Chapter 3: Don't You Have Your Own Cards?

Compared to "Goat," the 【BugNet】 and 【DNAAlterationSurgery】 on the opponent's field were what truly gave You Tian a headache.

These two cards combined were essentially a permanent 【Swords of Revealing Light】.

In an environment like the first generation where Overlord Axes just hack at each other, this kind of thing was genuinely disgusting.

And he had already checked — his own deck had no Wind. Which meant that even if he tribute-summoned 【Great Moth】, it still couldn't attack and deal damage to YuE.

This was a bit tricky.

"My turn…"

You Tian's hand rested on top of his deck, about to draw.

But suddenly, a strange feeling came from the deck, as if the deck itself had answered him.

"Draw Phase!"

You Tian's gaze dropped to the drawn card, and he was instantly energized.

"I activate Continuous Spell, 【SpiritualExtracorporealBody】."

"This card lets both players, during each End Phase, tribute one monster on their own field, inflicting damage to the opponent equal to half that monster's original Attack Power!"

"Masaka!" YuE's eyebrows shot straight up.

"You don't mean—?"

"That's right!" You Tian replied with a smile.

"I once again Set a monster in Defense Position; at the End Phase, I tribute the 【FlyingMantis】 on my field, dealing 750 damage to you!"

YuE: "Ugh…"

【YuE: LP3200→LP2450】

You Tian couldn't help but feel that using the opponent's monsters to damage the opponent was oddly satisfying!

YuE's cards were so smooth!

YuE was furious. "You bastard! Why don't you tribute your own monsters!"

You Tian picked at his ear.

Just kidding — if he tributed the Wind Spirit, the opponent's monster would just go back.

"Brother, something that cruel as a tribute would make my monsters cry."

YuE: "Kisama! Wouldn't my monsters cry too!"

YuE struggled to calm his emotions.

"My turn, Draw Phase!"

"I Summon 【HundredLegsWorm】 in Attack Position."

【Attack Power: 300】

"This card can attack you directly! Go, 【HundredLegsWorm】!"

The 【HundredLegsWorm】 on the field curled itself into a ball and slammed straight into You Tian.

"Ugh!"

After a wave of physical impact, You Tian's LP dropped by 300.

This was You Tian's first time experiencing physical impact. He had to admit, it was a strange sensation.

With the holographic imagery and the electric current, for that instant You Tian truly felt as if he had been struck by a giant centipede.

"End Phase!"

"Just you wait! In four more turns, 【Great Moth】 will be Summoned! Shoo-shoo-shoo!"

You Tian: I'm waiting for you to Summon it too, brother.

"My turn, Draw Phase."

"I Flip Summon the card on my field, 【SubstituteStoneStatue】."

"When this card is flipped, you must select one monster on your own field and swap control of it with this card."

YuE:!?

Bystander: …

"Hey, how come your deck is full of this kind of bull-headed nonsense?"

You Tian spread his hands, looking innocent.

Although YuE was already on the verge of losing control, his obsession with a comeback still granted him a sliver of reason.

【EvolutionCocoon】 definitely couldn't be given to him, so…

"I choose 【HundredLegsWorm】."

You Tian nodded.

YuE's choice was entirely within his expectations.

"During the End Phase, I tribute the 【HundredLegsWorm】 on my own field."

【YuE: LP2450→LP2300】

"You bastard!" YuE gritted his teeth.

"Hmph! No matter! Although 【HundredLegsWorm】 was taken by you, on my turn I can also tribute your 【SubstituteGiantStatue】 and use your own trick against you! Shoo-shoo-shoo!"

You Tian smiled faintly.

"Oh? Is that so? Then I activate Quick-Play Spell, 【BrainwashingLiberation】!"

"This card can be activated when a monster is tributed; afterward I select one monster on your field, and if its original owner is me, it returns to my field, and during the End Phase it returns to my hand!"

"Masaka!" YuE's eyes nearly split with rage.

"That's right — come back, my 【SubstituteGiantStatue】!"

YuE: "I&$+&%!"

Bystander: …

You Tian frowned.

"How can the champion be so uncivilized! Is there a referee? Do something!"

Bystander: It's you who's uncivilized!

Another bystander added: "I rarely support duelists who start cursing when they're losing—but this time, I'm with Insect YuE."

After a burst of profanity, YuE finally calmed down.

Mainly because You Tian was picking his ear, completely indifferent to his emotional outburst—this made YuE feel more and more miserable the more he yelled.

"My turn, Draw Phase!"

YuE, panting, stared at the card he just drew, and again let out a sharp "shii-shii-shii" laugh.

"You sneaky bastard—this time, I'll use your own card against you!"

"I summon 【SubstituteGrasshopper】 in Attack Position!"

【Attack Power: 1000】

"Though this card can't break through your 【WindSpiritLaiYin】, at the end of my turn, I sacrifice 【SubstituteGrasshopper】 to deal you 500 points of damage!"

【You Tian: LP3700→LP3200】

"Not done yet! The effect of 【SubstituteGrasshopper】 activates!"

"When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one InsectRace monster from my hand!"

"Come forth! 【InsectQueen】!"

As YuE slammed a card firmly onto his Duel Disk, a massive, ant-like female creature was summoned onto the field.

"Shii-shii-shii! For each InsectRace monster on the field, the Queen gains 200 Attack Power—so the Queen's Attack Power is now: 2800!"

A stir ran through the onlookers.

"My god! That's a monster comparable to Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

You Tian pouted and waved the 【SubstituteGiantStatue】 he had just retrieved in front of YuE.

"Hmph! All your cards share one fatal weakness—they must be flipped face-up and survive to activate their effects!"

"Next turn, I'll have the Queen directly attack your 【SubstituteGiantStatue】."

"That way, the 【SubstituteGiantStatue】 destroyed in battle won't be able to activate its effect!"

You Tian raised an eyebrow.

YuE really did have some insight—he'd spotted the deck's weakness at a glance.

But you planted that flag a little too early.

"My turn, Draw Phase."

"I set one monster in Defense Position."

YuE snorted irritably.

"Hmph! The same trick won't work on me again—next turn, I'll destroy…"

You Tian ignored YuE's rambling and inserted a Magic Card into his Duel Disk.

"Magic Card, 【Book of the Sun】. This card flips one monster on the field."

"I choose the one face-down on my field: 【IllusionaryGreatFlower】."

"The flip effect of 【IllusionaryGreatFlower】 activates: until the end of this turn, I gain control of one face-up monster on your field."

"I choose—【InsectQueen】!"

YuE: …

Bystander: …

YuE's eyes went vacant.

He was pondering a question: Who am I? Why am I dueling?

Even when You Tian sacrificed 【InsectQueen】 during the End Phase, YuE remained unmoved, letting the sensory impact slam uselessly against him.

【YuE: LP2300→LP1200】

When it was his turn, he merely drew a card with a blank stare.

How did you even give this kid autism? Snap out of it!

You Tian sighed helplessly.

"My turn, Draw Phase!"

Huh? There's this card in my deck?

You Tian glanced at both sides of the field.

Unless something unexpected happens, he was going to win this Duel.

But You Tian had one thing he couldn't shake off.

When he had just drawn 【SpiritualExtracorporealBody】, what was that feeling of SpiritualResonance with his deck?

Could this world's Duels truly be tied to mysticism?

In DM, the Pharaoh always drew the god cards—by the end, he could draw whatever he wanted.

And in later Yu-Gi-Oh! series, the mouth-hu kings stopped pretending entirely, shouting things like "True Duelists know everything is destined," then pulling out cards that hadn't even been printed yet.

His own situation just now seemed similar.

Could the legendary "mystical" plays that Blue Star card players joked about—"invincible armor explosion," "candle-in-the-wind kill," "smoke-without-damage law"—actually work in this world too?

You Tian wanted to test it.

It wasn't that he was being reckless—mainly, he'd soon have to fight the Pharaoh and Seto Kaiba for the ThreePhantomGods. If he didn't figure out this world's hidden rules now, he'd be even more at a disadvantage later.

Thinking this, he decisively played the card he had just drawn.

"I pay 1500 LP to activate this card, 【AutonomousActionDevice】."

【You Tian: LP3200→LP1700】

"This card can revive one monster from the opponent's Graveyard and equip it."

"What I revive is—【InsectQueen】."

Bystander: Bro, how are you even stealing the opponent's Graveyard monsters? Don't you have your own cards?

"Then, during the End Phase, I tribute 【InsectQueen】 to deal you another 1100 points of damage!"

【YuE: LP1200→LP100】

You Tian took a deep breath, deliberately put on a smug, "small-time villain gloating" expression, then, word by word, recited that classic line.

"Your life is already a candle in the wind! You only have one card left in your hand! Next turn, I'll wipe you out! End of turn!"

The moment the words left his mouth, every hair on You Tian's body stood on end. What followed made his pupils contract sharply.

He saw YuE, who had just seemed burned out a moment ago, his entire aura suddenly surging upward!

In that instant, he felt he wasn't facing some insect bastard at all. But a creature crawling out of the abyss—the King of Flies!