The next day arrived. However, neither Yugi, Chumley, nor Kaiba came to school that day.
"Hey, Téa, do you know where Yugi and the others went?" During the break, Joey sidled up to Téa, who was touching up her makeup in front of a mirror. "Also, why are you suddenly wearing makeup today? Are you going on a blind date or something?"
"Do you think I'm like you boys? *Yawn*~" Halfway through her sentence, Téa couldn't help but let out a very unladylike yawn. It was so contagious that Joey also yawned involuntarily. "You and Tristan weren't around last night, but something big happened."
"Don't tell me Yugi met a blonde, busty, long-legged woman on his way home and fell in love at first sight?" Tristan made a small joke, but then quietly shut his mouth, listening to Téa recount what happened last night.
Hearing that Kaiba had forcibly taken Grandpa Sugoroku, both of them were incredibly enraged: "Damn it, how dare he treat Grandpa Sugoroku like that! I'm going to settle this with that bastard Kaiba!"
"You probably can't do that anymore." Téa glared at Joey, who had gotten noisy and interrupted her. "Do you remember the Virtual Solid Vision System Chazz Princeton used last time? KaibaCorp has a complete version on its top floor, which not only perfected sound simulation but can even recreate the impact generated by an Attack."
"Yesterday, Yugi Summoned an invincible Monster called something like *Exodia*, with infinite Attack Points, and directly drove that bastard Kaiba to a mental breakdown." Téa paused, then continued, "However, during the Duel, Kaiba Summoned the *Blue-Eyes White Dragon*, which at one point reduced Yugi's Life Points to only 50. So, Yugi collapsed from exhaustion right after the Duel last night."
"As for Chumley, he recounted the details of that Duel to me, saying you would definitely be curious. He was the one who brought Yugi out of KaibaCorp Building, and then took care of the unconscious Grandpa Sugoroku at the hospital all night. He only closed his eyes after Yugi woke up this morning, which is why he took sick leave and didn't come to school."
"Those two idiots, Yugi and Chumley! They didn't even tell us about such a big thing. Not only did they make us go to the Kame Game Shop for nothing yesterday, but we only just found out about this now!" Joey looked indignant, but the worry for Chumley and Yugi in his brows was impossible to hide.
Tristan also chimed in: "Exactly, they don't even see us as brothers! Good friends share everything, no matter what problems they have. Let's go visit them this afternoon."
"Alright, no problem," Téa readily agreed, but a hint of awkwardness appeared on Tristan's face.
"Hey Tristan, you're not going to say you don't want to go, are you?"
"No, it's just, it's just that there's something else I don't know if I should say." Tristan hesitated, scratching his scalp before finally blurting it out, "Yesterday, I didn't give her that box of puzzle."
"Didn't we agree you'd give her the gift when everyone had left the classroom after school?"
"Well, it felt a little awkward to open a girl's desk, you know..."
————Still not delivered————
Joey and the others first went to Domino City Hospital to check on Grandpa Sugoroku. Although he had been scared unconscious yesterday, since Grandpa Sugoroku was a Duelist who used *Exodia*, his luck naturally wasn't too bad. Also, because Chazz Princeton's driver's excellent driving skills got him to the hospital immediately, he had already woken up last night.
However, considering that a heart condition was no small matter, the doctor still recommended that Grandpa Sugoroku remain hospitalized for a period of treatment.
"Thank you all for coming to visit Grandpa," Yugi said, deeply moved as he watched Joey, Tristan, and Téa visit him. He bowed deeply to his friends.
"Don't think a thank you is enough to let you off the hook for this, Yugi," Joey said. Seeing Yugi's seriousness, he stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Yugi's head. "You didn't even tell us about such a huge thing! If there's a next time, I'll definitely give you a good scolding."
"Haha, your friendship truly is wonderful," Grandpa Muto said, sitting on the hospital bed, eating an apple Téa had peeled. He smiled contentedly as he watched Yugi and Joey playfully bicker.
"Oh right, Grandpa Muto, I heard Yugi say you used to be a really strong Duelist, is that true?" Joey remembered something, letting go of Yugi's head, and asked.
Solomon Muto looked nostalgic: "Of course! Back in my day, I was a formidable Duelist, my skills were top-notch. If you were to become my disciple, I wouldn't mind teaching you a trick or two, you know?"
"Really?" Joey looked very excited. "Then Grandpa, you have to get better quickly and teach me how to Duel!"
The group stayed in the hospital for a little while longer, then decided to leave, not wanting to disturb Grandpa Sugoroku's rest anymore. Besides, they planned to visit Chumley's house next.
Yugi also wanted to go, but considering that Grandpa needed care, he hadn't planned to leave. However, Grandpa Muto forcefully patted his chest, indicating that he was perfectly fine, then shooed Yugi out of the hospital room, telling him to go visit Chumley, who had stayed by his side all night.
Chumley's address was obtained by Téa from their teacher. After all, among the group, Yugi hadn't been to school today, and if Joey and Tristan asked, the teacher would only suspect them of planning an act of revenge. Only Téa, being a girl, usually well-behaved, and with good grades, could use the excuse of "delivering today's class notes" to get Chumley's address from the teacher.
"I never expected Chumley to live in such a luxurious place~" Looking up from the bottom of the slope, Joey saw a large residential area situated at the top of the hill; Chumley's house was there.
Tristan looked at the surrounding environment: "Although this area isn't designated as a rich residential zone like a villa district, it's equipped with complete amenities, convenient transportation, and offers a vast sea view. Many wealthy and influential people actually prefer to live here."
Walking up the slope, Yugi and the others soon found a two-story house with a wooden plaque bearing the name "Kobayashi's house" hanging beside the front door.
"Ding-dong~"
They rang the doorbell, and before Yugi and the others could state their identities, Chumley's voice came from the intercom device at the door:
"I didn't order takeout, I don't need online shopping, the utility bills are paid for a year, there's no natural gas pipeline in the house, and I absolutely will never touch gambling or drugs!"
***
First, thanks to the user with ID 20201129223748067 for 100 points reward. Thank you very much.
With *Exodia*'s sole appearance bringing things to a close, the "Mind Crush" arc is now over. In truth, the main value of this volume was to introduce some characters through three Duels, establish the protagonist's personality, and then equip the protagonist with some powerful Cards. Otherwise, he couldn't possibly go to Duelist Kingdom with a Starter Deck, could he? That would be too disrespectful to the chosen Duelists.
Also, from Yugi's Duel, you should be able to see that I've strengthened the Decks of the original characters (for example, that *Riryoku* Card). This is so that I can write more freely when it comes to the Duels during Duelist Kingdom.
Well, that's it for today's chatter. Please leave recommendations~
(end of chapter)