"Encountered a challenger? Hahaha, I knew it, my luck, Linden, couldn’t always be this bad!

Arriving in the chessboard world, I finally met a living person, hahaha!"

Linden burst into laughter.

His luck had been terrible; he had been in the chessboard world for over half a month but had never encountered a single challenger.

Even if he wanted to achieve something, it was utterly impossible!

Simply because he couldn’t find anyone.

"Hey, brother, what’s your name?"

Linden shouted cheerfully.

However, the other person just glanced at him disdainfully and did not respond.

"Such a cold attitude, eh? But I don’t like it. I should be able to kill him, right? But killing people might make the system label me as a wanted criminal, which wouldn’t be good!"

Linden hesitated for a moment but then decided not to kill this challenger.

The person seemed pitiful enough, trapped in a swamp, uncertain if they could last a day.

"Wait, why does he seem familiar?"

Linden suddenly raised his eyebrows.

Though they were far apart, he could still see the other person’s face.

For some reason, he felt a strong sense of familiarity.

But he couldn’t remember who it was for the moment.

Just then, the system’s voice suddenly rang out.

[Challenger Linden, you have encountered the wanted criminal Kongming. Please prepare for battle and handle all emergencies!]

[Challenger Linden, please note that the wanted criminal Kongming has killed up to nine people, ranking fourth on the black list. Exercise extreme caution.]

[If you kill Kongming, you will receive five times the remaining resources on Kongming. Please weigh carefully whether to act. Given Kongming’s high ranking on the black list, you will receive an enhancement of the power of justice, increasing your basic combat power by fifty percent!]

... 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The series of system prompts left Kongming momentarily stunned.

Then his body shook violently.

His eyes widened, and a bright light of intense surprise suddenly burst forth!

"Kongming?"

"The Kongming who’s fourth on the black list?!"

"Wow, I actually found someone from the black list!"

"Hahaha, this is a huge win for me! Five times the reward! Hahaha, if I kill Kongming, I’ll really strike it rich!"

"Fortune has finally turned in my favor!"

Linden was so excited he almost jumped up.

For half a month, he hadn’t encountered anyone, and now, in the third week, the first person he meets is none other than Kongming, ranked fourth on the black list.

It was impossible not to be excited.

As for worrying about not being a match for Kongming...

To be honest, Linden hadn’t worried about that at all.

On one hand, after half a month of stealthy growth, his combat power was not low, ranking him among the top contenders.

Moreover, with an additional fifty percent boost in combat power, he could easily overpower ninety-nine percent of challengers.

Additionally, Kongming’s combat strength didn’t seem to be very formidable.

Whether judging from other challengers’ speculations or the system’s data, Kongming’s strength was almost the weakest on the black list!

"I finally found him!"

Linden laughed heartily.

[Challenger Linden, please note, you will be teleported to Kongming’s chess cell in ten seconds. Please prepare!]

"I am ready!"

Linden’s face was filled with murderous intent.

As soon as he reached the opponent’s cell, he would immediately unleash his strongest move to kill him!

Feeling the surging power within his body, and the energy coursing through him, he felt stronger than ever before.

With the augmentation of the power of justice, his strength was much greater than before, and his confidence was at an all-time high.

However, just then, he frowned, sensing something was amiss.

Directly teleported to Kongming’s chess cell?

What does that mean?

Does it mean he has to enter the swamp?

But he didn’t have any plank on him.

Entering the swamp, isn’t that seeking death?

Thinking of killing?

He couldn’t even ensure his own safety!

"No! I can’t go to the swamp!"

Linden reacted, screaming in horror, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.

If he really entered the swamp, he would almost completely lose the ability to move and quickly be swallowed by the swamp!

"No! I won’t go! Why should I be moved to the swamp? Why not move him to where I am!"

Linden shouted in panic.

But the system gave no response.

The next moment, a mysterious and incredibly powerful force enveloped him.

He was teleported across several cells, landing not far from Kongming.

With a splash, like a stone dropped into water, half of his body was immediately submerged.

"Send me back! Send me back quickly!"

"I don’t want to kill Kongming anymore! I don’t want to kill him, save me!"

Linden screamed in despair.

Finding it futile, he then shouted at Kongming, hoping Kongming would help him escape.

At this point, he was unable to move, his body continuously sinking.

The swamp was like a giant beast’s mouth, constantly devouring everything.

Once a life falls into it, there’s no escape!

...

"Heh, you wanted to kill me and now you expect me to save you? You must be dreaming,"

Kongming shook his head, a mocking smile on his face.

He had seen this situation many times before.

Every time, he chose not to save them.

Actually, he also didn’t have the ability to help.

But the system was really unfair.

Challengers killed by the swamp were all counted on his head.

He had decided that he wouldn’t venture out, no matter what.

Seeing Linden’s crazed, murderous demeanor, he knew that once he left, he might not live for even a day!

...

Meanwhile, at Waldo’s end.

While Kongming had decided to lay low and grow quietly, Waldo was not idle.

He had two chances to roll the dice!

The first time, he encountered two challengers, a man and a woman.

To Waldo’s surprise, they recognized him but did not show any hostility.

Moreover, they were very polite to him.

Waldo was initially surprised.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yes!"

"Afraid of me?"

"Not afraid. We both know about your character. You don’t easily attack or kill. As long as we don’t attack you, you won’t harm us, right?"

This response from the man and woman surprised Waldo.

At the same time, he found these two very interesting!

Facing him, they were neither afraid nor did they show any intent to kill him for the reward.

Waldo couldn’t help but feel that they were unique individuals.

"I’m leaving now!"

Just as Waldo was about to roll the dice to leave, the female challenger stopped him.

"Waldo, we found something interesting in the palace in this chess cell. Do you want to come and see?"

The female challenger invited Waldo.