Dueling

At five in the afternoon, at the Shenma Technology Company factory, a three-story building.

In the second-floor kitchen, Ning Yifan, wearing a short-sleeved apron, was preparing his dinner for the day: braised carp.

He cleaned the freshly bought carp after removing its innards, then scored its body with a knife so the meat would absorb the flavors better and cook more easily. He rubbed a little salt and a few Sichuan peppercorns over the fish, then added a little starch and cooking wine and mixed them together, coating the fish thoroughly with starch and using the wine to remove its fishy smell.

He heated oil in a wok. Once it was hot, Ning Yifan held the fish by its tail and lowered it into the oil, using a spatula in his other hand to ladle the scalding oil into the large carp's hollowed-out belly.

Sizzle, sizzle—

The sound of the carp frying rang out without pause.

The aroma soon spread through the room. He switched on the range hood, which sucked up the fumes and vented them outside.

Once the carp was golden brown, crispy on the outside and tender within, he took it out and set it aside.

He poured the frying oil into a dedicated oil container, then lit the stove again and added a ladleful of fresh oil. He tossed in the prepared pickled ginger, pickled vegetables, minced garlic, minced ginger, and crushed rock sugar, and stir-fried them together. Once the sugar melted and mixed with the oil and moisture from the other ingredients to form a sauce, he added a small spoonful of salt and chicken bouillon to season it.

He turned off the heat, poured the sauce from the wok over the freshly fried carp, and sprinkled a handful of chopped scallions on top.

A fragrant, flavorful braised carp was ready to serve.

He scooped himself a large bowl of rice to go with the sweet-and-sour braised carp. Ning Yifan ate three bowls in one sitting, and polished off all but a small portion of the carp, which had weighed over three pounds.

Thanks to his ability to remember anything at a glance, Ning Yifan had been following online tutorials step by step, and his cooking had improved tremendously lately. By adjusting the seasonings to suit his own tastes, he could more than satisfy his appetite!

After finishing a satisfying dinner, it was already six in the evening.

The weather at the end of October had begun to cool down. After dinner, he did a quick cleanup of the dishes.

Ning Yifan grabbed a Phantom Projector Generation 2 from his home, along with a small portable power station, and headed out.

At the company entrance, Ning Yifan took out his phone and opened a ride-hailing app. His destination was Chunxi Road.

With the money Ning Yifan had now, buying a car would have been easy. But he found driving too much of a hassle and didn't want to drive himself, so he kept putting off the purchase.

A driver soon accepted the ride. Two minutes later, a Volkswagen pulled up in front of Ning Yifan. He got in, and they set off.

The experienced driver sped along, getting Ning Yifan to his destination in less than an hour.

Stepping out of the car, Ning Yifan looked at the bustling street teeming with people. Although he was from Xichuan himself, this was his first time visiting this lively street. Stylish young men and women passed by in droves.

It was around half past seven in the evening. The sun had set and night had fallen, but the street remained just as lively, unaffected in the slightest. In fact, more people came out to stroll at night than during the warmer daytime hours!

People walked back and forth, out with their girlfriends, best friends, family, or friends.

Carrying the Phantom Projector Generation 2 and a portable power station, Ning Yifan walked straight into the crowd.

He wandered around, looking for a suitable place to play cards. He couldn't interfere with the nearby businesses or block pedestrians from passing through.

After wandering for a while, Ning Yifan reached a plaza-like area. Some people were resting on chairs along the street, couples sat together chatting and laughing, and a few pretty young women were singing and dancing while livestreaming.

"This is the spot!"

Ning Yifan found a slightly open space and set down the small portable power station and the Phantom Projector Generation 2.

He opened the cardboard box, took out the projector's extendable tripod, unfolded and assembled it, then mounted the projector on top and connected it to the portable power station. That was it: the Phantom Projector Generation 2 was set up, connected to the power station, and raised one and a half meters above the ground on its tripod.

To passersby, Ning Yifan's preparations were nothing unusual. On a bustling street like this, people singing or dancing were a common sight, so he didn't attract much attention.

Using the remote, Ning Yifan switched on the Phantom Projector Generation 2. He adjusted the calibration platform on the tripod, angled the projector screen downward, and cast the image onto the ground.

The projector automatically focused, adjusted the brightness, and corrected the image shape. It quickly booted up and connected to the mobile hotspot on Ning Yifan's phone.

Once it connected, Ning Yifan pointed the remote and familiarized himself with the game section, launching the only game currently installed on the Phantom Projector Generation 2: Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Battle!

As the game started, the projected image showed a modern city across a five-meter-by-three-and-a-half-meter stretch of ground. The viewpoint swept over the city. On the streets stood card shops and battle arenas; pedestrians held decks of cards and chatted with friends. On a distant high-rise, neon lights formed the words "Card Duel."

Passersby slowed down, watching curiously. "Huh? What's this?"

The couple who had been chatting nearby also stood up. The boyfriend said, "I thought he'd brought out a speaker to sing. It's a projector! The picture's so clear. Isn't that the Phantom Projector, the one that's been popular lately?"

His companion surreptitiously glanced at Ning Yifan, then blushed and pretended to focus on the projected image as she replied, "Mm-hmm!"

Gradually, small groups gathered around, all curious about what Ning Yifan was going to do next. Was he really going to show a movie in the middle of the street?

The viewpoint swept through the bustling city before settling on a corner, where a boy clutched a deck of cards tightly in his hand. His expression was resolute as he ran forward without stopping.

"The duel's about to begin. I have to win!"

The opening animation ended. The next options were a single-player match against the computer and an online match.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ning Yifan selected online match.

"Searching for an opponent. Estimated time: thirty seconds!"

It had been two days since the Phantom Projector Generation 2 went on sale. More than three thousand units had been sold in total, and the network server set up in a corner of the factory's second floor had been successfully tested and brought online.

More than a thousand units of the Phantom Projector Generation 2 had already been delivered. Surely someone had discovered this special game by now!

Seeing the battle options, the people around him came to their senses and began talking among themselves.

"So it's a game! I thought he was showing a movie. But who plays a game in the middle of the street?"

"The picture looks great. That city street just now covered such a huge area, and it looked even clearer than the games on my monitor at home!"

"The Phantom Projector is the best! You'd know if you'd used one! But why does this projector have a game built in?"

"I've been looking at the Phantom Projector lately and can't decide which model to buy. This is the Phantom Projector Generation 2. It has more features, but it's also more expensive. That game looks like Yu-Gi-Oh!"

"The Phantom Projector?"

As the crowd talked, the game finally began.

"Match found!"

"Generating environment. Generation complete. Background: city street!"

"Duel start!"

"Both players have 4,000 LP."

Before Ning Yifan, a five-meter-by-three-and-a-half-meter area was projected onto the ground. One by one, spaces appeared, forming the battlefield.

For the dice roll, Ning Yifan rolled a five, while his opponent rolled a two.

They drew cards, and Ning Yifan made the first move.

Five cards appeared on the ground in front of Ning Yifan.

"Huh? Huh? Huh!!!"

"What is that!"