Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

Chapter 1609: Four-step event public relations

"The trajectory of the asteroid '2006-RH120' has inexplicably changed and is heading straight for the Earth!"

Hearing Keipi's words, Jonouchi was shocked: "Did I hear anything wrong just now? An asteroid is going to hit the earth!?"

"Don't let people repeat a sentence a second time, mediocre. Isn't it enough for you to understand just saying it once?" Even at this moment, Kaiba still didn't have a good tone towards Jonouchi. He asked Keipi seriously, "Confirm the trajectory again, Keipi."

"I have checked the calculations no less than ten times, and the results have not changed. The asteroid was supposed to be affected by the Earth's gravity, turned into a temporary moon, and separated from it soon after. For some reason, the gravity it received increased, causing it to deviate seriously from its original trajectory and has been completely captured by the Earth's gravity!"

Keipi said in panic, "No, the consequences of an asteroid the size of '2006-RH120' hitting the Earth——!"

"Hey, Keipi, don't just say half of the story." Jonouchi asked Keipi while facing Hayato's Duel Disk, "How big is that asteroid, and how long will it take for it to hit the Earth?"

It's no wonder that Jonouchi asked such a question now. After all, Keipi would often show such despair when he found Kaiba spending money lavishly, as if the Kaiba Group would go bankrupt soon. But after asking, it turned out that he had calculated that if Kaiba continued to spend money at this rate, the Kaiba Group would go bankrupt in another eight hundred years.

That's why Jonouchi asked Keihei how long it would take for an asteroid to hit the Earth. What if Keihei was anxious because an asteroid would hit the Earth in a thousand years? Keihei might be thinking about what would happen a thousand years later.

However, Jonouchi Rakuten's idea did not become a reality. Keihei answered seriously, "The asteroid was supposed to be captured by the Earth in the near future and turned into a temporary moon. The distance between the asteroid and the Earth is not very far. In addition, the gravity of the two is pulling each other, and the speed of its approach is still increasing. It is expected to collide within 24 hours."

"No, considering that the acceleration is still increasing, this time may be reduced to ten hours or even eight hours!"

"So fast!?" John, who had heard the news as well, was too busy looking for the "Death God" card to even think about it. "That wouldn't even be enough time to arrange for someone in a rocket to install a bomb and detonate it, as in a science fiction movie?"

Judai also said nervously, "'Armageddon' had a year of preparation, and even 'The Last Airbender' had 18 days! Eight hours? We don't even have time to organize a proper picnic!"

"It would be useless even if we had enough time, because that asteroid is not the kind you see in science fiction movies. '2006-RH120' is only five meters in diameter, not even as long as a bus."

After a pause, as if he knew what Jonouchi was going to ask next, Keipi simply continued, "But don't underestimate this asteroid. If it comes to Earth, it will disintegrate at an altitude of 40 kilometers above the ground and produce an explosion equivalent to 70 million tons of TNT!"

"That is, half of the Hiroshima atomic bomb? That's half of Little Boy." Ed teased. After all, among the people present, except Okin, who had given up thinking and fell into a daze when the satellite exploded, he was the only one who was not from the East. "So, there is no way to use rockets, missiles, etc. to detonate it directly in space?"

"It's feasible in theory, but the time is too short, especially since the Kaiba Group's past arms reserves were stored by my brother on Devil's Island and all of them were blown up. Now there is no time to temporarily manufacture weapons that can attack into space." Guiping paused, "Governments around the world certainly have weapons reserves, but I have reason to doubt whether they can execute them quickly enough."

"After all, who knows whether the target of your missile launch is a meteorite in the sky or a neighboring country that has recently imposed tariffs on each other? If you miss the interception time for the meteorite in the sky, others will naturally work together, but if you fail to intercept the missile of the neighboring country, you will be blown up. What's more, the meteorite in the sky may not necessarily hit you."

Peacock Dance has complaints about the speed with which government officials argue and go through procedures. In the past, when she worked as a casino dealer on a multinational cruise ship in exchange for travel, she was often harassed by customs officials for unreasonable reasons. Some countries, such as Yan Country, were okay, but some countries in East Asia were directly blacklisted by her and she would never go there again.

"I can guess what those governments will do after they know about this asteroid. First, they will cover their mouths and declare that nothing happened." Hayato spread his hands.

Kaiba followed up with, "Well, then in the second stage they will shirk responsibility, saying maybe something happened but we shouldn't have taken action."

"Then we said to the public that maybe we should do something, but unfortunately our capabilities mean we can't do anything and we can't do anything about what's going on right now."

"Finally, I pretended to feel regretful, claiming that I should have done something but it's too late now." After saying the last sentence, Kaiba reluctantly raised his hand at the expectant look of Hayato, and passively high-fived him.

"I don't know which countries will be affected by this asteroid, but what is certain is that Duel Academy Island will definitely not be able to escape." Ed looked at Hayato and saw that he still had the mind to interact with Kaiba, and said puzzledly, "Do you have any solution, Mr. Hayato?"

The current time is four o'clock in the afternoon, and the day will end in eight hours. However, if Keipi's calculation is correct, then eight hours later may also be the end of most lives in the area where the Duel Academy is located.

"Let me put it this way. Although we need to deal with the laser satellite as quickly as possible and there is no extra time to prepare anything, I think eight hours is enough for the Kaiba Group to prepare another rocket launch and enough explosives, right?"

Hayato paused and looked aside. "But it's enough for someone to think about how to stop the asteroid. We should study more about why the asteroid is heading towards the Earth."

"Don't you think so, Saiou Takuma?"

Saiou had been silent since just now. Even when Judai and the others stopped looking for cards, he was still standing silently by the side. When he heard Hayato read his name, although he did not have PTSD like being called by the homeroom teacher to answer a question in class, he was still startled and looked at Hayato with some surprise and confusion: "Why are you asking me this suddenly, Mr. Hayato?"

"It's strange, Sai-oh. As a fortune teller, aren't you known for your ability to tell fortunes? You can foresee other people's futures, but you didn't foresee the arrival of the meteorite?"

"Teacher Hayato, are you doubting Saiou? But he's just an ordinary human and can't affect the planets in the sky, right?" Seeing his good friend being questioned, Ed stood up without hesitation, "And Teacher Hayato, you've seen it before, right? Saiou's [Mystery Force EX - Ruler of Light], after being defeated in a duel, has lost the influence of 'Light of Destruction' and turned into [Mystery Force EX - Ruler of Darkness]. This is enough to prove that he is no longer affected by 'Light of Destruction', right?" What Ed said was not wrong. As far as Hayato knew, "Light of Destruction" was somewhat mysophobic and could not tolerate any "black". It regarded it as a "stain" that must be removed, which is the so-called "stains are not allowed".

King Sai did create a [Mysterious Power EX - Ruler of Darkness] in front of Hayato as proof that he had gotten rid of the influence of the "Light of Destruction". It was even Hayato who "removed" the "Light of Destruction" for him personally. Afterwards, the [Millennium Key] simulated by the [Quantum Cube] no longer sensed any remnants of the power of the "Light of Destruction" on King Sai.

"Indeed, King Sai doesn't seem to have any suspicions, and he even provided me with a list to help me eliminate other people who came to the island and were affected by the 'Light of Destruction'. I don't have any evidence to prove his suspicion, nor do I have any appropriate reasoning to deduce that he can affect the planets in the sky."

Hearing what Hayato said, Ed breathed a sigh of relief, and Saiou, who was standing behind Ed, also breathed a sigh of relief. But Hayato suddenly continued, "But, reasoning and evidence are what detectives and police need, and all a duelist needs is intuition."

"Before I tell you my intuition, Jonouchi, Set, what are your intuitions?"

"Eh? Me?" Jonouchi pointed at himself and looked at King Sai and said, "Hmmmm~ Because Hayato, you said before that he had been knocked down by the students and was not a threat for the time being, so I didn't pay much attention to this guy. But when I think about it, I still feel that I can't tolerate him, as if he is going to do something unforgivable. This is my intuition."

"And after all, he hasn't been punished for what he did last year, has he? He actually tried to steal Yugi's deck or something. If Yugi were also on the island, it would be great, so that Yugi could teach this guy a lesson himself." Jonouchi, who didn't know that Yugi actually used a pseudonym to participate in the competition, said, looking at Hayato, "So Hayato, even if you want to beat this guy up indiscriminately now, I don't think it's a problem!"

"Hmph, since the voice is irritating, I have no objection." Kaiba glanced at Saiou. He had no interest in this guy who, in his eyes, was not even a second-rate duelist. Probably the only thing about him that Kaiba cared about was the voice that was extremely similar to Hayato's.

Kitamori Reiko was a little surprised when she heard what Hayato and the others said: "Can you make a decision so easily without any evidence? Isn't this a bit bad?"

"I don't know what you misunderstood, but let me remind you that Kaiba Group used to be an arms company, Jonouchi Katsuya was also rumored to be a Yakuza on campus when he was a student, and Kobayashi Hayato was even rumored on the forum to have been a member of the cult organization 'Dorma'." Tachibana Ikkaku paused and spread his hands, "Maybe some of the rumors are true, but you don't really think that these legendary duelists are all good guys, right?"

"I want to clarify the rumors about me." Hayato said seriously, "That is, it is not a rumor."

"Because Ed is on Sai's side, and I was the one who defeated Sai before, I thought Sai had no suspicion." Judai paused, and looked at Sai with the others, "But I have the same feeling as Jonouchi-san. Could it be that it was really you, Sai, who did this, about the meteorite in the sky?"

"If you think so, Judai, then I'll stand on your side too." Seeing Judai choose his side, John followed without hesitation.

It was at this moment that Ed suddenly realized that among the people present, except for Ikkaku Tachibana and Reiko Kitamori who remained neutral and did not express their opinions, Maiko Konoha and Jonouchi followed their husband and wife, Seto Kaiba and Hayato Kobayashi were of the same opinion, and John Anderson stood on the side of Judai Yuki. It seemed that almost everyone believed that Saiou was the culprit who caused the abnormal change in the meteorite in the sky and planned to take action against him.

"Calm down! It can't be Sai Wang, he's not that kind of person and can't do that kind of thing." Something was growing in his heart. Although Ed vaguely sensed that something was wrong, he still stood firmly in front of Sai Wang because of his friendship with Sai Wang over the years.

Without turning around, he said to Saiou, "Don't worry, Saiou, I will protect you. I will not sit idly by and watch you take the blame that should never belong to you. This time, I will hold an umbrella for you in the storm."

"You should say something too, because you are innocent, right? Don't worry, I will protect you."

As if triggering an echo, Ed even repeated to Saiou twice, "Don't worry, I will protect you", as if he wanted to make people feel at ease by repeating a sentence. It's just unclear whether he wanted to reassure Saiou or himself.

Looking at Ed, Sai said with some emotion: "Yes, storm, you and I met in a storm, right? At your father's funeral, you stood alone in front of the tombstone after losing your family, and I was there holding an umbrella for you. You asked me at that time, 'How long will the storm stop?' My answer was 'I don't know, but I will always hold an umbrella for you during that time'."

"Even then, as a professional duelist manager, I have always been holding an umbrella for you, Ed, in the storm of fate. But on the other hand, Ed, you are also an important pillar of my support. Ed, who is the 'Pope' in the tarot card, has also been holding an umbrella for me, just like now. All along, I have been shrouded in the storm of fate and don't know where to go, but it is because of you, Ed, that I am not completely shrouded in despair."

"Saiou." Hearing the words of his friend behind him, Ed felt relieved. In his opinion, Saiou seemed to be intentionally clearing himself of suspicion and proving his innocence by talking about the past.

"The storm of fate. Well, I quite like this word, because it gives people a feeling that they cannot defy and can only endure. And I did wait for the end of the storm of fate. Not long ago, I was defeated by Yuki Judai and Manjome Jun. And when the storm ended, I finally completed the division of myself under the brief sunny sky."

The first part of Saiou's words sounded fine to Ed, but as he listened further he felt something was wrong. What does "dividing oneself" mean?

"You can't understand? This is only natural, because no matter how mature you are, you are still bound by the gravity of being a human being." Although Saiou didn't see Ed's expression, he seemed to see the surprise on his face and continued, "I have learned a truth in my short life, Ed, that is, the more scheming a person is, the more likely he is to fail."

"The more you want to defy fate and change it, the more you will be pushed back onto your original path by the torrent of fate. Even if you can temporarily disperse or avoid the storm of fate, it will eventually come back again."

Ed saw that Jonouchi and the others standing in front of him had surprised expressions on their faces, and behind him, Saiou said, "Ed, you are a very good friend, really, really, thank you for holding an umbrella for me all the time."

Taking out his own card, [Mystery Force EX - Ruler of Darkness], and another card that had returned to its original state at some point, [Mystery Force EX - Ruler of Light], Saioh pressed them together on his chest and grinned, "But from now on, I don't need it anymore, because--"

"—I am the incoming storm!"

No nonsense today, please vote for recommendation~