hand me the 15mm wrench."

The Hakkesshu? Reviving Orochi?

Eh, whatever. Let’s fix this damn bike first.

(End of Chapter)