Clear Mind / Tactics

The two sides shook hands and reached a temporary agreement.

After a while, a family of three arrived in a jeep that was packed full. When they saw You Zhi, they showed no curiosity, assuming he was Yusei Fudo, and didn't ask any questions—survivors of this era were generally cautious and timid.

Considering that the Three Sacred Beasts could easily leave a bad impression, You Zhi decided to use normal transportation. There were plenty of them on the roadside anyway, so he randomly picked up a motorcycle and forcibly started the engine using his spiritual power.

Along the way, whether it was due to his personality or because he valued You Zhi's strength and wanted to win him over, Yusei Fudo took the initiative to introduce his background.

This world invented the Perpetual Motion Machine and a type of "Yusei Particles" that can understand human emotions. Using Yusei Particles as a medium, the Perpetual Motion Machine can be accelerated through Riding Duel, providing more energy. As a result, governments around the world have formulated many policies to strongly support Riding Duel.

The inexhaustible energy source has enabled human civilization to evolve rapidly. However, humanity's obsession with material satisfaction has led to the neglect of spiritual progress, resulting in the rapid growth of negative thoughts such as greed and the desire for something for nothing. At the same time, due to the overuse of Riding Duel, the rotation speed of the Perpetual Motion Machine is getting closer and closer to its limit.

Ultimately, under the dual blows of overload operation and the corrupting influence of human thought, the Yusei Particles gradually lost its rationality, believing that humanity would be driven to destruction by negative emotions. Thus, it manipulated the Perpetual Motion Machine to rotate in reverse and summoned a large number of the Meklord Army to annihilate all carriers of negative emotions—humanity.

"It feels like I heard a similar version not long ago..."

You Zhi- Yu-Gi-Oh!! writers are speechless. Can't they come up with something new?

Isn't this just a rip-off of the Orichalcos storyline? They just made a few minor changes and used it as the background setting for the third generation. That's incredibly unprofessional!

"The enemy wants to eliminate you. You can't just sit here and wait to die, can you? Won't you put up a fight?"

"The vast majority of humans had long been accustomed to a comfortable life and were powerless to resist. Moreover, the Perpetual Motion Machine constantly released energy filled with negative emotions, making the elves violent and no longer obedient. The duelists quickly lost their ability to fight, and in the blink of an eye, cities became ruins, mountains turned into scorched earth, and civilization was on the verge of collapse."

At this point, Yusei Fudo revealed a sorrowful expression, clearly indicating that he had lost many important people during this period.

But he quickly rallied, his eyes shining with hope. "Fortunately, I've finally found a way to save it... If everyone cultivates the Clear Mind, the Perpetual Motion Machine can be restored to normal."

(The host: I don't know how the economy will recover after the reopening. Anyway, I've decided not to travel or dine out for the next three years. I'll save as much money as I can. Let's leave the responsibility of stimulating consumption to the bigwigs at the top.)

Chapter 232 Clear Mind

After arriving at the shelter with Yusei Fudo, You Zhi finally met the former Ice-type Elite Four member Lorelei.

Lorelei has bright orange hair, wears glasses, a white collared short skirt, and high heels, exuding the aura of an intellectual queen.

The two had no prior contact, but after being in a different world, they became fellow countrymen and naturally felt a sense of kinship.

"Mr. Adu entered the Space-Time Vortex with me, but I don't know where he was teleported to. Given his strength, he shouldn't be in any danger," You Zhi said.

"There's no immediate danger, but things could change in the long run. We need to find him as soon as possible."

Lorelei explained with a grave expression, "It's probably because the Perpetual Motion Machine Transformer continuously releases negative energy. If Pokémon absorb spiritual energy in this world, they will go into a frenzy. I didn't know this when I first entered this world. I fought a series of battles to gather intelligence on the enemy, and by the time I discovered the hidden danger, most of my main Pokémon had already gone out of control."

As a former Elite Four, she naturally had many powerful Pokémon under her command. However, she only had a few main Pokémon, which were far inferior to the others. After most of them were rendered useless, her overall strength was greatly reduced.

You Zhi countered, "Wasn't it said that it could be stopped by having Clear Mind?"

"That's right, but it can only prevent Pokémon from being corrupted, not restore Pokémon that have already been corrupted. So before you master the Clear Mind, try not to use your main Pokémon."

"I understand."

In the days that followed, You Zhi devoted himself to learning the Clear Mind.

This is a pure mental meditation method that does not absorb spiritual energy and is unrelated to physical constitution. Therefore, the Strength-Weakness Mimicry is useless. You Zhi cannot adjust himself to the most suitable physical constitution for cultivation as he did when cultivating other techniques in the past. He can only listen to the lectures and study diligently, which makes his progress slower than ever before.

But instead of getting frustrated, he became even more determined to learn after experiencing the results.

Even without mastering it, his mental state improved significantly during the occasional brief periods of Clear Mind he experienced while learning, and he even became aware of the side effects of the Strength-Weakness Mimicry.

You Zhi knew from the beginning that the Strength-Weakness Mimicry was an evil skill, but for a madman like him, there was no difference between evil and righteous skills, especially since he had no righteous skills to learn at the time.

Unbeknownst to him, he lowered his guard against evil arts and devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation, thinking only of constantly improving his realm, subconsciously ignoring the hidden dangers.

With Clear Mind, You Zhi could observe himself as if looking in a mirror. When he saw that his reflection in the mirror always showed a gloating expression, he immediately realized that there was something wrong with his mind.

While gloating isn't a major problem and can't be compared to common evil practices like cruelty, bloodthirstiness, or cold-bloodedness, no one likes their personality to be distorted, and if it can be corrected, of course, one should try to correct it.

Therefore, You Zhi worked much harder than others.

Just as he was engrossed in his studies and almost forgot about his mission, one day, several duelists responsible for reconnaissance rushed into the shelter in a panic on Duel Runner, informing everyone that a large number of the Meklord Army were flying towards the area and that they had to evacuate as soon as possible.

The group was somewhat panicked, but Yusei Fudo had anticipated that the shelter would be exposed and had found two other backup locations in advance, as well as designed an emergency plan. So, he remained calm in the face of the danger and immediately organized the evacuation according to the plan.

Even the most perfect plan will inevitably encounter various minor flaws in actual implementation. One or two may not be a big deal, but when they accumulate, they seriously slow down the efficiency. By the time a large number of the Meklord Army appeared in sight, some citizens still had not had time to evacuate.

"It needs to delay for at least twenty minutes."

Yusei Fudo gritted his teeth and prepared to drive off to block the enemy.

Lorelei, "Let me do it. As the leader, Yusei's primary task is to escort the citizens to their destination. Besides, I have received a great favor from you, and it is only right and proper that I reciprocate."

Yusei Fudo was about to refuse, he noticed the tense gazes of those around him and immediately realized that as the leader, he couldn't act impulsively. Only by staying with everyone could he ensure the transfer proceeded smoothly; otherwise, who knew what kind of chaos might ensue.

He immediately nodded and said, "I have faith in Ms. Lorelei's abilities. Please be careful. I will come to your aid after I have seen everyone off."

"Don't worry, this kind of enemy is no match for me."

Lorelei smiled confidently, drew Pokémon Card from the void, and with a flash of light, a flying dragon made entirely of ice crystals appeared.

[Blue-Eyes White Night Dragon (8-star) Water]

[Lineage: Flight, Ice]

[Level: 40]

[Attack Power: 3000 (3000)]

[Defense Strength: 2500 (2500)]

[Dragon-Type, Effect: Omitted]

Lorelei flipped onto her White Dragon and flew toward the rapidly approaching army of the Meklord Army. Just before they made contact, she unleashed Blizzard, summoning howling winds in an attempt to freeze the enemies, but unfortunately, it had little effect on the Steel-type Meklord Army.

Yusei Fudo suppressed his worry and urged the remaining citizens, "Please hurry up! Lady Lorelei is holding off the enemy for us. The sooner we leave, the less danger she will be in!"

In order to hold off the enemy as long as possible, Lorelei kept ordering White Night Dragon to use wide-range skills, which depleted its spiritual energy quite quickly. Before long, White Night Dragon showed signs of fatigue and ran out of energy.

"There are still too many enemies. Tsk, if only my Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier could still be used."

Lorelei agitated and immediately broke free from her Clear Mind state of mind. The Blue-Eyes White Night Dragon was affected, its movements faltered, and it failed to dodge the enemy's attack in time. It was hit by two beams of light, and the explosion caused two cracks to appear.

At the same time, the Pterodactyl-like Meklord Army, the Meklord Army Skiel Attack, launched an attack, intending to overwhelm the White Night Dragon with sheer numbers.

Just as Lorelei about to summon the second spirit, a Meklord Army Skiel Attack and causing it to crash.

However, You Zhi arrived riding on the Azure River Dragonmaid.

Why are you here?

Instead of expressing gratitude, Lorelei criticized, "This is utter nonsense! You haven't fully mastered the Clear Mind yet, and you can't maintain it in battle. Rushing into battle will only harm your Pokémon."

While experiencing the stimulation of learning through actual combat, You Zhi calmly said, "Not all spirits are corrupted by negative energy. For example, the Three Sacred Beasts, which represent the embodiment of desire—the lightning that tears the sky in an instant, the wings that blot out the earth for eternity, bringing the world a terrifying terror that makes their souls tremble. Appear, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!"

Chapter 233 Tactics

A colossal yellow Demon God appeared in mid-air, gazing at the densely packed Meklord Army with a contemptuous sneer.

He raised his hand, his palm gathering dazzling lightning, about to launch a thunderous attack, when he suddenly stopped and turned to look at You Zhi, as if awaiting instructions.

Lorelei was incredulous at the sight. The Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder exuded a powerful mental pressure as soon as it appeared. He thought that such a fierce Pokémon must be unruly, but it unexpectedly respected its trainer. It's true that you can't judge a book by its cover.

Indeed, preconceived notions are undesirable, and prejudice only leads to wrong judgments.

"Eliminate all of this junk," You Zhi said succinctly.

Having received the order, the Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder had no more worries. With a roar, a huge pillar of lightning rose from his body and shot straight into the sky. Accompanied by a deafening roar, it transformed into countless bolts of lightning that crashed down, each of which could easily destroy a Meklord Army.

For a moment, explosions rang out incessantly, and dazzling fireworks filled the eye.

When the smoke and dust cleared, the once dense army of the Meklord Army had become sparse.

Lorelei, having seen many grand occasions, was naturally not surprised by this, but she couldn't help but marvel. "This is the power of the Phantom Demon... So, the incident in Goldenrod City is related to you?"

You Zhi said, "We seized the opportunity and took advantage of it to steal a phantom demon."

Although the demon that was stolen at the time was not the Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, some things don't need to be explained so clearly, and he has no obligation to explain them.

Lorelei nodded without asking further questions. She recalled the injured Blue-Eyes White Night Dragon and instead summoned a Spellcaster elf named "Snowdust Magician" to help You Zhi eliminate the remaining Meklord Army.

[Snowdust Magician (8-star) Water]

[Lineage: Ice]

[Level: 40]

[Attack Power: 2500 (2500)]

[Defense Strength: 2000 (2000)]

[Spellcaster, Effect: Once per turn, you can place 1 "Ice Counter" on 1 face-up monster on the field. You can Tribute this card to destroy all monsters with "Ice Counters".]

With the two working together, the Meklord Army were quickly wiped out.

Just then, the sound of fierce fighting suddenly came from behind. The two turned around and saw a large number of the Meklord Army appearing in the distance, along with a huge mechanical dragon.

"A feint!" You Zhi exclaimed in astonishment. "I thought the Perpetual Motion Machine was just a simple energy production device, but it's actually equipped with artificial intelligence?"

Lorelei also looked bewildered. "I've never heard of such a setup. Before this, the enemy had never displayed any tactical intelligence; they acted entirely according to a fixed procedure. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to prepare a relocation plan right under their noses."

"In other words, either the enemy is extremely cunning, possessing intelligence but pretending to be just a fixed program, or the enemy has undergone a mutation, such as suddenly awakening intelligence."

You Zhi sensed the impending conspiracy and became excited. He quickly activated his Clear Mind to suppress his impulse.

"No matter what, we have to get there and save them!"

The two rode the Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder back to provide assistance at top speed. When they arrived, they found the scene in complete disarray, with broken and overturned vehicles and mangled corpses everywhere.

Among the survivors were duelists who could summon Pokémon, but like Lorelei, all their main Pokémon had gone mad from absorbing negative energy. Even now that they had mastered the Clear Mind, they could only rely on their rarely used Pokémon to fight, resulting in heavy casualties.

Although the Shooting Star Dragon summoned by Yusei Fudo was powerful, it was held back by the enemy's leader.

[Meklord Astro Dragon Triskelion (10 Stars) Dark]

[Genealogy: Steel, Electricity]

[Level: 60]

[Attack Power: 0 (50000)]

[Defense: 0 (0)]

[Machine-Type, effect: omitted]

The Meklord Astro Dragon possesses the ability to absorb Meklord Army and inherit their attack power. In addition, it will take 1000 points of true damage whenever Synchro Monster appears.

You Zhi had previously noticed that most trainers in this world used Synchro Form Pokémon. It was unclear whether this was due to mainstream preference or simply the nature of the Pokémon species, which is why they were all targeted by the Meklord Astro Dragon.

Seeing that the head of the Meklord Astro Dragon was gathering powerful energy, flashing with six-colored light, and about to fire an amazing beam, Yusei Fudo hurriedly said, "Activate Shooting Star Dragon's ability, once per turn, to block one of the enemy's attacks."

The Shooting Star Dragon suddenly accelerated, its body transforming into a ring of stars that encircled the neck of the Meklord Astro Dragon, immediately causing it to lose its will to fight and willingly dissipate its energy.

In One for One, Shooting Star Dragon could block the enemy's attacks indefinitely. However, the battlefield is currently chaotic. With the Meklord Astro Dragon blocked, there are other Meklord Army as well. Yusei Fudo can only rely on Junk Warrior and Junk Archer to barely protect himself and cannot protect the others at all.

"Everyone! Damn it, why did this happen...?"

Watching his followers perish one by one under the attack of the Meklord Army, Yusei clenched his fists, filled with remorse. He had become so engrossed in his identity as the savior that he had lost himself in the worshipful gazes and gratitude of others, neglecting the most important point.

Strength is the foundation of a duelist!

"If it were the real Yusei Fudo, if I could summon the Cosmic Blazar Dragon, I wouldn't be so powerless..."

The effect of Shooting Star Dragon quickly reached its time limit and it withdrew from the Meklord Astro Dragon.

Meklord Astro Dragon gathers energy again in an attempt to launch an attack, putting Yusei in a dilemma. If he orders Shooting Star Dragon to attack Meklord Army, he will be attacked by Meklord Astro Dragon. However, if he uses his ability to lock down Meklord Astro Dragon again, he will have to continue to watch Meklord Army slaughter civilians.

"There's no other way. We have to take a gamble. Shooting Star Dragon, try your best to dodge the attacks of the Meklord Astro Dragon, and at the same time, destroy the Meklord Army."

Yusei gritted his teeth, about to issue a new command, when a bolt of lightning roared in, striking the Meklord Astro Dragon and causing a violent explosion, forcibly stopping the charging up.

The Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, its body crackling with electricity, arrived from the sky, grabbed the Meklord Astro Dragon with both hands, and slammed it hard into the ground like a snake.

"Whose spirit is this? An ally?"

Yusei stared at the Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder, who exuded a fierce and malevolent aura, and found it difficult to determine the other party's stance, since he did not look like a righteous person. It was not until he discovered You Zhi standing on the Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder's shoulder that he felt relieved and focused on dealing with the Meklord Army.

"It has both extremely high attack power and non-existent defense. To deal with such an enemy, the smaller the size, the better."