The NESTS Organization—a major villainous force in the world of The King of Fighters.
It had once been a charitable organization that advocated for peaceful development, environmental protection, and saving the world. But everything changed after the old leader passed away and his son took control.
The NESTS Organization became increasingly radical and cruel.
They began conducting human experiments, developing technological augmentations, and even dabbling in cloning technology.
Angel was one of the few survivors from a previous Super Soldier Project—and not just any survivor, but the strongest among them.
Though she had survived by sheer tenacity and had since risen to a fairly high position, Angel felt no joy in her achievements. Quite the opposite—she had grown to loathe the NESTS Organization. It had strayed far from the ideals it once stood for when she first joined.
If it weren't for the locator implanted in her body—used by NESTS to track her—and her fear of being outmatched by the organization's top fighters, Angel would have defected long ago.
Unable to flee and lacking the strength to rebel, she grew increasingly apathetic, slacking off and becoming lazy. Otherwise, with her power, she wouldn't still be stuck in the middle ranks.
Inside the city, within a secret base located beneath a temple, the electronic door slid open. Angel walked in, arms hanging at her sides, staggering with exhaustion.
She had taken a beating this time—but more importantly, that terrifyingly strong King of Fighters champion didn't seem interested in going head-to-head with NESTS. Even after learning the location of the base, he hadn't come to investigate.
That left Angel deeply frustrated. She spent the entire trip back venting her annoyance.
The world really has changed, she thought. Fewer and fewer people stand for justice. How can a champion fighter just ignore evil?
Where's the sense of fairness? The responsibility? The mission? The righteousness?
Figures. Movies are all lies! There aren't nearly as many heroes willing to stand up for justice in this world—just a bunch of scumbags who go along with the villains!
After all, working hard can't compete with just lying flat and doing nothing!
Swiping her access card and quickly returning to her small room, Angel flopped face-first onto her bed with a loud thud.
She lay there, hands behind her head, staring blankly at the ceiling.
She didn't know what to do anymore. She had risked her life to undergo those dangerous modifications, finally gained strength, only to discover that the organization she thought represented justice was actually the worst evil imaginable. It was an utterly disheartening realization.
Escape? Fight back? Resist?
Others had tried to resist before—but they all died. Horribly.
Angel didn't want to die. That's why she had never dared join any rebellions. But how much longer could she go on helping NESTS capture innocent people? How much more of this could she endure?
Lost in chaotic thoughts, Angel let out a heavy sigh as she stared at the ceiling.
At that very moment, outside the temple above the secret base, a towering figure stepped out from the shadows.
Qin Ming—had come knocking.
Well, not exactly "knocking." He had followed Angel back here.
There was no way Qin Ming would take Angel's intel at face value. What if it was a trap?
So instead, he chose to tail her in secret, and only after confirming that she had entered the temple did he feel certain that this was indeed a NESTS outpost.
Why hadn't Qin Ming been discovered while following her? Simple—he didn't need to stick too close.
With a trace of his blood left on her, Qin Ming could track her precise location at any time, as long as the distance wasn't too great.
Thanks to that method, even from hundreds of meters away, he could pinpoint her exact position with ease.
Standing before the temple, Qin Ming silently put on his signature dinosaur-shaped sunglasses.
He adjusted his white outfit, then strode forward.
As he approached, two monks who had been closing the doors froze in shock. Recovering quickly, they pressed their palms together in a respectful bow.
"Good evening, benefactor. The hour is late, and the temple is closing. Please come ba—"
Thwack!
Before the monk could finish, Qin Ming yanked on his gloves and swung his arm hard, instantly sending the monk flying.
The man soared four or five meters before crashing headfirst into the donation box, his head lodging deep inside it.
Seeing this, the other monk turned pale with terror. He scrambled to his feet and bolted, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Help! Someone's attacking the temple! Help! Quick—!"
Bang!
Before he could finish shouting, a sharp gust of wind came from behind.
Qin Ming had ripped a door panel off its hinges and hurled it like a discus. It struck the fleeing monk squarely, knocking him flat to the ground.
With both monks quickly taken out, Qin Ming pressed forward with a stern expression. By now, numerous monks had swarmed out from inside the temple.
Wielding long staffs, they looked aggressive and murderous.
But under the lens of Qin Ming's sunglasses, their displayed names told the truth—
Fake Monks!
"Attack!"
With a furious roar from the squad leader, over twenty staff-wielding monks charged at Qin Ming, shouting as they swung at all his vital points.
And then—
Crash!
With a loud crash, a fake monk let out a shrill scream as he was blasted through the door and sent flying into the room, slamming heavily onto the floor.
Then he continued to slide across the ground for another three to four meters before finally coming to a stop.
At the doorway, Qin Ming's burly figure stood tall like an iron tower. With a stern expression, he strode into the room. Despite it being the middle of the night, he wore a suit and sunglasses—a look that made it obvious he wasn't here with good intentions.
Inside the room, an elderly monk was seated cross-legged in front of a Buddhist altar. Upon seeing Qin Ming, he quickly pressed his palms together and greeted him with a bow.
"Amitabha. Benefactor, it is late at night, and you've come bringing violence, injuring my disciples. Your murderous aura is too heavy. Allow this old monk to chant some scriptures for you to help dispel your killing intent."
As he spoke, the old monk—who looked aged and kind—had already closed his eyes and quietly started to chant.
Seeing this, Qin Ming frowned slightly. He stepped forward and spoke coldly:
"Bald donkey, I don't have time for your nonsense. Where is the entrance to the NESTS base? Talk!"
"Hm? NESTS? This old monk does not know such a thing. I only know how to recite scriptures and worship Buddha."
"You're still pretending? You think I won't—"
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Just as Qin Ming finished half his sentence and walked up to the monk, the seemingly enlightened monk suddenly opened his squinting eyes. In one smooth motion, he pulled out a submachine gun from beneath his seat and unleashed a wild spray of bullets directly at Qin Ming.
While firing, he even shouted:
"Wicked spawn! Today this old monk shall send you to the next life!"
Over thirty bullets tore out in rapid succession, nearly all of them striking Qin Ming dead on.
But instead of being injured, sparks flew from Qin Ming's body. Not only was he unharmed—his clothes weren't even torn.
Amidst the smoke and gunfire, the old monk's eyes widened in disbelief as he realized that his full barrage hadn't even broken Qin Ming's defenses.
Holding the gun, the monk looked up and saw Qin Ming's cold, expressionless face staring at him. After a second of awkward silence, he swiftly stashed the gun and pressed his palms together once again, returning to his "virtuous monk" posture.
"Amitabha! Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. Death is but illusion. Benefactor, let us return to our discussion of Buddhist doctrine."
…Boom!
With a thunderous kick, Qin Ming sent the old monk flying like a cannonball. He crashed into a cabinet and became embedded beneath the statue of the Buddha.
After disposing of the old monk in one blow, Qin Ming's face remained cold as he began searching for the secret entrance to the base. Before long, he spotted a clue beneath one section of the floor.
Tearing up the floorboards, he saw a sealed iron hatch below. Qin Ming tried to pull it open, but it was locked tight. Shaking his head slightly, he suddenly raised his arms and gathered his strength, forming tiger claws at his waist.
Modified—Tyrant's Roaring Fist!
Boom!
A powerful blow hit like a solid shell, slamming directly into the steel plate!
The moment fist met metal, the heavy iron hatch twisted and warped, and was forcibly torn off.
With a loud clang, the detached door fell into the tunnel below, and Qin Ming leapt in right after it.
The moment he landed, a wave of harsh gunfire erupted from the far end of the tunnel.
A large number of NESTS soldiers, already lying in ambush, opened fire on him with their weapons.
The dense barrage of bullets struck Qin Ming's body, sending sparks flying off his skin.
Raising his arm instinctively to shield his eyes, Qin Ming looked across the tunnel at the swarm of NESTS troops. A flash of blood-red light gleamed in his eyes.
The next moment—he suddenly swept his arm forward with force!
Modified—Sonic Blood Slash!
With a resonant whoosh, blood spiraled through the air, hardening mid-flight into a crimson blade.
Forming a blade over a meter long, it shot through the tunnel like lightning.
It traveled more than thirty meters before slamming into the far wall. With a sharp crack, the blood blade embedded itself deep into the wall.
Only when the blood slash came to a halt did the deafening gunfire abruptly cease.
The NESTS soldiers, who had been clustered together unleashing suppressive fire, suddenly had their bodies neatly split in two—instantly slain by a single attack!
Striding past the littered corpses, Qin Ming raised his hand as he walked forward.
As his blood absorption ability activated, the solidified blood blade in the wall and the blood from the corpses began to surge toward his hand like a flood. All of it gathered into a single orb of blood that floated and spun in his palm.
Before even reaching the corner of the tunnel, the blood orb in Qin Ming's raised hand trembled violently.
The next moment, with a faint buzzing sound, countless palm-sized blood blades shot out from the orb, spinning through the air as they flew around the corner and shot down the other side of the tunnel.
In an instant, screams filled the air. The narrow tunnel was filled with ricocheting blood blades.
One after another, the NESTS soldiers who tried to charge in and stop Qin Ming were pierced by the blood blades and died on the spot.
And even in death, the blood from their bodies rose into the air, forming new blades that flew ahead—again and again—creating a vicious cycle. More and more blades!
(End of Chapter)