Chapter 35: The Rampaging AI

Kaiba Land, White Dragon Festival.

Sunlight filtered through the vibrant, colorful amusement rides, casting mottled patches of light and shadow across the ground. The massive park was teeming with people, filled with the bustling atmosphere of the festival.

Everywhere you looked, you could see Blue-Eyes White Dragons: diving down the tracks of thrilling rollercoasters, spinning through the air on the flying chairs, or crouching silently like guardians atop the Ferris wheel... In short, they were everywhere.

Yuxuan once again marveled at the sheer reach and influence of the legendary President Kaiba, who had actually created an exclusive holiday called "White Dragon Day" for his beloved dragon. It had even been designated a statutory holiday, a day when, by tradition, everyone was expected to visit Kaiba Land and enjoy themselves to the fullest.

The Duel Dojo, caught up in the festive spirit, had organized a team-building trip for its students to the city’s Kaiba Land. The legendary friend from Dojo Master Takeuchi’s excavation team had also made an appearance.

"Yingliu!"
"Kazuya!"
The two men greeted each other with a bear hug.
"I’ve missed you like crazy!" the man said, thumping the Dojo Master’s back hard.

Yuxuan sized up the newcomer. He wore a flashy plaid shirt, his mirror-smooth forehead lacked a single stray hair, his face looked somewhat weathered, and he wore dark-rimmed glasses. He didn't look like a duelist at all; he looked more like a programmer who had spent half a lifetime evolving into his current form.

With eyes narrowed into slits and that polished dome of a head, he possessed the legendary "squinty-eyed" and "bald" traits simultaneously. In any other story, he might have been a boss-level villain, but here, he was just a regular guy. After all, in this world, not having a wild, gravity-defying hairstyle meant you had already lost half the battle.

"Why haven't you visited in so long?" Dojo Master Takeuchi complained. "I thought you’d forgotten your old friend."
"Ah, you know, work’s been busy. Oh, right, let me tell you, I found some top-tier resources this time! Both projection and VR versions! The heroine isn't just huge, she’s also..."
"Stop! Cut it out!" The Dojo Master signaled him with his eyes. "The students are all here today."
The man caught on immediately. "Oh, right. My bad. We’ll talk about it in private later."
The students: "..."
Actually, we’re probably more interested in what you two talk about in private.

"Let me introduce you. This is Kazuya Saito. He was a duelist at our dojo back in the day; you could call him a fellow alumnus," Dojo Master Takeuchi introduced.
The man named Saito nodded slightly. "Indeed. The previous master once told me that I had an extraordinary talent for dueling and that with just a little effort, I would surely surpass Takeuchi..."
Dojo Master Takeuchi glared. "I’ve never heard of that. If that were true, why would the master have expelled you from the dojo?"
"Haha, brother, there’s something you don't know," Saito said happily. "The master liked me a lot back then... it’s just a pity his daughter liked me even more. Once he found out, he was naturally furious."
Dojo Master Takeuchi was shocked. "Such a thing happened? Why did you never mention it?"
"Young people don't understand. Why bring up old history?" Kazuya Saito waved his hand, striking a nostalgic pose.
The students: "..."
"Ahem, let's talk about the ruins instead."

Dojo Master Takeuchi interrupted quickly. He had a premonition that if he let this guy continue, things would get even more inappropriate for the younger students, which wouldn't be good for their physical, mental, or dueling development.

"Oh, the ruins, of course," Saito laughed. "These ruins are actually quite interesting..."
Just as he said this, *snap*—the lights in the giant Dragon Duel Arena where they stood suddenly cut out.
Following that came the "rumble" of rolling shutters descending. Every entrance was sealed within a second, and the windows were blocked as well. All light sources vanished, plunging the arena into total darkness.

The crowd inside erupted in an uproar.
"What’s going on?"
"System failure?"
"Give me my money back!"

Kazuya Saito looked around, muttering, "Strange, this shouldn't be happening. Even in the event of an accidental power outage, the duel arenas in the park have backup generators. How is this possible?"

Yuxuan remained silent, but this development gave him a sense of déjà vu. He felt like something similar had happened in the anime... Back when Kaiba Land was first built in the DM era, the system had been hacked, the arena sealed, and the plot quickly evolved into a situation where everyone had to duel an AI to earn their escape.

In the original work, the mastermind was Zigfried von Schroeder, one of Seto Kaiba’s business rivals. But that guy should have been taken down by Kaiba eight years ago. Could it really be a system failure?

Light returned to the darkness. The only light source focused on the center of the arena, where an incredibly arrogant figure stood with arms crossed: brown hair, blue eyes, and a white trench coat.
Then, he tilted his head back and emitted a signature, booming laugh: "Hahaha—"

"That’s... Seto Kaiba!" the crowd gasped.
"What’s going on? Why is Seto Kaiba himself here?"
"Is this some kind of surprise event?"

Kazuya Saito immediately noticed something was wrong. "Wait a minute, that’s not Seto Kaiba. That’s the newest model of duel AI in this arena!"
The crowd: "!"

"KaibaCorp’s dueling programs contain the data of the most famous duelists, allowing them to perfectly replicate their tactics, thought processes, and even their personalities. Combined with the photorealistic virtual imaging technology we have now, it can provide tourists with the authentic experience of dueling the world’s top experts!" Saito explained.

President Kaiba’s obsession with man-versus-machine dueling was no secret. Ever since the Pharaoh went to the afterlife, the President had been obsessed with AI, frantically conducting research and upgrades. If someone were to look into his R&D files, they would probably find thousands of different versions of Pharaoh AI.

In the beginning of *Pyramid of Light*, Kaiba dueled an AI Pharaoh and even lost, after which he flew into a rage to find a way to win. By the time of *The Dark Side of Dimensions*, Kaiba defeated the AI Pharaoh, only to rage again, claiming that defeating such a phantom of the past was meaningless...

Dojo Master Takeuchi: "So now..."
"Someone has hacked the arena's system and set the AI to the image of Seto Kaiba," Saito said in a low voice. "I’m afraid the arena’s system is now connected to the AI. Strange, I heard that the rides weren't supposed to have this level of AI. AIs of legendary duelists like Yugi Muto or Seto Kaiba are usually used for internal company testing—they should be the most advanced dueling AIs in existence. Normally, they wouldn't be open to the public..."

Indeed, the AI Kaiba finished his three-stage laugh and unfolded his duel disk: "If you want to leave this place, you must first defeat the deck in my hand!"

Yuxuan was not surprised at all.
See? It always comes down to playing cards.

The people trapped in the arena were in a state of panic.
"What? We have to beat Seto Kaiba? How is that possible?"
"But this is just an AI. Besides, it couldn't possibly have the Blue-Eyes White Dragon..."
"You don't know? Because it's a duel AI, its deck is made of pure data, input with the records of powerful duelists from all over. That’s why it has every card!"
"What? Then does that mean it even has the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon... How are we supposed to win against that?"

The crowd was in total chaos. To these amateur tourists, this AI not only copied Kaiba’s entire personality and tactical logic but also possessed a complete deck of data—it was infinitely close to the real thing. That was the man standing at the pinnacle of modern dueling, wielding the deck recognized as the strongest in the world. How could anyone win? To win this, you'd have to be Yugi Muto, right?

Yuxuan, however, remained calm.
Actually, being locked in for a while wouldn't really affect these tourists. KaibaCorp would definitely be working to fix the malfunction, and the lockdown should be lifted soon. If all else failed, physically breaking through the doors was an option. For the tourists, it was just a waste of time, and they might even get compensation from KaibaCorp.

However, for KaibaCorp, this was a major PR disaster. Their competitors would undoubtedly have a field day with this, and no one would let such a rare opportunity pass them by. But that was a problem for Kaiba to worry about.

Dojo Master Takeuchi leaned over to Yuxuan and whispered, "This is a chance to duel the deck of the legendary Seto Kaiba. Do you want to try?"

Yuxuan shrugged. He didn't think it was all that special. Even if it copied his personality and his deck, it was still just an AI. Could it also replicate "Heart of the Cards" luck?

But then, Kazuya Saito whispered a reminder: "From what I know of Seto Kaiba, if someone here defeats this AI and lifts the system lockdown before the intrusion is resolved, saving the company from further losses, he might offer a huge reward—money, or even rare cards..."

"You don't need to say another word."
Yuxuan waved his hand and strode toward the dueling field, leaving everyone with a cool, confident silhouette.

Money and cards were worldly possessions, and he didn't care about those. But as a duelist, he could not let this chance to challenge a legend slip away.
He wouldn't let anyone else take this spot.

"Come on."
Yuxuan stood directly opposite the holographic AI Kaiba.
"I'll be your opponent."