"Place your bets, place your bets! Brother Lang's match is about to start, everyone get your bets in while you can..."
Ever since the Duel City Tournament kicked off, the player forums have been buzzing with activity.
At this moment, Xue Lang and Miss Yue Hua among the players have become intensely popular.
As mentioned before, President Haima seems to have decided that their company will only spend money without reaping any benefits from this tournament, not even an online broadcast.
So, everyone can only learn about the match situation through live score reports, and can't see the live action.
But players are different. Now all players know Youyu brought a tool person who acts as a camera along to compete, making Miss Yue Hua's livestream the only broadcast platform for the Duel City Tournament.
So you can imagine how high her popularity is in the community now.
At this moment, Miss Yue Hua follows quietly and obediently behind Youyu like a little tag-along, her face flushed with excitement, looking like she's had too much fun.
Looking at the audience hype in the livestream which has exceeded ten times the usual, and still hasn't stopped growing, she feels like she's floating.
No, this is too much, nobody else can come in... (Referring to the viewers)
If anyone else comes in, it'll be too overwhelming...(with excitement)
Before the game, Xue Lang looks at the forum posts and the large crowd of his fans in the comments, nodding with satisfaction.
As the only designated top fan around Youyu... uh, I mean, the captain of the fan support group, Xue Lang feels he's reached the peak of his life.
Originally, Xue Lang gained quite a reputation among players as the only one working at the Dream Card Shop. Now, having fought his way through strong opponents into the top eight (actually by sheer luck beating some newbies), he's experiencing a surge in popularity.
Now Xue Lang's name is literally everywhere in the forum. Especially after he pulled off a stunt with his Elemental Hero tactic, drawing in a large group of die-hard Hero Deck fans.
As Xue Lang scrolls through posts, he sees the goofy remarks and IDs of other players, and he can't help but let out a silly laugh.
Check out this player's ID "I love you, Brother Lang", "Energetic Girl Yuu-chan-chan", looks like a cute girl, right?
Haha! From today onwards, I'm also a guy with female fans! It seems being single due to playing cards isn't impossible after all!
...Ugh, wait, what am I thinking?
Xue Lang shakes his head, quickly dismissing his stray thoughts and begins to self-reflect.
Talk about romance? Playing card games is better than having a girlfriend!
Everyone knows, men with girlfriends don't play cards that well.
Besides, don't I have Youyu-san?
As Xue Lang starts grinning foolishly, he completely ignores the knocking sound at the door.
"Hey? Is the contestant in the room?" A person in a Kaiba Company's black suit knocks at the door, "It's your turn to compete."
"...Uh? Oh, oh."
At this point, Xue Lang snaps back to reality and quickly gets up to head out.
Having come this far, the knockout stage is important to every participant. Before the match, everyone is highly tense, locked away in their rooms adjusting their mentality and deck, even the arrogant six-year-old Marik quietly made some adjustments.
But Xue Lang is just that impressive.
Up until stepping onto the stage, he was messing around...
This guy is even checking the forum while walking with the bodyguards heading to the stage.
On the duel platform, his opponent, Dark Marik, is already dressed in his classic black outfit with cloak, an old wrinkled face, non-mainstream white explosive hair, looking ready to make faces upon disagreement.
Seeing his opponent on stage, he licks his lips with his tongue and laughs sinisterly twice.
"Looks like you've been chosen." He says with a creepy tone, "Next to be engulfed by darkness... will become the sacrificial offering.
I can't wait to see your face twisted in fear and plunged into endless despair..."
Dark Marik talks and laughs eerily again.
Then our Xue Lang... Xue Lang gives a foolish grin again...
Dark Marik: "?"
Not afraid, that's okay, but what's with the grin?
He might be an idiot.
"...Huh? Oh, sorry..." Xue Lang quickly exits the forum, "I was just messing around... No, I mean thinking. What did you just say?"
Six-year-old shows an unhappy expression.
"Hmph." Dark Marik flicks his cloak, "You'll find out soon anyway... but using your body."
Thankfully, Xue Lang defeated Kujaku Mai, otherwise, if Kuyaku Mai had faced Marik now, she'd likely be destined to be defeated...
"Then the last elimination match!" Uncle Izono raises his arm, "Xue Lang versus Marik Ishtar, start!"
A match between a Normal Monster Hero stunt player and Gravekeeper six-year-old officially begins.
Both sides draw five cards from their decks. Xue Lang dramatically draws a card...then a gust of wind nearly blows his hand off. (Jonouchi calls out from the sidelines as an expert)
Xue Lang's face is pained.
Darn it, blame the President's wild ideas, playing cards has to be so extravagant. If the wind blows the cards away, who's compensating?
He even maliciously thinks that maybe the President calculated that the wind would blow off cards easily, and specially dispatched black-suited men around the duel platform ready to jump in if Marik's little bastard's Winged Dragon of Ra gets blown off...
Here Marik is up first. But he's so cool (also very withdrawn), immediately plays two face-down cards and ends his turn without even summoning a single monster.
But our Xue Lang is even cooler, not even playing a face-down card, immediately ending his turn as well, so fast Marik thinks it's still his first turn.
This is the legendary essence of the high-speed duel.
...Okay, actually he had a hand disaster.
"Hey, what's Brother Lang doing?" Someone in the live chat finds it strange.
"...He probably had a hand disaster."
"What kind of hand doesn't even have a single card to play face down?"
"Could be three Polymerizations and three Fusion Gates?"
"Why not at least play a Polymerization face down to scare people a little?"
"..."
At this moment everyone in the audience has a puzzled look.
Mokuba: "Brother, what's this person doing?"
"...It must be a special strategy." Haima crosses his arms and says, "There could be a specific tactic, drawing the opponent to attack or sacrificing some LP to trigger."
Yugi adds, "Indeed, before when I fought Bakura, he deliberately let me attack and reduce a lot of LP, only to find later it was the terrifying Destiny Board strategy.
Maybe a similar tactic in play now?"
Jonouchi ponders for a long time: "Could it be...that he didn't draw a single monster he can summon?"
Yugi shakes his head: "No way, this must be a deliberate tactic."
Haima snorts disdainfully: "Hmph! A Normal Monster is a Normal Monster, only someone like you would have such a naive idea!"
Despite what he says, after the last match, President Haima's inner recognition of Jonouchi has somewhat increased...
After all, he's the man who managed to steal his White Bride! (Even if only for a brief moment)
What? Card stuck? Hand disaster?
Yugi and Haima say they've never encountered such a concept, can't even think in that direction.
All duelists who made it into the Duel City top eight are strong players, if it wasn't a deliberate tactic, how could someone not play a single card?