KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

Alba and Raven sped through the streets in their sports car. The roar of the engine and the screeching of the tires against the pavement on the suburban roads excited the gang members watching the battle.

They shouted wildly, cheering for the side they believed would win.

On the track, Crow gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes focused and intense, a confident smile playing on his lips.

"I was in the lead from the start, yay!"

The crow cawed wildly, then slammed on the gas, and the black muscle car, like a raging beast, widened the distance between itself and Alba.

Alba remained calm and continued to drive steadily at full speed to keep up.

Locke watched as Raven's car took a significant lead on the screen.

"Brother, that red car is obviously outrun, the black one looks much more aggressive."

Yan Yue calmly replied, "It's only just begun, and this is a drift race."

What's wrong with drift racing?

Yan Yue took a deep breath and explained slowly, "That big black car is indeed fast, but it's a bit too big, so it might be unstable when drifting and not very easy to handle. On the contrary, the red one is much more stable and should be very easy to maneuver, giving it an advantage in drifting."

Wow! That makes a lot of sense!

Listening to Yan Yue's logical and well-reasoned explanation, Locke looked at her with admiration and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Big brother, how do you know so much? Big brother, don't you even have a driver's license?"

Hearing his younger brother admire him so much, Yan Yue's lips curled up slightly, and he earnestly told a lie: "Once upon a time, there was a racing god on Mount Akina in Japan, and he told me..."

On the track, Raven took the opportunity to widen the gap and became complacent. Soon he arrived at the first drift corner, with Alba close behind.

Crow entered the drift corner, the car lurching to one side, tires screeching against the pavement. He glanced back at Alba, cursing inwardly, "Damn it, you think you can catch me?"

Alba simply pursed his lips tightly, his eyes fixed on the bend ahead.

When the crow finished drifting and was about to accelerate, the car actually wobbled a bit and slipped a little while turning. He cursed under his breath again.

Just then, Alba seized the opportunity, sharply turned the steering wheel, and the red race car cut into the inside of the corner like a nimble flame, drifting perfectly through.

But soon, Crow reacted, turned the steering wheel, and blocked Alba's path. Crow gritted his teeth, "Hmph, don't think you can overtake me on one bend."

Alba, though blocked, remained calm.

In the next few turns, Raven's drifting was somewhat clumsy due to its large size, while Alba became increasingly skilled.

As they navigated a series of bends, Alba once again closed the gap with his superb drifting skills.

As the race car drew closer to the finish line, the people on the platform began to grow increasingly agitated. Everyone was extremely tense and volatile.

The crow began to tense up, cold sweat beading on its forehead. Alba, meanwhile, accelerated at the next bend, preparing to drift through the corner and successfully overtake the crow.

Looking at the last bend, Yan Yue shouted excitedly and nervously, "Now!"

Sure enough, Alba successfully found an opening during the corner drift and overtook Raven from the inside, and for a moment the two were neck and neck as they headed toward the finish line.

Just then, the crow watched helplessly as Alba's race car sped past it from its right like an arrow. In an instant, the crow's face turned deathly pale, and despair was clearly visible on its face.

His face, already slightly distorted by tension, became even more frighteningly contorted as he kept muttering, "I can't lose, I absolutely can't lose!" The tension made him shout out in terror.

At the same time, as if possessed, Crow slammed the steering wheel sharply to the right. With a loud bang, Crow's car, like a runaway beast, crashed straight into Alba's race car.

The sudden and violent impact momentarily stunned Alba, and even his hand holding the steering wheel trembled slightly.

Sovare, who was standing at the finish line, witnessed this thrilling scene. His heart tightened, and he looked at his older brother Alba with a worried expression. He then turned to the referee's table and shouted anxiously, "Hey! That's clearly a foul!"

However, the gang members on the judges' table seemed oblivious, remaining calm and composed. One of them casually remarked, "Don't forget, the rules for this competition only require drifting. If I'm not mistaken, am I?"

"What? You people..."

Upon hearing this, Sovare and his companions were instantly enraged, glaring angrily at the group of people who were utterly unjust.

Meanwhile, in the distant stands, everyone started making a ruckus.

Lianxin also showed a hint of surprise and anticipation in the corner, but quickly regained her composure.

Yan Yue and Locke were also watching the impact on the big screen intently, their hearts pounding in their chests, both of them sweating for Alba.

Locke said angrily, "Brother, this is too despicable!"

Yan Yue remained silent, their attention completely drawn to the race car, their faces serious.

Alba's car, being smaller, showed obvious deformation after the violent impact, and its speed gradually decreased. In contrast, Raven's large muscle car suffered little damage and immediately regained the lead over Alba.

"Hahahaha! I've got this in the bag!" Crow cawed wildly, as if victory was already his.

After Alba adjusted the vehicle, his expression instantly turned serious, and a murderous look appeared in his eyes behind his sunglasses.

By this time, the crow's vehicle had gradually pulled away, but Alba calmly took control of the vehicle, reached out his right hand, opened a safety cover from below the center console, and pressed it down without hesitation.

In an instant, a powerful force surged forth from within the vehicle. As the nitrous oxide acceleration system activated, eerie blue flames shot from the exhaust pipes, like the roar of a demon awakening.

Alba felt a tremendous force shoving his back against the seat, as if his entire body was being embedded into it. The dashboard needles were jumping wildly, the revs were climbing rapidly, and a series of exhilarating hums were emanating from the engine.

"This is!?" Yan Yue's eyes lit up suddenly, somewhat unable to believe the scene before her. "There's even nitro acceleration?!"

Alba's tires rubbed harder against the ground, kicking up a pungent fumes of rubber, while the damage to the vehicle also generated numerous sparks.

The red sports car transformed into a crimson streak, blurring the surrounding scenery into streaks of light and shadow. A powerful gust of wind and a wisp of blue electricity slammed against the car window, as if to shatter it. Alba gripped the steering wheel tightly, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, rapidly closing in on Raven's car.

In a mere instant, like a red lightning bolt piercing the night, Alba's car, with unstoppable momentum, overtook Crow, who was still basking in his triumph.

By the time the crow realized what was happening, Alba had already crossed the finish line.

"No—! Ah—!" At this moment, the crow was filled with despair, his face twisted wildly, and he frantically pounded on the steering wheel in his hands.

"We won! Haha!" Sovare was overjoyed when he saw his older brother cross the finish line, and he and his brothers and friends cheered and jumped for joy.

"Wow! So cool!" Locke jumped up excitedly, his eyes filled with longing for the sports car.

But at this moment, Yan Yue seemed to sense a strong killing intent permeating the surroundings, and her expression turned serious. She immediately grabbed Locke: "Locke!"

"What's wrong, brother?"

"They might be planning to kill someone here. Let's be careful and get ready to leave," Yan Yue immediately warned, while also sensing several pairs of eyes staring at her and Locke from the crowd.

"Ah? Okay...okay..." Locke was so frightened by Yan Yue's words that his face turned pale. He nodded hurriedly and took Yan Yue's hand.

The crowd on the platform was in complete chaos. Some were angry and shouting because they had lost the game, while others were happy to have won money.

Lianxin remained standing in the corner, her face calm, staring intently at the finish line, as if waiting for something.

Not long after, the crow drove the car to the destination and slowly got out of the car like a deflated balloon.

At that moment, Alba led Sovare and several companions out from the crowd and said, "Raven, you've lost!"

"Ugh... Damn it..." At this moment, the raven looked at Alba and Sovare's group, growling unwillingly and even more terrified.

"Our relationship is simply a matter of winning or losing; we accept the consequences of our bets!"

At this moment, Sovare shouted contemptuously from the side: "Hand over all your assets and go back to China."

"..." At that moment, the crow seemed to see someone, its eyes sharp.

"Mera's two lads actually managed to rescue so many of their comrades; their courage and skill are truly admirable. However, how about we leave the territorial issue at that? After all, we're all just trying to make a living in this business..."

Before the words were finished, several adults slowly walked out from the crowd. They were the gang leaders who had been sitting on the referee's bench.

Upon seeing this, the numerous gang members present quickly and consciously made way for them, afraid of accidentally offending these high-ranking figures. The gang leaders then walked directly towards Alba and his companions, seemingly intending to plead for Raven.

Upon seeing this, Alba became immediately alert. He frowned slightly and asked in an unfriendly tone, "Oh? The crow is now one of yours?"

One of the gang leaders quickly said with a fawning smile, "Alba Mela, we all know that Raven was in the wrong today. How about this, I'll personally pay you two a visit in a few days and give you a satisfactory explanation, okay?"

However, Alba remained unmoved. He snorted coldly and said decisively, "This score must be settled today. He must spit out everything he owes, or how will we explain this to our families?"

Upon hearing this, another gang leader looked troubled. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Alba, you can't say that. If we really take over Raven's territory, I'll be affected too, and I'll lose a lot of profits. How about we compromise and come up with a middle ground?"

However, Alba remained remarkably calm and fearless in the face of this tense situation. He slightly raised his chin, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, and continued unhurriedly, "A bet is a bet! Since that's the case, he must be handed over to us for disposal. This is the rule we agreed upon beforehand, and no one can break it."

Just then, the gang leader gave the order: "Then... attack!" In an instant, the previously quiet platform and both sides of the road became noisy. A commotion arose in the crowd, and then everyone drew their weapons. These weapons were varied, including machetes, chains, and steel pipes, gleaming chillingly in the sunlight, as if foreshadowing a bloody massacre.

Seeing this, even the usually confident Sovare couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He stared wide-eyed at the group of fierce-looking enemies in front of him, thinking to himself: Could it be that as a member of the Sanctions Alley, I would still be bullied like this in South Town? In the past, with the reputation of the Sanctions Alley, no one should have dared to touch them.

However, Alba already had some guesses in his mind. He sharply scanned the people holding weapons, then whispered to his companion, "It seems they must have some dealings with that Mephistopheles. Otherwise, how dare they so openly provoke our authority to punish the Dark Alley?" After saying that, he clenched his fists tightly, ready to fight at any moment.

Meanwhile, on Yan Yue and Locke's side, the scene was also somewhat chaotic. Ordinary people were frightened and fled in panic, while Yan Yue and another group of ordinary people were inexplicably surrounded by gang members. Looking at the fierce and menacing faces around them, their feelings instantly became extremely complicated.

Yan Yue maintained her polite demeanor and said softly, "Brothers, we simply wanted to come here to watch a match, we have no other intentions."

However, the response from those around him was a burst of mocking laughter.

Just then, a burly, fleshy-faced thug swaggered over. He looked Yan Yue and Locke up and down with a contemptuous gaze, and said sarcastically, "Oh ho! Look at you two, so well-dressed and fashionable, you must be carrying a lot of money, right? Hahahaha..."

Another shifty-eyed fellow chimed in with a lewd laugh, "Hehehe...not only is he well-dressed, but he's also fair-skinned and clean-cut. If we sold this young man, he'd definitely fetch a good price..."

Upon hearing this, Locke instinctively gripped Yan Yue's arm even tighter, but showed no sign of fear.

Faced with such an arrogant and domineering gangster, Yan Yue couldn't help but shake her head helplessly. The thought that she had only been called over by a white-haired boy to watch the game, and yet things had turned out this way, made her a little angry.

"No, I want to punch someone!"

Thinking of this, Yan Yue suddenly turned around and solemnly instructed Locke beside her, "Locke, you and the others leave first."

"Huh? Why is Big Brother staying behind?"

"Beat him up! That kid tricked us into coming to this godforsaken place!" With that, Yan Yue took a deep breath, somewhat angrily, and began to concentrate her powerful inner energy.