Steel Dragon

Mei Mei woke up before the alarm, just to stare at the gray ceiling, hearing the acid rain tapping slow on the window. She took a deep breath, hoping her chest would feel lighter, but nothing changed. The bitter taste of defeat was still stuck in her mouth.

Grandpa didn't even try to smile at breakfast. He just handed her a cup, patted her back, and went out to take care of whatever in the garage.

The smell was strong of wet metal. Mei Mei walked to where Chun-Li was dismantled. Every piece of the robot reminded her of a failure from the day before. Every scratch was a laugh from the crowd, every loose screw a joke from the rivals.

She wanted to disappear, but stayed there, just staring, like waiting for a miracle.

Only when she started to clean up the remains of the left arm she felt something weird. There was a bent piece, the metal scratched on the inside. That wasn't normal wear. Someone had forced it.

Mei Mei crouched down, grabbed a wrench, took it apart calmly, holding her breath.

Inside one of the joints, she found a small folded paper, hidden near the engine slot. An origami — simple, white, but with a dragon drawn in black pen, three lines forming the claws. It was Kazuo's signature, the Japanese rival always with a fake smile and sharp words.

Mei Mei's blood boiled. For a second, she just stared at the paper, feeling her heart race and the anger grow. "Son of a bitch," she thought. That wasn't just sabotage, it was a message. She closed her fist, crushing the origami almost to ripping.

In that instant, Mei Mei wanted to run into the street, break everything, scream for everyone to hear. But the world only answered with more silence, just the noise of drones flying outside, watching every corner.

The neighbors didn't even look at her. People walked by quickly, pretending not to see, as if her failure was contagious.

She ran to the door, clapped on the sidewalk, tried to call someone.

"Hey, did anyone see who touched this yesterday? No way nobody knows!"

No one answered. An old lady closed the window, a boy crossed the street, a group of mechanics looked away. Mei Mei felt the city turning its back. She took a deep breath, punched the garage gate, yelling inside.

"Why does nobody say anything? Who are you all afraid of, huh?"

Only the echo came back. She threw the wrench away, the sound hit the wall and disappeared. The anger turned into despair. Mei Mei sat on the wet floor, origami tight in her hand, and felt her eyes sting. She wasn't going to cry, but her body wanted to give up.

Grandpa appeared, wiping his hands on his shirt.

"What happened, Mei Mei?"

She showed him the origami, with a shaking hand.

"It was him. Kazuo messed with the parts. Sabotaged everything. And nobody wants to say a word."

Grandpa looked, serious, then lowered his head.

"Here, everyone's afraid of Kazuo's group. They buy everyone. If someone talks, they lose parts, lose clients, lose jobs."

Mei Mei didn't answer. Just kept looking at the floor, feeling the world heavier.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. Anonymous message: "Give up, Steel Girl. Kazuo runs this place. Nobody will help you. Leave before it gets worse."

Mei Mei almost threw her phone at the wall, but held it. Took a deep breath, stood up, grabbed the toolbox and went back to Chun-Li. "They won't bring me down like this. Not today."

While dismantling the rest of the arm, she found another messed up part: a burnt chip, but the security sticker was intact — only someone with inside access could change that. Her blood boiled again.

"If Kazuo wants war, he'll have it."

She recorded videos of each part, took pictures, saved them on several clouds. Sent a message to the tournament forum:

"Steel Dragon suffered sabotage. Tampered parts, rival's signature. I want an investigation."

Two minutes later, an auto reply: "Your report was received. It will be reviewed. Please wait."

She waited nothing. In less than ten minutes, the post was taken down. Comments blocked, profile suspended for "baseless accusation". The forum was bought too.

Mei Mei stared at the empty screen, then threw her phone aside and went back to the robot. Started cleaning again, now angry, taking apart every piece, washing the dirty oil, separating everything that seemed off.

She found a wrong spring, a cut sensor, wires swapped around. Each discovery was a stab. Chun-Li didn't lose just because it was weak. Lost because someone wanted it. Because everyone had a price, except her.

Grandpa watched from afar, not knowing what to say. Mei Mei screamed again, louder:

"Why does nobody do anything? Why does everyone accept being stepped on?"

Silence again. A drone passed, filming everything, red light blinking. Mei Mei made a face at the camera, flipped it off, then got back to work.

She separated good parts from bad, made a pile of what needed swapping and just sat there, feeling the acid rain hitting the roof. The smell of smoke and metal was strong, but now she didn't care.

Mei Mei grabbed the crumpled origami and opened it again. On the back, a word in Japanese: "Sumimasen." She didn't know what it meant, but it felt like mockery.

"Bastard even in irony."

She wanted to run to Kazuo's house and shove the paper in his face. But she knew that if she did, she'd pick a fight with dangerous people. His group was big, everyone respected — or feared.

Grandpa came closer, slowly.

"Mei Mei, you're really going to continue?"

She looked at him, red eyes, but firm voice.

"I won't give up. Not now. He wants me to quit, Grandpa. I won't give him that pleasure."

Grandpa smiled, though sad.

"That's my granddaughter."

Mei Mei spent the whole day dismantling, cleaning, swapping whatever she could. With no money for new parts, improvised with what she had.

When night fell, she sat near Chun-Li, looking at the status panel, messing with cables, trying to find some part that still worked right.

[Status – Chun-Li]

Energy: 52%

Strength: 28%

Stability: 17%

VR System: 61%

Sync: 39%

The rain got stronger. Outside, a group of boys walked by, kicking cans, laughing loud.

"Look, Steel Girl fixing scrap again!"

Mei Mei didn't answer. Just kept her head down, pretending not to hear.

Inside, rage and loneliness fought. The whole city seemed against her. Even her friends had disappeared. But she stayed there, testing every part, promising herself no one would ever scare her again.

By the end of the night, she grabbed the origami, tore it in half and threw it in the trash.

"Bring it on, Kazuo. This isn't just scrap. This is Steel Dragon."

Mei Mei took a deep breath, felt her chest hurt, but also felt a spark light up. If it was war, she'd fight to the end. And this time, she'd make noise.

She looked up at the gray sky, saw a lightning flash through the clouds. Thought softly, almost praying:

"Just give me one more chance. I won't waste it."