"Chun-Li? What are you doing here?"
Looking at Chun-Li hiding around the corner, Ryuji was a little puzzled.
He had assumed she wouldn't come looking for him until the World Martial Arts Tournament. He hadn't expected her to show up here now.
"Damn it!"
Chun-Li instinctively covered her face. She had been hoping Ryuji would talk with Cammy a little longer so that she could gather more information.
Instead, it looked like Ryuji didn't know Cammy at all. And now she had even exposed herself.
Had he noticed me from the beginning and only acted this way on purpose? Or did he genuinely have no idea until just now?
Chun-Li's thoughts became a complete mess.
At that very moment, Cammy caught glimpse of Chun-Li's face.
As one of Shadaloo's elite operatives, Cammy naturally remembered the profiles of the people connected to her past missions.
Chun-Li's father was killed by Shadaloo. So, the moment Cammy saw Chun-Li's face, she immediately retrieved Chun-Li's information from her memories.
Interpol is currently investigating Shadaloo. Her father was killed by Shadaloo and she has been following me.
In an instant, Cammy pieced everything together.
"Intelligence-gathering mission failed!"
Initiating assassination protocol. Eliminate all witnesses.
Like a machine, Cammy immediately determined what her highest priority should be.
Her figure shot forward toward Mai at blinding speed.
Her fist appeared to be aimed at Mai's neck, but in reality, she intended to use Mai's body to conceal her true attack before striking directly at Ryuji's heart.
Unfortunately for her...
From Ryuji's perspective, both Cammy's intentions and her movements were incredibly slow.
In an instant, he appeared in front of Mai. Looking at the slender Cammy, he thought for a moment before deciding against snapping her neck on the spot.
She's a beauty, after all.
More importantly, there was something obviously wrong with her mind. Judging from Chun-Li's reaction, she's probably a member of Shadaloo. In that case, I need to find out why Shadaloo had come looking for me...
After a brief moment of thought, Ryuji extended a finger, which was wrapped in Conqueror's Haki and pointed it directly at Cammy's forehead.
After all, if he stimulated her brain with the Satsui no Hado instead, she would probably turn into nothing more than a ferocious beast.
Black lightning crackled around his fingertip.
An overwhelming pressure poured relentlessly into Cammy's mind, freezing her body in place as though she had encountered her natural predator.
Her mind went completely blank. She knew she should dodge, but she simply couldn't. The pressure was so overwhelming that all she wanted was to faint and escape it.
She could only watch helplessly as Ryuji's finger, wreathed in black lightning, drew closer and closer.
Her instinct to survive forced every ounce of strength from her body. The purple Psycho Power within her finally began to awaken under the crushing pressure of Ryuji's spirit.
However, within the mental disharmony Ryuji had sensed earlier, another powerful psychic force also manifested. It suppressed the awakening of Cammy's own psychic power, preventing her from moving altogether.
As a result, Ryuji's finger landed squarely against her forehead.
The tremendous impact sent Cammy flying backward. But the real damage wasn't physical, it was mental.
The black lightning formed from Ryuji's Conqueror's Haki came into direct contact with the foreign psychic force, one that was nearly identical in origin to Cammy's own power.
That alien mental power, which was suppressing Cammy's consciousness, was struck head-on by Ryuji's spiritual pressure.
In an instant, a massive breach was torn through it.
"Hm?"
Ryuji paused the moment he sensed it. At the same time, Cammy's body crashed heavily onto the ground and she lost consciousness.
Seeing this, Chun-Li immediately rushed out from her hiding place. Only after confirming that Cammy was still breathing did she finally let out a sigh of relief. Then she turned toward Ryuji.
"You're really not one of Shadaloo's people?"
Her instincts told her that the best course of action was to ask the question directly.
"Bison is not qualified to be my boss."
Ryuji scoffed, "Who the hell does Bison think he is? What right does he have to be my boss?"
The pride in Ryuji's voice allowed Chun-Li to breathe a sigh of relief. At this point, she had no choice but to trust him. Because if all of this were an elaborate trap, there was no way she could have escaped anyway.
"But you, Chun-Li... Are you really prepared to have your superiors go up against Bison? Or have you still not realized that Bison's existence is something that's tacitly approved? Personally, I think if you were an IRS agent, you might be able to investigate him for tax evasion. But as an Interpol officer, you should give up on that idea."
Looking at Chun-Li, Ryuji asked the question.
He had a fairly good understanding of how this world worked, which was why he knew about organizations like Shadaloo. Because of that, he also understood Bison's position perfectly.
Bison was, in effect, a pawn placed in Southeast Asia by the Americans, the French, and the Italians.
There must be a reason Bison was allowed to exist. Otherwise, considering how often he kidnapped and murdered people in places like the United States, organizations like the CIA would have moved against him long ago. The military would have been deployed as well, instead of merely sending a handful of Interpol officers to conduct these toothless investigations.
Shadaloo was indeed conducting all kinds of human experimentation and enhancement research while tightening its control over regions such as Thailand. In other words, it had found its role and was fulfilling the purpose expected of it.
So, if Chun-Li, a Chinese woman, proposed taking direct action against Bison, her request would definitely be rejected by her superiors' superiors.
"....."
Chun-Li fell silent. As someone working for Interpol, how could she not know all of this? So, she could only remain silent.
Because she knew very well that if she reported it through official channels, the only response she would receive would be a warning not to provoke Shadaloo for the time being. And if she insisted on pursuing the matter, then the next time she went out on a mission, she'd probably have to worry about a bullet coming from behind her back.
"No matter how difficult it is, I'll see it through."
~~~~~~~~~~
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