Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 252 Captain and Guide

"Depending on the assessment method..." Zheng Zha said in a low voice, "It seems there are different assessment methods as well."

Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses: "Zhang Jie's situation is quite special... and the multiple assessment methods are understandable. For example, Zhang Jie also mentioned that physical destruction does not affect the performance of the guide's duties. If someone performs well enough to be a captain in a horror movie, even if the guide dies in that scene, they can reappear and be assessed as a candidate."

"How did you determine that Zhang Jie's situation was special?" Zheng Zha asked, puzzled.

Mu Xiang certainly wouldn't say that's how it's described in the original work. In fact, Zhang Jie hasn't explained his experience in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" yet, which is information that only Mu Xiang knows so far. But the strangeness that Mu Xiang sensed in the first piece of information wasn't clearly explained in the original work either, so he could only infer it himself.

Before he had a chance to think much about it, he got into a fight with Zheng Zha, and now he's figured out how to answer Zheng Zha's question.

Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses: "You should still remember what Zhang Jie said, right? He is both the captain and the guide."

“That’s right, how do you understand it?” Zheng Zha scratched his head.

“Don’t overlook this parallel relationship…” Mu Xiang said, “This is what makes Zhang Jie special.”

Zheng Zha was stunned for a moment. Special features are always revealed through comparison. He had never seen anything like it, so how could he see anything special?

Then, a brilliant idea struck him, and he clapped his hands and shouted, "Northern Flame Continent Team!"

Mu Xiang snapped his fingers: "That's right! You also realized that the atmosphere in the Beiyanzhou team was far worse than ours, but they did have a so-called captain. You didn't communicate much with that international student, so you didn't know enough information."

“In fact, the Northern Flame Continent team did have a proper captain before, but after that captain died, the only remaining breeder, Angro, was not recognized by the guide.” Mu Xiang shrugged. “That’s not surprising, after all, we’ve all seen how useless that guy was. He was holding a bunch of protective gear and A-level telekinesis and we beat him up. His rating probably didn’t even trigger the certification.”

“But these scores can be accumulated gradually.” Mu Xiang said, pointing to Zheng Zha. “That’s how it was for the two of us. When we first entered the competition, Chu Xuan was the strongest in our team, followed by Zhao Yingkong… Well, Wang Xia was definitely very high, at least much higher than the two of us. But after a few horror movies, we both reached the third level, and our scores rose accordingly. Therefore, only the two of us participated in the competition for team captain.”

Zheng Zha had heard Mu Xiang and Chu Xuan discuss their speculations about individual and team ratings, so he quickly grasped the concept and nodded in agreement.

“That Angero didn’t get the guide’s approval, which Feng Yang revealed unintentionally. Chu Xuan and I both heard it at the time, but we didn’t ask immediately… Feng Yang probably thought our Central Continent team was like the Northern Flame Continent team, so it’s best if we don’t leak it,” Mu Xiang said, spreading his hands.

Zheng Zha scratched his head: "People like you are really something else. Not only are you filthy, but you're also full of cunning."

"Come on, he only said that casually because he didn't know about the Central Continent Team's unusual situation. If he did know, would he have told us? Would we have been able to get information out of him?" Mu Xiang said disdainfully. "Do you really think our temporary alliance is unbreakable?"

At this point, Mu Xiang laughed: "Do you remember what Feng Yang said when we were fighting them on the overpass?"

Zheng Zha was taken aback: "Is this guy that important?"

"Crucial my foot! The Beiyanzhou team is way more normal than us. If you think about it carefully, everything is crucial." Mu Xiang rolled his eyes at him. "At first, I was fighting Angelo, and you were fighting Feng Yang... What did Feng Yang say after the fight?"

Zheng Zha frowned, trying to recall. Although his memory had greatly improved after entering the third tier, it was still somewhat difficult to remember things he hadn't paid attention to during the second tier. "Damn it, Angro, are you even capable?! The captain of the Central Continent Team is right here with me!"

Mu Xiang mimicked Feng Yang's tone at the time and spoke leisurely.

Zheng Zha was stunned for a long time before speaking: "He saw that I had activated the second stage, so he assumed that I was the captain of the Central Continent team! The captain can advance one stage... The fact that he thought that way means that the Northern Flame Continent team had most likely already witnessed this scene!"

“That’s right, which confirms your previous guess. The Beiyan Continent team does have a proper captain. No matter how strange the team atmosphere is, no matter how they are a breeding team where the veterans exploit and enslave the newcomers, the captain is still the captain!” Mu Xiang smiled. “Angelo was able to become the captain because after the original captain and the other breeders died, he was the only breeder left.”

"So for a time, he was the sole ruler of the Northern Flame Continent team, and naturally the captain... but without the guide's recognition, he had no authority or promotion." Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses. "And before he could gain the guide's recognition, the couple rose to power. However, neither side had an absolute overwhelming advantage, so they could only compromise and become breeders together, temporarily serving as captains."

Zheng Zha nodded upon hearing this. The strange atmosphere and the captain's incongruity within the Beiyanzhou team were now completely explained, and some of his previous guesses were confirmed. He looked at Mu Xiang: "So, what about the special circumstances?"

"Don't you understand? Bringing up the captaincy of the Northern Flame Continent team is to show that the so-called captaincy isn't just a title, it's a real position!" Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses. "The same position as the guide!"

"Under normal circumstances, how could one person hold two positions?"

Zheng Zha's heart skipped a beat; he understood Mu Xiang's meaning... Indeed, he felt Zhang Jie's life was in danger because he was certain the guide would disappear after the assessment. But he seemed to have forgotten that Zhang Jie claimed to be the captain of the Central Continent team, and only regarded him as the guide!
Seeing that Zheng Zha understood, Mu Xiang breathed a sigh of relief; the guy finally understood what he meant.

In fact, Zhang Jie's role as captain is easily overlooked in the original novel. Because the novel doesn't explain it clearly, many people tend to understand Zhang Jie as a guide who inherited his memories. However, both Mu Xiang's previous understanding and Zhang Jie's earlier descriptions differ from this interpretation.

[Some statements shouldn't be taken as just Zhang Jie's words... The same person saying something might be from the perspective of team leader Zhang Jie, or from the perspective of the leader Zhang Jie.]

“I think the current Zhang Jie is a combination of the guide and the original Zhang Jie, with elements of both.” Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses. “I still remember what he said at the beginning of Resident Evil when he shoved a gun into someone’s mouth.”

“Zhang Jie said that in A Nightmare on Elm Street, only he and one other person survived, right?” Mu Xiang said. “But later, Zhang Jie told us teammates that he was the only one who survived in A Nightmare on Elm Street, and after two movies, in Final Destination, he was the only one who survived.”

Zheng Zha nodded. He remembered that at the beginning of Resident Evil, the scene where Zhang Jie instantly killed that chubby guy and shoved the Desert Eagle into his mouth was really memorable.

“Zhang Jie has no reason to lie about this matter; he himself may not even remember this contradiction.” Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses. “Considering his unusual dual role, my explanation is… both statements are correct; the difference lies in the capacity in which they are made.”

"The first time, Zhang Jie spoke from the perspective of the guide... and the person who survived with the guide was the original Zhang Jie!"

"They survived together in this unusual way!"

The contradictions in Zhang Jie's statements are most likely a plot hole left by Z in the original work. In *Resident Evil*, he says he and another person survived, while in *Final Destination*, he says only he survived. However, this plot hole happens to connect with my secondary interpretation of Zhang Jie in *The Terrifying Black Hole*, so I'll keep it.

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(End of this chapter)