Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

In addition, three days ago, Hayato also left Domino City for a foreign country, so Kyoko wasn't the first to leave.

Just as Kyoko was leaving with everyone, boarding a passenger plane to America to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer, Hayato's plane also landed smoothly at an airport on the other side of the world.

After several transfers, Hayato, who left Domino City, successfully arrived in London, the capital of England.

Although it was his first time here, Hayato managed to find Westminster Palace and reach his destination—Elizabeth Tower—by following the Thames Canal without a guide or map, thanks to a map he had unconsciously memorized while playing Berserker's Creed Syndicate.

However, the tower is not called by that name now. It was renamed in honor of the 60th anniversary of the reign of a certain centenarian to commemorate that empress. The tower is now known by its more widely known name, "Big Ben," but Hayato actually prefers to call it "Clock Tower."

Unfortunately, this isn't the world of magicians next door. There's no magicians' association researching magic in the Clock Tower, nor are there the remains of a dragon as old as Earth underground. If there were, Hayato would be very interested in whether those remains could be turned into some powerful dragon monster card, but alas, it's just a thought; the English would never agree to him demolishing such a landmark as the Clock Tower.

Of course, he didn't come here to dig a hole. The reason he came to the Clock Tower in London was because he received an anonymous package a few days ago.

Hayato wouldn't have paid any attention to a regular package, especially an anonymous one from an unknown source. It would be fine if it were from a fan, but what if there were razor blades or a virus inside?

Therefore, Hayato deliberately tore off the shipping label on the package and told Malik that it was a package he had ordered online. Since Malik had indeed bought quite a few things, he believed Hayato without a second thought and opened the package, only to find that there was only a small box and a letter inside the huge package.

The package did not reveal the sender's information, and Hayato naturally could not find out who sent the package in the letter either. The letter only said that Hayato needed to come to the Clock Tower, without giving any other reason or specifying where in the Clock Tower he needed to come.

Hayato initially didn't want to deal with the letter; otherwise, he would lose face if anyone could order him around with just a letter. But when he opened the small box that came with the letter in the package, Hayato realized that he probably had no choice but to make the trip.

Hayato took out the box and opened it. Inside, he saw a smooth, emerald-green jade stone. It was a more complete "Orichalcos Fragment" than the ones that Hayato, Rafael, and others had carried before. It could be called the "Orichalcos Jewel"!

Chapter 1001 and Reuniting with Someone You Don't Want to See

The orb that Hayato temporarily named "Orichalcos Orb" felt no different to him from the previous "Orichalcos Fragments"—it was the kind of wish-granting device that seemed to grant a reward simply by making a wish upon it.

But Hayato dared not make a wish upon this thing. It was secondary that he didn't have any wishes that required this to be fulfilled; he hadn't forgotten what Atlantis had just suffered because of Orichalcos.

Despite bringing this thing to the clock tower mentioned in the letter, Hayato had no idea where to go next. It was still early, just past six in the morning, and on the streets, Hayato could only see a thin mist rising from the Thames Canal; he could hardly find anyone else.

Although the Industrial Revolution has long ended, for the English, whose climate is humid and rainy year-round and who always carry an umbrella, the nickname "Foggy City" will likely remain with London for a long time.

Since he was already there, Hayato wasn't thinking of going anywhere else. Besides, he had slept long enough on the plane and wasn't sleepy at all. He decided to just go inside the clock tower and take a look around. After all, it was originally open to the public for internal visits, and it wouldn't be in need of maintenance for more than ten years due to its age.

The problem was that he learned from the entrance to the clock tower that the opening hours were from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Now, not only was it impossible to get in for a visit, but even the ticket office was empty and no one was working—well, it was a bit unreasonable to ask them to start work at 6 a.m.

However, this was not a problem for Hayato. It wasn't that he planned to use the invincible ladder method to evade the ticket, or that no one would open the door for him even if he pretended to be a light bulb repairman since there was no one on duty at the ticket checkpoint. After confirming the location of the surrounding surveillance cameras, he sent out a few Pokémon to turn the surveillance cameras in another direction without entering the surveillance range himself, thus forcibly creating a blind spot for the surveillance.

After confirming that no one was around, Hayato sprinted, used his feet to push off the wall a few times, and easily jumped over the wall, thus successfully entering the Clock Tower scenic area. At this time, the Pokémon that Hayato sent out also turned the surveillance camera back to its original angle.

Why should tickets be such an inconvenient thing? As long as you enter the scenic area without being seen by anyone, then it doesn't count as fare evasion, right?

As Hayato climbed the narrow stone staircase, the spiral steps seemed to stretch endlessly, to the point that he lost track of how high he had gone. Whether he looked up or down, all he could see was the same spiral staircase, making him regret that he hadn't come to visit in the future, after an elevator had been built to take him directly to the top of the clock tower.

It took Hayato several minutes to climb nearly four hundred steps. At the top of the clock tower, he saw a complex device connected to the clocks on all four sides of the tower. The huge mechanical device, covering about ten square meters, was running on its own, powered by a spring, driving the hands of the clocks on all four sides of the tower. The clock face was divided into hundreds of pieces by an exquisite Prussian blue iron frame. Sunlight shone through the thin mist outside the clock tower onto the cat's-eye stones, giving it the feel of a classic Victorian Gothic cathedral.

However, what attracted Hayato the most was not the view inside the clock tower, but a very inconspicuous little mark carved on the side of the closed maintenance passage leading from the clock tower to the upper rooftop—the pattern of the "Orichalcos Barrier".

"Why is there this mark here?" Without hesitation, Hayato climbed up the seemingly abandoned maintenance passage. The keyhole on the gate leading to the upper level was rusty, as if it hadn't been opened for decades, giving Hayato an unusual feeling. Filled with curiosity, he clenched his fist and took a deep breath.

"Magnetic field rotation of one million horsepower, duel-style explosive fist!"

The power of the [Spirit Exophysis] was released from the card and merged with Hayato's body, along with the power of Hayato's other spirits, all of which gathered into his fist. "I'll blast you apart!"

"No food!"

As we all know, in this world of card players, nine out of ten people who try to solve problems by other means instead of playing cards will not have a good ending. However, playing cards is actually a kind of sealing method. Just like the Pokémon battles next door are actually to prevent the trainers from personally getting involved, playing cards is also to prevent duelists from personally tearing apart strong opponents.

Not only Pegasus, who shamelessly uses his mind-reading ability in duels, but also the holders of the Millennium Item and those with extraordinary abilities, such as Baron and Jonouchi, who are not only somewhat skilled at but extremely skilled at the "I summon my fist to attack directly" type of combat, are all people whose powers have been sealed due to the limitations of Duel Monsters. Hayato also knows a little about this.

With a loud "bang," the rusty but still sturdy iron door was deformed by Hayato's punch, and the lock even came off the door frame. Hayato simply pulled the deformed iron door open with his hand, revealing... a wall behind the door.

So this door was abandoned because it was blocked off! Hayato couldn't help but think to himself, but he didn't look away from the brick wall in front of him. Instead, he looked it up and down, trying to find something.

Soon, he found a gap in the rough wall. It seemed normal for a brick that had been there for a long time to have such a small gap, but Hayato keenly noticed that the size of the circular gap seemed to match the "Orichalcum Jewel" he was carrying.

There's no harm in trying, so Hayato casually took out the sphere and stuck it to the inconspicuous gap in the wall. Even though the sphere wasn't metal and couldn't possibly be magnetic, and the gap in the wall lacked any structure to hold anything in place, when Hayato's sphere touched the gap, it automatically aligned and adhered to it, sticking tightly together.

"Click—" A sound of something starting up came from behind the wall, like a gear mechanism starting to operate. Hayato seemed to have used the "Orichalcum Jewel" in his hand to activate the mechanism behind the wall.

At first, a single brick retracted behind the wall, revealing a small hole. Then, one ordinary brick after another moved and contracted spontaneously, slowly forming a wide, circular passage above Hayato's head. Afterward, Hayato saw that behind the wall was complete darkness.

Although he wasn't a professional tomb raider, Hayato still rummaged through his clothes, reached into the card box at his waist, pulled out a card, and said to the [Dragon of Hellfire Curse] in his hand, "Here, can I borrow a light?"

A few flames escaped from the mouth of the [Dragon of Hellfire Curse]. Its card had transformed into a small lighter, which Hayato held upwards. However, it failed to dispel the darkness inside, but at least it confirmed that it should be safe inside.

Without hesitation, Hayato climbed into the opened secret chamber. The moment Hayato entered the secret chamber at the top of the clock tower, the circular passage he had passed through gradually narrowed and eventually returned to the original solid and unremarkable wall. Not only was the "Orichalcum Jewel" that Hayato used to enter left on the other side, but Hayato was also left in this darkness.

However, the darkness did not last long. Soon, a green light suddenly appeared not far in front of Hayato. Looking in that direction, Hayato discovered that it was a rather old screen, basically not much different in age from the picture of the "world's first computer" that he had seen in his textbooks.

Not only that screen, but one light after another followed suit. Some were the lights from the same display screen as that screen, and others were power indicator lights from some kind of switch. The beams of light barely illuminated this enclosed and cramped space, allowing Hayato to see clearly that there was actually a large number of antique electronic devices placed in the hidden space above the clock chamber on the top floor of the clock tower.

On the screen that was initially lit up, large swaths of green "0"s and "1"s suddenly appeared, forming a face that Hayato was quite familiar with.

"Dartz!?"

Dartz, who was moving at a very low frame rate on the screen, made a gesture of opening his eyes and turned his "gaze" to Hayato, and spoke, and his voice came out from the room's sound system: "The person who opened the door to this room is not me, but a stranger?"

It was clear that Dartz was very confused, and what surprised Hayato was that Dartz, who had acted like a pervert when they were face to face, was now acting as if he didn't recognize him. Although it sounded a bit strange, even through the screen, Hayato could still sense that Dartz wasn't lying and genuinely didn't recognize him.

"Wait a moment, I'm reading data." As Dartz said this on the main screen, large streams of data composed of 0s and 1s appeared on the other screens around him, forming many scenes that Hayato seemed to have seen before, from his duel with Samejima in Duel Kingdom, his duel with Kaiba in Duel City, and even his duel with Dartz in Doma.

A pillar rose from the ground, and Hayato saw the "Orichalcum Jewel" that he had used to open the entrance to this room was on the pillar. At the same time, Dartz on the main screen seemed to have completed what he called "reading data" and spoke again, but this time the voice felt somewhat familiar to Hayato.

"I see, I completely understand now. I never imagined that my millennia-long plan would be so completely ruined by you, Hayato-kun~"

"Tsk, that familiar, annoying tone. So you really are Dartz." Hayato frowned as he warily looked at Dartz on the screen. "I thought I had completely wiped you out along with Orichalcos. How did you manage to survive? Instead of cherishing your own life, you continued to eke out a living, and even led me to reappear in front of you. Are you here to die willingly?"

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't grant your wish, Hayato-kun, because I can't die a second time. Or rather, I'm not the same as the 'Dartz' you know."

Dartz on the screen wore a helpless expression and shrugged slightly, "You've probably seen the layout here, right? Why don't you try to guess what 'I' am?"

"What are you?" Hayato looked around with some confusion. The old but still barely functioning electronic devices gave him the feeling that they were like a computer group.

"You seem to have guessed it? As expected of the Hayato I admire~" Dartz said with a smile. "Before defeating me, you should have known about the guiding role of Dorma, which I created, in the development of human history. The Industrial Revolution in England, the Renaissance in Italy, and even Napoleon's unification of Europe in France all have the shadow of Dorma behind them."

"In order to do these things, I not only controlled the families that dominated these events, such as the Medici family of Florence and the Bonaparte family of France, by leveraging the foundation I had accumulated over thousands of years, but I also created a backup of myself in London to guide the direction of human history."

"That is, the me in front of you, another DAZ based on the spirit of DAZ at that time, replicated in an electronic system. Perhaps you can call me 'artificial intelligence'?"

Upon hearing Dartz's words, Hayato suddenly realized where the déjà vu he had felt since entering the room came from, and couldn't help but retort, "What Zola? Importing yourself into the computer, huh?"

"Wait a minute, when did you appear? During the Industrial Revolution in England?" Hayato said, somewhat puzzled. "Siemens in Germany didn't even make a generator until the 19th century, and you invented a computer in the 18th century?"

"To be precise, I existed when this clock tower was built. Although the 'Big Ben' you know was built in the 19th century, its prototype clock tower already existed in the 13th century. The subsequent construction was just a modification of the original clock tower."

"And the generator you mentioned that was only made in the 19th century, to be more accurate, should be the generator that appeared in human hands in the 19th century thanks to Doma's efforts," Dartz corrected on the screen, indirectly answering Hayato's question.

But Hayato became increasingly puzzled: "The clock tower has been completely renovated, how come you weren't discovered while you were on the clock tower the whole time?"

“As long as everyone involved in and supervising the renovation and construction of the clock tower is a Doma person, isn’t that enough?” Darz said casually, as if it were a matter of course that one should exhale after inhaling.

Although he was shocked by Dartz's words, Hayato thought about it and felt that these things had nothing to do with him. Besides, the Doma organization had long since collapsed with Dartz's death. No matter how horrifying the past was, it was still the past. He looked at Dartz on the screen and said, "So, that's all you have to say, right? I'm not really that concerned about the past."

"However, I wouldn't mind killing someone I've already killed in the past again."

With that, Hayato raised his Duel Disk, ready to draw a card and attack Dartz in front of him.

Seeing Hayato's actions through a camera or similar device, Keda quickly waved her hand and said, "Stop, stop, stop, don't get so excited, Hayato-kun. There's a reason why I, or rather, the dead me, sent that 'Orichalcum' to you and made you come to me."

After a pause, another screen was delivered to Dartz by a robotic arm. The screen lit up and displayed several maps. Dartz's voice rang out again: "Hayato-kun, do you want the world?"

Chapter 1002 Xia Di was just having fun; the real director was still Dazi.

"What's the matter?"

Dartz patiently repeated, "Hayato-kun, I'm asking you, do you want the world or not?"

"I'm not hard of hearing, I heard what you just said." Hayato looked at the map on the screen. "What the hell is this world you're talking about?"

"If the 'world' you're talking about is Saionji World or Zawarudo, then I definitely want it, but you're not asking me if I want to conquer the world, are you?"

Although she didn't quite understand what Hayato was saying, Dartz still explained to Hayato, though it sounded like a riddle: "The 'world' I'm talking about is the 'world' that you can understand, Hayato-kun, but it's not the 'world' that you know."

"...Why are you leaving it here?"

Seeing that Hayato still didn't understand, Dartz seemed to realize that what she had just said was indeed too general and confusing, and explained again: "Hayato-kun, do you know where this map is from?"

Hayato shook his head: "I don't even know where the end of the universe is, how could I possibly know where this map is? I don't have the time to memorize the entire world's map."

Dartz smiled and said, "Actually, even if you, Hayato-kun, memorized all the maps in the world, you probably still wouldn't know where this map is, would you?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"It means exactly what it says, because this map was never meant to be a map of this world from the very beginning." Even though it was just an image made up of green numbers "0" and "1", Hayato could read a hint of indifference and disdain on Dartz's face. "What's stored in that 'Orichalcum Stone' is an updated version of my memories. With its help, I learned about everything that my other self went through after completing this backup, until he dueled with you, Hayato, and invited you into Doma."

"An invitation to Doma... I see. I was wondering when Dartz prepared such a stone, since he disappeared into the depths of Orichalcos after our encounter." Hayato recalled his meeting with Dartz on Doma Island. "Was this stone made then? I have no other memories of it afterward?"

"At least I didn't find that I wrote the subsequent events into it. The memory continued until you 'lost' to me, Hayato. But I guess that was just a disguise on your part, just an excuse to join Doma. After all, even if the last memory wasn't written into it, I could tell that it was definitely you who destroyed me, Hayato."

Dartz easily saw the flaw in Hayato's duel with him. Even an artificial intelligence could see this. Thinking about it, Dartz must have seen through his thoughts at the time. "However, that's not the key point. The key point is that it was because of your appearance, Hayato-kun, that I created this Orichalcum Stone to record important information."

After a pause, Dartz continued, "In my memories within the Orichalcos, I saw hope and a future for the new world because of your appearance, Hayato-kun. But it wasn't just because of your radiant and flawless soul, Hayato-kun, but also because of a message that accompanied you."

"Do you remember how you got to me back then?"

Hayato thought for a moment and decided it wouldn't hurt to tell Dartz, so he said, "Back then, I ran away from the human world to the elf world because of a guy named Anubis. I only returned to the mortal world with the help of three legendary dragons. To pinpoint my location, I chose the card [Ra's Winged Dragon], which had a strong connection to me. But I never expected that she and the other two gods would end up in Dartz's hands..."

"Wait a minute, the information that's been with me isn't a map of this world? Hey, Dartz, could this map be the one I'm thinking of?"

Under Hayato's surprised gaze, Dartz nodded and said, "That's right, Hayato-kun. This map isn't a map of this land, or even this planet. It's a map of the Elf world, which is right next to the human world."

"The moment you appeared before me, I sensed the clearest and most intense otherworldly aura from the Elf World. With the skills I have preserved and passed down for ten thousand years, I successfully deduced and captured the specific coordinates of the Elf World, and even perfected the map of the Elf World!"

On the screen, Dartz excitedly said, as if he were alive, "At the moment of completing all this, everything I set before I died worked as scheduled, bringing this Orichalcum Stone into your hands, and trying my best to guide you to find me, the backup in the computer, and convert the data into precise coordinates and maps."

"Then you can conquer the world of elves and serve humanity!"

Hearing Dartz's words, Hayato rubbed his temples, but wasn't surprised. He had long known of Dartz's dissatisfaction with the elves, especially the legendary dragons who had been the rulers and "gods" of the elf world ten thousand years ago. The root cause was that these beings from another world had dared to interfere with the fate and future of this world. And Dartz's words about "conquering the elves" were very much in line with Hayato's impression of him.

But how can Dartz be so sure that I have a way to travel to other dimensions?

“For the past ten thousand years, I have been observing humanity in various ways, and therefore I know a lot of things.” As if she could read minds, Dartz said, “If you, Hayato, have been to Egypt with the Pharaoh’s soul and seen that stone tablet engraved with memories of the past, you might have also seen me in Egypt three thousand years ago, right?”

“I’ve noticed that the person named Shadi, despite being taught to be loyal to the Pharaoh and never having any ambition for personal gain, and even having the right to use two Millennium Items at the same time, actually dared to plot such a rebellious thing out of a naive and somewhat childish heart to save the world.”

"【Quantum Cube】, is that the name he chose? He planned for so many years to achieve the salvation of all mankind through the so-called 'dimensional ascension,' but he died a violent death just as the Pharaoh's soul was about to be revived. It's really laughable."

"It's not just about that laughable way of dying, but also because even I am quite clear that while an individual might be able to possess a pure soul and ascend to a higher dimension, like you, Hayato, what about all of humanity linking together through synchronization and ascending to a higher dimension together? That would only pollute an impeccable existence like you, Hayato, and the impact on you would be immeasurable."

"But the Quantum Cube, whose true function is actually a 'dimensional gate,' is still very useful, and it's in your hands now, right, Hayato-kun?"

Looking at Hayato, Dartz on the screen smiled, his voice carrying a seductive quality: "I think we've already debated whether humanity can overcome the end times, but even as a digital life form, I can't change your mind. But as long as humanity continues to develop, our desires will eventually exceed the Earth's carrying capacity, won't they?"