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

Li Kai's smile froze.

The live stream chat exploded instantly—

"Catch it, Kai!"

"What's there to be afraid of! His Sonic Hound is only level 34, while Brother Kai's Magic Cat is already level 35!"

"Grass-type beats Water-type, but Fire-type beats Grass-type! Sonic Dog has Fire-type moves!"

"Kai's skills are second to none!"

Li Kai gritted his teeth. He glanced at his Magic Cat—level 35, Grass-type, with skills like Sleep Powder, Seed Bomb, and Razor Leaf.

In terms of level, it's one level higher than Lin Chen's Sonic Hound. In terms of type, although Grass is weak to Fire, Magic Cat's Speed ​​stat is quite high. As long as it can release Sleep Powder first, it can control the opponent until they die.

"Okay." Li Kai handed his phone to the person next to him. "Take a clear picture so everyone can see who the strongest player in this territory is."

The two walked to the open space in the center of the depression.

The onlookers automatically stepped back, clearing a circular area with a diameter of twenty meters.

Wang Hao clenched his fists nervously, while Su Muxue squinted, her fingers flying across a small notebook.

"The rule is simple," Lin Chen said. "That is, there are no rules."

"Just what I wanted." Li Kai sneered, raising his hand to release the Magic Cat. "Magic Cat, prepare for battle!"

A flash of emerald green light appeared, and the Magic Cat landed on the ground.

It is robust, entirely emerald green, with a blooming flower on its head and two eyes that gleam with a ghostly green light.

A pressure of level thirty-five spread out, and the surrounding air seemed to become viscous.

Lin Chen remained calm and gently flicked the ball in his hand.

"Sonic Dog"

A burst of golden light erupted. The Sonic Hound landed on the fiery ground, its dark golden fur gleaming in the flames.

It is smaller than Magic Cat, but the sense of oppression that comes from its very bones is no less.

"The match begins!"

Li Kai preemptively struck: "Magic Cat, Hypnotic Powder!"

The flower on the Magic Cat's head suddenly bloomed, and a cloud of pale purple powder spread out like smoke, enveloping the Sonic Dog.

The hypnotic powder had a very wide range, covering almost half of the area, leaving nowhere to hide.

This is the most cheesy way to play in Magic Cat—use Sleep Powder to control the field, and then slowly whittle down the opponent's health with Seed Bomb.

Countless players have fallen victim to this trick.

Li Kai's lips curled up in a smile.

However, Lin Chen's voice came faster than he expected.

"Sonic Hound, Flame Vortex, burn to dust."

The Sonic Dog opened its mouth and spewed out a swirling flame, which formed a vortex in the air and engulfed all the hypnotic powder that was floating in front of it.

The powder burned completely at high temperature, turning into a wisp of smoke and dissipating.

Hypnotic powder, ineffective.

Li Kai's expression changed.

"How is this possible—the flame vortex has this effect?!"

"The essence of the Flame Vortex is a continuously burning airflow." Su Muxue drew a checkmark on her notebook. "Any powder-based skill will be blown away or burned when it encounters a high-temperature airflow. Lin Chen's judgment is very accurate."

Li Kai had no time to be surprised. He gritted his teeth and changed his approach: "Magic Cat, Leaf Blade!"

The magic cat swung its front paws, and dozens of sharp leaves shot out like flying knives, the sound of them cutting through the air sharp and piercing.

The Leaf Blade is a physical attack, unaffected by the Flame Vortex, and extremely fast, making it difficult to dodge.

But Lin Chen had no intention of running away.

"Sonic Hound, Flame Assault, charge straight in!"

Flames erupted from all four of Sonic Dog's hooves, and its entire body transformed into a golden streak of fire as it charged toward the Flying Leaf Blade.

The sharp blades struck the Sonic Dog, leaving only a few shallow scratches.

Sonic Hound's physical defense is greatly enhanced after evolution, and the power of Razor Leaf is simply no match for its defense.

The impact of the flamethrower is devastating.

Sonic the Hound, engulfed in flames, crashed headfirst into Magic Cat's arms.

boom--

Flames exploded, and the Magic Cat was sent flying, tumbling three times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Its body was badly burned by the flames, half of the flower on its head was charred black, and its eerie green eyes had lost their luster.

Lost the ability to fight.

one strike.

From the start to the end of the battle, Sonic Dog did not lose a single drop of blood.

A complete victory with zero casualties.

The entire depression was so quiet you could hear the wind.

Li Kai stood there dumbfounded, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word. The seven or eight fans behind him exchanged bewildered glances, the person holding the phone trembling.

After a brief silence, the live stream chat exploded with messages like a burst dam.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

Zero damage??? Seriously???

"Sonic Dog is awesome!!! Who is this guy?!"

"Kai got wiped out in a second? Am I seeing things?"

"Wait, this Lin Chen... I remember him, the one who took on six people at once on the grassland!"

"I need the ID of this expert! I want to follow him!"

Wang Hao was the first to react, breaking the silence with a loud shout: "We won! Brother Chen is awesome!"

Su Muxue closed the notebook, a barely perceptible smile curving her lips.

Lin Chen recalled the Sonic Dog and looked at Li Kai.

His gaze was calm, devoid of mockery, smugness, or even any emotional fluctuation. This calmness was more unsettling than any provocation.

"Get lost."

Li Kai's face flushed red, his lips trembled, and he seemed to want to say something, but ultimately said nothing. He put away the Magic Cat, turned and left, the seven or eight people following him sheepishly.

However, the matter did not end there.

The video of that match was uploaded to various platforms within ten minutes. The headlines were increasingly exaggerated—"Mysterious Boss in the Newbie Village Achieves Zero Damage, Streamer with Millions of Followers," "Sonic Dog Instantly Kills Magic Cat, You Can't Learn This Move," "The Number One Player in China Has Emerged?"

The hashtag #LinChenNewbieVillageMaster# trended on social media within an hour.

The comment section was completely overrun.

"I was there! That Sonic Dog was absolutely incredible!"

"I checked, and this guy previously fought six opponents single-handedly on the grasslands and stole 100 Lockheeds from them."

"Didn't Li Kai say that guy was cheating? The one who got crushed without taking any damage?"

"Hilarious, Li Kai's live stream has been completely flooded with messages saying 'Lin Chen, the big boss'."

Li Kai's live stream viewership skyrocketed from 100,000 to 300,000, but most were there to laugh at him. The chat was filled with comments like "Lin Chen is awesome," "Doesn't Kai's face hurt?" and "What's Lin Chen's contact information?" Li Kai, his face ashen, ended the stream early without saying a word.

His jealousy erupted completely at that moment.

"Lin Chen..." Li Kai turned off his phone screen and gritted his teeth as he uttered the name in the darkness, "You just wait."

Deep in the Prata grasslands.

Lin Chen ignored the online uproar. Trending topics and online arguments were irrelevant to him. He had only one goal—the purification of William Castle, a global race, and the fate of China.

He opened the system interface, and a new notification appeared in the intelligence database.

"The prerequisite stage for the Grass-type Badge has been unlocked: Deep within the Plata Grasslands, the [Grass-type Trial Gate] has appeared. Clearance condition: Defeat the Grass-type Guardian. Reward: Grass-type Badge x1, unlocks entry to the William Castle Purification Battle."

Lin Chen raised his head and looked towards the deepest part of the grassland.

There, a huge stone gate entwined with vines was slowly rising.