Yu-Gi-Oh!: Ultimate Duelist

As the sky gradually darkened, Lin Hao stood at the foot of the mountain, frowning slightly, wondering: Could the staff member in charge of this competition have already gone home? After all, it was getting late. If this trip was in vain, wouldn't he have to climb the mountain all over again tomorrow?

With such concerns, Lin Hao quickened his pace and climbed up along the winding mountain path.

The evening breeze from the mountains blew gently, bringing a hint of coolness, but it could not blow away the anxiety in his heart.

Finally, Lin Hao reached the top of the mountain panting.

When they looked up, they were surprised to find that the man in a suit who had explained the rules of the game to them in the morning was sitting at a stone table leisurely making tea.

The man was wearing a well-tailored black suit and an exquisite tie, which seemed a little out of place in the mountain scenery, but he also exuded a unique calmness.

A set of exquisite tea sets is placed on the stone table, and the steaming tea in the transparent teacup exudes a faint fragrance.

Lin Hao hurried over, panting slightly, and said, "Hello, I have collected ten stars."

After saying that, he took out thirteen metal stars from his pocket.

After hearing Lin Hao's words, the man in the suit slowly raised his head, glanced at Lin Hao calmly, and then nodded, his tone still as tepid as ever: "Okay, just put it on the table. Remember to go to the gymnasium at nine o'clock tomorrow morning to participate in the quarterfinals."

Lin Hao was stunned, his heart filled with surprise. He widened his eyes and asked, "Eight people have succeeded in collecting it so quickly?"

The man in the suit nodded again, his lips curled up slightly, as if he was a little surprised by the speed of the competition. He said, "Yeah, I didn't expect it to be so fast. I originally thought that it would take until the day after tomorrow to select eight at the earliest. Today, you happen to be the eighth one to collect ten stars."

Lin Hao was stunned upon hearing this, secretly marveling at the speed of the others and the fierce competition in this race. However, he also felt very lucky, otherwise, if he had arrived too late, he might have lost this spot.

Thinking of this, he nodded and turned to leave the top of the mountain.

The departing figure gradually became blurred in the twilight, as if blending into the falling night.

……

In the afternoon, Lin Hao received a call from the courier saying that his package had arrived and asked him to pick it up as soon as possible. Lin Hao was busy with his final sprint to collect stars at the time, so he hurriedly asked the courier to put the package in the express locker in the community.

Only after he finished his work on the mountain did Lin Hao remember the express delivery.

He hurried to the express cabinet in the community, entered the password, and took out the small express box.

Lin Hao looked around, found an empty corner, and then carefully opened the express delivery.

Inside was a bottle of green liquid, carefully stored in a transparent test tube.

The green liquid swayed slightly in the test tube, revealing a mysterious luster.

Lin Hao gently opened the stopper of the test tube, leaned in and sniffed it, and found that there was no unusual smell. The smell was as bland as ordinary water.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Hao finally decided to drink it all in one gulp.

"Uh, there doesn't seem to be any difference." Lin Hao muttered after a moment.

He felt his body and there seemed to be no obvious changes, and he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

"No, there is still a difference. At least the duel disk in my hand feels a lot lighter. It seems that I have increased my strength." Lin Hao felt it carefully again and suddenly noticed the subtle changes in the duel disk in his hand. He felt a little relieved.

……

The next morning, Lin Hao set off for the gymnasium early.

Yesterday, this place was crowded and bustling, but today the gymnasium seemed unusually quiet. In the huge venue, there were only a few people present.

Lin Hao looked around and saw this situation, so he followed the others to find a seat in the first row, sat down quietly and waited for the upcoming duel.

Lin Hao's eyes swept over the people around him one by one, looking at them carefully.

He discovered that, except for Fu Yi, he didn't even know the other six people.

As for Fu Yi, when he saw Lin Hao coming over, he just snorted coldly with a bad face, then turned his head to the side, no longer paying attention to what was happening on Lin Hao's side, his expression full of disdain.

Not long after, the man in a neat suit who was responsible for explaining the rules of the game yesterday walked over slowly with a small cardboard box in his hands.

He stood still, cleared his throat, and said, "Next, we will draw lots to select your opponents. Two people who draw the same number will duel each other. At the same time, the duels will be fought in the order in which the numbers were drawn."

After saying that, the man placed the small cardboard box on the table beside him and signaled that everyone could come forward one by one to draw numbers.

Seeing this, Lin Hao stood up, walked to the small box, reached out and took out a ping-pong ball from the small box.

He lowered his head and took a closer look, only to see a big "No. 3" written on the ping-pong ball.

Soon, the time for the first duel arrived.

Fu Yi walked into the stadium with a proud look on his face, then stood there upright, quietly waiting for his opponent to come on the court.

At this moment, a boy slowly stood up, his face full of a wry smile, and said helplessly: "I give up this duel, I am no match for Fu Yi."

When the man in the suit heard this, he just nodded slightly and didn't say anything else, as if he was already accustomed to such situations.

In this way, time passed slowly as everyone waited, and soon it was Lin Hao's turn to duel.

……

Just as Lin Hao walked towards the stadium and just stopped, a figure slowly walked up from the side.

He was a thin man with a distinctive mushroom head.

The mushroom-haired man raised his lips slightly, and said with a hint of a smile: "My dear classmate, this duel is unnecessary, right? After all, my Gu Yue's strength is obvious to all."

When Lin Hao heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then said: "Uh... I don't know him, I haven't heard of him."

When Gu Yue heard this, his face instantly fell, and his originally smug expression was like being extinguished by a basin of cold water.