AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Chapter 477: Little Rock Has Many Mothers
Billy Kane's Flame Hurricane was a move that dated back to the original "Fatal Fury" in 1991.
As for the "Nezha's Revolving Wheel" mentioned by Cheng Tian, it was a special move used by Zhao Yun in the original "Knights of Valour" from 1999.
Especially the Flame Hurricane in King of Fighters '97 and Zhao Yun's Nezha's Revolving Wheel were so similar in appearance when executed that one might think it was a case of material imitation (or even misappropriation).
Similar to Chin Gentsai's Stinky Breath, the Flame Hurricane is also a multi-hit attack, dealing significantly more damage to stationary targets, but the Flame Hurricane also possesses the unique attribute of being a "defensive special move."
Theoretically, the Flame Hurricane, while in its high-speed spinning phase, can deflect most conventional projectile attacks.
However, there was a problem that only Cheng Tian knew about: the "weakest super move" attribute that the original game gave to this technique.
Whether it was intentional by the developers or an accidental oversight, in the '97 era, Billy's Flame Hurricane was considered the weakest special move among all.
Despite theoretically possessing formidable offensive and defensive capabilities, a special move that could envelop the entire body without revealing any openings, it could be easily broken by most characters in the game with normal heavy attacks or low kicks due to hitbox issues, without even taking a single point of damage.
Cheng Tian wasn't sure if this aspect would be replicated, he only knew that if it were, Billy's own combat prowess shouldn't be oblivious to it.
As Andy's Flying Meteor Punch reached its final stage, emitting a penetrating wave that was about to strike the Flame Hurricane, Billy suddenly swung his staff, and before the charge was fully stacked, he prematurely entered the second stage of his special move—
He launched the flaming wheel as a flying energy blast!
Andy's Flying Meteor Punch energy blast collided with the second stage energy blast of the Flame Hurricane, erupting into a large ball of fire that instantly obscured Andy's vision.
Although far from a Solar Flare, it still caused Andy to instinctively shut his eyes.
And in the instant the fire burst and his eyes closed, Billy's arm twitched slightly, then his red mechanical staff split apart, and in an instant, dozens of staff afterimages were unleashed, overwhelming Andy as they rained down on him!
"Billy's Secret Art! Long Staff Great Cyclone!!!"
This peculiar staff-shaking technique transformed the long staff's attack range from a point to an area.
If you have one of those large brooms used for sweeping streets at home or school, you can probably imagine which is harder to dodge: getting hit by a staff or getting hit by a broom.
The consecutive execution of two special moves, interspersed with a flashbang-like effect, allowed Billy to seize the initiative completely; it must be said that he was indeed from the streets, his dirty tactics on par with Ryuji Yamazaki and Cheng Tian!
Andy, having lost the initiative, no longer had a chance to counterattack. He could only concentrate all his fighting spirit into his arms, head, and neck—critical areas—and assume a defensive posture.
Then, an unimaginably terrifying heavy blow, with a force that seemed capable of smashing him to the earth's core and sending him flying out the other side of the planet, poured down on Andy's crown, slamming him hard onto the ground.
When all the fire and smoke dissipated, a deep, human-shaped imprint was left on the ground. Andy lay curled in the crater in a posture similar to Yamcha, unmoving.
"The victor has been decided!"
"Winner! Billy!"
"Andy~~~~!!!"
Appearing almost simultaneously with the man in sunglasses and a goatee was Mai Shiranui's incredibly penetrating banshee wail.
Andy, who had only briefly fallen unconscious, felt a slight tingling on his scalp, then immediately woke up. But when he opened his eyes and saw Mai Shiranui's anxious face, his tensed muscles relaxed, and he truly realized the fact of his defeat.
Although the unconsciousness lasted only a very short time, from the perspective of a life-or-death battle, that one hit alone would have been enough to kill him.
And the tournament, in reality, did not prohibit follow-up attacks on stunned or unconscious opponents.
Alas~ My skills are inferior~ I'll start over~
Seeing Andy's expression, Mai Shiranui knew that he was overthinking again, and she could even already imagine the plot that would unfold next.
It would probably involve him abandoning her again for the sake of training, retreating to the Shiranui-ryu dojo, and not coming out until he reached a certain level of reclusiveness.
If things continued this way, getting him to willingly commit to her would be absolutely impossible, so... get! pregnant! and! marry!
The idea of using a child to tie down Andy grew increasingly firm in Mai Shiranui's heart. She didn't want to be stood up for another twenty or thirty years, as Cheng Tian had described!
And so, just when Andy hadn't yet woken up, Mai Shiranui, her face full of anxiety, very unceremoniously plucked some golden hair with follicles from Andy's head, and Andy was indeed woken up by this prickling sensation.
These hairs with follicles were a type of DNA sample, and she was already prepared to head to Hammond's lab.
However, how to avoid Andy's gaze afterward and prevent him from realizing her true intentions would also require a bit of cunning.
Andy, whose head was a bit pointy from the beating, shivered without warning.
"The Fatal Fury Team and the Howard Special Team are now tied 1-1! Indeed, the final decisive match, which might also be a life-and-death match, rests on the shoulders of both teams' captains!"
"Then~ both generals! Please enter the arena!"
In a way, this battle was the most anticipated match of all the competitions today.
Terry, wearing a custom-made original skin costume provided by the organizers, and also wearing a chest binder for the first time in his life, stepped onto the ring, but his gaze was visibly flickering.
It could be seen that Terry's gaze frequently shifted between Geese Howard, who was simultaneously entering the stage, and Cheng Tian at the host's table.
Coincidentally, Geese, who also entered the stage, didn't show it as obviously, but his ears were clearly angled towards Cheng Tian's direction, with a considerable amount of his attention focused on Cheng Tian, this human-shaped gossip generator.
Andy and Billy's precedents were enough to put all fighters on high alert, fearing that the damn guy would again spout some finely crafted ivory from his mouth.
So when Cheng Tian's drawn-out "Eh~~~" echoed from the loudspeaker, the audience sat up straight and eagerly stirred, afraid of missing any of Cheng Tian's gossip.
The fighters were both loving and fearful: loving because they also enjoyed gossip, their ears all perked up without a single one lowered; fearful because when it was their turn in the future, they would almost certainly suffer greatly.
Some of them had already begun to try and review their past lives, looking for any scandalous dark histories.
And the two on the stage were of one mind like never before; they decided that if Cheng Tian made any more astonishing statements, they would rush over and take him down, even if it meant forfeiting the match!
But what they never expected was that the moment Cheng Tian opened his mouth, both of them were struck by lightning, freezing in place.
"Little Rock, Rock Howard, little guy, are you watching TV? Both of these people on stage are your mothers~~~"