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Chapter 1089: Helpless Return

Minas Tirith in the morning mist looked like mother-of-pearl. Zhao Wuji stood in the third row of the White Tree Square, his armor wet with dew, but his fingertips were hot from excitement. The system interface was suspended in the center of his vision, and the line of numbers exuded an alluring golden light:

[Current gold coins: 1/000]

"Congratulations." The system's voice was unusually warm, "You can start the return process at any time."

At Bilbo's birthday party last night, the last batch of "Hobbit Pipes" were bought by merchants from the Shire at a high price of 3000 gold. When the crisp sound of gold coins entering the bag and the system prompt sounded at the same time, Zhao Wuji felt dazed.

The sound of the coronation horn brought him back to reality. Aragorn slowly climbed onto the platform, his white robe like another moon in the morning light. Zhao Wuji knelt on one knee as instructed by the system, but his eyes swept across the viewing platform.

[Countdown to return: 72 hours] The system pops up a reminder, [can be shortened at any time]

"Wait." Zhao Wuji responded in his mind, "There are still things to be done."

After the ceremony, he headed straight for the temporary warehouse in the south of the city, where Peter Jackson was presiding over an auction and a dozen merchants were bidding on broken orc armor and twisted weapons.

"The last item," the assistant held up the parchment, "is the priority right to dispose of all remaining items. The starting price is 5 gold."

Zhao Wuji raised his hand directly: "One hundred thousand."

The whole audience was in an uproar. A southern businessman with tattoos all over his face sneered: "Boy, do you know what's in that pile of junk?"

"I know better than you." Zhao Wuji took out a bag full of gems - he exchanged them for the souvenirs of the Battle of Black Gate. When the hammer fell, the system suddenly flashed a warning:

[Abnormal items detected: 1. Genuine Dusk Star Crystal (containing elven magic); 2. Angmar Witch King's Origin Dagger]

"Systems, these"

[The genuine article must be destroyed or returned] The system said in a serious tone, [Otherwise the history of Middle-earth will be distorted]

The Evening Star Crystal rippled with blue light in his palm, reflecting countless details in the warehouse that Zhao Wuji had not noticed - the elf cloak in the corner still had real starlight remaining, a dwarf axe had the secret pattern of the Durin family, and even the pile of "old" papers contained the handwritten notes of the actor who played Gandalf.

"These are all priceless treasures." Zhao Wuji's throat tightened.

[Selection Moment] The system interface turns golden, [50 gold coins will be deducted for each item you keep]

As dusk fell, Zhao Wuji made his decision: the Evening Star Crystal was sent to the Elf Guards of Lothlorien, and the Witch King's Dagger sank into the deepest whirlpool of the Anduin River...

"This doesn't count as a plot change," he explained to the system, "it just preserves an idea that was not adopted."

The system was silent for a moment: [Deducted 50 gold coins, balance: 500]

That night, Zhao Wuji packed his luggage in his room. In fact, there was nothing to bring - gold coins could not be brought back to reality, weapons would disappear, and only memories would last forever. Suddenly, there was a light knock outside the window. Arwen stood in the moonlight, and there was no trace of the fake pointed ears between her golden hair.

"I heard you were leaving." She handed over a small leather bag, "A farewell gift."

Inside the skin was a miniature evening star wrapped in a lock of blonde hair—much smaller than the original, but emitting the same shimmer. “My real hair,” she smiled, “for a memory.”

Just as Zhao Wuji was about to thank him, the female elf suddenly held his hand and said, "I'm so upset," and then disappeared at the end of the corridor.

[Final Mission: Attend the Hobbit Dinner] The system suddenly released, [Reward: None]

The Shire was brightly lit on the last night. Zhao Wuji, wearing the simplest cloth, was selling the "last souvenirs" in a corner of the banquet - "Bilbo's same snacks" made from the leftovers of the party. Few people bought them.

The Hobbit children sang and danced around him, memorizing the lyrics as a play rhyme. The system did not prevent this - this knowledge would be passed down in the form of fairy tales, and perhaps save a Hobbit baby with a fever a hundred years later.

Before dawn, Zhao Wuji came to the Palano Plain alone. Tender grass had grown on the battlefield, and only a few scorched earth reminded him of the tragedy. He took out the elven gold coin and gently placed it on a stone.

“System, I’m ready.”

"Memory cleared successfully"

Golden light rose from the soles of his feet, like raindrops flowing backwards. The numbers in his field of vision began to count down: [321] At the last second, Zhao Wuji suddenly remembered something and hurriedly reached for his chest.

"Mr. Zhao, you succeeded and received the blessing of the elves." Li Jingling pushed him.

The elves might have drawn a strange symbol on his heart - it was exactly the same pattern on the elves' gold coins, and this was the elves' blessing.

"What is it for?" "It can gain the blessing of the elves, which means that in times of crisis, you can get inexplicable help from the elves."

"In the script, countless elves sacrificed their lives, but they weren't that strong."

Li Jingling rolled her eyes at Zhao Wuji and said, "After the people in the bureau enter the script, I will be your guardian, but I can't enter the script to help you, so I developed this low-level crowd security system. But if I am outside the hibernation capsule, I can also help you? Will it be of some use?"

Zhao Wuji instantly understood what Li Jingling meant. However, since he was not as the Life Development Bureau concluded: Shao Zhen's digitization affected life, but he was a young man on Earth in the 21st century and had the ability to predict most plots. Moreover, the main point was that Shao Zhen's soul was indeed digitized and existed in his body at present, which was equivalent to a callable data file.

The elf's blessing had little effect on Zhao Wuji.

"That's why you keep asking me to brush the ring."

"Of course, I hope you can be of some help to the elves."

"It's a script, what's the use of help?"

Li Jingling leaned close to Zhao Wuji's ear and whispered softly, "Your understanding is not entirely correct. There is a real world behind most scripts, but the universe is so big that we can't be sure where they are. For example, I know that I am an elf, but I don't know where my home world is."

"what"

"My adoptive parents adopted me as an ordinary human being, but this is not a good place to chat, don't make any noises."

"All right"

Zhao Wuji knew that he came from Earth, but he still couldn't find his home world. He only found the seemingly identical Blue Water Planet.

"We'll talk when we have time. The team leader has asked you. Go up and ask her what's going on. Don't tell her that I asked you to brush the magic ring."

"why"

"Little brat, you are considered a sober person in the script. Don't you understand what the gray area is?"

"Yeah, I got it"

As a member of the Life Development Bureau, if someone occasionally plays some scripts for personal gain, everyone in the bureau will pretend nothing happened.

“Well, there are some things you can do but can’t say.”

Zhao Wuji soon met Team Leader Lin Yu: "Digital Earth has collapsed."

"It's okay. There are countless digital Earths. What I need you to find is the real Earth."

"Can you explain the reason in detail?"

"They encountered some troubles and were attacked by alien creatures. With their current civilization, it is highly likely that they will not be able to maintain their original ecology."

"What are the benefits you are talking about?"

"Some of them have genetic mutations and may have super powers, just like what you felt in that crash script."

Zhao Wuji really wanted to use his memory reset skill to communicate, but after looking at the countless cameras, he gave up the risk.

"Then how many times should I go?"

"Go back when you have free time. You should focus on your work for now. You are assessed and you need to save at least five colleagues a year. You have only saved one now, and it was the simplest one."

"clear"

Zhao Wuji had always suspected the team leader's motives, but he didn't dare to ask. Now he just happened to use work to divert his attention.

“Then I’m going to work.”

"it is good"