The sky hadn't yet brightened, and the street outside the window was empty, with not a single silhouette visible on the vast, dark road.
Even before the alarm rang, Xue Lang had already jumped out of bed... or to be exact, he hadn't closed his eyes all night.
Because today is the day the five-day maintenance of Linked World ends and the new version goes live.
Five days! A whole five days without seeing Youyu-san!
Do you know how I've been spending these five days?
This week, Xue Lang couldn't eat or sleep well. Watching anime and drama lacked motivation, other games became increasingly uninteresting, and even the 5 terabytes of girls on his hard drive appeared uninspiring.
A game without Youyu-san is simply meaningless.
And today, finally marks the end of this torturous period. Because the much-anticipated Linked World 2.0—corresponding to the animated version of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX—is finally going online!
Xue Lang forced himself to lie in bed until dawn, and even before the server opened, he jumped up. He quickly completed his morning routine, stuffed a few dry pieces of bread into his mouth as breakfast, and then eagerly positioned himself in the game pod, counting the seconds until the arrival of the new version.
He clicked on the "Login" button almost the moment it lit up. The system activated, and the interface before him transformed instantly, making it seem like he was being swept into a bottomless tunnel. Countless light dots merged into rivers flowing majestically past him, and he felt like a leaf drifting along the current, heading towards a brand new world.
"Welcome back, Duelist," the system's gentle voice sounded in his ear, and although it had only been five days, he found the voice especially comforting.
His footsteps touched the ground again, and he quickly felt the control of his body being returned to him.
Despite how odd it sounded, he could literally smell the familiar aroma from within this virtual world.
As always, the super-realistic experience, with an overwhelming level of game effects that perfectly restored all five senses. Many people had suggested before that if Linked World were not a card game, but rather focused on effects and large-scale scenes as an action game, the reception might have been greater.
To this, Xue Lang was completely indifferent, even considering it incomprehensible.
What's so interesting about action games? Everyone waving swords and holding guns like savages, could it be as interesting as card games?
Card games are the best in the world!
According to the pre-update announcement for Linked World 2.0, players learned that this new version is set six years after their last logout—five years after the end of the Dark Side of the Dimension movie.
Although Yu-Gi-Oh! GX originally clearly stated that it happened after the DM anime ended, there was always controversy regarding the timeline.
Although the background setting said it was nearly ten years after DM ended, there were many places in the anime plot that contradicted this setting. Thus, the topic of how many years after the King left GX's story came up, has been debated continuously.
However, even though Linked World's background is based on the anime, it is not completely consistent with it, thus avoiding controversy. The 2.0 version explicitly stated that it takes place six years after the 1.0 version, already entering the GX era.
Of course, this wasn't what concerned Xue Lang for the moment.
After logging in, the first thing he did was to rush to the location of the Dream Card Shop, searching for the transcendent bond with Youyu-san.
But he hadn't imagined what he would see there.
Six years passed, the shop was still standing there—it even looked better decorated and more luxurious than six years ago, but it also made Xue Lang feel unfamiliar.
Although the sign still prominently displayed "Dream Card Shop," it wasn't actually a card shop anymore. If anything, this place was closer to...
... a museum.
A museum themed "How to Become a Duel King."
It didn't sell cards at all; the whole shop's layout had been completely overhauled and rebuilt. Now, it housed sculptures of various forms of Masked Heroes and a Dark Magician Girl model standing adorably at the entrance, like a welcoming hostess.
The showcases along the walls displayed various magazines related to the Duel King and Spiritual Artifacts allegedly crafted by him (though they looked like merchandise designed to scam nerds).
In the most eye-catching spot hung a lavish projection screen, showcasing all the highlights of Duel King Youyu.
Which undoubtedly made Xue Lang think of 221B Baker Street far away in London.
From the biographies and contents displayed on the big screen, Xue Lang quickly grasped what they had missed during these six years.
After the DM story ended, this world did not become calm and quiet. On the contrary, although there hadn't been apocalyptic bosses like Orichalcos or Great Evil God Sock, Duel Monster Spirits, in general, had become increasingly active.
Experts speculate that the consecutive supernatural phenomena might have loosened the connection between the Duel Monster Spirit Realm and the human world, with the link between the two dimensions growing stronger by the day.
Now, it's much easier for Duel Monster Spirits to manifest in reality than ever before. Studies show that more and more Duelists are gaining the power to "see Monster Spirits"—though it seems primarily among the younger generation.
An increasing number of Duelists are awakening extraordinary abilities, and the overall strength of the Dark Duelists in the Underworld is also on the rise. Duel Monsters seem to be becoming omnipresent, and people are accepting their existence in a relatively gentle manner.
This is largely credited to Kaiba Seto, known as the card game addict once in three thousand years.
Strangely enough, Kaiba was initially dismissive of the supernatural phenomenon of "Monster Spirits," even publicly stating that spirits were mere figments of imagination conjured by those mystical Duelists and did not exist.
But then, somehow, one day Kaiba suddenly changed his tune, announcing that scientific research showed spirits did indeed exist. He even spent massive resources and energy on promotion, helping the public accept the presence of Monster Spirits, building a framework for human and spirit coexistence using the power of Kaiba Group...
Xue Lang was astonished by Kaiba Seto's transformation into a fervent advocate of scientific superstition.
Could it be that one day Kaiba unexpectedly found a spirit wife and suddenly changed his stance?
But challenges and opportunities coexist, and the widespread appearance of spirits inevitably brings not only friendly partners but also dangerous enemies.
Over the past six years, there have been sporadic cases of various Monster Spirits causing chaos. Some are due to malevolent Duelists abusing the power of spirits, while others are spirits losing control themselves.
Among them is the largest and most notorious chaos in those six years, caused by a demon called the "Three Phantasm."
Five years ago, the Lord of Searing Flames, Uria, appeared along the coastal regions of the island nation, causing quite a stir. But soon after, Duel King Youyu arrived personally, commanding the Egyptian God "Slifer the Sky Dragon," which resembled Uria like a twin, to utterly subdue the rampaging Phantasm.
Xue Lang saw the scene on television back then. Though the camera shook violently and the footage wasn't clear, people could still feel the terrifying aura of the Egyptian God Slifer through the screen...
...and the submission of the Phantasm.
Indeed, from the moment the Sky Dragon appeared, the once arrogant and overbearing Uria immediately cowered, curling up pitifully to the side.
The Sky Dragon seemed furious at this inferior knockoff of itself, blasting Uria to the ground with a hyperconductor wave, roaring furiously as if to say—
—keep pretending here!
You damn toad jumping off a cliff—trying to pretend to be Batman?
Uria pitifully: Big Brother, please calm down. The unscrupulous card company K Consortium insisted on slapping a Big Brother title on me to grab attention and swindle money, and I'm just as desperate!
Though Phantasms are indeed very powerful spirits, the difference in combat strength between a tamed spirit with a Duelist master and a lone wild spirit is significant. With Youyu controlling the Sky Dragon and Uria being alone, the outcome was undoubtedly one-sided.
In less than three minutes, the Lord of Searing Flames Uria was successfully subdued and sealed by Duel King Youyu.
A year later, Uria's brothers "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder" and "Raviel, Lord of Phantasms" both appeared, seemingly to avenge their sealed brother from the previous year.
When the two Phantasms appeared, it was like the world was falling apart, with lightning and thunder in the skies, and the city felt like it was in an Earthquake.
The government immediately evacuated the public and sealed off the relevant areas, dispatching classified special Duelists to deal with the situation. But average spirits were ineffective against Phantasms of such caliber, and the special Duelists were defeated in no time.
In the end, Kaiba Seto arrived just in time on his iconic "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" jet, Summoning his legendary spirit "Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Duel King Youyu also arrived with him, calling forth "Contrast Hero Chaos" for support.
Coincidentally, the First Duel King Muto Yugi was present as well, stepping up to Summon the legendary spirit "Dark Magician."
Notably, although the "Millennium Pendant" excavated by Kaiba no longer housed the spirit of the King, it still remained a Millennium Item.
And this Divine Artifact left in the world seemed to recognize Muto Yugi as its master, bestowing him with unparalleled extraordinary power across the entire Underworld.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Dark Magician, and Contrast Hero together crushed the two masterless Phantasms, successfully sealing them into cards.
Rumor has it that the military's top-secret department took notice of the legendary Duelists' prowess present and extended an olive branch to them.
Officer Fujino, in charge of recruitment, painstakingly persuaded them, saying the world was facing turmoil, and similar crises would only increase. One day you'll encounter threats no single Duelist can resolve, and you must unite to address these threats...
But Yugi, Kaiba, and Youyu had no intention of collaborating with the military or being bound by rules, so they all refused.
However, Kaiba, on reflection, thought there was some truth in what was said. So, with a grand gesture, he recruited Youyu and Yugi as friends on the spot, deciding to fund the establishment of an organization called the "Duelist Alliance," dedicated to dealing with the most significant supernatural crises...