"Teacher Tony!"
Luo Bai called out amidst the empty, dimly lit garbage heap.
He was constantly worried that Teacher Tony might have been captured, mistaken for a stray cat, or perhaps left homeless.
His own safety wasn't his biggest concern; his mind was preoccupied with whether the big fat cat would have enough to eat.
"Where did he go..."
Luo Bai murmured softly. Since arriving in this world, he had no new memories, but a row of messy, extending footprints pointed him in the right direction.
"I'll just have to keep going," he thought.
He walked cautiously, knowing there might be other wild animals.
He wasn't afraid of pain himself, even anticipating it, but he was afraid Teacher Tony would be taken away.
He didn't know who had inflicted the wound on his head.
The underground mine was vast, its ceiling covered with chandeliers, stretching as far as the eye could see, surrounded by piles of garbage of all sizes.
As he ventured deeper, he could hear a cacophony of knocking and squeaking sounds.
Pushing aside a large piece of cardboard blocking his view, a swarm of rats scurried out.
"Looks like Tony's got plenty of food..."
Using the pile of trash as cover, Luo Bai saw a mine shaft in the distance.
Flickering firelight could be seen on the side.
Two steel pipes were stuck into the mine shaft, connecting to two glowing red-hot iron forges.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
The sound of shovels digging echoed from inside the mine.
A muscle memory guided Luo Bai toward the mine shaft; the closer he got, the louder the sounds became, and the hotter the air grew.
"Have I been here before?"
A strange sense of déjà vu rose within Luo Bai as he moved step by step toward the glowing mine shaft.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, the bullet piercing Luo Bai's shoulder, his left hand instantly going numb.
"I—"
No pain didn't mean he wasn't injured; blood dripped down his arm.
"I really didn't expect him to survive this."
A man in a black protective suit emerged from the mine, holding a shotgun. He looked at Luo Bai with a mocking expression, as if he'd found an interesting toy.
At this moment, Luo Bai finally recalled a few remaining memories.
He was once—a [Numbered Citizen].
An artificial human being who couldn't speak, possessed extremely low intelligence, and was unworthy of intelligence.
Numbered Citizens with high affinity were equipped with memory chips to become citizens or for breeding; those with low affinity could only become miners or human guinea pigs.
Before Luo Bai's soul returned, his body only possessed basic instincts. He was picked up by a robot, judged as an inferior breed, and branded with the number—0748.
"0748, could he have developed intelligence? Look at his eyes."
The blue-clad supervisor pointed at Luo Bai.
"Heh, really." The black-clad supervisor, aiming his gun at Luo Bai, chuckled, chambered a round, and shouted:
"What kind of eyesight do you have?!"
"Bang!" He fired a shot into the floor near Luo Bai's feet, seemingly enjoying scaring him like this.
Luo Bai didn't speak, slowly raising his right hand and crushing a red card.
His disobedience successfully enraged the mine supervisor, who slowly raised his gun, his voice rising several decibels.
"Still trying to resist?!"
"Bang!"
Another shot rang out.
"Thud!"
The bullet struck Luo Bai's left thigh, causing him to nearly fall to his knees from the shock.
"Damn it!"
Luo Bai felt no pain, and seemed indifferent to his own life or death.
However, he was puzzled. He had just shattered a trap card.
Why didn't it work?
The activation conditions weren't met?
The blue-robed hunter also found Luo Bai's behaviour strange. He raised his gun, his eyes turning cold and sharp.
"Stop playing around. 0748 is acting strange today. He might have mutated."
Click-clack, the gun was chambered.
"Let's send him on his way."
Bang! Bang!
Two piercing gunshots rang out, both aimed at the head and heart.
The moment the shots were fired, the bullets seemed to hit a shimmering mirror, stopping in mid-air and spinning rapidly.
Bang! Bang!
"Clang—"
The two hunters each fired another shot, but the bullets still wouldn't advance.
"Damn it."
"Boom!"
As they changed magazines, the rapidly spinning bullets in mid-air instantly bounced back, creating a violent roar.
*Thud!*
In their horrified eyes, the ricocheting bullet pierced their heads.
Both heads exploded!
[Mirror Force], Normal Trap.
Mirror Force
Activated when the opponent declares an attack; destroys all Attack Position monsters on the opponent's field.
Watching the two fall to the ground, their bodies still convulsing and spasming, Luo Bai's sharp, cold eyes remained unmoved.
"Whoa—"
"So Trap Cards have an effect delay, you have to wait ten seconds..."
He almost got killed by his recklessness.
This kind of card-breaking battle is somewhat different from the rules of Yu-Gi-Oh!
Thinking this, Luo Bai felt a wave of dizziness.
The blood was still flowing from his thigh.
Not feeling pain didn't mean he wasn't injured.
"I need to stop the bleeding quickly..."
Luo Bai thought to himself, having no sense of pain, he had no idea how badly he was hurt.
He limped towards the furnace, the molten red liquid attracting a crowd of numbered civilians who dared not approach but refused to leave.
In his memory, this red liquid could stop bleeding...
Luo Bai steeled himself, lay down sideways, and submerged himself completely in the water, splashing up bright red waves.
Soaking in the red solution felt slightly numb, quite comfortable, except the skin on his limbs rotted quickly.
He carefully removed the rotting flesh, dug out the bullet from his thigh, and the wound healed rapidly.
When he emerged from the molten liquid again, the cool air refreshing his skin.
"I didn't expect the one standing there to be a numbered civilian."
Just then, a cold voice came from above.
At first glance, Luo Bai knew they were from different worlds.
The person opposite him wore a high-tech blue and white military uniform, possessed a mechanical arm, and could fly.
He was wearing only a pair of shorts, half-naked, with one hand and one leg injured, not a single patch of intact skin on his body.
The high-ranking supervisor, Kevins, hovering in mid-air, tossed out a crystal card, like a child throwing a paper airplane.
"Boom!"
The crystal card suddenly shattered in mid-air, and a mechanical dragon several meters long emerged from the summoning circle. With a roar, the mechanical dragon summoned a three-meter-tall mechanical wolf from the void.
"Damn it!"
Luo Bai's pupils dilated rapidly as he dodged the mechanical beast's pounce.
"This thing looks familiar..."
[Ancient Gear Dragon, 1700/1200]: Level 4, EARTH, Machine-Type.
Ancient Gear Wyvern
If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate monster effects until the end of the Damage Step.
[AncientGear Beast, 2000/2000]: Level 6, EARTH, Machine-Type.
Ancient Gear Beast
If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate any Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step. Negate the effects of an opponent's monster destroyed by battle with this card (including in the GY).