Chapter 415: S.I.N. Advanced Technology Prosthetics Research and Development Center Co., Ltd.
Tokyo, 12:00 PM. 48 hours remain until the King of Fighters tournament qualifiers conclude.
Cheng, currently on a mission, had a rather subtle expression as he looked at a newspaper he had casually bought.
Bungeishunju, which had transformed from a weekly magazine into a daily newspaper, published a new report about Terry.
"Fatal Fury team captain spotted with a short-haired beauty at a convenience store, hesitating in the women's hygiene product aisle.
So, the question is—do you think the newly gender-bent Terry is a sanitary pad user or a tampon user?"
"The editor of this column is really mean… And Terry is truly unlucky."
Cheng Tian pouted, but the smile on his face never faded, a pure 'schadenfreude' vibe.
If the feminization phenomenon only existed in doujinshi, then it would just be an element serving plot and lewdness. But since there are fantasy-style ones, there are naturally realistic-style ones as well.
Cheng Tian had once accidentally seen some works that viewed thoroughly feminized existences from a very realistic perspective.
Setting aside the social discussion, just the changes to personality caused by the female body, estrogen, and other factors are unpredictable and almost irreversible.
It might be fine for a short period, but if it lasts too long, there's a real possibility of not being able to revert.
Terry had obviously encountered the first major problem of feminization—the arrival of her period.
It was unclear whether it was a simple unlucky individual case or some additional effect inevitably attached to the Midnight Blessing, but in any case, Terry still couldn't avoid this calamity, and it struck so swiftly.
Cheng Tian didn't know if a fighter's physique would grant pain resistance bonuses in this regard, but when he saw Blue Mary in the same frame on half a page of the newspaper, Cheng Tian knew that Terry was probably truly desperate. She was also too embarrassed to ask Mai Shiranui, her sister-in-law who secretly considered her a primary threat, otherwise she wouldn't have sought help from her old flame.
But suddenly, an idea struck Cheng Tian like a bolt of lightning, a very absurd thought, but one that seemed to perfectly explain Demitri's logical behavior.
Temporarily transforming males into females ensures that, at least at the moment of the first transformation, the transformed individual possesses absolute purity!
Moreover, because the chosen targets are mostly fighters with powerful physiques, this pure blood becomes even more delicious and nutritious than the blood of ordinary pure mortal women in the conventional sense!
…If viewed from this perspective, Demitri definitely has more targets than just this one.
However, considering that the opponent is a vampire race that fears sunlight, unless there are special tools or rule blessings, or it's an overcast day, the opponent should not act in broad daylight in public.
In other words, he will inevitably act again at night.
If the next victim is still a male fighter from a seeded team, then this invitation might be one of the main Causes.
Thinking of this, after casually handing the read newspaper to a curious passerby, Cheng Tian felt a bit fortunate that he had already sent out the invitation in advance.
Yes, after a brief internal team discussion, Cheng Tian chose to directly give the invitation to Cat Princess and Nero Cat. The Olylyly team's live broadcast channel thus directly became the "Cat Spirit" team's live broadcast channel.
From the moment the side quest was triggered, the focus of the original main quest—the tournament—inevitably shifted.
Of course, the tournament still had to be participated in, as triggering the main quest was a necessary condition for regular settlement. If the main quest could not be settled, then even if one made great waves in the side quests, it would be useless.
However, what Cheng Tian was going to do next could not be broadcast in public.
So, after a quick calculation, it was simply better to go underground.
Anyway, as long as they snatched a seeded team's invitation before the countdown ended, whose invitation didn't matter, right?
Cheng Tian estimated that he wasn't the only one; currently, these were just minor skirmishes. The real qualifier battle should erupt in the final few hours of the countdown.
As for this operation, Cheng Tian was acting alone, accompanying December, who had completely broken free from Vega's control.
Eileen, Mina, and Bazett maintained their Liorili state, continuing to appear in the public eye. However, without an invitation, only players would likely dare to actively attack them.
And keeping Bazett outside ensured that Cheng Tian could always use the Command Spell's effect to summon Bazett for help when necessary, as well as use the reverse summoning mechanism to teleport himself to Bazett's side, achieving a quick escape.
"Here."
December, dressed in strange attire yet attracting little attention, waved to Cheng Tian.
Some male passersby who focused their gaze on December's high-cut outfit even received elbow jabs from their female companions.
Incidentally, it wasn't just because the KOF97 tournament led to an influx of strange martial artists, causing the streets to be filled with eccentric clothing and making formal wear seem out of place. There was also December's use of psychic energy to a certain extent to interfere with and divert others' gazes.
In the Street Fighter worldview, psychic energy is roughly divided into three forms of use: "materialization," "externalization," and "erosion." December's psychic stinger is an application of materialized psychic energy, while interfering with others' gazes is a mild application of externalization.
Cheng Tian had once asked Bazett to teach him the use of Rune Magic, but perhaps lacking talent, he never fully grasped it.
However, December's method, though crude, clearly involved pure psychic energy manipulation, which was more to Cheng Tian's liking.
Thus, mimicking December's continuous rubbing of the Heart Barrier with psychic energy, it was quietly undergoing subtle morphological changes.
Guided by December, Cheng Tian stepped into a considerably large skyscraper.
Clearly, this was Shadaloo's branch base.
In Cheng Tian's stereotype, underground evil organizations naturally had to be hidden in underground facilities, with paths that were winding and deceptive.
But in reality, Shadaloo's Tokyo branch base existed openly in this prime metropolitan area, in the form of a listed corporate building!
And when he saw the name of this corporate building, Cheng Tian's gaze couldn't help but narrow—
S.I.N. Advanced Technology Prosthetics Research and Development Center Co., Ltd.
Good gracious, where have you brought me!
And are these prosthetics even legal!?
The thought of soon seeing a bunch of completely illegal prosthetics made Cheng Tian laugh uncontrollably!
"Arrest them!"
But at that moment, a high-pitched and sinister female voice suddenly forcefully interjected from the side.
Turning his head, a woman with two strange 'ox horn bun' hairstyles, a beautiful but twisted face, and who crunched a lollipop, entered Cheng Tian's sight.