Meanwhile, in a swamp.

On an extended wooden plank, Kongming enjoys eating barbecue and drinking cola with a content expression, thoroughly relishing the moment.

At the same time, not far in front of him in the swamp, a head emerges.

Despair fills the eyes of the person.

"Please, save me, save me!"

The person cries out with an increasingly weak voice.

"There’s no saving you. This plank can only support one person at a time."

Kongming chuckles, "In this swamp, you’ll have plenty of good brothers to accompany you!

They’re all down there, and you’ll be meeting them soon!"

In these days, Kongming’s life has been much more comfortable than most trial participants.

This swamp is like a treasure to him.

Any challenger encountering him is instantly transported into this swamp.

Even without his intervention, those sent to the swamp are quickly swallowed by its bottomless depths.

The swamp, like an ancient beast with a gaping abyss for a mouth, devours any trial participant who enters, leaving virtually no chance of escape.

Death is the only outcome.

Thus, Kongming’s days are extremely comfortable.

He spends his days eating, drinking, and sleeping.

Lastly, he waits for the unfortunate participants to fall into the trap!

The various resources left behind by those killed by the swamp naturally become his spoils of war.

Of course, their deaths are also credited to him by the system.

Hence, over these days, his rank remains steadily on the blacklist.

Although his rank doesn’t rise, at least it doesn’t fall.

"Hehe, maybe I am the weakest on the blacklist. Not good in combat, lacking experience. But then again, sometimes luck is important too, and luck is a part of strength!"

While eating chicken wings, Kongming browses through the chat channel.

Recently, there have been many interesting events.

Compared to other trial participants, he doesn’t worry about food or shelter, nor does he fear waking up in a different place as a corpse.

So, he often keeps an eye on the chat channel.

Of course, he never posts anything.

Being high on the blacklist, too many people recognize him.

Titles like "The Most Mysterious Man on the Blacklist" and "Lord of the Swamp" have been bestowed upon him.

Lately, the most attention-grabbing topic has been the Lolita Demon Lord, little rabbit Camille.

"This little rabbit is really ruthless!"

Kongming feels a chill while reading the chat channel.

"The outside world is truly dangerous, with killings everywhere. One careless move could mean death. Especially for me, a wanted criminal on the blacklist, appearing in public would likely lead to crazed attackers tearing me to pieces!"

He is well aware of his own limitations.

Once targeted, his chances of survival are slim.

...

As usual, after spending some time on the chat channel, Kongming shifts his attention to the trading platform to see if there’s any delicacy he desires.

There aren’t many trial participants who live as leisurely as he does.

For him, the only pleasure is in finding gourmet food.

"Most trial participants nowadays need weapons and equipment. Food is important, but after accumulating over time, there’s already a decent stock. So, it’s not as urgent."

"Moreover, with the recent increase in conflicts, battles, and killings, everyone feels threatened, and the demand for weapons has significantly increased."

"These days, many participants are willing to trade their once invaluable food for various types of weapons and equipment."

Thinking this, Kongming heads to the trading platform to see if there’s any food worth exchanging.

He notices that the offerings on the platform seem to have increased substantially compared to before, especially various kinds of food.

"Instant noodles, cola, hamburgers, and even energy drinks? Wow, there’s so much!"

"And chips!"

"Wow, is that steak?!"

Kongming was astonished to see the variety of food on the trading platform, his mouth agape in disbelief.

The more he looked, the more amazed he became.

The offerings were simply too numerous and diverse.

Kongming was inwardly astounded.

"Wow, they really have everything here. Is this like moving a supermarket up here? What happened that so much food is now available on the trading platform?!"

Upon closer inspection, Kongming suddenly noticed that all this food came from the same person.

Waldo!

Waldo?

Kongming’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

Could this Waldo be the same famous Waldo he knew?

"Can it be..."

Kongming’s expression turned somewhat peculiar.

In the world of the chessboard trial, with over a hundred thousand participants, it was quite possible to have people with the same name.

Especially a name as common as Waldo.

But...

"To offer such a wealth of resources at once, it must be Waldo, the only one capable of doing so!"

"In the current chessboard world, speaking of abundant resources, Waldo must be at the top."

"However, I never expected Waldo’s resources to be so vast. Just the items he has put up on the trading platform are almost equivalent to half a warehouse."

"How frightening, how did he manage that?"

Kongming was secretly shocked.

At the same time, he was more puzzled than anything else.

Yes, puzzled.

Although Waldo had many resources, why would he want to exchange them?

After all, food stored in the system space would never expire.

There was no need to trade all of it!

Why was Waldo doing this? What could be his motive?

Amidst his puzzlement, Kongming closely examined what Waldo wanted to exchange.

"He only needs two things, the first being a pseudo-Open Mountain Axe."

"This item is actually quite common; I have collected five myself, and other trial participants probably have a fair number too. Everyone tends to keep one or two on hand!"

"The pseudo-Open Mountain Axe can be merged into a real Open Mountain Axe. With enough of them, a level one weapon can become a level four legendary weapon. However, the required quantity is so large that it’s very difficult to actually create a real Open Mountain Axe."

"But, it indeed can greatly enhance combat power."

Kongming nodded slightly.

It made sense that Waldo needed the pseudo-Open Mountain Axe, as it could strengthen his abilities.

In the current chessboard world, with the increasing killings, the trial participants’ strength is rapidly growing.

It would be false to say Waldo doesn’t feel threatened.

Especially since Waldo is number one on the blacklist!

That’s quite critical.

This requires Waldo to grow and increase his strength faster than other trial participants.

Otherwise, once the others enhance their abilities and, coupled with the triple boost of the power of justice, Waldo would most likely not escape death.

Therefore, Waldo’s urgency to increase his strength is understandable.

"In fact, there’s no need to worry too much. In another seven or eight days, there will hardly be any ordinary trial participants left in the chessboard world."

"In such a short time, I don’t believe there will be any trial participant who won’t kill. If he doesn’t kill, others will force him to. In short, over time, almost all participants will become wanted criminals."

Kongming, like Waldo, is also on the blacklist.

He had long understood this situation.

Therefore, compared to Waldo’s anxiety, he was relatively calm.

After a period of time, when most participants become criminals and can’t receive the boost from the power of justice, he plans to leave the swamp.

As for now, he dares not venture out.

...

Just then, Kongming’s eyebrows furrowed again, his expression turning somewhat strange.

"It’s understandable that Waldo wants the pseudo-Open Mountain Axe, but what’s this about needing the Five Elements Source Power? What in the world is that, and what use does it have?"

"The Wood Source Power, Flame Source Power, Water Source Power, Metal Source Power, Earth Source Power..."

"To be honest, I’ve never even heard their names, let alone know their functions. Could it be that my knowledge is too limited?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

As he pondered, Kongming raised his doubts in the chat channel.

His message immediately drew the attention of many trial participants.

Being a figure on the blacklist, his every move was highly noticeable.

Quickly, some responded to his question.

"Five Elements Source Power? I have some but don’t know what they’re used for. It seems few people know their purpose, and to me, they appear somewhat useless!"

"I’m not sure, I’ve never heard of this thing."

"Indeed seems useless, I have two streams of Earth Source Power and still have no idea what they’re for."

...

Seeing this, Kongming shook his head slightly.

It seemed that other participants were equally clueless.

So, he said, "I’m not too sure either, but what I do know is that Waldo is looking for the Five

Elements Source Power! You can check the trading platform, Waldo is exchanging a large amount of food for these things!"

"???"

"Really? Waldo has been quiet for days. What has he been up to, and why is he suddenly active again?"

"Wow! I checked, and the trading platform is full of food. Waldo must have put all his resources up for exchange. What’s he planning to do?!"

"Amazing, I knew Waldo was rich in resources, but I never imagined he had such a terrifying amount! Wow, it’s really shocking!"

"So many items, even cola! That’s my favorite!"

"Level one pseudo-Open Mountain Axe is also up for trade? That’s great!"

Prompted by Kongming, the trial participants flocked to the trading platform.

At first glance, they were dazzled by the variety of resources available.

Mostly various types of food.

They occupied a large part of the trading platform.

Only in some corners could you see a few other scattered items.

And these foods, undoubtedly, were almost all released by Waldo.

The quantity was overwhelming.

Many trial participants were stunned, shocked by Waldo’s financial capabilities.

Of course, besides amazement, some participants were also speculating.

Waldo, being the top of the blacklist.

Oh no, rather, the formidable existence at the top of all four lists.

Every move he made must have a deeper purpose.

Take, for instance, Waldo’s need for the pseudo-Open Mountain Axe.

This goal wasn’t hard to guess.

The merging of Open Mountain Axes is common knowledge.

There were even jokes before about using them to forge legendary weapons.

However, the probability was too low.

Gathering nine hundred and ninety-nine axes seemed nearly impossible.

But now, Waldo apparently intended to do just that.

The most crucial part was the second thing Waldo needed.

The Five Elements Source Power!

What was its use?

Most trial participants were clueless!

Some had this item, but they were baffled.

They were unclear about its purpose.

If it weren’t for Waldo’s explicit mention that this item could be used for trading resources, they might not even remember owning it.

Could it be that Waldo knew its use?

And that it was even more important than the purpose of the Open Mountain Axe?

Suddenly, the minds of the trial participants were buzzing with thoughts.

...

"Strange, even Waldo wants the Five Elements Source Power; it seems this item is not simple at all! In that case, I’ll keep it and see how things unfold."

"I won’t keep it. If I can exchange it, it’s better to get some resources quickly. I’m running low on food."

"Hehe, you’re still keeping it? What for, to collect dust? You don’t even know what it’s used for, and even if you did, are you sure it’s useful to you? Better exchange it with Waldo while you can. Otherwise, if Waldo stops trading, you’ll have nowhere to cry."