Chapter 926: The Mystery of Zok
Chapter 926: The Mystery of Zok
After the duel, Eddie knelt on the ground, his expression rigid and his face ashen, resembling a zombie. Yet, a peculiar smile remained fixed on his face.
"Not bad, King of this world. With just two cards, you effortlessly achieved 'infinity,' a feat that countless Duelists could never attain in their entire lives.
Hmm, that's a power worthy of the title 'King,' I suppose."
Eddie managed a dry laugh, but it felt forced, as if he was straining his facial muscles to produce a smile.
"More interesting than the other Kings I've encountered."
You Xuan observed him calmly and asked, "Yugi Muto?"
Aside from himself, the only other person who had ever held the title of King was Yugi.
"Haha, Yugi? Well, I did have dealings with that guy, but... hehe, I'm not referring to him."
You Xuan found this odd.
If not Yugi, then who else could be a King besides himself?
Wait, he just said, "The King of this world." Could he be referring to someone from another dimension?
That wasn't impossible. After all, You Xuan himself often ventured into other dimensions.
"Just a quick hello today, but I gained a lot from our duel."
Eddie seemed to continue speaking, but his face and mouth remained eerily motionless, as if a speaker was hidden within his body, and his voice was deliberately distorted to sound otherworldly.
"We'll meet again, but don't rush; it's not time yet."
Eddie's stiff face forced another smile.
"The so-called 'Evil God' of the Descending Religion should be arriving soon, and they'll also greet you shortly. It seems you'll be quite busy for a while, so I won't disturb you further.
Let's save our encounter for when you've dealt with these troubles, King... Your Highness."
Another eerie laugh followed.
Then, the aura surrounding Eddie vanished, and his entire body slumped to the side like a puppet with its strings cut.
"He just mentioned the 'Evil God' of the Descending Religion," Yan said, puzzled. "So, he's not with the group searching for me?"
"Hmm, it seems so. But it's possible he's trying to mislead us."
You Xuan thought for a moment and used his portable terminal to take a photo of the unconscious Eddie. He quickly sent it to an acquaintance within the Kaiba Corporation's internal network.
You Xuan had already established a wide network within the Kaiba Corporation, having worked with them on numerous occasions, and he was well-acquainted with many employees.
"Mr. You Xuan?"
A call came through from the other side, and the person was extremely polite.
"I received your message. Is there anything I can assist you with?"
"Sorry to bother you so late, Mr. Yoshida."
"Haha, not at all! It's an honor to be of service to Mr. You Xuan. Please, tell me what you need."
"I just sent a photo. I want to know as much as possible about this person's identity," You Xuan said.
"A background check? Then you've come to the right person. Please wait; this shouldn't take long."
"..."
The other party wasn't exaggerating; the resources of the Kaiba Corporation were so extensive that it wouldn't be an overstatement to say they had eyes and ears everywhere. That very evening, You Xuan received the identity of the person in the photo.
Eddie was a Duel Archaeology expert who had led expeditions to multiple ancient Duel Monster-related ruins. However, according to the retrieved information, his name had been on the list of missing archaeological personnel for several years.
Archaeology, especially Duel Archaeology, was a high-risk profession.
Unaware of what you might unearth on any given day, it could be the palace of a sealed evil god, an ancient king's tomb, or perhaps a temperamental sprite. Members of archaeological teams go missing every year.
Eddie's team, during their last mission, reportedly encountered a cave-in at the ruins. The search and rescue team later spent a significant amount of time locating the archaeologists' remains, but in the end, they were only able to find everyone except for one person—Eddie.
While the other team members were eventually located, no one survived whatever transpired beneath the ruins.
What they all had in common was their horrific deaths, their faces contorted in extreme fear, as if they had witnessed something utterly terrifying in their final moments.
The autopsy reports couldn't determine the cause of death; it seemed they had died before the cave-in. However, the visible injuries on their bodies were mostly post-mortem, making it impossible to deduce the fatal cause.
If it were just the annihilation of the archaeological team with one member missing, such an incident might not have garnered much attention. Though it may sound cruel, excavations inherently carry risks, and similar accidents occur annually.
However, the reason Kaiba Corporation paid significant attention to this incident was the discovery of hieroglyphics within the ruins after the excavation.
Zok.
You Xuan leaned forward, crouching beside Eddie, and pulled out his deck from the Duel Disk.
He spread out the deck and quickly skimmed through it.
It was an unremarkable deck, much like the majority of duelists in this world, a mishmash of cards without a clear theme. However, it included numerous components supporting Ritual Summoning, such as Wan Shou Shen, Gao Deng Yi Shi Shu, and other ritual preparations.
Strangely, there were no Ritual Monsters.
You Xuan carefully searched through the deck twice and checked the surroundings to ensure he hadn't missed anything.
But indeed, there was none.
The card "Dark Ruler Zok" seemed to have vanished along with the conclusion of the duel, leaving no trace.
Silence quietly observed from the side for a while before stepping forward, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at You Xuan.
As if sensing her thoughts, You Xuan turned to her and asked, "You're thinking, is this 'that' Zok?"
Silence nodded.
"That's a possibility," You Xuan paused, furrowing his brows. "But he just said that the Dark Ruler he found was merely an empty shell of a great evil god's past incarnation.
If he were truly Zok, wouldn't that statement be a bit odd?"
Silence tilted her head, then nodded, agreeing that there was indeed a suspicious point.
Just then, another communication came through the terminal.
This time, it was from Laoshi.
"Meow, are you there?"
You Xuan: "Laoshi, you've fully embraced the life of a cat, it seems."
"Cut the chatter, meow," Laoshi said. "I've found out where the Shenglin Jiao's headquarters are located, as you asked."
"Oh? You found them?"
"Yes. These people were hiding deep in the mountains, quite concealed. It took some effort to track them down. I'll send you the address soon."
Laoshi paused.
"So, what are you planning to do this time? Are you sending someone to check it out?"
Before You Xuan could respond, Laoshi immediately added sternly, "Let me make this clear, meow. Laoshi is just a cat, so no matter what, don't go this time."
You Xuan laughed. "Alright. Don't worry, Laoshi. This time, I'll go and take a look myself."
(End of Chapter)
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