Chapter 185: Mokuba's Plea for Help
Hearing the sound, Hayato turned to look, only to find a figure frantically running into the Duel Field, crashing straight into his arms.
"Mokuba?" Joey recognized the newcomer; it was Mokuba, whom they had just met not long ago.
While Hayato was wondering why Mokuba needed him to save him, several men in black bodyguards followed closely behind Mokuba, aggressively stormed into the Duel Field. And to Joey's surprise, he even recognized their leader.
"It's you!"
"Oh? It's you brats? What a coincidence." The leader was none other than Sawatari, who had once betrayed KaibaCorp to join Industrial Illusions and even threw Yugi's Star Chips into the sea. How did he have the nerve to come to KaibaLand, a subsidiary of KaibaCorp, after luring Kaiba into a trap before?
Hayato was still puzzled. Before he could say anything, Sawatari dismissively waved his hand. "I don't have time to waste talking to you. For Industrial Illusions' sake, leave KaibaLand, and leave that brat here. Otherwise, we won't be so polite."
"Oh? So you *do* know this is KaibaLand?" Hayato pulled Mokuba behind him, exchanged a glance with Tristan standing beside him, and took a step forward. "You fence-sitting turncoat, do you really have the nerve to come back to KaibaCorp? Aren't you afraid Kaiba will retaliate? That guy holds a grudge, you know."
Despite his words, Hayato had already noticed something — Sawatari and the group following him all had name tags embroidered on the left chest of their suits, bearing the KaibaCorp logo. This indicated they were present as KaibaCorp's internal personnel.
For a former traitor to brazenly appear in KaibaLand, which Kaiba currently held in highest regard, and even dare to publicly arrest KaibaCorp's Vice-President, Mokuba, with KaibaCorp's own security guards in tow. There could only be one answer —
"Hahaha, Seto Kaiba? That arrogant fool is already preoccupied; it's questionable if he'll ever wake up in this lifetime!" Sawatari said, walking towards Hayato and extending his hand. "Hand over that brat, or don't blame us for being impolite!"
Several tall, burly men in black also quickly surrounded them. But just then, one of them noticed something amiss. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... one is missing? Boss, the bullet-headed kid is gone!"
In that instant, the lights in the Duel Field suddenly went out, plunging everyone into complete darkness!
"Ah!"
"Who's there!"
"Ugh!"
"Stop it!"
In the darkness, Sawatari heard the screams of the security team he brought. If this continued, he would be next!
He'd risk it all!
Sawatari steeled his resolve. Following his memory of Hayato's original position, he charged forward. Among Yugi and his group, Hayato was the tallest and looked the most capable in a fight. Of the other two brats, one was like a punk, and the other yellow-haired kid looked a bit malnourished. If he was going to attack, he'd definitely attack the most dangerous one.
As for Yugi, Téa, and Rebecca? A shorty, and two young girls, Sawatari didn't even consider them.
Sawatari pushed off with his legs, slightly turning his body to put his left shoulder forward. But after several steps, he didn't feel himself crash into anyone. The darkness had robbed him of his sight, amplifying the fear in his mind. Sawatari's voice trembled slightly: "Come out, face me!"
But in the darkness, it was as if nothing existed. The previous wails of his subordinates had vanished; there was no sound at all, not even Sawatari's own echo. If it weren't for the distinct feeling of the floor beneath his feet, Sawatari would have almost believed he had been swallowed by a black hole.
"Bang!" An impact struck the back of his head, and Sawatari was instantly knocked unconscious. Even as he fell, he still couldn't figure out who had taken him down or how.
The Duel Field brightened again. Hayato looked down towards the area below the Duel Field, where Tristan, standing by the main power switch, gave him a thumbs-up. Before the men in black could make a move on Hayato and the others, Tristan had slipped down to the lower level under Hayato's cover, which led to the sudden onset of darkness earlier.
As for how Hayato and the others managed to launch their assault in the darkness? Hayato and the others didn't actually lay a hand on anyone. He simply threw out the *Gaia* and *Performapal Sky Magician* Cards he carried with him; one was responsible for knocking people out, the other for casting illusions.
After moving the unconscious men in black aside and tying them up with a cable from the Duel Field, Hayato and the others finally had time to ask Mokuba what exactly had happened.
"My brother intended to drive out The Big Five of KaibaCorp who had betrayed him previously. But to prevent them from retaliating out of resentment, he signed a wager with them. The condition was for my brother to clear a 'fully immersive' online game that KaibaCorp had just completed."
"And then he got trapped inside the game, unable to come out until he defeats the final boss and clears the game, right?"
Hayato's words surprised Mokuba. "That's right. But, how did you know, big brother Hayato?"
"Mainly, it's because those two are such fanfic magnets, I simply couldn't *not* know," Hayato quipped. "And I bet The Big Five also rigged themselves some GM privileges to interfere with Kirito—I mean, Kaiba—from clearing the game, right?"
"Yes, the *Duel Monsters* game mainly features combat using Duel Monsters in a Western fantasy world. But The Big Five directly stripped my brother of his Deck when he entered the game," Mokuba said, puffing out his cheeks at the thought. "If not for that, my brother would have cleared it easily."
"My brother is currently trapped in the *Duel Monsters* game machine and can't wake up. If we cut the power directly, the game machine will directly fry his brain. The Big Five took this opportunity to launch a rebellion, trying to seize KaibaCorp."
"I see, so that's why they wanted to capture you," Yugi nodded understandingly. With Kaiba currently trapped inside the game machine, if The Big Five were to capture Mokuba, KaibaCorp would truly fall into their hands. No wonder they brazenly came to grab Mokuba.
Joey frowned. "But Mokuba, I don't think it's any use even if you ask us for help. None of us are good at hacking, so we can't hack that *Duel Monsters* game."
"Hacking the game is so 'low-tech'," Hayato said enthusiastically. "Joey, didn't Mokuba just say that clearing the game is enough? And that *Duel Monsters* game uses Duel Monsters, so this is simply something that can be solved by Dueling! And when it comes to Dueling, who can beat us?"
(end of chapter)