Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

As if it were about to shatter the entire dueling arena, the ordinary attack of "Mech Force - Armed Force" shocked the senses and hearts of many people. Although in terms of card strength, "Armed Force" was nothing special, that only considered cold, hard data and could not compare to the power that could be achieved in reality.

Fortunately, this is just a stereoscopic video duel supported by a regular duel disk.

It looks scary, but it's actually not dangerous at all.

As the smoke cleared, Satomi Sho's figure was revealed in the dueling arena.

He lay sprawled on the ground, his clothes disheveled and covered in mud and dust. His appearance couldn't be simply described as wretched; he looked more like a pitiful, drowned dog.

"Beep! Beep—The duel is over! I declare the winner to be Izumi Yuuki!"

A sharp whistle rang out at just the right moment, and Xingyewu once again took on the role of referee.

However, the smile on her lips just wouldn't go away, completely ruining the professionalism and seriousness that a referee should have.

"Pah, pah, pah!"

As if gloating over someone's miserable state, they even openly clapped enthusiastically.

"As expected of You Xijun, the victory was swift and decisive, a complete rout. The opponent had absolutely no ability to resist."

The praise and the criticism were evenly split, and the targets were completely different.

The girl's lighthearted words clearly revealed her emotions, but others thought differently.

"Brother--!"

As soon as the duel ended and the monster images disappeared from the arena, Riku and Lake—the henchmen brought by Satomi Sho—immediately rushed into the arena.

"Are you alright, brother?!"

They called out anxiously and frantically helped Satomi Sho up.

Thanks to his two loyal henchmen, Satomi Sho was finally able to catch his breath and regain his senses.

...Even though once he came to his senses, he had to confront the nightmare he didn't want to face.

"Impossible...impossible...I lost, I actually lost...and to that scoundrel..."

Why did it turn out like this? Satomi Sho couldn't understand.

Liku and Lake are not great players. If someone can play against them on equal terms, then they can't possibly be my opponent.

But why?

Why is there such a big difference in performance after actually fighting? Was it cheating? Was the Duel Disk rigged?

Wait, could it be that—

"you do this delibrately!"

With the help of his underlings, Satomi Sho suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Yuki.

Even though he was called a spoiled brat, thanks to his father's strict training in dueling, his mind wasn't completely emptied by wine and women.

If you still don't understand what's going on, you can just find a "yoyo" and crash into it to kill it and start over.

"You deliberately held back in your duel with Riku and the others, didn't I tell you?"

"Finally realized it."

Now that things have come to this point, You Xi can't deny it.

"That's right, I did it on purpose. I figured that if I showed too much strength, I might scare you away. So I tried to hold back a bit and dealt with those two in a more complicated way. And it turns out that this approach was quite effective."

By feigning weakness and taking advantage of the prey's carelessness, Yu Xi can easily put a noose around its neck—a skill he primarily uses in fights and is one of the valuable lessons his brother taught him.

After all, in other people's eyes, for some reason, he has always seemed like someone who is easy to bully.

Since we can't change our appearance, we have to find a way to make good use of this characteristic.

"Damn it! How dare they play me for a fool...!"

Satomi Sho's expression twisted, his gloomy face mixed with obvious anger and resentment.

"So, the story about you not feeling anything was a lie after all. You disguised it so well, I didn't notice a thing. How did you guys manage to do that?"

Because I don't feel anything at all, you definitely wouldn't be able to tell.

The fact that You Xi didn't blurt out his complaint, and that the other party misunderstood it, might not be a bad thing. Besides, he had more important things to do now.

As he approached, Yuki extended her hand towards Satomi Sho—

"Then, give me the things."

"……what?"

Satomi Sho asked, bewildered and confused, "What do you want me to give you?"

"Of course it's a bet."

Yu Xi stared at Satomi Sho, who was trying to play dumb, and said, "According to the additional bet, if I win, 'Mecha Colonel' will belong to me. You're not trying to back out and deny it, are you?"

"Ah...ah! It seems there was such a thing."

After being reminded by Yuki, Satomi Sho suddenly realized what was going on, as if he had only just remembered.

"Oh, I was just joking."

"Yuki, you didn't actually take that seriously, did you? For duelists, cards are treasures imbued with their soul and heart, more precious than life itself. How could they possibly use them as a wager? It was just a joke, a joke. Well… we've become friends through this, so let's be good friends from now on and get along well."

As they were talking, Satomi Sho tried to put his hand on Yuki's shoulder to show his closeness and familiarity.

But Youxi coldly avoided it.

"I can't take this as a joke. If you were the winner right now, would you still say something like this? No way—so, give me the card now."

Satomi Sho's hand missed its target, and upon hearing Yuki's words, the "friendly" smile he had managed to force onto his face instantly froze.

His underlings then started swearing.

"Hey, don't push your luck, pretty boy!"

"It's a big favor for your brother to want to be friends with you, and you dare to refuse me! You're really not afraid of death, are you! Believe me or not..."

Riku and Lake glared at Yuki, spitting as if the latter had committed some heinous crime.

You Xi naturally didn't have the habit of just taking a beating without fighting back, but before he could retaliate, a clear and cold female voice, as pure as snow, spoke for him: "Who is the shameless one here?"

"Izayoi-kun?"

You Xi turned around, and the person who spoke was the white-haired, red-eyed girl.

She glared at Satomi Sho and his two companions, her gaze so cold it was enough to instill fear. Perhaps Satomi Sho wasn't afraid of her, but the two delinquents didn't have the guts.

"That's enough, Satomi Sho. A loss is a loss. No amount of cheating will change anything. Doing this will only make you look more humiliated. Don't you even care about the most basic dignity of a duelist?"

"Xiaoxue, it's pointless to reason with this kind of person. It's better to use some forceful methods."

The blonde girl with Izayoi Yuki chuckled and said, "Satomi-kun, don't forget what you said before. This duel is protected by the Duel Law, and the witnesses and evidence are irrefutable. You don't want to take this to the Public Security Bureau, do you?"

—【Duel Law】, this is a unique legal system that belongs only to this world.

Excluding all related restrictions and prohibitions, the most important basic principle is that a bet made before and during a duel, with the mutual consent of both parties, has legal effect.

This clause greatly enhances the importance of card duels, and coupled with the long-standing tradition of using duels to resolve conflicts, the idea has become deeply ingrained in people's minds.

While it's not that no one dares to openly violate this rule, doing so would attract the violent law enforcement agency under the D Alliance—the Public Security Bureau.

In the end, not only will the duel guards of the Public Security Bureau force them to enforce the bet, but they will also have a criminal record that will have various adverse effects on their future, bringing nothing but harm.

Satomi Sho has some connections, but it's hard to say how much use those connections will be in maintaining public order.

"Speaking of which, Xiaoxue, you work part-time at the Public Security Bureau, right? Why don't you just contact them directly? I think that would be faster..."

"hateful!"

Hoshino Mai's seemingly casual words gradually put pressure on Satomi Sho and the others. In the end, realizing that any further struggle was futile, Satomi Sho gave up his resistance.

His face was grim, and he reluctantly pulled out the "Mech Colonel" card.

Yu Xi grabbed the card and leaned back...

"Hmm? You still don't want to let go, Satomi-senpai?"

He couldn't get the card into his hand; Satomi Sho's fingers gripped the card tightly, as if he had no intention of letting go.

"You Xi, have you thought it through?"

Satomi Sho warned in a low, stern voice, "Don't blame me for not warning you, do you really want this card?"

"Why wouldn't I want it? It's my spoils. I have no reason to give it up."

Unfortunately, Satomi Sho's seemingly strong but ultimately weak warning failed to change Yuki's expression in the slightest. He tightened his grip, and this time he effectively snatched the "Mecha Colonel" card from Satomi Sho's fingers.

"From now on, this card belongs to me."

"Also, based on the bet we made at the beginning, starting today, Satomi Sho, you are no longer a member of the Duel Club."

Xingyewu added, "Remember not to come here again. Bye-bye!"

"Hmph! You just wait...!"

With his face turning pale and ashen, Satomi Sho glared fiercely at Yuki and the two girls before taking a step forward, preparing to leave this place that had brought him such humiliation with his two underlings.

But after turning around and taking only five steps, he was stopped again by You Xi.

"Wait, don't rush off, Satomi-senpai."

"What?"

Satomi Sho turned around and said impatiently, "What do you want now?"

"No, I meant to say that 'Mech Colonel' is a very important card to you, right?" Yu Xi waved the card in her hand. "So you're not planning to take it back? You don't want your father to know that you lost the card he gave you, do you?"

"What? You're willing to give me back my card?" Satomi Sho's expression shifted, and he asked incredulously.

"Of course, I'm not like you, I have no interest in other people's cards. But..."

You Xi held up a few fingers and said, "I need you to fulfill two conditions for me first."

Chapter 28: Getting Rich with One Card

"I'm sorry! It was my fault! I was so immature in the past. Please forgive my rudeness and offense!"

"Huh? Huh? Ah, um... it's okay."