Chapter 879: A Simple Shadow Game

"A small game?"

Clark frowned slightly, unable to fathom what kind of medicine Godwin was hiding in his gourd.

"Yes, just a simple little game. No, it doesn't even count as a game; it's very simple."

Fujiki You Xuan produced a die and placed it flat on the tabletop.

"Let's use this die to compare numbers. If the number I roll is higher, you must answer my question and tell me the secret of the Perpetual Motion Machine."

"If you roll a higher number, then I guarantee I will not pursue this matter any further. From this day forward, whenever Mr. Clark has any use for the Security Maintenance Bureau, I, Godwin, will do my utmost to help and will never refuse."

"How about it?"

Clark initially thought it was absurd, but after staring at the small die in his hand for a moment, he suddenly felt a bit tempted.

He pondered for two seconds and asked, "One roll of the die, it's that simple?"

"It's that simple."

Clark narrowed his eyes.

He didn't know what madness had taken hold of Godwin, but it was just rolling a die to compare numbers; it wouldn't cost him anything.

If he happened to win, and if the other party's words were true, then Godwin's promise in this city was quite valuable. Although his Perpetual Motion Machine Express had a massive backer like Taiyi, it was more accurate to say he was their tool rather than having a backer. They were just working for Taiyi, and it wasn't certain how much privilege or convenience they actually had in this city—all of which the Security Maintenance Bureau could provide him.

As for losing, he could just continue to play dumb.

Even if he agreed that if he lost he would tell the other party the secret hidden within the Perpetual Motion Machine Express, what those secrets were was still up to him to decide, wasn't it? When the time came, he could continue to play the fool, pretend not to know, or just make up some lies. How could Godwin distinguish the truth from the false?

"Fine, since the Chief has such an interest, I'll give it a try," Clark said, pushing up his glasses with a smile.

Hooked.

Fujiki You Xuan narrowed his eyes.

Sure enough, this guy didn't seem familiar with the concept of a "Shadow Game."

It was true, though; by the time of 5D's, the depiction of Shadow Games was far less frequent than in the first two installments. Throughout the entire series, the only ones using Shadow Games were the Dark Signers in the early stages, and the Dark Signers only seemed to know the basics of Shadow Games—deciding life and death through card games—nowhere near as varied as in the original series.

In the original series, true Shadow Game masters didn't necessarily have to rely on card games to initiate a Shadow Game, and the final stakes weren't necessarily about life and death for both parties. The forms of the games and the stakes were much more varied.

It could even be done with just a simple die.

"Then I'll go first. Draw... ah, haha, sorry, I meant, roll the die!"

Clark threw the die. It spun twice on the tabletop, rolling and rolling until it stopped.

The number 6.

"Whoa, looks like my luck is pretty good, Chief," Clark chuckled. "It seems I've won."

"Impressive. However, as the legendary duelists often say, you never know the result until the very last moment of a duel. Even if it's just a dice game..."

Fujiki You Xuan flicked his thumb, sending the die flying into the air, where it spun mid-flight.

Clark narrowed his eyes and smiled.

His chance of winning was five out of six; the only way the other party could tie with him was by rolling a six as well. And even then, it would just be another round...

"Nani!?"

The next moment, Clark's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the die that had landed.

The die had split!

It was as if it had been shattered upon landing, sliced right down the middle. One die had become two halves, and the two small halves rolled twice each, finally landing with two faces pointing upward simultaneously.

One side was a one, the other was a six.

"Seven points!"

Fujiki You Xuan said with a chuckle.

"What a pity. It seems I've created a miracle."

Clark: "..."

This is possible too?

Of course it was possible. Fujiki You Xuan could consider this a tribute to the King of Games from the manga. In the early days, before the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" IP was tied to card games, it was originally a story about the King of Games possessing the surface Yugi to punish evil and promote good through various bizarre Shadow Games.

Rolling dice was one of the Shadow Games the King of Games used to punish opponents in the early days. That time, the King of Games also had the die split in two, rolling a seven with a single die.

"Alright, it looks like I've won," Fujiki You Xuan clapped his hands and smiled. "Then, as agreed, tell me: the secret of the Perpetual Motion Machine Express."

Although Clark was speechless about the die splitting, it was just a small game, and he had no intention of saying anything more, determined to play dumb regardless of what the other party asked.

Thus, Clark shook his head, just about to deny knowing anything, when the words inexplicably changed as they reached his lips: "This is an anchor point set by 'Taiyi' to modify history. Deep inside, there is a space-time machine capable of rewriting history..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Clark realized something was wrong. He hurriedly covered his mouth in terror, looking at the other party in shock.

Why?

He clearly hadn't intended to leak these secrets!

"Hmm, I know all of this now."

Fujiki You Xuan said with a gentle smile.

"So, you must have a way to meet the Three Emperors here, right? I want to have a word with them."

Before the other party could answer, he added.

"Don't try to deceive me; you should have noticed that it's futile. From the moment you lost the game to me, you lost the right to refuse or conceal anything."

Clark's pupils contracted as if he had thought of something extremely terrifying, and he said in horror: "Sha-Shadow Game!"

"Oh? You've heard of it?" Fujiki You Xuan smiled. "As expected of Taiyi's lackey, your knowledge is not bad."

Clark was terrified.

Yes, he had heard of it. But in this era, Shadow Games were almost legendary, and not many people in the current era had heard of them.

And hadn't he heard that Shadow Games all required a duel to take effect?

Furthermore, it was certain that Shadow Games could kill or even erase souls. Although Clark had heard that in the distant past, masters could manipulate others' souls at will through Shadow Games, he had always regarded it as a legend and hadn't taken it to heart.

But now, this legend had become reality. He hadn't expected this Godwin in front of him to actually have such ability.

Didn't this mean he had the same abilities as those top-tier dark powerhouses in the legends of the past?

Thinking this, his mouth spoke again, out of his own control: "From the central control room... one can contact the Three Emperors. Those three lords are hiding in the cracks of subspace, and one can enter through the equipment hidden here... Ugh, ahhh!"

Clark suddenly let out a painful howl, and electric arcs sparked all over his body. He collapsed to the ground, emitting black smoke, twitching uncontrollably, and seemed unable to get up for a while.

Fujiki You Xuan frowned and looked up at the door.

Standing at the door was a person wearing a white hood, masked, with a long sword strapped to their waist.

Clark, twitching on the ground, saw the person and his eyes were filled with horror and despair.

"Executive Taiyi!?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 880 =====