North Town is vast, but finding Geese Howard is simple. As the city's overlord, almost everyone here knows who he is.
In the heart of the city, Geese Howard built a skyscraper named the Howard Global Trade Center, serving as his headquarters to display his dominance.
Of course, people commonly refer to it as Geese Tower.
Su Ye and his two companions were here for revenge, but they wouldn't charge in recklessly. First, they needed to gather intelligence on Geese Howard.
After paying respects at Jeffe's grave for Old Su, the trio arrived at the base of Geese Tower.
As a landmark in North Town, Geese Tower is bustling with employees and visitors taking photos, but today it was particularly lively.
Three men were brawling at the entrance, drawing a large crowd.
One, wielding a staff, was North Town's fighting champion, Billy Kane, Geese Howard's top enforcer and loyal hound.
Another, in an orange martial arts uniform and barefoot, was Ryo Sakazaki of the local Kyokugen dojo, nicknamed the Invincible Dragon, known for his Tiger Flame Punch—dragon techniques through tiger strikes.
As for the third, it was Benimaru Nikaido, whom Su Ye's group had encountered at the airport.
Su Ye's group was only there to scout and had no intention of intervening, so they glanced briefly, exchanged nods with Kyo Kusanagi from afar, and left.
As night fell, Su Ye and his two companions arrived at a bar near Geese Tower called "Muse."
Three men visiting a bar at night weren't there for sleazy antics; they were upright men, and everything they did was for business. Bars were the perfect places to gather intel, and this one happened to be owned by Geese Howard.
Exactly.
The bar had a nice vibe—no booming DJ music or wild dancing. On the central stage sat a beautiful woman, dressed fashionably and provocatively, singing blues to a smooth rhythm.
Her looks and outfit clearly matched the taste of the "Lusty Old Perverts" below, who whispered lewdly and ogled her, but she remained unfazed, accustomed to such a life.
That is, until Su Ye walked into the bar. Her expression shifted slightly, her gaze lingering not on Su Ye but on Terry behind him, for a full five seconds before reluctantly looking away.
Su Ye pretended not to notice, took a booth, Joe Higashi headed to the pool table, and Terry sat at the bar. Their roles were clearly assigned.
When the song ended, the woman made her way straight to Terry and struck up a conversation.
Su Ye didn't react; the woman was Angelina, Geese Howard's adopted daughter. Terry getting close to her could yield valuable intel.
According to the King of Fighters lore, Angelina and Terry were childhood friends. She remembered him, but he didn't recall her. She loved him, but he dared not love her. Ultimately, she sacrificed herself for him in a tragic, melodramatic tale.
Shaking his head, Su Ye scanned the room for any useful information when he spotted a familiar outfit.
It was a tall blonde girl wearing a red sleeveless crop top, blue-purple cargo pants with star designs on the side, and a casually slung decorative wide belt.
In the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters storylines, this outfit belonged to the iconic character Blue Mary, Terry's later ambiguous love interest—though their relationship never quite progressed beyond friends with romantic tension.
So, Terry's first love and potential future love interest appearing at the same time? Was this setting him up for an early love triangle drama?
Su Ye felt that as an older brother, he couldn't just watch Terry get dragged into a potential showdown. He should step in and shoulder this burden for him—that's what a big brother should do.
Of course, rushing over to chat would only backfire, so he needed to wait for the right moment. And in a bar, such opportunities were plentiful.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before a group of clearly drunk men passed by Blue Mary. One of them leaned in toward her, muttering something as his hand reached out.
Blue Mary frowned and pushed him away, but the man wouldn't let it go and was about to get physical.
Su Ye sighed. Sure enough, scoundrels everywhere are the same—drink some liquid courage and forget their limits, thinking a bit of money gives them free rein to act however they please. Can't flirt? Resort to violence...
In an ordinary world, Su Ye might have just called the police and taken a picture as evidence. As an ordinary man, he couldn't protect himself and had a family to safeguard.
But here, even knowing Blue Mary wouldn't truly be harmed by these thugs, Su Ye still couldn't sit idly by.
Just as the thug raised his hand toward Blue Mary and she frowned, preparing to fight back, a figure flashed by. The thug screamed as he was flung several meters, crashing into a distant wall, his face bloodied as he passed out.
The eight other men in the thug's group were momentarily confused, but under the influence of alcohol, they roared and charged forward.
Seeing the numbers against them, Mary shifted her shoulder, ready to join the fight, but Su Ye's large hand pressed down on her shoulder first.
"This is a small matter. Leave it to me."
Before he finished speaking, Su Ye stepped forward, raised his leg, and kicked—once, twice, thrice!
He didn't want to dirty his hands dealing with these shameless thugs, so each received a swift kick. Even the two women among them weren't spared as they all slammed into the wall.
After finishing, Su Ye casually sat back down beside Mary, wearing a graceful smile. "Would you mind buying me a drink?"
Mary's lips immediately curved into a smirk. "I do mind."
Seeing Su Ye's bewildered expression, Mary burst into laughter. "Waiter, bring me two bottles! One glass isn't enough."
The latter part was directed at Su Ye.
"I thought you'd ask them to bring the whole barrel," Su Ye joked with a shrug. As he spoke, he noticed from a distance that Angelina had taken advantage of the scuffle to steal a kiss from Terry.
Hiss! This little vixen is quite bold.
Mary glanced in the same direction, her tone subtly teasing. "What's the matter? Were you here for Miss Angelina too? Seeing her with another man, are you jealous now?"
Su Ye shook his head. "First, that guy is my brother. Even if they got married, I'd only be happy for them. Second, in my eyes, Angelina's charm and looks don't hold a candle to yours."
No sooner had he finished speaking than his eyebrows twitched as a voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Triggered the 'Beauty Coach' Card sub-effect. Acquired a 'Private Detective' girlfriend...]