World Martial Arts Tournament

For three days, Lu Mingfei followed his uncle and Section Chief Chen's family to enjoy various free activities, all of which were included in the prize vouchers.

On the fourth day, his uncle announced that everyone was free to do as they pleased and thoughtfully handed out 10,000 yen in spending money to each person.

After receiving the funds, Lu Mingfei rose early from his single hotel room; today he was heading to the holy land of otaku culture, Akihabara, a place he had been longing for.

Leaving his room, Lu Mingfei headed straight for the subway station, where the base fare of 170 yen truly made his heart ache.

Stepping off the subway, Lu Mingfei entered the territory of Akihabara, where the noise was deafening and the foot traffic immense.

Looking around, the surrounding high-rises were plastered with posters of various anime characters, some of whom were dressed in quite revealing outfits.

Even the billboards on the street featured game character posters, and shops dedicated to otaku culture were everywhere, such as maid cafes, and more maid cafes.

No, I can't look at these, Lu Mingfei resisted the temptation; he was only here to buy an Asahina Mikuru body pillow!

In truth, it was mostly because he didn't have much money in his pocket.

Sighing, Lu Mingfei began to look at the card in his hand, which had been slipped under his door a few nights ago; he guessed it was an advertisement for a shop.

Lu Mingfei set off according to the location on the card.

Along the way, he observed the scenery unique to Akihabara, watching the beautiful girls on the roadside dressed in various revealing cosplay outfits.

He couldn't help but marvel that it was still January; everyone was truly dedicated to their craft.

There were always beautiful girls standing at doorways inviting him to visit their shops, but Lu Mingfei thought of his assets and could only smile and decline.

Before he knew it, he had been wandering for a while and finally arrived at the shop selling anime merchandise.

At the shop entrance, a girl cosplaying as Artoria was handing out flyers; she was a character from the Fate series and quite popular.

With a hint of excitement, Lu Mingfei stepped into the shop.

After searching for a while, he successfully found the Asahina Mikuru body pillow.

The trip was already worth it, so Lu Mingfei took the pillow to the counter to pay.

After paying, Lu Mingfei glanced toward the shop entrance and spotted a flyer; generally, it would be hard to notice such a thing, but he caught it at a glance.

It was mainly because a large string of numbers on it caught his attention: the bold characters "1,000,000 yen" stood at the top of the flyer.

Occupying a third of the space, he read the content, which roughly stated:

An Akihabara game shop would be holding a Street Fighter tournament, and the final winner would receive a prize of one million yen.

This event was dubbed the World Martial Arts Tournament!

The time was exactly two o'clock this afternoon, and the corners of Lu Mingfei's mouth curled upward.

Ah, when encountering a situation like this, even the coldest heart would warm up.

If he succeeded, he could buy another Asahina Mikuru figure; if he failed, he would retire his title as the "Great God of the Internet Cafe"—this was a battle for his destiny.

"Gurgle~"

His stomach growled; he should find a place to fill it first. Since it started at two in the afternoon, there was still plenty of time.

At Gen Heavy Industries, a black motorcade from the Execution Bureau was already waiting outside.

A group of burly men in black suits, covered in various tattoos, stood at the entrance, waiting for the big shots of the Snake Eight Families to appear.

After a short while, a man in a long black trench coat walked out. His handsome features held a hint of feminine grace, his fair skin had the texture of marble, and his brows were sharp and upright.

Beside him was a red-haired girl in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, possessing deep rose-red eyes; she was very beautiful, though she wore no expression.

Following behind were two men and one woman—they were Gen Chisaki's assistant team, his right and left hands.

As he walked to the front, all the burly men in black suits bowed respectfully, welcoming the Young Master and the Uesugi Clan Head.

Gen Chisaki sat in the back of the car with Erii, with Crow as the driver and Yaksha in the passenger seat.

A girl with a ponytail, dressed in a black suit and shirt, watched Gen Chisaki get into the car.

After Gen Chisaki sat down, he said to her, "Sakura, you come up too."

"Yes, Young Master." Yabuki Sakura sat next to Erii.

She was a beautiful girl who belonged to Gen Chisaki; no matter the request, she would agree.

Erii poked Gen Chisaki's arm.

"What is it, Erii?" Gen Chisaki asked.

Erii took a pen and a small notebook from her skirt pocket and wrote: "Brother, I want to sit by the window."

Her skirt was sewn with pockets, always stuffed with various little things.

Gen Chisaki was stunned, realizing that Erii rarely went out, and perhaps she only wanted to sit by the window to observe the outside world more.

Gen Chisaki quickly agreed and swapped seats with Erii.

Now, in the back seat, Gen Chisaki sat in the middle, with Erii and Yabuki Sakura on either side.

Adjusting his seat, Gen Chisaki gave a signal, and the black motorcade drove away from Gen Heavy Industries.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Lu Mingfei had already arrived at the competition venue. The site was quite large, showing that the company took this event very seriously.

Lu Mingfei signed up at the registration desk. He needed to fill in his nickname; after thinking about it, it was better not to use his real name for this kind of event. So, what name should he write?

A cherry blossom petal landed before Lu Mingfei, and he reached out to catch it.

This reminded him of an animated film called 5 Centimeters per Second, released in 2007.

The speed at which cherry blossom petals fall is five centimeters per second; Lu Mingfei remembered this line very clearly.

He always felt a sense of melancholy after watching that animated film.

"Sakura."

I'll just go by Sakura, Lu Mingfei thought as he filled in his nickname at the registration desk.

After carefully filling out the information and submitting it, he found a seat and waited for the competition to begin after two o'clock.

Upon arriving near Akihabara, Gen Chisaki arranged for a portion of the family members to get out of the car and walk with them, while the others waited nearby for further orders.

Erii looked around very intently; she had never been to a place like this before, and if not for a sudden whim of Crow, she might never have come here in her entire life.

Because of this, she was very focused, trying hard to memorize everything around her. Every time she saw a familiar anime poster, Erii's eyes would brighten a little more.

Suddenly, Erii stopped in her tracks, and Gen Chisaki asked curiously, "Erii, why did you stop?"

Erii took out her notebook and scribbled, "I want to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament!"

Gen Chisaki was left speechless, his forehead covered in black lines. What the hell, where did this World Martial Arts Tournament come from!

Isn't that the competition from the Dragon Ball anime!

Erii pointed to a flyer posted on a nearby wall.