Chapter 32: The Ghost
In the center of the duel arena, dust swirled, and the echoes of battle still lingered in the air.
Li Guanqi stood in the middle, hunched over, panting heavily, his stamina drained more than expected.
If a YGO duel was just a hand game, a fleeting rush of dopamine,
then wearing the duel disk was like clapping hands with a real person, continuously releasing dopamine with a satisfying after-exercise feeling.
After three rounds, it was truly exhausting yet joyful.
“I lost...” Juliette sat on the ground, head bowed, her blonde hair tousled and spread out.
She stared at her hands, breathing rapidly, her chest heaving violently, anger and unwillingness flashing in her eyes.
“Don’t get cocky!”
Juliette staggered to her feet, her delicate face flushed with embarrassment and rage. She pointed at Li Guanqi, her voice trembling with fury, “You despicable scoundrel! I’ll make you regret this next time!”
Suddenly, he overpowered her four monsters.
Then, after the overpower, he dealt 2500 damage?!
How could anyone be so ruthless!
“Your name’s Bian Yuetang, right?”
“Just you wait!”
Li Guanqi calmly watched her scream without a word.
A meme popped into his mind.
“A blushing girl’s face surpasses all words.jpg”
So cute.
He really wanted to overpower her once more.
The duel arena’s barrier dissipated, and the stands erupted with thunderous cheers and applause.
“Amazing!”
“Bian Yuetang is incredible!”
“MVP! MVP!”
“Unbelievable! Simply unbelievable!” Zicai shouted hoarsely with excitement, “Player 0748 holds up the collapsing tower!”
“Turning the tide, one against three, counter-killing Qian Quegong!”
“This will be recorded in history. We have witnessed history!”
“No doubt, truly awesome.” Hongmi clapped helplessly, “That final ‘Super Fusion’ was terrifying—fusing four of the opponent’s monsters and then dealing 2500 damage.”
“The ‘Throne’ effect only adds cards to the hand, no special summons, leaving the crucial cost for ‘Super Fusion.’”
“The ‘Primeval Lifeform Nephiru’ is terrifying too, but luckily it’s not very smart...”
“‘Nephiru’ dodging the ‘Forbidden Holy Grail’ effect—such advanced and subtle chain plays are rare even in professional arenas!”
“It’s hard to imagine such moves coming from a numbered civilian.”
“Zero damage taken across three rounds, a flawless performance.”
Zicai nodded in agreement, “No doubt the MVP of this match.”
On the arena’s giant screen, MVP voting was underway. Soon, the results were announced.
[This Round’s MVP—]
[Player—]
[Numbered Civilian, 0748]
The crowd erupted in cheers once again.
Outside, watching the live stream, the chat barrage was filled with a single word.
ID with celebrity tag [Ban Yeting - Shang Yu]: “Le.”
“Le.”
“Wife, come watch the fun.”
“Le.”
Le x666.
Li Guanqi stood in the arena, slightly breathless. He glanced around at the cheering crowd, a faint smile curling on his lips.
“Victory—” His three teammates shouted in unison, rushing forward to surround him.
“Awesome, Brother Eight!” Lin Yu, the lackey, handed the boss some water, “Take a sip, rest a bit.”
Tang Xin’s eyes sparkled as she clapped wildly, “Brother Eight is handsome, Brother Eight is the strongest, Brother Eight is top-notch!”
Even the usually silent Qin Dongzhu showed a smile. “Well done.”
“Not bad,” Li Guanqi said with a relieved smile, “I just happen to know this deck.”
That really was fortunate. If it had been a deck he wasn’t familiar with, who knew?
Moves like ‘Super Fusion’ were most lethal the first time they were used. Luckily, he held back in the first two rounds.
In the third round, he hit the opponent hard!
No blame on me, Miss Zhu.
Playing ‘Super Fusion’ to summon ‘Guardian of Eternal Love’—that was truly ruthless!
Even in a 4000 starting life environment, facing vampires, it was hard not to chuckle.
“But, unfortunately,” Mickey stepped forward, pointing at the badge on his shoulder as he took Li Guanqi’s duel disk, “The deck belongs to Jiu Ling Si.”
Li Guanqi glanced at Jiu Ling Si’s badge, slightly startled. The badge’s design was strange.
It depicted a dying demon with a sword thrust through its chest.
As he was momentarily distracted, the deck was mercilessly taken back.
A trace of reluctance stirred in Li Guanqi’s heart, but there was nothing to do—it wasn’t his deck after all.
Card decks in this world must be costly; this set, ‘Yubel,’ was definitely valuable.
“Thanks,” Mickey smiled faintly, raising a camera, “Let’s take a group photo.”
“Sure, sure!” Tang Xin was the first to agree, laughing happily, “Though I didn’t play, I’m still part of the team!”
Li Guanqi smiled in agreement, “Let’s do it.”
After finishing a team match, taking a group photo added a sense of ceremony.
They moved to the rest area. Mickey adjusted the camera angle, calling to the four, “Come closer.”
“A bit more to the center.”
Li Guanqi stood in the middle, Tang Xin and Lin Yu on either side, Qin Dongzhu at the far end. Their expressions varied—Li Guanqi wore a calm smile, Tang Xin beamed brightly, Lin Yu gave a thumbs up, and even the usually stern Qin Dongzhu showed a rare hint of a smile.
“Ready?” Mickey aimed the camera, “3, 2, 1…”
“Qiqi!” Tang Xin suddenly burst into laughter, startling Lin Yu beside her.
“Click!”
The camera flash lit up, freezing their figures in that moment.
“Another one!” Tang Xin excitedly said, “This time I’ll strike a cool pose!”
“Okay...” Mickey smiled, raising the camera, but his voice faltered as his eyes suddenly widened, as if seeing something terrifying.
“What’s wrong?” Li Guanqi asked with concern, “Want to lend me the deck again? I want a photo with it.”
Mickey snapped out of it and refused, “No, the match is over. No more lending.”
“Come on, come on, one more shot.”
“This time I’ll do a swordsman pose!” Tang Xin said excitedly, brandishing a finger like a sword, her eyes sparkling.
Lin Yu shook his head helplessly, “That looks more like a ninja hand seal…”
“Who cares? As long as it looks good!” Tang Xin giggled, tugging on Qin Dongzhu’s sleeve, “Captain, you do a pose too!”
Qin Dongzhu expressionlessly raised his hand, stiffly making a ‘V’ sign.
Watching their interactions, Li Guanqi’s lips curled into a slight smile. This relaxed atmosphere reminded him of the barbecue scenes during the tour.
“3, 2…” Mickey was about to press the shutter when his pupils suddenly contracted.
Through the viewfinder, he saw a chilling sight—on the cold bench behind the four was a blurry figure.
A petite figure, probably a girl.
She wore the academy’s blue uniform, sitting quietly on the cold bench, legs crossed around a white cane. One hand rested on her knee, the other flashed a cheesy peace sign toward the camera.
There was no sound.
Yet it felt as if he heard a playful “Yay—”
Pure, lively, adorable.
Ninety-nine percent cute, one percent eerie.
The eerie part was this:
She didn’t exist.
Mickey lowered the camera, his arm trembling slightly. When he looked again at the cold bench, it was empty. The metal seat reflected cold light.
“Mom—”
“There’s a ghost!”