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

After the meeting, Lin Chen did not return to the training ground.

He went alone into the tactics room on the basement floor of the administration building and locked the door.

The tactics room had no windows, only a huge electronic screen and a long table covered with maps. He sat down at the table and opened the system interface.

His intelligence points were running low after several rounds of use, but exchanging purple-quality intelligence required 10 points. This was the highest price he could afford, and the price he had to pay.

"Exchange for complete exclusive information on the [Grassland Guardian's Secret Realm]".

The system notification sounded exceptionally clear in the silent tactics room: "Ding! 10 intelligence points consumed, successfully exchanged for purple-grade high-quality intelligence."

In Lin Chen's field of vision, a flood of information surged in like a tide, condensing into clear images, precise data, and deadly mechanisms in his consciousness.

The complete map of the secret realm is revealed first.

The Grassland Guardian's Secret Realm is located in the core area of ​​the Grass-type Badge Territory, with a total area approximately three times that of the Plata Grassland.

The map is divided into four areas: the outer grassland, the thorny maze, the poisonous fog swamp, and the core altar. Each area has unique monster distribution and environmental mechanics; entering recklessly will only result in being gradually worn down.

The outer grasslands spawn grass-type and insect-type monsters of level 25 to 30. The density is moderate, but they move in groups.

The Thorn Maze is the first real test in the Secret Realm—the maze's passages change randomly every fifteen minutes, and players without a map may be trapped inside for hours without being able to get out.

The Poisonous Fog Swamp is even more dangerous, as the air is filled with slow-acting toxins. Staying there for even one minute will cause you to lose two percent of your stamina. You will need to carry antidotes or use a Grass-type pet's photosynthesis to pass through safely.

The core altar is where the BOSS is located.

Lin Chen's gaze lingered on the altar for a few seconds before continuing to look down.

BOSS: Giant Bouncing Flower.

Level: 40.

Type: Grass.

Health: 8000.

The giant bouncy flower is ten times the size of a regular bouncy flower, entirely emerald green, and its blossoms, when fully open, exceed three meters in diameter. Its petals are edged with sharp serrations, and its vines writhe around its body like tentacles.

The intelligence report lists the BOSS's complete skill rotation.

The first skill is [Entanglement of Vines].

The giant bouncy flower will extend four vines from the ground and randomly entangle two pets on the field.

Entangled pets are unable to move or dodge, and lose 5% of their stamina every second. The entanglement lasts for five seconds and cannot be dispelled during this time; only fire-type skills can burn the vines to free them early.

The second skill is [Group Parasite].

The giant bouncy flower will release a cloud of green spores, covering the entire area.

All non-Grass-type Pokémon will be affected by Leech Seed, losing 8% of their stamina every three seconds, while Giant Bouncing Flower will recover the same amount of HP.

This is the core of the BOSS's sustain; once the group parasite is released, all previous damage output will be wasted.

The third skill is [Flying Leaf Storm].

When the giant bouncy flower's health drops below 70%, it will start releasing Leaf Storm.

Countless sharp blades spread outwards from the BOSS, covering the entire altar without any blind spots.

Each leaf doesn't cause much damage, but there are so many of them that eating them all is enough to knock most pets to the ground.

The fourth skill is [Photosynthesis].

When the giant bouncy flower's health drops below 30%, it enters a photosynthetic state, restoring 5% of its health per second for 10 seconds.

If you can't deal enough damage to interrupt it within ten seconds, the BOSS's health will drop back to 80%, and all your previous efforts will be for nothing.

The most deadly thing is the "Rage" mechanism, which is marked in red in the intelligence report.

When the giant bouncy flower's health drops below 50%, it will enter a berserk state.

In Berserk state, the cooldown of all skills is halved, damage is increased by 50%, the number of vine entanglements increases from four to eight, and the range of the spore cloud of mass parasitism doubles.

The berserk state cannot be dispelled or weakened; there is only one way to prevent it—interrupt its berserk state trigger with Sleep Powder or any sleep-related skill the instant the BOSS's health reaches 50%. The sleep spell must be cast within one second before the berserk state triggers; casting it a second earlier will be ineffective, and casting it a second later will result in the BOSS already entering berserk mode and becoming immune to all control effects.

This is an operation window accurate to the second.

Lin Chen went through the process in his mind three times, then flipped down to the last part of the intelligence.

Hidden passage.

In the northeast corner of the secret realm, on the edge of the thorn maze, lies a thicket of thorns surrounded by a poisonous mist swamp. The conventional route for all allied forces enters from the front, passing through the outer grasslands, the thorn maze, and the poisonous mist swamp, finally reaching the core altar. But the hidden passage bypasses all the checkpoints of the first three levels.

The entrance to the passage is deep within the thorn bushes, concealed by a layer of illusion magic. The solution is simple—shine the entrance with the light of your Grass Emblem for three seconds, and the illusion will vanish. Inside, the passage is a narrow underground tunnel, free of monsters, poisonous fog, and mazes. A mere fifteen-minute walk will take you directly from the thorn bushes to the back of the core altar.

Behind the altar, there is a high vantage point overlooking the entire BOSS battlefield.

The allied forces didn't know that location. Their scouting team had only taken the conventional route, which didn't reveal the back of the altar.

Lin Chen closed the system interface and opened his eyes.

The lights in the tactics room were a bit blinding, but he didn't blink. He sat there, mentally reviewing all the intelligence, then picked up a pen from the table and began marking on a blank map.

Monster spawn points in the outer grasslands are marked in green.

The patterns of the passageways in the thorn maze are marked in blue.

The safe passage routes through the Poison Fog Swamp are marked in yellow.

The area of ​​effect of the BOSS's skills at the core altar is marked in red.

The location of the hidden passage's entrance and the solution were drawn in a large purple circle.

Finally, he wrote down his plan for clearing the game in the blank space on the map.

First, three teams were formed.

The main team is responsible for the BOSS battle, and is configured with two Fire-type DPS, two Flying-type DPS, and two Grass-type controllers.

The clearing team is responsible for establishing a defensive line at the exit of the hidden passage to prevent the Allied forces from infiltrating and interfering during the BOSS battle. The scout team is responsible for creating illusions along the Allied forces' regular routes, making them believe that the main force of China is still on the periphery.

Secondly, the core of the BOSS battle is health management.

The output must be calculated precisely to ensure that the giant bouncy flower's health decreases as planned in each stage.

Seventy percent of Leaf Storms require Flying-type pets to use [Agile Movement] to avoid them.

For a 50% rage threshold, the Granseed needs to release Sleep Powder one second before its health reaches 50%, with a window error not exceeding 0.5 seconds.

Thirty percent of photosynthesis requires Fireworks and Sonic Hound to simultaneously unleash their highest-powered Fire-type moves, dealing over two thousand damage within five seconds.

Third, when to use hidden passages.

We cannot rush in as soon as the secret realm opens, as that would alert the allied forces.

We need to wait until the main force of the allied forces has entered the Thorn Maze and the Poisonous Fog Swamp, and can no longer retreat quickly through the regular routes, before we can cut in through the hidden passage.

Lin Chen put down his pen and looked at the map covered with words and markings.

Fifteen minutes later, he pushed open the door to the tactics room.

Wang Hao, Su Muxue, Leng Feng, and Zhang Guodong stood in the corridor, clearly having waited for a long time. Seeing Lin Chen's expression, none of them asked "How did it go?", because they had already seen the answer in his eyes.

Lin Chen handed them the map.

"The dungeon boss is a level 40 giant bouncing flower. Its skill rotation, weaknesses, berserk mechanics, and interrupt window are all listed on it."

"There is a hidden passage that can bypass all the coalition's blockades and go directly to the back of the core altar."

"The entrance to the passage is in the thorn bushes in the northeast corner of the Thorn Maze, and you need a Grass-type Badge to open it."

Four people sat around the map, but no one spoke.

Su Muxue's fingers traced across the BOSS's skill list, her lips moving slightly as if she were silently reciting each mechanic.

Leng Feng stared at the hidden purple passage, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Wang Hao couldn't understand the complicated tactical markings, but he did understand the line written on the last page: "Win rate, 70%".

Zhang Guodong looked up at Lin Chen.

"What do you need?"

"Three things," Lin Chen said. "First, I will personally select the top one hundred members of the elite exploration team. Second, all fire-type skill stones and hypnosis-type skill stones will be centrally allocated to the main team. Third, for the seven days before the secret realm opens, do not let anyone know about the existence of this hidden passage."

"Including within the management bureau?"

"Including within the management bureau."

Zhang Guodong nodded without asking why.

He knew that Lin Chen's caution was justified.

Although Zhao Tianyu was crippled, his informants were still around.

Although Li Kai's live stream was banned, his mouth is still open.

Although the 23-nation coalition appeared to be a unified entity, their methods of bribing insiders were far more sophisticated than anyone could imagine.

If even a single word is leaked, the hidden passage will turn into a death trap.

Lin Chen put away the map and turned to walk towards the end of the corridor.

Wang Hao caught up from behind.

"Brother Chen, you just said the win rate is 70%. What's the 30% uncertainty factor?"

Lin Chen did not stop.

Jason.

"That first ruler of the United States?"

"His ability to achieve the world's first clear in the Water Badge Speedrun proves he didn't rely on luck." Lin Chen's voice was calm. "No matter how complete the intelligence I obtain is, it's only about the BOSS and the map. As for Jason himself, how he would react, how he would judge, and how he would make decisions, the intelligence system can't give me the answers."

Wang Hao took a few steps in silence.

"So you're afraid of him?"

Lin Chen stopped at the end of the corridor and pushed open the iron door leading to the rooftop.

The night breeze blew in, carrying the scent of grass and earth from the grassland.

"I'm not afraid."

"But we shouldn't underestimate him."

Lin Chen walked up to the rooftop and stood in front of the railing. In the distance, the lights of thousands of homes across China resembled a low-hanging galaxy.

The secret realm is about to open; six days and twenty-three hours to go.

He gripped the pet badge at his waist.

Jason, are you doing the same thing as me in America?

You're gathering intelligence, you're drawing maps, you're making plans.

But did you include my name in your intelligence report?

Lin Chen's lips curled up slightly.

The secret realm of the grassland guardians, seven days later, is not just a war between China and the coalition of twenty-three nations.

This was also the first real contest between Lin Chen and Jason.