Inside the Eden Tower, everything was based on the fundamental principle that any dispute must be resolved through a duel.
People with foresight had quickly formed factions, gathering powerful duelists around them. Using these organizations, they spent the early days of the Tower building networks, seizing resources, and monopolizing industries through card games.
Hundreds of years later, the top performers among these organizations evolved into the gangs, corporations, and blood-related clans of the current era.
The Wayne family was one such group. They had started a century ago through dueling and now controlled a massive amount of resources in the middle levels of Eden. Today, they had become a leading conglomerate in the real estate industry for both the middle and lower levels.
They were also the group Zero's father had borrowed money from.
At that moment, inside a luxury car whose style clashed violently with the slums, a girl with pale red hair sat in the back seat. She had the window halfway down, watching the commotion at the Amano doorstep from a distance.
"The debt is 50,000 Eva points. Even with a 28% compound interest rate, it would only be a little over 100,000 after three years."
Phinis truly couldn't understand why her father would force such a cheap task onto her.
Was it really, as others said, because her mother was a "nobody" and she was just an illegitimate daughter of the Wayne family? Was even her biological father starting to scheme against her, giving her these slum-tier jobs just to keep her away from the core of the family business?
Phinis let out a soft sigh and closed the window. Her status in the family was indeed precarious. Usually, the small task of collecting debts in Sector 32 was left to the professional duelists employed by the family.
"Don't worry, Young Miss. You just stay in the car and watch!"
This came from the man sitting in the passenger seat. He had a prominent scar on his left cheek and a fierce, menacing face. He was the "Professional Duelist" of the Wayne family, specifically in charge of Sector 32 affairs.
Nikaido Sakunoki. Because of the scar, he had the nickname "Knife Bro," which sounded quite intimidating.
However, since violence was prohibited in Eden, that scar couldn't have come from a gang fight. He had just accidentally cut himself while playing with his mother's kitchen knife as a kid.
Still, with his scary face and relatively decent dueling skills, Nikaido had made a bit of a name for himself in Sector 32. But right now, his fierce face was filled with poorly hidden nervousness.
A direct descendant of the Wayne family had actually come down to the bottom of the tower, and specifically to his jurisdiction. It felt like a high-ranking official coming for a field inspection—how could he not be nervous?
Had the fact that he frequently went to Sector 28's red-light district to slack off finally been exposed? After all, the red-light district was managed by the Wayne family's arch-rivals, the Nan-Oni-In clan. Giving money to the enemy... he wouldn't be punished, would he?
"Go on," Phinis spoke softly, her voice as clear as a silver bell. "Do a good job, Knife Bro."
"Y-Young Miss, you called me..."
"Mhm. I heard everyone calls you Knife Bro, so I did too. It's a cool nickname, isn't it?"
"No, no, no! Please, Young Miss, just call me Nikaido." Nikaido was terrified. Having a direct member of the family call him "Bro" was more than he could handle.
However, during the exchange, Nikaido's sense of crisis lessened slightly. He didn't dare look at her directly, but he could see half of Phinis's face in the rearview mirror.
Even just half of her face was absolutely stunning. Her pale red hair was like a sunrise blooming on a mountain peak, infinitely more elegant than the flashy women in the red-light district. Comparing them to his pure and beautiful Young Miss was an insult.
Furthermore, the high-and-mighty Miss Phinis was so gentle—even respectful—toward an ordinary duelist like him.
"I'll leave the rest to you, Nikaido," Phinis said with a smile. "As long as you work for me, the Wayne family will never treat you poorly."
"I'll give it 120% effort, Young Miss!"
Taking a deep breath, Nikaido opened the car door and stepped out solemnly. As expected of the Young Miss's car, even the air inside was sweet. Nikaido decided then and there never to fool around in the red-light district again.
From today on, he would be Phinis's most loyal dog.
What was wrong with being a dog anyway?!
"Knife Bro!"
The lackeys, who were at their wits' end with Shio's acting, finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw their boss arrive. They finally didn't have to face that little brat!
Nikaido also had a headache dealing with Shio's personality, so he chose to ignore her entirely.
"Amano Zero, I told you last time: this is your final chance."
Nikaido lit a cigarette, looking ruthless behind his sunglasses. As the local head of Sector 32, he had met Zero many times because of this debt.
"This isn't the time we agreed on," Zero said. "I said I'd find a way to get the money in three days. I'd at least pay the interest."
As planned, Zero had completed his deck today. Based on his understanding of this "trash" deck, he wasn't sure about the win rate—after all, the dueling level in the slums was about the same as the early episodes of the anime—but if he won even once, he would have a significant income.
This involved another supplementary rule of dueling in the Eden Tower: Overkill.
The rules in this world were closer to the anime; both sides started with 4000 LP rather than the 8000 of the real-life game. 4000 LP meant a faster pace and less room for error. When a duelist took a fatal hit and their LP dropped to zero, any excess damage was subject to the "Overkill" rule.
For instance, if you had 100 LP left but took 1000 damage, you would be "Overkilled" by 900 points. Those 900 points would be deducted from the loser's Eva points and given to the winner. This was a duelist's primary way of making cold, hard cash.
This was why the dueling meta in Eden favored powerful offensive strategies. Only stronger attacks could yield more profit.
Of course, the Wayne Group didn't know Zero had finished a deck. Even if they did, they wouldn't believe a poor kid from Sector 32 could make much money with a deck made of literal garbage.
"Can't be helped. I'm just following orders. Today is the deadline my higher-ups gave me."
Normally, Nikaido wouldn't push this hard. He only looked fierce; at the end of the day, he just wanted the money. Driving a debtor to a dead end was the worst outcome. But for some reason, the Young Miss had personally come to oversee this specific debt today.
Thinking of Phinis watching him from the luxury car, Nikaido decided to put on a professional show. The usually lazy thug acted very serious, pulling up an electronic contract from his Eva Terminal and projecting it as a holographic display.
"The debt contract your old man signed with the Waynes three years ago. The three-year term is up today. According to the contract, if you can't pay, your run-down house goes to us to settle the debt."
The Wayne Group wasn't a charity. They started in real estate; many people at the bottom of the tower borrowed from them using their homes as collateral.
"Uncle, if the house is gone, where will we live?" Shio blinked her big, cute eyes and asked a soul-piercing question.
"Er, that... that is a problem... Wait, why is it my business where you live?!" Nikaido was speechless. He almost got manipulated by her cuteness again. No wonder his lackeys couldn't handle her.
"In short, according to the contract, if you don't move out today, the Wayne Group can apply for punitive measures from Mainframe Eva. The worst-case scenario isn't being homeless; it's being exiled from Eden."
In this world, as long as a contract was formally drafted, Mainframe Eva would guarantee its validity. Normal people would never dream of breaking a contract unless they were desperate.
Seeing her attempt at acting fail, Shio suggested, "Brother Yuu, how about my brother and I live at your place from now on?"
"Ah... you want to live... at my house?"
Yuu's expression suddenly became complicated. He thought of the... unspeakable collection in his room that Zero must never see. "If Shio and Zero decide on that, I can... go home and tidy up first... So, Zero, what do you plan to do?"
The future of the siblings rested in Zero's hands. But Zero had been staring at the projected electronic contract for a while.
The contract was valid, and as Nikaido said, he had to give up the house if he couldn't pay. However, after a careful look, Zero finally confirmed something.
"This is a Duel Contract."
"A Duel Contract?" Nikaido didn't believe him. He turned the contract around and pushed up his sunglasses to look closely.
Indeed, in the bottom left corner—very subtle but present—was the word "Duel."
This meant the contract was signed in the form of a duel, with an additional dueling condition. The parties were the Wayne Group and Zero's father, Amano Yuuichi.
As for who initiated the duel, based on reality, Zero's crappy house wasn't even worth the original 50,000 points, let alone 100,000 with interest. It meant Yuuichi had likely beaten a Wayne Group duelist to secure this specific contract.
Zero had never heard that his old man knew how to play cards.
But since it was a "Duel Contract," there was bound to be an extra condition. Nikaido clicked on the "Duel" option in disbelief.
[Three years later, the eldest son, Amano Zero, shall duel the Wayne Group on behalf of Amano Yuuichi. If he wins, the debt shall be voided.]
"Voiding a debt through a duel?"
After eighteen years in the Eden Tower, Zero had gradually come to accept these bizarre rules. In this world full of Duelist Brains, as long as it involved a card game, everything was decided by the win or loss.
After all, in the anime, no matter how powerful the villain was, if they lost at cards, their plan to destroy the world would crumble.
Currently, Zero was probably playing the role of a villain. Except instead of the "grand" goal of destroying the world, he was just trying to dodge a bill.
Zero pointed at the electronic contract and then at Nikaido.
"I am applying to the Wayne family for a contract... no, a default duel!"
Basically: I don't want to pay, so let's play cards!
If the world could be destroyed over a card game, what was wrong with tearing up a contract with one? Was it that unreasonable?
Dodging a debt by playing cards... a minor villain like him probably wouldn't last two episodes in the anime.
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Yu-ki-oh:King of the Scraps (52Chapters – Ongoing)
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