My Card Beast Taming Game

Several times, White Ape was nearly destroyed, forcing him to travel back and forth between the instance and reality.

Of course, as tedious as it may be, the overall benefits are still worth celebrating.

The only downside is that he can only run the dungeon a maximum of four times a day; it seems he can't keep up with the daily limit if he does more.

While sleep and medication can help restore physical and mental energy, they are not a panacea for frequent depletion of physical and mental strength in a short period of time.

On his fourth return, he fell asleep on the ground. It was Commandant Changming who put him on the bed. Even after waking up, he was in a daze for nearly half an hour, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

This feeling is just like finishing a day shift, being ready to lie down, and then getting a phone call from the boss asking him to come back to the company for the night shift.

He seriously suspected that he was developing psychological problems.

Humans are indeed not perpetual motion machines.

On the other hand, Zhou Chen did not completely cut off contact with Lu Qingning. In this information age, it is still very easy to chat unless the other party is unwilling.

Lu Qingning didn't mention going to summer camp before deleting him from her friends list.

The two would chat occasionally, share their lives, and send each other photos that they found interesting.

Although it was a mundane experience, it warmed his heart and dispelled any occasional laziness, making him more focused during training.

He had also talked to Han Baobao twice, and the latter told him that Lu Qingning was very popular at the summer camp. Many people, both boys and girls, admired her, and even when she ate a meal, people would rush to pay for it.

Unfortunately, Lu Qingning was completely ungrateful and even cursed at one of them.

If Han Baobao hadn't stopped her, she probably would have attacked.

Then the next day, that person withdrew from the training camp, which really shocked the other members of the summer camp.

Zhou Chen's first reaction upon hearing the gossip—

As expected of my hot-tempered Sister Lu!

After all, Lu Qingning's temper is exactly the same as her lion's.

He didn't share much about his own situation, only mentioning that he would be participating in the Yuzhong Cup.

Lu Qingning's attitude was also straightforward: "Win the championship, and I want to see your championship trophy."

Han Baobao replied, "Oh? Indeed, it's almost time for the Yuzhong Cup. It's a pity it conflicts with the training camp, otherwise the Silver Division championship package would have been Ningning's."

Then she asked Zhou Chen if he needed help getting a staff member's ID, saying it might come in handy.

Zhou Chen thought it made sense, so he asked Han Baobao, who was a family member of the organizer, to handle it internally.

Thank you, Sister Han!

A complimentary kneeling thank-you emoji pack is included.

Han Baobao: "It's no big deal. Ningning's cousin is also my cousin, and everyone had such a great adventure in the Water Marsh Secret Realm. How could I not help with such a small thing?"

Includes a cute emoji pack featuring a creature holding a heart.

Two hours after sending the message, a man in a suit delivered a work ID to my door. It had everything on it, from my photo to my number, but nothing about my department.

Clearly, this card only made him a member of the event organizers; it doesn't mean he actually has a job or a boss.

The man in the suit added Zhou Chen as a friend, saying that he could contact him if anything happened.

Two more days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Registration for the Yuzhong Cup closed, with a total of over 16,000 participants from eight cities.

According to the competition rules, the 16,000 participants will be divided into eight groups over two weeks to compete in preliminary rounds at designated venues in eight cities until the top 64 are selected to participate in the main tournament of the Yuzhong Cup.

And the day after registration closes is the first day of the competition.

"Is it finally about to begin?"

Zhou Chen felt a slight sense of anticipation.

It has been almost a week since the end of the secret realm training, and the white ape he controls has become increasingly proficient in its control over the exclusive weapon.

Not only that, his diamond count has also successfully broken through the 1500 mark, getting closer and closer to the hidden guaranteed 3000 diamonds.

What will be the next gold card?

I wish I could draw those god-tier characters.

"Chicken Bro!"

Zhou Chen suddenly stood up, walked out of the air-conditioned bedroom, and went outside to embrace the steaming Changming Captain.

Captain Changming dislikes low temperatures, so he rarely goes near air-conditioned rooms.

Faced with his open arms, the rooster readily spread its broad wings, a remarkably human-like action.

Zhou Chen shouted loudly, "Chicken! Bro!"

"Coo! Coo!"

The long-whistling captain sang in unison.

In the corner, the white ape was dozing off with its sword clasped behind its back. Even at the second star level, this bronze-tier ape didn't have much intelligence. Interacting with it was like holding your own left hand with your right hand—quite boring.

However, this situation improves at the Silver rank.

For example, Lu Qingning's Netherflame Lion, as a three-star silver card, is particularly agile. It is basically no different from a real lion. It can shake its head, lick its fur, make strange noises from time to time, or wander aimlessly.

Gold cards can be quite intelligent at the two-star stage. The reason why Captain Changming wasn't intelligent before wasn't because he hadn't been summoned for long enough to develop his intelligence, but because he was dragged down by Zhou Chen's mental strength, which was less than level ten.

That night, a text message was sent to Zhou Chen's phone.

[Yu Zhong Cup Tournament Organizing Committee] Dear Zhou Chen, your participant code is 13131. Please arrive at Xianghe Arena (detailed address: ...) Hall 4 before 9:00 AM on June 4th for check-in and to proceed with the competition in an orderly manner under the guidance of the on-site staff. Please do not be late, and we wish you excellent results!

……

The first day of the Yuzhong Cup.

The Xiangyun Arena on Xiangyun Road is a large complex of venues covering nearly 100 acres. It has a central main arena and eight standard sub-areas, capable of hosting nearly 20 bronze-level or even silver-level spirit card competitions simultaneously.

Zhou Chen arrived at seven o'clock, but even so, the plaza outside the arena was already packed with people. Looking around, one could see all kinds of ordinary and extraordinary card masters, as well as a wide variety of card creatures.

Animal species like bears, wolves, dogs, cats, lions, tigers, and eagles are too common, and large insects like mantises, spiders, and rhinoceros beetles are nothing special either.

What's most eye-catching are some of the dark-themed spirit cards.

For example, zombies, ghosts, and skeletons, relying on their status as spirit cards, brazenly expose themselves to the sunlight.

Some were covered in blood, making it seem like a parade of ghosts was taking place in broad daylight.

Ordinary people avoid these kinds of spirit cards like the plague, but there are quite a few people who like them, which is why they simply get together.

Besides the wide variety of card creatures, Zhou Chen also met with TV reporters who were carrying cameras and conducting interviews everywhere.

He glanced at the time and hurriedly followed the signs to check in at Hall 4. Although the line was long, it was very efficient and he finished in just two or three minutes.

The competition will officially begin after check-in is completed, and participants will be randomly assigned by computer.

"Two lives..."

He looked at the rules written on the sign outside the venue.

Unlike the previous match against Shen Yan, the rules of the Yu Zhong Cup are that the first person to kill the opponent's spirit card twice wins, and each person has one chance to exchange spirit cards during the match.

In a sense, it's like having three lives, as long as the spirit cards are recycled quickly enough.

However, if you only have one Spirit Card, you still have two lives. After using the exchange opportunity, you must summon another Spirit Card, otherwise you will lose one life.

Back in the square outside, Zhou Chen saw several buses neatly lined up on the main road.

Many cardholders in uniform came out one after another.

Zhou Chen knew that these were members of various card player clubs in Maple City. Would the Five Nations be among them?

He didn't seem to see the club's logo.

Zhou Chen found a flower bed with a large tree in the shade and sat down. He took a few photos and sent them to Lu Qingning, complaining to her about all the misshapen things he had seen.

After an unknown amount of time, a shadow suddenly loomed over them.

He raised his head slightly, then froze.

Chapter 52: Chickens Fighting Each Other

"Long time no see, young Zhou. What a coincidence that you're here for the Yu Zhong Cup too? Where are Miss Lu and the others?"

The muscular man looked at Zhou Chen with a smile.

Without a doubt, this person was none other than Gao Liang, who had been rescued by Zhou Chen and his group in the Water Marsh Secret Realm and subsequently advanced to the level of a beginner card master.

Compared to his near-death experience in the Water Marsh Secret Realm, Gao Liang is now riding high, dressed casually with half-rimmed glasses, looking every bit the refined white-collar worker in a TV drama.

Beside him was one of the team members Zhou Chen had seen before, whose name he remembered was Shi Xiaodong.

He stood up and greeted them, "They went to do other things. Are you here to participate in the competition too?"

"Why not take advantage of this break to play a match and broaden our horizons? The Spirit Card Arena is much safer than the Secret Realm Adventure," Gao Liang chuckled.

The competition in the Baiyin division he's participating in isn't until tomorrow; today he mainly brought Shi Xiaodong to participate.

The two are cousins ​​who support each other in hunting monsters in secret realms to earn money. Everything was going smoothly until one attempt nearly resulted in their complete annihilation.

"We're all acquaintances, so please go easy on us if we run into each other," Gao Liang said with a smile.

Zhou Chen chuckled, "What a coincidence."

Gao Liang said, "These things are unpredictable. The order is completely random, and anyone could run into another person. Actually, as long as we don't run into those few championship seeds, it's fine."

"The championship seed..."

He recalled what he had learned from the card trading forum.

The Yuzhong Cup, a competition with age restrictions but no limit on the number of times participants can participate, naturally attracts many familiar faces.

Zhou Chenguang searched the list of past winners and saw several trainee cardholders repeatedly in the top ten.

One of them was the champion in three out of four Yuzhong Cups.

The fact that someone like this hasn't been able to advance to the level of a junior card master can only mean that their talent points were misplaced; they shouldn't have invested them in card manipulation.

As for whether he participated in the competition this year, Zhou Chen couldn't find out. He guessed he must be a junior card master.

The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated, as did Shi Xiaodong's on the other end.

He took it out and saw that the check-in time had ended at 9:05, the computer had completed the automatic matching, and his opponent was already out.

Number 5037 is not Shi Xiaodong.

Gao Liang glanced at him and said, "You two are both in the morning? That's great. Young Brother Zhou, are you free at noon? How about we grab a bite together?"

"……Row."

Zhou Chen felt that he was a good person and that she could spend time getting to know him better.

Shi Xiaodong's competition time was earlier than his, at 9:40 in Hall 6, while his was at 10:40 in Hall 4.

According to the competition requirements, Zhou Chen had to arrive half an hour early to prepare, so he declined the invitation to watch the game and decided to go to his own competition venue to check on the situation.

As the competition began, a large number of participating card players and spectators flowed into the venue, and the square gradually became empty.

Seeing that the security checkpoint at the main entrance was crowded with people, and that some rude people were deliberately not putting away their work badges to save space even though they knew that card creatures were not allowed to enter, Zhou Chen simply put on his work badge and walked towards the special lane.

As soon as he entered, he was glad that he hadn't stupidly squeezed in; the audience seats on all sides were almost full.

"How much is a ticket again?"

Zhou Chen remembered that it cost around a thousand yuan, but the contestants didn't need to buy tickets.

A branch venue has about three or four thousand seats, so it seems like the cost can be recouped just by selling tickets?

He shook his head, walked to the relatively spacious second-floor terrace, and found a good viewing angle.

To ensure safety, the venues at Lingka Arena are mostly semi-open-air, similar to athletic fields and football fields. There are simple awnings in case of rain, but they are usually open.

He looked down and after a while, his confidence inexplicably surged.

There's no other reason than that they're just two noobs pecking at each other.

The two apprentice card masters who came on stage were not very old, probably around the same age as him, but their control of spirit cards was simply appalling.

One can make card creatures fall over even when walking in a straight line, while the other seems to have a high latency, making card creatures stutter when they move.

Laughter erupted from various parts of the venue, causing the two participating teenagers to blush on the spot.