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

The night breeze stopped.

The Prata Grassland fell into an eerie silence; even the chirping of insects in the grass had disappeared.

The blond-haired man and five others surrounded them from three directions. Their pet badges were glowing, clearly indicating they were ready to release their pets at any moment.

"Hey bro, I'm talking to you." The blond guy took two more steps forward, his gaze lingering on the bouncy ball at Lin Chen's waist. "That guard dog, want to sell it? The price is negotiable."

Lin Chen didn't move or say anything.

Wang Hao stood behind him, holding the newly evolved Meow in his arms, his expression not looking too good.

He recognized the blond guy—this guy had been wandering around the starting plaza with a group of people, specifically looking for lone players to borrow supplies; to put it bluntly, he was taking advantage of the chaos to rob them.

"Yellow Hair, what do you mean?" Wang Hao blocked Miaowu's path.

The blond-haired man laughed, revealing two gleaming gold teeth: "Nothing much. I just thought this brother was lucky and wanted to make friends. A guard dog like this is too much trouble for one person to keep. Why not give it to our team, and we can all contribute to the prosperity of China together?"

Several people behind him laughed, their laughter full of mockery.

"Exactly, don't be ungrateful."

"Our boss is talking to you nicely, are you ungrateful?"

"What kind of loyal dog can a lone individual have? It's a waste of resources."

Lin Chen finally raised his head.

His gaze was as calm as a stagnant pool, sweeping across the blond-haired man's face before glancing at the others. There were six people in total, and six pets—two fire-type, two grass-type, one water-type, and one rock-type. The highest-level pet was a level 14 sparkler, standing right at the blond-haired man's feet.

"Are you done talking?" Lin Chen's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

The blond-haired man was stunned for a moment.

"Now that you've finished talking, let's get started." Lin Chen placed his hand on the pet badge. "If you win, the guardian dog is yours. If you lose—"

He paused for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Leave some money for the journey."

Huang Mao's expression changed. He hadn't expected that a lone wolf would dare to challenge six people first.

"Alright, you've got guts." The blond guy took half a step back, raised his hand, and said, "Brothers, let him know what it's like to be called—"

"Fireworks, sparks flying."

Lin Chen didn't wait for him to finish speaking.

A crimson light shot out from the badge, and the moment the firework landed, the two clusters of flames above exploded violently, turning into a fan-shaped wave of fire that swept towards the six pets opposite.

The blond-haired man's words were stuck in his throat.

He didn't expect Lin Chen to make a move directly—and he was even more surprised that the opponent's fireworks were already at level 16.

A wave of fire rushed towards them, with the level 14 Spark at Yellow Hair's feet bearing the brunt. Spark instinctively tried to retaliate, but the level suppression from the Flame was too obvious; the temperature of the flames Spark spewed was more than a level higher than that of a normal Spark Impact.

Spark was thrown to the ground by the wave of fire and let out a scream.

The other pets weren't faring much better. The two Grass-type pets were countered by Fire-type moves and lost most of their health. The Water-type pet, although slightly more resistant, was still burned and rolling around on the ground.

"Holy crap! He has fireworks! Level 16 fireworks!" someone exclaimed.

The blond-haired man's pupils contracted sharply. Level 16—while everyone else was still struggling to reach level 10, this guy had already trained Spark to its evolved form?

But he didn't panic. They outnumbered each other, six against one, and even if the opponent had a level 16 firework, they could wear them down with a war of attrition.

"Don't be afraid! There's only one!" the blond-haired man roared. "Spread out and attack together!"

The remaining pets reorganized their attack. Rock-type pets led the charge, Fire and Grass-types flanked from the sides, and Water-types prepared to provide support from the rear.

Their coordination was quite good.

But Lin Chen's second pet has already made its move.

"A loyal dog, its last moments of brilliance."

Golden light burst forth from Lin Chen's waist. The moment the guardian dog landed, it charged directly at the stone-type pet at the forefront—Amiyat, level 12, whose defense was top-tier in the early game.

The protective dog didn't dodge, taking the full force of Amiyat's impact. Its health visibly dropped, from full health to near zero, and its entire body trembled slightly.

Then it fought back.

A final burst of energy before death.

A blinding golden beam of light erupted from the guardian dog, slamming into Amiyat with devastating force. The rock-type pet, known for its defense, didn't even have time to yelp before being blasted away, crashing into the grass ten meters away, tumbling twice before completely losing its ability to fight.

The entire room fell silent.

One round. Amiyat, at full health, was instantly killed in one hit.

The blond-haired man's lips twitched. He finally realized that the person in front of him was no ordinary solo player.

"Continue," Lin Chen said calmly.

The Guardian Dog didn't stop. With its health bar nearly depleted, it charged towards its next target—a Grass-type Meowth. The cooldown of Last Stand was extremely short, and in its weakened state, every attack from the Guardian Dog felt like a ticking time bomb.

The second attack knocked Meow Meow to the ground.

The third blow rendered Shui Lanlan unable to fight.

In less than three seconds, half of the opponent's six pets were down.

The remaining three pets began to retreat. Their levels were already lower than the guardian dog's, and now, witnessing their companion's swift and fatal defeat, their will to fight had completely crumbled.

"Why are you running! Get him!" The blond-haired man panicked and kicked the sparks at his feet.

But the sparks had been suppressed by the flames and could not be raised. The vortex of flames spread out into a continuously burning sea of ​​fire in the center of the battlefield, and any pet that tried to approach would be burned.

The protective dog's fourth brief moment of brilliance directly extinguished the spark in the blond-haired man.

All six pets were wiped out.

The entire battle lasted less than two rounds.

On the Prata Grassland, a crowd had gathered at some point. Random players leveling up nearby had heard the commotion and rushed over, only to witness this overwhelming battle.

"Holy crap... he took on six people by himself?"

"What the hell is that guard dog? One-shotting someone with almost no health? That's outrageous!"

"Fireworks at level 16? Is this guy cheating?"

"Are you stupid? How can you cheat when the nation's destiny is tied to you? They're genuinely strong."

A chorus of voices surged forth. The onlookers' eyes were fixed on Lin Chen, a mixture of shock, awe, envy, and a complex mix of emotions they couldn't quite define.

Yellow Hair slumped to the ground, his face deathly pale. All six of his pets had lost their fighting ability and would not recover anytime soon. Lin Chen was walking towards him, his steps neither fast nor slow, his shoes making a soft rustling sound on the grass.

"What...what do you want to do?" The blond-haired man's voice trembled.

Lin Chen squatted down to be at eye level with him.

"As I said before, if you lose, you'll have to pay the toll."

Yellow Hair gritted his teeth, took out a bag of Rockbells and two Gulu balls from his pocket, and put them on the ground.

He dared not refuse; he couldn't afford to offend the person in front of him.

Lin Chen picked up the items and took inventory.

100 Rocky Dollars. 2 Regular Gulu Balls.

"roll."