Duels should be played with a smile.

"What can I say at a time like this?" Le You shook his head, his heart filled with countless emotions, yet he couldn't find any other words to say.

In the end, all those words were summed up in one heartfelt statement.

"Thank you, Creator Dragon of All Things...and thank you, Great Creator of this World."

May you be well.

--

The new video from Ribbon Cat has once again shown me the capabilities of DogK programmer and the clouded thinking of A-B users.

If Bengmei (a popular female streamer) could be a top influencer, the programmers should just bury her.

The comments section said they'd use the monster gate to send Beng Mei down, hilarious, they're equally bad.

One of the biggest sources of fun in Yu-Gi-Oh! is the combination of "armchair gamers" and the programmers who are just clueless.

Chapter Three, Part Two! The Red Dawn!

Fate's gifts are never without a price, and Leyou once again experienced the meaning of this saying today.

Despite being in a dire situation with no chance of turning the tide, they still managed to find a glimmer of hope. This was not just due to their own good fortune, but also to the help of others.

The Creator Dragon has already paid the price for this gift.

"It's... a bit embarrassing." Atum sighed slightly. Sitting on the ground without any decorum was indeed beneath the Pharaoh's dignity, but after countless game battles, he couldn't care less about such trivial matters.

"It's a little embarrassing to say, but this is clearly my world of memories, but right now I don't seem to have the ability to bring it all to an end."

“It’s not your fault.” Le You shook his head slightly and replied calmly, “On the contrary, I need to apologize to you. If it weren’t for my arrival, you wouldn’t have encountered so many unexpected things.”

Atum smiled and didn't refute, but leaning against the wall, he became even more relaxed.

"We don't need to apologize to each other, but I do want to thank you."

"thank?"

“That’s right.” Atum’s eyes gradually lost focus. He looked ahead, but his thoughts were already recalling the dazzling experiences he had had during this period.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see so much of the world."

"World? You mean...the game world?"

Leyou suddenly realized, and couldn't help but marvel at Atum's positive attitude.

However, to be honest, he can really understand Atum's thoughts.

"The game world is indeed colorful. One of the biggest reasons I like playing all kinds of games is probably because I can explore all kinds of worlds and experience all kinds of stories."

"Every game is a unique experience for me, a beautiful world, and a vivid story."

"The 'me' of the past has traveled to all the worlds, but has never truly appreciated them. This time, I haven't seen those worlds, but I have seen other worlds in the game. Every world, every story, has helped me grow this time..."

"To be honest, if it weren't for these experiences, I probably would have continued to sink into despair, just like countless times before..."

Perhaps it touched the deepest part of her heart, and Leyou opened up and poured out her feelings.

The joy of being yourself was a one-sided outpouring, and once you got into it, you completely ignored the fact that you said a lot of things that Atum couldn't understand.

But when he came to his senses, he only saw that Old Ai's figure had disappeared, and that... Atum had fallen into a deep sleep.

"This... does it mean that my usual witty remarks can invigorate people, but speaking politely here can actually hypnotize them?"

With a casual self-deprecating remark, Leyou, just like before, summoned an elf to carry Atum away from the tomb, preparing to return to meet up with Jonouchi Kaiba and the other two.

Without much trouble, the three of them found each other, but this was probably just the prologue. The real challenge was yet to come—this first challenge led them away from here so smoothly.

No matter how powerful a piece is, it can only stay within the chessboard. Anything within the chessboard can never resist the player.

Because she didn't expect Atum to fall asleep so easily, Leyou had to keep all the questions she was going to ask to herself. Old Ai probably exhausted his energy protecting Atum and it seems he won't be able to come out anytime soon.

This situation, where a phase of the task had clearly been completed but it also felt like nothing had been done, left Leyou speechless for a moment.

At times like this... it seems like all we can do is wait.

Leyou took out three crystal pieces shaped like chess pieces from his pocket, held them in his palm and played with them, pondering the current situation.

Because of what happened before, he is still at a significant disadvantage. Items are crucial in Dark Duels; sometimes, a single item can be the key to turning the tide of battle—he's already used two, and the remaining...

"You seem to be quite relaxed."

A sudden voice rang in her ears, and Leyou reflexively stood up, only to be met with a pair of scarlet sunglasses.

The surroundings... were as if they had been smashed by a wreck, and it seemed that only he and K were still able to move.

Atum and his two companions lay on their respective beds, their bodies enveloped in a special transparent substance.

"I'd love to continue this leisurely pace, but you don't seem to be giving me the chance... We're still in the game, are you trying to break the rules and change the game rules midway?"

Atum and the others have been controlled by K through unknown means. Leyou has no choice but to be careful. If K really has some way to deal with them, not only will his trip be in vain, but Atum and the others' lives will also be in danger. Although their lives are meaningless from a sufficiently broad perspective, Leyou, who considers them friends, really cannot remain indifferent.

Moreover... if something happens to them, their plans will have to be changed again.

"As the initiator of the game, I would never do anything against the rules."

He joked about being carefree and relaxed, but K, whose advantages were overwhelming, seemed even more relaxed than he said. His hand was surrounded by a cloud of dark mist, which, if I'm not mistaken, was actually one of K's props.

"Although I won't break the rules, if I use props reasonably to make a small change to the rules, that's also within the rules."

With his palm open, the dark mist in K's hand dissipated completely, revealing something in front of Leyou that... was rather complicated.

I couldn't figure out what the purpose of this prop was, because this thing... is a miniature pachinko machine.

I don't know much about these gambling machines, but pachinko is the entity from which K's will originates, and it's one of the money trees in the primordial universe.

Another money-making machine is Yu-Gi-Oh!... After all, printing cards is more exciting than printing money.

"What? You want to bet with me? If you win, you'll change the rules?" Leyou retorted irritably, while also considering whether or not to use his own props.

I currently have fewer items than K, so if it's a one-for-one trade, I'll definitely be at a disadvantage.

"No, no, no." K shook his head repeatedly, gently tossing the miniature pachinko machine in his hand. The machine instantly shrunk to its normal size and landed on the ground.

Not only that... the two who were just in the world of memories have returned to the chessboard.

Pachinko was right next to the chessboard. K reached out and wiped the chessboard again, and the original world of memories instantly changed.

It turned into chaos.

Meanwhile, Atum and his two companions, who were still asleep, remained in the same state as when they were first brought under control, floating above the pachinko.

Ding - ding - ding -

Three coins fell into the pachinko machine's coin slot, and the source of the coins... was the souls of Atum and his two companions.

"I won't explain further. In short, I'm giving you a chance to face me fairly again."

With an air of superiority, K, like a benevolent landlord, bestowed his meager mercy upon Leyou.

Leyou suppressed his urge to rush over and duel with K, waiting for him to continue.

"You're lucky, and I'm lucky too, but we didn't use our luck in the same way... What I'm going to do is, while ensuring everything is fair, let's have a contest of luck and ability."

The high-sounding words coming from K's mouth were utterly unconvincing, because he added even more high-sounding conditions.

"Of course, as a drifter who has wandered into this world from who-knows-where, I believe you also know that there is no absolute fairness in this world."

“I had the upper hand from the very beginning, and I was absolutely not prepared to give up.”

"So all that you've said is just bullshit?" Leyou interrupted K without any politeness, rolling his eyes and complaining.

"No, no, no, I was just explaining the rules of the game."

The saying "to be a hypocrite while pretending to be virtuous" is perfectly embodied in K. Pointing at the pachinko machine, he said, "You saw it too, three coins were just put into the machine. Those three coins represent three chances for you... In the following games, if you beat me every time, those three coins will naturally return to their original state. And every time you lose..."

"Snapped--"

K made a gesture as if popping a balloon, saying nothing more, but everything was understood without words.

Moreover... if it fails, it's clear that it's not just the ATMs that will be affected.

The threat was practically written all over his face. After a moment of silence, Le You suddenly burst into laughter.

He was laughing, but there was no emotion mixed in.

"So, you went to all this trouble just to make me disrupt my plans and engage in a meaningless game with you over a few insignificant tools?"

His disdain was palpable, and his eyes held a hint of indifference. Leyou recalled countless situations he had witnessed in his Eternal Memories, and did his utmost to play the role of a god who was indifferent to mortals.

The body of Eternal Calamity was inherently full of divinity, and under Leyou's performance, it acquired a certain resemblance.

This performance left K somewhat uncertain.

In reality, all K wanted to do was eliminate the unexpected factors as much as possible. At the moment Leyou woke up, K also learned about some of the things Leyou had experienced before. Combining the whole story, K believed that an accident had occurred, which was why Leyou, who should have been lost, had the opportunity to wake up.

After seeing that Leyou had easily bypassed most of his plans with some strange luck and directly gathered Atum and the other two, he finally made up his mind to use his item advantage to increase his chances of winning. He had indeed set up a lot of things to block Leyou in the game world, but only one Sphinx appeared and it failed.

If Leyou knew this, he would probably just laugh and say, "That's the advantage of being a 'pervert'."

Oh, and one more thing: "Luck is everything!"

"That's fine. If you don't accept it, then let's start the rest of the game as normal... However, my props have already taken effect and can't work here. So, I'll do something drastic when you least expect it."

K seemed completely unconcerned that his threat had failed, and sat back down in his seat as if nothing had happened.

Now, Leyou was a little unsure of K's thoughts, but he didn't show it. He sat back down and silently recalled the details.

Just as K was preparing to launch another of his plans, Leyou finally discovered a crucial point.

He squinted slightly and nodded slowly, saying, "It's my fault for spoiling your enjoyment... Since you're so sincere, what harm is there in me going along with you this once?"

K paused for a moment, then laughed loudly, "Interesting! In my opinion, you were forced to accept my suggestion, but the way you're putting on this act is just too funny!"

"Then let's cut to the chase! Let's see what surprises my pachinko has in store for you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the pachinko joystick was automatically turned, and the three queues on the screen began to spin rapidly.

At the same time, the rule changes caused by this prop also came to mind for Leyou.

The machine will randomly select from countless games, and the two players will compete in a game world constructed based on that game. The rules of victory and defeat follow the rules of the original game.

[Additional condition: Losing a single round of "Eternal Hell" will result in the loss of one random Soul Token.]

[Additional conditions: Losing a single round of "Eternal Calamity" will result in damage. Losing all three rounds will end the Dark Game prematurely, resulting in an immediate loss.]

At this moment, K had already revealed a victorious smile.