Chapter 434: Large Feng Shui Engine / Android Reserve Device
It was impossible for the organizers not to know that the three forces of Hammond, Shadaloo, and NESTS were gathered in one place, and with such a large-scale operation.
However, even if they knew, they couldn't truly interfere unless they had top-tier enforcers like the Fatal Fury Team or the Art of Fighting Team to maintain order.
So, as a fallback, all they could do was use the other sixteen live broadcast channels to guide the public's attention away from the Hammond Laboratory during the three-way battle.
Fortunately, Hammond Laboratory was located in what used to be a park area, clearly some distance from the surrounding bustling city. Also, after two days and one night of chaotic battles, the public had basically become desensitized to the vibrations and sounds, which were even more exaggerated than real thermal weapon explosions. Some bloodthirsty spectators would even follow the source of danger directly, wanting to see what exactly was happening.
They weren't afraid of death, but the organizers were terrified, as they still needed the public to make money.
At this point, deliberately guiding the public's view to other locations became crucial, and the method was actually quite simple.
That is, among the preliminary teams, there were actually some teams belonging to the organizers. Their mission was not to pass the preliminaries and enter the main competition, but precisely at this time, to challenge strong teams, create incidents, and other ways to divert attention.
Sure enough, the Women Fighters Team and the Psycho Soldiers Team were once again chosen as typical examples, but due to the situation during the day, there was now an added redirection of the live broadcast channel towards the Fatal Fury Team... But even so, when all the glass on the front of an entire research building shattered, the people on the organizer's side could only comfort themselves by saying that at least there weren't many pedestrians below the building at that moment.
However, based on the MUGEN rules, even private fights not involving preliminary matches could only wait for the battle between the two sides to completely end before the rules would initiate necessary repairs to the scene.
As for the source that caused the research building's walls to peel and glass to shatter, it was naturally a Feng Shui Engine located in the underground research facility deep within the building, which was currently operating at high power, driven by a silver-haired bald man.
Just as Stark Tower has a "Large Arc Reactor" that resonates with his chest, the S.I.N. High-Tech Prosthetic Development Center Co., Ltd. building also houses a "Large Feng Shui Engine."
It is both the prototype of the small and medium-sized Feng Shui Engines on Juri Han and Seth, and also provides all the energy needed to support the research for the entire building.
Seth, the director of SIN and also Vega's planned "perfect humanoid weapon" backup body, had already learned about Shadaloo's night raid plan through Juri Han, and also knew who the targets were.
However, when he saw Cheng Tian, who had caused a ruckus in the building during the day and escaped unscathed, appear on the surveillance cameras, Seth's built-in system with its super analytical capabilities gave an almost impossible judgment—
Vega is dead ~ Seth shall rise!
Upon seeing this judgment, Seth instinctively displayed a healthy smile, identical to Vega's.
How could Seth, who was destined to be Vega's backup body, easily succumb to this fate? He had coveted the position of leader of the Shadaloo organization for a long time. If Vega had truly died as the system speculated, then he didn't believe anyone in Shadaloo could stop him from becoming the new leader.
What Four Heavenly Kings? Except for Vega himself and Sagat who had already left, they were all just roadside trash!
But as this thought emerged, another undeniable thought also surfaced—
Who exactly killed Vega!?
Looking at the rapidly enlarging fist of the Stand on the surveillance screen, Seth's face was clouded with gloom.
Seth was indeed the perfect humanoid weapon in Shadaloo's plan, possessing a "Feng Shui Engine" that could copy and integrate all fighters' abilities for his own use, and he was single-mindedly determined to replace Vega. But precisely because of this, he knew that he still had a gap between himself and Vega.
Yet, such a Vega had a high probability of silently falling into the hands of the opponent, and the opponent was even clearly heading straight for SIN headquarters. The implication was self-evident.
Thinking of this, Seth's thoughts gradually became clear. Then, using his authority as the highest person in charge of the SIN department, he activated the self-destruct countdown of the Large Feng Shui Engine.
Seth didn't know if this group of people came for him or for the SIN department, but the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' didn't apply to them. As the prime suspect in Vega's suspected demise, and also an inevitable enemy of Shadaloo, Seth believed that exchanging a building for a future Shadaloo that belonged only to him was a pretty good deal.
Although this would lead to the SIN department existing in name only, with a large amount of data and backup bodies turning to dust, but as long as he could kill them...
Seth, who had already quickly departed through the underground secret tunnel, was reveling in his decisiveness.
The first wave of the Large Feng Shui Engine's self-destruct pulsation indeed shattered a large amount of glass and wall plaster. If the explosion succeeded next, the intruders would be buried forever under the ruins.
However, when the time passed the final deadline set by Seth, the imagined violent tremor did not occur.
On the other hand, in the building, the place originally used to house the Large Feng Shui Engine now had a huge empty space, as if the entire engine had vanished into thin air.
Just now, Cheng Tian was exhausted, and now Utan was exhausted. It also didn't expect to have such a life-and-death race at the critical moment of harvesting.
Just now, its hands and feet directly hammered away at the instrument panel, using all its lifelong learning. Although their areas of expertise were different, it still provided Cheng Tian with a little bit of plunder probability bonus.
You discovered "Large Feng Shui Engine / Android Reserve Device", plunderable, plunder success rate is 17%.
The existence of Research Ape Utan provides you with a 5% plunder probability bonus.
Your 2 points of legend provide a 20% plunder probability bonus.
Item plundering in progress—
You successfully plundered "Large Feng Shui Engine / Android Reserve Device".
The Large Feng Shui Engine, now quietly lying in Cheng Tian's item inventory, had returned to its normal state from its previous condition of soaring pressure and all gauges in the red.
And the other two plunder opportunities, which he had originally planned to use all at once, were successfully preserved.
The psychological changes and thrilling moments involved are too numerous to mention, but in short, Seth's intentional and malicious scheme was thwarted by Cheng Tian's mere 40% odd plunder chance.
...Is this the origin of Female Seth?
Zooming in on the image of the Large Feng Shui Engine in the item description, one could see eight silver-white androids stored in nutrient solution beneath it. Among them, conspicuously, was the female-shaped Seth body that appeared in "Street Fighter V."