The next morning.
Amano Shio: "Have a safe trip, Brother!" Wangchuan You: "It's finally my turn to have Shio all to myself! You can go with a peaceful mind, Zero~"
The conversation was no different from the usual routine when he left for work. It seemed like the same unchanging daily life for the Amano household, but in the shadows, everything had changed.
[Wangchuan You: Favorability 100 (Till Death Do Us Part)]
You'd better actually be interested in my sister.
The man Zero had once considered the best candidate for a brother-in-law—someone who could take care of Shio's daily life—now made him feel uneasy. You couldn't rely on outsiders forever, even if it was Wangchuan You. Zero decided that the task of taking care of his sister would remain his responsibility.
Now that his debts were cleared, his primary mission was still to make money. He'd heard that with enough money and Eden Tower's technology, Shio could be fitted with mechanical prosthetic legs, allowing her to leave her wheelchair and live a life close to that of a normal person. Mechanical prosthetics sounded a bit "Cyberpunk," but in the year 5026, it wasn't surprising that such a branch of the tech tree had appeared despite the gaps in human history.
Of course, the price would be astronomical for the current Zero. He'd likely never save enough by working honestly at the scrap yard.
So, Zero didn't leave early to be a wage slave. He now had a way to make money that was much easier than working.
Dueling!
Even though his deck was still a bunch of "junk" picked up from the yard, the system reward had given him the ability to "print" any Dragon-type Extra Deck card during a duel. No wonder Shio said he had a stroke of luck.
The roulette spinning to the Dragon race was the best possible outcome for Zero. Based on his experience from his past life, the company that published Yu-Gi-Oh!, Konami, was often joked about by players as having "Dragon Cancer"—obsessed with the race. Dragon-type cards weren't necessarily the most numerous, but they were always the flashiest and usually of high quality.
And it wasn't just Konami; plenty of players had "Dragon Cancer" too. As long as he could find a way to summon those powerful Dragon monsters from the Extra Deck, he could dominate the lower sectors, given that the world's dueling level had been stagnant for three thousand years. Of course, whether he could actually meet the special summoning conditions depended on his Main Deck.
This was why he had left so early. He was heading to the neighboring Sector 31.
Zero lived in Sector 32, which was one of the poorest areas in the tower and lacked even basic facilities. He needed a "Duelist Service Center." By connecting his Eva Terminal to a Service Center, he could unlock various functions, the most important of which was the "Duel Gene Evaluation."
The host AI, Eva, would provide the most suitable archetype based on an individual's genes and identity. Whether Zero could call upon the powerful dragons sleeping in his Extra Deck depended on whether he could identify a useful "archetype" for his Main Deck.
Since he didn't have the means to take public transport, he had to rely on a "city walk" with his own two legs. The cross-sector journey took nearly the entire morning, and he finally arrived in the city center of Sector 31. If he hadn't left at the crack of dawn, it would have been dark by the time he got back.
As a side note, on the way there, Zero tried using the System to check favorability, but it didn't work. Neither the aunties selling trinkets nor the old men selling fruit showed a score. It seemed the "Love Cultivation System" only displayed favorability for "pursuable targets."
Wait... so does that mean Wangchuan You is pursuable?
The city center of Sector 31 was vastly different from Sector 32. Because of its different industries, Sector 31 focused more on providing modern, convenient services for the people of the lower levels, rather than scrap metal recycling. Zero had only been here twice before with his father when he was very young.
Midday sunlight shone on a massive holographic screen in the middle of the street, where advertisements composed of dense text scrolled by at high speed. Occasionally, a large corporation would take over a whole time slot to feature glamorous "Duel Stars" promoting their products.
Zero had no interest in these ads. He just wanted to get his gene evaluation done. The Duelist Service Center was a landmark building in Sector 31. He observed the crowd for a moment; even though the total number of Duelists in the lower levels was small, the center was still fairly lively.
"Hello sir, how can I help you today?" The receptionist had a sweet smile and a kind attitude. However, all the receptionists at the center looked exactly the same. They were likely "Artificial Lifeforms" designed for repetitive service work.
"Duel Gene Evaluation," Zero stated.
"For that, you'll need to wait in the hall. It should take about 30 minutes. We'll notify you via your Eva Terminal when it's your turn to enter the testing area. Also, please be prepared to pay the 5,000 Eva Point fee."
"Understood."
5,000 points just for the evaluation. For Zero, that was nearly six months of wages if he didn't eat or drink. And that didn't even include the cost of actually collecting the cards for the deck. No wonder there were so few Duelists in the lower sectors.
While waiting for his number, Zero boredly watched the projection screens on the hall walls. Unlike the shampoo commercials on the street, the ads here were related to Duel Monsters cards, which piqued his interest.
[One-on-one coaching from former pro Duelists! Give your child a head start on the path of dueling!] Oh, they're selling classes.
[Duel Disk upgrade parts! Make your Duel Disk stand out!] Oh, they're selling skins.
[Pro Legend Selection Pack Vol. 3! Rare UR Trap 'Self-Destruct Button' drop rate up! Get a chance to take a pro player down with you!] Oh, it's a gacha.
Is this a mobile game or what?
Most cards in this world were produced through Eva Terminals. These packs were just large corporations bundling junk cards with a few rares to lure greedy people looking for a cheap win. Even though he knew it was a scam, Zero couldn't help but peek at the price. After all, his luck was pretty good.
Holy crap, 6,000 Eva Points for one pack? That's not cheap. Gamblers really are the easiest to fleece. Even with his luck, spending 6,000 points on a chance for a Self-Destruct Button felt unnecessary.
Just as he was dismissing the ads as useless, a news report caught his eye.
[Kaiba Corporation boldly announces that three thousand years ago was the peak of Duel Monsters card development in human history.]
[Kaiba Corporation has formed an out-of-tower investigation team to excavate super-ancient Dueling ruins from three thousand years ago.]
[Kaiba Corporation has discovered three copies of the strongest monster, 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon,' in the super-ancient ruins.]
[Through analysis of the 'Historical Text,' Kaiba Corp confirms that a total of four 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' cards existed in human history.]
[President Kaiba has issued a worldwide bounty for the fourth 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' card. The reward is 87 million Eva Points.]
This series of news items from Kaiba Corp left Amano Zero completely stunned.
Kaiba Corp is excavating ruins from three thousand years ago? President Kaiba is looking for the fourth Blue-Eyes?
If he hadn't lived in this world for eighteen years, he would have thought he'd been transported into the Yu-Gi-Oh! DM anime. But this was the year 5026. Those "super-ancient ruins" from three thousand years ago weren't home to Egyptian Pharaohs; they were home to the Duelists of 2026.
And Amano Zero himself was one of those Duelists from 2026.
Wait... is Kaiba trying to dig me up?
────────────────────────────────────────
My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Yu-ki-oh:King of the Scraps (86 Chapters – Ongoing)
────────────────────────────────────────