Can I become the Yu-Gi-Oh by summoning the Flame Swordsman?

"what--"

In the dim basement, Gu Ke’s real body suddenly opened his eyes, screamed in pain, and fell into a pool of blood at his feet with his hands on his head. He rolled back and forth in the pool of blood in a panic, and black smoke suddenly rose from his body.

After several minutes, Gu Ke's pain slowly subsided. He staggered to his feet from the pool of blood and wiped the blood off his face with his hands.

"Bai Chu...I seem to love you more and more. I can't imagine how wonderful it would feel to crush your head with one foot."

……

"We're finally through with the crisis." The Snow Girl relaxed all of a sudden and almost sat down on the ground. Fortunately, Bai Chui, who was standing beside her, supported her shoulders and she did not lose her composure.

Bai Chu said softly, "It's not time to rest easy yet. Gu Ke knows where we are now. The pursuers must be on their way. Let's leave here quickly."

Deng Mi also said: "I know a secluded path down the mountain, come with me."

The three of them walked quickly through the forest. They didn't know how long it had passed, but the morning mist in the forest was still lingering. Deng Mi's figure appeared and disappeared in the gloomy mist, and the atmosphere was indescribably weird.

"Oh, right." Bai Chu broke the silence and said, "Deng Mi, you said before that the Miners' Help Association you founded was recognized as a () organization by the government. What happened later? How did you become what you are now?"

"Why did it become like this..." Deng Mi stopped and was stunned for a few seconds, muttering: "Why did it become like this?"

Bai Chu, who was in the fog, suddenly felt the world spinning around him. The fog was swirling all over the sky, and he couldn't help but feel dizzy. When Bai Chu opened his eyes again, the scenery around him was very different.

The three of them seemed to have come to a mine. Looking through the gate of the mine, they could see the busy miners. Outside the gate of the mine, there were about a hundred people gathered, led by a tall, plain-looking middle-aged man, who led everyone to raise their arms and shout: Pay back the money! Pay back the money!

"Who is causing trouble here?!"

Not far away, a team of soldiers came running in an orderly formation, formed a line of defense in front of the mine, and drew their swords to deter others. However, the debt collectors had more people, and they also showed their weapons, holding up sickles, hoes, hammers and other agricultural iron tools.

"Deng Mi, it's you again!" A short man in official uniform and with an arrogant gait walked slowly behind the line of officers and soldiers. He immediately locked his eyes on the middle-aged man in the crowd and spoke in a bad tone.

"You were just released from my place, and you're already gathering here to cause trouble. Do you really not want your head back?"

"So this is Deng Mi's original appearance before he was disfigured." Bai Chu carefully looked at the man in front of him called Deng Mi. Although he was not good-looking, his eyes revealed a shrewd look. At least it was much more pleasing to the eye than the bloody and hideous appearance he showed later.

"County Magistrate Liu, I'm not gathering a crowd to cause trouble." Deng Mi stood up and said, "Didn't you ask me before, why did no one else come to ask for wages, but I came alone to ask for wages? Am I, Deng Mi, the criminal who deliberately hindered the economic development of Wentang County?

Look, now everyone is here. Everyone has been kicked out by the mine because of the deliberate withholding of wages. This time you can’t say that I am shameless for coming here to collect the debt. Is there something wrong with me?”

"Humph, do you think you can challenge me just by finding a group of people? I, Liu Mi, am here to tell you that justice will never bow to evil. Come on, capture these rebels who are plotting rebellion. I won't spare your lives. You really think I am easy to talk to."

When they heard that the label of "traitor" had been put on their heads, the debt collectors were furious, and many of them immediately wanted to back out.

"Fellow villagers, we are not rebels." Deng Mi raised his arms and shouted, "We just want to take back everything that belongs to us. Everyone must be firm in their beliefs. If we take a step back at this moment, we will never get back the wages that belong to us."

"What are you still standing there for?" Liu Milai yelled at his officers and soldiers, "If you don't bring that guy's head to me, you can make your own heads into chamber pots and bring them to me!"

"County Magistrate Liu, please be patient." A fat figure, who was as tall as Liu Milai, poked his head out from the mine behind Liu Milai and walked towards him slowly - it was Gu Ke.

Gu Ke waved his hand, signaling everyone present not to riot: "Fellow villagers, I am very sorry that the mine has delayed your wages. It was not intentional on our part. As you all know, the mine is large in scale and often has problems with capital turnover. In fact, we have recorded every penny of your wages in the account, and we will settle them one by one when the funds recover. There will be no shortage of coins."

"Stop talking nonsense here. When have you ever said the same thing?"

"Of course, this time is different." Gu Ke remained calm. "I know that the villagers are so determined this time because they must be in urgent need. The mine and the villagers should understand each other instead of becoming enemies. So, I will use the current working capital to pay off the wages of some villagers, but the number of places is limited, only ten. The mine understands everyone, and I hope everyone will understand the mine as well."

There were discussions among the crowd: "Pay the salaries of 10 people first? Is this considered a concession?"

"There are hundreds of people working in the mine. It's not easy for him to make a living for so many people."

"My son is still working in the mine. I can't argue too much with the mine. As long as I can get my salary, I don't care what others do."

"Hey, old man, your son is working in there. You can ask your son to support you, but what should we do? We can't even afford to eat at home. Please step back a little and let us get paid first."

Seeing the noise rising in the crowd, and about to quarrel over who would be the lucky one in ten, Deng Mi raised his arms and shouted again: "Everyone, stop quarreling! We must unite and not be divided by the enemy. Everyone present here today must settle their wages, not one less."

"It seems that fellow villager, you don't want to understand each other with us?" Gu Ke's mouth corners slightly raised, and he spread his hands helplessly: "Then I have no choice. My good intentions are regarded as donkey liver and lungs. It's a pity. Let's end the negotiation here. It's not that I am inhumane, but this fellow Deng is unwilling to cooperate."

"Deng Mi, what are you going to do? Do you really want everyone to risk their lives to rebel against you? Why don't you just quit while we're ahead?"

"Mr. Gu, please don't leave. This Deng cannot represent our opinions. I kowtow to you. Please pay my salary first."

"You, you guys?" Deng Mi looked at the speaker in shock and anger.

The crowd suddenly exploded and divided into two groups with different opinions, accusing each other. One group stood with Deng Mi to fight to the end, while the other group rushed to submit to Gu Ke, praying that Gu Ke would have a change of heart, fearing that if they knelt too late, they would no longer be able to gain any benefits.

Everyone knows that if they continue to follow Deng Mi, they will have to pay with blood or even their lives to succeed, and failure will result in complete destruction.

Kneeling down only requires sticking out the tongue to succeed, and failure means just becoming a dog. Of course, the tougher the bones of people like Deng Mi are, the more benefits the person kneeling down is likely to gain and live a more comfortable life.

"Fellow villagers, I understand your intentions." Gu Ke was deeply moved, his eyes reddened. "Our concept of win-win cooperation is deeply rooted in people's hearts. It is only a very small number of bad people with ulterior motives who destroy cooperation. But everyone knows that I am a kind-hearted person. Even if bad people maliciously slander me, I still want to get their forgiveness."

Gu Ke waved his hand, and someone from the mine brought out a golden basin, which was half filled with a transparent unknown liquid.

"My fellow villager surnamed Deng, if you are willing to wash your face with this basin of clean water, symbolizing that all the conflicts between the mine and everyone have been cleared and reformed, I am willing to grit my teeth and add 10 more quotas for salary settlement, and you will decide on these quotas. How do you think?"

"That's..." Bai Chu's face changed, and he looked at Deng Mi, who was standing beside him with a hideous face and rotten flesh all over his face. "That's not water, it's sulfuric acid!"

"Dengmi, choose me, choose me. Don't forget that I often took care of your business when you were selling firewood."

"Deng Mi, choose me. You are not young anymore and you are not married yet. I have a daughter who is almost sixteen and she is not engaged yet."

"Deng Mi, my 80-year-old mother is sick in bed and needs this money to save her life. You must choose me. I will kowtow to you three times. As long as you choose me, how about I give you half of the money I get?"

Before Deng Mi could utter a word, he was completely drowned out by the ingratiating and pitiful voices, as if his every move from now on had been decided by everyone and he could not have any other ideas.

Deng Mi stared at Gu Ke: "Do you like to play with human nature?"

"Mr. Deng, please don't let everyone down for your own selfish desires." Gu Ke said slowly, "This is the most unforgivable thing."

"Xiao Deng, please go quickly."

"Yes, if we take a step back, we will have a broader horizon. Let's first get the benefits he promised us, and then talk about other things."

Deng Mi didn't know that the liquid in the basin was dangerous. He just turned his head and said to the crowd: "If you want to kneel down and kowtow to beg for mercy from the enemy, I can help you. But you must know that he is willing to pay back the money not because he has a change of heart, but because you have me, Deng Mi, under your feet."

Deng Mi stared at Gu Ke who was more than ten steps away. The "clean water" he had someone bring was placed in front of his feet in a golden basin.

"Golden basin? Does this mean retirement? Or is it just to show off wealth?" A hint of doubt flashed through Deng Mi's mind, but he didn't think much about it. He squatted down and reached his hand into the transparent liquid.

"Ah——" A severe burning pain came instantly. Deng Mi withdrew his hands abruptly and kept wiping them on his clothes, but his skin had already deteriorated under the corrosion of the transparent liquid, and the pain did not diminish at all.

"Water! Give me water!" Deng Mi roared in a low voice with his hands folded, but water was only available inside the mine, and no one present dared to act rashly.

"What are you still standing there for!" Gu Ke shouted at his men: "Hurry up and help him!"

The people around Gu Ke hurriedly ran back to the mine to fetch water. Only one person strode forward, picked up the golden basin and poured it on Deng Mi's face in the blink of an eye.

"Ah! Ah-ah--" Deng Mi was unable to dodge and was splashed with sulfuric acid all over his face. He rolled on the ground with his hands covering his face, screaming in agony.

"Mr. Gu, I have washed his face clean." The person who poured water ran up and knelt at Gu Ke's feet, presenting him with a golden basin.

"Okay, great. What's your name?"

"Mr. Gu, my last name is Tang, and I am the third child in my family. I don't have a name, so they all call me Tang Lao San."

"Okay, Tang Ji, I admire you very much. You are a perceptive person." Gu Ke laughed and looked at the crowd: "Since this fellow named Deng has fulfilled his promise, then it is my turn to fulfill my promise. However, he is not in good condition now, so let me specify the rules for him to clarify the salary settlement quota-"

Gu Ke turned around and walked into the mine with a sinister smile on his face: "Doesn't he have ten fingers? Whoever brings his fingers to see me in the mine will be the person he designated to settle the salary quota."