Mr. Lin Was Different!

Brandon Lee nodded and gave up his seat to Lin Lixin.

"Lin, I recorded so much motion footage. Why did only these few moves make it in?"

From his experience playing just now, Fei Long's moves were extremely monotonous. Aside from the punches and kicks mapped to the four buttons, he only had the most basic options, like crouching attacks and jumping attacks.

Although there were indeed subtle differences from Guile in the moves and frame data, overall, the characters all suffered from serious sameness.

Lin Lixin was in no hurry to answer. Instead, he took his time selecting a character and signaled to Sam that they could begin.

Sam looked very excited.

During the earlier playtest, he had already discovered how powerful the turtle-and-projectile playstyle was, and he had become hooked.

Even when he had played against Lin Lixin before, he had used that tactic to keep Lin Lixin thoroughly pinned down.

Naturally, he intended to do exactly the same thing this round.

Flashy moves? Exhilarating combat?

Sorry, I'm here to win! Hehe.

"Shooting!"

Lin Lixin immediately executed a precise jump-in, rushing right into Guile's face during the gap between Sonic Booms, then following up with a point-blank command grab.

Sam had not expected Lin Lixin to actually slip through his continuous projectile barrage, and he momentarily lost his bearings.

Lin Lixin refused to let up, unleashing several flashy combos in succession before finally using Fei Long's spectacular "Shinryu Hassai" to smash Sam's projectile-spamming Guile dead against the wall.

"Thanks for the match."

After all, Lin Lixin had been schooled in modern fighting games. Taking on a complete beginner like Sam really did feel a little like picking on a child.

"Wait, how did you do that move just now?"

Brandon Lee stared blankly at the flashy skills Fei Long had unleashed. He was a completely different character from the one Brandon had just played.

Schwarzenegger's jaw had dropped even earlier, when he saw Guile execute a Sonic Boom.

"If you're interested in advanced moves, you can take a look at this."

Lin Lixin reached over and picked up a neatly printed document with several tables listed on it.

"What's this?"

Schwarzenegger took the document and gave it a quick scan, utterly bewildered.

Each entry was marked with a jumble of fancy icons, including what looked like joysticks and letters such as "HP" or "LP."

"I call it a move list. You can also think of it as the game's 'instruction manual.'"

Brandon Lee and Schwarzenegger exchanged a look, then carefully read through its contents.

They soon found the entry most familiar to them: Guile's "Shooting!"-in other words, Sonic Boom.

"Hold the joystick back to charge, then push forward and press punch?"

Schwarzenegger was thoroughly confused by what he read, but tried working the controls a few times in the sequence it taught.

"Shooting!"

Guile's voice-or rather, his own voice-rang clearly out of the speakers. He really had managed to launch a Sonic Boom!

Now both men clearly realized that this game was probably far more complex than they had first assumed.

Every character had a completely different fighting style and move list.

That meant each person's gameplay experience was utterly different.

Even the same person would find it difficult to play two identical matches.

It was unlike "Contra," where memorizing stages allowed players to keep improving and become increasingly adept at clearing them.

When playing "Street Fighter," the enemy they faced was another player.

There was endless joy in pitting oneself against others!

Brandon Lee and Schwarzenegger were both completely absorbed.

As a defensive character, Guile actually managed to trade blows evenly with Fei Long thanks to his unique capabilities.

Only when Brandon Lee caught an opening with a beautiful whiff punish and landed a Flame Kick did the duel finally end, with a score of 2-1.

Lin Lixin, meanwhile, heard the system notification sound in his mind.

The twenty-point boost to all attributes quickly took effect. The several new techniques he had just mastered swiftly came together into a cohesive whole, even giving rise to more new techniques.

But Lin Lixin's attention was not on that. Instead, it was on the mission's [Additional Objective].

Convince Brandon Lee's mother-Bruce Lee's wife, Linda.

Brandon Lee was clearly a man of his word. Now that he had fully acknowledged this work, which far exceeded his expectations, he naturally would not go back on his promise.

That very evening, he went to his mother's house and told her about it.

Yes, throughout the entire two months of development, Linda had known nothing about it.

After she heard Brandon Lee out, the atmosphere in the room abruptly turned cold.

She slapped a document down on the table.

Brandon Lee quickly glanced at it, and his gaze froze.

It was a draft of a lawsuit against Konami, apparently seeking to protect their rights over certain inappropriate elements in "Kung-Fu Master."

"Not one of these game companies is any good."

She cursed with a frown, her eyes fixed on Brandon Lee.

"And you actually went and helped them develop money-grabbing things like video games?"

Today, she had met the head of Konami's North America division and seen the game called "Kung-Fu Master" that they were in the process of porting.

At first, she had merely been skeptical and intended to see what it was all about before reaching a conclusion.

Linda had thought she would see a thrilling action presentation like the film "Enter the Dragon."

But what those people had shown her was merely an ordinary beat 'em up crudely cashing in on nostalgia.

Perhaps it truly counted as a high-quality title within the gaming world, but in Linda's eyes, that was nowhere near enough.

Brandon Lee had not expected such an intense reaction from his mother, and for a moment, he was at a loss.

"Mr. Lin is different. Really."

All he could do was offer that feeble defense of Lin Lixin.

"You've really lost your mind..." Disappointment colored Linda's voice. "Right now, you should be focusing on your acting career, not advising some video game."

Brandon Lee's throat bobbed as he swallowed with difficulty.

Convincing his stubborn mother was far harder than he had imagined.

But when he recalled the outstanding showing of "Street Fighter," his resolve firmed again.

There was one method that was sure to work.

He had to let his mother see and play that groundbreaking work herself.

"I played the role of 'Bruce Lee' in 'Street Fighter.'"

Linda suddenly felt her breath catch. This wastrel who sided with outsiders had very nearly made her pass out with rage.

Well, now. Just wonderful.

She had spent several exhausting days running around defending their rights, only to make little progress and suffer Konami's mockery besides.

She had finally made it home, and before she could even rest and catch her breath, her son had dropped this bombshell.

Just as she was about to reprimand him, a clear female voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Mom, let's just go take a look."

Startled, Linda turned to look.

At some point, the bedroom door had been pushed open. Shannon Lee stood in the doorway, having heard their conversation.

"I believe in my brother."