Watching Kaiba cautiously climb back into the helicopter from outside, Hayato found him increasingly amusing. Although his single-handed helicopter grab looked cool, his scramble back inside after showing off was quite disheveled.
Under the gaze of countless Duelists drawn by the early release of news, the helicopter carried the show-off Kaiba and Hayato away. Inside the helicopter, Kaiba bit into a lozenge, dutifully put on a headset for in-flight communication, and said to Hayato, "I'm curious, where did you get this information? I haven't even found accurate intel by directly investigating from within KaibaCorp."
Hayato remained silent, gesturing with both hands at his neck, earning a disdainful glare from Kaiba. "Hmph, putting on an act. If you don't want to tell me your intelligence-gathering methods, fine, but using 'Future Vision' as an excuse is clearly treating me like an idiot!"
With a cold snort, Kaiba turned his head to look out the window, ignoring Hayato's helpless shrug.
On this point, he really wasn't lying. The information about the person they were going to find next truly came from Ishizu.
After being attacked by the Rare Hunters at the Egypt Cultural Relics Touring Exhibition Hall and learning that someone within his own KaibaCorp dared to abuse their power for personal gain, leaking an Experimental Duel Disk that should have been destroyed to the outside world and even trading it to the Rare Hunters, Kaiba was furious.
KaibaCorp was thoroughly reorganized by him, inside and out. However, to his considerable annoyance, his investigation of the company yielded no flaws whatsoever. Forget traitors and corporate spies; not even a single person was found to have enriched themselves by abusing their position.
Was this even possible? KaibaCorp was no charity organization; its predecessor was a highly profitable arms syndicate. Were all its subordinates truly incorruptible? Kaiba wasn't a three-year-old child to be so easily deceived.
Then, there was only one answer. Even after clearing out The Big Five who outwardly supported the entire personnel network of KaibaCorp, it was no longer Seto Kaiba's personal domain; his employees each had their own agendas. Thinking in a worse direction—KaibaCorp had long been subtly infiltrated by some hidden force!
Kaiba liked to Duel and liked to Obliterate others, but he disliked having his things taken from him. It was at this moment that Hayato found him and told him that he knew who the moles within KaibaCorp were—not all of them, but at least who belonged to the Rare Hunters.
The helicopter hovered at a certain spot. Kaiba, carrying nothing but his specialized, reinforced Duel Disk, leaped directly from a height of about six or seven meters, executing a superhero-style landing. Behind him, Hayato steadily descended bit by bit, using the lowered rope ladder.
"I'm telling you, don't your knees hurt? Alright, never mind." Seeing Kaiba swiftly transition from a crouch to a stand, his steps showing no hesitation, Hayato understood the answer to his question. After all, it was Kaiba, wasn't it? Forget jumping from a helicopter, he could even throw Cards with his bare hands to cut steel wires, earning him the nickname Kaiba the Giant Mountain Super Strong Seto.
"Are those people you mentioned staying in this place?" Looking at the Card Shop in front of him, Kaiba frowned. Although the shop was already closed, the sign outside indicated it was a professional Card Shop certified by KaibaCorp.
According to the Rules of the upcoming "Battle City", two conditions were required to participate in this grand event of the Duel Monster world. First, a Deck containing at least 40 Cards, including Rare Cards, to filter out those without powerful Cards and prevent them from muddling the waters.
Second, a Duel Disk issued by KaibaCorp. Only Duelists with a certain Level in KaibaCorp's database were qualified to obtain a Duel Disk. Duelist Levels were divided into 12 tiers by Kaiba, based on the Level of Duel Monsters. Duelists Level 8 and above could receive a Duel Disk for free, those Level 6 and above could purchase it at a discount, and those Level 4 and above had to pay the full price.
As for Duelists Level 4 and below? Kaiba rated them as Fodder Monsters, not even qualifying for a Duel Disk. Incidentally, Joey was specially labeled Level 1 by Kaiba, with an exclusive Level title: "Normal Monster". Kaiba, that guy, who would have thought he had such a twisted sense of humor?
Of course, Duel Disks couldn't be bought just anywhere. They required Duelist Level certification at a professional Card Shop specially certified by KaibaCorp. There were only ten such Card Shops in all of Domino City, and each underwent a very detailed inspection before certification.
Unfortunately, Grandpa Muto's Kame Game Shop was not among these ten, and even Duke Devlin's Black Crown Game Shop was disqualified because it sold too wide a variety of games.
"Based on the intel I've gathered, others are merely suspects, but the owner of this shop has a 1000% chance of being part of the Rare Hunters organization," Hayato said, looking at the Card Shop's sign.
"RPG Hobby" & "Trading Card", meaning RPG Hobby Club and Card trading post. Compared to the whimsical Kame Game Shop and the warmly inviting Black Crown Game Shop, this Card Shop was clearly much more utilitarian.
Without foolishly shouting, Hayato simply pushed open the Card Shop's door and walked inside. He found the shelves filled with beautifully packaged Cards of all kinds, including many Rare Cards like (Sword of Dragon's Soul) and (Panther Warrior).
"The Cards are just laid out like this, with no one watching them?" Kaiba frowned in confusion, picking up a (Sapphire Dragon) from a nearby shelf. This Level 4 Dragon-Type Monster boasted a formidable 1900 Attack, preeminent among Low-level Monsters. Even Kaiba, as particular as he was, wouldn't mind filling his Deck with this Monster.
But on the shelf, he saw over a dozen (Sapphire Dragon) Cards.
"Did this shop rob a Rare Card collector? How can there be so many rare Cards?"
Hayato glanced at the (Sapphire Dragon) in Kaiba's hand, took it, and gave a cold laugh. To Kaiba's astonished gaze, he tore the Card, along with its outer packaging, to shreds?!
"What are you doing?" Kaiba remembered that when he tore up Solomon Muto's (Blue-Eyes), both Yugi and Hayato were quite angry. But now Hayato, who had constantly lectured him about "Cards having the Heart (of the Cards)," was actively tearing up a Card himself?
"Rare Cards appearing in stacks, and the owner of this Card Shop couldn't possibly be someone who doesn't know their worth. To just place these Cards at the entrance, where they're most easily stolen, isn't the answer obvious, Seto?" Hayato pointed coldly at the pile of (Sapphire Dragon) Cards Kaiba had been observing. "These are simply fake cards."
"These (Sapphire Dragon) Cards are fake cards?" Kaiba's tone was somewhat angry, but to his surprise, Hayato shook his head.
Hayato looked around, scanning the surroundings, and made a fist. "All the Cards here are fake cards. No need to doubt; I simply have a unique Counterfeit Detection Method."
The principle was actually very simple. Hayato merely opened his System's Shop, then navigated to the Card Recycle function, and chose to Recycle all the Cards sold in this Card Shop. The System's feedback was: all were fake cards.
Well, well, not a single real item among the fakes. Hayato suspected that if this shop continued to operate, it might pull a "Ten-fold Compensation for Fakes" stunt, giving eleven fake cards instead. The shop's name was so awkward; Hayato had already thought of a new one for it: Pinduoduo (Knock-off).
"Hmph, how irritating." Kaiba snorted, feeling a bit embarrassed that he hadn't distinguished the fake cards earlier. It wasn't a big deal that he couldn't tell, but the crucial thing was Hayato. He had observed the Cards through their packaging, just like Kaiba. How exactly did he differentiate between Real Cards and fake cards?
Ignoring the piles of fake cards, Hayato bypassed the shelves and walked directly to the innermost cash register of the Card Shop, saying to Kaiba as he went, "By the way, Seto, have you studied shop layouts at all?"
Kaiba stood with his arms crossed, silently, and did not answer Hayato's question. Anyone would know the answer to such a question. He was Seto Kaiba, not a mall worker; why would he ever research such boring things?
However, Hayato didn't expect Kaiba to answer; he had just asked casually. With a flip, he jumped into the now empty cash register area, muttering to himself, "In a mall, the most popular and best-selling goods should be placed at the very back. That way, if customers want to buy that item, they have to walk the longest distance. On the way, the likelihood of customers spotting and liking another item is maximized."
"And the shop's cash register should be placed at the entrance, both to prevent people from walking out without paying and to greet incoming customers immediately."
As Hayato spoke, he bent down and fumbled around the cash register. With a move akin to a "desktop cleaning master," he swept away the scattered pens, notes, and desk ornaments, leaving only a fixed computer screen.
"I see." Hayato had explained it so clearly that Kaiba naturally understood his meaning. This shop completely defied normal shop layouts; the most popular goods were inexplicably placed at the entrance, while the perpetually manned cash register was located at the very back of the shop.
The location of this cash register likely concealed some secret, which was why it was always guarded, and why Rare Cards were used to attract customer attention, preventing them from lingering deep within the shop.
Hayato's hand fumbled a few times beneath the computer screen, and a smile appeared on his face. "Found it! How lucky."
He pressed his finger lightly. At the same time, the wall behind the cash register suddenly moved, slowly sliding open to both sides, revealing an entrance.
"After you, President Kaiba~" Hayato said with a smile, pushing aside the barrier at the cash register's entrance for Kaiba.
Kaiba didn't stand on ceremony, walking to the open entrance and saying coldly, "Stay close, Hayato. I won't bother trying to save you."
The two walked into the entrance, one after the other. Behind them, the sliding wall slowly closed.
(Author's Note: I originally wanted to start a Duel in this chapter, but before I knew it, I'd already hit the word count. Hmm, definitely next chapter.)
(end of chapter)