The Young Master Must Kill Me

Erii chose her signature character Chun-Li, while Lu Mingfei opted for his own main, Ken, rather than the Ryu he had used previously.

As the match began, the two remained in a brief stalemate; for experts, the end of a battle often hinges on the single moment a flaw is exposed.

I have to admit, Lu Mingfei had underestimated Erii's strength.

The moment Lu Mingfei's guard slipped, Erii seized the opportunity to unleash a combo with Chun-Li, whittling Lu Mingfei's health down to a sliver.

At that point, Erii still had about a third of her health remaining, firmly holding the upper hand.

Erii played with intense focus, and seeing her opening, she unleashed Chun-Li's signature ultimate: Hoyokusen.

Street Fighter 3.3 is a 60-frame fighting game; "blocking" refers to the defensive maneuver where a successful block results in zero chip damage, with a window of 8 frames after inputting forward.

Hoyokusen is a close-range, rushing combo that executes two consecutive Hyakuretsukyaku kicks, ending with a final strike that launches the opponent into the air.

The hardest part is the first hit from startup to contact, followed by the counter-attack after jumping to block the final strike.

Everyone in the audience felt the outcome was decided, but then, something earth-shattering happened.

Lu Mingfei had predicted the Hoyokusen in advance, successfully blocking the very first hit and then perfectly executing a fifteen-hit block string to negate Chun-Li's killer move.

After Chun-Li's final upward kick, Lu Mingfei countered with an aerial block, a jumping heavy kick, a crouching medium kick, and a continuous Shoryuken, finishing with a lethal super move.

Chun-Li's health bar vanished in an instant, and Lu Mingfei secured the victory.

This sequence of moves ignited the entire venue, with cheers erupting endlessly.

The host shouted with feverish excitement: "The King of Fighters has been born today, and it is none other than our undefeated Sakura!"

Erii stood stunned, not expecting to lose; the opponent was truly strong. She lowered her eyes slightly, feeling a bit dejected.

Amidst the roaring crowd, Lu Mingfei flashed a brilliant smile and reached out to Erii: "You're a very strong opponent. I'm really glad I could compete with you today."

Looking at that smiling face, Erii froze. In her world, no one had ever smiled at her so purely, without a hint of an ulterior motive.

Even Gen Chisaki's daily smiles always seemed to carry a trace of exhaustion, and she often felt like she was merely some kind of substitute.

Erii hurriedly reached out, and as their hands clasped, a warmth radiated from his palm.

Afterward, Erii took a pen and her notebook from her pocket and wrote: "Sakura is so strong, truly the King of Fighters!"

Lu Mingfei chuckled softly. He had initially thought she was a cold, aloof girl, but he realized he had been mistaken; the red-haired girl before him simply rarely showed expression, a bit like Chu Zihang.

Actually, that wasn't quite right—Chu Zihang was the type to have a paralyzed face, while Erii was simply expressionless; there was still a difference.

"Alright, enough talk, I'm going to go collect my prize."

Lu Mingfei waved his hand lightly and headed toward the podium, where a million-dollar prize awaited him.

Erii stood where she was, lost in thought, not knowing what to do. The outside world was very unfamiliar, and she didn't dare wander off on her own.

Yaksha saw the match had ended and stood up, preparing to go retrieve the Uesugi Clan Head.

Just then, the host announced: "Due to the enthusiastic atmosphere today, the owner has decided to give away a batch of game merchandise for free—first come, first served!"

The crowd below surged forward instantly, scrambling for the game products, some of which were quite valuable!

The scene descended into chaos, and Yaksha was dumbfounded; in a split second, Erii's figure vanished from his sight.

He hurriedly tried to contact the clan members scattered in the crowd, but it was too chaotic to establish any connection.

"Damn it!" Yaksha pushed through the crowd toward the stage.

Amidst the chaotic throng, Erii felt helpless. There were so many people, and she didn't know which way to go.

After collecting his reward, Lu Mingfei walked down from the high platform and saw Erii standing to the side, looking lost. He thought, with the crowd this chaotic, and considering this girl couldn't speak...

If he left her alone, something was bound to go wrong.

He squeezed his way to Erii's side and shouted: "Hey, are you okay? Let me take you out of here."

It was the King of Fighters, Sakura. Seeing Lu Mingfei, Erii felt as if she had found her anchor. She wanted to write something, but her notebook had been lost in the crush, and she only had a pen in her hand.

Lu Mingfei noticed her distress and said with a smile: "If you want to leave, just grab my arm."

Erii obediently grabbed Lu Mingfei's arm, and with him clearing the path, he slowly led her out of the crowd.

Yaksha reached the center of the venue, but he couldn't see Erii anywhere.

"It's over. The Young Master is going to kill me for sure."

Stepping out of the crowd, Lu Mingfei let out a long sigh of relief. It had been slow going, mostly because he had to protect the red-haired girl.

Lu Mingfei looked at Erii, who was still holding his arm, and asked: "Where is your family? Are they around here?"

Erii's gaze drifted as she pondered. She remembered Gen Chisaki saying he was leaving, but she had forgotten what he said afterward.

She then shook her head firmly, indicating her family was not nearby.

That was a bit tricky, but wait—had he forgotten something?

"Damn, my body pillow!"

Lu Mingfei suddenly realized his body pillow was still somewhere in that crowd.

Looking at the chaotic mob, he felt a complex mix of emotions. Why, why was it always him who ended up in these situations?

Erii stared blankly at Lu Mingfei, not understanding why his expression had suddenly become so animated.

Calming down and reflecting on the situation, it was impossible to go back in now, but fortunately, he still had a one-million-yen prize.

"Um, if you don't mind, you can walk with me for a bit. I see you lost your notebook, so I'll buy you a new one."

Lu Mingfei asked Erii this, wondering what her family was thinking, letting a girl who couldn't speak come to participate in a competition all by herself.

It was clear she lacked life experience; she probably rarely went out to interact with others because of her inability to speak.

Lu Mingfei couldn't just ignore this. Once he bought her a notebook to write in, she should be able to communicate normally with others, and she ought to be fine getting back on her own.

Hearing Lu Mingfei's words, Erii's eyes lit up. Did he mean he was going to take her away from home?

Erii nodded repeatedly, having no objections to Lu Mingfei's arrangement.

It was a pity she had only brought her Little Yellow Duck when she left the house, Erii thought, touching her pocket.

Lu Mingfei walked in front, while Erii grabbed his sleeve to follow him, as she wasn't very good with directions.

The route she had carefully memorized on the way here had completely vanished from her memory.

She wondered if she would be able to see Naruto and Luffy later.

She was filled with anticipation for the journey ahead.

Regarding the match between Erii and Lu Mingfei, I have referenced a very famous match from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, and I am providing this explanation here.