Jason Reed is also a second-year high school student, but he’s not from their Class Two. This guy was a legendary figure back in high school—not because he was a top student, but because he got into the most fights at school. You could say he was the most effective fighter around, and he was famous throughout the school. There were several times he almost got expelled, but it seemed his family had some influence and always managed to keep him in. Someone like William Clark, even if he only recognized him once, would definitely remember his name.

  “Jason Reed... quite a big name, huh? But today we’re here to play King of Fighters, not to get into a fight with you guys.” The three of them seemed rather wary of Jason Reed.

  Jason Reed glared, straightened up, and his fierce aura intensified as he barked, “King of Fighters it is! Are we, Fourth High, supposed to be afraid of you? Go ahead, state the rules—this is our Fourth High’s turf, but you set the rules, so you can’t say I, Jason Reed, am bullying you.”

  The chubby guy on the other side took a step back, but still said, “Alright, let’s play eleven rounds. Anyone from your Fourth High can play, and in the end, we’ll see who wins more.”

  “Fine! That’s how we’ll do it. I’ll go first—who’s up from your side?”

Chapter 006: Taking Action

  Since King of Fighters had just come out, there really weren’t many good players yet. But these three from Second High had already played it elsewhere for a few days, so their skill level was a notch above the people from Fourth High. William Clark vaguely remembered that, except for Jason Reed who played three rounds and got crushed all three times, after just three matches, no one else from Fourth High dared to step up. The opponents’ skills were simply out of their league.

  And now, the situation was exactly the same as last time. After Jason Reed went up, he lost three rounds in a row, and didn’t even have a chance to show any temper. The other side only lost one character, and their mastery of the moves was something none of the Fourth High students had ever seen before. It was basically one combo after another, attack after attack—the kind of dazzling play that truly embodied the essence of King of Fighters.

  “Who’s up next?” At this moment, the chubby guy flexed his wrist and grinned at Jason Reed and the people behind him.

  Jason Reed hesitated, his face alternating between green and white. The other side’s skill was clearly way above his; if he kept playing, he’d just keep losing.

  “There are still eight rounds left. Don’t tell me you can’t spare eight game tokens? If you want, we can pay for you, as long as you send someone up to play.” The chubby guy looked at the Fourth High students with a mocking smile, his tone full of provocation.

  “What did you say?” Jason Reed immediately glared.

  The chubby guy got a bit nervous, but still said boldly, “Jason Reed, we’re just competing in a game. If you can’t take losing and want to fight us, the three of us are outnumbered by all of you from Fourth High. Whatever you want to do, we’ll just have to accept it—we won’t fight back.”

  “Hmph! If I wanted to fight you, I wouldn’t need anyone else—I could handle it myself.” Jason Reed snorted coldly, but the match couldn’t go on now, and he was extremely frustrated. He was a big shot at Fourth High—when had he ever suffered such a loss?

  “So what now? Are you Fourth High guys admitting defeat, or... should we wait a bit for you to go find some experts from your school?” The chubby guy winked again.

  “I’ll go! We’re going to lose anyway, so let me do it!” Brian Cooper hadn’t even played yet, but his morale was already gone.

  Jason Reed reached out to stop Brian Cooper, and said in a low voice, “Fine! We admit defeat. But remember this: within a month, we from Fourth High will definitely come to your Second High and challenge you.”

  “Anytime. As long as you dare to come, we from Second High will be happy to welcome you. But you’d better bring some real experts next time—at your current level... we’re not interested in playing you.”

  “Don’t get cocky. Give us some time and our skills will improve. When that happens, we’ll beat you so bad you’ll be picking your teeth up off the floor!”

  “Looking down on us from Fourth High, huh? I know King of Fighters has been out elsewhere for a while—it’s just new here.”

  The students from Fourth High were all riled up, but with the skill gap so obvious, they could only swallow their anger.

  “Even though today was disappointing, I hope you won’t let us down a month from now. My name is David Parker. If you go to any arcade near Second High and ask for me, someone will let me know.” The chubby guy waved smugly, ready to leave.

  “Wait!” William Clark suddenly shouted, “Don’t be in such a hurry to leave—there are still eight rounds left.”

  “What, you want to give it a try?” David Parker looked at William Clark.

  “Why not? It’s not like I’ll lose a pound of flesh if I lose.” William Clark grinned, looking completely at ease.

  “Yi Fei, you can’t. The game just arrived yesterday—you haven’t even played it. If you go up, you’ll just embarrass yourself.” Brian Cooper quickly tried to hold William Clark back.

  David Parker immediately frowned and said, “I don’t want to waste time. You’d better find a good player before you come to me.”

  William Clark inserted a game token, then gently shook the joystick and said, “If you leave now, is it because you’re afraid you might not win the next rounds and lose face?”