Chapter 280: Approachable by Billions
Leaning back in a genuine leather seat, with exhilarating pop music in his ears, and a faint, elegant perfume scent lingering in the air.
Hayato sat in a black luxury car, sighing with a troubled expression, and asked Mokuba, who was sitting opposite him, "Sometimes, I really envy you carefree kids, Red."
"I already told you my name is Mokuba!" Mokuba said, holding his tablet. Even while riding in the car to another location, he was still busy handling complicated official business. "And Hayato Bro, where do you see me as carefree?"
"Currently, seven people have gathered six Puzzle Cards and assembled the map leading to the finals location, but so far, no one has reached the registration point." Mokuba sighed, temporarily putting down his work. He turned his head and operated a car TV nearby, projecting a data sheet. "My brother impulsively thought up this match, which is quite interesting."
"But I'm the one responsible for logistics and negotiating with the Domino City Government." Sighing, Mokuba picked up the tablet again. "And most importantly, my brother actually thought of operating an airship and such; the expenses are just too high!"
"If he keeps wasting money like this, KaibaCorp will go bankrupt in another century."
Seriously, is that even a human thing to say? Are you Scrooge McDuck or something?
"Mr. Hayato, Young Master Mokuba, we will reach our destination in five minutes." At this moment, the driver's voice came through the intercom system, and Hayato turned his head, looking out the car window.
The car drove over a bridge, and as the buildings obstructing his view disappeared, a massive, circular building appeared in Hayato's sight—
Domino City Sports Center! It was also the match location for the second stage, to which the six Puzzle Cards of Battle City ultimately pointed!
As early as five years ago, in the plans of the Domino City Government, this stadium was designated to become "the most popular entertainment facility in Domino City for the next decade" and was expected to combine multiple functions such as "concert venue," "football field," and "exhibition hall."
Although stadiums being used for the above functions would become quite common in later times, don't forget, it's only the early 21st century now; the construction of this sports center was undoubtedly very wise.
If the "Duel Monsters" game, which had been around for some time, hadn't suddenly become wildly popular, and "Kaiba Land" hadn't appeared.
Just as Mr. Jack Atlas, the famous master of spectacular fails, once said, "I will become the King of Games; women are nothing but a hindrance." Female celebrities are beautiful? But what does that have to do with fans? Instead of spending time fangirling, they might as well open a Card Pack to pull a Waifu Card and then go to Kaiba Land's Duel Field to test out new Cards.
With the increasing popularity of "Duel Monsters," even many Hollywood stars and actors who originally thought highly of themselves rushed to label themselves as "Duel Monsters enthusiasts" to latch onto the trend and gain popularity.
Moreover, under KaibaCorp's "money power," "Kaiba Land," completed with outrageously high efficiency, overtook the "Domino City Sports Center," whose construction team had been dragging its feet due to it being a government project, completing ahead of schedule to seize the market. In this era where time is money, the Domino City Sports Center had lost before it even had a chance to act, and even the contracted construction team had packed up and fled.
In such circumstances, KaibaCorp, with plenty of money in its pockets and "approachable by billions," approached the Domino City Government, which was troubled by this unfinished project.
The car drove into the Domino City Sports Center, which was mostly completed but abandoned due to the contractor fleeing. As soon as he stepped out of the car, Hayato looked up and saw that guy, Kaiba, standing on a high platform, gazing down at Hayato with a cold, arrogant expression, his white trench coat, trailing to his feet, swaying in the evening breeze.
"Hmph hmph, Hayato, to think you're the one who qualified for the Top 8 after me." With a smug smile, Kaiba said disdainfully, "What a pity, I was the first to qualify for the Top 8. You and the other weaklings can just follow in my victorious footsteps!"
"Whoa, whoa, don't talk as if you've already reached the summit and become first place." Hayato said helplessly, looking at Kaiba, "Don't think I didn't see it; you clearly took a helicopter and cut in front of me halfway through. Mokuba told me on the way. I was the first one to gather the puzzle pieces."
Kaiba snorted coldly and turned his head away. "Shut up, you second-rate Duelist. Battle City's rules don't have any restrictions on how a Duelist arrives here. If you had the ability, I wouldn't even mind if you came by fighter jet."
"In that case, I'd be shot down by a missile halfway!"
Mokuba, who also stepped out of the black luxury car, moved his gaze from the tablet in his hands, glanced at Hayato and Kaiba, and said with a smile, "Hayato Bro and my brother truly have a good relationship."
Since not all Top 8 Duelists had arrived yet, Hayato showed the six Puzzle Cards he possessed to a KaibaCorp staff member and registered for his Top 8 qualification, then found a lounge, intending to use the time waiting for other Duelists to arrive to properly organize his Deck and pass the time.
Hayato's current Deck primarily consisted of several Archetypes—the Performapal Archetype, which was difficult to use to its full potential without Pendulum Summoning; the mostly complete Ojama Armed Xyz; and the Gaia Archetype, which was spawning one variant after another because its Duel Monster Spirit had reached its third stage.
In addition to these, there were also Grandsoil the Earth Spirit, Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca, The Winged Dragon of Ra, the Sacred Beasts recently confiscated from Bakura, as well as the Rainbow Kuriboh that had saved Hayato countless times.
Directing his awakened Duel Monster Spirits to keep an eye on the not-so-obedient Sacred Beasts Cards, Hayato opened the System and looked at his DP points, which had finally recovered to 5000. He then entered the Shop and, with a grand sweep, went all-in, emptying all his long-accumulated points at once.
Compared to Duelist Kingdom, this Battle City was entrusted with great hopes by KaibaCorp and would be broadcast live to the entire world. Hayato wanted to use this match to openly and honorably defeat all other Duelists, including but not limited to Marik, Joey, Kaiba, and Yugi. For this, he needed to increase the depth of his card pool as much as possible.
He tore open a card pack that appeared in his hand, took out five cards from it, and flipped them face up. Seeing a powerful Level 8 Aqua-Type monster, he raised an eyebrow.
Good draw on the first hand?
Thinking about it, I might as well start a new volume. The Top 8 of Battle City, and the interspersed Noah arc, will all be in this volume. Additionally, there were actually foreshadowing elements in the previous, poorly performing DM Online Game arc that will be recycled in the Noah arc.
That [Blank] Attribute powerful Level 8 monster, the true God Card etched into the DNA of countless card players—I don't need to say it, many people should be able to guess it.
(end of chapter)