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

Upon seeing the attending physician, Izayoi Yuki immediately stood up, with Yuki following closely behind.

Xingye Wu, who was disturbed, was awakened by the noise. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she was still a little confused about what was going on.

"Waaah... What's wrong, Xiaoxi?"

"Doctor, how is my father?"

No one had time to pay attention to Xingye Wu for the moment, so Izayoi Yuki asked her question urgently.

The doctor who came out did not disappoint everyone's expectations.

"Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life."

Removing his mask, the doctor smiled and replied, "Izayoi Hoshi's injuries from the Dark Duel have healed successfully, and she has awakened."

Chapter 275 Secret Exchange? (4k)

"Hmm... um, is this... a hospital?"

Consciousness slowly rose from the dim darkness, and the man's eyelids trembled with difficulty as he slowly opened them.

Everything in the surrounding field of vision was clearly captured by the retina under the influence of the light.

At first, everything seemed a little blurry and unfamiliar, but the man quickly adapted and recognized where he was.

No matter what, it would be quite difficult not to recognize them.

Back when he was on duty in the Public Security Bureau, he and his teammates, including Logan, often visited the hospital and received care from the doctors there. He wouldn't dare say that every blade of grass and every tree was familiar, but the atmosphere and smell were all too familiar, even to the point of being nostalgic.

"It feels like it's been a long time since I've been here... no, it's like I've been having a very long dream."

His voice was surprisingly weak and hoarse. The man struggled to sit up, frowning as he tried to recall everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.

He remembered... earlier, he seemed to have seen several masked doctor figures surrounding him, and further ahead...

"—Bang!"

The man only had time to think this far before a slight sound interrupted his thoughts.

He instinctively looked in the direction of the sound—

A beautiful and pure white-haired girl, like an angel, stood at the open doorway, looking at him.

"dad……"

"Snow……?"

The man and the girl spoke one after the other, and the expression on the girl's delicate face subtly changed the moment she heard his voice. Then—

One step, two steps, and the girl drew closer to him.

He squatted down and grabbed his bare, thin hand.

Her hand gripped the object quite firmly, as if she were trying to confirm something.

"That's wonderful, this isn't a dream. It's real life."

She had dreamt of this scene more than once, and now, that dream had finally come true.

The girl raised her head again, revealing an expression that looked like she was about to cry.

It wasn't because of sadness, but because of joy that burst forth from the depths of my heart.

"—Welcome back, Dad!"

Izayoi Yuki said this with a smile.

……

"Ah, that's wonderful, Xiaoxi! All our hard work over the years has finally paid off."

Outside the ward, watching her best friend enter and hearing faint sounds coming from inside, Xing Yewu couldn't help but smile with joy.

You Xi nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it's really great that everything is going smoothly so far."

He had been worried that something unexpected might happen.

After all, Izayoi Hoshi was a highly capable dueling special police officer before she fell into a coma.

Characters like this are somewhat annoying and offensive in a way—from the perspective of the Dark Duelists.

If Izayoi Hoshi remains asleep, that's one thing, but once it becomes known that she might awaken, there will likely be villains who don't want this to happen and try to interfere.

To prevent this from happening, Youxi is mentally prepared to fight at any time.

This is why he and Xingye Wu stayed outside the operating room.

It's not just to accompany Izayoi Yuki, but also to be able to deal with all kinds of unexpected events at any time.

As for the operating room, which is off-limits to unauthorized personnel, it is guarded by the Dark Witch, Mana, and other dueling spirits.

Fortunately, whether it was due to the swiftness of their actions or the reliable protective measures of the public hospital under the protection of the D Alliance, the incident that You Xi was secretly worried about did not occur.

Izayoi Hoshi's surgery was very successful, and she didn't even need to use the specially reserved Starlight Water.

It's truly a relief that we don't have to go through those unnecessary troubles.

After five hours of "torture," the final result was still quite satisfying.

After that, Izayoi Hoshi, who had successfully undergone surgery, only briefly regained consciousness for a few seconds before falling back asleep and being taken back to her previous ward by the doctor.

Izayoi Yuki had just obtained the doctor's permission to enter the room when she happened to see Izayoi Hoshi waking up once again.

Because they didn't want to disturb the father and daughter who were reunited after so long, and wanted to give them enough space and time, Youxi and Xingyewu waited quietly outside, watching this scene with "loving" eyes.

"Hmm, judging from their posture, they're probably going to chat for quite a while longer. It's really nice, this father-daughter reunion scene. No matter how many times I see it, it's always very touching."

Xing Yewu's lips curled up slightly, her voice almost a murmur.

In this quiet environment where the two of them were alone for the time being, Youxi, whose hearing was quite good, caught the words of emotion.

Have you seen Wu before?

Yu Xi only said this to find a topic to talk about, and he thought the girl would say that she saw it in TV shows or movies. However, Xing Yewu's answer surprised him.

"Yes, I witnessed many things like that when I was a child."

Xingye Wu revealed a look of reminiscence.

"Although it's different from Xiaoxue's story, seeing those children being found and taken home by their parents one by one was honestly a very heartwarming scene. I feel like I'll never forget it, even in ten years."

"……what?"

Youxi felt as if she had heard something that could not be laughed off.

"Children? What's going on with this dance?"

If it were just one or two, that would be fine, but the word "们" is not a good measure word for such a small number.

Most importantly, Youxi had a bad feeling.

"Hmm? Didn't I say that?"

Xingyewu's subsequent words only intensified Youxi's premonition.

"Well, it's nothing serious. Xiaoxi, you should know that I was adopted before, and this name was given to me by the couple who adopted me. Because of that real incident, I later returned to the Angel Church."

"I know this."

You Xi nodded slightly, and seeing this, Xing Yewu continued speaking.

"But before that, before I was adopted by my parents at the time, I was actually in another place."

"I was only two or three years old at the time, so I don't remember much. I just know that I was with a bunch of kids who were about the same age. And there were some really fierce people—much fiercer and more terrifying than Father Anderson—who were in charge of us and called us by names like No. 1, No. 2, No. 3."

"this--"

This hardly qualifies as a name.

As if knowing what Youxi wanted to say, Xingyewu continued, "Now that I think about it, this approach is actually quite similar to the evil organizations in some anime. They train and brainwash children from a young age, turning them into killing machines or something."

"Oh dear, thank goodness I was rescued by Uncle Izayoi Hoshi back then, otherwise I would have become a cold-blooded female assassin by now. Hmm, now that you think about it, it's quite a pity."

As she said this, Xingye Wu crossed her arms and shook her head, feigning regret.

However, compared to Xingyewu's antics, Youxi's attention was focused on something else.

"You were rescued by Uncle Izayoi Hoshi... So, you already knew the Yuki family back then?"

"bingo!"

Xing Yewu gave You Xi a correct gesture and smiled, "After we were rescued, we were placed in the Angel Church nearby. Uncle Xing would come to visit us every now and then, and he would bring Aunt Qiangwei and Xiaoxue with him. That's when I became friends with Xiaoxue. But later I was adopted, and we didn't keep in touch much. Plus, I was young and that incident happened, so Xiaoxue probably forgot about me."

"If we hadn't gone to the same school in junior high, we probably wouldn't have seen each other for a long time."

"……I see."

Yu Xi finally understood why Hoshino Dance Party and Izayoi Yuki had such a good relationship.

It's not just because of Xingye Wu's own personality, but also because of this kind of fate.

That's why Hoshino Mai wholeheartedly helps Izayoi Yuki and supports her in the Star Cup.

but……

"Wu, have you never thought about finding your biological parents?"

From Xingye Wu's previous confession, Youxi had roughly figured out the girl's childhood experience.

The basic truth of the incident was pieced together.

Undoubtedly, Xingye Wu has encountered human traffickers.

After being abducted, she was taken to a criminal organization similar to "Doomsday Bell," where they attempted to brainwash her into becoming a loyal follower. However, before they could succeed, Izayoi Hoshi led the local Duel Guards to destroy the organization's hideout and rescue all the missing children.

With the help of the D Alliance, most of those children were able to find their biological parents and return to their real homes.

But it seems that Xingye Dance failed.

"Well, it's not that I've never hoped for that. But I don't really care anymore."

Xingye shrugged.

"After all, I don't know where they are or if they're still alive. Instead of focusing on things that have no future, wouldn't it be better to focus on the happiness in the present? For example, Xiaoxi, you're someone I can actually hold onto right now, isn't that more important?"