My Card Beast Taming Game

Before leaving, Han Baobao handed Zhou Chen a backpack that was half his height. Hua Ning said that since he was the only boy there, the job of carrying the backpack would be left to him.

Zhou Chen felt it was his duty to do so.

The four people, fully prepared, took the escalator back to the ground, where the surrounding environment had transformed from a shopping mall into a huge transportation hub.

People dressed similarly to them carried large and small bags as they entered and exited the various passages. When people passed through the wide gates, the gates would automatically verify their identities.

Before entering the secret realm, Lu Qingning told him that Hua Ning would not actively participate in the hunting of monsters in the secret realm, but would only be responsible for ensuring their safety.

Essentially, it's like having a reliable bodyguard.

Zhou Chen had no objections; as someone who was clinging to someone's coattails, he simply followed orders.

Standing in the secret realm hub, he noticed that people entering through the gate usually had serious and tense expressions, while those leaving were relaxed and cheerful. At the same time, the backpacks they carried had large patches of slime and bloodstains on them.

"This is the hub of the secret realm, the transit point between the secret realm and reality, and also the first line of defense." Lu Qingning told Zhou Chen to keep an eye on the corner.

Several people dressed in black robes were standing or sitting, idly observing their surroundings.

“They are the guardians sent by the association. Each of them is an intermediate card master. They are basically the ones who handle the anomalies in the secret realm and the disputes that arise after the card masters arrive at the hub,” Lu Qingning whispered.

As they were talking, a man in black robes saw Hua Ning, his eyes brightening as he approached, "Miss Hua!"

"Dong is in charge." Hua Ning nodded in greeting.

Without a doubt, she had also been one of the garrison members, and she remained polite and aloof in the face of the man's enthusiasm.

The man didn't seem to care much about Hua Ning's attitude and continued to laugh and say something to himself.

Lu Qingning quietly told Zhou Chen that they hadn't set off yet because they were waiting for someone else; they could only enter after the group that was joining the group arrived.

Zhou Chen took a moment to look around and found that unlike the congestion outside the hub and the bustling underground commercial area, the interior was quite spacious.

So, only a minority of card masters dare to venture into large-scale secret realms after all?

Rumors circulate online that even the outermost areas of large-scale secret realms are teeming with two-star bronze-tier monsters, while slightly more central areas often see silver-tier monsters appearing.

Teams that usually come here are either all five or more experienced trainee card masters, or at least one silver-rank beginner card master, otherwise it's difficult to handle unexpected situations.

They weren't a reckless team of trainee card masters, but they basically never returned.

Their deeds will be recorded in the brochures of the Secret Realm Hub to serve as a warning to overconfident card players.

Zhou Chen's team consists of one intermediate-level player, two beginner-level players, and one trainee. If he were more skilled, he could actually explore the mid-level areas, but since he's being taken to experience the secret realm, he'll only be active on the outer perimeter.

The group lingered for a long time, and the man who had been chatting with Hua Ning without getting much response left dejectedly.

At that moment, a five-person team, equally fully equipped and ready to go, rushed towards them from the entrance in the distance.

The five people were all young men and women. The leader showed great respect to Hua Ning, saying, "Sister Ning! I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting!"

"Thank you for your trouble," Hua Ning said with a light smile.

The man waved his hand apprehensively, "It's my honor to be able to help you!"

"Alright, enough of that. Let's go into the secret realm together." Hua Ning turned around and walked quickly toward the gate.

The others hurriedly followed.

Teams need to register in advance to enter the secret realm, and they also need to pay the entrance fee, which Zhou Chen had already paid.

When he first approached the gate to the secret realm, he felt that everything was new and exciting.

As you pass through the gate, the names of everyone automatically appear on the screen at the top and scroll quickly.

Chapter 25: The Spatial Backpack (Please read on!!)

Inside the gate was a long, brightly lit passageway.

The far end glowed with white light, and small teams were going in and coming out.

Lu Qingning pointed to the white light and said, "See that? The entrance."

"This is... the entrance to the secret realm?"

Zhou Chen had a strange expression. He had actually seen similar pictures online, but he always felt they were too plain.

The entrance to the secret realm he imagined, if it wasn't particularly mysterious, would at least be somewhat exciting, right?

The leader of the next team laughed and said, "Is this your first time in the secret realm, friend? This is what the secret realm looks like after the association stabilizes."

"What's your relationship with Sister Hua Ning?" A girl from the next team asked curiously as she approached.

Just as Zhou Chen was about to speak, Lu Qingning, who had somehow appeared in front, scolded, "Pay attention when entering the secret realm! Concentrate!"

"Huh? Oh!"

He quickly caught up with Lu Qingning.

Seeing this, the girl pouted and returned to her original position.

When Zhou Chen came to Lu Qingning's side again, she glared at him fiercely, "Don't try to get close to people who are better than you, especially girls."

"Uh, why?" Zhou Chen asked, puzzled.

Lu Qingning glanced at the group of people she was teaming up with without leaving a trace. "You can know a person's face but not their heart. If you force yourself into a circle that's not yours, you'll only get hurt. Be careful they don't sell you out."

"..."

Zhou Chen remained silent; Lu Qingning's words did indeed make some sense.

Unbeknownst to him, Han Baobao, sitting nearby, secretly nudged her best friend's arm, winking and mouthing—'Awesome girl~'

Lu Qingning's ears and the back of her neck suddenly flushed red, and she retorted, "Get out of here!"

"Ah~"

Han Baobao hugged her with a playful laugh.

The passage wasn't long, and the group quickly arrived in front of the bright white light, where they met the card master team that came out.

This group of people reeked of blood, had no spirit cards with them, and their eyes showed both weariness and sharpness.

Two groups of people passed each other, and his vision blurred for a moment, then his nose and nasal cavity began to moisten.

But when he came to his senses, the scene before him hadn't changed much.

The passageways on both sides remain exceptionally bright, and at the end of the line of sight is a spacious hall, only the style of modern high-speed rail stations with glass and ceramic tiles has been changed to a rough reinforced concrete style.

At the same time, the number of spirit cards has surged. Previously, card creatures were rarely seen in the Nexus, but here there are more of them than humans, and they are generally quite large.

"You can use your spirit card now at the Secret Realm Outpost," Lu Qingning reminded her.

While he was secretly observing, the people around him had already summoned their card creatures.

Lu Qingning was still the Netherflame Lion, while the flowers she had seen before floated beside Hua Ning. Han Baobao's spirit card was quite eye-catching—it was a two-meter-long scorpion with a dark carapace covered with blue lightning patterns, and cannon-shaped pincers and tail stingers.

It has eight legs growing from its belly, the ends of which are often accompanied by sporadic flashes of electricity. Its mouthparts are ferocious like a meat grinder, and its several pairs of dark, round eyes send chills down one's spine.

Before Zhou Chen could investigate, Lu Qingning took the initiative to introduce him in a low voice.

"This is Hanbao's electromagnetic cannon scorpion. It's responsible for ranged attacks in our team. The reason I had you practice your positioning before was mainly to dodge its cannons."

"clear."

Zhou Chen nodded, noticing that the team next door had released five identical giant eagles with an electric blue-silver hue, and had tied different colored collars on them to distinguish them.

He recognized this card creature—the Lightning Hawk.

Lightning and fire, being the most destructive elements in nature, are naturally favored by card players, and are the most popular card types.

Including Zhou Chen, even though the White Ape is a Logia-type, Captain Changming possesses Fire attributes.

He silently summoned the Droplet Bubble Shadow, and the chain of soap bubbles floating in the air stood out among the majestic and imposing card creatures.

Although Hua Ning's "flower" is also a small individual, she is an intermediate card master. How can you compare?

Pairs of eyes were fixed on Zhou Chen and Drip Bubble Shadow, but their vision was quickly obscured by the massive size of the Netherflame Lion.

The leader snapped out of his daze and said to his teammates, "Let's not delay, let's set off as soon as possible!"

"Okay!" the others echoed.

After bowing to Hua Ning, the team quickly left the passage.

Hua Ning and the others followed a little slower.

Lu Qingning comforted her, "Don't worry about them. They just became card masters a little earlier than you."

"Uh-huh."

Zhou Chen nodded; he didn't particularly care about other people's opinions.

After stepping out of the passage, the feeling of a military fortress in the hall became even stronger. Seeing that even the doors were made of steel, he finally understood what an outpost was.

There were many people lingering in the hall, including quite a few of the black-robed figures I had seen at the hub.

"The outpost is also a safe zone. Before the boss monster respawns, monsters usually won't come near here, so you can rest here without worry."

Lu Qingning introduced him to the bag he was carrying, and pointed to it, saying, "There are paper maps in the space bag for emergencies. You can take them out and take a look."

Space backpack!

Zhou Chen's eyes brightened slightly, and he quickly took it off and opened it.

Unlike its travel bag-like exterior, the bag's interior was surprisingly spacious; he couldn't even reach the bottom when he reached inside.

[Space Bag], a spatial item made from the hide of a special monster, classified as a spirit item, price...

It can only be said that even the smallest capacity is in the millions, and there are very few channels to purchase them, simply because this thing is a controlled product in terms of specifications, and normal purchase requires the association's permission.

Zhou Chen searched for a long time without success, then remembered what he read online that to use the space bag normally, one needs to use mental energy, otherwise one has to crawl inside completely.

He couldn't help but look at Lu Qingning.

Lu Qingning asked in surprise, "Why are you looking at me like that? Take—oh, I forgot that trainee cardholders can't use this."

She clapped her hands lightly, looking annoyed, while Han Baobao laughed nonstop beside her.

Zhou Chen: "..."

Han Baobao stopped laughing, casually took the space bag, and said, "Don't blame her, I've been using this thing before."

"Then why didn't you remind me?" Lu Qingning said indignantly.

Han Baobao pulled out a paper map: "I just didn't want to disturb your teaching. Besides, you learn from your mistakes. Here you go!"

"Thank you."

Zhou Chen took the map and opened it, revealing the map of the Water Marsh Secret Realm.

The reason why large-scale dungeons are called large-scale is not only because, under normal circumstances, the average strength of the monsters in them exceeds that of small and medium-sized dungeons, but also because their size is far beyond that of the two.

Judging from the distance units marked on the edge of the map, the Watery Mystery Realm exceeds 10,000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to the combined size of Jincheng and Fengcheng.

Exploring such a secret realm requires exceptional physical fitness from long-distance travel alone.

Zhou Chen couldn't help but recall the five lightning eagles from earlier, all of which were large enough to carry a person on their backs.

“We won’t go too deep; we’ll just walk along the edge.” Lu Qingning stretched out her slender fingers, pointing to the outpost on the map and extending upwards.

Zhou Chen noticed a marker for an outpost in the upper right corner of the map. "Does this connect to the capital?"

Lu Qingning: "That's right, the outpost in the capital, but the two places are too far apart, so you probably won't be able to meet the card master in the capital."

He nodded.

The Watery Secret Realm has an electronic map, but various situations can occur within the realm, and electronic devices can sometimes malfunction, making a paper map quite necessary.

Chapter 26: The Poisonous Toad in the Mud

We walked out of the outpost's main hall.

The outside world suddenly seemed vast.

There are no buildings with more than three stories in sight, and the buildings are generally spaced far apart, with large open areas that make it resemble an airplane runway.

Modern transportation vehicles such as off-road vehicles and helicopters are everywhere, either scattered or neatly arranged.

But none of them are as eye-catching as the gigantic guards wielding greatswords, standing twenty meters tall beneath the highest wall in the farthest distance.

They stand like giant metal statues throughout the outpost, facing the entire outpost and giving people a great sense of security.

"You've seen what the gold-tier Xuan Tie divine weapon looks like at the silver tier before."