CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 92: ARTIFICIAL RUINS

However, this time it really attracted a lot of people, lots of young folks along with many adults.

"If any of you are here with your kids for the competition, you can ride the Gale Beast and watch the entire treasure hunt from the sky."

"As for participants, please head this way."

The staff started organizing, and you could see many Gale Beasts ready with seats secured on their backs.

Lin Chen followed the participant entry, and soon met some familiar faces.

How could Qin Hao and the others miss out on this great chance to get some easy gains, and even the little rich girl Bai Jiajia came too.

"Brother Lin, what should we do now that you’re here?" Qin Hao sighed upon seeing Lin Chen.

This time, forming malicious teams is prohibited in the competition, but combat is allowed.

That means, you can snatch from others.

The treasure hunt naturally included obstacles, which were Lin Chen’s forte as a strategic genius, and now they had to guard against him swooping in.

"Big brother Lin Chen, you wouldn’t snatch from me, right?" Bai Jiajia asked with teary eyes.

"I definitely won’t..." Lin Chen nodded, and Bai Jiajia was overjoyed, almost about to sweet-talk him. But then Lin Chen added, "If Xiaobai sees something valuable, it might be hard for me to control him."

Bai Jiajia’s smile froze.

Qin Hao and the others burst into laughter.

Xiaobai, however, was puzzled, thinking it wasn’t a little fox. It wasn’t greedy for money, so why would Lin Chen say it was hard to control?

Soon, the staff began assigning participants randomly and distributing maps.

For absolute fairness in the competition, they conducted random aerial drops.

"Alright then..." Seeing all the participants mount the Gale Beasts, the staff announced, "Let’s begin."

...

"Don’t worry, this time we’ve significantly upgraded the challenge difficulty, even Lin Chen won’t anticipate this."

On one Gale Beast sat three men: Lee Zhen, Huang Xiaotian, and Tang Xuehai.

They were the project leaders this time and were eager to see how participants would crack the challenges they designed.

Initially, they were definitely going to tail Lin Chen, as he was a thorn in Lee Zhen’s side.

Tang Xuehai didn’t object, Lin Chen had beaten up students twice after just two visits to the Inner Courtyard. Tang wanted to see what was special about him.

Following from above, they arrived in the southeast region where Lin Chen had been dropped.

Upon landing, there was no one in sight around Lin Chen.

Lin Chen took out the map, glanced at it, and began his analysis.

First, pushing people.

"...Given Lee Zhen’s character, he likely didn’t put treasure at the drop site."

"Although he loves contrasts, this time the purpose is to ensure participants enjoy, so it’s unlikely set up this way."

In a low voice, Lin Chen analyzed, finally choosing a route randomly.

"Not a bad analysis." Through eavesdropping from the Ghost Sound Beast, Tang Xuehai was surprised—it was his first time hearing Lin Chen’s analysis.

Lee Zhen wasn’t fazed, saying, "Don’t rush, the real show is yet to come."

Though the site wasn’t large, Lin Chen and company were walking, bound to take a while.

But before Lin Chen encountered anyone or a challenge, something happened elsewhere.

Officials reported that in the northwest, there was a Beastmaster focused on "robbing", actively eliminating the competition. Within two hours, they had already taken down six Beastmasters.

"Any casualties?" Tang Xuehai asked.

"Minor injuries, all were ultimately rescued by us, no major issues." The staff replied.

"What level is the opponent?"

"The Spirit Beast is Level 18."

Hearing Level 18, the three weren’t surprised.

This site restricted Beastmasters below Level 10, making Level 18 top-tier.

It’s no wonder he was eliminating people right after entry.

Technically, it wasn’t against the rules to clear out opponents, as it’s considered a tactical approach.

"Monitor him closely, as long as he doesn’t harm anyone." Tang Xuehai commanded.

"Understood." The staff, receiving their orders, left again.

During this small incident, Lin Chen finally found the first challenge.

However, there were already five people gathered there, sitting on the ground, drawing and scribbling on paper, occasionally murmuring:

"It surely is this way."

Soon, one went forward, and Lin Chen followed the gaze, seeing a small mountain with a stone gate there.

The stone gate was divided into many small squares with numerous Divine Fox images and numbered accordingly.

"A puzzle?" Lin Chen was dumbfounded, saying: "These two are geniuses."

In the air, Lee Zhen and Huang Xiaotian grinned upon hearing this.

The puzzle consisted of 31 pieces, movable only horizontally and vertically, making it incredibly challenging.

After just three minutes, the previously confident individual, clutching his head, exclaimed, "Who the heck came up with this lousy idea, it’s driving me crazy, I just want to smash it."

Lin Chen sat quietly nearby, also drawing and sketching.

"Look, fell for it." Lee Zhen laughed smugly.

Unexpectedly, just ten minutes later, Lin Chen stood up and headed towards the stone gate.

"So soon?" The three were astonished.

Yet someone in front of him went ahead, saying, "Bro, queue up, ten minutes per person."

Lin Chen nodded.

The person spent ten fruitless minutes, and in frustration, punched the stone gate, then maliciously jumbled up the puzzle.

Lin Chen didn’t mind, scanned the gate with his paper, then said, "Xiaobai, do it."

He then covered his ears as Xiaobai activated Iron Horn Impact, crashing forward.

Boom~~~

Under the Iron Horn Impact, the stone gate shattered, revealing a small space inside.

"Bro, what are you doing? Are you playing or not?" The leaving individual immediately turned back.

Others were also drawn in, immediately getting up.

Lin Chen ignored him. Not expecting this, the person said, "Speak."

"This is the correct answer." Lin Chen had no intention to fight...

Lee Zhen had instructed that Jiuxing City must portray a cultured city image to outsiders, so as local people, they should try not to engage in fights.

"To complete a 31-piece puzzle, how long would that take?"

Understanding arose among the crowd.

Lin Chen bypassed him, ready to leave.

The person smirked, saying, "Thanks for your answer."

Hmm?

Is he going to rob?

Lin Chen squinted, glanced up at the sky.

Chairman Lee...

Won’t blame me now.

Lin Chen snapped his fingers, and Xiaobai instantly was by his side.

Then, without turning back, Lin Chen directly walked inside.

The man sneered, "Do you think a little Plowhorn Beast can show off in front of me?"

...

Once inside, Lin Chen found a Divine Fox Egg.

He wasn’t surprised.

This site featured a Divine Fox theme, most items were naturally related to the Divine Fox.

He easily took it, turned around, and left.

Exiting, he saw Xiaobai had already subdued the opponent’s Spirit Beast effortlessly. The Beastmaster, pale-faced, looked at Lin Chen: "What kind of bull do you have?"

Lin Chen didn’t respond, instead, asked the others: "You guys also want to snatch?"

The others remained silent.

They witnessed Xiaobai’s combat power, and risking it for a Divine Fox Egg wasn’t worthwhile.

Seeing no response from them, Lin Chen left.

In the sky, Lee Zhen and his companions fell silent.

Breaking the stone gate was indeed the solution.

"Didn’t you say there is no way Lin Chen could anticipate it?" Tang Xuehai looked at Lee Zhen.

"..." Lee Zhen was silent for a moment, then said smugly, "It’s okay, he didn’t solve the puzzle, so he lost the clue."

Unexpectedly, Huang Xiaotian smirked:

"You’re wrong, he did solve the puzzle."

"Impossible."

"Look at what he’s holding?"