“<Arianna>’s effect, adding <Cooclock>.” Li Guanqi smoothly operated his turn.
“Discard <Cooclock>, allowing a Normal Trap Set this turn to be activated in the same turn.”
“Chain the effect of <Lady Labrynth> in hand, Special Summoning this card.”
“Activate <Stovie Torbie> in hand, sending this card to the Graveyard, then discard <Big Dumb White> from hand to Set <Big Welcome> from the Deck.”
“<Big Dumb White>?” Shuang Shenghua interrupted in confusion.
She looked left and right but couldn’t find a card with that name.
Li Guanqi casually explained, “That’s <Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle>.
I just call her Big Dumb White out of habit.”
“You call the ruler of the Silver Castle “Big Dumb White”?!” Shuang Shenghua was struck as if by lightning, her eyes widening as she warned him, “You better never step into Labrynth; Arias will kill you.”
“I actually want to go.” Li Guanqi muttered, “But how do I get there?”
Labrynth was just a fictional name, but that didn’t stop him from liking it.
White and big, white and long!
“Activate <Cooclock>’s effect in the Graveyard, Special Summoning it.” Li Guanqi continued, explaining as he played.
“Use <Arianna> and <Cooclock> for a Link Summon.”
“Link-2, <Unchained Soul Lord of Yama>.”
The moment the summon succeeded, a sudden image flashed through his mind.
A demon boy with twin horns, gripping a staff, appearing amidst a sea of flames, laughing maniacally.
Li Guanqi instinctively shook his head and rubbed his eyes, assuming he was just too tired and imagining things.
Shuang Shenghua froze.
“Huh?”
Her puzzled murmur turned into a sharp outburst.
“Unchained?!” She scratched her head in disbelief.
“You’re using Unchained in <Labrynth>?
That’s…
interesting.”
“But would the ruler allow it?”
“Here you go again.” Li Guanqi was speechless, knowing that she was once again imagining conversations with the cards.
This time, however, instead of correcting her immediately, he played along on a whim, saying seriously, “I asked Big Dumb White, and she said she listens to me.
The entire Silver Castle is mine to shape.”
“I see.” Shuang Shenghua nodded lightly.
“You two must be close.”
“…You actually believe that?” Li Guanqi thought to himself.
He sighed lightly and continued playing, tapping the screen.
“Activate <Yama>’s effect to add <Sharvara> to hand.”
“Activate <Sharvara>’s effect, destroy a Set card, Special Summon it.”
“Chain <Cooclock>’s effect to activate the Set card———- <Big Welcome Labrynth>.”
“Chain <Lady Labrynth>’s effect to Set a Normal Trap from the Deck.”
“Whoa———–” Shuang Shenghua’s eyes lit up as she gained insight.
“So you can do that too?”
“A true expert.”
Destroying a Normal Trap didn’t stop its activation or resolution.
With C1 <Sharvara> and C2 <Big Welcome>, he could save an extra card.
“<Lady Labrynth>’s effect, Setting <Transaction Rollback>.”
“<Big Welcome>’s effect, Special Summoning <Ariane> from the Deck, returning <Lady Labrynth> to hand.”
“<Stovie Torbie>’s effect in the Graveyard, Special Summoning itself.”
“<Ariane>’s effect, drawing a card, then Special Summoning <Lady Labrynth> from hand.”
“Mm.” Shuang Shenghua nodded half-understandingly, letting out a soft hum.
She was a little lost, but that was fine.
“No worries!”
She held three powerful board-breakers in hand, and two were starters.
Absolutely flawless!
“Go ahead, I don’t have any hand traps.” Shuang Shenghua said calmly.
But she flashed a sly grin in her heart, thinking, “Once I drop my cards, he’s done for!”
“Where’s your confidence coming from?” Li Guanqi raised an eyebrow and teased, “<Harpie’s Feather Duster>?
<Lightning Storm>?
Or <Evenly Matched>?”
“No!” Shuang Shenghua hurriedly defended, “Nothing at all, I’m panicking like crazy!”
Li Guanqi let out a chuckle and continued his play: “<Sharvara> and <Yama>, link the two.”
“Link Summon.”
“Link-2, <Soul of Rage>.”
Classic red dog turning into blue dog, a very practiced move.
“<Sharvara>’s effect activates when sent to the Graveyard, setting <Escape of the Unchained> from the Deck to the field.”
“You’re even running <Escape>?
It actually suits———-” Shuang Shenghua muttered to herself.
“A universal cheat code for Fiend decks.” Li Guanqi said casually.
“Activating <Ariane>’s effect, sending the set <Transaction Rollback> to the Graveyard to Special Summon———-”
He paused, scanning his list of available choices.
“Special Summon, <Chandraglier>.”
“<Chandraglier> and <Stovie Torbie>, link the two.”
“Link Summon.”
“Link-2, <Muckraker From the Underworld>.”
“<Muckraker>’s effect, discard one card to Special Summon <Big Dumb White> from the Graveyard.”
At that moment, a strange hallucination surfaced in his mind again.
A woman dressed in a pure white gown stood before him, showing only her back.
The surroundings fell silent, only two clear heartbeats could be heard.
Li Guanqi shook his head again, snapping himself out of the illusion.
“Activating <Lovely Labrynth>’s effect, setting <Big Welcome> from the Graveyard to the field.”
Perhaps he was still in a daze———— this time, he didn’t call her Big Dumb White.
Instead, he addressed her by the card’s true name———- Lovely Labrynth.
“Setting one card, turn end.”
Li Guanqi took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples.
End of Turn 1.
Frontline: <Soul of Rage>, <Muckraker>, <Lady Labrynth>, <Lovely Labrynth>, <Ariane>
Backrow: <Escape>, <Big Welcome>, one facedown card
Graveyard: <Transaction Rollback>
Hand: None
LP: 8000
“Five in the front, three in the back.” Shuang Shenghua was stunned, full of question marks.
“And you call this a Beatdown deck?”
“Don’t worry, not a single negation.” Li Guanqi reassured.
From what was visible on the field, there were no negation effects——— in theory, her card effects should all go through.
“Really?” Shuang Shenghua narrowed her eyes.
“So your only disruption is from the <Unchained>?”
“Something feels off.”
“Whatever, scrub~~”
Her lips curled into a smirk, confidence restored.
“Watch closely!
Now it’s my turn!”
“My turn.”
“Draw!”
Shuang Shenghua shouted dramatically and instinctively swung her arm.
Whoosh!
———–the phone she’s holding flew out of her hand.
“MY PHONE!” Li Guanqi’s eyes widened as he watched it trace a perfect arc through the air.
“You f—”
“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!”
His entire face twisted, an absolute masterpiece of exaggerated expression.
Realizing her mistake, Shuang Shenghua pressed her hands together, putting on an innocent and adorable look.
“Sorry.”
“It’s just a habit to swing my hand…”
She muttered while obediently picking up the phone.
“Alright, I’ve drawn my card.”
“Any activations?”
Shuang Shenghua blinked at Li Guanqi and cupped her hands in apology.
“Sorry.”
“I see.” Li Guanqi’s tone turned cold.
“If I don’t show you what real dueling is, you’ll never understand.”
“I’m doomed.” Shuang Shenghua shuddered.
“He’s mad.”