Within the Nightmare Space, things were in utter turmoil.
A new force had suddenly appeared, frantically collecting low-level items and selling high-level ones. There was no way this wouldn't attract the attention of the various teams.
Not to mention, the adventurers returning from the Round Table Knight world had also brought back information on Qin Ming.
With those two pieces of intel combined, it wasn't hard for people to roughly guess Qin Ming's capabilities.
A quick intelligence check later, and all of the information on Qin Ming—the lone wolf—had appeared on the desks of team leaders across the board.
Staring at the detailed dossier on Qin Ming laid out before them, the leaders all fell silent.
And then came…
[Ding, reminder: other adventurers are requesting to enter the room.]
The sudden voice in his ear caught Qin Ming off guard as he was currently engaged in some private activity in his room. He froze for a second, then quickly donned a serious expression once he came to his senses.
He stood up while getting dressed, not immediately heading over to open the door. Instead, he first took out an item and activated it.
After a brief moment, the room door slowly opened.
Outside, a large number of adventurers stood with blank expressions—and nearly all of them were high-ranking members of major teams, some even their leaders!
The moment the door opened, the adventurers at the entrance got a clear view of the room's interior, and their expressions froze instantly.
Because inside the room, lazily reclining in a chair, Qin Ming sat with numerous well-known story characters, either standing or sitting around him.
Kasamoto Eri, dressed in a military uniform and carrying a gun.
Torettia, clad in armor and leaning on a greatsword—Qin Ming had nearly renamed her "Artoria" as a joke, but she refused to go along with it.
Besides them, there were also Sun Ji, Mature, Vice, Mai Shiranui, King, Kagura Chizuru, Blue Mary…
Qin Ming had practically summoned everyone from the King of Fighters roster to hold down the fort!
That thick crowd of black-clad story characters standing together delivered an overwhelming visual impact that left even the big shots at the door dumbfounded.
And that was exactly the result Qin Ming had been aiming for—or rather, the King of Fighters Manual was his biggest trump card.
Being able to summon so many story characters at once, even the big teams had to think twice before messing with him. After all, they didn't know the manual could only freely summon characters inside the Nightmare Space, and had significant limitations in mission worlds.
Bluffing with borrowed power was something Qin Ming excelled at.
The two sides silently stared at each other across the doorway for several seconds, until finally, one of the adventurers at the entrance made the first move.
"Excuse me! Make way, please! Coming through!"
With that shout, a female adventurer struggled to squeeze her way out of the crowd.
Once she stepped forward, she clapped her hands enthusiastically, spread her arms wide, and called out to Qin Ming.
"Hey! Bro! Did you miss your little sister?!"
The person who squeezed out from the crowd was none other than Qin Ming's former combat partner—the Dual-Gun Lady!
Seeing her, Qin Ming was briefly stunned, then smiled and got up to give her a hug.
"Long time no see. How have you been lately?"
"To be precise, we saw each other just last break day—I even treated you to drinks."
"Oh right, this mission took too long, my internal clock's all messed up. So you're here for...?"
"Let me give you a proper introduction—this is my big boss, leader of the Ironclad Team, top-tier adventurer Iron Man, the guy who once took a direct hit from a nuke and lived to tell the tale."
Clearly, Dual-Gun Lady, who had history with Qin Ming, had been sent to help build rapport.
As she spoke, a towering hulk of a man, even taller than Qin Ming and practically bursting with muscle, stepped forward with a straight face and extended his hand.
"Don't believe her nonsense. I wasn't at the center of the blast. If I had been, I wouldn't have survived it either."
Iron Man gave Qin Ming a firm handshake, the corners of his mouth twitching as he forced out a stiff, slightly twisted smile.
"Name's Iron Man."
"Pleasure to meet you, Hyena."
Looking at the man in front of him, whose expression was so rigid it seemed like he was wearing a mask—his features incredibly unnatural—Qin Ming responded with a bright, friendly smile.
Just as their handshake ended, footsteps sounded nearby. The leader of the King of Fighters team, Solar Deity, stepped out from the crowd with a smile.
"I heard things were lively over here, so I came to join the fun. You don't mind, do you?"
"Your presence is most welcome, of course. Please, have a seat."
As the Solar Deity sat down, more high-ranking team members—even team leaders—started to gather, warmly greeting Qin Ming.
The number of people who showed up far exceeded Qin Ming's expectations, and every one of them was either a high-level or top-tier adventurer.
Those top-tier adventurers, whom one would rarely get a chance to see on an ordinary day, were now showing up in bulk like they were free samples.
This left Qin Ming somewhat at a loss. Sure, he was just reselling a few items—enough to draw the attention of high-level adventurers, maybe. But top-tier adventurers? That was pushing it.
If you told him that this bunch of big shots was hard up for cash or desperate for points, Qin Ming wouldn't believe it even if you beat him senseless.
Just as he was still puzzling over this, the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly echoed.
The next second, assisted by two high-level adventurers, a man walked in slowly—his body rigged with various medical devices and a breathing apparatus over his face.
Stopping in front of Qin Ming, the man stared at him intently for a few moments before lifting his hand to remove the breathing mask. Then he suddenly spoke.
"You're Qin Ming? The one who can upgrade items—and even skill books?"
Qin Ming blinked and quickly looked up at him. "And you are?"
"Leader of the Street Fighter team. Call me Overlord."
He took another couple of breaths through the mask before locking his calm gaze onto Qin Ming. After two seconds of silence, Overlord suddenly asked:
"Can you create an S-rank skill?"
"I can."
"What about something even higher?"
"Haven't tried it, but I probably could."
"Good. I need you to synthesize an SS-rank skill. Name your price."
As he spoke, Overlord slowly shuffled into the room, dragging a mass of medical equipment behind him.
The moment he entered, nearly everyone in the room stood up—only a handful remained seated.
Overlord was a top-tier master of his generation, a monster who had clawed his way from the bottom all the way to the summit. He had even once killed thirty-seven high-level adventurers by himself—an undisputed legend of the Nightmare Space, the king of his era.
He might've looked half-dead now, but if he truly went berserk, there were very few in the room who could stand against him—even with his strength greatly diminished.
Watching as Overlord slumped heavily into a chair and began breathing deeply, Qin Ming turned around, his eyes flickering slightly.
"So… you're all here for my synthesis skill?"
At those words, the surrounding team leaders lifted their heads. After exchanging glances with Qin Ming, they all gave small nods.
The Solar Deity even smiled and said, "Brother, we need your help. A big favor."
(End of Chapter)