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

Chapter 400 Post-match Interviews
As the smoke slowly dissipated, the vast dueling arena became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The whole place was dead silent.

All that remained was Li Guanqi's heavy breathing, one breath after another, echoing across the empty space.

He slowly raised his heavy right arm, without roaring or making any unnecessary movements, simply raising it silently into the air, wordlessly announcing the end of this duel.

One second, two seconds.

"We won! We won! Ahhhhhh—!" The microphone snapped to life, crackling with excitement. "Li Guanqi! He won! He really won!"

His partner, Hongdou, gaped, and after a long pause, finally managed to utter, "This is unbelievable! Player Li Guanqi secretly avoided three types of [Malis] traps!"

"I thought he was just barely hanging on, but it turns out he had this trick up his sleeve!"

A deafening roar of cheers erupted at that moment!
"Li Guanqi!"

"Master of Enigma Codes, MVP!"

"Detective Li is awesome!"

The fans in the front row of the stands went completely wild, screaming and crying as they tried to break through the cordon and rush toward the figure standing in the center of the field.

[Warning! Go back!]

A line of mechanical guards, along with agents, formed a human wall, struggling to hold back the frenzied crowd. One agent's hat was knocked askew by a cheering sign waved by an excited girl, creating a chaotic yet comical scene.

The chaos was irrelevant to the audience.

The man in the green jacket calmly looked at Li Guanqi in the arena as he walked through the crowd, his eyes behind his glasses flashing with a waterfall of data.

Within seconds, Li Guanqi's information was retrieved and displayed on more than a dozen secret surveillance screens thousands of miles away. [ID: Li Guanqi, former number 0748]

[Duel Record: 117 matches]

[Deck Usage Log: Demon Hybrid 99%, Maris 0%...]

"Never used it even once..."

The man in the green jacket murmured to himself, his fingertips tapping lightly on the armrest, "Is it talent, or a hidden past?"

Lin Chen, who was about to make arrogant remarks, was stunned in the prison cell, with a bunch of trash words stuck in his throat and unable to come out.

"No way, this can be flipped?!"

"How can you earn so much? It's not like your memory is going to kill you. Why are you working so hard for a salary of tens of thousands a month?"

Meanwhile, in the audience area on the other side.

【Wow--】

Victoria's electronic voice echoed in Qi Mengsi's mind.

[First, a Synchro Summoning of the Enigma Master is used, then the second effect of the Sleepwalking Underworld boosts attack power by 3000, completing the kill...]

You say he's never played a single game of Maris before? I'm the first person who doesn't believe you.

"That's not entirely true." Qi Mengsi chewed her gum, her eyes fixed on Li Guanqi, her response frozen in a certain frame.

"Summoning the Master of Enigma Codes in Synchronization must have been a spur-of-the-moment decision on his part."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "At that time, he had already declared 'war,' raised his hand in preparation for attack, but then suddenly stopped."

Victoria's electronic voice paused for a moment, then began high-speed calculations.

Inspiration? Humans are truly strange.

"There is something we cannot see."

Qi Mengsi said softly, her tone a mixture of amazement and a hint of inexplicable emotion, "She is calling for him."

Human inspiration cannot be quantified by data.

Qi Mengsi withdrew her gaze, spat the now-unsweetened chewing gum into a tissue, wrapped it up, and casually tossed it on the ground, where it was carried to the ground by a small flower.

After doing all this, she calmly turned her head and looked at Tang Xin, who had been clenching her fists and remaining silent.

"That's unexpected." Qi Mengsi's tone was very calm. "You didn't pray for him this time?"

Tang Xin shuddered suddenly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and subconsciously asked, "What?"

“I said,” Qi Mengsi repeated with interest, a slight smile playing on her lips, “why didn’t you pray for your myna bird this time?”

She imitated Tang Xin's manner with great seriousness, putting her hands together under her chin, closing her eyes, and mimicking her in a sweet, coquettish tone.

"Magic pen, magic pen, may the magic pen protect you..."

"...Is that so?" Qi Mengsi opened her eyes and looked at her mischievously. "Don't you like to pray for his good luck?"

Tang Xin's blush spread all the way to her ears, making her feel hot.

We've been discovered!

She waved her hand hastily, her eyes darting around in a panic, but she dared not look at Qi Mengsi.

"No... I never prayed for him all the time..." Her voice grew softer and softer, until she was almost out of breath.

"It was just once or twice."

"Oh? Once or twice?" Qi Mengsi raised an eyebrow, leaned forward, and whispered to Tang Xin, "Then why didn't you pray this time?"

"I..." Tang Xin was forced to retreat repeatedly, like a criminal being interrogated, stammering and unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Qi Mengsi suddenly stopped laughing. She straightened up and resumed her aloof demeanor: "You also want to see his memories?"

One sentence was like a bucket of ice water poured over my head.

Tang Xin froze, all her embarrassment and panic vanished, leaving only an unseen pallor.

Instructor, what's wrong with your eyes?!
She slowly lowered her head, her long eyelashes drooping.

The entire audience was celebrating Li Guanqi's victory, but she seemed to be isolated in another world.

I really want to find a hole to crawl into.

Qi Mengsi looked at her like this, sighed softly, and didn't ask any more questions.

She turned her gaze back to the figure in the center of the field, the one that everyone was watching.

As the smoke cleared and the lights focused, the man stood with his arm raised, like a silent mountain.

It's a pity that none of us will be able to see it.

[Uncopyability: Each card has its own purpose - S]

Overall Rating: S

Hearing the echo of the timeline in his mind, Li Guanqi breathed a sigh of relief.

The long-awaited S-level rating, the indicator energy can give you a huge boost.

"Ah—thank goodness we won!" He silently waved to the audience, his heart roaring inside.

He almost ruined his reputation in his later years!

Damn it, how come so many people have come for a duel!
It's so shameful to have my memories exposed in front of so many people.

Thankfully we won; it was a close call.

After this incident, the Soul Reaper's Office should find no reason to force him into another duel.

In the Latia affair, he fantasized that he hadn't been completely clean and had left some incriminating evidence.

Before Li Guanqi could lower his raised arm, a sudden change occurred above the dueling arena.

The epic realm [Mental Collapse] unleashed a red beam of light upon the clown lying on the ground.

hum-

A piercing buzzing sound resounded throughout the arena, and streaks of crimson light spread from the dome, quickly covering the entire dueling arena like a spider web.

The audience erupted in chaos.

"I'm coming!"

"A public execution that is welcomed and appreciated."

"I wonder if there's one that you'd like to watch."

A wave of discussion arose, and everyone craned their necks, with countless eyes converging on the center of the venue.

Chu Chan glanced at the red halo in mid-air, and without the slightest hesitation, he picked up the microphone and ordered, "Activate the black curtain."

The instructions are transmitted via lines to the execution center of the duel arena.

【Command confirmation】

The next second, the audience heard a series of rapid mechanical sounds, "click! click! click!", coming from all directions.

Hundreds of patrol robots, which were on standby, took off from their posts with a flash of red light in their eyes, like a flock of black hummingbirds, hovering precisely above and around the dueling arena.

Immediately afterwards, pieces of black metal rapidly rose from the ground, and under the robot's guidance and assembly, they seamlessly formed a huge black curtain wall, completely isolating the dueling arena from the audience's view.

From the moment Chu Chan gave the order until the curtain was completely closed, the entire process took no more than half a minute.

It was so fast that the audience and commentators couldn't keep up.

"What... damn? It's blocked already?"

"It really is a physical cover-up! The Soul Control Division's reaction speed is amazing!"

"No way, the Joker's memories are protected too?"

"What the hell? I've already taken my pants off, and you're not going to show me?"

The shouts of anger and protests mingled together, making the entire dueling arena as chaotic as a vegetable market.

In the chaotic crowd, the man in the green jacket stood out from the crowd.

He wore a mask, was refined and quiet like a statue. He didn't join in the cursing, but silently stared at the black curtain wall, his lips slightly moving: "Shared vision."

Among the hundreds of patrol robots hovering high in the sky, the one closest to the center of the field flashed its single, scarlet eye.

The light was extremely faint and went unnoticed.

at the same time.

Thousands of miles away, a dozen or so completely black screens suddenly lit up with a "buzz".

The image shakes slightly, revealing an incredibly clear overhead view.

Within the darkness, a red halo begins to play images of the Joker's memories.

It was a dark and cramped room. From the perspective of the main character [I], I was huddled in a corner, being punched and kicked by several tall figures. I desperately protected the few shattered cards in my arms, enduring the insults and beatings that fell on my body without uttering a sound.

Then a figure appeared and killed all the people who were beating him, leaving blood everywhere.

I couldn't see the person's face because I was knocked down with my face pressed to the ground. All I could tell was that the person was wearing a pair of clean, shiny black leather shoes, so they must be a meticulous person.

The man gently placed a white mask in front of me and said, "Put it on."

"You will no longer be sad, you will no longer be in pain."

I was breathing heavily when I reached out and took the mask from the pool of blood.

"That's how clowns win people's hearts." Chu Chan felt no empathy from the protagonist's perspective, only suppressed anger.

The scene changes.

I looked a bit older, my eyes fixed on Rashard using the [Kusha's Wrathful Tribe] deck to slaughter my enemies, my body visibly radiating greed and desire.

“Still a fan of the Butcher,” Qi Mengsi said softly.

The atmosphere in the 'screening room' was even more somber, and the evaluation of the clown face dropped even further.

[Mental Breakdown] The extracted memories all seem to be 'deeply memorable' things. Normal memories of eating and sleeping will not play, unless eating and sleeping are very important to the person, such as Agent Luo before.

Although memories don't show time, viewers can tell from the blurriness of the images and some details that most of the earlier memories occurred several years ago.

Memories from several years ago are no one's concern.

Until a clear 'lens' came into view, everyone's breath suddenly stopped.

"It's coming," Li Guanqi murmured to himself.

This is a spotless white corridor, the gleaming floor reflecting blurry human figures.

From the main perspective, the character is kneeling on the ground in an extremely humiliating posture.

His gaze was low, only able to see a pair of clean black leather boots in front of him, and above that... crisp white trousers.

A hand wearing a white glove slowly reached out in front of him.

A card was held between his fingers.

That card, surrounded by a small golden halo, is none other than the Epic Domain [Mental Collapse]!
"This...this is..."

Inside the darkness, Chu Chan's pupils suddenly contracted, and he clenched his fists.

He stared intently at the trouser leg and cuff in the image, his eyes burning with a palpable rage.

"The uniform of the administrative staff of the Soul Control Division!"

Not only him, everyone recognized him!
That iconic pure white uniform was so distinctive that anyone present could recognize it at a glance.

The person who gave the card didn't show his face because the clown kneeling on the ground kept his head down the whole time, not even worthy of looking up.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

To make the main character so humble and submissive, and to casually hand over an epic domain card...

The only person who can come is the Joker himself.

"Damn it..." an agent muttered to himself, "A mole?"

Traitors are not uncommon. The secret police of the Soul Control Division are investigating traitors every moment. But usually, it's the minute hand or second hand that gets infiltrated as traitors. I never expected the Joker to be so audacious as to personally infiltrate the game.

Chu Chan's face was as gloomy as if it were about to rain.

"100% damage reduction is just outrageous," Li Guanqi thought to himself, shifting his gaze from the familiar white trousers.

He had accessed the Dark Side's database and reviewed the abilities of each of the various clock hands. Of all the people there, the Joker was the most brainless, relying solely on brute force.

It was this ability that gave him the confidence to be so arrogant as to personally get involved.

But my brain doesn't seem to be working very well.

If he had any sense, he would have made a huge mistake today.

As the apex of the Joker network, the Joker himself can modify the appearance of the mask wearer, which means he has countless ways to do things.

For example, before the duel begins, a mask is used to create the face of a director of the Spirit Control Bureau, and then the subordinates are shown the scene of this "director" handing over a card.

Once the heart breaks and the duel ends in defeat, the memories are exposed...

Good guy.

The director of the Soul-Binding Bureau is a mole? Here comes a surprise!

If the Bureau of Spirit Control didn't immediately erupt into chaos, with all departments going on high alert, filled with mutual suspicion and fear, then things would get really messy.

Thinking of this, Li Guanqi felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

Even more frightening is...

What if the clown were even more insidious and pinched Li Guanqi's face instead of the bureau chief's?

As long as someone who looks exactly like him appears in his memory, he can hand over the "Mental Breakdown" card...

Li Guanqi could imagine that scene.

What will the people present think of him?

He couldn't explain himself no matter how hard he tried, and even if he could, it would leave a lingering resentment in everyone's hearts.

Fortunately, the Joker was arrogant and lacked strategic thinking, so he didn't have a Plan B in mind to avoid defeat, and that worry didn't come true.

The Bureau of Spirit Control did a really good job of keeping this secret. If these memories were made public, he didn't even want to imagine how much noise would erupt outside.

The memory faded, and the red halo that enveloped the entire venue also dissipated.

The entire place fell into a deathly silence. Mickey stopped filming and taking photos.

Qi Mengsi's face was gloomy as she directly issued instructions into the communicator.

"Level 1 alert."

"The files of all administrative team members for the past three years have been sealed off, and the internal investigation team has been mobilized immediately."

"Dig out the clown for me."

The search order was issued and quickly spread throughout the entire secret service.

Once the memory was backed up, the black curtain wall began to make clicking sounds as it slowly retracted into the ground.

"boom--!"

The isolated sound waves surged in like a flood bursting its banks.

The thunderous cheers and screams, mixed with the flashes of countless cameras, made Li Guanqi, who was still immersed in his own world, momentarily dazed.

Before he could catch his breath, the reporters broke through the human wall formed by the detectives.

"Detective Li!"

"Detective Li, look this way!"

A dozen microphones were instantly shoved to his mouth. A bespectacled male reporter seized the best spot and spoke at lightning speed, like a gunshot: "Detective Li! In this duel concerning memories, why did you choose [Malice], which has never been used in public before?"

"Is this your hidden trump card?"

Li Guanqi was forced back half a step by the microphone. He cleared his throat and forced a tired smile.

"I haven't played this deck much normally, but I've seen a lot of other people play it. If you do your research on this deck, it's incredibly strong in a best-of-one match, so I wanted to give it a try."

This answer clearly pleased the reporters, and the atmosphere on set became much more relaxed.

Another female reporter immediately followed up: "Was the final boost of 3,000 attack power a meticulously planned strategy, or a stroke of genius on the spot?"

"I dare not accept such a stroke of genius." Li Guanqi waved his hand, answering half-truthfully, "I had no choice but to banish the first two traps. After Synchro Summoning the Enigma Master, I subconsciously wanted to use its second effect to summon back the hearts and banish three more traps to increase attack."

His humble yet sincere answer attracted even more flashes of light.

"Summoning the Enigma Master in a Synchro Summoning move was truly ingenious; how did you come up with that idea?"

The interview was going well when a sharp voice suddenly pierced through the room.

"Detective Li!" A tall, thin male reporter pushed aside his colleagues and shoved a recording pen in front of Li Guanqi, his eyes glaring menacingly.

Everyone's celebrating for you, but we're more curious about something else—

He paused deliberately, building everyone's anticipation, and then asked, word by word:

"Why does the Soul Control Division want to shroud a criminal's memories in darkness?"

"What exactly is in the Joker's memories... that ordinary citizens can't see?"

The words fell.

The noisy interview area fell silent instantly.

All the cameras, all the microphones, all the gazes turned sharply, fixing their gazes fixed on Li Guanqi's face.

(End of this chapter)