The crowd of customers gathered around Keqing like kids crowding an arcade cabinet.
On Keqing's field, [Swords of Revealing Light] was still active for one more turn.
Though Seto Kaiba had three [Blue-Eyes White Dragons] on his field, he couldn't attack Keqing.
"Draw—"
"[Exodia the Forbidden One]!"
Exodia was once a human spellcaster named Exodius.
After endless cultivation, he finally broke his limits, transforming into the ultimate fiend beyond even the Egyptian Gods.
But, because his power was far too immense, the royal family divided him into five parts, sealing them separately. They became the guardian deity of the palace, protecting the royal bloodline for generations.
[Exodia] possesses limitless strength. When this legendary Dark Magician reveals his true form, he unleashes furious karmic flames—Demon God Fire Blaster—that burn all life to ash.
"I drew it!!!"
"No way!"
"Lady Yuheng is incredible!"
"She actually completed Grandpa's five cards!!!"
"So cool!"
"I wanna play that machine too…"
The arcade machine's music shifted from tense to triumphant the moment Keqing drew [Exodia the Forbidden One].
Inside the machine, Kaiba's expression twisted into fear… A massive pentagram seal appeared on the screen.
Keqing's machine began to shake… The seal burst through the machine itself, projecting a hologram into the shop.
Each corner of the seal revealed a piece of Exodia's body.
When the pentagram was complete, Exodia stepped forth from the void, his entire body glowing gold.
He summoned unthinkably powerful karmic flames, erasing all three [Blue-Eyes White Dragons] on Kaiba's field in a single strike!
Keqing's screen popped up a victory notice!
At the same time, two card packs appeared beneath the arcade machine.
On-screen text read:
"Congratulations! Stage Cleared!"
Keqing looked at the packs beneath the machine and turned to Luya:
"What… what's going on?!"
Luya picked them up and handed them to her.
"Must be a first-clear reward?! Take them."
Keqing happily nodded and accepted the two packs.
Then she quickly sat back down to continue clearing stages, eager for more first-clear rewards.
Before long, the other nine players who had started alongside Keqing also received their first-clear bonus of two packs each.
All of them tucked their prizes away with grins and kept battling!
Those who hadn't gotten a turn yet looked on enviously:
"Wow!"
"You get card packs just for clearing stages!?"
"I've decided—tomorrow I'm getting up early to clear too!!!"
"I'll be here before dawn!"
All at once, many customers began planning to camp the machines early.
Seeing this, Luya realized how quickly people were embracing new ideas.
He was already itching to develop a version of Yu-Gi-Oh! TWT that could connect all across Teyvat.
But… that would take a lot of effort.
First, the technology.
Teyvat had no concept of the internet…
Even if they did, it wouldn't help. There were no phones or computers to access it.
With Luya's current ability, it was impossible.
To make phones, he'd need a production line and a factory, plus logistics and workers.
However, maybe it didn't have to be phones!
In Sumeru, the Great Lord Rukkhadevata had left behind the Akasha Terminal.
If Nahida could adapt it, maybe online dueling could be achieved through the terminals!
Albeit, if Luya wanted everything under his control, he'd need his own servers, his own game, his own infrastructure—and even a phone production line.
Seeing Keqing complete Exodia, Hu Tao and Xiangling were reminded… they should buy more packs to strengthen their decks!
Xiangling, through chatting with Hu Tao, had learned Luya was planning a Duel Tournament during Lantern Rite.
So far, Luya had sold 1,200 packs, with 1,800 remaining.
As the head chef of Wanmin Restaurant, Xiangling had plenty of Mora.
Since she only got into Yu-Gi-Oh! because Hu Tao invited her, most of Xiangling's packs had been bought off Hu Tao… That said, today she came prepared with lots of Mora, planning to buy packs to make her father a Duelist too!
Hugging Guoba, Xiangling cheerfully approached the counter.
"Boss, here's 16 million Mora!"
"I'll take 800 packs~"
She pulled a large deposit slip from her chest and laid it on the counter.
Luya placed 800 packs before her.
Xiangling set Guoba down, then carried off the mountain of packs to open elsewhere.
As expected of Wanmin's head chef, her spending was lavish.
With that one purchase, nearly a quarter of Luya's sales goal for the day was done.
Luya glanced toward the theater, knowing that once Chongyun and Xingqiu finished, they'd also come buy packs.
With only 1,000 packs left, just a bit of spending from Chongyun, Xingqiu, and Hu Tao would close his day's sales in a flash…
Hu Tao, seeing Xiangling had stocked up, came forward too.
"My deck's nearly complete already."
"This time I'll buy less."
"I'll come back once I've got new ideas."
"Just 300 packs for now."
She placed a slip worth 6 million Mora on the counter.
Luya handed her the 300 packs—another sale.
Barely half an hour into business, 2,300 packs had been sold… As Luya was about to take a break, a faint red-green glow emerged from the Card Furnace.
Earlier, he had tossed in [Yaksha's Blood Tears] and [Ghostly Ember] casually.
Sure enough, the simpler the materials, the faster the fusion.
He walked over without much expectation and pulled out the new card.
This one came from Xiao's [Yaksha's Blood Tears].
Most likely, it would be related to Xiao.
Perfect—he could gift it to Xiao as payment when the traveler frog brought back materials for him at night.
Otherwise, it felt too much like exploiting Xiao… even if Xiao was volunteering.
The card in Luya's hand was Xiao's mask… stained faintly with blood.
[Oni Mask] Equip Spell
ATK +300
The equipped monster's Type becomes Yaksha, and it is treated as [General Jinpeng – Xiao] or [Conqueror of Demons – Xiao].
This would be perfect to give Xiao, so he could shine in the Lantern Rite Duel Tournament.
After some thought, Luya had a rough plan for the event already.
He decided that after closing time, he'd use the system shop to see what else he could buy to make the tournament a success.
Evening arrived.
Xiangling had already left for Wanmin with Guoba—he was too hungry.
Hu Tao stayed, watching Keqing on the arcade and studying the decks shown there.
The theater guests? Still glued to the screens. They hadn't come out all day—no meals, no bathroom breaks.
At that moment, Luya looked toward the door.
Xiao entered, carrying a small pack. His face bore some wounds. "Shopkeeper… I… I'm back."
"I brought these materials… see if any are useful?!"
Luya opened the pack.
What he saw startled him!
"Whoa! What is this?!"
Inside Xiao's bag… a severed hand!
"You killed someone?!"
Keqing and Hu Tao, who had been playing nearby, froze at Luya's shout.
"Adeptus Xiao, what is… What happened?!" They both asked, puzzled. "Why is there a human hand in your pack?!"
Looking closer… it seemed to be a doll's hand.
"Scared me for a moment, I thought you killed someone!" Hu Tao said.
Luya lifted the doll's arm and examined it.
[Ding, rare material discovered!]
[Scaramouche's Hand x1]
At the system prompt, Luya grinned.
So Xiao had crossed blades with Scaramouche…
And Scaramouche, crafty as ever, had even held back when fighting Xiao.
...
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