Locke: I rely on intelligence to dominate the world and ensure the survival of my nation.

Zhao Tianyu's main team of eighty people entered the Genos Deep Sea at 3:00 PM.

Eight inflatable rafts, each carrying ten people, were neatly arranged on the sea.

Zhao Tianyu stood at the bow of the first inflatable raft, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand, his eyes fixed on the water ahead shrouded in blue fluorescent light.

"Attention all units, target location has been locked. Lin Chen's team is at the entrance to the third level of the Deep Sea Ruins, currently performing the badge prerequisite mission."

"Tighten the encirclement; don't let them escape."

A chorus of responses came through the walkie-talkie.

Zhao Tianyu turned off the walkie-talkie, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He spent an entire day using all available informants and intelligence channels to finally pinpoint Lin Chen's exact location.

The entrance to the third level of the Genos Deep Sea is a circular platform surrounded by coral reefs and water on all sides, with only a narrow passage connecting it to the ruins deeper inside.

That place, once surrounded, is a dead end.

"Lin Chen, you're not getting away today."

Li Kai stood behind Zhao Tianyu, a gloating smile on his face. Although his live stream had been banned, he had still managed to infiltrate Zhao Tianyu's team with a secondary account, just wanting to witness Lin Chen being sent back to the beginner's village.

"Young Master Zhao, isn't it a bit of an overkill to have eighty men fight three?"

Zhao Tianyu ignored him.

He knew Lin Chen wasn't an ordinary solo player. That person could always anticipate events, always find paths others couldn't, and always turn the tide in desperate situations.

So this time, he didn't give Lin Chen any chance to turn the tables.

Eighty people, all of whom are the team's highest-ranking, best-equipped, and most experienced main force members.

Thirty fire-type offensive pets, twenty grass-type control pets, twenty water-type sustain pets, and ten rock-type defensive pets.

A perfect configuration and overwhelming troop strength.

Zhao Tianyu couldn't believe that such a lineup could lose.

The inflatable raft passed through a narrow waterway, and suddenly the view opened up ahead.

A huge circular platform came into view. The platform was surrounded by coral reefs, and at its center was a stone altar that emitted a pale blue light.

That's the spawn point for the prerequisite item for the Water Badge.

Lin Chen was standing in front of the altar, holding a glowing blue gem in his hand.

Behind him, Wang Hao and Su Muxue stood on either side. Their pets—Sonic Hound, Magic Cat, and Water Spirit—had all been released and were watching the water surface around them warily.

Zhao Tianyu's eight inflatable rafts simultaneously entered the circular waterway from three directions.

It is surrounded on three sides: front, left, and right.

Behind them lay unfathomable depths of seawater, with no way to retreat.

Zhao Tianyu jumped off the inflatable raft and landed on the edge of the platform. His boots creaked and groaned on the slippery rocks.

Eighty people filed down the platform, completely surrounding it.

"Lin Chen." Zhao Tianyu's voice echoed in the circular space, "We meet again."

Lin Chen turned around and looked at Zhao Tianyu.

His expression remained unchanged, as if he had known Zhao Tianyu would come all along.

"Zhao Tianyu".

"That thing in your hand, is it a prerequisite for the Water-type Badge?" Zhao Tianyu pointed to the blue gem in Lin Chen's hand. "Hand it over. I can let you and your teammates leave safely."

"What if we don't pay?"

Zhao Tianyu smiled. He raised his hand, and the eighty people behind him simultaneously released their pets.

Eighty pets, eighty beams of light, illuminated the entire circular platform as bright as day. The crimson of fire, the emerald green of grass, the deep blue of water, and the earthy yellow of stone—all colors of light intertwined, creating a suffocating sense of oppression.

"If you don't hand it over, I'll send all three of you back to the starting village." Zhao Tianyu's voice turned cold. "Pets reset, levels reset to zero, and all items dropped."

"You should know that I mean what I say."

Wang Hao's expression changed.

Eighty against three – this is not a battle, it's a massacre.

Su Muxue pressed her fingers on the watery glutinous ball, her knuckles turning white, but her expression remained calm.

Only Lin Chen remained calm.

He even smiled.

"Zhao Tianyu, have you ever thought about this?"

"What's the problem?"

What makes you think I'd stand here waiting for you alone?

Zhao Tianyu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Lin Chen raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

The snap of fingers wasn't loud, but it carried far across the circular platform.

Then, a light shone on the rock wall above the platform.

It's not the brilliance of just one or two pets.

There are hundreds of them.

Hundreds of beams of light simultaneously shone from the crevices of the rock face, from behind the stalactites, and from the shadows of the coral reef, like a starry sky that had been set ablaze.

Leng Feng stood atop the highest stalactite, a military-green walkie-talkie in his hand. Behind him, a hundred special forces players stood in neat rows, each pet already in combat mode.

One hundred pets.

Fire, Grass, Water, Rock, Electric, and Ice types—six types of pets are arranged in tactical formations: front row for defense, middle row for damage, back row for control, and flanking maneuvers.

Legion formation tactics.

Not five people, but one hundred people.

Zhao Tianyu's smile froze on his face.

"When...when did you—"

"I knew you sent people to watch me," Lin Chen said slowly, putting the blue gem into his backpack. "You think your informants are well-hidden? You think your location is real?"

He took two steps forward, his gaze sweeping over the eighty people behind Zhao Tianyu.

"I'm waiting for you to come in on your own."

Leng Feng jumped down from the stalactite, landing on the ground with a dull thud. He walked to Lin Chen's side, crossed his arms, and looked at Zhao Tianyu as if he were a dead man.

"Zhao Tianyu, your men are surrounded. There are a hundred sniper positions on the rock wall, each with a ranged attack pet. Your eighty men are all exposed to their fire."

"I'm giving you a chance—lay down your weapons, hand over all your resources, and I'll let you and your team leave safely."

Zhao Tianyu gritted his teeth, his facial muscles twitching.

"You think a hundred people can scare me?"

He suddenly raised his hand, pointing at Lin Chen: "Everyone, attack! Hit Lin Chen first!"

Eighty pets launched an attack simultaneously.

Fireballs, water jets, blades, and rocks rained down on Lin Chen.

Zhao Tianyu refused to believe it. Although he was outnumbered, his team had thirty fire-type damage-dealing pets, and a single round of concentrated fire could break through Lin Chen's defenses.

He was wrong.

A brief instruction came through Leng Feng's walkie-talkie: "Front row, rock blockade, establish a defensive line."

Twenty Rock-type pets unleashed their skills simultaneously. Huge rocks rose from the ground, forming a two-meter-high stone wall in front of Lin Chen's team. All of Zhao Tianyu's team's attacks struck the stone wall, sending up a cloud of gravel and dust, but none hit their target.

"Mid-row, Grass type, covered with Sleep Powder."

The hypnotic powder from twenty grass-type pets drifted over the stone wall, like a layer of purple mist, enveloping Zhao Tianyu's team directly above.

Zhao Tianyu's pets began to yawn, their eyelids drooped, and their movements became sluggish. The ten stone-type pets in the front row were the first to be affected; their movements became slower and slower until they finally collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

"Back row, fire element, flamethrower, focus attack on the enemy's middle row."

Thirty fire-type pets simultaneously unleashed flames. Thirty lines of fire intertwined in the air, forming a deadly fire net that precisely struck the middle row of Zhao Tianyu's team.

Standing there were Zhao Tianyu's grass-based control troops.

Grass-type is weak to Fire-type.

The damage from the flamethrower is quadrupled when there is an elemental advantage.

Zhao Tianyu's twenty grass-type pets screamed as they fell amidst the flames. They didn't even have time to unleash any skills before being reduced to near-death by a concentrated barrage of fire.

Less than three minutes into the battle, Zhao Tianyu's middle-ranking control unit was completely wiped out.

Zhao Tianyu's eyes reddened.

"Frontline, charge forward! Close combat!"

The remaining ten Rock-type Pokémon and twenty Fire-type Pokémon attempted to break through the stone wall. They struggled forward, afflicted by the sleep powder debuff, each step feeling like a struggle in a swamp.

Leng Feng's second order has arrived.

"Flanking maneuvers, water-based attacks, water strikes, flanking the enemy's backline."

Twenty water-type pets simultaneously leaped down from the rock walls on both sides, landing behind Zhao Tianyu's team. Blue light, representing water strikes, condensed in their mouths and then released simultaneously.

Zhao Tianyu's back row—the pets responsible for sustaining and healing—were hit head-on by the water attack. Before they even realized what had happened, their health bars were already at zero.

Five minutes into the battle, Zhao Tianyu's backline healing unit was completely wiped out.

Zhao Tianyu's front and middle rows, without treatment or control, became a disorganized mess.

Leng Feng's third order was the final harvest.

"All troops, unleash your firepower. End the battle within ten seconds."

One hundred pets launch a full-scale attack simultaneously.

Flames, water jets, blades, rocks, electricity, and ice spikes—six elemental skills intertwined to create a dazzling yet deadly fireworks display that illuminated the entire circular platform.

Zhao Tianyu's pets fell down one after another.

It wasn't a battle, it was a massacre.

Ten seconds later, all eighty of Zhao Tianyu's main pets lost their ability to fight.

The platform fell silent.

Zhao Tianyu stood there, looking at the unconscious fire-type pet at his feet. His expression shifted from shock to anger, from anger to confusion, and from confusion to despair.

His team of eighty men was wiped out in ten minutes.

Lin Chen's side suffered zero casualties.

Leng Feng walked over and began to count the spoils of war.

"Rock Bay, three thousand two."

"Fifteen Intermediate Gulu Balls."

"Forty bottles of basic HP potion."

"Twelve skill stone fragments of various kinds."

"And—" Leng Feng pulled a black box from Zhao Tianyu's backpack, opened it, and glanced at it. "A key item for the prerequisite quest for the Water Badge: Deep Sea Scale."

He packed everything up, walked up to Lin Chen, and handed it over.

Lin Chen took the backpack and glanced at Zhao Tianyu.

Zhao Tianyu's face was as white as paper, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word. Behind him, some of his eighty subordinates were crying, some were cursing, and some were slumped on the ground with empty eyes.

Li Kai had already slipped away at some point.

"Zhao Tianyu, I told you," Lin Chen slung his backpack over his shoulder, "the game isn't over yet."

He turned and walked deeper into the deep-sea ruins.

"But now, your game is over."

Zhao Tianyu knelt on the platform.

His knees slammed against the hard rocks, scraping his skin and drawing blood, but he felt no pain.

He simply watched Lin Chen's departing figure, watching the increasingly blurry figure enveloped in blue fluorescent light.

He lost.

Eighty against one hundred, ten minutes, all wiped out.

He thought he was the hunter, but from the very beginning, he was the prey.

"Lin Chen..." Zhao Tianyu's voice was hoarse, as if it contained sand, "You think you've won?"

He raised his head, his eyes burning with an almost insane light.

"The race for national destiny is not over yet. William's Castle has not yet opened."

"Losing once doesn't mean I'll lose forever."

He slowly stood up and turned to look at his men who were slumped on the ground.

"Walk."

"Back to the starting village."

"Let's start over."

No one responded to him.

Zhao Tianyu walked alone towards the inflatable raft, his silhouette stretching long and lonely in the blue light of the deep sea.

The entrance to the third level of the deep-sea ruins.

Lin Chen stood in front of the stone gate, holding the Deep Sea Scale in his hand.

The blue gemstone radiated a soft glow in my palm, like a beating heart.

He pressed the gemstone into the groove of the stone door.

The stone gate slowly opened.

Behind the door was complete darkness.

Something was breathing in the darkness.

Lin Chen stepped inside.