The base's collapse continued.
Massive stones rained down like hail.
Whip stood silently, looking at the corpse of the "brother" who had lost all signs of life.
In the end, she didn't give it another glance.
She stood up, turned, and gave Cloud a standard military salute.
"Report, Lord Cloud."
"My mission is complete."
Her face no longer showed sorrow—only a soldier's cold obedience.
Cloud looked at her and was silent for a moment.
Then sighed.
He knew this strong girl had simply buried all her sorrow deep inside.
He reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"Well done. Let's go... home."
...
KOF 99 ended.
In a manner no one had anticipated—full of chaos and farce—the curtain fell.
This "Hongmen Banquet" carefully orchestrated by NESTS to collect combat data and hunt Cloud had ultimately become a complete and utter losing proposition.
Not only did they fail to collect any useful data on Cloud.
They actually had their own core technology, organizational intelligence, and even their boss's body data completely "cleaned out" by him.
They were like a thief trying to rob someone's house, only to not just fail at stealing anything, but get backstabbed by the homeowner, who emptied out their entire home instead.
This was truly the year's most pathetic villain.
And our protagonist Cloud had undoubtedly become this tournament's biggest winner.
He had not only thwarted NESTS' conspiracy without a scratch.
He had also casually freeloaded a massive amount of top-tier technology.
And successfully planted a seed of "rebellion" in K's heart.
Most importantly...
He had once again successfully conquered... ahem, "helped" two lost girls.
At this moment, aboard the private jet returning to South Town.
K' and Maxima had chosen to part ways with Heidern's forces.
They would walk their own path, seeking their own truth.
Before leaving, K' gave Cloud a long look.
He said nothing, but his eyes were filled with complex emotions.
Gratitude, awe, and... a will to "catch up."
Meanwhile, Cloud was enjoying the blessings of multiple women.
On his left sat Goniko, that pure white lotus, gazing at him with admiration while handing him sliced fruit.
On his right sat Leona, the melted ice queen, silently massaging his shoulders.
And across from him, Shermie was massaging his legs.
Cloud looked at this scene of "orioles and swallows" around him, then recalled his system inventory packed with "war spoils."
An extremely satisfied smile spread across his face.
This wave, this wave was called...
—"Played the tournament, won at life."
KOF 99—even though he hadn't even fought in the finals, he was the true champion.
...
KOF 99, that farce later jokingly dubbed the "Strongest Smurf Championship in History," had finally concluded.
NESTS, that mysterious organization that had originally wanted to "flex its muscles" in front of the whole world, only to get slapped so hard by Cloud they couldn't tell up from down.
After paying the painful price of one executive, an underground base, and massive amounts of core technological data, they decisively chose strategic hibernation.
They had been beaten into fear.
And Kyo Kusanagi, the "Child of Destiny," had been successfully rescued from the cultivation tank... ahem, from the laboratory, thanks to Benimaru Nikaido and Shingo Yabuki.
Though he was a bit weak from having too much "blood" drained, requiring rest at home for a while.
At least he had kept his life.
The world once again welcomed a brief peace.
And our protagonist Cloud thoroughly entered "closed-door development" and "quietly getting rich" farming mode.
He locked himself in that private ship "acquired" from NESTS—practically a mobile fortress—parked in South Town, and began digesting his bountiful "war spoils."
For others, NESTS' "black technology" filled with genetic maps and energy models like heavenly scripts would probably fry their brain CPUs just from looking at them.
But for Cloud, who possessed the [Deep Analysis] function...
This was simply the finest "experience pack" delivered right to his door!
[Ding! Analyzing K-series modified human gene grafting technology... Analysis complete! Congratulations, Host, you can now... transplant Sharingan onto yourself (materials required)!]
[Ding! Analyzing NESTS combat suit energy conduction system... Analysis complete! Congratulations, Host, you have gained a deeper understanding of how to scientifically charge phones!]
[Ding! Analyzing Clone Kyo memory overwrite program... Analysis complete! Congratulations, Host, you've learned how to batch format hard drives (physically)!]
Accompanied by the system's forever-trolling notification sounds.
Cloud, like a greedy sponge, frantically absorbed this knowledge from another "tech tree."
His "Chaos Divine Bloodline" also underwent a wondrous chemical reaction with these top-tier biological technologies during this process.
If before he was a pure "metaphysical boss," fighting through "bloodline suppression" and "rule manipulation."
Then now, he was the ultimate chimera of "magic and science dual cultivation"!
He could both "hand-seal to tear space" and "decompile firewalls."
He could both "destroy armies with a snap" and "hand-craft nuclear batteries."
This aesthetic was simply absurd to the extreme.
And the most intuitive change was the data on his system panel, climbing steadily upward.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! After fusing NESTS genetic modification technology, your Divine Chaos Bloodline progress has reached 80%!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Your four-dimensional attributes have all broken through the 350-point barrier! Officially entering the inhuman domain! Note: If you wish to become an existence like Orochi, your four dimensions must reach a minimum of 1000. Keep it up!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Your Ultimate Power comprehension has reached 90%!]
...
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