Lin Mo stood silently in the center of the room, his eyes closed. The roar of the Emperor Engine slowly ceased under his control.
This feeling was incredibly profound.
If, in the past, his control over this body was still extremely simple and direct, only able to exert its basic abilities...
Then now, after comprehending the skill [Martial Arts · Pinnacle], his mastery over this body had reached its peak.
He could unleash one hundred percent, or even more, of this body's potential!
This was a qualitative leap.
To use a more vivid analogy, if Lin Mo's punch in the past exerted a force of 1, then now, with the blessing of [Martial Arts · Pinnacle], the power he could unleash was by no means just 100!
It could be said that this skill allowed him to achieve ultimate control over his power.
A strange silence fell over the room.
"Mr. KING, are you experiencing any discomfort? Do you need an immediate comprehensive body scan and check-up?"
A calm and concerned voice broke the silence in the room.
Genos had appeared by his side at some unknown point, his electronic eyes scanning Mr. KING.
The heart rate that instantly surged and then instantly calmed, the brief but intense energy reaction, all exceeded any known human physiological phenomena in his database.
In his opinion, this was by no means a minor matter.
Lin Mo had recovered. His blood circulation became more vigorous, so much so that his complexion was much rosier than usual.
Lin Mo slowly opened his eyes, adjusted for a moment, and then smiled as he turned to Genos, a smile filled with unprecedented confidence and composure.
"Don't worry about it, Genos."
He waved his hand, walked to the kitchen, and poured himself a glass of water, "I just had a bit of an epiphany about martial arts. I feel much better now."
"An epiphany about martial arts..."
Genos followed, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.
In his understanding, Mr. KING's attack methods seemed to only be the Emperor Engine and the Purgatory Matchless Exploding Heat Wave Cannon.
He had never thought that this man, hailed as strongest man on earth, also had accomplishments in the martial arts domain.
"Mr. KING, do you also have research into martial arts?"
Compared to Genos's startled reactions, Saitama appeared much more pragmatic.
"Hey, Mr. KING."
Saitama had somehow moved in front of Lin Mo, his iconic bald head shining under the light.
He didn't pay attention to any energy fluctuations or martial arts epiphanies, but simply scrutinized Lin Mo's face.
After a while, he seemed to confirm something, let out a long yawn, and slumped back onto the sofa, muttering:
"What, as long as it's not constipation, I'm fine. You scared me. Your face just now was even uglier than when I missed the supermarket's big sale last time."
Lin Mo twitched his lips, too exasperated to retort to the bald man's analogy.
He shook his head, giving up the idea of arguing with Saitama, and instead answered Genos's question: "Just a slight dabbling, not really research, and certainly nothing significant."
This was not humility.
One must know that [Martial Arts · Pinnacle] could still be upgraded. How powerful would that be?
Genos wanted to ask for more details, but he was interrupted by a voice.
"Ah—I'm so bored. Are there any good shows?"
A bored Saitama rolled around on the sofa, eventually finding the remote control and pressing the power button on the TV.
Noisy car commercials, celebrity gossip interviews, boring variety shows... The images on the screen rapidly switched, and the light in the room flickered constantly.
Just as Saitama was about to lose interest again, an enthusiastic promotional video suddenly dominated the entire screen, accompanied by rousing electronic rock music, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.
"—Blood-boiling! Full throttle! The 5th 'National Fighting Game Tournament' is now officially open for registration!"
"Here, you will compete against top masters from all over the country! Here, you will experience the purest fighting passion!"
In the center of the screen, a line of glittering golden characters gradually appeared.
"The champion will exclusively receive... a cash prize of ten million Japanese Yen!"
"You are the next King of Fighters!"
"Ten... million!!!"
Saitama's eyes instantly turned into the money symbol "¥", and he sprang from the sofa, rushing to the TV at lightning speed, his face almost pressed against the screen.
"Ten million, huh..."
He mumbled to himself, tears of dreams flowing from the corners of his mouth.
"With this, I can eat high-grade beef hotpot to my heart's content every day... And the competition is in the latest version of 'King of Fighters', the fighting game I'm best at!"
He suddenly turned his head, and in his eyes, which were originally those of a dead fish, two blazing flames now burned.
He stared intently at a stunned Lin Mo, his gaze so fervent that Lin Mo felt a hint of pressure.
"Hey! Mr. KING! Let's go! Let's participate in the competition together!"
Before Lin Mo could react, Saitama pounced on him like a hungry wolf, grabbing his shoulders tightly and shaking him vigorously:
"It's you, right? You can definitely do it! We'll team up, and after we get the prize money, we'll split it evenly! No, no, you get seventy percent, I get thirty!"
"As long as it lets me eat top-grade beef hotpot for a month... no, even half a month would be enough!"
Fighting game tournament?
Lin Mo felt a bit dizzy from being shaken, but a flash of light instantly crossed his mind.
This was like a pillow being delivered just when he was sleepy.
He had just acquired [Martial Arts · Pinnacle] and was worried about not having a suitable stage to display it.
For the enormous prize money of ten million and the resounding fame of "King of Fighters," countless folk experts would surely be attracted, and there might even be some true martial arts powerhouses hidden among them.
This was precisely a stage where he could fight to his heart's content without exposing his true identity.
He could unreservedly hone his new power here and verify the might of [Martial Arts · Pinnacle].
Saitama was still excitedly shaking him, fantasizing about the wonderful future of beef hotpot.
A sharp glint flashed in Lin Mo's eyes, and his plan had already taken shape in his mind.
He raised his hand and steadily pressed down on Saitama's still-shaking shoulders.
"Okay, I'll go," Lin Mo agreed concisely.
"Oh yeah!!!"
Saitama instantly let out an earth-shattering cheer, excitedly waving his fists in place, as if the ten million Japanese Yen and the steaming beef hotpot were already laid out before him.
"Since both Master and Mr. KING are participating in the competition, then as a disciple, I should accompany them and be responsible for logistics and support."
Before he finished speaking, his fingers were already rapidly operating on the computer.
On the screen, information about the "5th National Fighting Game Tournament" registration website, schedule... countless pieces of information were all found by him.