Chapter 11: Duel Gene Identification
Amano checked the time. About twenty minutes until his number got called.
He couldn't stop thinking about it.
Kaiba Corporation. Kaiba as the company president.
Was it just a coincidence? The same name by pure chance? Or did characters from the anime actually exist in this world?
The Kaiba Corporation president mentioned in that news broadcast—could it really be Kaiba Seto?
If anime characters existed here, then this wasn't just a simple future timeline. This would be something else entirely.
Amano immediately spent 50 Eva Points—a significant expense—to rent a virtual computer terminal at the Duelist Service Center and connect to the network.
That's right. Even in the year 5026, at the bottom levels of Eden Tower, ordinary people still had to pay money just to access the internet and search for information.
Before his duel victory, Amano would never have spent this much. Fifty Eva Points could buy actual meat for dinner.
But now? He had money to spare.
He typed in the search terms: [Kaiba Corporation] [Kaiba Corporation President]
The first result was an Eva Encyclopedia entry with its own dedicated page.
Kaiba Corporation—a young company that had risen to prominence within the last decade. Primary business: children's toys.
However, after a new president took over last year, the corporation had opened an entirely new division focused on extra-Tower archaeological expeditions.
Making a toy company do archaeology?
That wasn't just a career pivot—it was a completely different industry.
Though it reminded Amano of the anime, where Kaiba Corporation had gone from selling military weapons to manufacturing Duel Disks.
Then came the part Amano cared about most.
Kaiba Corporation's new president: Kaiba Chiaki.
Thank god. Not Kaiba Seto.
Amano quietly exhaled in relief. Just a coincidence after all... though that name practically screamed "I'm rich."
But when he scrolled down and saw the full-body photograph Eva Encyclopedia displayed on the main page, Amano's composure shattered instantly.
The president of this world's Kaiba Corporation—Kaiba Chiaki—was unexpectedly female.
Tall figure, confident posture. The definition of a domineering female CEO at first glance.
But that chestnut-brown long hair in the photo, combined with the signature silver-white trench coat...
She was a genderswapped Kaiba Seto. And gorgeous, to boot.
If this was Kaiba, Amano thought, getting dueled by her wouldn't be so bad?
No, no, no. Now wasn't the time for weird thoughts.
Amano continued scrolling through Eva Encyclopedia's additional information about Kaiba Chiaki.
Man, this female CEO had accumulated quite the list of titles:
[Youngest High School Student Company President]
[Eva Wealth Rankings Top Ten]
[Popular Professional Duelist]
[Eden Tower CK Cup Finals Runner-Up]
[Proud and Beautiful White Dragon User]
...
No matter how Amano looked at it, she seemed like an alternate universe genderswapped Kaiba Seto.
Especially the part about using Blue-Eyes White Dragon as her ace monster—identical to the anime's Kaiba.
As for information not recorded in the encyclopedia, forum discussions fell into the category of gossip with questionable authenticity.
For example: Kaiba Chiaki might be a lesbian who had zero interest in men.
Or: Kaiba Chiaki actually wasn't interested in women either—she was "dragon-sexual" and only loved Dragon-Type monsters.
Of course, these rumors didn't come from nowhere.
Kaiba Chiaki had publicly posted bounties within Eden Tower multiple times, offering to purchase powerful Dragon-Type monster cards.
Every single offer had been staggeringly high.
And her most recent bounty—87 million Eva Points to acquire a Blue-Eyes White Dragon card—had hit the top of trending forum discussions multiple times.
According to historical texts, only four Blue-Eyes White Dragons existed in the entire world. Kaiba Chiaki already possessed three and was still pursuing the fourth.
Reading this far, Amano couldn't hold back his mental commentary anymore.
These "historical texts"—aren't you just talking about the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime?
After all, only the anime ever claimed exactly four Blue-Eyes White Dragons existed in the world.
In actual 2026 reality, while high-rarity Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards had been expensive, common printings were everywhere—practically as numerous as stray dogs on the street.
Beyond these surface-level discussions, the forums also featured anonymous user posts promoting various conspiracy theories:
[Kaiba Chiaki's bounty is actually a scam! She just wants to lure out any other White Dragon users in Eden Tower so she can secretly eliminate them! Run while you can!]
Gossip already lacked nutritional value, but anonymous posts had credibility approaching absolute zero.
Amano only skimmed a few before moving on.
His Eva Terminal then notified him—time to enter his private room and begin duel gene identification.
"Private room" sounded impressive, but the actual space was only about as large as a bank ATM booth.
However, once Amano connected his wrist Eva Terminal to the machine, the cramped environment transformed instantly.
As if diving into a virtual world constructed from pure data, the space expanded infinitely, with countless Duel Monsters cards floating throughout.
[Pay 5,000 Eva Points to begin Duel Gene Identification?]
Amano selected 'Yes' without hesitation.
Ding—payment deducted successfully.
The cards suspended in space began rotating at high speed.
Various Duel Monster card faces flashed before Amano's eyes in a dizzying, dazzling display.
[Duel Gene Identification Beginning. Now distributing ten starter cards for duelist Amano Rei.]
[The first three cards revealed will determine Amano Rei's compatible deck archetype.]
"Oh, I get ten cards too?"
Amano suddenly felt the 5,000 Eva Point fee wasn't just worth it—it was a steal.
If he identified an amazing deck archetype, that meant each powerful monster card cost only 500 Eva Points.
The next moment, ten cards glowing with brilliant light separated from the high-speed rotation and arranged themselves neatly before Amano.
Saying he wasn't nervous would be a lie. Within Eden Tower, channels to acquire cards were extremely limited.
Duel gene identification would undoubtedly determine his future path as a duelist.
Amano raised his hand and flipped the first card.
Instantly, searing heat seemed to envelop him. A hot, sensual figure appeared on the card face before him.
[Elemental HERO Burstinatrix]
"Heroes!"
The instant the card flipped, electricity seemed to surge through Amano's brain.
Could his archetype actually be Heroes?
The deck used by Yu-Gi-Oh! GX protagonist Jaden Yuki.
Sure, Heroes weren't particularly dominant in the chaotic 2026 meta, but in current-day Eden Tower? Absolutely viable!
Besides, as a protagonist deck with incredibly cool monsters, Heroes had been the eternal white moonlight in countless duelists' hearts.
Amano eagerly flipped the second card. Wind gusted around him.
[Elemental HERO Avian]
"It's confirmed! Totally confirmed!"
Two Heroes in a row for the first three cards—what else could this mean except he was destined to become a Hero user?
"Come to me, my Heroes!"
Overwhelmingly excited, Amano's hand trembled as he flipped the third card.
-_-?
[Yuyu]
"..."
Wait, who are you again?
Why is it you, tofu block? Where are my Heroes?!
As Amano revealed all three cards, the duel gene identification displayed its final result.
The common trait shared by these three cards:
[Duel Gene Identification Result: Vanilla]
"Huh?"
Amano's legs went weak. The crushing sense of disappointment nearly made him collapse in the virtual space.
Vanilla. Meaning Normal Monsters with absolutely no effects whatsoever.
True enough—whether Burstinatrix or Avian, both were vanilla Normal Monsters without any effects, even though they were Heroes.
With the identification result announced, the remaining seven cards didn't wait for Amano to manually flip them. They automatically revealed themselves in sequence.
Sure enough, all Normal Monsters without any effects. Not even any high-Level monsters.
What happened to his supernatural luck? This was barely better than picking through garbage heaps!
Until the final card flipped...
For an instant, Amano swore he saw that card glowing with golden light in the virtual space.
If he had to describe it, the moment resembled a card game he'd played in his previous life called Hearthstone.
That game had an iconic, brain-washing voice line: "Woah, golden legendary!"
Of course, this world had no golden legendaries. The system wouldn't say anything that memetic.
But when that last card revealed itself, Amano felt the entire virtual space fill with an earth-shaking dragon's roar.
Yes, it was vanilla. Yes, it was a Normal Monster with absolutely no effects. Yes, it perfectly matched the archetype Amano's deck identification had determined.
But this card just happened to be—
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon] [Level 8 LIGHT]
[Dragon] [ATK: 3000] [DEF: 2500]
[This legendary dragon is a powerful engine of destruction. Virtually invincible, very few have faced this awesome creature and lived to tell the tale.]