Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"They're building up momentum, trying to use the authority of experts to discredit the hero's reputation. I believe subsequent reports will soon include hypotheses such as infected becoming exceptionally strong and agile. And the fact that they're doing this means they intend to solve the problem using the rules of their own faction. This proves their caution, and also proves their current inadequacy."

"At least their combat strength is not enough to exceed the fleet's power. And since the Morizumi Squad has not yet arrived, I speculate that they may be planning the same thing as us."

"...They want us to fight Senzhou to the death so they can reap the benefits?" Zhang Jie raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly,” Alice replied with a smile. “Reputation is a talisman, but a talisman only has the power to protect itself when it is recognized by an authority figure, rather than merely arousing suspicion. We have deliberately revealed our identities and positions, yet they still dare not make a direct move, which means that their first battle is merely an attempt to establish their authority.”

"They intend to intimidate us with force, take hostages, and then use the theory of the 'parasite race' to coerce us into fighting for them. I believe that the strategist of the Nan Yan team who set up this scheme will also go to the flagship in person, and then suppress or even defeat our strategist at the meeting in order to achieve absolute control over our team."

"Then we really were underestimated." The Overlord chuckled, his voice sounding just like a roaring brown bear.

“There’s nothing we can do; it’s our low rating.” Alice glanced at her watch. “The strategy meeting is about to start, and I think they’re about to make their move. I predict they’ll send two or three melee fighters, one psychic, and a support character to deal with us. I don’t think there’s any need for deliberate discussion about dealing with an enemy of this level, so—”

"—Please allocate your tasks freely."

She said softly.

The moment she finished speaking, the giant warship trembled slightly.

Chapter Thirteen: I heard someone wanted to defeat Zheng Zha by force?

With a soft thud, a bright light suddenly flashed in an empty hall on the other side of the giant warship. The moment the light faded, the Southern Flame Team appeared in the hall.

“What a waste of a concealment scroll.” A tall, black man dressed as a mage shook his head in frustration, his tone full of regret. “I didn’t expect the psychic users of the Central Continent Team to be so useless. I stayed inside the concealment barrier, trying my best to sense, but I didn’t even feel like I was being scanned once. Now I’m starting to doubt that they don’t even have any psychic users… I should have known better than to waste my time lying in ambush here.”

"We should have gone straight to this warship and wiped them out in one fell swoop, instead of lying in ambush here until the meeting starts!"

"Alright, Miria. Your losses will be covered by the team." The burly white man named Hoder patted the mage on the shoulder. "The Central Continent team is a weak team after all, so it's only natural that their mentalists are weak. Last time, during the team battle against the Sea Continent team, weren't their mentalists just as bad? Not every team has a talent as exceptionally gifted as our Miss Xue Ling'er."

“How could I possibly ask the team for compensation?” The black mage chuckled somewhat sheepishly, then immediately added, picking up where Hoddle left off. “Just let me kill someone from the Central Plains team later, any rookie will do. We're just using them to establish our authority, aren’t we? Haha…”

“You…” Hoddle shook his head. “This kind of thing requires approval from the captain… Where is the captain?”

"Captain Sister has already left." The little girl, Xue Ling'er, stood with her hands on her hips, looking angrily at the black and white couple in front of her. "Captain Sister said you can handle the arrangements yourselves, she's going to go up to the deck to get some fresh air. Unless you can't manage it, she won't help you."

“The deck of a starship? That's outer space…” Hoddle’s lips twitched. “Yeah, Captain, she’s not in the same league as us. She should be breaking through that door soon… that legendary fourth tier, the power that freak from the Indian team possesses…”

The mention of the Indian team silenced everyone in the hall—it was truly a nightmare. They were utterly powerless against them, and they had only caught a glimpse of the woman from the Indian team from hundreds of kilometers away. Yet, that single glance dealt a devastating blow to the entire Southern Flame team. Several newcomers went insane on the spot and mutated into monsters. Even the veterans suffered injuries of varying degrees. If it weren't for the team's few life-saving treasures, perhaps half of them would have been wiped out on the spot.

The fact that they survived the Indian team was less a matter of skill and more a matter of luck. The woman seemed to be preoccupied with something important, which gave the Southern Flame team room to fight back against the pursuit. Ultimately, it was only thanks to Neos's clever maneuvering around the main questline and earning enough reward points to resist the annihilation that they were able to barely escape the pursuit of the Indian team's veterans.

It was a nightmare, but also a trial by fire. The weak were abandoned, the strong survived. Only after that horror movie ended did the Nan Yan team truly unite, becoming a powerful and cohesive team. The potential of each survivor was unlocked, and after a high-scoring battle, they even possessed the courage to face that woman from the Indian team again.

"Alright, alright, let's not waste any more time here." Hoddle clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. He clearly held authority in the group second only to the captain, and the others quieted down as a result.

“According to Neos’ plan, Richard and I will launch a frontal assault. Miria and Manini will provide support. Rose, how’s the network interference going?” He looked at a petite woman who had been fiddling with a personal terminal. He asked, “I need you to take control of the cameras inside this warship, and at the same time, move all the soldiers in that area away. Our goal isn’t to wipe them out here. Neos still needs the video recordings he requires.”

“It’s connected.” Rose nodded with a smile. “I’ve hacked into the warship’s surveillance system. Except for the monitor in the room where the Central Continent team is, which is not working, everything else is under my control.”

"Heh, did they stick chewing gum on the cameras?" Hoddle raised an eyebrow. "I have to admit, even though they're a weak team, they sometimes pull off moves that we can't handle. But these little tricks are pointless; just lure them to where there are surveillance cameras. And then... Xue Ling'er?"

"All seven of them are in that house, hehe. We scanned them several times, but they didn't react at all. They really are a weak team. I should have stayed with Neos on the flagship." The little girl said with a grin. "But that man named Zhang Jie seems to have sensed something. He's probably the mentalist from the Central Continent team. Once you're ready to make your move, I'll just take him out."

"Alright, little Xue Ling'er. I know you're clinging to Neos. But you should also know that many of the officers on the flagship are naturally strong in spirit. Spiritual beings are not suited for fighting." The female reincarnator named Aya, standing next to the little girl, gently patted her head.

"Besides, you know how smart Neos is. I just took a look at the information on the Touhou Project, and that woman named Patchouli isn't that smart. Neos could easily crush her and that man named Chu Xuan."

"Leave the fighting and killing to the men. As a lady, you should be more proper."

"I don't want to be a lady! Besides, Neos told me to deal with their psychics, how could I possibly show mercy?" Xue Ling'er made a face. "Alright, you guys hurry up and set off. The strategic meeting has already started. The sooner we finish dealing with those guys, the sooner we can go back. I still need to go cheer for Neos."

..........................................

Zhang Jie released his hand from his temple, picked up a glass of water from the table beside him, and drank it. He let out a soft breath, looking quite relaxed.

"There are seven people in total. Two are melee fighters, one is a mage, and one is an archer who is heading this way. The remaining one is a psychic, a hacker, and an assassin who hasn't moved. Oh, their captain is here too, but she's outside the warship enjoying the cosmic wind. I haven't scanned her yet."

"How strong is it?" Zheng Zha asked.

"Not bad. Two melee fighters can probably take a punch from you and still be alive. As for mages... never mind. An archer might be able to fight Ming Yanwei to a standstill. Their captain is quite skilled. I think it's about a 40/60 split between me and her, since I'm really not good at space battles."

"Their psychic is a brat, young but incredibly bloodthirsty. Even after I completely altered the results of his psychic scan, he still tried to kill me… Heh, how interesting." He glanced at Zheng Zha, not revealing that Xue Ling'er was a little girl. "I'll handle that psychic. Hmm… I'll take care of the remaining assassin and hacker as well."

“Don’t kill that Rose,” Alice said calmly. “She’s a PhD in biology from the research institute; she’s still somewhat useful.”

"Understood." Zhang Jie made an 'OK' gesture. "What about the rest?"

Alice didn't say anything.

So Zheng Zha picked up where she left off. “Then I’ll take care of those two melee fighters, and the rest will be handled by Ba Wang and Ming Yanwei. As for Cheng Xiao and Luo Gandao… oh, Luo Gandao didn’t come. Well then, Cheng Xiao, you just need to keep an eye on things. You haven’t been strengthened by the main god yet, and with your current foundation, it will be difficult for you to fight against a veteran.”

Cheng Xiao nodded repeatedly, indicating that he wouldn't get in the way. Ba Wang and Ming Yanwei exchanged glances and agreed to the suggestion—they had actually given up hope of achieving any results. After all, once Zheng Zha made his move... all the firepower would probably be drawn to him.

“Then I’ll handle the captain of the Southern Flame Team,” Alice said, picking up the cane adorned with a red dragon and crown and walking towards the porthole. “After all, I’m the only one really suited for space warfare right now. In the weightless, low-temperature vacuum, the physical body is always limited. But I still have to remind you—don’t kill everyone in the Southern Flame Team; we still need someone to scout ahead for us.”

As she spoke, her body, like a shadow, passed directly through the porthole and into space outside the warship. Her figure flickered and quickly disappeared.

“She seems quite enthusiastic, so I should get going too.” Zhang Jie drank another glass of water, but this time his breath carried a faint spark. His body outline quickly blurred, and a faint, scorching aura spread outwards.

"The reason I chose the path of enhancing mental abilities is twofold: first, because it is indeed a promising path; and second, because the first horror movie I experienced, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street,' had a profound impact on me. So after becoming a semi-guide, I went back to A Nightmare on Elm Street to deal with that claw monster, and after dealing with Freddy..." He paused. "I discovered that I still have some things in common with it."

"Well..." He got up from the sofa, his figure blurring with each step he took, disappearing like a phantom in the blink of an eye. "Uncle Zhang Jie is going to tell ghost stories to the naughty kids. See you later, you can find me in the mental link if you need anything."

His form vanished completely, as if he had never existed.

...............................

As the reincarnators of the Nan Yan team approached the location of Zheng Zha and the others, a slight warm breeze brushed against their necks, and several of them suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Richard, the Scandinavian, said in a low voice. “My gut tells me something terrible is happening. I even feel like we’re walking on a fragile spider’s thread with an endless abyss beneath our feet, and just now the wind picked up!”

“You know, Hoder. Ever since I developed the Berserker's Path, a skill I created myself, my intuition has rarely been wrong.” He glanced around uneasily; only they, the few reincarnators, stood alone in the empty warship passageway. “…We'd better take some precautions.”

He stopped walking, and the others stopped as well.

"Are you sure?" Hoddle asked seriously. "Perhaps you've just been hit in the head by the terrible heating here. After all, this is just a pseudo-science fiction world, and the technology level is simply not up to par with their era."

“I’m sure,” Richard insisted.

“…………Okay.” Hoder nodded, tapped his temples lightly, and activated the mental communication connection with the mental power user Xue Ling’er.

"Miss Xue Ling'er, is everything alright on your end?" he asked in a low voice.

[Everything's normal. The Zhongzhou team members are all staying obediently in their rooms. They seem a bit anxious, but it's no use. I'm currently trying to break through the mental defenses of their psychic without attracting their attention. Hehe, this guy named Zhang Jie looks composed, but his mental defenses are riddled with holes.]

"It's good that everything is normal." Hoddle breathed a sigh of relief. "However, Richard has a bad feeling. The Central State Team may have some powerful hidden tricks up their sleeves. Please inform the captain for me; we may need some extra insurance."

"I understand, I'll go inform the captain right away." The little girl on the other end of the communicator replied with dissatisfaction. "However, I can't guarantee whether the captain will be willing to help. Although the captain's personality has improved a lot after the battle with the Indian team, she's still very strict with unruly subordinates or teammates."

“I know, you don’t need to tell me.” Hoddle nodded with a smile and closed the communication.

“There’s no problem with Xue Ling’er; it was definitely her who spoke to me just now.” He glanced at Richard and patted the Scandinavian man on the shoulder: “Richard, you might really have been blinded by the warmth this time. Alright, we don’t have much time, so let’s not waste any more time.”

He took a step forward, and the rest of the group, including Richard, followed silently.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the door that was their target.

“Miriah”.

"Hoddle said softly, and the next moment, a fireball the size of an oil drum appeared out of thin air, pierced through the sky, and crashed into the top of the closed door in the blink of an eye!"

'boom--!!!'

The high-tech metal doors shattered suddenly, accompanied by flames and billowing smoke. The melee fighters of the Southern Flame Team stormed into the hall with the force of a collapsing mountain! And within the sight of the two dedicated melee Southern Flame Reincarnators, a handsome (?) young man sitting on the sofa stood out conspicuously!

Is his name Zheng Zha? Defeat him with the first blow!

Hoddle's eyes widened, his muscles bulged, and his vital energy suddenly erupted from his body, transforming into a deep red mist. The next moment, his gauntlet-clad right hand was already before the young man!

The young man's hand gripped the hilt of the broadsword.

Chapter Fourteen: The Poor Child

Zheng Zha had always been curious about one thing: after experiencing these worlds, what level of power had he reached compared to other reincarnators?

It's certain that I've become stronger, but just how strong is a very serious question. After the Bleach world ended, I could easily kill my past self from the God and Demon era with a single slap, and my past self from the God and Demon era could easily kill my past self from the Ju-on era with a single slap. But even during the Ju-on era, when I was relatively more like a mortal, I could still easily smash my past self from the Biohazard era into pieces of organic matter with a single slap.

I've become very strong, and my companions have become very strong too, but just how strong are they? In this infinitely vast cycle of reincarnation, are they considered average? Middle? Above average? Or at the top level?

He didn't know, and he wasn't very confident.

At least when they first arrived in the Star River World, they didn't have much confidence after hearing that the God had placed them in the weakest group.

Ah, that's right. The Supreme God did lower his evaluation of the Central Continent Team, the sages prepared corresponding strategies, and the entire team had encountered numerous fortuitous events in several terrifying worlds, resulting in rapid growth. But was the Central Continent Team truly the only one underestimated by the Supreme God? What if the other reincarnation teams were also underestimated? What if other reincarnation teams also had incredibly rewarding adventures? What if…

...Is my Zhongzhou team really the weakest of the three teams?

He was actually completely unsure of himself, despite his outwardly confident demeanor. When the Nan Yan team arrived, this unease materialized into a palpable anxiety – even though he had sought reassurance from Chu Xuan, his heart remained filled with worry.

—And that worry ends here.

Only when he witnessed the steel gate before him shatter with a deafening crash, and two burly men, their muscles bulging and blood surging, throwing punches at him with unstoppable momentum, did he finally manage to exhale softly.

"So we really are that strong." He gripped the hilt of the Destruction Greatsword as he uttered the first word "original."

"So you really are that weak." He unleashed a strike with ninety percent of his power the moment he uttered the first "come!"

——【Fusion!】

The moment the first "I" left his lips, the punch thrown at him by the burly white man from the Southern Flame Continent team, along with the man's body, turned into a dissipating blood mist. The blood mist, just as it turned crimson, boiled, evaporated, and then disintegrated in the high-speed collision of the turbulent energy currents. From the onlookers' perspective, it appeared as if the burly white man had been directly sliced ​​into nothingness by this single strike!

'boom--!!!!'

The white strongman from the Southern Flame Continent team was killed by Zheng Zha, which consumed less than half of the energy of his strike. The remaining energy, having lost its control, transformed into a raging storm of energy! In just an instant, this storm rushed outwards along the crack blasted in the gate, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of the black mage who had just released a fireball and was preparing to provide further assistance!

"No—" The black mage instinctively raised his staff to shield himself, but before the terror on his face could fully show, the magical barrier in front of him, the staff that created the barrier, and the hand holding the staff all shattered at the same moment. The remaining energy storm then slammed into his chest, and with a crisp cracking sound, he was swept backward more than ten meters by the energy torrent like a rag doll, crashing to the ground and instantly dying!

—'Kill one member of the Southern Flame Continent team who unlocked the gene lock, obtain one B-level side quest, reward 7000 points'

—'One Reincarnator from the Southern Flame Continent team was killed, giving the Central Continent team a one-point lead.'

Two notifications quietly sounded in Zheng Zha's ears. He turned his gaze and saw another Nordic giant from the Southern Flame Continent team suddenly roar, his muscles swelling into the shape of a three-meter-tall mini-giant as he attacked him. Zheng Zha casually put the killing blade into his storage ring, raised his foot, and kicked the giant-like reincarnator, sending him crashing into the wall. The giant slammed through the one-centimeter-thick alloy wall, creating a human-shaped hole!

"Is 50% of my strength still too much?" Zheng Zha clenched his fist lightly, feeling the vigorous life force emanating from the humanoid hollow, though it was about a quarter weaker than before. He decided to further limit his exertion—he suspected that even without using the Destruction Greatsword, with his gene lock only at the second level, he wouldn't survive more than five punches from this Southern Flame Continent team's reincarnator if he used 50% of his strength. Therefore, 40%... 30% of his strength should be a better strategy.

Chu Xuan had specifically instructed that the Nan Yan Zhou team not to be crippled, as they still held great value. While wiping them out now wasn't entirely impossible, it wouldn't benefit the overall situation. Therefore, he needed to carefully control the strength in his arms, lest he inadvertently wipe out the enemy's core members.

He twisted his neck and walked toward the human-shaped hole in the wall.

Meanwhile, the sole surviving archer among the four attackers was so terrified he nearly dropped his bow. He glanced at the black mage behind him, who had been nearly killed by the aftershock of a single strike due to poor positioning, then at the burly white man whom Zheng Zha had cleaved into dust with ninety percent of his power. Hearing the Norseman's angry yet desperate shouts and the God's deduction notification, his once handsome face twisted into utter panic!

"What a joke, what a joke?" His fingers trembled uncontrollably.

"Those two...those two are the second and third strongest members of the team, after the captain! Miria is also a mage who can go toe-to-toe with me, yet she couldn't even land a single hit...not even a single hit!?"