Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

The Star River World... would probably be drifting in outer space now.

Resident Evil and Alien World were fine to read, but by the time he got to this part of the list, he wasn't really interested anymore.

He couldn't help but wonder if his reincarnation team possessed a passive trait of demolition maniacs. Whichever world they ended up in, that world was bound to suffer. Although this should have been just a wild guess, he surprisingly felt the possibility was actually quite high. And for this reason, he ultimately abandoned his plans to vacation in other worlds.

Well, for someone who was already a transcendent being, it didn't really matter where he was. And the Supreme God could easily create any natural landscape or magnificent celestial phenomenon he wanted to see in his personal space—if he was willing to spend reward points, he could even add animals and people. Having realized this, he finally decided to abandon this pointless idea.

Running around outside is nothing compared to staying at home, even though this place isn't really home...

And so, time passed day by day. Before the new cycle of reincarnation began, everyone lived their lives at their own pace—however, Zheng was still troubled, because Zhan Lan's increasingly undisguised, burning emotions after her resurrection had transformed into flames capable of burning down the grape trellis in his yard. And these flames would soon spread to him.

Left with no other choice, he finally decided to temporarily shift his focus. Meanwhile, Chu Xuan, who had been researching the strange object supposedly a fragment of the Tower of Babel, made a breakthrough—he successfully created a somewhat unstable miniature world within the fragment. Before this world-building project could be put to use, he needed a tough, resilient individual as a test subject.

and so……

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

"So we bumped into each other here." Alice rubbed her head, looking at Zheng Zha, who had a subtle smile on his face and was holding a cup as if to drink water. She sighed softly. She was currently in a bar with a mid-to-late 20th-century style. And Zheng was sitting in the seat opposite her.

"Haha, it's not good to stay in your personal space all day, so it's normal to do something else and get out and about occasionally." Zheng Zha scratched his head, looking around at his surroundings with a sheepish grin. He was teleported here after agreeing to Chu Xuan's request to 'participate in the test activity,' and the first person he met was Alice.

Clearly, it's only natural that Alice, an expert in weaving worlds, would participate in Chu Xuan's creation project. But if it were merely about creating worlds, she should be busy outside with Chu Xuan, fiddling with those intricate instruments whose functions Zheng Zha couldn't understand. Since she's here and seems surprised, there must be another reason.

Zheng Zha could roughly guess the reason, after all, he could sense the war atmosphere between the witches even from a hundred kilometers away. And clearly, this time the battle between the two of them had gone beyond flirting—but it was also possible that Zheng, as an observer, was simply ignorant of the various games the witches played.

But... whatever.

Zheng Zha isn't the type to court disaster; he won't actively participate in events that are obviously a trap. He only focuses on what he's good at, leaving specialized tasks to professionals. And it's precisely for this reason that he is Zheng Zha, and Zheng Zha is the captain of the Zhongzhou team.

but……

Zheng Zha's thoughts slowly began to race. Ever since he met Alice and resurrected Chu Xuan, he no longer believed in the existence of 'coincidence' in this world. Especially in scenes involving Alice or Chu Xuan, the significance of that name faded even further. And since Alice clearly expressed surprise, then Chu Xuan must be the one who orchestrated it.

Chu Xuan arranged this meeting because he wanted to achieve a certain goal.

But it didn't matter, because he also had doubts he wanted to verify with Alice.

“This world does it quite well.” He raised his hand and made a short, forceful gesture to the bartender with practiced ease. Soon after, a glass of clear liquid that looked like it was burning with flames was placed in front of him. He held the glass with two fingers, gave it a gentle swirl, and the fragrant aroma of the mixed liquor lingered around their noses.

"It's more realistic than I expected. Chu Xuan must have put in a lot of hard work." He raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

“But it’s not real enough.” He put down his glass and stared at Alice sitting across from him. “Margot Lloyd, our experiences in Gensokyo weren’t actually what we remember, were they?”

“I thought you would ask a little more tactfully.” Alice stared at the water in her glass, which instantly turned into coffee. “Sometimes knowing too much isn’t a good thing, and you should know very well that I won’t deliberately hide anything from you as long as it’s related to the team, unless… knowing the answer would do you no good.”

“I know,” Zheng Zha ordered a second drink. “But I still want to know.”

He pointed to his head. "I don't really care what happened in the Gensokyo world. After all, everyone gained quite a bit, and we suffered almost no losses. Since it's a happy ending for everyone, I might as well play dumb and throw away those fragments of images that occasionally appear in my head like trash... But..."

Zheng Zha's tone suddenly turned serious.

“I’ve discovered that I don’t seem to hate that guy named Bina Jutianzi as much anymore.” He extended his fist and then slowly clenched it. “I originally planned to wait until my fourth stage of the gene lock was unlocked to a high level, or even further until I reached the so-called quasi-saint level like her, and then settle accounts with her properly. Not to mention the countless civilians who died, at least I will avenge Saito Hajime, Zhan Lan, Xiao Honglu, Zero Point, and Zhang Heng.”

“I’m not greedy. Five people’s grudge? I’ll just beat her into five pancakes and call it a day. But right now, I can’t even muster the hatred to kill her.” He frowned deeply. “I don’t know what happened in between, but I don’t think this blood debt needs to be settled prematurely. Even if I couldn’t kill that guy, I’d at least give him a good beating, but now…”

"...Can you give me an answer, Margot Royd?"

Alice put down her coffee cup.

“The answer.” She clicked her tongue, and for some reason, the image of Shen Qi bowing apologetically suddenly appeared in her eyes. Although it was something that could never happen, for a moment she felt that the illusion was as real as it seemed.

She sighed softly.

"The answer is actually quite simple, Zheng Zha. Because you've already turned her into five pancakes... In fact, not just five pancakes, you've killed her more than ten times in various ways. The methods of death were all different, and you didn't stop until her body, which served as the vessel, was completely destroyed... You've already taken your revenge, so of course you don't want to do it again."

"...Gah?"

"Haven't I made myself clear enough?" Alice looked at him helplessly. "Your memories have indeed been altered, but your mind has not been affected in any way. You don't want revenge because you've already taken your revenge. Of course, if you feel that's not enough, you're welcome to go and settle accounts with her again in the future."

"But...but I don't feel anything at all! And...why?"

“Who knows?” Alice shrugged. “Maybe someone intends to resolve this feud, or maybe someone will give you face because of your past achievements or the great things you might accomplish in the future. In any case, the decision is yours. If you think it’s okay, then let’s leave it at that and stop. From now on, we’ll keep to ourselves. If you’re not satisfied with this outcome, then you can go to the world of Final Destination right now and give that guy a good beating.”

She tilted her head, looked at Zheng Zha, and asked.

"So, are you going?"

Zheng Zha's response to her was silence. After a long while, he managed to utter a few words with difficulty.

"I... I'll go another day."

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

In short, the year is over... the year in the Gregorian calendar is over.

Hmm... after thinking about it, I don't think there's anything particularly I want to say.

So, I wish everyone a Happy New Year and a fresh start in the new year!

Then, I'll touch it tomorrow... After all, it's New Year's Day, I need to rest... I haven't even started my usual activities yet _(:з」∠)_

Chapter 8: The Meeting on the Eve of The Lord of the Rings

Days passed by one after another. For the reincarnators, the ten-day rest period between reincarnations wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. While it might not be enough for a proper vacation, it was more than sufficient to adjust their mood and return to a suitable combat readiness. And when the third-to-last day arrived, Zheng Zha received important information from the main god that a captain should have known in advance.

The next horror movie is The Lord of the Rings.

The pre-match meeting for the Zhongzhou team then commenced.

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

"The Lord of the Rings, a classic novel, a classic movie. It tells the story of heroes who unite and help each other, pay blood and sacrifice, overcome many difficulties and finally defeat the evil king. It's a cliché story, but you could say that many modern tropes originated from it."

"In short, that's it. There's only one piece of information: we'll be arriving in the Lord of the Rings world in our next mission. The Lord didn't specify which one, or whether it's a novel, a movie, or a video game. However, I think everyone has probably already watched the relevant novels or movies frame by frame several times before this meeting starts. So, feel free to share your thoughts; we have plenty of time to discuss before entering this world."

Zheng Zha gave a brief opening speech. He sat at the head of the circular table, with Chu Xuan to his left and Zhang Jie to his right. He deliberately kept a distance from the ladies, and the others subconsciously followed suit. The end result was that the men sat together on one side, and the women on the other. When he finished his opening speech, Alice was sitting directly opposite him.

The brief conversation they had earlier in the Tower of Babel fragment world was tacitly kept a closely guarded secret by the two. Shen Qi and Bina Miyako were far too involved for others to grasp. Chu Xuan might know, but he was a special case; how much he knew was irrelevant—however, Zheng Zha wasn't one to keep things to himself. When his gaze met Alice's, he instinctively wanted to say something. And with his quick reflexes, he was able to make amends before his companions sensed anything amiss.

"What are your thoughts, Margot Royd?"

“Insights…” Alice didn’t hold back either. She paused for about half a second to organize her thoughts before beginning to express her opinion.

[According to the predicted records, the Lord of the Rings world is a five-way war, with five Reincarnation teams—Middle-earth, Southern Flames, Northern Ice, Eastern Abyss, and Celestials—fighting each other on the battlefield. However, compared to the intense battles between these Reincarnation teams, the overall intensity of the storyline is somewhat insignificant.]

The current situation is largely consistent with the predictions. Although the results incurred by the Senzhou team and Nanyan in the Star River World differed slightly from the forecasts, there is no doubt that Ex has reached the fourth tier. The continuous team battles were triggered by someone about to reach the fifth tier… a level higher than the fourth tier?

【So……】

“First, there are two possible scenarios we’ll face in the Lord of the Rings world.” Alice tapped her fingers lightly on the table, making two soft 'knock' sounds. “First, pure plot. Second, team battles.”

“That’s unlikely,” Zheng Zha objected. “We just had a team battle in the last match, there’s no reason to have another one right now.” He glanced at Zhang Jie beside him and continued, “Zhang Jie, Margot Royd once told me about the information you had access to when you were a guide. I remember one of them was the pattern of the main god’s horror movie arrangements.”

“One team battle, one difficult storyline, one easy storyline.” He held up three fingers and explained, “The Reincarnation Team enters this cycle as long as there are three members who have unlocked their genetic locks. That means there’s a scoring round before the team battle, and after the team battle, if you win, there’s a difficult storyline; if you lose, there’s an easy storyline. Then it starts again with a new scoring round, a team battle, and a difficult or easy storyline, and so on… I think that’s how it works? Or are there other unexpected situations?”

Zhang Jie frowned slightly and pondered for a moment.

“Indeed… there are unexpected situations.” He said with some solemnity, “The Supreme God will push for clashes between teams near the end of a generation’s cycle. This ensures that before the final trial arrives, each team will have had contact with most of the other cycle teams—the strongest and the weakest will not meet, but those of similar strength will definitely have to fight. And if I remember correctly, the sign that a cycle is nearing its end is that someone is about to reach the fifth level of the gene lock. That is, the fourth level.”

"...Is that so?" Zheng Zha raised an eyebrow. "A fourth-tier high-level...I see. So there's more than one strong person like Ex? Yes, that's certainly a possibility, and a very high one at that. In that case, the likelihood of us encountering group battles in the Lord of the Rings world has indeed increased considerably."

"But that possibility is probably not very high." Xiao Honglu, who had only recently been resurrected and played a minor role in Shen Qi's story, interjected, "In any case, it's abnormal for one team battle to be followed by another. It's another phase in the operation of the main god's system. We can consider that possibility, but the possibility of no team battles in this storyline is still higher."

“That’s natural,” Alice nodded. “I only said that there’s a possibility of team battles in this world, not that they will definitely happen. Taking it into consideration won’t affect our subsequent decisions, but your guess makes some sense. So perhaps we can shift some of the resources we’re using to prepare for team battles and give a higher priority to preparing for the pure story world?”

"Sister Alice..."

"Wait, Margot Lloyd," Zheng Zha suddenly asked loudly, "You mean we need to make two different preparations for team battles and pure story battles? What does that mean? We didn't need to make much preparation for team battles before!"

“That’s because the situation has changed, Zheng Zha.” Alice glanced at him and continued, “Compared to the past, we’ve become far too strong. So strong that our average combat strength could easily defeat those less difficult horror movies from before. So, let’s put it this way: if we were to go all out now, could the continent in the original story—I’m talking about the movie world, where even a battle involving tens of thousands of soldiers is considered a war of national scale, and the human and demon kingdoms on that continent, really serve as our arena?”

"Obviously, no."

“Zheng Zha, Zhao Yingkong, and I. The three of us have already reached the fourth tier or equivalent combat power. Zhang Jie and Patchi can be considered as near-fourth tier, and the rest of us basically have the ability to destroy cities and kingdoms—meaning that the current combat power of our team can suppress five planetary civilizations at the same time. As for the Lord of the Rings movie or novel… although it is an epic masterpiece with far-reaching influence, if we only look at the scale, it probably wouldn't be enough for us to fight with one hand.”

"Don't underestimate the Lord of the Rings world. That world is full of powerful gods, demons, and ancient dragons." Zhao Yingkong's cool voice rang out on the conference table. "Unlike what is shown in the movies, the actual area covered by Lord of the Rings is less than one-tenth of the entire continent of Arda. The original novels also feature extremely powerful and terrifying creatures. Sauron, the main antagonist in the trilogy, is not strong in front of them. And their power is enough to shake the entire world."

“But it’s just ‘the whole world,’ isn’t it?” Alice shrugged. “My long-held belief is that ‘a small temple can’t hold a great Buddha, and shallow waters can’t raise a dragon.’ The entire continent of Arda, no matter how large, is no bigger than the Eurasian plate. And its population isn’t that large, nor is its technology and civilization very advanced.”

“Therefore, once such a storyline becomes our battlefield, there will inevitably be changes.” She looked at Zhao Yingkong and nodded. “One possibility is, as you said, ‘the Lord of the Rings world has powerful gods, demons, and ancient dragons.’ Perhaps the entire Middle-earth is just an insignificant region within the worlds ruled by those powerful gods and demons. And their own power can dominate the vast cosmos—”

"This possibility isn't nonexistent, but it's very small. Sauron has already set a baseline. He was also a god, not the most powerful, but still one of the stronger gods. And his lowest point was his defeat after Isildur, the human king, cut off his finger. And Isildur's kingdom was only so small; his own defeat was even more humiliating—killed by arrows from a few orcs."

"Therefore, this possibility is largely ruled out. Unless the Supreme God modifies Middle-earth into a prehistoric continent, this possibility can basically be considered non-existent." Alice gently clasped her fingers together and continued, "Moreover, if this horror movie is a Lord of the Rings storyline without team battles, then after excluding the low-probability option of a modified world, the main quest we need to complete within it must be closely related to the original Lord of the Rings storyline. And the Supreme God probably wouldn't be so foolish as to send our Reincarnation Team, which is, after all, a strong team, on vacation."

"So, since they can't become stronger, and we still have to participate in the plot, the arrangement the main god has made for us is probably to make us weaker. And the original work happens to have a very suitable setting, which is that 'the magic of Middle-earth is declining.'" The girl said, her gaze fixed intently on everyone present.

"Perhaps, when we arrive in that world, we will find that we cannot draw any energy from the air at all. The entire world is filled with a terrible low-energy negative pressure—if we exert any energy stored in our bodies, the world will suck it up like a water pump. This will force us to give up our many powers, and we will not even be able to use our tools. We can only participate in the entire story world like a slightly stronger mortal hero."

Everyone looked at Zheng Zha.

And someone immediately became furious.

"What are you looking at me for? I'm not the kind of guy who... you know what I mean when I'm low on energy. I'm a fourth-tier cultivator, after all! No matter how much I'm suppressed, I can still tear that Flame Demon from the movie apart with my bare hands!" Zheng Zha bared his teeth and shouted, waving his arms as if trying to prove how powerful he was.

...Well, it's not very useful.

Alice shook her head slightly and continued to explain her point of view.

"In short, if there are no large-scale battles in the Lord of the Rings horror storyline, then we are very likely to face this terrible situation. Of course, the possibility of this terrible situation is relatively low. The main god did not arrange for the reincarnation team to fight in order to watch a gladiatorial contest. So the actual weakening should be weaker than I expected. Of course, there is another possibility, that is, there will be no weakening at all, and we will face a large-scale large-scale battle."

She emphasized it again.

"Large-scale, team battles."

Her gaze subtly swept over Chu Xuan, who remained silent. Clearly, his silence indicated he understood the meaning behind her words—the two had previously agreed that Chu Xuan didn't need the God's future predictions to interfere with his judgment, but if Alice deemed certain clues necessary to provide, she could express them in her own way. And now, she had already revealed her information in her own way, and Chu Xuan had responded.

[It seems he intends to continue his research during the team battle... After all, with me and Patches as variables, it's only natural that things won't go as predicted. Looks like I'll have to be the strategist for the team battle portion of Lord of the Rings. Perfect timing, I feel perfectly clear-headed right now.]

She paused, noticing everyone was waiting for her to draw further conclusions, so she cleared her throat and continued with her point of view.

"It's obvious that the main god won't weaken the reincarnators' strength in team battles. After all, such team battles would just be a farce. And if we reincarnators don't get weaker and the characters in the story don't get stronger, we'll probably face a different, more special situation."

“We are not weak. There are three fourth-tier members in our team. According to the information we obtained from the Southern Flame Continent team, we are undoubtedly a strong team. If the main god triggers the acceleration mechanism, it will inevitably be a large-scale team battle. Then I think the number of the Reincarnation Squad will probably be greater than the three in the Star River World, and at least three of them will be weaker than us.”

"Therefore, I suspect that by the time we arrive, the plot will have already reached a point where it has no impact on us. It's even possible that we will be the last to enter, arriving directly inside Mount Doom and being besieged by both sides!"

Chapter Nine: The Arrival in the Lord of the Rings

As soon as she finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent. However, before anyone else could make a fuss, Alice's next words made them quietly return to their seats.

"Of course, that's just an extreme case. To meet that condition, firstly, the main god must not strengthen the original characters, and we not only need to possess extremely powerful strength that can crush the other four teams, but we also need to have a rather terrible faction that neither the protagonist nor the antagonist in the original work can tolerate. However, it is clear that we do not have such a faction. And the main god... probably won't put us on a stage where we would fall apart if we exerted our full strength."

She shrugged and said, "After all, the purpose of the main god arranging the team battle is for competition between the reincarnation teams. The weak will inevitably gain an advantage, but the strong are also destined to receive subsidies. A fair duel never existed from the beginning, and the main god would not do something as foolish as cutting off the wrists of the strong and giving weapons to the weak."