People in Yu-Gi-Oh! The hyper-converged audience is also integrated

Chapter 270 One broke a bullet, the other broke a person, you two are really something (Single update for Mother's Day)
After a period of confusion, Li Guanqi's consciousness slowly surfaced like someone drowning.

He slowly opened his eyes, a sharp headache causing him to groan. His vision was blurry with interlacing light and shadow. He shook his heavy head, and the scene before him gradually became clearer.

Not far away, a burly figure was lying on the ground, shaking his head and groaning in pain, as if he had just woken up.

"Cough...cough..." Li Guanqi wanted to raise his hand to cover his head, but when he turned around, he saw a thin iron chain locked to his supercomputing ring, with the control console attached to the other end.

Upon seeing the control panel, fragments of memories began to resurface. Recalling the massive vortex that had devoured everything, Li Guanqi's consciousness suddenly cleared considerably.

"Where is this..." he murmured to himself, his voice hoarse.

He tried to move his body, only to realize a strange fact—he was standing, his feet firmly planted on the solid ground.

"Standing?"

The thought was terrifying to contemplate, sending a chill down his spine.

As anyone who has studied medicine knows, when a person loses consciousness, all the muscles in their body relax, and unless supported by external force, it is impossible to maintain a standing posture.

The man opposite, whose body was as strong as steel, also collapsed to the ground after losing consciousness, didn't he?

So, during the time I was unconscious, who or what kept me standing?
Before I woke up, who was standing there...?

"The other one, me...?"

A strong sense of unease and disorientation gripped him.

"Where... exactly is this place?" On the other side, Lin Chen forced himself to calm down and began to carefully examine his surroundings.

This is a bizarre and wonderful underwater world.

The colorful coral reefs glowed with an eerie light, the strangely shaped seaweed swayed gently with the undercurrent, and schools of fluorescent fish, like flowing galaxies, darted among the huge, ancient-looking stone pillars.

A magnificent yet eerie underwater palace, or perhaps... an arena?
Lin Chen rubbed the back of his head and slowly got up from the cold ground. He immediately looked at Li Guanqi with wary eyes. Seeing that the other party did not immediately show any intention to attack, he turned his attention to the control panel that was bound to him.

"Is this the control panel? Has the safety bubble risen?"

"Is the assessment over, Luli?"

At the same time, on the sea.

The survivors who had been swallowed by the giant whirlpool were now floating on the sea, each of them enveloped in a transparent bubble that emitted a faint light, protecting them from the poisonous fog that still lingered outside.

More than two hundred people, like candies in individual wrappers, looked at each other, their faces filled with bewilderment and lingering fear after surviving the ordeal.

"What...what happened?" A bespectacled, refined-looking man asked, his voice trembling.

Current number of survivors: 258

The cold, electronic voice sounded again, and everyone's heart sank.

Two hundred and fifty-eight people?!

"What are we going to do? We still have to eliminate 58 people, but..."

They could only float in place, staring at each other, the poisonous mist blocked by the bubbles, preventing them from attacking each other.

Finally, 58 will be eliminated. How will they be decided?
"What... what is this? You've pressed both control panels?"

"I hope the organizers aren't going to feed us to the fish."

"You might suffocate."

"The examiner's move was too ruthless. I can't move at all. How long can this bubble last?"

This is truly a distressing situation.

A lazy, slightly mocking female voice suddenly came from high above, like an invisible net covering the entire sea area.

What to do?

Inside the monitoring room, Langley grabbed his hair, looking distressed, and said, "Oh dear, both control panels have been taken."

She turned to the other three group leaders with a look of utter despair: "How do we handle this? This isn't how the script was written."

In the original plan, when the final safe zone was shrunk to its limit, the vast majority of candidates would not be able to reach the control console under the poisonous fog and various obstacles. They could only rely on their own physical condition, equipment and luck to tough it out in the poisonous fog and be eliminated by the fittest.

In a low-probability scenario, a highly skilled individual might emerge, seize one of the control consoles, and save their own team.

This is the final elimination mechanism she designed, full of randomness and despair.

Who would have thought that there wasn't just one hunky guy, but two of them!

It directly changed her preset "single choice" to "multiple choice", and also triggered the fusion mechanism of the underwater arena, creating a huge vortex.

"What are you looking at us for?" The group leader, a man with a cold face, said in a flat voice, "You were the chief planner. If something goes wrong, you'll have to fix it yourself."

"It's alright, we have time, we can think about it slowly." The group leader of Group Five, a smiling fat man, picked up his water glass, looking indifferent as if it were none of his business.

Lanli pursed his lips, picked up the communicator, and dialed the number of Deng Jun, the leader of Group Seven.

"Old Deng, help!"

A steady voice came from the other end of the communicator: "Speak."

"The security system you're in charge of dragged those two guys who grabbed the control panel, console and all, into the underwater arena. What are we going to do now?" Langley complained incessantly.

After a few seconds of silence on the other end of the communicator, Deng Jun's calm voice rang out: "Then let's use the rules of the underwater arena."

"Huh?" Langley was taken aback. "Oh right. You can do that too."

She cleared her throat, and her slightly affected voice carried clearly across the sea surface and into the deep sea through the amplification device.

[Ahem, attention all candidates, I am the person in charge of this assessment, Lan Li.]

First of all, congratulations to everyone for making it to this final step. You are all the elite of the elite, the most talented of the talented...

"Hey—" she drawled, pausing as if organizing her thoughts.

Things happened suddenly; life is always full of surprises and unexpected events.

In conclusion, we are now announcing the final elimination mechanism for this assessment.

The two players who successfully seized control of the console now have the opportunity to make a choice that will change everyone's fate.

As soon as he finished speaking, in the underwater arena, two buttons emitting different lights rose from the top of the control panel in front of Li Guanqi and Lin Chen.

Langley's excited voice rang out again:
Press the button on the left in front of you, and you will be directly qualified for advancement.

[At the same time, the safety bubbles of all survivors representing the color faction you represent will immediately burst.]

She deliberately paused for a few minutes, giving everyone time to process this cruel rule.

Upon hearing this, the more than two hundred survivors floating on the sea felt as if their hearts were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, making it difficult for them to breathe.

"It's over...it's over! Is there even a choice? I'm definitely getting a guaranteed admission!" A young girl cried out.

"Damn it! We risked our lives to the end, but we still have to depend on others!" A burly man angrily pounded on the bubble wall, but it was all in vain.

"When we were focusing fire on the control panel, we didn't manage to shoot anyone down, ouch—"

"Is the only option... to endure the poison?" Laments rose and fell among the crowd.

Many people formed teams during the assessment, but they were all temporary teammates. Once they left the assessment, they would be complete strangers.

Among the crowd, Xia Sheng frowned. With his and Yu Wanyin's physical condition, they should be able to hold out for a while in the poisonous fog and sea, but Yu Wancha, who was unconscious... once he lost the protection of the safety bubble, he would likely be among the first to be eliminated.

seabed.

Li Guanqi stared at the button on the left that emitted an alluring white light.

They were recommended for advancement.

With just a simple press, he could enter the Spirit Control Bureau, obtain the coveted Domain Card, change his destiny, elevate his social status, and no longer be oppressed by the lowly scoundrels.

The only cost is that the "red team" teammates lose the protection of their safety bubble and struggle to survive in the poisonous fog, leaving their fate to be determined.

In icy seawater, without air bubbles, non-swimmers will experience rapid and irregular breathing and heart rate, making them more likely to fall into a coma and their lifespan to decline at a much faster rate than that of good swimmers.

His fingertips gently traced the cool surface of the button.

A low, expectant voice suddenly echoed in my mind:

"If... if we can pass the test together, there are some things I want to tell you."

Li Guanqi's movements suddenly stopped.

On the other side, Lin Chen also reached out and gently stroked the white button on the left with his fingertips.

His thoughts were somewhat wandering.

He had fantasized countless times about what it would be like if there were a doomsday button in front of him. With just a press, everyone, regardless of status, good or evil, beauty or ugliness, would be reduced to nothingness, and the world would achieve great equality.

Unfortunately, that kind of button doesn't exist.

On the contrary, a completely opposite "savior" button—at least for him—is now placed in front of him.

By simply pressing it, he can escape his life of wandering, have a stable home, a safe job, a uniform symbolizing honor, powerful companions, a valuable card deck, excellent weapons, and that domain card that can change everything.

With just a press, everything he desires will be within his grasp.

So what? That swordsman with invincible power and authority will fail the test and stay by Chu Linfeng's side.

Everyone has a chance in this assessment.

He was the only one who didn't. This assessment was a joke to him.

He had never received respect. Whether it was that swordsman or Chu Linfeng, they all treated him as a pawn, a pawn to be summoned and dismissed at will.

Lin Chen gripped the button tightly with his fingers, his muscles tense, his arm trembling uncontrollably. His eyes were filled with a murderous rage, yet he couldn't bring himself to press the tiny button.

"Lin Chen." A thin figure flashed through his mind. Lin Chen was slightly taken aback, and his tense expression slowly relaxed, as if he had received some kind of healing.

He suddenly remembered the scene when he and Luli started the speedboat and rushed out of the toxic fog, cursing at the sea.

The two idiots, who seemed to be cursing at each other, just kept making meaningless "Ah—!" noises.

Those were probably the most satisfying few minutes of his life when he cursed, after all, cursing your mother alone is not as good as cursing your mother with everyone else.

"Luli."

Lin Chen caught his breath and slowly withdrew his arm from the white button on the left.

To be honest, given her skill level, she shouldn't have passed this brutal test in the first place. She can't duel, doesn't understand theory, and isn't good at fighting. Her only way to escape is by diving. Her only contribution throughout the entire process was probably spending her initial 500,000 credits to buy a speedboat.

If she gets into the Spirit Control Bureau, will she be bullied and looked down upon? Will the people there treat her well? Will they care about her background?
It seems that both of them are still undecided.

After a long silence, Langley spoke again.

[Now, I'll reveal the second option: if you press the button on the right, a duel disk will pop up on the console in front of you.]

Next, the two will engage in a 1v1 duel. The loser's faction will have all their safe zones destroyed.

[At the same time, the duelist will be completely drawn into the deep waters of this underwater arena. A friendly reminder: the water pressure in the underwater arena is much greater than at the surface, and your life force will decrease much faster.]

The words fell.

Lin Chen and Li Guanqi closed their eyes almost simultaneously, as if gathering strength and making a certain decision.

On the sea surface, the survivors suspended in safety bubbles held their breath, their hearts pounding in their throats. They couldn't see what was happening on the seabed and could only guess at the choices those two people made based on Langley's descriptions.

Everyone silently prayed that their own representative would make the "correct" choice, or that the representative of the opposing camp would choose to "sacrifice."

"I will count to three. Please press your selections simultaneously," Langley announced clearly after a pause.

【3...】

On the sea surface, everyone inside the safety bubble took a deep breath in unison, instinctively curling up their bodies, ready to dive at any moment.

【2...】

Li Guanqi and Lin Chen opened their eyes at the same time. Their eyes no longer held confusion or hesitation, but only a resolute determination to burn their bridges.

【1! 】

"Snapped--"

"Snapped--"

Two button clicks sounded, and then, from the control panels in front of the two people, a floating sphere gleaming with a metallic sheen popped out from each of them.

Li Guanqi and Lin Chen raised their left hands simultaneously.

The two levitating spheres traced an elegant arc in the air before striking precisely the supercomputing rings on their wrists.

"Kaka——"

A crisp click of the mechanism rang out, and two dazzling lights, one red and one blue, suddenly lit up.

Two technologically advanced and powerful dueling disks rapidly unfolded, combined, and were set up on their forearms!
Li Guanqi's duel board is a fiery crimson red.

Lin Chen's duel disk was a deep, dark blue.

The two looked up, their eyes meeting in mid-air. No words were spoken, but invisible sparks seemed to collide.

On the sea.

The more than two hundred people suspended in the safety bubble waited for a moment and found that their bubble had not broken. The survivors from both the red and blue sides looked at each other, their faces filled with relief and a hint of disbelief.

Xia Sheng's lips curled into a playful smile: "It seems that both sides have chosen people who refuse to admit defeat."

Yu Wanyin nodded slightly, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying gravitational force suddenly came from below each safety bubble.

"what--!"

"what happened?!"

Two hundred and fifty-six safety bubbles, as if grasped by an invisible hand, sank downwards together, accompanied by the screams and shouts of the survivors, as they plummeted toward the deep underwater arena.

Instead of crashing directly into the center of the arena, they stopped at specific locations around it, like more than two hundred crystal-clear pearls, surrounding the central area where a fierce battle was about to erupt, forming a natural audience seating area.

"Hey—look over there!" A burly man from the red team was the first to react, shouting at the top of his lungs towards the two figures facing off in the center of the arena.

"Go for it, bro!"

"It's up to you! If you beat me, I'll treat you to a Magic Chef's Feast!"

The others also gradually realized what was happening.

Since neither of the two guys who seized the control console chose to advance directly, but instead opted to decide everyone's fate through a duel, what else can these "spectators" do besides cheer their own representatives to the death?

"Go for it!"

"Win! If you win, you'll be the coolest guy in the whole place!"

Go Red Team!

"Blue team, charge!!"

The D-type goggles and gas masks were all swept away by the vortex, and the audience could only use the names of the two duelists as Red and Blue.

The deafening shouts, even through the seawater and bubbles, clearly reached Li Guanqi and Lin Chen's ears.

"May the magic pen protect us!!" Tang Xin gripped the fountain pen that had been with her for many years tightly in both hands, closed her eyes, and prayed devoutly, "Give Brother Ba a perfect start, we must win!"

"Lin Chen...keep going." Lu Li hid in a corner of the crowd, quietly cheering for Lin Chen. She couldn't shout as loudly as the group of "mad dogs" around her who were like they were on steroids.

Xia Sheng did not join the enthusiastic cheering team. His gaze swept over the strange devices around the seabed that were secured with safety bubbles. His brain was like a high-speed precision instrument, trying to analyze the structure of these devices, their operating principles, and their possible weaknesses.

He must prepare for the worst; if the Red team loses, he needs to find a way to survive.

In the center of the arena, Li Guanqi and Lin Chen stood facing each other, seemingly isolated from the surrounding hustle and bustle.

"The one who plays with magic bullets...?" Lin Chen glanced at Li Guanqi, as if remembering something, changed a few cards, and placed the deck into the Duel Disk.

Li Guanqi also checked the deck and placed it into the duel disk. The two looked at each other from a distance.

A thousand words can be summed up in one sentence.

"Duel!" (X2)

【Attack first】

【Blue Square】

[Underwater Arena, the Duel Begins]

"Whoosh—" Two thin white lines shot out from the dueling discs of the two, passed through the large bubble in the underwater arena, and spread out like a spider web on the seabed, turning into hundreds of thread ends, flying towards the 256 empty bubbles.

"Clap clap-"

The flying line punctured the safety bubble, and seawater slowly rushed in.

"Huh?!" Of the more than two hundred people huddled in the safety bubble, except for Xia Sheng, everyone else couldn't hold back and screamed, their faces contorted in pain.

"No!"

As they watched the empty bubble being pierced by countless white lines, the survivors' shouts became even more shrill.

"Brother, let's finish this quickly!"

Is this B-level underwater arena a timed duel arena?
Damn it, they're even risking the lives of the audience to limit the time?

Li Guanqi and Lin Chen frowned simultaneously, thinking of a quick victory, and swiftly drew their initial five cards.

The two couldn't help but widen their eyes the moment they saw the starting move.

"Wh-what?"

Five monsters?!

"Five traps?!"

Li Guanqi and Lin Chen, two magic bullet shooters, one cuts off bullets, the other cuts off people.

"No way"

"Why did it have to get stuck at this time?"

The two took a deep breath, trying to calm themselves down, looked up to meet each other's eyes, and put on confident smiles that showed they wouldn't back down.

"Perfect hand!" (X2)

(End of this chapter)