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Chapter 1078: Decision by the Volcano

The sulfurous smell of Mount Doom burned his nostrils. Zhao Wuji lay down behind a basalt rock, looking at two staggering black dots in the distance - Frodo and Sam were only three hundred yards away from the crater. His sheepskin account book was spread out on the hot ground, and the ink was slightly curled by the heat wave:

**Total assets: 95387 gold coins**

This number had made him ecstatic half an hour ago, but now it was like a dagger against his spine. A scarlet prompt box suddenly popped up from the system and floated in the center of his vision:

【choose】

Return immediately (keep all memories, clear wealth)

Wait for the natural ending (clear Middle-earth memory, retain 5% wealth)

There was a scream from the distance, and Zhao Wuji saw three figures struggling on the edge of the volcano. According to the plot, the ring will fall into the lava in five minutes, and the erupting volcano will devour all living things within a radius of ten miles.

He touched his waist - there was a dwarf teleportation rune that he had bought with his last 200 gold coins, which could theoretically teleport him to a safe area. But the rune had never been tested in actual combat, and the system's protection only lasted until the plot officially ended.

A burning rock struck twenty paces away, and the splashing lava burned a charred hole in the ledger.

Three weeks ago, at Gondor's victory celebration, Zhao Wuji had a premonition that this moment would eventually come.

As he counted the spoils in his highest room in the White City, fireworks lit up the window:

Galadriel Silver Cloak (estimated value: 4000 gp)

A replica of the holy sword inlaid with a Paliano gem (Rohan nobles pay a deposit of 8000)

The most precious: White Tree Pollen in a glass bottle (Gondor Royal Family offers a reward of 25000)

The last transaction took place at the climax of the celebration - he exchanged the secret passage map copied from Faramir for a temporary pass to the Royal Garden. When Aragorn was crowned, everyone looked up at the Emperor, and no one noticed the rare pollen falling from the Holy White Tree under the vibration of the salute.

"4613 gold coins are still missing."

At the time, this number seemed within reach. Until three days ago, the system suddenly updated the terms:

【Final Protection Limitation】

Safety protocols terminated during volcanic eruption

After reaching the wealth target, a 10-minute confirmation period is required

This means that even if he could gather a hundred thousand, he would have to stay alive in the lava for ten minutes.

At this moment, Zhao Wuji watched Gollum bite off Frodo's finger, and the golden ring drew a perfect parabola under the dark red sky.

The moment the Ring fell into the lava, the entire earth began to tremble. He calculated: From the eruption to the arrival of the deadly lava flow: about 7 minutes

Teleport rune activation time: 3 minutes

System confirmation time: 10 minutes

"Should"

He grabbed a hot volcanic rock and smashed it against the rune. The dwarven metal emitted a dazzling blue light in the high temperature. This was a secret that Groin hadn't told him - the rune would activate faster when exposed to heat.

The lava lake began to boil, and the first wave of fire had already erupted to a height of 100 meters. Zhao Wuji pounced on the glowing object in the crack of the rock - it was the obsidian fragment that had just collapsed, and inside it were the gold particles of Sauron's fortress.

[Asset update: 95741 gold coins]

not enough.

The mountain cracked open with hideous wounds, and magma gushed out like blood. The soles of Zhao Wuji's boots began to smoke, and the rune blue light had enveloped his whole body. At the last moment, he saw the rock platform where Frodo and Sam were standing collapsed. When the two fell, they shook off a piece of rock plate inlaid with gems - a fragment of Boromir's scabbard, a relic lost in the Battle of Moria three years ago.

He jumped.

The moment he grabbed the scabbard, the lava engulfed the place where he had been hiding. His burned palm was bloody, but the system prompt sounded like heavenly music:

[Historical Relics Valuation: +327 Gold Coins]

[Total assets: 100068 gold coins]

【Return program started】

The blue light of the runes and the red magma intertwined into a vortex. The last thing Zhao Wuji saw before his consciousness faded was a line of small words emerging from the charred edge of the account book -

"Memories are more precious than mithril."

This was what he wrote for himself on the first day of his time travel, and he just thought it was pretentious at the time.

The hot tears evaporated before they fell, and the choice that was exchanged for 100,000 gold coins unfolded before my eyes:

Return to the ordinary with all the memories

Become a rich man in Middle-earth but forget all this

When darkness fell completely, his fingers penetrated the illusory interface: keep the wealth and forget everything.