NOVPUB
Chapter 398 - 398: The Complete Collection Achievement
The divine fragment of Orochi was ultimately reclaimed by the Nightmare Space—and the reclamation was executed with incredible speed, as if it feared Qin Ming might change his mind.
With a flash of light, the divine fragment instantly vanished without a trace.
In return, it fulfilled its promise, immediately upgrading one of Qin Ming's equipment pieces in a highly targeted manner.
This was the aspect of Nightmare Space that Qin Ming was most satisfied with.
Sure, the company had an outrageously high death rate—but the rewards were truly generous.
Most importantly! When it promised you something, it delivered on the spot! Instant delivery, not even a second of hesitation! And it never skimped on the goods!
Who wouldn't love such a wealthy, no-nonsense boss who keeps their word?
It was like saying you'd get a bonus for finishing work in the morning, but they already piled the money on your desk before noon, even before the job was done—and if you finish well in the afternoon, maybe you'd even get a raise.
Totally different from those dream-weaving types who only talk big!
Under the dazzling light, Qin Ming's equipment quickly finished upgrading.
And the piece that got upgraded was none other than the King of Fighters Handbook he had just obtained.
Looking at the handbook that dropped from the light and landed precisely in his hand, Qin Ming's face lit up with excitement as he eagerly opened it to check its attributes.
He wanted to see exactly what this so-called "tailor-made, fully satisfactory upgrade" entailed.
But when the equipment interface opened and he saw the attributes clearly, the ecstatic Qin Ming suddenly froze.
Because...
[Name: Full Yellow Handbook]
[Category: Special Item (Brilliant Legend-grade Equipment)]
[Equipment Requirement: ID 441985]
[Effect 1: Tournament Invitation – Story characters can register their names in the book, and can be randomly summoned in other worlds to assist in battle. Unlimited contracts allowed. Current sign-ups: 0]
[Effect 2: Complete Female Fighter List – All recorded female characters will gradually increase their favorability with you, up to a max of 650 points. (Only female characters can be recorded)]
[Effect 3: Pre-Tournament Warmup – You may summon any recorded character within your personal Nightmare Space room. No limit on the number of summons. Only available within your room.]
[Description: As a reward, the Nightmare Space customized this special equipment according to the personality of ID 441985. This is the one and only of its kind.]
Staring dumbfounded at the new equipment in his hands, Qin Ming remained in a daze for a long time before finally snapping out of his shock. He raised his hand and fiercely flung the handbook to the ground, roaring in outrage.
"Slander! This is outright slander! What do you mean by 'tailor-made for me'?! Is that what you think of me?! This is character assassination, damn it! Nightmare Space! Come out and explain yourself!"
Fuming, Qin Ming stood up furiously, feeling utterly wronged and defamed.
He stomped toward the door in anger, but his steps suddenly halted at the threshold.
After a two-second silence, he slowly backed up, returned to the handbook, glanced around to make sure no one was watching... then quickly picked it up and stuffed it into his shirt.
Then...
"Here, King, sign this for me."
"Sign? What is this?"
"Ah, it's the invitation list for the King of Fighters '97 Tournament I'm about to host."
Inside the martial arts dojo, King was slouched on the sofa after an intense training session. As she wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel, she frowned and flipped through the little booklet in her hand.
Looking at the yellow cover with the crudely altered name, her gaze toward Qin Ming was filled with suspicion.
"You're hosting the King of Fighters '97 Tournament?"
"Yep. Any problem with that?"
"Of course there's a problem. You? Hosting a tournament? You couldn't even afford a motorcycle without borrowing money from Mai Shiranui. Where'd you get the money for this?"
"That wasn't borrowing! That was my salary! And I'm broke now only because Chizuru Kagura is still busy cleaning up the aftermath and hasn't paid me my tournament prize yet! Otherwise I'd be rich already! Come on, stop sweating the small stuff—just sign already!"
As he spoke, Qin Ming enthusiastically handed her a pen.
King took the pen with a strange expression, scrutinized Qin Ming up and down, then suddenly tossed the pen onto the table.
"Not signing."
Qin Ming, who had been eagerly waiting for her signature, instantly exploded.
"Why not?!"
"Because I don't trust you. This whole thing reeks of sketchiness. When someone acts overly nice for no reason, they're either a crook or a con. And you're smiling way too much—definitely up to something."
"King! That's just unfair! How can you question my integrity like this?!"
"Hm?"
"Okay, maybe I do have just a tiny bit of a reputation issue! But can't you at least trust the bond between us?!"
"You mean the bond that started with you beating me up the first time we met?"
"That's called fighting to make friends!"
"Fine! Let's say there's friendship between us! Then answer me this—why are all the names in this booklet female fighters?"
King flipped through the pages, her brows furrowing tighter the more she read.
"Mai Shiranui, Blue Mary, Vice, Mature, Kasumi Todoh, Athena Asamiya, Leona... even that Sharan who holds a grudge against you signed it."
"Sharan signed on her own. That has nothing to do with me."
"No matter how you spin it, this whole thing is shady. You're sneaking around like a weasel—it's obvious you're up to no good. I'm not signing anything. What if you sell me out?"
King was a cautious person. After years of mingling in the underworld, she had developed a sharp sense of self-preservation.
She was nothing like the airheaded Mai Shiranui, who would get wagged into signing—and even considered pressing a fingerprint—after just a few compliments.
But Qin Ming had a special tactic for dealing with someone as guarded as King: emotional guilt-tripping.
"King! I'm so disappointed in you! How could you suspect me of selling you? You're not even worth that much!"
"What?!"
"No, no! I mean, I don't care about money! Even if I were going to sell someone, I'd sell Mai Shiranui first! She's way more marketable than you!"
Waving the booklet in his hand, Qin Ming looked dead serious.
"Even human traffickers wouldn't sell that many people at once! Do you really mistrust me that much? Is our bond not even worth a simple signature?"
As soon as Qin Ming said this, King instinctively frowned.
She gave him a suspicious look. To be honest, she still didn't trust him.
But after some thought, she figured signing a name wasn't that big of a deal. So many others had already signed—if Qin Ming was plotting something, it wouldn't reach her anyway.
"All right, since you're putting it that way, I'll do you a favor. But just this once."
Lifting the pen, King casually wrote her name in the booklet.
She had barely finished when Qin Ming eagerly snatched his precious collection back, grinning like a fool at the newly added signature.
His genuinely delighted smile made King even more suspicious.
Before she could figure out what Qin Ming was so smug about, he had already turned to leave—only to suddenly pause and spin back around as if remembering something.
"Oh right! King! Isn't that Yuri Sakazaki from the Sakazaki family visiting the Shiranui dojo right now? Where is she? I need her signature too!"
"She's signing too? You don't even know her!"
"Come on! This collection is just one name short! Not having it all is driving me nuts! Once we meet, we'll know each other!"
"Qin Ming! I'm warning you, don't stir up trouble! Yuri might be a softie, but her brother and father aren't!"
"I'm looking for her! What do they have to do with it? Even if they wanted to sign, I wouldn't let them!"
In the end, King, unable to out-stubborn Qin Ming, begrudgingly brought him to Yuri Sakazaki and even personally introduced them.
The innocent and naïve Yuri, with no ulterior motives whatsoever, got giddy after just a few compliments from Qin Ming and happily signed the booklet.
With that, Qin Ming—now the proud Pokémon Master of the complete KOF '96 Fighter Dex—finally departed in satisfaction.
Yuri Sakazaki wasn't all that strong, really. Though hailed as a prodigy who surpassed her brother Ryo Sakazaki in talent, in truth, she was just a third-rate fighter. She might not even be able to beat Mai Shiranui right now.
Qin Ming didn't get her signature to summon her as backup. On the contrary—adding Yuri would only pollute the deck.
The best way to use the KOF booklet was to sign only one person—one top-tier fighter—so that every random summon would draw her. That way, the combat strength could be maximized.
Signing weaklings would only dilute the quality of reinforcements.
But honestly—what kind of gamer could resist the temptation of collecting a complete roster? Qin Ming definitely couldn't!
Now that he had acquired a supreme item and completed the list, Qin Ming finally felt fulfilled.
Though he still had a few days before his return, he didn't slack off. Instead, he began wandering the city, hoping to stumble upon wild female story characters.
With luck, maybe he'd even encounter a hidden character!
But after all his wandering, he didn't find any hidden characters—instead, he found himself being tailed by Sharan.
Just days ago, Sharan had seemed to harbor deep hatred toward him. Yet now, she had become unusually docile, as if she'd let go of her grudge and reverted to the kind nun she used to be.
No more yelling or ambushes. Instead, she'd become quite clingy toward Qin Ming.
Something about it felt off. At first, Qin Ming thought she had developed Stockholm syndrome. When that didn't seem right, he figured maybe it was the KOF booklet's effect.
When even that turned out to be false, he was left completely bewildered.
The more submissive Sharan acted, the more alert Qin Ming became.
After all, his sunglasses could show affection levels. If a woman who hated you with every fiber of her being suddenly clung to you, acting all sweet and gentle—but her affection score still read -600—how could anyone not be on guard?
Since when did Sharan learn to play this kind of game? Damn it, she's gone bad!
This must be the doing of Vice and Mature, those two corrupt women! No one else in the Shiranui dojo would stoop this low!
When I get back today, I've got to find an excuse to teach those two a lesson!
Just as Qin Ming activated his sunglasses and stared at Sharan's negative affection level with a deep frown, he froze mid-step in the middle of the street.
Adjusting his shades, his eyes suddenly lit up.
He had spotted someone in the crowd—someone extraordinary.
(End of Chapter)
