Yu-Gi-Oh!: Starting with a Hellish Deck, Depressing the World

His demeanor was calm and composed, and he handled it with ease.

To verify it, Crowler quickly darted to the side, hoping to get a look at the man's back.

But as soon as Crowler moved, the man in the black trench coat named Titan turned at the same speed, facing him once again.

He tried three times in a row, and the result was the same.

"Just leave it to me. All you have to do is come and reap the rewards after the duel is over."

The burly man in the black trench coat clearly had no intention of continuing to indulge the ridiculous blond mushroom-headed professor. Like a ghost, he slid backward through the thick fog and soon vanished.

Only his lingering voice remained.

"I really couldn't see his back at all... A true professional indeed!" Professor Crowler nodded, thoroughly reassured.

Chapter 50: The Shadow Duel dormitory, Alexis's warning

Late at night, deep in the woods on the mountainside at Duel Academy.

At the appointed time, Jiang He, Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and the others made their way through the woods to the edge of Duel Academy.

Soon, they spotted an old, abandoned dormitory at the far end of the path ahead.

A rope had been strung between the two stone pillars in front of the dormitory, with a small "No entry" sign hanging from it.

"So this is the abandoned dormitory from the rumors?" Jiang He asked, giving the old building a couple of appraising looks.

It wasn't much different from what he remembered.

However, whether because he was still too far away or because whatever was hidden inside had yet to show itself,

Jiang He couldn't sense any special energy or the power of a Duel Spirit inside the abandoned dormitory for the time being.

"Huh, this flower is...?" At that moment, Jaden Yuki shone his small flashlight toward the front of a stone pillar and suddenly noticed a fresh white flower lying on the ground.

"Wah!! This is so creepy. Jaden, Jiang He, let's just forget it after all." Syrus Truesdale's legs immediately began trembling wildly.

There was a fresh white flower in front of an old dormitory that had clearly been abandoned long ago!

No matter how he thought about it, it was terrifying!

"Snap...!"

Just then, the sound of a dry branch snapping underfoot suddenly came from a shaded patch of woods nearby.

"Waaah!!"

Syrus Truesdale and Chumley, that goofy fatty, screeched like startled cats and leaped onto Jaden Yuki's back!

Jaden Yuki was so frightened that his face turned pale!

The weight of his two lackeys, in particular, bent him over at the waist!

Only Jiang He remained quite calm, watching the comical sight of the three piled on top of one another with exasperation.

Then, as though he had already guessed what was going on, he pointed his small flashlight toward the nearby shaded patch where the sound had come from.

A familiar, aloof blond figure soon came into view.

It was none other than Alexis Tenjo!

"A-Alexis...?!"

Syrus Truesdale, Jaden Yuki, and Chumley could now see who had arrived. It wasn't a ghost or anything like that.

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they all sat down on the ground, panting after their fright!

"You were the one who left this flower here, weren't you, Alexis? Last night, I happened to see you carrying what looked like a flower and heading this way."

After glancing at the three of them, Jiang He paid them no further mind. He greeted Alexis as she walked over and spoke.

He had made a slight alteration to what Sphere Kuriboh had seen and told him.

"Mm."

After a moment of surprise that Jiang He had happened to see her, Alexis Rhodes nodded in acknowledgment.

Then she asked Jiang He and the others seriously why they were there. "But never mind me. Why did you come here?"

"These three idiots said they wanted to explore the place and check out the legend," Jiang He said, gesturing with his eyes toward Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley,

who had just begun to recover from panting after their fright.

"We heard a legend from Professor Banner, so we were planning to check it out in this dormitory."

Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley confirmed his account.

"Check out the legend?"

Hearing that, Alexis Rhodes immediately warned Jiang He in all seriousness.

"What happened at this abandoned dormitory is all true. Several Duel Academy students really did disappear inside!"

"This isn't a place to fool around."

"Besides, entry is forbidden. If the academy finds out, it'll definitely cause unnecessary trouble."

Duel Academy's rules didn't spell that out very clearly.

But there was indeed an implicit warning not to trespass in dangerous areas where entry was forbidden.

Otherwise, a student could very well be expelled.

Jiang He, however, wasn't worried in the least about that minor Duel Academy rule.

He still had the photo from before, the one of the blond mushroom-headed professor behind the Obelisk Blue girls' dormitory.

As long as he had a word with the blond mushroom-headed professor, he could surely take care of that little problem with ease.

Since he had already come this far, he was definitely going to take a look inside the abandoned dormitory.

"If you don't intend to listen, then do whatever you want." Alexis Rhodes seemed to see that Jiang He, Jaden Yuki, and the others still intended to go in, and she frowned.

A little annoyed, she decided not to waste any more advice on a certain irritating guy.

With that, she turned to leave!

But after taking two steps, she stopped. Without looking back, she added one more warning. "My brother was among the people who disappeared here."

Only then did she continue toward the shaded woods she had come from.

She really is the typical woman who's cold on the outside and warm on the inside... Jiang He thought, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Kuri, kuri."

Just then, Sphere Kuriboh suddenly appeared in front of him as though it had sensed something. It pointed one of its little hands toward the shaded woods and cried out twice.

"You mean there's a stranger with malicious intent hiding over there?" Jiang He was a little surprised.

Sphere Kuriboh, the little fellow in his deck who had awakened as a spirit, was quite sensitive to the emotional fluctuations and malice of humans and other living beings.

And someone who would appear near the woods around this abandoned dormitory at this time, under the current circumstances...

Jiang He rubbed his chin and considered it briefly. He immediately realized what plot this was!

Especially when he added the situation Sphere Kuriboh had sensed on the rooftop during the day.

And connected it to Professor Crowler!

Jiang He became even more certain.

If he wasn't mistaken, it had to be a fake Shadow Duelist named Titan, hired by that blond mushroom-headed professor!

"Jiang He, did something happen?"

From a short distance away, Jaden Yuki and the other two saw Jiang He staring in the direction Alexis Rhodes had just left, as though he were thinking about something he had discovered. They couldn't help asking him about it.

"Are we still going into the dormitory...?" Alexis's words had also made Syrus Truesdale hesitate, and he asked fearfully.

"You three go in and wait for me. I'll go check on Alexis and be right back." Jiang He nodded and gestured to Jaden Yuki and the other two.

Then he headed straight off.

Chapter 51: It brings a tear to the eye, he's truly dedicated to his job!

"Huh?! We're going in first...!"

Seeing Jiang He head straight off in the direction Alexis Rhodes had gone, Syrus Truesdale was alarmed.

He had been hoping Jiang He would say they weren't going in, and that Jaden would agree and head back too!

"Jaden, what do we do now?" Syrus Truesdale could only look at Jaden Yuki miserably.

"Since Jiang He said he'd be right back, let's go in first!"

Watching Jiang He walk away for the moment, Jaden Yuki turned and spoke, clearly interested in the abandoned dormitory.

"I knew there was no point asking..." Syrus Truesdale and Chumley sighed and exchanged a glance.

Then they headed toward the abandoned dormitory first.

In the shaded mountain woods.

That guy really is irritating. He doesn't listen to anyone's advice at all.

Alexis Rhodes frowned slightly as she thought this and walked a few more steps. Still somewhat uneasy, she stopped.

She planned to go back and see what was happening.

Leaving everything else aside, even if they were just ordinary Duel Academy students, she couldn't very well stand by and do nothing.

And then there was that guy...

At the very least, he was... a dueling opponent she had known for some time.

So Alexis thought to herself.

Though she wasn't sure why, deep down she didn't want anything to happen to Jiang He in that dormitory, the way it had to her brother.

"Whoosh!!"

Just as Alexis Rhodes was about to turn around,

she suddenly saw a tall, burly figure ahead, completely concealed by a black trench coat. He wore a black bat mask and let out a series of cold chuckles.

"I'll use you to lure the target of this job, that guy named Jiang He, into a... Shadow Duel with me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the burly man in the black trench coat moved to seize Alexis Rhodes, intending to knock her out and kidnap her as a hostage for the duel.

Alexis Rhodes wasn't the frail type. She was known as the queen of Obelisk Blue.

But faced with such a sudden attack, even she couldn't react in time!

"Whoosh!!"

Just then, a heavy black piece of wood came flying through the air from behind Alexis, hurled at tremendous speed!

With a "thud," it slammed into the hatted head of the burly man in the black trench coat who was about to take a hostage!

The blow stopped him in his tracks and made him see stars!

"Damn it...!"