Chapter 28: Iron Man Is Coming

Shiranui Hanzo was already advanced in years; he had come to see through many things in life. Yet he held a single, unwavering conviction: to ensure the legacy of the Shiranui style. That was the purpose behind opening this dojo.

But to pass down the style, relying on a single girl like Mai was obviously not enough. Though the fighters caused quite a ruckus these days, a woman would inevitably face many inconveniences in certain situations. Not to mention, would the disciples truly accept and respect a female head of the school? And what about those few days each month—what if someone came to challenge the dojo and stir up trouble then? Was she supposed to fight while injured? What if she got halfway through a fight and something embarrassing happened? That wasn’t something you could just shrug off with bravado.

With age comes caution and forethought, unlike Su Ye, who charged headlong into things, focused only on working himself to exhaustion. Yes, independence and self-reliance were important for a girl, but she also deserved to be protected. If there were a dependable man to support her, that would be ideal.

Su Ye knew nothing of Shiranui Hanzo’s inner struggles. All he knew was that as long as he stayed at the Shiranui Dojo, his every request was met. Not only would he get to learn the art of bone manipulation and Shiranui Ninjutsu—even the ninja attire of the Shiranui school was his, if he wished…

Well, that was something Su Ye decidedly did not wish. As for cross-dressing, he wasn’t entirely opposed, but Mai’s outfit? No, thank you.

He couldn’t accept that ninja uniform himself, and even for Mai, he suggested a change of wardrobe. How could he stand his girlfriend going out in such a revealing outfit, giving everyone else a show? Was he supposed to just look the other way—what did they take him for, Andy, the king of cuckolds?

Mai was initially against changing outfits. The costume was a tradition of their school, a rule not to be broken lightly. But after seeing Su Ye’s concept sketches and watching him, with his deft tailor’s skill, sew the new outfit himself, she changed her mind.

Mai’s game skins weren’t limited to the classic ninja outfit. In the Dead or Alive series, she had numerous costumes—wedding dresses, nurse uniforms, maid outfits, bunny girl suits, and so forth. But Su Ye didn’t choose any of those. Those were, in his mind, best saved for home gaming sessions… cough. What he made was a set inspired by the Enchanting Whisper skin from Honor of Kings.

Though it was still a low-cut, short-skirted, and rather revealing design, it provided much more coverage than the ninja outfit, and both the color scheme and style were beautiful. Originally, he’d considered a white cheongsam made by a fan, but worried that he’d end up with a Street Fighter Chun-Li card in the future, leading to awkward matching outfits, he went with Enchanting Whisper instead.

“This outfit is beautiful!”

Right in front of Su Ye, Mai immediately changed into the new Enchanting Whisper costume.

Ninja Art: Instant Costume Change!

They were less than a meter apart, but even with Su Ye’s Spider-Man-level dynamic vision, he couldn’t see how she managed to change so quickly.

This was utterly absurd.

As for the freshly changed, original ninja outfit in his hand… ahem!

[Character: Mai Shiranui.]

[Current affection level: 80 (love).]

[Kind reminder: Young man, your charm and consideration have conquered her heart—now, can your abilities conquer her body as well?]

Spare me your so-called “kind” reminders—please, just give it a rest!

In just a week, Su Ye had not only raised Mai’s affection to 80, but also nearly mastered both bone manipulation and the Shiranui school’s techniques. At this point, he was basically a complete version of Andy.

And with a body even stronger than Andy’s, he was a powered-up version.

With so much going on, he had no time to care about discussions online. He wasn’t a celebrity, nor did he depend on popularity for a living. Even if some fans turned on him, it was no big deal.

By the way, after fighting the Green Goblin that day, Su Ye waited until midnight at home to receive his new card before going to bed.

But the new card wasn’t what he’d expected—it wasn’t another Blue Star card or a surprise Purple Star. Instead, it was an upgrade card.

[Upgrade Card: After use, the next girlfriend card you draw will be one tier higher.]

Simply put, if he used the upgrade card before a single draw, he’d start at white card level. For a ten-pull at green card level, the guaranteed green card would become blue. Ten blue pulls could yield a purple card, and ten purple pulls could yield a gold card…

That was fantastic.

He already had two green cards in hand; in another month and a half, he’d have ten. Then, using the upgrade card, he’d get another high-quality blue girlfriend card. The thought was thrilling.

The first blue card brought him Mai. Who would the second be? The anticipation was almost unbearable.

Of course, that could wait. For now, there were other matters to attend to.

“As for the fans, let them be. We won’t restrict or guide them. What about the things I asked you to look into? Any news?”

It had been over ten days since he’d drawn Mai. Their relationship had blossomed to love, and Su Ye had learned all the skills he needed, but no storyline involving Andy had appeared.

Although he’d learned from Old Su that he wasn’t an orphan, nor did he have a half-brother named Terry, there were still some things he couldn’t rest easy about until he’d confirmed them.

This was when Gwen, whose hacking skills had leapt forward, proved useful.

“The South Town you mentioned—I couldn’t find it. Are you sure that’s the name, or has it always been called that?”

In the King of Fighters and Fatal Fury worlds, South Town was a city in the United States, where Terry and Andy grew up, and also the stronghold of their nemesis, Geese Howard.

Geese Howard was the one who killed their adoptive father, and he ruled South Town with massive underground power and wealth.

So, if there was to be an Andy quest, it would surely relate to Geese Howard. If they could find him, they’d have a lead.

Unfortunately, the results were disappointing. Whether the name was wrong or Gwen’s skills insufficient, she found no trace of any South Town.

Logically, if the name was correct, a simple internet search should have turned it up.

“Maybe the name’s changed,” Su Ye replied uncertainly. “Anyway, keep an eye out. If you hear anything, let me know immediately.”

“Okay,” Gwen replied. “By the way, there’s another piece of news you might find interesting.”

“Tony Stark is coming to New York. Supposedly, he’s here to inspect the venues for the Stark Expo. But online, no one cares about that. Everyone’s excited for Iron Man and Spider-Man to meet—they’re hoping you two will face off.”

Su Ye couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Were his country’s netizens really this bored?