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Jiro stood at the corner of the street, now dressed in a sleek black suit instead of armor.
Suddenly, he asked in his mind,[System, what faction would someone like me be classified under in this world?]
[Host belongs to the Righteous Energy Faction.]
[Due to your intervention, the world's power level has been rebalanced.]
[After recalibration: All Dark Hand members have been injected with enhanced serum.]
[The Righteous side now has access to traditional Chinese internal martial arts.]
[Shendu and his demon brothers are upgraded to Dimensional Demon Gods.]
[All magical artifacts have been enhanced.]
"Well, that power boost makes sense," Jiro nodded. "That's pretty much how the Jackie Chan Adventures world works."
At that moment, a black car screeched to a stop outside the antique shop.
Finn, Ratso, and Chow barged in, looking ready to fight.
"Hand over the shield!" Finn shouted.
Adjusting his tie, Jiro calmly strolled toward the shop.
He pushed open the door, and the bell gave a sharp creak.
The tense atmosphere froze. All eyes turned to the man who had just entered.
"Sorry to intrude," Jiro said with a pleasant smile, glancing between Jackie and the Dark Hand thugs.
"I heard this place has some pretty nice antiques?"
Finn frowned and waved him off. "Dark Hand business. Move along, pal."
Jackie stepped protectively in front of Jade and quickly gave Jiro a warning look. "Sir, we've got some private stuff going on here. Best if you leave."
But Jiro ignored him. He casually walked toward the counter, eyes locked on an ornate antique shield with carvings on it.
"Buddy, shop's closed," Chow growled, stepping forward and reaching to grab Jiro by the collar.
The next second, Chow's wrist was caught in a vice-like grip. Muscles bulged under the suit fabric.
Chow's eyes widened—he couldn't move at all, no matter how much strength he used.
"You—!" His face turned red as he reached for his gun with the other hand.
Still smiling, Jiro slightly tightened his fingers.
"AHHH!" Chow cried out, dropping to his knees in pain.
Seeing this, Ratso and Finn rushed in—only for Jiro to move faster than they could even blink.
THUD! THUD!
Two muffled impacts. The next thing they knew, both were knocked out cold before they even realized what hit them.
Jade's eyes went wide. Jackie instinctively raised his hands in a defensive stance. "Who are you?!"
Jiro let Chow fall unconscious to the floor, then turned to Jackie with his friendly smile back in place."Relax. I'm here to help."
He pointed at the rooster talisman embedded in the shield."That talisman is dangerous. It should be handled by professionals."
"You know that's a talisman? Wait—what's a talisman?" Jackie asked, still suspicious.
"Because I'm a magician." Jiro reached into his inner suit pocket and pulled out a magical energy core glowing with golden light.
"I came from the Himalayas. I'm here to collect the talismans and stop Shendu from escaping."
Jade peeked out from behind Jackie, curious."Whoa… you're a real magician?"
"Jade!" Jackie hissed, though his tone had softened a little.
"Sir, if you're really here to help, why knock them out? They're just—"
"They're Valmont's goons," Jiro cut him off."They may look like small fry now, but they'll become a big threat soon."
With a gentle swipe of his hand, the rooster talisman floated off the shield and into his palm.
Jackie looked shocked. "Is that… levitation magic?"
"Just a little trick," Jiro said as he pocketed the talisman.
"Listen, Jackie. Shendu is gathering the talismans. Once he has them all, he'll regain his full power. This world needs your help—but not like this."
"So… what should I do?" Jackie asked without even realizing it.
"Keep doing your archaeology work," Jiro replied, heading for the door.
"When the time comes, I'll come find you. For now, take your niece and get rid of these guys."
He opened the door and added with a grin,"Oh—and study up on magic."
As the door closed behind him, Jiro's figure vanished like smoke, leaving Jackie and Jade staring after him.
"Uncle Jackie," Jade said excitedly, tugging on his sleeve,"Was that a real magician? Can I learn magic too?"
Jackie looked thoughtfully at the empty doorway."I'm not sure, Jade… but he was right about one thing—we've got to clean up this mess."
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from upstairs. The wooden stairs creaked.
"One more thing!" Old Chi, wearing his round glasses and holding a thick ancient book, came down.
"Jackie! Old Chi needs you to take care of the talis—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
He adjusted his glasses, eyes sweeping over the unconscious thugs on the floor.
Jade was excitedly waving her arms."Uncle! There was this guy who knew magic! He just went whoosh—"
"Aiyah!" Old Chi bonked her head lightly with the book.
"Where is the talisman?!"
Back on the street corner, Jiro twirled the rooster talisman in his fingers, sensing the magic power inside it.
He had already memorized all the books in the antique shop the moment he entered. He'd also recorded all of Old Chi's magic techniques in his mind.
"First one down. Feels just like my telekinesis," he muttered, unimpressed. The rooster talisman's powers—flight and telekinesis—didn't feel new to him.
But when paired with the rabbit talisman, it could enable faster-than-light flight… or even time travel.
[Host, once fused, this talisman will boost your telekinesis and flight abilities.]
[On its own, you could use it to show off like Magneto.]
[Also, psychic wave bursts are excellent for looking cool.]
Showing off like Magneto? Jiro chuckled."With the way Magneto uses his powers, people should've called him Iron Wannabe."
"Now, which talisman should I get next?" He rubbed his chin, considering.
"Speedy rabbit, laser-eyed pig, healing horse, immortal dog…"
An idea struck. His gaze pierced through layers of obstruction, scanning the entire planet.
Eventually, he found something strange inside a volcanic cave in Mexico.
"There it is—flame-breathing dragon."
He waved his hand and summoned a golden portal, stepping through without hesitation.
In the next instant, he floated high above the mouth of a Mexican volcano. Scorching heat surged up at him—but it didn't affect him at all.
With his x-ray vision, he pierced the layers of rock, locking onto a glowing red light deep within the mountain.
"Really, Lo Pei? This is where you chose to hide it?" he muttered with a laugh before diving straight into the volcano.
He wasn't about to take the long way around—too slow.
The lava churned furiously, but couldn't come anywhere near him. His biofield blocked all the heat effortlessly.
He strolled across the magma lake as if taking a walk, soon reaching a naturally-formed cave.
At its center, the dragon talisman was embedded in a rock, glowing with intense red energy.
"Fire-breathing dragon, you're mine," Jiro said as he reached out.
The moment his fingers touched it, a wild energy surged from within.
He shot out of the volcano and hovered in the sky.
Running his fingers across the talisman, the engraved dragon pattern seemed to come alive and slither across its surface.
Intrigued, Jiro held it tight. Instantly, a golden aura enveloped him, resonating with the solar energy inside his body, making him feel more powerful than ever.
He raised the talisman and aimed at a distant mountain.
BOOM!!!
A giant column of scorching flame exploded out.
The mountain's peak vaporized instantly—no lava, no debris. Just gone.
The shockwave scattered rocks for miles.
Terrified villagers stared at the sky, clueless about what had just happened.
"This power's way stronger than the original version," Jiro said with raised brows, studying the talisman.
He could feel the dragon talisman's fire energy syncing with his heat vision.
When he tried channeling his inner energy—his eyes blazed even brighter than usual, burning with golden light.
"....."