Chapter 25: In deep sh*t

The one-night duel had come to an end, and Yuyu strolled his way back to the card shop.

Having defeated the new rare card hunter, he didn't hesitate to claim victory by confiscating the opponent's entire deck.

Though it might seem immoral to take someone's entire deck, who cared?

Wasn't there an old saying that went something like this? "There's no need to talk about justice with the evil doers!"

The mission, "Challenge from Gurus," had been completed, and as a reward, the system granted him the trump card used by the rare card hunter, "Machina Force."

However the card had bothersome summoning conditions and proved difficult to utilize effectively.

Yuyu examined each card he had "won". Most of them unsurprisingly belonged to the "Mecha" series of heros and auxiliary cards, which held no use for him.

However, he did manage to acquire a few UR and SR cards, even if they were useless to him. Expanding his card library was always a good choice. Perhaps these cards would attract some mecha enthusiast players when he displayed them in his shop.

Upon returning to the store, he noticed China dressed as a maid, as always, cleaning the shelves amidst the rows.

As he entered, China paused momentarily and said, "You're back."

"I am," He replied.

China tilted her head for a moment and added, "That weird man who came earlier today returned looking for you."

"Weirdo? Are both of them here?"

"No, only one of them," China shook her head. "It's the shorter one who looks a bit thin."

... Ah, that must be Xuelang.

Yuyu had sent him out to find a task on his own, and he had returned so quickly?

"Did he mention what he wanted with me?"

"No. He just said he needed to urgently speak with you but left when you weren't here, seeming quite rushed."

China regarded him suspiciously and continued, "Speaking of those two... Are you friends?"

"...Not really. We met at the duel arena," Yuyu explained. "If I had to describe it... I would say they're customers."

That was the truth as well. In Yuyu's eyes, all players were his customers, and they would undoubtedly visit his shop in the future.

"Oh," China nodded lightly, her expression serious. "In that case, I think you should be more cautious."

"Huh? Why should I be cautious?"

"About those two," China replied. "Especially the one with glasses. He doesn't seem like a sincere person. It feels like... he has some ulterior motives regarding you."

Yuyu blinked. "Ulterior motives?"

Girl, your thoughts are quite dangerous!

How can you understand such things at such a young age?

China's expression remained serious, indicating she wasn't joking—though, of course, the girl with facial paralysis might not comprehend humor. Her face clearly conveyed her suspicion: she believed those two individuals wanted to use Yuyu!

How did that even make sense? It was obvious who had approached whom first!

"I read in the news that boys sometimes get attacked when walking alone at night," China continued with her "advice." "Nowadays, even boys need to protect themselves when going out, especially if they're good-looking. They attract more attention."

It was rare for her to take the initiative and say so much, indicating that she must genuinely be worried.

After all, everyone appreciates beauty. And given Yuyu's exceptional charm, it was only natural for her to worry.

"…"

A man as handsome as him- ok enough.

"Well, China, things aren't as what you think..."

It took Yuyu quite some time to convince China and assure her that the players were genuinely just customers. Their relationship was solely based on financial transactions—nothing more!

Yet, at this moment, Yuyu couldn't help but recall the Jay's vibes, that guy might truly be a problem, crossed his mind.

I wonder what Xuelang is up to now...

...

After work hours ended, Yuyu found himself idly refreshing the game forum.

Since the closed beta had only a handful of eligible players, the forum wasn't as lively as Yuyu remembered from when the official server was launched.

"Wow, this game feels so realistic! When have games become so good!"

This was clearly a recently started post.

"Haha! This game feels too realistic, doesn't it? I wanted to test it by taking off my pants on the street, but an NPC nearby actually pointed at me and screamed! A group of people dragged me to the police station, and now I'm still being lectured and criticized there. Ridiculous..."

"Hahaha, serves you right! You brought it upon yourself."

"Thanks for the warning!. I almost tried touching some random guy on the streets! Thankfully, I didn't..."

...

"This novice deck is so useless. NPCs just crush me when I play against them! Does anyone know where I can find cheap and awesome rare cards? My pathetic deck can't handle it!"

"Don't expect others to do all the work for you. If you want to succeed, you need to think for yourself."

...

"Hahaha, I triggered a hidden mission and joined Gurus' rare card hunter gang! They gave away numerous cards as membership bonuses!"

"Damn, I want to join no matter what!"

"Gurus? Is that the evil organization?"

"I think the original poster joined Gurus to."

...

Time flew as Yuyu perused the forum. The players certainly had a way with words...

However, it seemed that most players were still in their novice phase, and there was nothing on the forum that caught Yuyu's attention. Most players were occupied with small daily tasks or, at most, engaging in duels with others. No one seemed to have triggered any significant quests.

Naturally, many players immediately started searching for Yugi Mutou's residences throughout the whole city as soon as they logged in.

After all, he was the anime's protagonist and the sole designated Duel King in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh series. If anyone wanted to meet an NPC and lick their boots, this high school student Duel King was the obvious choice.

The game wasn't stingy with its information, and finding Mutou's address wasn't particularly challenging. Players soon discovered it.

Players attempted to contact Mutou right away, but it was unsurprising that their efforts failed. The interaction failed to trigger any plotlines.

Behind the shop counter, Yuyu scrolled through the forum. Suddenly, the store door swung open, and a panicked individual rushed in, flinging themselves onto the counter.

It was Xuelang.

"Sir... sir, please help!" Xuelang pleaded urgently. "I'm in deep trouble!"

Yuyu: Smh