Early the next morning, You Ye had just opened his door to buy breakfast when a thick-browed middle-aged man arrived with a mixed-blood young woman.
The man stepped forward first and extended his hand with a warm smile.
"Hello, You Ye. I'm Tang Qingchong, the current head of the Inspector Bureau. Codename: Insect King."
"Nice to meet you."
You, Ye, shook his hand calmly.
"This is the person you're looking for—the duelist who holds the original copy of Dimension Shifter. She's also my niece, Dong Yu."
Tang Qingchong released his hand and introduced the young woman beside him.
You, Ye, blinked.
"Wasn't I supposed to go to the Bureau? Why did you come here?"
Tang Qingchong chuckled awkwardly.
"You've brought the Inspector Bureau a future King-Rank duelist. That kind of favor isn't small. How could we possibly make you travel to headquarters?"
He scratched his head.
"Honestly, I should've gifted you the card directly. But this stubborn girl refuses to let me handle it."
Dong Yu rolled her eyes.
She seriously suspected her uncle wasn't actually on her side.
"You Ye… Senior, don't listen to this old man."
She hesitated slightly before choosing the respectful address.
"I was ready to give you the card yesterday. I just want to personally witness your strength."
"You can call me You Ye if 'Senior' feels strange."
"Dueling is fine—but not here. We can go to the Bureau."
Tang Qingchong waved his hand.
"No need. I'll open a separate space."
You Ye's eyes flickered with surprise.
A King-Rank ability.
Only true King-Rank duelists could pull others into a separate dimension outside formal duels. That was the biggest difference between King-Rank and Path-to-King duelists in daily life.
"Alright."
The scenery shifted.
They appeared inside a forest.
But unlike normal forests, this one was crawling entirely with insects—no birds, no beasts.
You Ye immediately understood Dong Yu's earlier expression.
Most women wouldn't enjoy an insect-filled world.
"Can you agree to one condition?"
Dong Yu shot her uncle a look of disgust before turning to You Ye.
"As long as it's reasonable."
"My archetype is Ghoti (Fish Shadows). It's much weaker than your Tearlaments and Kshatri-La. Especially Kshatri-La—it completely counters me. Can you avoid using those two?"
She had thought carefully.
If even Superheavy Samurai could be refined into a guaranteed King-level deck under You Ye, what would Tearlaments or Kshatri-La look like in his hands?
No fixed draw could close that gap.
She wasn't foolish enough to smash eggs against stone.
"You're playing Ghoti?"
You, Ye, nodded thoughtfully.
"Then I'll use Branded. And I'll add some 'flair.' That alright?"
"Flair?"
She looked confused.
But since he called it flair, it probably wasn't something oppressive.
"Fine."
You, Ye, adjusted his deck for ten minutes.
Duel start.
You Ye (8000 LP) vs Dong Yu (8000 LP)
He chose to go first.
Draw Phase – Dong Yu Interrupts
"In your Standby Phase, I discard Dimension Shifter. Until the end of the next turn, any card sent to the Graveyard is banished instead."
She smirked.
"You're running Branded. Your deck doesn't handle Shifter well, so I fixed-drew into it."
You Ye, smiled faintly.
"Expected."
"Chain 2: Maxx 'C'. Each time you Special Summon, I draw."
You Ye, rubbed his chin.
Two powerful hand traps.
Even with a fixed draw used, that was strong.
Branded could tolerate Shifter somewhat—but not Maxx "C".
Worse, he didn't have Ash Blossom.
No choice.
Chain resolves.
Maxx "C" is active.
Dimension Shifter is active.
You Ye's Turn
"Branded Fusion."
He banished Tri-Brigade Mercourier and Fallen of Albaz to Fusion Summon Albion the Branded Dragon.
Mercourier searched Guiding Quem, the Virtuous.
Normal Summon Blazing Cartesia, the Virtuous.
"I end my turn."
Three actions.
He stopped.
Dong Yu only relaxed when he officially declared the end of the phase.
She had heard rumors—
Deck banishes locks.
Extra Deck locks.
Omni-immunity monsters.
Ending at three actions was mercy.
Dong Yu's Turn
She drew.
Normal Summon Paces, Light of the Ghoti.
Chain 2: Cartesia fuses using field + hand.
You Ye, fused Cartesia with Thunder Dragonhawk from hand into Granguignol the Dusk Dragon.
Dong Yu raised a brow.
"Thunder Dragon? That's your 'flair'?"
She suddenly felt lucky she used Maxx "C" earlier.
Without it, Thunder Dragon mixed with Branded might ignore Shifter entirely.
Granguignol effect triggered.
Chain 2: Thunder Dragonhawk shuffled two cards, drew two.
Granguignol Special Summoned Despian Luluwalilith from Extra.
Dong Yu continued.
Banished Ghoti effects.
Synchro Summon Arionpos, Serpent of the Ghoti.
Set two.
End turn.
Next Turn – Maxx "C" War
You Ye drew.
Dong Yu immediately discarded a second Maxx "C".
"Three turns. Two 'C's. Impressive."
"Thank you."
"Chain 2: I discard Maxx 'C'."
Her smile froze.
Ghoti expands on the opponent's turn.
Maxx "C" mirror meant mutual draw escalation.
Still, she had a fixed draw advantage.
Both resolved.
During the Standby Phase, banished Ghoti monsters returned.
Main Phase – Battle Pressure
You Ye Normal Summoned Guiding Quem.
Sent second Fallen of Albaz to GY (banished instead).
He turned the monsters to attack position.
"I enter Battle Phase."
Dong Yu narrowed her eyes.
He understood Ghoti.
Entering Battle forced her to expand on his turn—or lose her board.
"I won't allow it."
Ghoti Quick Synchro triggered.
Chain 2: Despian Luluwalilith reduced all non-Fusion Level 8+ monsters to 0 ATK.
But—
She wasn't fooled.
She knew Albion's bounce effect.
She activated Counter Trap:
Fish and Kick Surprise!
Negated Albion and destroyed it.
The chain resolved.
Synchro Summon Askaan, the Bicorned Ghoti.
Trigger War
Arionpos banished Snopios, Shade of the Ghoti.
Chain 2: Guiding Quem revived Fallen of Albaz.
Albaz effect:
Fusion using both fields.
Dong Yu smiled.
"Just as planned."
Snopios returned to hand.
She chain-blocked.
You Ye, chained Thunder Dragon discard search.
She chain-synchroed again.
Final resolution:
Albaz fused with Askaan.
Fusion Summon:
Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon.
The board reset into a new power state.
Dong Yu's smile widened.
Come then, You Ye. Let's see who wins.