Chapter 357: A Game of Cards
Chapter 357: A Game of Cards
You Xuan yawned and leaned against the rattling window of the jeep, casually flipping through the cards in his hand.
These were all new cards he had picked up from the ground during the Duel City tournament over the past two days, and there were quite a few of them. He was sorting them into categories: useful, pending, and for sale, as well as contemplating which cards might be useful for building new strategies.
The night was thick and dark, as if shrouded in heavy ink, with no moonlight to be seen. The forest loomed like an ancient, silent temple.
Twisted, reaching branches stretched like countless withered arms in the darkness. The leaves rustled in the wind, whispering like ghostly spirits.
The jeep bumped along the narrow forest path, its headlights a faint glow like fireflies. The wheels crunched over dry twigs and fallen leaves, emitting a squeaky chorus.
The man in the front passenger seat turned and leaned back, "Are you a duelist?"
He was a guide from a nearby town, and the driver beside him was arranged by the Kaiba Corporation to wait for You Xuan at the station. Upon his arrival, You Xuan had switched to this off-road vehicle and headed straight for Clearwater Town.
"Yes," You Xuan replied.
"Impressive. I've always admired you duelists; it's just not my thing." The guide said.
The driver joked, "With your brain, you might as well forget about dueling. Stick to those connect-the-dots puzzles."
"What's wrong with connect-the-dots? It's challenging!" The guide straightened his posture defensively.
The driver laughed but said nothing. He drove on, casually asking, "I don't know much about dueling, but I've heard of a monster called the Dark Magician Girl, right? Now, that's one I recognize; she's a real beauty."
You Xuan: "."
(silence)
"Hmph, so what if she's beautiful? I prefer women who are diligent and capable." The guide shook his head.
The driver gave him a sidelong glance, "If we're talking about preferences, I take it you'd be willing to compromise on the diligent part?"
"Ha! Now we're talking, brother, you understand me."
"."
(silence)
The two men bantered, but seeing that You Xuan remained silent and uninterested, they soon fell quiet, sensing the futility of their efforts.
After driving for a while longer, the guide couldn't help but turn and ask again, "But seriously, why would a duelist from the big city come to this backwater place?"
"I'll tell you why," the driver chimed in, "If your company hadn't offered such a hefty sum, I wouldn't have come here either. Over the past two weeks, several people have gone missing from this area."
"Oh?"
Now, this piqued You Xuan's interest.
"That's right," the guide continued, "Just last week, I was out here with the security department, searching for a missing traveler, but we came up empty-handed. It was a bust."
You Xuan fell into thoughtful silence.
Perhaps the Kaiba Corporation's suspicions were correct; there might indeed be something amiss in this place.
The trees grew denser, and the jeep slowed as it navigated the narrow path. It eventually came to a gentle halt.
"Let's take a quick break. We can stretch our legs, use the restroom, and grab some water. We've been driving for a while," the guide suggested.
He stepped out, stretching his arms above his head and pulling out a cigarette.
"I'm going to smoke. Anyone care to join me?" He offered, extending a cigarette to You Xuan in the back seat.
"No thanks, I don't smoke," You Xuan declined.
"Ha, good for you. It's a healthy habit." The guide approved, humming a tune as he walked off to the side to smoke by himself.
You Xuan, however, remained in the vehicle, continuing to sort through his cards.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but the night seemed to grow even darker.
"That's strange, he hasn't come back yet?" The driver muttered, preparing to get out of the car.
"I'll go and check."
"I'll go," You Xuan offered, opening the door and stepping out.
The atmosphere felt off, but he wasn't particularly worried. After all, with his array of spirits, there were few things in this world that could threaten him.
As he always said, be it demons or monsters, they would still have to duel when they got here.
Walking in the direction the guide had gone, You Xuan soon noticed something peculiar.
It was half a cigarette butt, still smoldering quietly on the damp ground, its smoke a strange mix of damp earth and tobacco.
A few steps further, he spotted signs of dragging and pulling in the bushes and grass, faintly visible in the darkness.
Had this guy been attacked? But there hadn't been a sound, and they were not far from the car.
A few steps forward, the traces suddenly disappeared, abruptly cut off as if the person had been dragged to that spot and then vanished into thin air.
You Xuan cautiously retreated back to the car, but upon returning, he found it empty.
Again, there had been no sounds, yet within just a few steps, the driver had disappeared as well. This time, there weren't even any signs of a struggle.
The thick darkness seemed to press in from the forest, enveloping the vehicle. The car lights shone as the only source of illumination in the boundless darkness, a feeble flicker that could be snuffed out by the wind at any moment.
No, it wasn't an illusion; the darkness was indeed creeping closer.
Figures emerged from the shadows.
Their movements were unsteady and eerie, their bodies swaying as they instinctively reached out their arms toward You Xuan.
Judging from their attire, they seemed to be locals, but their eyes were hollow and vacant, like bottomless black vortices. In the glow of the jeep's headlights, their dark eye sockets stood out like burning charcoal.
Their postures and movements immediately brought to mind the image of zombies.
But these weren't traditional zombies; they resembled the "dueling zombies" from the GX anime's alternate dimension arc, where Judai sent the entire academy to another dimension, and the infected students became mindless duelists.
In other words, zombies with only dueling on their minds—a description that, strangely enough, reminded You Xuan of Judai himself.
Despite the eerie scene, You Xuan remained calm.
"Silent," he whispered.
White light radiated from his body as a magic circle formed beneath his feet. Silent Magician leaped into action, twirling her staff and releasing a burst of magical blasts that exploded around them, sending mud and debris flying.
The zombies were knocked back by the explosions, but as the smoke cleared, one figure still stood at the back of the crowd.
It seemed to be the leader of this group of zombies, with the same hollow gaze and swaying movement, but its aura was noticeably stronger.
It staggered forward, stepping over its fallen comrades, and narrowed its eyes at You Xuan.
Then, it slowly raised its Duel Disk and let out a groan-like mutter.
"Duel."
You Xuan's heart steadied.
See? There was nothing to fear.
Even zombies had to duel.
(End of Chapter)
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