Become a Knight Across the World

Lu Chen stopped abruptly, his brows furrowing slightly. He turned around, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. In that instant, the surrounding noise seemed to vanish, leaving only Ye Chen's provocative smile and Lu Chen's unease in the air.

Seeing this, Lin Yue hurriedly stepped forward and whispered, "Lu Chen, ignore the clown. I don't even consider him a human being."

However, Ye Chen was not about to let this opportunity slip by. His smile grew even more blatant, as if he could see through Lu Chen's hesitation: "I bet you guys can't beat me, right? Then don't stop me from looking at the beauties!" His voice was crisp and provocative, with a hint of mockery.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen's anger intensified, and he walked towards Ye Chen. His resolute face appeared even more determined under the lamplight, and his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's: "I accept your challenge. However, since it's a competition, there should be some stakes."

Ye Chen's smile instantly became even more confident, as if he had already foreseen the outcome of the victory: "If I win, you won't be able to stop me from looking at Lin Yue."

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, and a fighting spirit ignited in his heart: "What if you lose?"

"I won't lose." Ye Chen's voice was firm, with a hint of arrogance.

"If you lose, leave here immediately!" Lu Chen's words struck Ye Chen's heart like a hammer blow, stern and unquestionable.

“Okay, deal!” Ye Chen met Lu Chen’s gaze without fear, his eyes flashing with sparks, like two bolts of lightning crossing in the air, and the surrounding air became scorching hot because of their confrontation.

The two walked towards a two-player arcade machine flashing with colorful neon lights, the patterns on the machine gleaming under the lights. The game on this arcade machine was '97, and the classic graphics and music instantly awakened the passion in their hearts.

Ye Chen's heart raced, his blood surged through his body, and he felt every cell in his body cheering for the impending victory.

Even while living in the mountains, he wasn't completely isolated from the world; he would occasionally go down to the small town to play. His most vivid memory of that time was of the arcade machine outside a convenience store, and the game on that machine was—The King of Fighters. The dreamlike visuals added a touch of color to his otherwise monotonous days in the mountains.

Every time the sun sets, he would sneak down the mountain, like a thief secretly enjoying those exhilarating moments. With just a press of the start button, the world would instantly become vibrant and exciting; the thrill of battle made him forget all his troubles.

After his master passed away, he finally left those mountains and forests, still keeping the game on his phone. Although he couldn't kill someone with a single combo, he was already quite proficient in the story mode, often managing to take on three opponents at once during story battles, as if the virtual characters were paying homage to him.

Actually, when he entered the room, he not only noticed Lin Yue, but also her two friends. He noticed that although Lu Chen could use the skills on the move list, he was not proficient in them and could not defeat three opponents at once in the story mode. Therefore, he was very confident in himself.

Thinking of this, Ye Chen's lips curled into a cruel, cold smile...

Lu Chen didn't say anything, simply sat down, pressed the power button with his right hand, and rousing music filled the air, the images on the screen changing accordingly...

Ye Chen also sat down, his movements relaxed and comfortable, seemingly very familiar with the game's controls. Moreover, his expression was extremely focused, as if he were pondering how to handle this challenge.

Lu Chen didn't notice that behind him, Lin Yue was staring intently at his back, her eyes filled with worry and anxiety.

She knew the protagonist wouldn't do anything without being sure of success. If she hadn't used her special abilities at the training base, the protagonist wouldn't have suffered such a defeat. Lu Chen was too hasty; he should at least have discussed it with her. Why bother with a beast like that?

Li Yuetian sensed Lin Yue's worry and nudged her with his elbow: "Don't worry, it's okay."

At this moment, Wang Mengyun looked at the confident Ye Chen on the field and Lin Yue and others watching the game, and smiled as she patted Wang Jiayi's head: "I feel like we're going to have another competitor." Wang Jiayi nodded as if she understood.

At this moment, Lu Chen inserted the game card and entered 2P mode. In this game, both sides can choose three characters, and the three characters take turns to fight until one side's three characters have all their health points depleted, which means they lose.

"Choose this role and let him go on stage last," Li Yuetian suddenly said to Lu Chen, pointing to a character. "Listen to me, trust me."

Lu Chen nodded. Although he didn't think the character was particularly strong, he trusted him. Lu Chen chose the role recommended by Li Yuetian and set him as the third character to appear.

Ye Chen was quite familiar with the game and knew which heroes were strong and had the command toss ability. Soon, both sides finished selecting their heroes. "Go, Brother Ye Chen!" Wang Jiayi and Wang Mengyun arrived at this moment. Ye Chen turned around and smiled slightly in response.

As the "READY GO" sound effect played, the competition officially began.

With a deep whooshing sound, Ye Chen's character pinned Lu Chen's character to the ground with astonishing speed. The scene was instantly engulfed by purple flames, with raging flames and scorching air rushing towards them.

This character is none other than Iori Yagami, hailed as the most perfect hero in the game. On screen, Iori displays unparalleled power, like a fighting artist, wielding nimble yet deadly fists and feet, his combos flowing like water.

As a combo was unleashed, Lu Chen's first character's health bar was instantly reduced to its limit, leaving only a sliver of life.

With a loud bang, Lu Chen's first character was eliminated, and the entire room seemed to tremble from the blow. Ye Chen's lips curled into a smug smile, his eyes flashing with provocation, while Lu Chen could only grit his teeth, his face filled with resentment.

"It's truly pathetic that you've turned this version of the protagonist into this." Ye Chen mocked disdainfully.

"Tch, don't get cocky." Lu Chen tried to appear calm, but at this moment, he was indeed a little flustered. "Hehe~" Ye Chen didn't take his words seriously at all.

Lu Chen's second character has a move that can perform a full-screen ground attack, and he firmly believes that this character will definitely help him turn the tide.

However, Ye Chen did not give him any chance to catch his breath. Although this character had depleted some of Yagami's health, Yagami unleashed his ultimate move when Lu Chen's character released the ground slam attack again.

A ball of blazing flame rose again in Yagami's hand, but strangely, the flame did not spread out. Instead, it remained condensed in his hand, and Lu Chen's character's ground-pounding attack did not cause any damage to Yagami.

Lu Chen was a little puzzled. He controlled his character and ran quickly to check the situation, but when he was still a few steps away from Yagami, Yagami moved.

Suddenly, Yagami swung the purple flame in his hand forward, hitting the opponent precisely! The opponent's entire body turned purple, and he was unable to move!

"What?" Lu Chen was shocked. He didn't expect that Yagami's ultimate move, which had a huge aftercast delay, not only had invincibility but could also be controlled in terms of release time!

"You lost another round!" Ye Chen's lips curled up slightly, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes. He controlled his game character, charging towards his opponent like a ghost, his movements fluid and natural, dazzling the eye. With a series of skillful maneuvers, a dazzling combo and ultimate move were unleashed in an instant, leaving the opponent's character utterly helpless, ultimately collapsing to the ground.

"Brother Ye Chen is so awesome!" Wang Jiayi jumped up excitedly, clapping her hands and cheering, her face beaming with admiration. Wang Mengyun, standing beside her, gracefully walked to Lin Yue's side and softly said with a smile, "Little sister, welcome in advance to be one of us." Her voice was full of gentleness and anticipation, as if Lin Yue was already part of their little group.

However, Lin Yue seemed to ignore Wang Mengyun's words, silently watching the screen with no expression on her face. Lu Chen noticed this, but his heart was already filled with tension and unease. He clenched his fists, his palms sweating, secretly regretting his initial decision.

"I'm sorry, Lin Yue, I..." Lu Chen almost choked up and couldn't speak. He knew that the situation he was facing was extremely dire, and he had no chance of defeating the powerful Ye Chen.

To make matters worse, he was completely unfamiliar with the last character, and the opponent had three formidable adversaries. He was the one who put Lin Yue in danger.

He is doomed to defeat.