The proud Blue-Eyes White Dragon lifted its head high, opening its jaws in a thunderous roar—as if celebrating this hard-earned victory.
"He actually… actually pulled it off…"
The bearded researcher, unable to believe the scene before him, even rubbed his eyes vigorously.
The Duel King Machine System 2.0 had lost.
The machine that even President Kaiba could not defeat… Miles had beaten.
And the finishing blow, of all things, had been dealt by the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Kaima pumped her fist excitedly. "As expected of Mi—as expected of my Blue-Eyes!"
Dark Aisha's face lit with joy. "As expected of Miles… so cool!"
And that was the difference between tsundere and straightforward dere.
The duel had officially ended. The tech-filled simulated duel platform dimmed as the converging lights faded, and the virtual projection of Yugi Muto vanished from the field.
When Miles returned to the simulation chamber, the expressions the KaibaCorp staff gave him were totally different from before.
Earlier, when they heard Miles wanted to meet President Kaiba, their attitude had been: Who do you think you are?
But now, when Miles once again requested to meet Kaiba, their attitude had become: Who do you think you are? …You pulled out a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. We don't need you to meet President Kaiba. Kaiba will come to meet you personally.
"Stay here for now. I'll contact President Kaiba for you."
At this moment, what the bearded researcher Sid Meyer feared most was Miles suddenly changing his mind and deciding not to meet Kaiba.
Miles smiled kindly. "Don't worry. As long as you all honor our agreement, I won't be going anywhere~"
And what agreement was that? Naturally: the wager over the card Gandora the Dragon of Destruction.
Inside this obelisk tower's internal space—this mysterious recreation of Domino City created by unknown forces—no one knew whether the physical cards inside could be taken back outside.
Anyhow, something was still better than nothing. Even if the card couldn't be taken out, it might come in handy for battles later. A deal with no downside.
"I know. A bet is a bet."
The other party was at least a high-level intellectual; he wouldn't go back on his word.
And after that duel, Miles' status had visibly skyrocketed. He had become someone no ordinary KaibaCorp employee dared to mess with.
"Ether, take Gandora out of the Duel King's Deck."
"You're sure it's okay to take it out?" Ether shrugged. "Won't the simulation system lose its ace card after this?"
"What are you talking about?" Sid Meyer forced a smile. "Didn't that duel just evolve the Duel King system? I've decided to rename it System 3.0."
Evolve—as in how the AI forcibly hacked its own Deck and pulled the forbidden card Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition.
Since it now had Gandora-X, naturally, it could replace the original Gandora the Dragon of Destruction.
"That… still looks like a bug, no matter how you see it. Are you sure?"
Only a research-obsessed madman like Sid Meyer could get away with directly calling a bug an upgrade and labeling it "System 3.0."
"If something goes wrong later, I'm not taking responsibility," Ether said, distancing herself from trouble as always. She then pulled up the AI's Deck list and removed the card.
"Here. This is the card from your bet—and I have absolutely nothing to do with it. Gandora the Dragon of Destruction."
Even as she handed Miles the card, the overly cautious corporate worker Ether repeatedly stressed her innocence.
"Then I will gratefully accept it."
[Gandora the Dragon of Destruction]
It wasn't the evolved form used by the Yugi AI, Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition, but the original version.
Compared to the forbidden Gandora-X, it lacked the overwhelming burn damage.
Albeit, the original Gandora still retained its infamous field-wipe effect—paying half your Life Points to destroy and banish every other card on the field. An unrivaled table-flip.
Chi leaned close without a word, peeking at the card in Miles' hand while internally eating lemons. "Ughhh… I regret it… This ultra-rare Gandora could've been mine…"
Indeed—if Chi hadn't chickened out midway and canceled the wager, Miles would never have gotten the chance.
Miles temporarily placed Gandora the Dragon of Destruction into Dark Aisha's Deck.
Super rare card obtained—Gandora the Dragon of Destruction√!
Not only was it rare in the Duel Monsters world—according to Kaima, even in the Spirit Continent, no duelist had ever been heard using a Gandora card.
….
Meanwhile, in KaibaCorp's 199th-floor president's office—
The tall Seto Kaiba, wearing his silver-white coat, heard the latest report from his trusted subordinate, Jinno.
"What did you say? The stupid simulation duel system… lost?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Kaiba's stern expression—then quickly vanished as he stood and turned toward the window.
From nearly 200 floors up, looking down at Domino City, the cars and pedestrians were as tiny as ants.
"In the end, it's merely a clown from my memories. A program that only imitates Yugi's dueling. There's nothing strange if it loses."
Even though he himself had failed to defeat the AI, that didn't stop Kaiba from declaring that a system that merely mimicked Yugi's duel style was just a soulless clown.
"Today is an important day. If you interrupted me for something trivial like this, Jinno, your yearly salary would be taking a heavy hit."
"N-No, Lord Kaiba…"
A drop of cold sweat ran down Jinno's face. To protect his salary, he hurriedly reported the key information.
"According to the research chief… the man who defeated the Duel King AI very likely possesses… a God Card."
"What?!"
This time, the shock on Kaiba's face could no longer be concealed.
"You idiot! This is the kind of thing you should have led with!"
"M-My deepest apologies, Lord Kaiba!"
"No matter!"
Kaiba's expression changed entirely—because he had suddenly realized a possibility that sent an uncontrollable thrill through him.
His fingers trembled.
In this world… who was a man who could possibly possess a God Card?
"Don't tell me… you've returned…"
"Have you come back from the Underworld… to finish our destined battle, Yu↑gi↓!"
"No... Atem!!"
...
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