Beast Tamer: Why is the intelligence system a game announcement?

The cracks spread, and countless shadows howled through them.

The next moment, Lin Wu fell into it, feeling a series of dizzy spells. When she came to her senses, she found herself in an open space.

"Bai Miaomiao, are you still there?"

Before he could even assess his surroundings, he instinctively asked a question, and then received a somewhat speechless reply from the Ghost Craftsmanship at his waist:

"Yes, yes, yes, how could I not be here?"

"This level of secret realm, although my Beast Taming Space could blow this place up if I entered, it's impossible for the mental connection to be broken... You can rest assured."

"Instead of all that, you should take a look at your surroundings first."

What's the situation around us?

Upon hearing Bai Miaomiao's words, Lin Wu raised her head and looked around before realizing her current predicament.

He was currently on a high platform, which appeared to be over a hundred square meters in size. There were several other platforms like this around him, though the number of people on them varied, and the size of the platforms also differed.

There are three large platforms, some even covering several thousand square meters in size.

At this moment, Lin Wu looked down.

Below the platform is a void, and at the center of their countless platforms is a giant chessboard!

The countless squares scattered across the chessboard momentarily stunned Lin Wu.

Is this a board game called Ludo?

Wait, why does he look more like a tycoon?

Holy crap, is this secret realm really that temperamental?

"I suggest you look around you before you start thinking about all that nonsense..."

Bai Miaomiao sighed and spoke. Lin Wu looked up in confusion, then saw the group of Lan Yue High School students staring at him from the platform to his right.

"He's looking this way."

Why does he monopolize a platform?

"Oh well, who cares? He's just a weakling... nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about."

Lin Wu: ?

Seeing the "low-level loser" look on Wang Ba and the others from Lan Yue High School, Lin Wu was momentarily stunned. But he still looked in other directions.

Then he saw Ai Mu standing there, sword in hand, looking at him with eager anticipation.

When she saw that she was looking over, Ai Mu tilted her head.

"We didn't manage to play last time... how about we give it a try this time?"

She gestured, then looked somewhat troubled: "Hmm... the platforms are a bit far apart, can I really jump that far?"

You'd better not jump over here.

Lin Wu's eyes twitched, then he looked further into the distance. The missionary from Guanghua Girls' High School, the gambler from Fengdu High School... At this moment, it seemed that because he had monopolized a platform, almost everyone was casting their gazes in his direction.

Whether out of hostility or curiosity, they were all wondering who this suddenly appearing, unknown figure was, and what abilities he possessed.

"It's actually quite nerve-wracking; it feels like I'm being watched by a lot of people right from the start."

Lin Wu let out a soft breath and said jokingly.

Bai Miaomiao rolled her eyes at this: "You act like you're really nervous... By the way, have you even figured out the mechanics of the secret realm?"

"This secret place wasn't told to me."

Lin Wu shook his head, but soon, remembering the core mechanism he had seen in the announcement, he couldn't help but speculate.

Without a doubt, the ecosystem coin is the core mechanism. And look at the chessboard below, and the competitors around it…

Could it be that we've brought everyone together on a chessboard for a thrilling and exciting game of Monopoly, where we can earn ecosystem coins?

However, looking at the mechanism of "defeat other beast tamers to seize their ecological coins" in the announcement, Lin Wu felt that this Monopoly game might be a bit bloody.

But what about the elf mentioned in the announcement?

Lin Wu squinted at his platform, pondering for a moment.

There's no sign of any new sprites spawning around, and the Shadowy creature mentioned in the announcement hasn't appeared either. So, it's very likely that those things appear during their respective phases...

This secret realm is very likely to be a "game" type of experience as well.

The game hasn't started yet. However, it's more likely it will start soon. And if that's the case, you'll see the announcements soon...

As this thought crossed his mind, a huge screen of light suddenly appeared in the sky. Lin Wu looked up abruptly and saw the words appearing on the screen.

[The Secret Realm is about to officially launch]

[The interlude phase is about to begin, during which explorers will be unable to see each other. After the interlude phase ends, the conflict phase will begin.]

Please prepare.

Interlude and strife?

The interlude is for development, right?

Lin Wu pondered for a moment, then glanced around. Clearly, everyone else was also captivated by the light screen, intently watching its contents and discussing it animatedly.

But in the next instant, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, high walls rose up around the platform, turning it into a completely enclosed space. Everything around disappeared, leaving only the light screen in front of them and the new writing.

The intermission has begun.

"Lin Wu...look, what's that up ahead?"

Bai Miaomiao spoke with some surprise. Lin Wu was slightly taken aback. Then, she turned her head and saw a strange look in the corner of the platform, where a shadowy figure stood quietly.

It was a small lark, a native bird of Ningcheng. However, its gaze was vacant, and even its body seemed unreal.

Wait... Could it be that this is a special spirit?

In an instant, Lin Wu thought of something and immediately summoned the Nether Bone Dragon. Under the Nether Bone Dragon's disdainful gaze, he urged it to go and take a look.

So, the Ghost Bone Dragon finally agreed to fight, stepped forward, and looked at the little lark, who made a provocative gesture—

—Then he was instantly killed by a dragon bite.

Before leaving, it conveyed a little dissatisfaction to Lin Wu before returning to Lin Wu's beast-taming space. However, Lin Wu couldn't care less about that. Instead, he looked at the ecological coins that had fallen to the ground and the small skylark phantom that was slowly reforming, and suddenly realized.

I understand now.

He looked up and saw the ghostly figures floating in the sky, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now I understand.

"So this is what a special spirit is... Isn't this just a mining spot? Just put the spirit here and keep fighting monsters to make money."

"And those ghostly things in the sky... those must be the Shadows, or the Merchants?"

"Use the intermission time to earn Eco Coins, buy things from the Shadow, and during the conflict phase, everyone elbows each other in a Monopoly game to grab even more Eco Coins!"

"Once you collect a certain number, you should be able to obtain fragments of the secret realm's ecosystem and become the ultimate winner!"

A flicker of excitement flashed in Lin Wu's eyes, while she silently reminded herself.

"I need to hurry... I was able to make this guess so quickly because of the announcement. Others don't have this advantage; they're probably still checking the special Pokémon, and it will take them some time to figure out how this game works!"

"This is a snowballing game, and I must seize this time brought by my intelligence advantage and accelerate at full speed!"

"While they have more people,... I don't necessarily have fewer people either!"

Then, he picked up the Ghostly Craftsmanship from his waist, and at the same time, countless steel pieces poured out from his storage ring.

At that moment, the Ghostly Craftsman soared into the air. In the car outside the secret realm, Bai Miaomiao sat up straight and squinted. The next instant, the steel rapidly consumed, and before Lin Wu, a miniature factory was rising!

In just a few breaths, the Ghost Factory was completed!

A pleased smile appeared on Lin Wu's lips.

"It's time to show off the art of massing units."

At this moment, Lin Wu remembered the plan she had made with Bai Miaomiao before entering and whistled.

Is the Ghost Bone Dragon being disobedient? Is its high level causing low efficiency in clearing mobs?

It's okay... We can find some lower-level, less powerful Bone Dragons that can be mass-produced to improve our mob-clearing efficiency, and that are absolutely obedient, right?

Lin Wu's smile grew even brighter:

"【Ghost Factory】...Production begins."

"You mechanical clones of the Ghost Bone Dragon army, come out!"