Chapter 4: A Tsunami Strikes K-Corp

"Wait a second!" Twin Flower suddenly remembered something. "I don't think I've put anything in my Extra Deck yet."

She had been so excited that she only focused on stuffing a "perfect" sixty-card Main Deck.

"No rush," Li Guanqi said calmly. "I need to reconstruct my deck, too."

"Hmm?" Twin Flower frowned, her fingers swiping across her phone screen with increasing force until her expression began to contort. A shrill scream broke from her throat.

"Why can't I use [Tearlaments]!"

She shouted it at the top of her lungs, filled with bottomless resentment. Li Guanqi was stunned by the outburst. "Miss Twin Flower, Tearlaments have been gone for years."

He found it strange—if she didn't understand Yu-Gi-Oh!, she wouldn't know about the Tearlaments archetype. But if she did understand, how could she ask such a common-sense question?

"I can't use them?!" Twin Flower stared daggers at Li Guanqi. "Who made that rule!"

"Konami," Li Guanqi replied emotionlessly.

Twin Flower glared, her voice dropping to a low growl. "Konami, is it? I'm telling the Tri-Realm Song the moment I get back."

"A tsunami is coming for them!"

"Plus one," Li Guanqi added indifferently.

He walked over to her side, pointed at the power-level markers, and explained, "Symbols like this denote forbidden cards; you can't use them. These ones with the '1' symbol are limited to one copy. Though, looking at this deck of yours, it wouldn't make any difference if they were limited or not."

"Fine, I won't use them!" Twin Flower snapped. "You think that's enough to stop my invincible deck?!"

A minute later.

"Ahhh, why is [Crystron Halqifibrax] also forbidden!"

"How am I supposed to live without you..."

"They're insane! How dare they ban [Halqifibrax]? Aren't they afraid of the White Demon getting angry..."

Li Guanqi couldn't understand a word of her muttering and urged, "Are you done yet? I've already opened the room, it's 505."

It was a Best-of-1 room; he expected she would be changing her deck again soon.

"Coming, coming!" Twin Flower lifted her sharp gaze, a confident smirk playing on her lips. "The perfect deck."

"Sure, sure," Li Guanqi replied dismissively, spreading his hands with mild interest. "Please, enlighten me."

"Hurry up, I'm waiting for you in the room."

The latter part of her sentence sounded quite suggestive, laced with a hint of excitement. Fortunately, no one was eavesdropping outside the room; a normal person hearing that might have imagined some sort of hospital-themed roleplay.

"Let's go, baby!" Twin Flower let out a wicked laugh, like a bandit hunting for prey.

Again, fortunately, no one was eavesdropping.

One on a computer, one on a phone, they both entered the duel room. Twin Flower’s movements were somewhat stiff, and she even had to complain about the rock-paper-scissors mechanic used to decide who goes first.

"I won!" she shrieked. "Going first is mine!"

"Take it, take it," Li Guanqi smiled calmly. "I'm playing a beat-down deck with very few hand traps. Make your move."

He was genuinely curious about what kind of duel this woman, laden with all sorts of mysterious buffs, would provide.

***

After looking at her opening hand, Twin Flower froze. Every once in a while, she would tilt her head, as if to prove she was still alive.

"How could this be..."

"It's not scientific..."

She shook her head back and forth as if pondering the mysteries of the universe.

"What's wrong?" Li Guanqi asked softly.

"Why..." Twin Flower looked up, her expression adorably blank. "Why is there no [Red Rose Dragon] in my opening hand?"

Her brows were furrowed in distress as she tapped her phone screen repeatedly. To her, not having a specific card in the opening hand seemed like an impossible anomaly.

"Did you use glue to build your deck before?" Li Guanqi teased.

In an online card game, isn't it perfectly normal not to start with a specific card? It wasn't like cheating with physical cards where you could stick a card to the top of the deck.

Twin Flower’s cheeks flushed a light red. She pressed her face close to the screen, focusing intently as if listening for something, whimpering in frustration.

"I can't hear it..."

"I can't hear the cards' voices anymore..."

"Am I playing a fake duel?"

She looked at Li Guanqi with teary, mournful eyes, as if pleading for help or looking at a savior.

"I get it," Li Guanqi said, raising a hand. "You're bricked, right?"

Out of curiosity, he stood up, leaned over, and glanced at her hand.

[Swordsoul Strategist Longyuan]
[Tearlaments Scream]
[Tenpai Dragon Paidra]
[White Rose Dragon]
[Fragrance Storm]

"I knew it."

Li Guanqi checked her deck construction—it was a sixty-card build. In an instant, he understood everything and felt a sudden sense of respect. What kind of thought process could possibly combine [Tenpai], [Tearlaments], [Swordsoul], and [Rose] all into one?

"With a deck like this, it would be a miracle if you *didn't* brick," he sighed.

Twin Flower didn't like that one bit. "Let me ask you this!"

"Go ahead."

"Is Tearlaments strong?"

"Yes."

"Is Tenpai strong?"

"Yes."

"Is Swordsoul strong?"

"It's alright."

"Then why isn't it strong when I put them all together?!"

She shouted it so loudly that, strangely enough, it sounded almost logical. Li Guanqi didn't know how to refute her.

"This game doesn't count!" Twin Flower declared tyrannically.

"Sure, sure," Li Guanqi said with the indulgent gaze one might show a beginner. "Next game. This one doesn't count."

He felt he had never been so gentle. She was like the little match girl in the snow—full of hope as she struck a match, praying for a [Tenpai Dragon White Dragon] or a [Tearlaments Merrli], only to end up with [Paidra] and [Scream]. She was too cute; he felt like if he hit her, she might cry for hours.

The first game ended before it even began.

In the second game, Twin Flower’s hand improved.

"Hahaha!" she roared with laughter, completely abandoning any pretense of being a goddess. "The perfect hand!"

"But I'm going first this game," Li Guanqi interrupted.

"No problem!" Twin Flower was triumphant, flashing a sly, cunning smile. "Hmph, fine, you can have the first turn. I don't care."

"I am invincible!"

It was clear she was feeling quite arrogant.

"Alright then," Li Guanqi responded casually. He clicked his mouse to summon [Labrynth Arianna].

"Why aren't you saying anything when you summon a monster?!" Twin Flower protested.

Li Guanqi’s face darkened. "I have to provide a script for every move I make?"

"Of course!" she said righteously. "Otherwise, how would I know what you're doing?"

"Fine, fine. The patient is always right." Li Guanqi yielded to her, explaining his move. "I summon [Arianna], and use her effect to search for a [Labrynth] card."

"So it really is Labrynth?" A sharp light flickered in Twin Flower's eyes as she lifted her chin confidently. "A mere Labrynth deck? Go ahead."

"Don't underestimate my intelligence network!"

"[Labrynth] is just a trap deck; there's no real gameplay involved!"

"Generally speaking, that is true," Li Guanqi nodded gently, then added, "However, there's a bit of a trick to this hand of mine."

When Twin Flower heard that, her heart skipped a beat, and she braced herself. When a duelist says their hand has a "trick" to it, it usually meant...

His hand was quite strong.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..." Twin Flower clutched her [Harpie's Feather Duster] tightly, whispering to comfort herself. "What kind of board can a heavy trap deck possibly build going first?"

"Don't panic!"