Chapter 243: A Mole in the Corporation?
Chapter 243: A Mole in the Corporation?
"This is the last message we received from our dispatched Card Professor three days ago."
In a sealed conference room, the holographic projection of Yami Umashika sat on one side, his expression grave.
"We've been following up on the AI investigation into the hacking incident, and the leads have directed us to Kazane City." Nightwalk said solemnly, "One of our Card Professors went to investigate, but encountered unexpected resistance.
He has now lost contact."
"Was he attacked?" Kihei furrowed his brows as he sat on the other side of the conference table.
"We will conduct an investigation as well, on the Sea Horse Group's end," Seto Kaiba stated.
"No, that's the problem, Mr. Kaiba." Nightwalk shook his head and lowered his voice, "The last message our Card Professor sent before losing contact mentioned certain Dark Duelists.
The kind of assassin Duelists who work on a contract basis."
"So, your man was taken out by an assassin?" Kihei inquired.
"That's what we believe. So, we traced the related financial trails based on the Card Professor's last message and unexpectedly discovered who hired the assassins."
"Who was it?" Kihei asked.
Nightwalk paused for a few seconds.
"...The Kaiba Corporation."
Seto Kaiba narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Impossible." Kihei refuted, "We've never done anything like that."
"I believe you." Nightwalk nodded.
Kihei was taken aback.
"You mean...?"
"There's a mole inside the Kaiba Corporation."
Seto Kaiba spoke softly, following it with a disdainful hum, as if it weren't a significant matter.
"Understood. Then, I'll handle this personally." Kaiba said coldly, "In fact, I have some scores to settle with the people behind this."
"It seems like the chairman knows something." Nightwalk asked.
"Just a guess. When I'm certain, you'll know." Kaiba replied.
"Alright. Then, good luck, Mr. Chairman." Nightwalk nodded.
As he finished speaking, the holographic projection disappeared.
Kihei stood up: "So, are we going to Kazane City?"
"Yes. This matter must be concluded by our own hands." Kaiba said calmly.
"Indeed."
Kihei thought for a moment.
"However, I also promised Yu Xuan that I would update him on our progress, since he's also a target of the enemy. Should we bring him along?"
Kaiba pondered for two seconds.
Then, he snorted.
"It's up to you."
For Yu Xuan, the duel with Judai wasn't just a duel. Neither Judai, the representative winner, nor Yu Xuan cared much about the outcome. What mattered to them was the duel itself.
Long before, Yu Xuan had a premonition that his duel with Judai might bring him some new insights. He felt that it would be a culmination of everything he had learned and practiced throughout the semester, and it might lead to further improvement.
Indeed, his guess was correct, and it was even more than that.
During the duel, he felt as if he had been infected by Judai's passion, causing him to become more immersed in the duel itself. He found himself engrossed in every card draw, every attack, and every clash, rather than calculating the outcome or worrying about winning or losing with each move.
As expected, no amount of theoretical knowledge could surpass the insights gained from actual combat. This profound feeling couldn't be understood through numerous courses or lectures by experts; it could only be deeply understood by experiencing it firsthand and committing it to heart and memory.
Although there was no concrete evidence, Yu Xuan felt as if he had broken through a bottleneck, like a breakthrough in his realm. Even his connection with his sprite seemed to have strengthened.
It sparked new ideas, and he began to consider taking a step towards a stage he had never dared to venture into before—
—Trying to mix different card decks.
This might be a necessary step to reach the pinnacle in this world. Mixing different series of cards would bring more possibilities, raise the deck's potential, and reduce the likelihood of being unable to adapt to certain situations.
Of course, the idea of being able to 'solve any situation' was still unrealistic. Achieving that would require card printing, which was a whole new level of expertise.
Yu Xuan's idea was still in its preliminary stages, and putting it into practice would require more time and effort in deck construction and testing.
However, just as he had this thought for the second day, he received a warm greeting from his little friends.
"How about a ballet skirt?" Asuka enthusiastically showed off her ballet skirt to Yu Xuan.
You Xuan: ". . ."
This wasn't exactly a rare card, and he would have included it in his deck if he wanted to. But to be honest, it didn't seem as appealing as the Invincible Submarine.
Sanzawa also handed over his soul card: "Then I'll bring my Water Dragon too. It's a powerful weapon against Fire Attribute monsters. If our opponent happens to be a Fire Attribute user, my card will be incredibly useful!"
You Xuan: ". . ."
Bro, don't you think you should check the summoning conditions for your Water Dragon first?
This card can only be Special Summoned by the magic card "Chemical Combination H2O."
Chemical Combination H2O: Sacrifice two "Hydrogen Dragons" and one "Oxygen Dragon" from your field to Special Summon one "Water Dragon."
In a physical card environment, it would be almost impossible to summon. And You Xuan thought to himself, even if I practiced and mastered the dedicated Combo 502 sticky-handed god-draw technique, I don't think I'd have any reason to summon this thing.
A typical example of a card that requires both excessive resources and mental effort to summon, only to end up being useless in the end.
You Xuan didn't want to offend Sanzawa, so he held back his true opinion, which was: Your card is too weak, and I really can't find a place for it in my deck.
Seeing the enthusiasm of Asuka and Sanzawa, Hayato, who was sitting nearby in the classroom, couldn't help but join in: "Then I'll bring my Koala..."
Marufuji Shou also wanted to be part of it: "And I have my Mecha..."
Before he could finish, he realized something: Oh, wait a minute. You Xuan already plays Mecha, and he's more famous for it than I am in the academy.
Especially with the Submarine and Bicycle, which have become well-known as one of the trademarks of the Yellow-Clad Lord.
Never mind then.
You Xuan smiled: "Then why don't I just mix all of your decks together and draw whatever I get during the duel?"
Unexpectedly, the three of them looked excited.
"Really?"
"That's a great idea." Dr. Sanzawa started analyzing seriously, "By combining our decks, we can achieve a perfect balance of hardness and softness, yin and yang. We'll be able to advance and retreat, attack and defend, and complement each other perfectly."
"Yeah." Hayato clenched his fist in his palm, "As expected of You Xuan, always coming up with great ideas. During the representative duel, we can change our style with every turn, keeping our opponent constantly surprised and unprepared. What do you think, You Xuan? Will this work?"
You Xuan smiled.
Sure, why not?
He suddenly realized that his thinking had been too conservative. He had initially dismissed the idea as a ridiculous proposal, but now he saw that his friends were seriously considering the possibility of him dueling with their hodgepodge deck.
But then he thought, they had a point. Back then, when Yugi only had 100 life points left and couldn't continue his duel with Kaiba, he took Kaiba's deck, mixed it with his own, and seamlessly continued the duel, eventually making a miraculous comeback.
Games are meant to be played with a diverse mix of cards, and Kaiba's deck at the time was just as eclectic. No one could have imagined the chaos that would ensue from mixing the two decks together, but Yugi somehow managed to make it work and pull off incredible combos.
You Xuan deeply realized that his perspective had been too narrow.
"I see." You Xuan pondered, "So, a true duelist should be able to make any deck shine in their hands?"
"Yes!" Asuka exclaimed eagerly, "So, does that mean you agree to bring my Electronic Ballet Skirt along?"
Sanzawa: "And my Water Dragon."
Hayato: "And my Koala."
You Xuan returned their enthusiasm with a polite smile.
Heh heh.
"Alright, stop bothering him about the deck already. Let You Xuan decide for himself."
Judai appeared at that moment, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled.
"It doesn't really matter about being the academy representative. What matters most in a duel is having fun."
He gave You Xuan a thumbs-up.
"You Xuan, I'm sure you'll show us another incredibly fun duel, right?"
You Xuan smiled but remained silent.
Judai was the reliable one.
Just then, You Xuan's terminal device received a message.
He took it out and read it, surprised to see that it was from Keihei.
"There's been progress on the last incident. Wanna come?"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
