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The Chapter get Retranslated
"It's really finished."
There was only one day left before the conference. Alexis Rhodes looked at the freshly printed ritual new card in her hand, seemingly still smelling of ink, and was momentarily lost in thought.
Even for her, a gifted elite who was fast-tracked into the academy, she had never imagined that she, a first-year, could achieve such astonishing accomplishments.
First, a large-scale upgrade and strengthening of her entire Cyber Angel deck, and now she had even printed a new card that no one had ever heard of before.
[Cyber Angel Natasha].
This was the five-star Ritual Angel that You Xuan had inspired her to create, famous in the Cyber Angel archetype for its unique effect that could NTR the opponent's monsters.
"As expected of you, Alexis. You succeeded so quickly," Bastion Misawa praised without reservation. "It seems my progress also needs to speed up; I can't fall too far behind."
"No, it was just luck... and thanks to the direction You Xuan pointed out."
She already found it somewhat unbelievable.
From what she understood, even if one could grasp a general direction through research for card creation, it was still a vague direction. Many times, before a card was completed, even the designer couldn't definitively say what it would be like.
But so far, You Xuan had given her the feeling that he clearly knew what each card should be.
"So, you haven't mentioned this card in your submitted article yet, have you?" Misawa asked.
"No, because it was still in the development stage when I was writing the thesis."
It would be perfect to showcase the new results at the conference.
After submitting the paper a few days ago, she heard that the reviewers reacted strongly, specifically sending an email to inquire about relevant matters and repeatedly emphasizing that she absolutely had to be present at the event.
She wondered what their reaction would be if they knew that a new card had been printed in these last two days before the conference.
Professor Daitokuji looked at the new Cyber Angel and fell silent for a moment.
This card... how should he put it?
In his impression, it was completely different from the usual straightforward style of Cyber Angels.
If he had to say, the art style felt a bit like it leaned towards You Xuan's aesthetic.
Daitokuji narrowed his eyes, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards You Xuan, who was diligently reading documents at the next table.
As if sensing his gaze, You Xuan raised an eyebrow.
That's not my business.
Although the art style was a bit off compared to the old Cyber Angel cards, Natasha was originally a Cyber Angel series card; it wasn't something I just made up.
Cyber Angels were really like this all along.
"Hmm, it is indeed impressive."
Daitokuji held Natasha in his hand, examining it for a moment, then slowly put it down and returned it to Alexis Rhodes.
Because he had been following the development progress in this laboratory, he knew that although Alexis was doing the actual printing work, the control of the overall development and design direction had always been You Xuan's alone.
And from the deviated art style of this new card, it was also evident that, compared to Alexis's pursuit of direct offensive power, this was clearly closer to You Xuan's style.
Professor Daitokuji looked at You Xuan again, a curious smile playing on his lips.
The more he looked, the more he felt that this child possessed extraordinary talent.
He wondered if he was considering letting You Xuan inherit his "Macro Cosmos."
Professor Daitokuji used an Alchemy Deck, but most of his cards were anime-only cards that had not been made into real cards even after nearly twenty years.
However, he had one card that had endured the test of time and was still active on the front lines, regarded by duelists for years as the venerable progenitor of "Dark World" strategies.
Continuous Trap - Macro Cosmos.
Its effect was simple and brutal: as long as this card remained on the field, all cards sent to the graveyard by both players were banished from the game.
It was easy to imagine how significant this was for modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, where the graveyard had long become a "second hand." One card could practically delete the concept of the graveyard, making it extremely impactful against decks heavily reliant on graveyard resources and repeated summons for their combos.
To be honest, You Xuan asking Daitokuji for guidance was partly because he genuinely wanted to learn Alchemy for card creation, but also partly because he harbored the idea of inheriting the "Macro Cosmos Style" from the professor in the future.
Because according to the original story, the professor was already close to dying. Daitokuji was currently using an artificial body created through his "Human Alchemy," but it was on the verge of collapse.
Before he died, he needed to find someone he deemed worthy to entrust his legacy to, and in the anime, he chose Jaden Yuki.
However, although Jaden Yuki was said to be an Alchemy genius by Daitokuji, his deck style was clearly completely different from Daitokuji's.
So, You Xuan thought long and hard and concluded that while it was fine for Jaden to be the Alchemy successor, he wanted to inherit the professor's dying wish... along with Macro Cosmos.
The next day, You Xuan and his two companions left the island together and arrived at the venue.
The venue was set up at the headquarters of Industrial Illusions. The spacious and bright conference hall was filled with participating bigwigs and researchers sitting in neat rows of chairs. A large projection screen at the center of the podium displayed the conference theme and agenda.
Alexis had taken her third deep breath since entering the venue, her chest rising and falling dramatically.
"Don't be nervous," You Xuan said.
"I-I'm not nervous!" Alexis quickly retorted. "I'm just thinking about what to say later."
You Xuan smiled and said no more.
However, being nervous was understandable. No matter how strong Alexis or Bastion were, they were still first-year students, suddenly thrust into presenting before such a group of high-level figures; anyone would be nervous.
"Holy cow, is that Pegasus J. Crawford?"
Misawa whispered.
Following his gaze, they indeed saw Pegasus J. Crawford, whom You Xuan had recently met, sitting at the end of the conference table.
"That Pegasus?" Alexis said, surprised. "I heard he's the new head of Industrial Illusions and a legendary duelist himself. He's even dueled the Original Duel King."
"Indeed," You Xuan nodded. "I even dueled him once."
Both of his companions stared at him in astonishment.
You? Against a figure of that caliber?
"I'm ashamed to say," You Xuan replied, "I barely won by a hair; it was pure luck."
Their expressions grew even more exaggerated.
"Really?" Misawa couldn't help but ask.
Although he always knew not to view You Xuan through ordinary eyes, could he actually defeat a duelist of that level?
Just as they were talking, a woman hurried over.
She wore a well-tailored dark blue suit, elegant and dignified. Sunlight streamed through the window, as if coating her long hair with a golden sheen.
"Are you Alexis Rhodes and You Xuan Fujiki?"
The woman asked directly.
"Yes," You Xuan replied. "And you are...?"
"Oh, excuse me. I am Misaki Takahashi."
"Misaki Takahashi, the chief of the Cybernetics Research Association?" Alexis was surprised.
That was a very important person in the relevant field.
"Yes. I've read your thesis on Cyber Angel research, and frankly... it's quite astounding." Misaki Takahashi smiled and continued, "If the developments mentioned in the paper are all complete, then what you've achieved is revolutionary work that can no longer be described with a simple word like 'genius'."
"Thank you," Alexis said, looking at You Xuan. "But it was mainly You Xuan's ideas."
Misaki Takahashi's gaze swept over them, and she chuckled.
"Actually, I hadn't planned on attending the conference today, but after reading your article, I changed my mind. Because I have an impolite request...
You must have the new Cyber Angel deck with you, right?"
Alexis nodded. "Yes."
"Then," Misaki Takahashi held up her Duel Disk, "would you be willing to duel me with it?"
"Eh?" Alexis blinked.
Me vs. the Chief?
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