Chapter 363: The Train Plan
Chapter 363: The Train Plan
"Boss, communications are still down," said a chubby man as he walked up to You Xuan with a dejected look on his face.
"Oh? Well, never mind then. It's not like we expected anything different," You Xuan waved his hand dismissively.
He had already checked his own communication devices earlier, and they had been completely dead ever since they arrived in this area. It was as if an invisible barrier had cut this small town off from the outside world.
"Let's talk about the plan, then," You Xuan said as he spread out a map on the table and began to brief Yu Xuan leisurely.
"We pretty much decided on the battle plan before you got here, but now that we have a strong duelist like yourself on our team, we can adjust our personnel allocation and be more confident in our chances.
Let's start with our objective. Simply put, we want to get out of this godforsaken place, and we're taking all the survivors with us on that train over there."
He pointed to the train sitting idle on the tracks nearby. A dim yellow light shone from its carriages, and people could be seen moving about inside, turning it into a makeshift living quarters.
"But to get that thing moving, we first need to restore the power and the traffic control system."
You Xuan drew on the map, and Yu Xuan noticed two red circles marked on it.
"This here is the power station. It's been taken over by those damn zombies, probably serving as some sort of stronghold for them. And there's supposed to be a tough customer over there."
"A Duel Zombie?" Yu Xuan asked.
"Yeah. We used to have two excellent duelists with us, but neither of them made it past the blockade. They never came back."
You Xuan's expression turned grim, and he turned to Yu Xuan solemnly.
"If things go south, don't try to be a hero. Just turn around and run, understood?"
"Don't worry, I got it," Yu Xuan assured him.
You Xuan frowned. Despite Yu Xuan's quick agreement, he had a feeling that this guy wasn't really taking his words to heart.
"Anyway, the operation at the power station will be risky, and I'll be leading the team there myself. Since you're strong, you'll be on my team.
But remember, when I tell you to run, you run. Got it?"
"Sure," Yu Xuan replied, "But that means there's another operation besides the one at the power station, right?"
"Of course. Restoring power is just the first step. We also need to get the traffic control system back online or we won't be able to drive the train out of here. But we have another team handling that."
You Xuan turned to Peacock Dance, "That's your responsibility."
Peacock Dance, with her arms crossed, gave a casual shrug without saying a word.
"If there are no objections, then that's our plan," You Xuan said as he folded the map and spoke in a low voice.
"This is our chance to break free. We all need to make it out alive."
During dinnertime, the group huddled together under the dim yellow light of the carriage, eating their meals and chatting. The food, of course, was far from gourmet, but it sufficed given their current circumstances.
"So, do you think you can handle it?" Peacock Dance appeared behind Yu Xuan without him noticing.
"Who? Me?" Yu Xuan moved aside to make room for her to sit.
"Who else?" She sat down next to him, giving him a curious look, "I know you're a strong duelist, but you're still young. This kind of thing..."
"Don't worry, I've been through worse," Yu Xuan smiled.
"Then I guess I'm just being overly concerned," Peacock Dance nodded, "But I can sense that you've been tempered by true hardship. You carry the aura of a seasoned warrior.
Peacock Dance looked at him in surprise. "You don't plan on leaving? Do you intend to stay in this godforsaken place?"
"Yeah," You Xuan shrugged.
He could leave whenever he wanted; a bunch of zombies couldn't possibly hold him back.
"I came here to find someone and investigate. Now that I've discovered something strange is indeed going on here, I naturally want to look into the cause," You Xuan explained with a smile. "Based on my experience, the center of bizarre events often involves a card. And the bigger the incident, the more extraordinary that card tends to be."
Peacock Dance held his gaze, pondering his words for a moment.
"A Duelist seeking power, huh." She nodded in understanding and smiled softly. "Reminds me of myself in the past... or perhaps, even who I am now."
"So, what made you decide to come to a place like this to find Kaiba?" You Xuan asked.
"Because of an email he sent."
She casually pulled out her phone, unlocked the screen, and handed it to You Xuan.
But he didn't immediately take it. "Is it okay for me to look?"
"It's fine," Peacock Dance shrugged.
You Xuan took the phone and saw the email.
"Do not come to Clearwater Town under any circumstances, Mai. Absolutely do not come."
That was the entirety of the message.
"So, he's telling you not to come," You Xuan interpreted.
He handed the phone back to Peacock Dance.
"Are you being deliberately contrary?" he asked, implying that her rebellious nature was showing.
"Pfft, but when he says something like that, it only makes me want to come even more," Peacock Dance scoffed. "And after sending this message, he went off the grid. How could I possibly just leave it at that?"
"Fair enough," You Xuan acknowledged.
After a few seconds of silence, he looked up at her with an inquiring gaze.
"There's something I want to ask, and it might be a bit rude, but I'm going to ask anyway," he said.
"Go ahead," Peacock Dance replied.
"What's your relationship with Kaiba?" You Xuan asked.
Peacock Dance's expression froze for a moment, and then she huffed in response.
"What kind of relationship? He's my enemy and rival, someone I must defeat no matter what," she stated firmly.
"I've beaten him so many times, and now he thinks he can just walk away so casually? No way, that's not happening," she muttered angrily.
Indeed, ever since their first duel in Duelist Kingdom, Peacock Dance hadn't won against Kaiba. And that initial duel should have been her best chance—back then, Kaiba was still a beginner who barely understood the rules of Dueling. He was at his weakest.
Since then, Kaiba's growth had been meteoric. Even when Peacock Dance resorted to using the power of Orichalcos, she still couldn't truly defeat him.
However, it wasn't a significant problem. If she couldn't beat him in a Duel, she could always turn the tables in the bedroom in the future.
"Is that all?" You Xuan asked.
"What else could there be?" Peacock Dance glared at him.
"Don't you plan on getting married or something?" You Xuan inquired.
"Huh?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she stood up from her seat, flustered.
"Marry that guy? Are you joking? Where did you hear that from? No, never, absolutely not, not in this lifetime," she denied vehemently.
Her incoherent triple denial was followed by her storming off in annoyance.
"She's so worked up; it's not that serious," You Xuan mused, propping his chin up with his hand.
It seemed Kaiba still had some work to do in that regard.
(End of Chapter)
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