Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Despite the claim of success, the "Dragon Wheel" did not operate as expected. In fact, when the seahorse was speeding halfway on the test platform, the "Dragon Wheel" exploded on its own, almost tearing the seams off the seam of the seahorse's clothes.

However, it's not entirely fair to say it was a failure. Because of the "Dragon Wheel," Kaiba, who was in Domino City, unexpectedly became involved in the "Ultimate Dark Game" that Hayato and Yugi were playing. He entered the world of the King's Memory Stone and witnessed the end of Atem three thousand years ago.

The "Dragon Wheel," which was half a success and half a failure, was a project that Kaiba had lost interest in completing after he went to Egypt to duel Atum and watch him enter the underworld. He simply had his research and development department reassemble the scattered parts and put them in this "museum," waiting for some unknown day in the future to finish it.

After all, although Haima rarely looks back on the past, such a situation is not absolutely impossible. In this "nest" that is actually closer to the incubation of products that Haima Group will launch in the future, Haima, who returned from Egypt, came here specifically because he remembered the works he had made but sealed here due to their side effects.

No longer lingering in front of the "Dragon Wheel," Kaiba walked straight into the depths of the "museum." After passing many seemingly impressive but actually baffling props, Kaiba stopped again. This time, the item in the glass case in front of him was just an ordinary-looking helmet-shaped prop.

Although it's called a helmet, it's a fully enclosed structure with only a small opening at the bottom that seems to allow someone to stick their neck in, along with a few ventilation vents. There's no space in the front for looking out, not even any transparent glass, giving it the illusion of being some kind of deformed monster that eats people's heads.

In addition, unlike Seto Kaiba's increasingly flashy aesthetic, this invention, which he completed many years ago before he skipped school, presents a rather simple appearance. It not only lacks any decorative indicator lights or displays, but its color is also a monotonous gray, and its shape has nothing to do with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. If you took it out, you might not believe that it was Seto Kaiba's invention.

But that was only the appearance. After the seahorse, wearing AR glasses on its ears, raised its hand and operated a few times on the virtual projection screen in front of it, the invisible infrared rays around the glass cabinet in front of it were withdrawn. The security verification passed the seahorse's identity, the glass cabinet was put into the ground, and the "helmet" was lifted up and presented to the seahorse.

The closed helmet splits in half from the middle, revealing the intricate and beautiful mechanical details inside. At the same time, the AR glasses worn by the seahorse begin to display information about the "helmet" in front of them.

【Name: NEURONS-VR】

[Production Number: KC-114514]

[Completion Date: 1997-3-9]

[Creator: Seto Kaiba]

[Time taken: Two and a half years]

[Function Description: This product consists of two parts: the physical product – NEURONS·Gear – and the digital product – NEURONS-VR. By wearing the NEURONS·Gear, an electromagnetic coil will detect the wearer's brainwaves and convert them into electrical signals. Based on the NEURONS-VR system, the user's gameplay experience will be displayed in real-time via Haima Group's cloud network, creating a VR stereoscopic image.]

[Product Goal: To unite the spirit of users worldwide through a global network, connecting people across geographical boundaries and providing entertainment across time and space.]

Just by looking at the product description, you can see how groundbreaking this invention called "NEURONS-VR" is. Long before mobile phones were even ubiquitous in the hands of everyone around the world, Haima was already envisioning using such a device to connect people around the world via the internet.

This is precisely why the invention was shelved by the seahorse—because it appeared too early, so early that there wasn't enough user base for it to be effective. Being one step ahead is genius, but this invention was far too early for the world to even consider using it now; it's still too early for the seahorse.

Although he rarely spoke of it to others, Kaiba had long harbored a peculiar sense of loneliness, a feeling that his pace was simply too fast, and the times couldn't keep up with him. Even when the times finally caught up with the works he had completed years earlier, he had already moved on to a much more distant future.

It's not that the seahorse felt lonely because of this; on the contrary, he became even more arrogant because of his talent, because he was convinced that his talent was so great that it could lead the times, and this was the proof that he should become the strongest, in every aspect.

However, in the realm of Duel Monsters, he could never become the strongest, never defeat those two. Looking at the "NEURONS-VR" before him, Kaiba saw the images of those two figures flash before his eyes.

Putting his thoughts aside for the moment, Kaiba focused his attention back on "NEURONS-VR" and muttered to himself, "Although it allows me to duel with people who are far away, it's still not as portable as the Duel Disk when it comes to face-to-face duels. After all, it's a four-year-old product, so it's really young and full of flaws."

"This NEURONS-VR prototype now appears to be nothing more than industrial waste in a junkyard. However, it is a piece of waste that hides many possibilities."

As he spoke, Haima began operating the virtual projector in front of him, modifying the data of the NEURONS-VR. First, he reconnected it to the current Haima Group network to obtain permissions; then, he loaded the newly optimized operating system and upgraded the firmware. Finally, Haima ceremoniously changed the name of the device.

“The name NEURONS-VR sounds a bit outdated, but let’s keep ‘NEURONS’ as the codename for this terminal device for now.” Looking at the egg-shaped helmet, Kaiba muttered to himself, “Linking the mind… well, let’s rename the digital platform ‘Duel Links’.”

[Setup complete]

Haima acted quickly, completing the aforementioned modifications in almost a minute. The name of the "NEURONS-VR" terminal in his AR glasses had been replaced with "Neurons," and the data loading progress bar was gradually increasing.

By reaching out to the device, Haima will pick it up and take it to the R&D department for testing, in order to proceed with mass production.

But just as he reached out his hand, a voice suddenly rang out behind Kaiba: "Please don't do that, Mr. Seto Kaiba."

"Huh!?" The seahorse turned around abruptly and stared wide-eyed, unable to understand why a strange voice was coming from there.

Inside this building, the only way to move between floors is by elevator. People without authorization cannot enter certain floors, such as the research and development department and experimental area that occupy the most floors, the administrative departments that Guiping and Haiba each occupy one floor, and the semi-finished product warehouse where Haiba is currently located.

Only Kaiba and Keihei have the authority to enter this floor. For others to come over, only Kaiba himself has the ability to grant temporary, one-time access. However, Kaiba has only granted access to people to bring things over, and the voice that was heard did not sound like Keihei.

'Could it be another intruder like Ameruda?' Kaiba thought to himself, but he only saw a girl who looked about the same height and age as Keihei. She didn't seem like the burly intruder Kaiba had imagined at all.

However, Kaiba did not lower his guard. The less threatening something seemed, the more vigilant he was. He had learned this lesson clearly through his countless duels with Kobayashi Hayato. He said to the girl in front of him, "I didn't expect anyone to be able to break in here. Who are you?"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Seto Kaiba. My name is Sera." The girl introduced herself to Kaiba with a polite bow, then, seeing Kaiba's serious face, smiled gently and waved her hand, saying, "Don't make such a scary face..."

"I'm actually here to help you, as long as you don't restart that item."

Seeing Seth's gaze directed behind him, Kaiba glanced at the "Neurons" behind him that was still writing data, and snorted coldly at Seth, "Hmph, are you telling me how to do things?"

“This is a word of advice, Mr. Seto Kaiba. You are unaware of just how dangerous the device you created is.” Seth shook his head and looked at Kaiba earnestly. “The world you have constructed will connect people’s consciousnesses together. The originally limited consciousness will be collectively evolved because of the existence of some talented people among the Resonators. Under its influence, more people will be able to become people with super consciousness.”

"However, as collective consciousness gathers and rises, negative thoughts in people's hearts will also be spread. Once that darkness enters the spiritual world of resonance, it will cause those who have superconsciousness to be simultaneously tainted by that darkness and fall into the abyss."

Meeting Kaiba's gaze, Sera said firmly, "That's why I have to stop you from promoting that gadget, Mr. Seto Kaiba."

"Hmph, I have no intention of taking orders from a suspicious individual." Looking at Sera, Seahorse completely ignored her nonsensical words and coldly said, "I just searched the population databases of various countries obtained by the Seahorse Group. Although I found quite a few people named 'Sera,' you weren't among them. I'll ask you one last time, who are you?"

Sera remained unfazed by the seahorse's words and continued to smile, saying, "I'm just a girl passing by."

"Is this your final answer? If you refuse to confess honestly, then I'll take you into custody and interrogate you slowly!"

As a champion of gender equality, Seahorse has no concept of "chivalry." He beats up men who provoke him and women who provoke him, treating everyone equally. Seeing Seahorse seemingly about to subdue her, Sera raised her hand and, incredibly, conjured a Duel Disk out of thin air, saying:

“I had the same idea, Mr. Seto Kaiba. From the beginning, I knew I couldn’t convince you, so I had no choice but to destroy that gadget.”

Hearing Sera's words, Kaiba became interested and decided against fighting. He raised the Duel Disk on his wrist and said, "A duel? Hmph, apart from those two, no one is my match!"

Chapter 948 Regarding the matter of typing "局" as a sentence in yesterday's title.

"Duel!"

Unlike the dimensional battle between Hayato and Aogami that was unfolding simultaneously elsewhere, the duel between Sera and Kaiba seemed to be just an ordinary one.

Kaiba casually draws five cards, then casually relinquishes the first turn: "Before my invincible Blue-Eyes, your third-rate monsters probably won't even last a turn. Take the first turn and struggle to your heart's content in this one and only turn."

“…Your intentions are a bit too obvious, Mr. Seto Kaiba. I’m not so blind that I can’t see that you want to launch a strong attack with the second turn.” Sera looked at Kaiba and said with a bit of helplessness, but still put her fingers on the Duel Disk. “However, I do want to take the first turn.”

"My turn, draw a card, and then Normal Summon this monster to my field in face-up Defense Position." Sera drew a monster card and placed it on the Duel Disk, whereupon a rather beautiful monster appeared on the ground in front of her.

A thin, pale pink veil covered its pure white body, with golden ornaments and armor covering the outermost layer. The most striking feature of this rather feminine monster was the ring surrounding it, on which a miniature planet, seemingly made of glass, rotated, as if the golden ring were its orbital path.

【Star Ingenie - Vega I】【4☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[1200/1600]

Kaiba carefully examined the monster in front of him. It wasn't that he was interested in this feminine monster, but rather that he had never heard of a card named "Starman" from Pegasus. Was it a brand new series?

Seemingly noticing Kaiba's unfamiliarity with [Cyclops - Vega], Sera explained: "[Cyclops] monsters are cards named after bright stars in various constellations in the sky. They are pioneers compared to other stars, and also a higher-dimensional power than us humans who can only be bound by the gravity of Earth."

"Compared to Prana, a superconscious being born among humans who is still in its nascent stage, the [Starman] possesses an extremely mature ability to resonate and connect."

As she spoke, Sera drew another card from her hand and said, "Her effect can only be activated if [Starman - Vega I] is successfully Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned. Special Summon 1 [Starman] from my hand, except for [Starman - Vega I]. I Special Summon [Starman - Left Flag I] in Defense Position."

Following [Star Inus - Vega I], a second monster appeared on Sera's field. It was a monster that looked like a child. In addition to having the same golden armor, it was holding a bow and arrow and shot at the seahorse as soon as it appeared.

Seto Kaiba: 4000→3000LP

"The effect of [Starman - Left Flag One] can only be activated when it is Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, dealing 1000 effect damage to the opponent's duelist."

Hearing Sera's words, Seahorse scoffed, "First Lyra, then Sagitta? A mere 1000 points of effect damage is nothing. Besides—"

【Stars - Left Flag 1】【4☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[1400/1800]

"The two monsters you summoned are so weak that I can't even look at them. If you can only put on this kind of entertainment show after taking the initiative, I'm really disappointed."

Kaiba completely disregarded the two monsters that Sera was fielded in defense position. Neither of them was a match for his invincible Blue-Eyes White Dragon. At full power, they couldn't even last a single turn.

Sera, who had trespassed into this "museum," was not satisfied with the [Star Ingen] deck, even though it was somewhat novel to Kaiba. This was not the level expected of an intruder, and he craved a more intense duel.

"Don't rush, Mr. Seto Kaiba, this is just the beginning, the beginning of calling for more like-minded people." Inserting a card into the Spell Trap Zone, Sera picked up the card [Starry Sky Vega] on the field, "Quick-Play Spell Card [Starry Sky Bridge], target this [Starry Sky Vega] monster that I control."

“I Special Summon a monster with a different name than its card name, ‘Starman,’ from my Deck, and then return ‘Starman - Vega I’ to my Deck.” After replacing ‘Starman - Vega I’ with a card taken from my Deck, Sera continued, “I Special Summon ‘Starman - Tennis IV’ from my Deck.”

"Then there's the effect of [Starman - Tennis IV]. This card can only be activated if it is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned. Add one [Starman] monster other than [Starman - Tennis IV] from my Deck to my hand. I chose this [Starman - Gazuki II]."

【Stars - Tianjin IV】【4☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[1500/1000]

Looking at the newly appeared monster wielding a long sword on the field, Kaiba frowned slightly: "After [Vega I] comes [Altair II] and [Tenet IV]? Vega, Altair and Magpie Bridge? Hmph, boring tricks."

"If it's just a pointless trick, Mr. Seto Kaiba, how will you deal with it? Will you attack directly?" Sera blinked and said with a smile, "I'm really looking forward to your powerful attack with 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon', Mr. Seto Kaiba. Although we're only talking about it now, if you lose this duel, could you please disappear, Mr. Seto Kaiba?"

Seeing that Sera, who was clearly just a little girl, spoke such dangerous words without batting an eye, Kaiba sneered and said, "The premise of your request does not exist. I have no intention of losing to a fourth-rate duelist with a third-rate deck. If you are ready, I will use the power of [Blue Eyes] to utterly destroy your weak monster!"

“Well then, I’ll await your use of [Blue-Eyes White Dragon].” Sera smiled and drew three cards. “Three face-down cards are placed on my back row. My turn ends.”

[Sera: 4000LP, 1 card in hand]

【Starlink - Left Flag 1】【DEF1800】

【Starlink-Tianjin IV】【DEF1000】

[GaiK] X3

"My turn, draw!" Kaiba drew a card from his deck, and looking at the card he had drawn, a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips. He said, "Here we go, [Blue Eyes]! I activate the Ritual Spell Card [Chaos Form] from my hand!"

As Kaiba was about to draw a card to summon a monster, Sera pressed the button on the Duel Disk to activate a face-down card: "That kind of monster is too dangerous, Mr. Kaiba Seto. I won't let you summon it."

"I activate the Counter Trap Card, [Star Factor], which can only be activated when a monster's effect, Spell Card, or Trap Card is activated. You can send one of my face-up [Starman] monsters to the Graveyard to negate that activation and destroy it!" Sera added, looking at the face-down card, "Because Counter Trap Cards have the fastest spell speed of the three, only Counter Trap Cards can chain Counter Trap Cards to activate!"

"The activation of your Ritual Spell Card [Chaos Mode] will be negated and destroyed!"

Around Kaiba 4, the pillar that was about to rise with the activation of [Chaos Mode] shattered and destroyed itself after only peeking out. The powerful ritual spell card that was supposed to give [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] chaotic power died before it could even begin. [Star Ingen - Left Flag 1] on Sera's field also turned into stardust and disappeared into the graveyard.

“After that, I drew a card from my deck,” Sera said, adding a card to her hand.

Kaiba, annoyed that his first move was interrupted, sent the [Chaos Form] card to the graveyard. However, with five cards still in his hand, he had more than just that: "In that case, I'll activate the effect of [Dragon Dominator - Dragon Dictator -] in my hand, send a [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] from my deck to the graveyard, and Special Summon it from my hand."

【Dragon Ruler - Dragon Dictator-】【ATK1200】

"Then, using the second effect of [Dragon Dominator - Dragon Dictator -], I discard [Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon] from my hand that has [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] in its name, and Special Summon [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] to my Graveyard in Attack Position."

Holding the Dragon Summoning Flute shaped like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the Dragon Ruler - Dragon Dictator - sounded the horn. A dragon's roar echoed in response to the heavy sound, and Kaiba raised his hand and shouted, "Come forth, my glory, my Tamashii!"

"【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】!"

[Blue-Eyes White Dragon] [ATK3000]

Seeing that Kaiba easily summoned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with an attack power of 3000 points and the accompanying Dragon Ruler - Dragon Dictator - with only two cards in his hand, Sera's eyes widened slightly, and she exclaimed, "As expected of Mr. Kaiba Seto, he summoned the powerful Blue-Eyes White Dragon so easily."

Although her tone sounded like she was marveling, the seahorse facing Sera could clearly see that there wasn't even a trace of awe on the little girl's face. Her amazement at the Blue-Eyes was completely insincere, as if even a powerful monster like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon couldn't frighten or shake her.

"Hmph, I never said that was the end of it. I Normal Summon [Dragon Magician Guardian] in Attack Position, and then [Dragon Magician Guardian] has its effect: if this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I discard one card from my hand to activate this effect and add one [Fusion] Spell Card from my Deck to my hand."