Chapter Forty: The Double Dragon Brothers

“Damn!” Wang Ling’s expression changed. He knew that Wang Long was a martial arts master, not a superhuman; his discipline was staff technique, and he had no iron body skills for protection. The firebombs thrown by the hippies erupted in waves of flame over a meter high with every explosion!

The danger posed by these incendiary firebombs was no less than that of grenades.

As he reeled in shock, a scream sounded nearby. He quickly turned to look and saw that, after the white girl and the old black man left, Ropo was fighting Billy and Jimmy alone. Though Ropo was an elite leader, he was no match for the combined efforts of two main characters. He managed to fend them off for a while with his agility, but finally decided to retreat. Just as he turned to escape, Jimmy launched a flying knee, striking him hard. The powerful impact sent Ropo airborne, and Billy seized the moment, leaping upward.

Billy’s movements were peculiar; as he jumped, his left leg pointed vertically toward the ground, his waist straight and rigid, shoulders level, head upright, forming a central axis from top to bottom. His right leg opened at a ninety-degree angle, forming a right angle with the vertical left leg. Suddenly, his body began spinning around this axis!

As he spun, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air, reminiscent of howling wind or roaring aircraft. Even though Wang Ling was a hundred meters away, he could hear it clearly. It was unbelievable that a skill could generate such a sound!

This was the ultimate move of Double Dragon Fist: after jumping, the practitioner twists their muscles and exerts force, using centrifugal momentum to unleash a series of powerful kicks—

Tornado Spin Kick!

It was Billy’s strongest secret technique so far. In the Double Dragon fighting series—after Double Dragon 3—he awakened the Dragon Soul, combining its power with this move to create an even more devastating skill: Dragon Tail Spin.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…

With a succession of muffled blows, Ropo was caught up in the spinning force of the Tornado Spin Kick, struck five times in quick succession. Each kick landed on a different part of his body, shattering almost all his major bones; on the outside, he seemed unscathed, but countless bone fragments pierced his organs—a fatal injury!

Ropo fell to the ground as limp as a pancake, eyes wide open, body convulsing, struggling to rise. Jimmy, waiting nearby, swiftly stomped on his neck. With a crisp snap, the elite leader was decisively finished.

This unexpected turn stunned all the surviving Dark Fighters. At that moment, another shout erupted; several firebombs exploded together, sending forth a surging sea of flames. Suddenly, a figure burst out from the inferno—a man engulfed in fire, his face blackened and desperate: Wang Long!

Though the big man specialized in stamina, the flames had cost him dearly, but not enough to kill him. His staff, lacquered red, was made of white waxwood and had some resistance to fire. Wang Long’s body and weapon remained intact—only his clothes were ruined, destined for the trash after this battle.

Wang Long’s face was full of rage. In his era, he had never witnessed such powerful incendiaries. When he saw the hippies throw the red firebombs, he thought they were just giant firecrackers and let his guard down. Had he known their true power, he would have used his staff skills to knock them all away.

As a bandit from the Bully Clan, Wang Long had a foul temper. Having suffered greatly, he was determined to retaliate—otherwise, he’d never sleep soundly at night. He thrust out his staff, gave it a fierce shake and twist, sending a cascade of blurred staff shadows at the hippies who had thrown the firebombs. They were struck almost simultaneously and knocked to the ground!

Before they could scramble up, Wang Long, breathing heavily, eyes bloodshot, smashed their necks one by one with heavy blows, breaking their vertebrae.

First their leader died, then witnessing this brutal scene, all the remaining Dark Fighters lost their will and fled in all directions. Wang Long wasn’t inclined to let any escape, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once, and the flames still clung to him, so after killing three, he had to stop.

Spotting a large water vat in front of a nearby steamed bun shop, he dove in, extinguishing the flames with a hiss and sending up clouds of smoke. Wang Ling checked his status, finding his health value, which had been 175, now reduced by 63. He hurried over and tossed Wang Long a healing potion.

Since Wang Long was a summoned beast, not a Dreamer, he couldn’t use items directly through his badge, but after unscrewing the bottle and drinking the red potion inside, the effect was the same.

He still had a gap of 17 health points, but Wang Ling decided not to waste more potions—he only had two left and would face even stronger foes soon. The lost health would recover slowly over time.

Wang Ling ignored the scattered, fleeing enemies and turned his attention back to Ropo’s corpse. There was no key anywhere nearby; it seemed that when story characters killed, they didn’t drop items.

With the battle over, Wang Ling naturally needed to meet the main characters. If not for him and Wang Long, even if the Double Dragon brothers survived, the students would have been wiped out, and the dojo destroyed. So Billy and Jimmy were very grateful.

Notably, Wang Ling observed firsthand that the Double Dragon brothers indeed resembled Bruce Lee and Roy Lee.

After calming the students, the brothers welcomed Wang Ling and Wang Long into the dojo, helping Wang Long change into a new outfit. Dressed in a very oriental blue training robe and carrying his staff, Wang Long smiled delightedly, “This outfit is much more comfortable than the last!”

Billy smiled. “It’s a surprise to have you both come to our aid in such a crisis. We’re deeply grateful!”

Wang Ling was careful in his dealings with story characters; the Space strictly forbade Dreamers from revealing information related to the Space to anyone in the mission world. He thought for a moment and replied, “I am Chinese, newly arrived in New York. I heard the Double Dragon brothers are skilled in Double Dragon Fist, so I brought my retainer to pay my respects. I never expected to encounter an underworld attack, so naturally, I had to step in and help!”

“This isn’t ordinary organized crime, but a large evil organization: the Dark Fighters!” Billy said gravely.

Compared to the calm Billy, his brother Jimmy was more impulsive. He’d been eyeing Wang Long earlier and now couldn’t help but ask, “Is your retainer a martial arts master?”

“I’m no martial arts master, I just know how to use the staff.” Wang Long, pleased with his new outfit, answered himself.

Jimmy, a master of Jeet Kune Do who had integrated many martial arts, had never seen anyone so skilled with the staff. As a martial artist, he was itching to test his skills.

Wang Ling, seeing this, seized the opportunity to build rapport with the story characters. He said to Wang Long, “Are you interested in sparring with Mr. Jimmy? He’s a master of Jeet Kune Do.”

Wang Long, fierce and fond of fighting, was eager for a bout. Everyone moved to the dojo’s courtyard, designated for matches.

After bowing, the two began their bout, blows flying. Jimmy, not yet awakened to the Dragon Soul, was a pure martial artist, on par with Wang Long. But Wang Long had a weapon, while Jimmy fought empty-handed. Soon, the future “Earth Dragon” was covered in lumps from the staff.

Wang Long was also struck hard by a flying knee; even with his fat layer absorbing some of the force, he clutched his stomach, gasping for air.

Wang Ling, watching from the side, judged that if they fought to the death, Jimmy would probably win. After all, he was the protagonist; even without the Dragon Soul, his potential was far superior to Wang Long’s.

After the sparring, their relationship grew closer. Because of the sudden attack, the Double Dragon brothers and their students hadn’t yet had breakfast, so they invited Wang Ling and Wang Long to join them. The meal was simple, given they were in Chinatown—a nearby bun shop supplied dozens of steamer baskets of buns.

The dojo’s Chinese chef also fried fresh crullers and cooked a large pot of spicy paste soup. The crullers were golden and crisp, with a rich, fragrant oil flavor that wasn’t greasy. The spicy soup contained no chilies; its main ingredients were wheat gluten and kelp, with minced meat and peanuts added, making it thick and sticky, and delightfully aromatic.

Wang Ling, nostalgic for these hometown snacks, ate a vegetable bun, a meat bun, three large crullers, and two big bowls of spicy soup. Wang Long, meanwhile, devoured five baskets of meat buns and drank a whole basin of soup! Billy, Jimmy, and Wang Ling watched in astonishment, finally understanding why Wang Long was so hefty.

After eating their fill, Wang Ling took out the two nunchaku he’d obtained from William’s house, preparing to complete his second main quest.

“Thank you for your hospitality. Since you are masters of Double Dragon Fist, I assume you’re also adept with nunchaku. Before visiting, I obtained two finely crafted steel nunchaku—please accept them as a gift.”

After some polite refusal, Billy and Jimmy accepted the nunchaku. High-quality weapons were hard to find, and both truly loved nunchaku.

Now Wang Ling had completed two main quests. If he could survive the next four days while being hunted by the Dark Fighters’ elite, and ensure the death of the big boss Bruno—no matter who killed him—the world’s mission would be complete.

Having enlisted the help of the Double Dragon brothers, he had a solid foundation for the remaining tasks. Yet Bai Feng, powerful and inscrutable, remained like a massive boulder weighing heavily on Wang Ling’s heart.