"It’s not simple, this time’s system announcement is probably not a simple matter!"

"Normally, in the chessboard world, the system would only make announcements at the end of each week, before the start of the next, to announce updated rules."

"It’s only been a few days now, far from the time for an announcement, yet here we are with a formal announcement? Definitely, this is not a simple matter."

Kong Ming was still sitting on a wooden board above his own swampy area. Previously somewhat bored, he suddenly became alert and sat up straight. "Could this have something to do with that guy Waldo?"

The thought popped into his head, but he quickly shook it off. How could that be possible? Waldo was just a trial participant, and whatever he did, it couldn’t possibly prompt the system to make an announcement. Without overthinking, he too entered the chat channel.

...

"A system announcement? Seems like something big is going to happen!"

"Hurry, hurry, I want to see what’s being announced!"

At this moment, most of the trial participants in the chessboard world stopped their activities, eagerly anticipating. Amidst this widespread expectation, the system announcement finally arrived!

...

[System Announcement: Attention all trial participants, due to trial participants Waldo, Wade, and Mallin accidentally discovering the rulers’ palace and triggering a hidden task, the second assessment now enters its decisive phase, starting from this moment!]

[Three days ago, trial participants Waldo, Mallin, and Wade accidentally entered the rulers’ palace, and in its depths, there lies a huge treasure left behind by the rulers!]

[So far, the team of Waldo and the other two has completed the first phase of the task. They are the number one seed team and are most likely to obtain the rulers’ treasure. If they can hold out until the end, the treasure will belong to them.]

[However, for the sake of fairness, the system is giving all trial participants a chance to compete for the rulers’ treasure. Participants can form their own teams, with a minimum of three and a maximum of five members! Each team can challenge the number one seed team led by Waldo to compete for the treasure!]

[Notice: Any team that defeats the number one seed team led by Waldo will replace Waldo and their team will be promoted to the number one seed. If they are not defeated by another team thereafter, they will obtain the rulers’ legacy treasure!]

[All trial participants, please prepare to form your own teams, strive to become the seed team, and participate in the contest for the rulers’ legacy treasure!]

...

[Notice: As the system has detected that Waldo’s team is excessively powerful, the captains of any team facing Waldo will receive the blessing of the Power of Justice, enhancing their combat power by one hundred percent!] [Notice: The final battle for the treasure is about to begin!]

[There is one final minute remaining, please all trial participants make your preparations!]

...

In the sky of the chessboard world, there was a huge countdown timer. Red light flickered, and time ticked away second by second, signaling the beginning of the final contest for the rulers’ treasure.

"What the heck is this? The rulers’ palace? The rulers’ legacy treasure!"

"Am I hearing this right? My goodness, the rulers’ palace has been discovered! No wonder the system suddenly announced and reset the rules, this is too shocking!"

"Awesome, does this mean if we get the rulers’ treasure, we can win the trial? Hahaha! If that’s the case, then great! But it seems a bit difficult to achieve the final victory."

"Shocking, even the rulers’ palace has appeared, this is a huge deal! Who doesn’t know that the supreme rulers are the founders, even the system might have been created by them, this is outrageous!"

For a moment, the chat channel was filled with the surprised voices of the trial participants. It’s no wonder. Facing such an event, indeed, nobody had anticipated it. Hearing the system’s announcement, they were almost dumbfounded. Thankfully, they reacted in time. Just then, suddenly a trial participant sneered.

"Heh, you all are really naive, missing the most crucial point. Waldo! Didn’t you see Waldo’s name?" As soon as this statement was made, the entire chat channel fell silent.

Everyone was initially bewildered, not quite grasping the situation. The name Waldo was indeed well-known.

"Wow, there really is a Waldo!"

"It’s him! I was wondering why he hadn’t progressed recently, almost getting surpassed by others. Turns out, he entered the rulers’ palace and even completed the first phase of the task given by the system, becoming a member of the number one seed team!"

"Heh, he’s not just a member now, he’s the captain of the number one seed team!"

Then, the entire chat channel fell silent again. All the trial participants paused for a moment. The difference between being a team captain and a team member is significant. As the system made the announcement, they also received related messages from the system, including information about forming teams.

The privileges of a team captain are substantial! Really substantial! A captain can freely kick other trial participants out of the team or invite others in. It’s almost like being the ruler of a team.

Moreover, if they ultimately win and obtain the rulers’ treasure, the captain directly gets half of it. The others can only share the remaining half! Even more, if the captain is strong-willed, they can claim an even larger share. It can be said that the captain is like the sky for a team. Now, Waldo is the captain of the number one seed team...

"Waldo is awesome!"

"Heh, I was wondering why Waldo suddenly went quiet these past few days, no sight of him. Turns out, he went to the rulers’ palace!"

"Waldo really kept a low profile! Previously quiet, and now, suddenly he’s the captain of the number one seed team!"

"He was even trading materials extensively before. I was curious why he did that, now I get it!"

"I seriously suspect that his becoming the number one seed team is related to his previous trades. He wouldn’t have wanted so much Five Elements Source Energy for no reason. His surge in combat power must also be linked to this!"

A trial participant analyzed carefully, their reasoning making sense. Waldo’s previous series of odd actions had sparked much speculation. Now, it seemed they had their answers. At this time, someone couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Waldo truly lives up to his reputation, really impressive! He’s the one most likely to win so far!"

"Exactly, think about it, Waldo is the undisputed number one in the chessboard world, topping four leaderboards. Who can beat him?"

"That’s true. Waldo is indeed the strongest. Moreover, he’s now the captain of the number one seed team, effectively the primary heir to the rulers’ treasure. If we can’t beat them, then the treasure is destined to be theirs!"

"Heh, those two, Mallin and Wade, are probably going to win without much effort!"