"Liu Kang and Kung Lao of Guizhou, I hereby invite you to the 2020 Mortal Kombat Tournament."
And with that, the two 21-year-old friends were officially competitors in the tournament.
It was a tumultuous time for the Shaolin Monks and the White Lotus order. Political infighting had nearly destroyed both organizations, but the looming Mortal Kombat tournament had resulted in other grudges being put on hold. Everyone knew that this tournament was the one that would decide Earthrealm's fate, and everyone knew that Kung Lao and Liu Kang were the men most able to defend Earthrealm.
The two friends grinned at each other. They had been preparing for this day for their entire lives. As Lord Raiden made the invitation official, they both knew that they'd be travelling to Thailand to get on a boat provided by Shang Tsung.
The travel had to start almost immediately. They were only a month from the beginning of the tournament, and the dock – whose location they now knew precisely – was almost 1300 miles away.
From the tales his elders had told him, Liu Kang knew that the best way to travel there was to take a boat up the Yangtze river to where it came close to the Mekong river, cross over to the Mekong river gorge, sail down that river almost to the ocean, and then cross land into Thailand where he would be able to meet Shang Tsung's boat. It would be an arduous journey. With all of their worldly possessions on their backs, Kang and Lao headed to the city docks to begin their trip.
As they crossed through the town square, they saw a well-dressed westerner walking towards them. He was obviously looking for them because his face lit up and he walked straight towards them.
"Liu Kang and Kung Lao! May I speak to you for a moment?"
Liu Kang was thrown off. This strange man with a strange accent knew his name. After a quick glance at Lao, who shrugged and nodded, the two men stopped to speak to the man.
"Gentlemen, hello. I'm glad I caught you. I hear that you're officially competing in Mortal Kombat. Congratulations! It's an amazing honor to represent our world, and I just wanted to come here to congratulate you personally."
Liu Kang replied. "Thank you. You do us a great honor, coming here to see us. We hope to justify the faith that Earth has placed in us."
The strange westerner continued. "My name is Randy Banks and I would be honored if you could give me a bit of your time. Can I buy you lunch?" The man glanced over at a group of food stalls in the town square. "Your choice, of course."
Kang and Lao had planned to eat one last good meal before being on boat food for several weeks, and this strange man offering to buy them food was perfect. Kung Lao spoke up. "Sir, we would be grateful. There is a beef stall around the corner that is one of my personal favorites."
Liu Kang raised his eyebrow. He knew exactly which stall Lao was talking about. Beef would be a welcome distraction before the next few weeks of fish on the boat. He had not considered that stall, as it was one of the most expensive stalls in the city. But, if this westerner was paying…
The three men sat down at a small table. Kang and Lao had gotten large orders, while the westerner had gotten a simple meal of rice and, at his request, severely overcooked beef. As Kang and Lao dove into their food, the man spoke.
"So, you boys are heading down to Thailand, right? That's quite a journey."
After swallowing, Liu Kang responded. "Yes, sir. It will be about 20 days of boat travel and a few days of overland travel. Political intrigue in our temple kept us from getting our invitations until it was almost too late. But we have a month until the tournament starts."
"What if I could have you there tomorrow?"
Kang and Lao both stopped eating. They were, of course, familiar with airplanes, but it had never even occurred to them that they might fly on one to the tournament.
"Sir, we are simple men. We could never afford to buy an airplane flight. Thank you for the offer and for the food, but I am afraid we cannot afford what you are asking."
Randy laughed. "I'm not trying to sell you an airplane ride. I flew here in a private jet, my private jet, and if you boys are willing to work with me, we can get onto my jet today, and I can have you in Thailand tomorrow morning."
"What do you want from us?"
"Mortal Kombat is a big deal. Soon, you, like every other fighter, will be world-famous. Everyone will know your names. I help people like you. Let me give you an example. What if, say, the creators of a popular brand of fight milk want to put your picture on the bottle?"
Kung Lao considered this. "I would be honored."
Randy stared expectantly, waiting for more. When neither man spoke, he asked again,
"OK…have you thought about what you might do after the tournament? Assuming an Earthrealm victory keeps the world from ending, your participation here could lead to you being a sought-after teacher. What would you do if several dojos wanted to employ you as a martial arts teacher? Which one would you work for?"
Both men looked at each other. Liu Kang spoke. "I…suppose I would choose the most prestigious, or perhaps the one closest to my home."
Randy began to look frustrated. He tried a more direct approach.
"OK, look. If I can put none too fine a point on it, you boys are poor. You're from rural China and I'm guessing you don't have many possessions that aren't in those backpacks. Is that right?"
"Sir, that is true. We have always trained for this tournament and have never concentrated on material things."
"Right. Well, have you ever wanted to concentrate on material things? I mean, I know that Shaolin monks don't take a vow of poverty."
"No sir, we do not. Nothing in our temple's rules prevent us from gaining or keeping wealth. But, this is a poor part of China, and we are but simple men who have decided to be fighters, rather than businessmen, bureaucrats, or other paths that might lead to riches."
"But boys, let me explain. Fighting can lead to riches. Fighting in Mortal Kombat will make you famous, and being famous can lead to riches. Like I said, imagine that a fight milk manufacturer wants to put your picture on the bottle. Rather than simply being honored, you can push back and ask that company to pay for that privilege. And a picture is one thing. What if they want to have you in a television advertisement? Companies will pay millions for such things. Or teaching. If you fight well enough, wealthy men will come to you from around the world to learn from you. And that's what I do. I am a sports agent, a representative for men like you. I set up deals like that. I have the knowledge and the connections to make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. You could be a couple of Chinese Michael Jordans."
Kang and Lao looked at each other. The idea of that kind of wealth was so foreign to them that they weren't even sure how to react. Liu spoke. "So, what exactly are you asking for?"
"You boys each sign an agreement with me that I'm your agent. At that point, anybody who wants to hire you has to go through me. If somebody asks you to perform a paid service, you just refer them to me and I'll negotiate the deals and payment. But I'm also out there working for you, looking for offers and opportunities."
"And it won't cost you anything. While I am paid a portion of what you earn, if you don't earn, I don't earn. I'm happy to take on that risk. All you boys need to do is fight and fight well. The whole business side of things is up to me. "
Lao asked, "May we have a moment alone to discuss this?"
"Absolutely. I'll head over to the far end of the market, by that pillar over there. Come see me and let me know what you want to do."
As the westerner walked away, neither man could conceal a smile. Each of them knew what the other was thinking, and each of them had visions of riches dancing in their eyes. Lao asked Kang, "So, this sounds good, right? Do we trust this man?"
"I think we can, at least for now. Rich western athletes make a lot of money from the kinds of things he was talking about. I know that Michael Jordan makes millions of dollars even though he hasn't played basketball in years. If we could get a fraction of that, we'd be incredibly rich."
"OK. Let's accept his flight to Thailand and go from there."
The two men walked over to where Randy Banks was waiting. Liu Kang spoke first. "Sir, we'd like to accept your offer to fly to Thailand with you."
"Great! Let's walk over to the airstrip. We'll discuss the deal during the flight."
. . .
As they got off the plane a few hours later, Kang and Lao were nearly floating on clouds. The flight had been unlike anything either man had experienced, and the offer that Randy made had been very reasonable. He'd get just 20% – only a fifth part – of whatever they earned, and if they were unhappy with him for any reason, they could fire him and go their separate ways with only two years' notice.
Each man already knew how he'd spend his first million dollars.