Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Now's the time! I've reached my limit, I'm going to press it!"

As she spoke, Kyoko curled her fingers, making the gesture of pressing something, which Hayato had specifically emphasized.

As Anzu made her move, a collar connected to several grenades flew out from the cover card she opened in the back field, directly onto the head of the "Barbarian King" on Honda's field, and then exploded with a bang!

"Whoa!!"

"Alas!"

Because both duelists were beginners, both Yugi and Jonouchi had adjusted the intensity of their virtual projection systems on their duel disks beforehand. So, although the impact of the explosion was simulated by the virtual projection system, it had a very minor effect on the surroundings. Honda and Kyoko suddenly cried out, simply because Honda was startled by the sudden explosion right in front of him and Kyoko's skirt was almost lifted up by the wind.

This made Hayato turn to look at Yugi, thinking that his duel disk was a bit too unconventional, actually creating this kind of updraft. No wonder when Yugi got into a card game, his school uniform draped over his shoulders would always flutter like a trench coat.

However, if a girl wearing a skirt is using an updraft, it is recommended to increase the force.

Honda: 4000→1000LP

【Apricot: 4000→1000LP】

Both players lost a total of 3000 points due to the destruction caused by the Barbarian King, but that wasn't the end of it. Because of the effect of the Destruction Cycle that Anzu had just activated, a series of explosions began to spread to the only other monster on the field—the face-down monster on Anzu's field.

With a loud "boom," another explosion occurred, but it was much smaller than the previous [Destruction Wheel], only deducting 500 basic points from both sides.

Honda: 1000→500LP

【Apricot: 1000→500LP】

The effect of [Disrupt Cycle] detonates the monsters on Anzu's field, reducing both players' life points, and also allows Honda to finally see what kind of monster Anzu has placed.

【Sand Swamp Monster】【4☆/Land】

[Rock Faction/Effect]

[1000/2000]

For some reason, Honda felt like he had seen this card somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it. However, Jonouchi helped him recall: "Isn't that the monster that Hayato used when he dueled Keith in Duel Kingdom?"

“That’s right, it’s this card.” Anzu symbolically sent [Sand Swamp Monster] to the graveyard, then took it out again. “When this card, which is on the back side and is sent to the graveyard due to destruction outside of battle, its original ATK and DEF are exchanged and it is Special Summoned to my field.”

"This card Hayato gave me is perfect as ammunition for [Cycle Breaker]. Duel Monsters are so much fun, I'm so happy I could burst into song."

She placed the card back on the field, and a monster made of mud and sand appeared in front of her.

[Sand Monster] [ATK1000→2000]

"This is bad. Kyoko is way too powerful, isn't she?" Jonouchi looked at Kyoko, who was beaming with joy after making a monster self-destruct, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. To this day, he still remembered the time when he had finally managed to summon a whole bunch of powerful monsters on the field, only to have them all wiped out by a single, incomprehensible "Warrior Annihilation" card in Kyoko's deck.

Hayato and Yugi, both of whom like to include trap cards in their decks, combined with Kyoko's dueling style, made Jonouchi want to complain that playing cards can be down-to-earth, but please don't be so down-to-earth.

The Heavy Pit Duelists have shown signs of human-to-human transmission!

Chapter 673 Why not bring a fireball if you're invincible?

Because of Anzu's two face-down cards, both Honda and Anzu's life points were already hanging by a thread. However, Anzu used the effect of "Sand Monster" to leave a powerful monster with 2000 ATK on her field.

On the other hand, Honda had already used his normal summon this turn to summon the Barbarian King, and he didn't have any monsters left in his hand to Special Summon. Next turn, he could only watch helplessly as Anzu's Swamp Monster attacked him directly and took away his last 500 Life Points.

If he really has no other choice.

"Wow, that's impressive, Kyoko. But don't underestimate my stamina. A mere fatal wound isn't enough to defeat me." Honda smiled as he watched Kyoko Special Summon [Sand Monster] in Attack Position.

Honda was confident when he summoned the Barbarian King, but at that time he didn't know what cards Anzu had set up, so he didn't feel he could win immediately. However, now it's different. Because of Anzu's trap card combo, both players have very few Life Points left.

While Kyoko's summoning of the 2000-point attack power "Sand Swamp Monster" posed a significant threat to Honda, it also meant that Honda had gained an opportunity.

If Honda can summon a monster with an attack power of 2500 or more, he can clear out Kyoko's Life Points before her turn arrives and win!

And at this moment, Honda actually has such a powerful card in his hand!

"Hmph, watch closely, Anzu. This card is the powerful one that Malik specifically recommended for me. I'm going to use this card to defeat you!" As he spoke, Honda boldly slapped a card into his hand. "Spell Card, [Fireball]!"

"Malik said that during duels, when the Life Points drop to a certain level, it's like they're locked and don't move at all. I didn't quite believe it, but I didn't expect it to actually happen. Luckily, I brought this card with me!"

Honda, hands on his hips, said smugly, "This card can deal 500 points of effect damage to the opponent, exactly enough to wipe out your meager 500 Life Points. Looks like I won. Malik's understanding of duels is truly amazing!"

“Ah, Yabai.” Hearing Honda utter such a fatal word out of arrogance because he was so confident of victory, Malik couldn’t help but slap his forehead. “The phrase ‘a candle flickering in the wind’ is a taboo.”

"Huh? It's not that exaggerated, it's just a word," Honda said dismissively. "Kyoko could pull out another card and beat me to a pulp—"

"Now! I activate my face-down card, [Hellfire]!" Anzu pressed the button, revealing the last card on her back field. "This can only be activated when an effect that inflicts damage is activated. Inflict the effect damage that you would otherwise receive on your opponent."

Honda watched helplessly as a fireball appeared on his field, but before the fireball was launched, a gun aimed at him appeared in Kyoko's back field and pulled the trigger before the fireball hit Kyoko.

"Because of the chain reaction of being dealt with first, [Hell's Cold Shot] gets priority." With the result already revealed, Yugi stood up and said with a smile, "First, Honda will suffer damage equivalent to that caused by [Fireball], which is exactly 500 points."

"Your life points were just wiped out." Hayato smiled slightly. "Therefore, Kyoko, who was unharmed when your life points were reduced to zero, is the winner, Honda."

Having received confirmation from both Hayato and Yugi, Honda helplessly watched as the phantom bullet pierced through his body, and the Life Points on his Duel Disk dropped to zero: "Honestly, I thought I might have a talent for this, after all, you guys are so good."

"Hehe, this kind of thing isn't something you can easily do just by thinking 'I could do it too.' Don't underestimate Duel Monsters, Honda." Jonouchi patted Honda on the shoulder and said with a grin, "But for a beginner, you're already pretty good, although you're still no match for your grandpa Jonouchi."

"Come on, you've never beaten Kyoko either."

"That happened so long ago, it doesn't count!"

Honda's frustration didn't even last three seconds before Jonouchi broke the spell, and the two of them started joking and playing around again, clearly not taking the loss of the duel to heart.

This duel is just a game between friends. Although Duel Monsters is often associated with some heavy meanings, it is still a game, and games are meant to bring joy.

What Honda's dueling experience was unclear to outsiders, but everyone could see that Kyoko seemed quite happy after she used three trap cards to defeat Honda in one turn.

"It feels really amazing, Duel Monsters is really fun." Anzu took the Duel Disk off her wrist and handed it back to Yugi. Having enjoyed the fun of experiencing the revamped Duel Monsters again after a long time, she smiled and said to Yugi, "I can understand why you boys can have so much passion for Duel Monsters."

"However, if Duel Monsters were cuter, they would probably be even more popular among girls."

Hearing Kyoko's words, Yugi was also happy that his childhood friend could enjoy the joy of dueling, and he also habitually introduced, "There are many cute Duel Monsters, such as Kuriboh and Dark Magician Girl, which are both great."

"Speaking of [Dark Magician Girl], are you showing off, Yugi?" Anzu glanced at Yugi helplessly and said, "As far as I know, there seems to be only one [Dark Magician Girl] card in your deck, which is rarer than her [Dark Magician] card. Although it is very cute, no one else has any chance of using it."

“Indeed, even other people who want to experience what it’s like to use Dark Magician Girl either turn their cards into minotaurs in a duel, or print out a pirated ‘Cartoon Dark Magician Girl’ like Pegasus, or simulate Dark Magician Girl’s data in the virtual world.” Hayato nodded in agreement with Kyoko’s statement, completely ignoring the fact that the user of the first method he mentioned was himself standing in front of the game.

"Haha, I don't know why either." Yugi scratched his head shyly and said. After taking the Duel Disk and putting it away, he took out his deck and immediately saw the two cards at the front of the deck, which were the cards [Dark Magician] and [Dark Magician Girl].

"Perhaps it's because they have some special connection with me or something? Haha, just kidding."

After Kyoko and Honda's duel ended, Malik turned around, glanced at the electronic map on the table behind him, and exclaimed, "We've been on the road for so long without even realizing it. Have we already entered the Indian Ocean?"

"In that case, we should arrive in Egypt in about four or five hours." Turning his head to look at the row of clocks hanging in the cabin, the Tokyo time display showed exactly noon. Feeling that it was almost time to start having lunch, Hayato pressed the call service button.

What puzzled him was that although the buttons were working properly and the lights were on, the door leading to the cabin crew work area in the rear of the cabin remained closed for a long time.

Chapter 674 Stand Attack, this is a Stand Attack

"Ok?"

The private jet that Hayato and the others were on at this moment belonged to Pegasus himself. It was not used as public transportation but as a private jet staff member. Logically speaking, after Hayato and the others pressed the button to request service, the staff member should have come out from the back of the cabin for a moment, even if they could not complete the service quickly.

Although his family wasn't exactly wealthy, Hayato had often benefited from the services of the powerful Seahorse and the perks offered by the large and well-off Daz. After comparing several options, he genuinely felt that the service from the Bekas private jet crew was the worst.

Standing up, Hayato decided to go to the back of the cabin to see what the flight attendants were doing.

This wasn't because he took advantage of Pegasus and then went too far, trying to use Pegasus's name to bully others. Although the private jet belonged to Pegasus, due to a series of extremely complicated reasons, strictly speaking, the jet could only be said to have "once" belonged to Pegasus. If you had to say, Hayato and Yugi were also owners of the jet.

The story begins when Pegasus was killed by Hayato. Although Dartz's original intention was to kill Pegasus, the guy most likely to create troublesome cards, in order to cut off the "Legendary Dragon's" hope of defeating him, after Hayato sealed Pegasus's soul and turned his body into a "living dead" state, "Pegasus's" existence was regarded as "death".

It's important to know that Pegasus is the only member of the Crawford family. His parents had no brothers or sisters, and Pegasus was the only person of his generation. He was unmarried and had no children. Although he had adopted Pegasus Moonwalker as his adopted son, he was not left with any inheritance rights.

This means that the real estate business left to Pegasus by his parents, the island where Crawford Castle is located, which was once used to host the "Duel Kingdom", his life savings and property, and most importantly, his 40% stake in the International Illusion Society, have all become ownerless.

However, it is only natural that although Dartz does not care much about worldly power, he will not easily let go of the power of the International Illusion Society related to Duel Monsters and Card Spirits. After using certain means, most of Pegasus's "legacy" after his "death" was absorbed by the Doma Organization and Dartz himself.

However, Dartz only had these items for a few days before the game's group chased him back to his hometown, and then Hayato killed him. Thus, before the collection work could be completed, these "legacy" items were reclaimed by the resurrected Pegasus.

However, Pegasus suffered many losses during this transfer of ownership. For example, his Duel Kingdom Island was severely damaged by the bombers sent by Ameruda, and his assets were subject to various taxes during the transfer. Even about 20% of his shares in the International Illusion Society were sold on the market.

Now, it is Hayato and Yugi who have become the largest shareholders of International Illusion with their respective 30% stakes, while Pegasus himself retains only 20%.

The passenger plane they were on was one of the assets that Pegasus had transferred. Although it had been retrieved from Dartz, it no longer belonged directly to Pegasus but was now registered under the name of the International Illusion Society. However, it was just a nominal asset, much like how some company executives buy cars for themselves in the company's name.

However, Begas didn't suffer this loss for nothing. With Daz's death, the international giant Paradis Group also collapsed. Because it spanned too many fields, companies of all sizes around the world tried to get a piece of its remains, just like when that giant fell in the last century.

Hayato considered many possibilities, such as the crew being dismissive because their identities were not obvious, the sensor lights being broken so the rear of the cabin was not receiving a signal, or the crew simply not noticing the call.

However, as Hayato opened the doors separating the front and rear sections of the cabin, a flight attendant leaning against the door collapsed limply. Hayato rejected his previous assumptions, and his expression instantly turned serious.

Unlike the spacious front section, the rear section of the cabin is where the cabin crew resides. It includes several areas such as a storage room, galley, tea area, and cabin crew rest area. The space is relatively small and compact, and there are six cabin crew members on standby, which is equivalent to the number of passengers.

That's how it should be. But what Hayato saw was six crew members lying neatly in the narrow aisle of the dining car, all of them pale and unconscious, and the lights above the aisle were flickering as if something was wrong!

"W-This is—" Because of Hayato's actions, the others were also paying attention to what was happening behind them. After seeing the scene after the door opened, everyone was greatly surprised, especially Jonouchi, who said excitedly, "What's going on!?"

The five boys worked together, not rushing into the back of the cabin, but instead moving the six flight attendants who had collapsed in front of the door to the front of the cabin, letting them all lie down on the reclining seats to rest, while Hayato observed their condition.

"There is a lingering dark power on them. Were they harmed by something like the Dark Game?" As the former user of the Millennium Item, Malik had handed the Millennium Scepter to Hayato, but he had not lost his sensitivity to dark power. He immediately noticed the strange power surrounding the six staff members.

However, upon closer observation, Malik overturned his initial conjecture. "No, although the aura of dark power is quite strong, it merely surrounds these people; there's no trace of it penetrating their bodies. Rather than being attacked by forces like the Dark Games, it's more like—"

“It’s more like being approached at close range by some dark force.” Hayato supported the head of a pale, unconscious flight attendant, turning his head to the side and gently tugging at the other’s collar to reveal his neck.

On the man's neck, there were two tightly packed, round wounds. Judging from the marks on the skin, they couldn't have been made a long time ago, yet strangely, not a single drop of blood was left.

Hayato also has the ability to sense dark power, and in his perception, the place where the dark power is most concentrated on these people is the location of this wound.

Upon seeing the shape of the wounds, the gamer was also taken aback, immediately thinking of a legend: "Could it be that these people were killed by vampires—"

"A Stand attack! It's a Stand attack!" Hayato said with absolute certainty.

Chapter 675 Anyone who seeks realism in a fictional story must have something wrong with their head.

Of course, Hayato was just saying it casually. These people couldn't possibly have been attacked by Stands, since this isn't the JOJO set next door where there are no Stands.

While there are indeed many similarities between the two, for example, the first part revolves around relics left behind by ancient civilizations, the protagonist's formidable enemy even kills his own father, and the protagonist's soul ultimately returns to the underworld; the protagonist of the second part inherits the will of the protagonist of the first part; the third part revolves around a seemingly cold but actually warm-hearted protagonist, and the main group consists of five people, with even additional characters; the protagonist of the fourth part has a rather tacky hairstyle and a blue spirit on his back; the protagonist of the fifth part is Kensho Ono, who plays with animals...

Oh, I forgot, there isn't a fifth season of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, nor is there a fifth season of the manga, hmm.

The signs on these flight attendants suggest that it is possible they were attacked by something like a "vampire," as described in the game. After checking the remaining flight attendants one by one, Hayato found that they all had two hole-like wounds on their necks, proving that this was not a coincidence. This feature was too similar to being sucked by a "vampire."

Upon hearing Hayato's deduction, Jonouchi rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on his arms. Although it wasn't very obvious from his appearance, Jonouchi was actually quite afraid of ghosts, and just hearing the thought that "vampires might be on the plane" made his heart race.

"Hey, hey, you're just kidding, right, Hayato? A game?" Jonouchi put his hand on Honda's shoulder. "The ghost stories you guys are telling are almost scaring Honda and Kyoko."

Honda turned around with a hint of helplessness upon hearing Jonouchi's words. He already knew Jonouchi's cowardice, so he didn't say anything, only glancing at Jonouchi's slightly trembling legs out of the corner of his eye, everything was understood without words.