Chapter 396: Making a Shady Deal with Dark Forces
[Virtual Hayato: 4000 LP → 0]
Because of Infernity Death Gunman, the massive 5200 points of Effect Damage that were Countered by Magic Cylinder's Effect and then Negated by Infernity Death Gunman instantly depleted Virtual Hayato's Life Points.
As the Virtual Projection was defeated, the Operational Logic that had been running at high speed during the Duel instantly overloaded, causing the Red Ring device, which served both information processing and Virtual Projection functions, to fall from above the Duel Arena.
This had absolutely nothing to do with Hayato "slightly" using some of the Magic Power of the Millennium Puzzle when he used Infernity Death Gunman. Yep.
Meanwhile, Mokuba heard the report from the Staff Member through his earpiece: "The occupied Information Channel has been released, the matter is resolved." He couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
"Looks like the matter is resolved, Mokuba boy~" Maximillion Pegasus said to Mokuba, watching with interest as Hayato walked up the Steps from the Duel Arena, tidying his Deck as he went. "Another Interesting Duel, Hayato boy."
"On the contrary, it was incredibly annoying, not even a warm-up," Hayato said with a helpless expression, reaching out to take two Cards from his Duel Disk. These two Cards were the ones Hayato had Set on his first Turn.
The Cards were Flipped, and Maximillion Pegasus smiled. "I see, then it is indeed as Hayato boy said, quite annoying."
"Spiral Rebirth, and Mysterious Chinese Pot?" Mokuba read the names of the two Cards in Hayato's Hand, looking at Hayato speechlessly. "So, the so-called 'Russian Roulette' just now, you weren't going to lose from the start, Hayato?"
The Damage from Magic Cylinder that was Negated by Infernity Death Gunman's Effect was as high as 5200 points. Neither Hayato, who had 2400 Life Points remaining, nor the Duel Robot, which had full Life Points, could withstand such high Damage.
Only in a situation where "there was no retreat for Both players," would the "Russian Roulette" scenario appear, making Hayato, who gambled the outcome of the Duel on the next Card of Destiny, seem so carefree.
But it turned out Hayato Set a Mysterious Chinese Pot in his Backrow!? Everyone else was taking the hit head-on with their bodies, but he cheated and hid a Bulletproof Vest!
What was even more excessive was that Hayato also had a Trap Card, Spiral Rebirth. The Effect written on the Card was that he could Special Summon a Dragon-Type Monster with Level 7 or higher from his Graveyard. Furthermore, if the Monster Special Summoned was Dragon Knight Gaia, it would gain the Ability to not be targeted by the Opponent's Card Effects and not be Destroyed by Effects.
From the moment the Duel Robot Activated Magic Cylinder to Counter the Attack, and Hayato Negated it with Infernity Death Gunman's Effect, there were only three possible outcomes before it:
Either, don't gamble with Hayato, and then Hayato could Tribute Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion with Mysterious Chinese Pot to Recover 5200 Life Points in one go, and then use Spiral Rebirth to Rebirth it again, gaining a second Attack Opportunity;
Or, gamble with Hayato, but whether he won or lost, Hayato could use Mysterious Chinese Pot to ensure his Life Points wouldn't be depleted by the 5200 points of Effect Damage.
This wasn't roulette at all, this was clearly a one-sided threat, holding a Gun Muzzle to someone's head. It's no wonder Infernity Death Gunman didn't point its Gun Muzzle at Hayato just now; it clearly knew that Hayato had no possibility of being the one to lose.
"That's why I said, no wonder that guy Seto chose to give up on this Duel Robot. Although there's a saying that 'the point of playing a game is to win,' a Machine that completely prevents you from using your true Strength is simply too annoying."
Hayato said, and in front of both Maximillion Pegasus and Mokuba, he Revealed several Cards from his Deck. "Look, Earthbound Immortals, Obelisk the Tormentor, and even The Winged Dragon of Ra. It's rare that I used all those Cards, but the Robot couldn't force out my Strength at all."
"More than that, I'm more concerned if this Deck of yours is really the 'pure [Gaia]' Deck you said it was?" Mokuba complained, but didn't dwell on it for too long. "Well, it's good that this Incident was resolved. It's just that this project might need to be taken back and have the code modified before it can be reactivated."
"An Incident, huh?" Hayato didn't say anything when he heard that, just smiled, and looked back again at the Duel Arena covered by the Virtual Projection System that had crashed to the ground. "Of course, of course it was an Incident. After all, who could bypass KaibaCorp's complex Network Firewall and Tamper with the Duel Robot?"
------ Noah: Anyway, exclude me first ------
Separated by the display Screen, Rafael watched as KaibaCorp Staff Members cleaned up the scene, and Hayato, Mokuba, and Maximillion Pegasus left the area. He said calmly, "King of Games Kobayashi Hayato, his Bond with Cards is truly deep. He is a Respected Opponent."
"Hey, hey, hey, I didn't call you here to praise that guy Kobayashi Hayato," a man wearing a gray long robe with a Hood spoke from beside Rafael, seemingly annoyed by Rafael's praise of Hayato.
Although he was speaking, the Gray-Robed Man kept hiding in the Shadows, refusing to approach the bright Screen even a single step, as if he didn't want his true appearance to be illuminated by the lit Screen.
Pointing to another Screen, the Gray-Robed Man said, "Anyway, you've already seen the effectiveness of this KaibaCorp firewall program's Opening, right? Although this Opening will likely be fixed soon, I still possess a considerable number of security vulnerabilities of the same level."
"With this, it should prove that I have the Qualification to make a Transaction with your Doma, right?" Saying this, the Gray-Robed Man casually pulled over a nearby Chair and sat down, saying with Confidence, "Even if you and the guy behind you disagree, I will find your Companion named Amelda. He will definitely be very interested in this thing."
Rafael glanced at the Gray-Robed Man, his brow slightly furrowed.
After leaving Kaiba Dome with Hayato and Mokuba, Rafael had originally planned to follow them to see what Hayato and the others were going to do, and while he was at it, he could test the true Strength of Hayato, who had gathered the Egyptian God Cards.
After all, if he used the Strength Hayato displayed in the Recording from the Duel City Finals as the standard, it was ultimately just outdated information due to oversight and couldn't be relied upon.
But just as Rafael was about to follow, he was stopped by this secretive guy in the gray robe next to him, who even called out the name of the "Doma" organization he belonged to.
At the first moment, Rafael wanted to Activate the Seal of Orichalcos to drag this Gray-Robed Man into a Shadow Duel and silence him, to prevent the "Doma" organization, which had been hidden in the World for many years, from being exposed. But who knew, the Gray-Robed Man actually possessed a Mysterious Power capable of Contending with the Seal of Orichalcos. Rafael couldn't do anything about him for a moment.
And it was under these circumstances that the Gray-Robed Man stated his Goal. He said he wanted to make a Transaction with Rafael, who was one of Doma's Swordsmen, and brought him to this Basement not far from Kaiba Land.
Subsequently, Rafael witnessed firsthand the Duel between Hayato and "Hayato" through the KaibaCorp Cameras that the Gray-Robed Man had hacked into.
Although he had confirmed that the Gray-Robed Man indeed had some substance in his hands, and he was also very clear that he really couldn't use Unconventional Means to obtain the KaibaCorp backdoor vulnerability from him for the time being, Rafael truly didn't want to reach Cooperation with the person in front of him.
Having reached a Heart-to-Heart Connection with his Guardian Eatos, he could feel at all times a kind of Aura on the Gray-Robed Man that was like a Decaying Thing, which was extremely uncomfortable.
But Rafael was also clear about another thing, and that was that the situation the Gray-Robed Man described was true. If he took the "backdoor vulnerability in KaibaCorp's internal Network" to make a Transaction with Amelda, Amelda, who was eager for revenge against Kaiba, would definitely agree to his Transaction, even if the content of the Transaction was harmful to "Doma" or even The Master.
Rather than that, it was better for him to handle the Transaction himself, which could control the possible Danger within the smallest scope.
"Well then, tell me, what exactly is the content of your Transaction?" Rafael raised his head and looked at the man, his eyes shining brightly as if trying to see through the man's true identity through the Hood. "Based on the content of the Transaction and the Reward you mentioned, I will then make a decision."
"Heh heh, your thoughts are truly easy to guess. You're thinking that rather than leaving the Transaction to Amelda, who isn't steady at all and only cares about his Hatred and can even abandon 'Doma' for it, it's better to take it on yourself to control the risk, right?" As if he had the Ability of Mind Reading, the Gray-Robed Man said with a smile, words that were almost exactly the opposite of what Amelda was thinking.
"But rest assured, what I need will not have any influence on your Doma's Plan. On the contrary, if our Transaction is completed, it might even be Beneficial to your Doma's Plan~"
While speaking, the Gray-Robed Man casually threw something. A Card spun and fell into Rafael's Hand, which was constantly on guard, and was firmly held between his two fingers. Flipping the Card, Rafael saw the pattern on the Card clearly. It was a red Monster with a coiled body spitting flames, looking more like a Fiend Dragon than a Divine Dragon.
"Uria, Lord of Searing Flames? What is this Card?"
"It is both the Reward and part of the Transaction." The Gray-Robed Man said with a cold laugh. After operating something somewhere, the image on a Screen next to Rafael switched, revealing the Surveillance Footage inside Kaiba Dome, where a Match was currently taking place. The Camera turned and focused, quickly finding Yugi Mutou sitting in the Audience Seats, seriously watching the Match on the Duel Field.
"Yugi Mutou?" As one of the legendary Duelists whose Strength was publicly second only to King of Games Kobayashi Hayato, Rafael naturally knew Yugi Mutou. Furthermore, Rafael, who was deeply trusted by The Master, also knew that Yugi Mutou was on a List for the Plan The Master was about to carry out.
"As early as Duel City, the Uria, Lord of Searing Flames in your Hand was used to Battle against Yugi Mutou, leaving behind a trace of Yugi Mutou's Soul. Following the Guidance of this Card, you can constantly Track Yugi Mutou. All you need to do is Deliver this Card into his hands and have him use it in a Duel."
As the Gray-Robed Man spoke, his voice was full of laughter. Even through the Hood, Rafael could imagine that this guy's face right now was probably laughing wildly, as if he had already imagined the scene that would appear then.
"After giving him the Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, your and my Transaction will be completed, and not long after, you can retrieve that Uria, Lord of Searing Flames."
As the Gray-Robed Man spoke, he seemed to think of something, and his voice turned somewhat gloomy. "However, as a Restriction, you need to keep a distance from that guy Kobayashi Hayato for a while."
"This Card was once taken by him as the Cost of Escaping, left in front of Kobayashi Hayato. Although what he took was just an Empty Shell I created and didn't last long, it unexpectedly left a trace of his Aura as well."
"If he gets it, the Good Stuff I prepared on the Card will be Wasted."
"In short, this is the Transaction I want to make with Doma's Swordsmen: Deliver Uria, Lord of Searing Flames into Yugi Mutou's hands and have him use it. That's all."
"How about it?"
Rafael frowned, neither agreeing nor refusing, just remaining silent and putting away the Uria, Lord of Searing Flames Card. But just as he was about to say something, suddenly, the Screen next to Rafael flickered, and the images on Screen after Screen were changed, revealing a Cold and Arrogant face.
"Hmph, a mere Rat. It actually took me so long to catch it. Truly a remote Opening." Seto Kaiba's face, which Joey Wheeler had evaluated as "so Arrogant you want to Stomp on him," was full of Coldness. It seemed he saw Rafael and the Gray-Robed Man across the Screen. "To dare to intrude into KaibaCorp, you are truly a Lackey who doesn't know Death from Life, and you actually dare to hide so close!"
"Wash your neck and wait for—"
Kaiba hadn't finished speaking when the Screen suddenly went dark. The Gray-Robed Man was holding a Plug in his hand and casually threw it away. "Tsk, that Bastard Seto Kaiba. His movements are really fast. Interfering again."
"It seems we can't stay here. Anyway, judging by your look, you've agreed to the Transaction, right? Then this is where it ends."
Saying this, like fleeing, the Gray-Robed Man, who didn't want others to know of his existence, pulled down his Hood slightly and turned to walk towards the exit.
Rafael also knew it wasn't suitable to stay here for long, but looking at the Gray-Robed Man's back, on a strange impulse, Rafael asked that one sentence: "If he uses the Card Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, what will happen to Yugi Mutou?"
Rafael hadn't expected to get an answer, but what he didn't expect was that the Gray-Robed Man, who was in a hurry to leave, actually honestly stopped and replied, "Heh heh, nothing will happen. It won't have any influence on him personally."
"It's just letting him take a look at the Egyptian Scenery."
From under the Hood of the Gray-Robed Man, who had slightly turned his body, Rafael vaguely saw a Golden Eyeball held in his mouth.
Chapter 397: Such a Lazy Chapter Number
After helping Mokuba defeat the rampaging Duel Robot, Hayato had just left the Duel Monsters Game Area when he ran headfirst into a guy with a sour look on his face.
"Hmph," Kaiba stood on the steps with his arms crossed, looking down at Hayato and Mokuba as they walked up. "Instead of gathering data on other players at the match venue, you're leisurely strolling around the amusement park. Is this the composure of a King of Games, Kobayashi Hayato?"
As for where Maximillion Pegasus had gone? That guy claimed he suddenly fell ill and couldn't walk when passing by a doll house, and detoured straight into the amusement house. For a moment, Hayato couldn't figure out what Maximillion Pegasus's true goal was in investing in Kaiba Land in America.
Although that guy verbally claimed it was for atonement for what he had done to the Kaiba brothers before, and because he saw the benefits behind Kaiba Land, no matter how you looked at it, it was just to gain shareholder qualifications and satisfy his selfish desires!
"Yo, Seto, aren't you the same?" Hayato raised a hand in greeting. To be honest, after hearing Kaiba's foul mouth so much, he was actually a bit used to it. "You aren't watching the match over at Kaiba Dome either, are you?"
"Hmph, a bunch of third-rate duelists huddled together with fourth-rate decks, how could they possibly catch the eye of I, Lord Kaiba? You were thinking that anyway, weren't you?"
At the end, Hayato even deliberately imitated Kaiba's tone, and Mokuba felt the accuracy was at least seventy to eighty percent.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Kaiba retorted without backing down. "Or do you think among the filler duelists scheduled to duel on the first day, there will be a duelist with the strength to defeat me?"
Mokuba quickly interrupted, saying, "Older brother, Hayato came to help! He just defeated that out-of-control Duel Robot."
He wasn't worried that Kaiba and Hayato would start arguing. If it were Joey Wheeler and Kaiba, there'd be a slight... well... a very high possibility, but it was perfectly normal for Hayato and Kaiba to say pointed things to each other. That was just how they interacted.
Mokuba mainly felt that his older brother, who was very smart but had zero emotional intelligence, would likely get provoked by Hayato if he kept talking, and they'd start dueling on the spot.
Interrupted by Mokuba like that, Kaiba let out a cold snort. Although his face was still cold, his tone of voice changed slightly: "Hmph, you're just being presumptuous. Even if you hadn't defeated it yourself, I had pretty much completed the program's recontrol, and had even followed the trail to find where that rat was hiding."
"Besides, you merely defeated that useless robot. If you couldn't even do that much, it would just show that you're only at that level."
Kaiba crossed his arms, "And if Mokuba hadn't repeatedly asked me to salvage it, that incompetent machine wouldn't have even made it through Kaiba Land's gates."
"Ah, I agree with you on that point." Hayato nodded. "Even the weakest duelist has more trust in their deck than that machine. Duel Monsters is truly only interesting when you have an opponent."
"In that case, how about right now—" When Kaiba heard Hayato's words, it was as if a strange switch had been flipped. His hand went to his waist, seemingly intending to grab his deck and have a match with Hayato on the spot.
Just now, even Mokuba knew about the Duel Robot going out of control. Kaiba had known about it even earlier than him. Although he had the ability to defeat the Duel Robot, Kaiba disdained defeating the same opponent a second time. Therefore, he didn't choose the simplest method of directly defeating the Duel Robot, but instead chose to use his genius mind.
However, disdaining to defeat the Duel Robot was one thing, but watching Hayato and the robot's duel and having his dueling addiction flare up was another matter entirely.
Hayato saw Kaiba's hand go to his waist. Immediately, the affected expression on Maximillion Pegasus's face from not long ago surfaced in his mind: "Oh dear, oh dear, I'm not feeling well, me might have contracted some incurable illness..."
While saying this, Hayato also put on an uncomfortable expression, clearly refusing Kaiba's unspoken duel request.
Kaiba wasn't an idiot. How could he be fooled by Hayato's terrible acting, which was copied from Maximillion Pegasus?
"Yarou! Are you taking me for a fool?"
Seeing Kaiba so angry he looked like he would explode any second and pull out a "Shark Cruiser", Mokuba reminded him: "Older brother, weren't you going to catch the hacker who invaded KaibaCorp's firewall? Go quickly, go quickly."
"Hayato, let's go back and watch the match!"
As he spoke, Mokuba wore a tired smile on his face, pulling Hayato and Kaiba apart.
For someone so young, having to bear such a heavy burden, it's truly difficult.
"Hmph." Watching Mokuba pull Hayato up the steps and walk past him, Kaiba pursed his lips in annoyance, putting the cards he had already taken out back.
In reality, he really wanted to have a match with Hayato, but it didn't matter that he couldn't. A brand new [Blue-Eyes] had recently been added to his deck, and he needed to properly test its strength and compatibility.
Kaiba had the confidence that after he finished tuning his deck, his evolved [Blue-Eyes] would definitely be able to defeat Hayato in front of countless audience members.
This way, not having a match with Hayato wasn't such a bad thing. After all, letting Hayato know about the existence of this card beforehand would ruin the unexpected surprise.
Thinking this, Kaiba's mood improved slightly. With a flourish of his long trench coat, he walked down the stairs.
Although Kaiba had stayed on the stairs for a short while due to meeting Hayato and Mokuba, Kaiba had already sent people to apprehend the culprit beforehand. There was no need to worry that the rat who had invaded KaibaCorp's systems and was hiding in its underbelly would escape due to this delay.
As for the hacker's identity, Kaiba had no way of knowing because the network on that side had been forcibly cut off. However, they were likely just some boring nobody, and he wasn't very interested.
However, being able to invade KaibaCorp's firewall meant they had some strength. Their mind should be decent, right? In that case, he would use that little rat as a tribute for his new Blue-Eyes White Dragon!
At this moment, Kaiba didn't realize something—not all hackers were powerless shut-ins. And if the "Men in Black" sent by KaibaCorp, led by Iso, were to encounter a duelist with basic supernatural ability, it was hard to say who would be surrounding whom.
Of course, whether Kaiba would believe in supernatural phenomena was another matter. At least until now, he still believed that Maximillion Pegasus using the [Millennium Eye] to mind seal him in the past was a form of psychological suggestion combined with hypnosis.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 398: White Snake? It's the Millennium Eye!
"Screech—!!"
Under the braking of the brake pads, the tires of the black luxury car rubbed against the ground, making noise. From the stopped car, Iso and a team of "Man In Black" from the KaibaCorp Security Department under his management got out.
As mentioned before, the "KC Cup" hosted by KaibaCorp this time received attention from all sectors. The Los Angeles Municipal Government, as the host city, naturally did its best to cooperate with KaibaCorp, the organizer of the "KC Cup", in all aspects of work, from firefighting and power supply to security work.
In this country where even the air is filled with the free atmosphere called "gunsmoke", security personnel only holding batons would have little deterrent effect on those skilled at looting. Therefore, with the assistance of the Mayor, the Security Department under Iso's command each received a gun permit and were equipped with firearms.
The men in black equipped with firearms who got out of the black luxury car, honestly, if Iso's subordinates were to cosplay Mars Assassin Soldiers, the recreation level would be at least ninety percent.
As for whether the Mayor's assistance was due to the sufficient weight of the alliance between the emerging KaibaCorp and the established American company Industrial Illusions, or because the smooth hosting of the "KC Cup" would leave a good political record on his resume and the generous amount given by Kaiba, this is unknown.
Due to the "collusion between officials and business" between KaibaCorp and the Los Angeles Municipal Government, most of KaibaCorp's actions required a very short reporting process, or arguably no reporting process at all.
For example, this time, after Kaiba used reverse tracking to hack the firewall that invaded Kaiba Land and the Duel Robot, he directly tracked the hacker's location via the network cable. He ordered Iso to lead a team to capture this hacker, merely notifying the municipal government.
"This is the place." Iso glanced at a translucent tablet in his hand. His location displayed on it had overlapped with a red dot, indicating he had reached the target location. The specific location could only be under Iso's feet.
With a wave of his hand, Iso struck a cool pose. The men in black following him approached the building in front of them, kicked open the door to the room, and rushed inside.
Although Los Angeles has laws allowing self-defense against trespassers on private property, Iso was confident in his subordinates. If the hacker, who was audacious enough to invade KaibaCorp, dared to resist, KaibaCorp's security would fully utilize the President's greatest hobby, Summoning in Double Fist Attack Stance and Equipping the Spell Card [Life Reset Device].
Not worried about any unexpected situations occurring during the capture operation, Iso even had the leisure to operate the tablet in his hand, directly updating the task progress on the network. He casually went to check the "Capture completed" option.
As expected, Iso watched as his subordinates escorted a black teenager with extremely heavy dark circles under his eyes out of the house. Although Iso wasn't sure where he saw the dark circles.
Such a task was really easy. Just ride in the car, wait for the subordinates to finish the job, and then clock out. It was much more interesting than being a referee for a Duel Monsters competition. Iso thought this, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but slightly curl up. He was about to turn around and get back into the car, letting the men in black escort the black teenager into a truck that had arrived following the sedan, when suddenly, he heard the roar of his President—Seto Kaiba—in his ear: "Iso, what are you doing there?!"
Iso was slightly stunned.
He looked around but saw no sign of Kaiba. Everything was as calm as usual, with only his subordinates restraining the black teenager. It was as if the shout just now was merely an illusion.
Did I mishear?
Iso looked at his subordinates again with some doubt, but this time he noticed something was slightly off—until just now, including himself, there were four people he brought. With the reinforcements who got out of the truck, there were only seven people in total. How could there be a full ten people on site, including the black teenager?
"Iso!"
He heard Kaiba's shout again, and after this sound, Iso suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. His vision couldn't help but see double. Subconsciously, the dizzy and uncomfortable Iso reached out to the side, only to find that he, who had just been outside the car, had instantly returned inside the sedan, his hand resting on the car window.
Looking around again, Iso's vision simultaneously showed two overlapping scenes—KaibaCorp security personnel detaining the black teenager and preparing to withdraw, and the other three people in the same car whose car head had crashed into a fire hydrant, saved from being thrown out of the car by their seatbelts.
"Iso!"
Tilting his head, Iso saw Kaiba. He was calling Iso's name through the car window.
Like a fully inflated balloon pierced by a needle, the moment he saw Kaiba, Iso suddenly remembered—he hadn't gotten out of the car at all.
Going back in time a bit.
Following the target location given by Kaiba, Iso sat in the black luxury car. As they approached the destination, he was instructing the other three people in the car about the precautions.
"Their offensive ability is very strong. They found and exploited the opening in the Kaiba Land firewall almost instantly without taking any detours, thereby gaining control over the camera equipment, network channels, and that Duel Robot within Kaiba Land."
"But on the other hand, their defense ability is almost nonexistent, riddled with vulnerabilities like a breeding ground for malware. If it weren't for the lack of cameras, their true identity would have been captured in the first place."
"Therefore, there is reason to suspect that they are not a professional hacker but an ordinary person who accidentally obtained a KaibaCorp vulnerability. They must be controlled and it must be confirmed whether they possess other backdoor vulnerabilities."
Reading the information provided by the KaibaCorp analysis team, even Iso, who was usually unshaken by major events, couldn't help but feel the urge to complain: "Isn't that a bit too ridiculous? The firewall program was personally written by Vice President Mokuba leading the team. If it was defeated, that's somewhat understandable, but to say it was defeated by an ordinary person using the program's opening?"
"Doesn't the analysis team's meaning imply that the program written by Vice President Mokuba is so flawed that anyone can easily find them and save them for later use, without worrying about them being fixed?"
The others also agreed with Iso's words. It wasn't to flatter their superior, but because they, like Iso, greatly respected Mokuba's talent and didn't believe that the vulnerabilities in the firewall program written by Mokuba would be exaggerated to that extent.
Casually flipping the page of this analysis, Iso reconfirmed Kaiba's command: "Then let me repeat it. Although the analysis team's statement is hard to believe, let's follow President Kaiba's instructions first. Find that hacker and control them. After the President arrives, test their ability before making a decision."
If the analysis team was wrong and the hacker had hacked into Kaiba Land with their own ability, it was highly likely that KaibaCorp would cancel the punishment for that hacker and instead offer them a position, as talented people are highly sought after.
But if the analysis was accurate, then the method of punishment for that hacker would very likely be as the analysis team judged, with a great necessity to force them to hand over the program vulnerabilities they possessed.
Of course, all of the above would have to be decided by Kaiba himself. If he was annoyed with that person, even if they were very capable, they would not be accepted by him.
Turning a corner at an intersection, the black luxury car got closer and closer to the target location. Iso lowered his head, watching his coordinate point about to overlap with the destination. When he raised his head again, he and the other three simultaneously discovered—
In front of the moving vehicle, a "boy" wearing a gray robe seemed to be crossing the road as if he hadn't noticed the car!
The reason "boy" was put in quotation marks was because the person wearing the gray robe had the hood attached to the robe covering their head. Iso only guessed their gender and age based on their flat chest and thin, short build.
"Beep beep!" From a long distance away, the security personnel driving the car began honking the horn to remind the boy to quickly get off the road. But no matter how loud the car's sound was, the gray-robed boy's pace remained steady and slow as he walked, as if deliberately waiting in front of the vehicle to be hit.
Damn it, they're trying to stage a car accident.
The thoughts of the four people in the car were quite consistent. The driver didn't need anyone to remind him; he moved his foot to step on the brake. But carelessly, he saw a golden lollipop without a stick in the gray-robed boy's mouth.
No, that's not right. That color seems to be real gold, and I've seen that shape somewhere!
The driver, who had worked at KaibaCorp since the time it was almost taken over by Industrial Illusions, remembered meeting the President of Industrial Illusions—Maximillion Pegasus—under the leadership of Saruwatari, the head of the Security Department at the time. Pegasus's silver hair was blown by the wind as he sat by the window of Duelist Castle enjoying the sea breeze, and he had seen the appearance of Pegasus's hidden left eye.
It was exactly the same as the one in the gray-robed boy's mouth!
The driver, who wanted to speak out and remind his colleagues in the car, didn't even have time to open his mouth before his vision was silently invaded by a dark magic. His consciousness became confused, and he lost the ability to speak. And just now, he clearly intended to step on the brake, but what he ended up stepping on was the accelerator.
Suddenly, the speed of the black luxury car surged violently. Then, under the driver's chaotic control, the steering wheel was sharply turned halfway. The black luxury car scraped against the roadside railing, making an unpleasant noise, and finally, the car head slammed heavily into the roadside fire hydrant.
"Screech—!!"
"Bang!!"
Iso's consciousness stopped there. After the driver's mind was dissolved, the others, including Iso, followed his path and fell into a state of mental confusion, sitting calmly unconscious in the sedan, immersed in a flawless illusion woven by someone unknown.
It wasn't until Kaiba's arrival that his continuous calls brought Iso's consciousness back.
Struggling to raise his arm and place his finger on the unlock button on the car door, using the weight of his arm to unlock it, the car door on Iso's side was opened. Kaiba's hand grabbed Iso, who was about to slide out of the car.
"Iso! What happened?"
Opening his eyelids to look at the furious Kaiba, Iso's voice was weak and powerless: "Gray-robed boy, and Pegasus's eye..."
After saying the two keywords he had racked his brain to come up with, Iso closed his eyes weakly, as if he had exhausted his last bit of power.
Kaiba quickly checked Iso's breathing. Fortunately, Iso's breathing was still steady. It seemed he had only fallen unconscious and hadn't died.
Temporarily placing Iso back in the car to rest, Kaiba finally had time to think about what Iso had just said.
"Gray-robed boy, and Pegasus's eye?"
The description "gray-robed boy" was too vague. Anyone could be a gray-robed boy by buying a gray robe and finding a boy to wear it. But Pegasus's eye...
Kaiba felt that the possibility of Iso referring to Pegasus's currently intact eye was small. The probability was much higher that he was referring to the "Millennium Eye" that Kaiba had also seen before—although Hayato had told Kaiba many times about terms like [Millennium Puzzle] and [Millennium Eye], he never believed that such unscientific items could possess any power.
Especially after the Duelist Kingdom incident ended, on the day Kaiba left Duelist Kingdom, Pegasus's "Millennium Eye" was lost, and Pegasus himself was hospitalized for a long time because of it.
At the time, when he heard about Pegasus's misfortune, Kaiba even gloated. Who told that guy to carry a golden eye with him every day? It was like showing off his wealth, afraid that others wouldn't know he was rich.
Kaiba never thought that one day he would hear news of Pegasus's stolen Millennium Eye again, and from Iso's mouth at that. Now, the basic clue could be confirmed. Even if the person with Pegasus's Millennium Eye wasn't the culprit behind this unexpected event, they were at least one of the informed parties; otherwise, Iso wouldn't have specifically mentioned it.
Kaiba, who had arrived at the car accident scene on a motorcycle, had immediately called an ambulance the moment he found the sedan Iso was in stopped by the roadside, and demanded that they dispatch quickly to save people. However, in free America, even a major customer like Kaiba couldn't take away the ambulance's freedom. The voice on the phone claimed it would take at least half an hour to reach the scene.
Kaiba, who was extremely annoyed at the moment, had no mind to go after that hacker anymore. All he felt now was the rage at his subordinate being harmed, only wanting to find someone to vent on.
Coincidentally, a blond man with a taste similar to Kaiba's, also wearing a long, ankle-length dark blue trench coat, walked out from the corner of the road under Kaiba's gaze. The duel disk worn on his wrist proved his identity as a duelist.
Initially, Kaiba just glanced at him dismissively. But the blond man said something that made Kaiba glare at him angrily:
"Are you looking for the one who attacked them?"
Chapter 399: Valon: I Don't Like This Woman
I remember someone saying that when eyes meet, it's a sign that a battle is about to begin.
In any case, Kaiba and the blond-haired man who appeared before him—Rafael—faced off and activated their respective Duel Disks.
Even without a reason, it's normal for Duelists to compete using Duel Monsters. Moreover, Kaiba was convinced that Rafael was someone who had witnessed the car accident. Furthermore, while Kaiba believed the car accident was an accident, Rafael's words, "Are you looking for the one who attacked them?", made him realize it was not.
The noble Angel Warrior and the white Spirit Dragon engaged in an intense battle.
Meanwhile, inside the Kaiba Dome...
"Hmm, I didn't expect it would be my turn to go up?" Valon, who had finished his popcorn, was originally bored watching the Duel still ongoing on the field. Suddenly learning that the next Duel was his made Valon somewhat happy.
It wasn't because he was happy about Dueling. Although Valon's name contains "Dragon," unlike a certain Dragon Obsession, he wasn't addicted to Dueling and only had the minimum level of interest. Commanding Monsters to Attack and Defense was completely uninteresting. The clashes involving Spell Cards and Trap Cards were even more utterly boring to Valon. He was still more interested in simple, direct physical confrontation—meaning fighting.
Because of this preference, the Deck Valon used was also quite unconventional, to the point where he could even go to another series to protect Athena.
The reason Valon felt happy was that after finishing this Duel, his next Duel wouldn't be until the day after tomorrow. Not having to waste time watching boring Duels at the match venue anymore, Valon felt as comfortable as an office worker who gets a month-long vacation after their last meeting.
Because Valon was up immediately after the current Duel ended, he also learned his next opponent was named "Mai Valentine."
"Hmm? That name..." Valon had some memory of "Mai Valentine." She seemed to be an acquaintance of Kobayashi Hayato. Because of their need for the Egyptian God Cards held by Hayato, Rafael had previously analyzed the strength of the people around Hayato for both Valon and Amelda. The three most important people to watch out for were Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba, and Joey Wheeler.
Of course, Amelda completely disregarded the others and only thought about Seto Kaiba, while Valon wasn't interested in anyone. However, at the time, Rafael seemed to have mentioned the name "Mai Valentine."
Looking in the direction where he remembered seeing Kobayashi Hayato, Valon quickly spotted Yugi Mutou's distinctive starfish hair sitting there, as well as a blond woman standing up nearby, seemingly preparing to head to the player preparation room before the match to adjust her Deck and prepare for the Duel.
Is that Mai Valentine? She looks like she has a good figure.
Valon raised an eyebrow, watching Mai Valentine's graceful curves with interest. Even Valon could appreciate beautiful women, and Mai Valentine's appearance was truly excellent; even he couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
However, saying he fell in love with Mai Valentine just because of that wasn't the case, as Valon didn't believe in things like love at first sight. He appreciated beautiful women, but he preferred independent women with strong will and firm pursuit. Mai Valentine, based on her appearance, looked like a card dealer on a cruise ship, and Valon wasn't particularly drawn to that.
A few minutes later, on the Duel Field.
Having finished adjusting her Deck, Mai Valentine confidently walked onto the duel platform and also saw her opponent for this Duel, Valon. Being quite sensitive to men's various gazes, she immediately saw the disregard in Valon's gaze. Mai Valentine's first impression of Valon wasn't very good.
"Mai Valentine."
After simply stating her name, Mai Valentine said nothing more. Valon wasn't the first man to look down on her; Mai Valentine, who often lived in America, had seen many chauvinistic guys. In any case, Mai Valentine had enough confidence that she would use her Harpie and Amazoness to prove she was not inferior to men.
"Valon, my name is Valon." Valon, who looked like a European, unexpectedly spoke in extremely standard Japanese, even more standard than Joey Wheeler, who had a slight accent.
Looking at Mai Valentine's confident and resolute expression, Valon nodded approvingly: "Hmm, that gaze is quite good. It looks like this will be a Duel worth watching. However, it's regrettable that the victor will only be me."
"Heh, stop looking down on people, you arrogant guy."
Mai Valentine had no intention of continuing the conversation. Without even waiting for the referee to announce the start of the Duel, she directly inserted her Deck into her Duel Disk and activated it, indicating she had nothing more to say to Valon.
Seeing that Mai Valentine had already activated her Duel Disk, Valon stretched his arms and also activated his Duel Disk: "Instead of just talking tough, you've chosen to let the Duel do the talking? It seems I might be able to raise my opinion of you. You're not the talkative woman I originally thought you were."
"Then..."
"Duel!" x2 As the referee announced the start of the Duel, Valon and Mai Valentine in unison made their duel declaration, simultaneously drew five cards from their Decks.
[Valon: 4000 LP]
[Mai Valentine: 4000 LP]
"I'll take the First Turn! Draw!"
Mai Valentine originally thought that with her past experience, few opponents could beat her to the First Turn. However, she didn't expect the seemingly carefree Valon's hand movements to be not slow at all, even drawing his Card one step faster than her.
"Let me explain beforehand, I'm not some chauvinist, but an egalitarian. I treat everyone the same, no matter who my opponent is." Valon added the drawn cards to his hand, a confident smile on his face, as if he had drawn a good hand. "Similarly, I don't look down on anyone. What you call arrogant remarks..."
"...are merely a pre-announcement of the Duel's outcome."
As he spoke, Valon had already finished thinking about the strategy he would use. He drew two Cards from his hand: "As a test, these two Cards are enough."
"I Summon Command Knight in Attack Position! Then I activate its effect! When Command Knight is successfully Summoned, I can Special Summon another Level 4 or lower Monster from my Hand."
"I'm Special Summoning another Command Knight!"
On Valon's Field, two fully armed warriors, identical like twins, appeared, standing shoulder to shoulder, forming a defense formation.
[Command Knight] [Level 3 / EARTH]
[Warrior-Type / Effect]
[1200 / 400]
"Command Knight? Is he using a Warrior-Type Deck?" Mai Valentine, who knew nothing about Valon, saw him summon two Command Knights onto the Field at once and began to guess his Deck type.
"When Command Knight is on the Field in the Monster Zone, it can use its Effect to protect other Warrior-Type monsters from being chosen as an Attack Target. And when two Command Knights are on the Field at the same time, unfortunately, you won't be able to attack me."
Valon explained Command Knight's defense formation, showing a confident smile.
Mai Valentine frowned slightly: "I see. A single Command Knight on the Field is like a magnet that attracts attacks directed at Warrior-Type monsters. But if two Command Knights are on the Field, the two magnets existing simultaneously instead keep the attracted attacks in the middle."
"But is this level of defense the only source of your confidence?"
Valon shrugged: "This level? Anyway, against you, this level should be enough. I remember your Deck seems to be Harpie and Amazoness, right? If you can break through it, come and try."
"I Set two cards in my Backrow. I end my turn."
[Valon: 4000 LP, hand: 2]
[Command Knight] [ATK 1200]
[Command Knight] [ATK 1200]
[Set Cards] x2
"Then I'll be waiting." Mai Valentine proudly raised her head, like a peacock, just as her name suggests, and drew a card from her Deck. "My Turn! Draw!"
The Card Mai Valentine drew this turn was Elegant Egotist, a Spell Card that allows you to Special Summon other Harpie Lady monsters directly from your Deck, provided there is a Harpie Lady monster on the Field.
But the problem was, if the opponent had two Command Knights, it wouldn't matter how many Harpie Ladies Mai Valentine summoned, because the Harpie Lady Deck Mai Valentine used was best at removing Backrow Cards. Direct battle was too crude for the elegant Harpie Lady.
However, this didn't mean Mai Valentine had no way to deal with Command Knight. It wasn't as if she didn't have cards other than Harpie Lady.
"I activate the Continuous Spell Card, Swords of Revealing Light."
As Mai Valentine inserted the Card into her Duel Disk's Spell & Trap Zone, three massive black light swords suddenly flew out from her Backrow, pinning themselves firmly onto Valon's Field. From the black swords, waves of darkness spread out, flipping the two Command Knights face-down!
"As the effect resolves when Swords of Revealing Light is activated, all face-up monsters on your field are changed to face-down Defense Position. Magnets that have lost their magnetism are just two fragile stones."
Mai Valentine said this triumphantly, wanting to see surprise and shock on Valon's face. But the smile on Valon's lips remained calm and casual. He didn't pay any attention to Mai Valentine at all, not even having the thought to comment on Mai Valentine's counter.
"Hmph."
Feeling more annoyed by being ignored than by being looked down upon, Mai Valentine drew a card: "I Summon Amazoness Fighter in Attack Position! Then I activate the Spell Card, Strange Clover!"
"By sending a Level 4 Plant-Type monster from my Hand to the Graveyard, Amazoness Fighter can attack twice during this Battle Phase!"
"I activate the Spell Card, [Strange Clover]! By discarding one Level 4 Plant-Type monster from my hand, I grant one monster on the field the ability to attack twice during one Battle Phase!"
Mai Valentine revealed a card from her hand. "The card I'm discarding is this one, Sangan! Then, my Amazoness Fighter on the field will gain the ability to attack twice."
[Amazoness Fighter] [Level 4 / EARTH]
[Warrior-Type / Effect]
[ATK 1500 / DEF 1300]
"Because of Swords of Revealing Light, both of your Marauding Captains on the field were changed to Set Defense Position, and due to Swords of Revealing Light's Effect, as long as this card is on the field, your monsters cannot change their Battle Position."
[Set Defense Position monster (Marauding Captain)] [DEF 400]
"Next, I'll use my Amazoness Fighter to crush your monster! Enter the Battle Phase!" Mai Valentine said, waving her hand to command Amazoness Fighter. "Go, sweetie! Show that arrogant guy across from us how strong we are!"
"Attack the face-down monster!"
Following Mai Valentine's command, Amazoness Fighter ran forward, charging towards the card Set and surrounded by Swords of Revealing Light. In just a few moments, she arrived in front of it.
Although Amazoness Fighter seemed to have no weapons in her hand, she didn't actually need such hindrances to her battle, because her body was the most powerful weapon!
"First attack!"
"Hraahh!!"
A well-trained, muscular iron fist swung out, unlike a typical girl's hand. With just one strike, it broke the Sword of the Marauding Captain who was hiding inside the card, holding the card horizontally in a defensive stance. A hand chop slashed down on the metal armor, leaving an exaggerated dent. The Marauding Captain spat out blood, was sent flying, and was completely destroyed and sent to the Graveyard!
Seeing this, Mai Valentine cheered in a very unladylike manner, "Nice! Well done! Just like that, beat him flat!"
"Keep up that momentum! There's still a second monster! Go!"
Amazoness Fighter nodded, looking at the other card not far away. She took a deep breath, pulled back her hand, and suddenly did a forward handspring and leaped up. Her heel, wrapped in battle bandages, came crashing down like an unstoppable battle axe!
The card hiding the Marauding Captain was flipped open. A shield was held by the Marauding Captain, meeting Amazoness Fighter's downward chop. Originally, Mai Valentine was dismissive of the Marauding Captain pulling out a shield for defense.
After all, no matter what kind of equipment you brought out, be it a laser sword or a force field shield, no matter how flashy it was, Duel Monsters ultimately still came down to the actual ATK/DEF values. Amazoness Fighter's ATK was 1500 points, while Marauding Captain's DEF was only 400 points. Even if he carried a city wall, he wouldn't be able to block the attack.
But then Mai Valentine saw that the shield the Marauding Captain was equipped with not only perfectly blocked Amazoness Fighter's attack, but the spikes on that shield with a Unicorn relief actually successfully pierced Amazoness Fighter's defense, causing her heel to bleed profusely!
"Chain Shield," Valon said calmly. "In that battle just now, I used your attack to flip the Marauding Captain, and then I activated this Chain Shield."
Valon spoke calmly, watching as the Marauding Captain, after flipping back to Face-up Position, pushed Amazoness Fighter back to Mai Valentine's field with a strong thrust of his shield. "After this card is activated, it becomes an Equip Card that can increase ATK by 500 points, and it was equipped to the Marauding Captain who flipped back to Face-up Position."
"When a monster equipped with Chain Shield battles in Defense Position, that monster's DEF only increases by its ATK value during Damage Calculation."
[Marauding Captain] (Equipped with Chain Shield) [1200/400 → 1700/400 → 1700/2100 → 1700/400]
During the Damage Calculation process just now, the Marauding Captain, relying on the Equip Card's ability, instantly increased its DEF to a full 2100 points. No wonder Amazoness Fighter couldn't break through his defense and defeat him.
Mai Valentine snorted, a little annoyed. "You've got some tricks up your sleeve. Although theoretically, if the attacking monster's ATK is lower than the defending monster's DEF, I should take the difference as Battle Damage, but because of Amazoness Fighter's Effect, the Battle Damage I take from this card's battle becomes 0."
If it weren't for this Effect, Mai Valentine's attack would have failed, and she would have also taken 600 points of difference damage. Although the damage wasn't very high, it would have put Mai Valentine at a disadvantage in terms of momentum.
However, Mai Valentine was a little confused about one thing: "Since both of your monsters are Marauding Captains, Chain Shield should be usable by either monster, right? Why didn't you use that card when Amazoness Fighter attacked for the first time?"
"Hmm, as for the answer to that question, it's probably because I'm kind-hearted and can't stand to see others' lost expressions," Valon tilted his head, revealing a subtle smile. "You just now used up a full four cards from your hand to give your monster the ability to attack my monster twice. If such a large cost hit a wall on the very first attack, well, I'm just helpless when girls cry."
Valon's words were like adding fuel to the fire, making Mai Valentine, who was already annoyed by her blocked attack, even more furious.
"Next Turn, I'll definitely make you take back those condescending words!" Glaring fiercely at Valon with her beautiful eyes, Mai Valentine angrily set both cards in her hand. "Then I Set two cards, End Turn!"
[Mai Valentine: 4000 LP, hand 0]
[Amazoness Fighter] [ATK 1500]
Swords of Revealing Light
[Set Card] X2
"Hmm, I'll be waiting," Valon said with a smile, drawing a card, a barely concealed smile on his lips. "However, I think the possibility of you being able to do that is really too low."
"My Turn, Draw."
"Then, I activate this card, Double Summon! This Turn, I can perform a second Normal Summon!"
Mai Valentine recognized the card Double Summon, because this card could increase the number of Normal Summons, which could originally only be performed once, to twice. If your hand was decent, you could directly prepare the Tributes and perform a Tribute Summon in one Turn, directly Normal Summoning a High-Level Monster to achieve suppression. It was a quite practical card.
And now Valon already had one Marauding Captain on the field. Because of Swords of Revealing Light, even though it had flipped to Face-up Position and was equipped with Chain Shield, increasing its ATK to 1700 points, surpassing Amazoness Fighter's, the Marauding Captain could still only hold its shield in defense and could not be used for attack.
In that case, Valon could completely summon one monster, and then use that monster and the Marauding Captain together as Tributes to summon a powerful High-Level Monster.
While Mai Valentine was speculating about Valon's possible next operation, Valon had already drawn a card and placed it on the Duel Disk to summon.
"The monster I will summon is this one, Chevalier de Fleur."
As Valon placed the card on the Duel Disk, a ball of flames surged on his field, blooming next to the Marauding Captain.
From within the flames, a sharp steel blade swung out, splitting the flames and revealing a knight completely covered in armor, wrapped within. Only a pair of sharp eyes could be seen looking out from between the helmet.
And the split flames did not dissipate. Instead, they obediently gathered behind Chevalier de Fleur, like a cape fluttering in the wind.
[Chevalier de Fleur] [Level 4 / FIRE]
[Warrior-Type / Normal Monster]
[ATK 1900 / DEF 900]
When she saw that the cool-looking Chevalier de Fleur was actually a Normal Monster, Mai Valentine was slightly stunned. She had thought that this Warrior-Type monster, which had a somewhat special entrance and a unique aura, might have some powerful Effect, and she was secretly wary. But it turned out to be a Normal Monster?
To be honest, Mai Valentine hadn't seen Normal Monsters appear for quite some time. Of course, that didn't mean she hadn't seen them at all. With the increasing popularity of Duel Monsters, there were plenty of Normal Monsters being sold in the card shops on the streets. Mai Valentine just hadn't seen many Duelists whose Decks still used these low-Level Normal Monsters.
After all, the Duelists she usually interacted with were either Hayato and Yugi Mutou, who had an endless stream of cards with various Effects, or Joey Wheeler, who was a wildly Lucky King. Their Decks rarely had low-Level Normal Monsters anymore.
Of course, monsters like Summoned Skull, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Gaia the Fierce Knight, Dark Magician, and Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon no longer belonged to the category of ordinary Normal Monsters.
However, Mai Valentine didn't dwell on Chevalier de Fleur being a Normal Monster for too long. Anyway, this monster would only be a Tribute for Valon to Tribute Summon other monsters, so it wasn't worth worrying about.
But what Mai Valentine didn't expect was that after summoning Chevalier de Fleur, Valon didn't rush to play the card in his hand. Instead, he pointed at the ready Chevalier de Fleur: "Then, I will summon Chevalier de Fleur again!"
"Summoning a monster a second time?" Mai Valentine couldn't help but widen her eyes, looking at Chevalier de Fleur. "This monster is a Gemini Monster!"