Yu-Gi-Oh!: This card wants to go to you.

"What are you plotting?" Maggie asked coldly.

The other person must be a smart guy to become the captain.

Zhou Jiaping didn't explain much, simply saying, "Activate the effect of [Spiral Cannon], [Gaia] declares an attack and destroys one card on the field."

"I'll destroy—"

"【Dragon Demon Knight. Gaia】!"

The thrown spear, accompanied by a whirlwind, turned and pierced itself.

"Zhou Jiaping has destroyed his own card again?!" commentator Mi Tu exclaimed. "He destroyed [Lava Demon] before to prevent burning damage, why is he destroying his own this time?"

Jules stroked his chin and pondered, "[Tiva] will take 1600 damage when attacking [Gaia], but if we leave the field empty and let [Tiva] attack directly, it will only take 1000 damage."

"Eat 600 fewer points of damage."

"Don't let the Lava Demon get blown up too much... 1000 less damage..."

"Such meticulous micro-management; Zhou Jiaping's concentration is at its peak."

“Indeed…” Mito, who should have been standing with Daihiyori, couldn’t help but stand with Bian Yuelong. “If we hadn’t bombed [Lava Demon] earlier, and burned another thousand this round, then [Tiva] would have attacked again for 1600 next round and we would have lost.”

"These two explosions will allow me to live one more round."

As he was speaking, he suddenly remembered his job and retorted, "Uh...it's just a death throes!"

"Both sides are in a stalemate."

"With [Tiva] right in the face, how can we lose?"

...

Zhou Jiaping took a breath and then said, "Second Master."

"Cover one card."

My turn is over.

T3回合：0前2后0手，蓝色方LP：2400

"My turn, draw a card." Maggie glanced at her hand, quickly skipped the preparation phase, and immediately placed the newly drawn card onto the Duel Disk, saying, "Summon [Phantom Diva Solo]!"

"Advance to the combat rank!"

Attack power 1000+1600, call kill!

Chapter 281 Fourth-Tier League - A Surprising Strategy

"Advance to the combat rank!"

Maggie raised her baton, ready to strike.

"At this very moment!" Zhou Jiaping opened his face-down card and said, "Activate [Spiral Resurrection], Special Summon—"

"【Dragon Demon Knight. Gaia】!"

The dragon knight's figure emerged from the summoning circle, once again guarding Bian Yuelong.

"This is so annoying," Maggie said coldly. "No matter how many times you're resurrected, it's all the same!"

"Shatter in the song!"

"[Tiva, 1000/2000] Attacks [Gaia, 2600/2100]!"

Zhou Jiaping's expression darkened as he said, "Activate the effect of the Perpetual Trap [Spiral Barrage]."

"Destroy [Solo, the Songstress of Illusion]!"

The flying spear shattered [Solo] like a meteor, and [Tiva]'s sonic boom pierced through the guardian monster, striking Zhou Jiaping directly.

"Bam—"

Blue side LP: 2400 → 800

Gaia, summoned by Spiral Resurrection, cannot be destroyed by the opponent's effects and thus survives. Unfortunately, Tiva's attack is unusual in that it deals damage before destroying the monster.

"The next attack will be the end of it," Maggie said smugly.

My turn is over.

"Come on, draw your last card."

T4回合结束：1前0后1手，红色方LP：4000

Red team commentator Mi Tu led the discussion, saying, "This health is practically nonexistent. Even if it self-destructs next turn, [Tiva]'s 1000 attack will be fatal. What card can we draw to turn this around?"

"Hmm... there are actually some cards I can flip." Jules lowered his head in thought, looking somewhat serious. "The Book of the Moon and the Forbidden Grail are both possibilities... but..."

"That's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause," Mito pointed out incisively. "These cards can remove [Tiva] from the field, but they don't deal enough damage to finish her off. Next turn, Maggie will just pull out another [Fixed Pitch Pattern] or [First Movement]..."

"really..."

"Zhou Jiaping has obtained a card of even higher value..."

...

"My turn." Zhou Jiaping took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and said, "Draw a card!"

A Pot Full of Gold Yet Remaining Humble

A glint flashed in his eyes.

"Preparation, main point."

"Activate the Spell Card - [The Pot of Humble Abundance]!"

"Except for the six extra cards on the inside, flip over the top six cards of the deck and add one to your hand."

Upon seeing this card, everyone's breathing stopped.

All eyes were focused on the top of Zhou Jiaping's deck.

"Can you find that card..." he murmured softly, a determined glint in his eyes.

With a whoosh, a white light flashed from his fingertip, revealing the cards at the top of the deck.

The Book of the Moon

The Pot of Strong Desire and Greed

【Gaia, the Mage】

【Forbidden Holy Grail】

Dragon's Mirror

The first five cards didn't cause much of a stir; they were all cards that would be played in a standard deck construction. However, Zhou Jiaping frowned, as none of them were the cards he wanted.

"Wow—"

The sixth page is turned over.

【Crystal Ingenuity: Matrix Citrine】

"Um???"

"Holy crap—"

Almost the instant the page was turned, the entire dueling arena erupted in chaos.

"【Matrix Yellow Crystal】?!"

Both commentators were dumbfounded.

"This...did I bring the wrong card?"

"That's impossible. Zhou Jiaping wouldn't make such a basic mistake."

Inside the rest area.

Luo Bai was also slightly taken aback: "Oh... I found it."

"So... why did you use my card?" Nanyang Ling asked disdainfully from the side.

Melonika frowned, looking like an old man: "The meaning is unclear."

"The coach must have his reasons for making this arrangement!" Jiang Shu, acting like a die-hard fan, tried to save face.

"Um..."

Luo Bai didn't know how to explain for a moment, and simply said something.

"This is a lucky card."

...

"I'm adding [Matrix Yellow Crystal] to my hand!" Zhou Jiaping shouted without hesitation.

Maggie was also stunned.

It's understandable to have cards with unclear purpose in a deck, but why pick them out at such a crucial time?

Do I not want the Book of the Moon or the Forbidden Grail?

Looking for [Matrix Yellow Crystal]?

"What are you doing?" she couldn't help but ask in confusion.

Zhou Jiaping didn't explain, simply saying, "Summon [Crystal Mechanism. Matrix Yellow Crystal]."

"End of round."

T5回合结束：2前1后0手，蓝色方LP：800

In the endgame, both sides were almost always playing one-on-one.

Maggie stared at the two monsters on Zhou Jiaping's field, a strange feeling lingering in her heart, a tightness in her chest, making her feel suffocated.

"It's someone else's turn."

She habitually put on a professional smile.

"Draw a card—"

"Preparation, main point."