Chapter Sixty-Two: Entering the Headquarters of the Dark Warriors

Brother Jeff, these two martial artist bosses arrived at New York Airport aboard a colossal transport helicopter, stretching thirty-seven meters in length. Now that both had been defeated, the pilot inside, sensing the shift in fortune, immediately started up the rotors, preparing to abandon the scene and return to the headquarters of the Shadow Warriors.

Billy, not satisfied with the downed coward, gave him several more savage blows with the steel pipe, but seeing the helicopter about to take off, realized there was no time to finish the job. He and Jimmy dashed toward the craft, managing to leap through the open cabin door just before it lifted from the ground.

Watching the helicopter ascend into the sky, Wang Ling, well-versed in the progression of the plot, knew that the Shadow Warriors left behind inside would be subdued and taken over by the Double Dragon brothers. The two protagonists would hijack the aircraft and set course for the Shadow Warriors’ headquarters—a mysterious island.

Through his binoculars, he observed the two defeated Japanese martial artist bosses still sprawled helplessly on the ground. A lascivious smile played on Wang Ling’s lips as he drew an axe. His original fine steel battle-axe had been smashed by A**’s fist, and the meteorite spearhead had temporarily been handed to the mop-haired dwarf. Lacking a close-combat weapon, Wang Ling had purchased this new axe from a weapons shop at the port. Although it paled in comparison to the original and could not be brought out of this world, it was a decent fit for his hand and would suffice for now.

The two martial artist bosses—Jeff, struck by the double Dragon Hurricane Kick, had suffered multiple fractures, his body shattered, lying on the ground in mortal agony with his life nearly extinguished. His health bar was empty; he was barely clinging to life. The coward’s injuries were slightly less severe, but after enduring several savage blows from the steel pipe, he too had lost all strength to resist.

Their true strength was, in fact, inferior to Brunov’s, and a far cry from A**’s, but as end-stage bosses, their defeat meant valuable loot would drop.

With these spoils ripe for the picking, Wang Ling showed no mercy. He strode to the dying Jeff, raised the axe high, and brought it down on his neck as if felling a tree. With a sickening splatter, Jeff's head was severed, rolling away only to be kicked aside—a final end for one already at death’s door.

Wiping the bloodied axe on Jeff’s clothing, Wang Ling prepared to claim the key the boss should have dropped. Suddenly, a prompt sounded from the Dream Badge:

“Plot characters Billy and Jimmy inflicted more than two-thirds of this boss’s total health in damage. Kill attributed to plot characters. No key will drop.”

At this abrupt notice, Wang Ling’s lip twitched in frustration. Clearly, brazenly reaping unearned rewards was forbidden by the Dream Space’s rules. This shortcut was closed to him. At that moment, recalling his previous battles, a cold sweat broke out on his brow.

In his fight with A**, Cheng Fu, a powerful plot character, had inflicted at least half the boss’s total health in damage. Had it not been for Wang Long, whose summoned attacks counted as Wang Ling’s own, all his effort against that fearsome boss would have been for naught.

In the battle with Brunov, the Double Dragon brothers had also drained a fair portion of the boss’s health. That the key had dropped was likely thanks to Luo Hou and another dreamer inflicting the requisite damage.

Lying nearby, Jeff's brother—the coward—had witnessed the axe’s brutal work and now burst into terrified tears. “Please… I beg you, don’t kill me!”

Wang Ling had intended to spare him for his usefulness. “If you want to live, you’re one of the Shadow Warriors’ high-level bosses—you must know the location of headquarters. Take me there. If you don’t try any tricks, I’ll let you live.”

The Shadow Warriors’ headquarters housed not only their supreme leader, but also a number of scientists under their control. Wang Ling planned to investigate this dangerous place and, if possible, to seize a few precious enhancement serums. Moreover, since the Shadow Warriors could create phantoms using the Double Dragon brothers’ blood, their scientific advancements were unlikely limited to such serums alone.

In short, a superpower controlling a legion of scientists was bound to have plenty of treasures stashed at its headquarters.

Yet Wang Ling remained concerned about one individual: Bai Feng.

He surmised that Bai Feng’s purpose for entering the Double Dragon world was to hunt the strongest figure in this scenario—the Shadow Warriors’ boss. This woman had not appeared during the brothers’ battles with Brunov or the Jeff brothers, suggesting she was most likely on the island. Investigating the headquarters risked a direct encounter with her.

Of course, Bai Feng might have other motives. The Double Dragon world harbored many secrets, such as the Rosetta Stone from the third installment—after collecting three gems from around the world, one could travel to Egypt and unlock the cursed gates of the secret pyramid. But gathering the gems would take far longer than the scant ten days allotted for this mission.

If Bai Feng’s true target was the supreme boss, and she succeeded in killing him, the Shadow Warriors’ headquarters would be thrown into chaos. With other high-level bosses—A**, Brunov, Jeff—already dead, Wang Ling, leading his trio of super Shadow Warriors and disguised by the red mask, stood a chance to reap immense rewards amid the confusion.

Should the girl be slain, the supreme boss would surely be wounded—precisely when the Double Dragon brothers stormed headquarters. Wang Ling figured he could then decide whether to aid the brothers in defeating the boss, or simply loot whatever treasures he could.

In any case, with the main quests completed, Wang Ling now felt little pressure. Should any dangers arise, he could always have his summoned followers cover his retreat, hide in the island’s jungles for a few days, and wait for the Dream Space to extract him.

Still, infiltrating the Shadow Warriors’ headquarters remained a hazardous gambit, but with the brothers’ assault drawing attention, now was the best moment to slip inside.

The New York airport was filled with aircraft; Wang Ling commandeered a helicopter, forcing the badly injured cowardly boss to act as his guide. After half a day’s flight, they reached the island headquarters of the Shadow Warriors, a sizable landmass in the Atlantic—large enough to rival a city.

From the coward, Wang Ling learned plot details not available in the game.

The Shadow Warriors’ supreme leader commanded a dark “Qi,” and had mastered the Dragon Marrow Fist, placing him at the very pinnacle of this world’s power.

Among the upper-echelon bosses were mutated cyborgs, products of post-nuclear radiation and subsequent successful enhancements—such as A** the musclebound brute, Brunov the hulking strongman, and Swinton the nimble dwarf—superpowered subordinates of the supreme leader.

Next came martial artist bosses like Jeff and the coward, masters of their respective disciplines. Then there were former ordinary Shadow Warriors who survived chemical enhancement—though powerful, they hadn’t reached boss level, such as Williams and Roper, who led smaller squads of elite warriors.

At the island’s center stood the dreaded Tower of Terror, where the supreme leader resided. Around it clustered various living and research facilities, where kidnapped scientists from around the world worked under guard.

Elite professions among the Shadow Warriors—strongmen, boxers, martial artists—manned the garrison in large numbers around the central zone. Surrounding this area were vast forests and swamps, natural barriers, and on the island’s perimeter, more Shadow Warriors stood watch against any would-be intruders.

In sum, this evil organization’s headquarters was guarded with utmost rigor—an almost impregnable fortress.

Upon landing at the island’s edge, they were immediately confronted by a dozen nearby Shadow Warriors. Seeing reinforcements at hand, the coward suddenly hurled a throwing star at Wang Ling in a sneak attack. But Wang Ling had never let down his guard—dodging aside, he summoned his three super Shadow Warriors. With the help of his iron musket, he swiftly dispatched the traitor and his allies.

Regrettably, no key dropped.

After eliminating all witnesses, Wang Ling donned a red mask—introduced in the item description as crafted by Shadow Warriors’ scientists for their top officers—then led his three summoned followers toward the island’s interior.

Along the way, they encountered many Shadow Warriors. With the red mask concealing his face and flanked by the mop-haired dwarf, the brute, and the fat hippie strongman, he easily passed for one of the higher-ups. The island was vast, and most outer guards had no access to the central area or knowledge of its leadership, so they did not question his presence.

Wang Ling claimed he was hunting the Double Dragon brothers, who had infiltrated the island. From these underlings, he learned the brothers had already broken through the outer defenses, defeated several formidable pale-skinned strongmen, and disappeared into the forests and swamps.

Taking a specialized jeep, with a boxer as his driver, Wang Ling rode through the barricades, following a secret, safe route for over two hours. They traversed perilous woods and marshes, drawing ever closer to the central buildings.

When only a few kilometers separated him from the core facilities, Wang Ling promptly killed the driver, recalled his three super Shadow Warriors, removed the conspicuous red mask, and changed into the driver’s clothes, disguising himself as a boxer.

He hid outside the central area for a whole day. At last, he saw the Double Dragon brothers, battered and exhausted but having survived relentless ambushes in the treacherous forests and swamps, reach the outer edge of the headquarters.