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

Chapter 415 A Bystander Gets Involved, The Final Card Game
The Dream Collapse, the Empty Corpse Laboratory.

"We lost?!"

"How could you lose to this?!"

A researcher slammed his fist on the control panel, the metal surface making a dull thud.

"What on earth is she hitting?! Is she just putting on an act for us?!"

"Eighteen years without a duel, rusty? What kind of fight is this?!"

Inside the monitoring room, harsh curses and roars rose and fell. A group of elites in white coats were red-faced and swollen-necked, looking like a group of gamblers who had lost everything.

They took a desperate gamble and released high-profile war criminals.

The "Queen of the Reds," who embodied their ambitions, lost despite having the first move and not having any bad hands.

In the corner, Fujiki Ai's face remained expressionless.

He simply stared silently at the glaring "failure" on the main screen, and after a moment, he spoke indifferently.

"Review the proceedings and identify points of contention."

The order was given, and the noisy room quieted down.

On the huge holographic screen, the footage of the duel was retrieved, and the data stream swept across the screen like a waterfall.

The AI ​​uses cold, electronic sounds to rapidly scan the entire game by reverse-engineering the results.

[Analysis of the second round of operations...]

[The timing of the clown and bird lock activation is determined by the green light, with no controversy.]

[Use of Mirror Image Ineffective... Judgment: Green Light, No Dispute]

[Recalling the March Hare... Judgment: Green light, no dispute]

[Hand card March Hare activation timing judgment: Green light, no dispute]

[Timing of Nibiru's activation in her primordial life form... Judgment: Green light, no dispute]

On the screen, the red queen's five action points during the opponent's turn all lit up with green lights, indicating "no dispute".

However, when the replay footage went back to the first round, a blinding red light suddenly appeared.

"There's a red light!" a researcher exclaimed.

[Analysis of the first round of operations...]

[White's binding effect activated, excluding the [heart]... Judgment: Red light, disputed]

The AI ​​provided the following annotation: [White] did not exclude the [March Hare] in the graveyard, resulting in the presence of an object in the graveyard that can be chained by [Called by the Grave].

“This…” one researcher said awkwardly, “In a normal [Malis] opening, as many graveyard resources as possible will be left so that [White] can earn more later.”

Another researcher said hesitantly, "It's a bit subtle; I'm not even sure if she's acting."

Before he could finish speaking, a second, even more deadly red light came on.

[GWC-06 effect activated, banishes White to bind, Special Summons Red to extort... Decision: Red, disputed]

This time, the AI ​​even provided a simulation calculation of the optimal solution.

[Optimal move: Forgo activating GWC-06, first use the White Piece's effect to set MTP-07, then use the Heart Piece's effect to banish the White Piece. This move also triggers the White Piece to return to the field and draw cards. Although the field strength is reduced, it can still retain GWC-06 and MTP-07 as counterattack and sustain means in the next turn after surviving the combined defense of Infinite Impermanence and Nibiru.]

The entire monitoring room was deathly silent.

All the researchers stared blankly at the simulation on the screen, their faces turning from red to white, and then from white to green.

Play big cards with small hands, and adopt a defensive, defensive strategy.

Playing big cards against small cards sounds simple, but in practice, it's a huge gamble.

That worked! — "Holy crap, you're a genius!"

Anti-air – “No way, even a no-pit speedrun can go wrong?” “Do you even know how to play?”

"But...but she has [Locking Bird] and [Nibiru]!" someone growled in frustration. "Her own hand traps are of such high quality, it's perfectly reasonable for her to use one as a backup!"

"She has the March Hare in her hand, so she's definitely aiming for a big win. Even if she gets caught in a defensive combo, she can still make a comeback next turn."

"Who would have thought?" someone nearby sighed softly. "This Li Guanqi not only pulled out the Meteorite Defense, but he also had a [Called One from the Grave] card? And he even managed to kill [Nibiru] and [Locking Bird]?"

These words were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing everyone's last shred of hope. "He should be a champion."

"He'd rather have [Yong Sheng] become a useless card than [Suo Niao], that guy is ruthless."

The AI ​​deduced two points of contention from the results, but it didn't seem like any major mistakes.

When debugging the AI, you can't always add instructions like "White should exclude the March Hare that has already activated its effect to prevent Grave Pointing" or "Don't activate GWC-06 when attacking first to prevent Nibiru and Bubble Link defense."

When writing AI, the things to guard against are usually Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, multiplicative G, and single Nibiru.

Whether it's high-stakes dueling or low-stakes dueling, it's a lifelong lesson for human duelists, let alone something that AI or electronic beings can understand.

"No problem, let her continue."

Fujiki Ai slowly raised her head, shifting her gaze from the cold analytical data to the corner of the screen, to Li Guanqi's unremarkable face.

In the second round, after the Red Queen played [Nibiru], Li Guanqi's fleeting, "gratified" yet cold smile lingered in his mind.

It felt familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I'd seen it before.

Following that familiar feeling, Fujiki Ai turned her head and looked at the 'Calamity Blood Crystal' floating above the laboratory.

"This feeling."

[Beep—Beep—Beep—]

[Warning! Warning! Unknown data stream intrusion detected!]

A piercing buzzing sound rang out without warning, and the scarlet warning lights flashed wildly, illuminating the pale faces of each researcher as if they were ghosts.

"what's the situation?!"

"The firewall has been breached?!"

"No, the time isn't up yet; we still have the advantage."

One of the researchers reacted quickly and began frantically banging on the control panel with both hands.

He roared, "No! How could Elvira have hacked during the agreement period?"

The Dream Collapse Realm and Elvira are equally skilled and have been fighting each other for years, neither able to gain the upper hand. In the end, they came up with this duel agreement to transform the cyber war into a metaverse duel.

During the agreement period, both parties' firewalls will be equipped with the highest level of protection, theoretically making it impossible for the other party to intrude.

"Quick! Track the intrusion path!"

The laboratory was in complete chaos.

Fujiki Ai remained seated, unhurried, her eyes fixed on the red data line on the holographic screen that had cut into the internal network at a tricky angle.

"Not Elvira."

He raised his hand and made a sweeping motion in the air, magnifying the red intrusion path and projecting it onto the center of the laboratory.

It bypassed all data vaults and defense outposts, like a precise scalpel, stabbing straight at the laboratory's sole core.

A young researcher looked up at the end of the red line, his face turning deathly pale: "Their target is—the Calamity Blood Crystal?!"

Calamity Blood Crystal, the greatest secret of the Dream Collapse Realm.

"You came prepared." Fujiki Ai's lips curled up slightly as her fingers rapidly pressed buttons on the control panel.

"Bring it into the protocol battlefield."

The dozen or so researchers received the order and quickly got to work, their hands moving across the console like blurs as countless lines of code scrolled rapidly across the screen.

"Data Trap A-3 has been deployed!"

"Start path simulation and disguise node 14 as the core database entry point!"

"Lure path planning complete. We expect to capture it within three minutes!"

When the initial instructions were given, everyone was full of confidence.

Dealing with an intruder who doesn't even know basic anti-tracking techniques is, in their eyes, just a matter of moving a finger.

However, a minute later.

"Report! The target has deviated from the preset path!"

"What is it doing? Why is it going to the 'recycling station'?"

"It...it seems to be lost..."

An eerie silence fell over the entire monitoring room.

Fujiki Ai stared blankly at the red dot on the screen representing the intruder, which darted around like a headless fly in the area marked "discarded data".

"Reset the decoy, using fake data signatures from the Calamity Blood Crystal," Fujiki Ai ordered again.

"Yes!"

The researchers got busy again.

This time, they intensified their bait, slapping the words "Treasure is here" right in the intruders' faces.

As expected, the red dot moved, rushing straight towards the decoy.

"They've taken the bait!" a researcher shouted.

The next second, the red dot, less than a hundred meters from the trap, made an unbelievable sharp turn and plunged headfirst into the "firewall maintenance log" next to it.

"Damn it—"

One researcher gritted his teeth viciously.

"What is it doing?! Checking the firewall update logs? That's for operations and maintenance personnel, what value does it have?!"

"Is this guy... actually here to steal something?"

"It feels more like... sightseeing?"

Time passed by minute by minute.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

Inside the Empty Skeleton Laboratory, the atmosphere shifted from initial tension and seriousness to a state of frenzy and collapse.

Next to the control panel, empty medicine bottles were piled up into a small mountain.

A researcher took off his glasses, pressed his temples hard, and stared at the screen, panting, his voice hoarse: "In my fifteen years, this is the first time I've seen such an... outrageous intruder."

"You might think he doesn't understand, but he can pinpoint our Empty Skeleton Laboratory with pinpoint accuracy."

“You think he knows what he's doing…” another researcher gasped, his voice filled with frustration, “He spent half an hour trying to crack the encryption of the ‘Employee Cafeteria This Week’s Menu’! That thing isn’t even encrypted!”

"In the end, I couldn't stand it anymore and untied it for him myself..."

This isn't a cyber attack or defense exercise; it's like taking an idiot on a virtual tour.

They had to abandon the lure and resort to the most cumbersome method—"encirclement".

They temporarily erected data barriers along the intruder's possible path, like a shepherd driving sheep, bit by bit, forcefully driving this erratic red dot toward the entrance to the protocol battlefield.

"Doctor, that bastard finally got in..."

When the red dot finally crashed into the spatial trap of the protocol battlefield without any warning, a researcher let out a long sigh of relief and slumped into his chair.

Fujiki Ai remained silent; he simply retrieved the intruders' entire movement trajectory over the past three hours.

It was a red, illogical, chaotic, yet stubbornly revolving route around the core area.

It appears to be disjointed and haphazard, but when Fujiki connects all its action nodes and then visualizes them in three dimensions, a blurry outline appears on the central screen.

The outline looked like a hand.

A hand clumsily and frantically trying to type out a command on a virtual keyboard.

"What is he looking for?"

Fujiki Ai narrowed his eyes, and an absurd yet startling thought suddenly popped into his head.

This method of intrusion...

Traveler?
As a member of the Twelve Hours team, he knew a bit about the traveler's style, which was filled with a kind of reckless 'there were no roads in the world, but I walked a lot, so I created roads' mentality.

But if he really is a traveler, what is his purpose?
Are we really lost? "Doctor," a researcher wearing black-rimmed glasses approached and reported, "The Protocol War is over, with only twenty minutes left."

“We…we are only 640 squares ahead.”

As he spoke, a gambler's madness flashed in his eyes.

"Should we... launch a surprise attack?"

Upon hearing this suggestion, the several scattered researchers seemed to be injected with a shot of adrenaline, instantly perking up and all looking at Fujiki Ai.

With only twenty minutes left, a surprise attack is possible. Even if the opponent has countermeasures, they won't have enough time.

Fujiki Ai ignored the commotion behind her.

His gaze lingered on the central screen, where a scribbled and bizarre "hand" pattern, formed by the intruder's movements, slowly rotated in his pupils.

"Anderson."

“Baker”.

He named two.

Among the crowd, two researchers, one blond and one brown, immediately stood up straight. In stark contrast to the listless state of the others, they were full of energy and had sharp eyes.

"Yes!" they both responded in unison.

Fujiki Ai's tone was as cold as a scalpel.

"Ready to go live."

"Fifteen minutes to end the war."

Protocol battlefield.

The digital particles reconstructed a brand-new duel arena, and Li Guanqi let out a long breath.

That's really troublesome.

The Red Queen is getting harder and harder to fool.

The old method of timing it perfectly and using [Infinite Bubble] and [Nibiru] in a coordinated defense to catch her off guard is no longer viable.

This little cutie has learned to "play big cards small".

Children strive to make the most impactful play in a single round; adults only care about two words—winning.

In just a few hours, under his personal "tutoring," the Queen of the Red Chess's card skills and awareness grew at an alarming rate.

From initially focusing on the maximum number of games in a programmed format, to now understanding how to engage in psychological warfare and conserve resources based on hand cards and the overall situation, the battle between the two sides has transformed from his one-sided "teaching" into a fierce, evenly matched struggle.

"Again!"

Queen Red, panting, roared at Li Guanqi. The light flowing through her body was somewhat unstable, yet it exuded an increasingly high fighting spirit, and her face flushed with excitement.

As it turns out, there are no fields that are over-cultivated, only oxen that are exhausted to death.

Li Guanqi felt like an ox about to die from exhaustion. He was not only physically exhausted, having played for more than 20 hours straight, but also mentally drained.

Elvira's front was completely suppressed from beginning to end.

He fought fiercely with the Red Queen here, but the glaring difference of over six hundred points was like an insurmountable chasm that he couldn't close no matter what he did.

If things continue like this, even if he can keep drawing with the Queen of the Reds, they will still be the ones to lose when the agreement expires.

We must find a way to close the gap in the final moments.

But he really had no other choice.

Letong looks like she's reached her limit.

In high-level duels, if both sides have decent decks, the win rate will approach 50% as the number of matches increases.

In a war, the capabilities of an individual are always limited.
At this moment, a sudden change occurred.

"Fuck-"

With a piercing crackle of electricity, the digital floor beneath Le Tong's feet suddenly began to twist and ripple, like water with pebbles thrown in.

Immediately afterwards, her figure flickered violently, her whole being switching rapidly between solidity and illusion, like an old image with a poor signal.

"What's going on?" Letong stared in astonishment at her hand, which was becoming translucent, her voice filled with panic.

Li Guanqi's heart clenched suddenly.

What kind of trouble will happen in the last ten minutes or so?
Although Le Tong couldn't do much to reverse the score difference, she at least held her ground and didn't give the other team any points. As a teammate, she did a decent job.

What if this teammate also gets into trouble in the end...

"Ella... what's going on? My head hurts so much!" Letong's figure grew fainter and fainter. She clutched her head in pain, letting out a suppressed howl, her body curling up from the intense pain.

In the analysis room, Ella's voice came urgently through the encrypted channel, filled with tension: "An unknown data stream has forcibly entered the battlefield... The source cannot be traced... But it can be confirmed that it is not from Phantom Collapse!"

It's not the enemy's business?

Li Guanqi frowned.

At this crucial final moment that will determine the outcome, a third party has suddenly intervened?
"Its data stream is overwriting your connection node! Letong, log out now! Immediately!" Ella's command was urgent.

The intense headache had rendered Yue Tong unable to think. She gritted her teeth and, with her last bit of willpower, forced herself to log out.

【Jingle Bell--】

Accompanied by a crisp system notification, Le Tong's figure completely transformed into a streak of light before Li Guanqi's eyes, dissipating into the air.

The space where she had been standing did not return to calm.

The digital structure there looked as if it had been violently torn apart by an invisible hand, collapsing inward and forming a vortex full of gibberish and broken textures.

There was neither the radiance of a portal nor the sharpness of a spatial rift.

It was more like a barbaric, low-tech attempt to break down a wall.

A figure dressed in a red and blue firefighter uniform emerged from the vortex, his entire body adorned with dazzling flame effects.

Ultimate Skin - [Rescue ACE Team Aerial Crane Operator].

Prestige and Legendary skins in the Metaverse cannot be purchased; they can only be customized by winning a major event or as a reward for making significant contributions to the League in the real world.

Li Guanqi's character, "Silver City Son-in-Law," has a legendary custom skin called "Silver Princess of the Labyrinth City," but unfortunately, this account can't use it.

Damn, I have no skin, and I'm totally blown away by this guy's flaunting.

The Prestige skin has amazing special effects, but it's a pity he prefers the fire-attribute demon race.

The nameless passerby (the crane operator Pi) looked around blankly, first glancing at the Red Chess King opposite him, who was exuding an aura of power, and then at Li Guanqi beside him, who had a solemn expression.

Finally, he activated the hoisting equipment on his body, flew into the sky, crashed into the ceiling, and fell back down.

"Huh? Can't get out?" the nameless passerby muttered, and tried again.

Under the watchful eyes of the Red Queen, the Last Signer, and Li Guanqi, who looked at him like he was a monkey, he made a series of ups and downs.

It has finally been confirmed that there is no way to get out of this space.

The nameless passerby scratched his head and looked at Li Guanqi with an innocent expression: "Hey buddy, can I ask you for directions?"

Where is this place?

Li Guanqi: “.”

Queen of the Chessboard: "."

Final Sigma: "."

Everyone in the Empty Skeleton Laboratory and Analysis Room 08: "."

“Uh.” Li Guanqi paused for a moment, then politely refrained from swearing and replied seriously, “This is node number 14.”

"A protocol space."

Are you a party to this agreement?

Normally, only specific people can enter this cyberspace.

Why did a lost passerby suddenly walk in?

“The Protocol Space.” The nameless passerby looked around and saw thousands of [Tears of Elegy Clan] AIs fighting each other, realizing that he had been lured into a war.

"I am a traveler passing through."

He glanced at his location, then looked up at the two generals opposite him, and finally turned to look at Li Guanqi.

"Did I push your teammate out of the way? Sorry."

This is clearly a two-on-two situation, and he has pushed the other person out again.

Seeing that he seemed to be a truly innocent bystander, Li Guanqi contacted Ella in the analysis room: "Can we switch him back?"

“No,” Ella replied quickly. “Only two generals can stand on the agreement battlefield. We can’t eliminate the passersby, so we’ll have to move you to your position.”

Li Guanqi frowned, his expression becoming serious.

The difference of more than 600 grids felt like an insurmountable mountain, weighing heavily on his heart.

Across from him, the Red Queen looked at him and asked, "Shall we continue?"

The Last Sigma beside her also emitted a buzzing synthesized sound: "Give up, humans."

Before Li Guanqi could react, two cold beams of data descended from the sky, precisely enveloping the Red Queen and the Final Sigma.

[Warning, Commander privileges, forced replacement]

The Red Queen was startled, then suddenly raised her head and roared at the sky: "I haven't decided the winner with him yet!"

However, the force of the rules emanating from the agreement itself was irresistible. Her figure quickly became transparent within the pillar of light and was forcibly pushed back to the preparation zone.

Two new figures replace the original positions of the Red Queen and the Last Sigma.

One had blond hair, the other brown; both were ordinary-looking young men, dressed in researchers' white lab coats.

Anderson.

Baker.

Li Guanqi's heart sank.

Trouble.

The appearance of cybernetic creatures is often linked to the theme of their decks; for example, the Queen of the Red Chess is [Marys], and the End Sigma is [Cutie].

But these two human-looking guys... who knows what decks they're using?
In the last fifteen minutes, Phantom Collapse sent in real elites to exploit the information gap between them.

Li Guanqi's mind raced, and his breathing became increasingly rapid.

He had originally thought that even if they were just passersby, they could at least fill in the numbers and he could offer some guidance.

Now that the opponent has suddenly changed players, he himself doesn't know how to adjust his deck, let alone guide a random "Traveler".

"It seems I've caused you trouble," the nameless passerby said, scratching his head with a sincere apology in his voice.

He glanced around the tense battlefield, then looked at the two cold-faced men opposite him, and finally his gaze fell back on Li Guanqi.

"but……"

He changed the subject, a naturally harmless smile appearing on his face.

It wasn't the fake smile that Li Guanqi was good at, but the reassuring smile that Yu Chengbinai had.

"When it comes to playing cards, I'm pretty good."

"How about I play one last game for you guys?"

"Play cards." Li Guanqi paused for a moment, lost in thought, before replying.

Such familiar and long-lost words.

Having been in Biantana for several months, this was the first time he had ever heard anyone use "playing cards" to describe a duel.

A duel in Biantana is a very serious matter.

Biantana's duel was highly purposeful.

For spiritual reasons, for fame and fortune, for passing exams, for resisting internet intrusion.
打牌
I haven't heard such lighthearted words in a long time.

"Okay." Li Guanqi breathed a sigh of relief and replied with a smile.

"Then let's fight."

(End of this chapter)