Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

The flames of war spread from across the Narrow Sea, and the Targaryen dragon standard, once fallen, flew again over Westeros after decades. From south to north, great cities succumbed to the overwhelming power of Viserys Targaryen, the true dragon descended from heaven. And when the army of the rock-solid Stark family of the North was utterly defeated on the Trident River, the very river that had brought about the Targaryen dynasty's demise, the chaotic Seven Kingdoms of Westeros were finally and irrevocably united.

For the old nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, the most fortunate thing was that Viserys was a benevolent ruler. Unlike his mad ancestors, he showed ample leniency towards those who surrendered, and his own power was sufficient to exercise this leniency. Apart from the fanatical believers in the Seven Gods, the Old Gods, and other miscellaneous faiths, he generously pardoned the sins of all those who were disrespectful.

No one thought he was trying to win people over, nor did anyone think he was kind and easily deceived. Ultimately, facing a man who was invulnerable to weapons and poisons, capable of brute force destroying an entire army without showing any signs of fatigue, it would be foolish to equate him with a mere mortal. And since even the former king who usurped the Targaryen throne and his loyal handcuffs could be pardoned and sent to the Wall to serve as members of the Night's Watch, it was only natural that other people with normal reasoning abilities would wisely choose to serve their duty.

Thus ended the brief period of division into the Seven Kingdoms. Westeros, once again, came under the rule of House Targaryen, just as it had for centuries before. This continent, which had been on the verge of conflict, experienced a painful period of peace before war engulfed it—whether this development was good or bad is for posterity to judge. Before posterity arrived, the entire continent celebrated the golden age and prosperity brought by the Dragon Emperor.

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Zheng Zha sat on the Iron Throne in King's Landing, feeling rather bored. He looked at the world map that had been made into a carpet and displayed his monarchy in the halls of the palace, and the courtiers who stood respectfully on both sides of the map. His mind was filled with utter boredom.

The battle across the sea was easier than he had imagined. He didn't encounter any of the hurricanes, underwater volcanoes, thunderstorms, or whirlpools he had anticipated. The group of primordial natural spirits were as still as a group of turtles, and he encountered no obstacles whatsoever even as he led his massive army across the ocean.

He initially suspected it was Iris, or an imposter Iris, who was behind it. However, when his army established a foothold in Westeros, he discovered that the so-called 'Mirror Curse' had quietly subsided after only a few months. This coincided with the day he burned down the last Red God temple in Braavos. He also heard that on that day, a terrible heatstorm crossed the Narrow Sea, raging across Westeros for over a month before finally subsiding at the northernmost tip of the North.

Some said this was a good omen, proof that the Targaryen family was destined to regain control of the continent. However, Zheng Zha scoffed at this, knowing full well that he could never be welcomed by the native gods of this world. After all, he had ravaged mountains and destroyed temples, severing all the old beliefs on this continent.

[Perhaps the Crimson God was fighting the Cold God, and because of my intervention, they both perished?]

Zheng Zha thought to himself that this was the only answer he could come up with with his brainpower. However, whether the answer was right or wrong, it was meaningless to him at least for now.

—Who knows how long he'll stay here.

He rubbed his temples, his heart filled with increasing turmoil. Both Alice and the imposter Alice had vanished without a trace, leaving him, Zheng, to spend his days listlessly in this medieval, slightly magical world.

The courtiers below seemed to be reporting something, but he nodded casually, not bothering to listen at all. He had absolutely no interest in this so-called imperial council meeting. And he knew very well that these guys wouldn't dare to fool him.

"...Your Majesty, we have summoned the finest court painter in King's Landing. You need to have a portrait painted for the court; this is a long-standing tradition of the Targaryen family." — A composed middle-aged man, seemingly appointed Hand of the King, bowed deeply to him. Then he asked, "Would you like to schedule a time..."

“…Hmm?” Zheng Zha raised an eyebrow—a gesture that made his courtiers involuntarily shudder—his lips twitched, and he waved his hand with a hint of helplessness and listlessness. “No need to find a time, let’s do it now.”

Zheng Zha spoke thus, and his command clearly carried immense authority. The courtiers, whose names he had yet to remember but who truly wielded considerable power in the kingdom, bowed respectfully to him and then withdrew—and as they left the hall and waited outside, a petite painter appeared in one of their places, carrying her painting tools.

Her appearance was abrupt, but Zheng Zha didn't see anything wrong with it. When the painter sat on the high-legged chair, he looked this guy up and down, who seemed completely out of place in the world, his gaze quickly sweeping back and forth.

The artist was very young, at least she looked no more than twelve years old. She was not tall, with slender limbs, and her pure white hair was tied into a long braid that hung down to the ground. On her delicate face were a pair of strange scarlet snake eyes.

This didn't seem like someone from this world, or even a normal person, but Zheng Zha didn't feel that anything was wrong—he just subconsciously sat up straighter because he felt it was the best thing for him to do so.

He felt it best to remain silent, as disturbing professionals at work was impolite. As a reincarnator in the guise of Viserys, Zheng felt he should be a true gentleman, and as such, he should keep quiet while the ladies were working.

“Not ladylike.” The painter mixed the colors and picked up a slightly slender brush to outline the canvas. She glanced at Zheng Zha with what seemed to be some displeasure. The latter immediately felt that he had better apologize obediently.

“No need for an apology,” the artist said again. “I was in the wrong for showing up here without permission. As the price for my interference, I painted your portrait to shut someone up. The deal is done. You just need to enjoy the gift you’ll receive and the responsibility you’ll bear.”

Zheng Zha felt as if he had heard some incredible information, yet he also felt as if he hadn't heard anything at all. He knew the meaning of every word the painter spoke, but he simply couldn't put them into a sentence—nor did he think he needed to.

The hall fell silent.

Apart from the rustling sound of the paintbrush sweeping across the canvas, there was only Zheng Zha's suppressed, faint breathing.

a long time.

The painter suddenly stopped painting, turning her head to glance at some unknown place. Her eyes held a complex emotion that Zheng Zha couldn't understand but could observe. The next moment, he heard the painter ask a question.

"Zheng Zha, do you find it boring?"

A name that shouldn't exist in this world was uttered by her as casually as drinking water. But Zheng Zha, as always, didn't feel there was anything wrong with her knowing his name. He only felt that he needed to answer the painter's question immediately, quickly, and without reservation, and before his mind could process these concepts, his throat and tongue produced a series of clear words.

"Yes, yes, it is indeed very boring, and it has been boring for a very long time." Zheng Zha hurriedly said, not only some of the things in his heart, but also some things that were originally hidden deep in his heart, which came out of his mouth like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.

“I’ve been bored for a very, very long time, ever since this world, the world before this world, and the world before that. Margot Lloyd treats me like a laborer, and I don’t even know what’s going on!”

"This world is the most boring world. Although I don't know why I'm here, it must be Margot Lloyd's doing. If it's not Margot Lloyd, it's Norrell. If it's neither of them, then it must be Chu Xuan's amazing operation! To be honest, I don't object to these smart people showing off their intelligence, but whether they're scheming against each other or plotting against each other, at least let me understand it a little!"

Zheng Zha took a deep breath.

"The last world... let's just say it was the last world. All that talk about idealistic Chang'e, scripts, the principles of civilization—a whole bunch of rambling stuff, terraforming the Earth, creating an artificial moon, building a fleet, preparing for an epic war with the Trisolaran civilization—but when it came down to it? Nothing, absolutely nothing! I was just blindly busying myself for years, finally reaching the point where we were about to clash with the Trisolaran civilization, about to go to war. And then, in the blink of an eye, the world had changed!"

"Without a second thought, it must be the work of those show-offs. The main god even assigned a task to hunt down saints, specifically saints from the primordial world and their legions... Damn! It's most likely that some idealistic Chang'e did it. And whatever she's up to, all my previous expectations and preparations have been for nothing!"

He took a few angry breaths, picked up a glass of cold water from the side, and drank it all in one gulp.

"The last world was one thing, but the one before that was equally uninteresting! What was Resident Evil? Did the plot, scenery, and characters even have the slightest sense of presence there?! Although that world helped me resolve some internal issues, and I even had a decent fight with Margot Lloyd and won by a narrow margin... it completely deviated from the original purpose! It's really frustrating!"

"Then came the world before that... Oh my god, am I really going to Lord of the Rings? Why is the main team being sidelined, and I have to fight the gods and demons of that world? Five teams in one battle, one team was completely wiped out, one team was full of trash, one team became traitors to our side, and the last one was practically unbeatable! Although it's nice to win without lifting a finger, and I'm not being dramatic, at least let my passion be properly unleashed, instead of just cooling down so abruptly, damn it!"

"Then, the world before that, I think it was Gensokyo, but I can't remember exactly, because all my experiences there are so blurry, like a dream I can't wake up from! If that world had a script, then the guy who edited it must have been incredibly incompetent! Although I remember that I traveled thousands of miles there all by myself, I actually feel like I was just having a huge dream there!"

—The artist raised an eyebrow when Zheng Zha mentioned the 'clumsy screenwriter,' but the latter was completely unaware of it.

So the painter interrupted him.

“So,” the artist tilted his head slightly—a gesture Alice often made—and then asked slowly, “according to your logic, going back five worlds from now on, they are all meaningless?”

"It might not be meaningless, but it's definitely boring. The last time I felt really fired up was during my time with the Star River team. Since then, it's been nothing but boring crushing victories or easy wins! I really want to have a good fight! Not just me, but I want to work together with my teammates to challenge strong opponents, instead of having those two witches weaken the opponent to a pulp before the fight even starts, and then all we have to do is attack!"

"Is that so? You really like the adventures from the Star River World era, or even earlier..." The artist rested his chin on his hand, seemingly sighing slightly. "Although, as you yourself said, it is indeed a bit pretentious, I can understand your thoughts. After all, boredom is indeed a very powerful enemy."

The painter put down his brush.

“A long time ago, I loved playing chess. Because I was very bad at chess, I almost always had to exert all my strength and intelligence to win by a narrow margin. I loved those days because every move was a climax and every step required my full effort—I enjoyed that feeling.”

"Gradually, my chess skills improved, and one by one, those who could play against me were completely defeated and could no longer compete with me. I won, but I also became bored—I started to give my opponent pieces when playing chess, and if that wasn't enough, I would play endgames and dead ends, yet I still kept winning. In the end, I could only play against myself."

"After I got bored playing chess with myself, I had no choice but to start drawing. Creating from scratch is always more enjoyable than going around in circles with fixed rules. And I continued to create like this until one day, I suddenly discovered that there were opponents in the other world who could play chess with me."

The painter set the half-finished painting aside and jumped off the chair.

“I understand you, I understand your adrenaline-craving soul. Because I am the same way, only because there is an opponent, I try my best to compete with it. I understand you.”

Zheng Zha subconsciously stepped down from the Iron Throne, then asked somewhat blankly, "So—?"

"So I decided to tell you a story before I finish drawing your picture so you can go to a conference. A story you've never experienced, and shouldn't have experienced, but which can somewhat satisfy the boiling passion in your blood."

"After all, cause and effect and fate are just pieces on a chessboard; changing the past is not difficult."

Section 1: Yesterday Once More

The unfinished portrait flipped over, and the canvas gradually enlarged before Zheng Zha's eyes. The Zheng Zha in the painting had the same appearance and will as he did now, but his eyes were much more immature than his current self—no, not the immature of an ordinary white-collar worker before meeting the main god, but a slightly more mature immature one, having reached the fourth stage of the gene lock but not yet encountered the inner demon, with mania and composure intertwined in his heart.

During his time with Starship Troopers—this thought crossed Zheng Zha's mind.

Then, time began to turn back.

Zheng Zha saw himself retreating from the Iron Throne back to the Narrow Sea, and from the Narrow Sea back to the Great Plains. He saw the civilizations he had conquered return to their original state, and the world return from wholeness to ruin, from a vast land to a silent wilderness.

He witnessed the beginning of the world, the boiling ocean of energy, and the trillions of fragments of power falling from beyond the heavens. He saw the hoisting ceremony from its completion to its construction, and then back from the construction process to the initial Destiny Slab—he saw everything, including the idealistic Chang'e's declaration of sainthood and the cleaved Milky Way, all of which entered his field of vision.

Time continued to rewind, the process of transforming the Earth and reshaping the moon repeating itself in his eyes in a flipping motion. Then, the scene before him changed, and he was directly transported back to the Main God Space!

However, time continues to flow backward!

He slowly and deliberately scanned the entire process of the Resident Evil crisis, even observing the battle between himself and Margot Lloyd from a third-person perspective and identifying at least thirty turning points. However, before he could even feel a sense of smugness, he returned to the God Space once again.

The large orb of light hovered silently, seemingly unaware of anything. He watched himself rewind and finish the various chores he had done during his vacation. Then he traveled further back in time, arriving in the world of Lord of the Rings.

Those gods that he had previously struggled to defeat now seemed so weak. He felt that even if he directly confronted the gods' true forms, he might not have less than an 80% chance of victory. The gods' meticulous plans were now fully unfolding before his eyes, and he finally understood what he and his companions had encountered in the Lord of the Rings world, and what ingenious methods his side had used to break the deadlock.

Indeed, for a world that wasn't part of the original Lord of the Rings, the Middle-earth team that arrived last was far too powerful. So powerful that they could completely disregard all plot and causality and forcefully break the deadlock—if the other four reincarnation teams had cooperated as the sages had predicted in the worst-case scenario, it might have been a very difficult and exciting battle. But since they didn't unite at all and instead schemed against each other, the Middle-earth team naturally only needed to choose between a resounding victory or a complete victory.

Time continued to rewind, returning to the Main God Space, and then from there to the previous world. Zheng Zha had expected to relive his journey through the Gensokyo world, which he could no longer clearly recall, just like before. However, when he arrived in that world, all he saw was a small attic house filled with paintings.

He saw the painter again, and once again the white-haired, snake-eyed girl who looked no more than twelve years old. And when he followed the painter's brushstrokes to the canvas, he saw an unfinished portrait of himself, Zheng, exactly the same as the one he had seen before at the Iron Throne.

"There is no difference between the past and the present, nor between the present and the future. When you try to crawl online through time like a worm, observing the vast world, today's experience may be helpful. As a bonus, you can retain a phantom of memory, but you'd better not mistake everything you see for a dream."

The artist picked up his brush and gently tapped Zheng Zha's forehead. When Zheng Zha came to his senses, he was already in the Main God Space, and spent the next ten days in a daze, as if he had overslept, after the Star River Team ended.

The timeline was altered. After returning from the Starship Troopers world, the members of the Central Continent Team did not go to Gensokyo. Instead, they resurrected their comrades who had died in the Final Destination world and continued their rest. When time reversed and returned to the forward direction, the ten-day rest period ended, and everyone stood under the pillar of light of the main god. Only then did Zheng Zha's consciousness reawaken within the pillar of light that had transported him.

The solemn and majestic voice of the Supreme God rang in his ears. For some reason, he felt that this mission notification seemed somewhat emotional—the Supreme God had still announced the Lord of the Rings world's group battle three days before the mission began, but then launched a surprise attack when the final teleportation began.

—'The world changes, the next world begins, life is a game, zero.'

—'Main quest: Win the ancient war and claim the Star Cup. Success rewards are based on final battle results. Failure penalty: None.'

His revived consciousness plunged back into chaos. The unfinished portrait merged with him, and he felt his power and skills plummet. His past memories faded rapidly. The simulated light of his mind, which had been poised to take shape, silently dissipated, returning to its state when he first entered the fourth tier.

A familiar feeling, a feeling of being belittled.

Only one thought managed to cross his mind at the last moment.

—This is neither a simple time reversal nor a simple world line shift.

—【This is… information magic!?】

Everything eventually fell into darkness.

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Zheng Zha rubbed his head vigorously. He felt as if he had forgotten many things, yet he also felt that these forgotten things were actually unimportant. This strange sense of conflict cycled through his mind until he looked away and focused on his surroundings, at which point the terrible situation improved slightly.

What came into view was a vast, desolate land. Beneath his feet lay dark, rocky ground, and a massive, bare rock rose diagonally from behind, like an umbrella covering the reincarnators' heads. Following the umbrella of rock, one could see a boundless, yet melancholic, dark red sky. Ashes, bluish-black like fine snow, fell silently from the clouds, layer upon layer, covering the ground.

—'Main quest: Win the ancient war and claim the Star Cup. Success rewards are based on final battle results. Failure penalty: None.'

"Would a supreme god really change the world they're going to at the last minute?"

A voice sounded from behind Zheng Zha… It was Xiao Honglu. When Zheng Zha turned around, the little boy, who had only recently been resurrected, was tugging at his hair with a troubled expression. Zhan Lan was comforting him, while the others remained mostly calm, with a few looking around nervously.

Margot Lloyd and Norrell seemed to have had a minor disagreement during their earlier break, but they've now returned to normal. Zhang Heng and Ming Yanwei stood about five meters apart, seemingly trying to be friends but unsure how to maintain a proper distance. Overlord was organizing his power armor; he had just brought back a simulated soul named Chelsea from the Star River World. Zero sat almost imperceptibly on a rock, studying the cursed hunting rifle that Chu Xuan had exchanged for him.

Zheng Zha's gaze shifted, meeting Zhang Jie's eyes as he smoked a cigarette. Nearby, Luo Gandao and Cheng Xiao, the two newcomers, quietly remained in a corner, keeping a low profile. Zhao Yingkong, who had also only recently been resurrected and had just adapted to the new version, touched the invisible shield of the main god, humming an unknown tune through her nose. Chu Xuan, meanwhile, adjusted his glasses, gazing through the swirling black snow at the distant horizon.

It was strange; the scene was so common, yet Zheng Zha felt it was both unfamiliar and nostalgic, as if separated by a distant past. It was as if he hadn't fought so closely alongside his companions in a long time, and was now fighting alone on unfamiliar ground… He shook his head slightly, suppressing these random thoughts. As the feeling of unfamiliarity gradually faded, he understood what he needed to do.

“Margot Lloyd, Norrell, Chu Xuan, let’s analyze this.” Zheng Zha tapped his forehead, a smile playing on his lips. “The actions of the Supreme God are truly baffling. Have you ever heard of the world of No Game No Life Zero? I certainly haven’t. Now is the time to rely on your wisdom.”

A moment of silence followed; no one had ever heard of the world of 'No Game No Life Zero'.

“There are two possibilities for this situation.” To Zheng Zha’s surprise, the first to speak was Chu Xuan, who had only shown off his skills in the Star River World and taken over the final safety measure. Margot Lloyd and Norrell remained silent, as if acknowledging his status as the dominant sage. What surprised Zheng Zha even more was that he felt this was not actually that unexpected.

"Which two?" he asked instinctively.

"First, the main god malfunctioned and encountered some kind of unpredictable external interference. Either the main god was disturbed, or the world that the main god chose for us was disturbed. For example, two fifth-tier powerhouses were fighting in the void and happened to destroy the Lord of the Rings world that we were going to. So it cast us into another world."

Zheng Zha nodded. "That makes sense, but I think even if the world we were originally meant to go to is destroyed, the Supreme God can easily arrange a parallel Lord of the Rings world for us. I don't think the Supreme God has any reason to be fixated on one thing."

“No, not entirely.” Xiao Honglu, who had been scratching his head, suddenly interjected, “The Supreme God is a machine; this has long been proven. So it’s possible that it compulsively threw us into a world that has already been destroyed. Look at the scene around here; isn’t it a scene of world destruction?”

Zheng Zha suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu about the scene before him. This inexplicable sense of unease made him subconsciously shut his mouth.

As expected, Chu Xuan directly used Xiao Honglu's words to continue elaborating on his own point of view.

“That’s right, so the second possibility is that this is the Lord of the Rings world that we were supposed to arrive at. But one thing needs to be corrected: this is not a scene from the apocalypse, but rather another scenario derived from the Lord of the Rings world, just like the composite worldview of Starship Troopers. The evidence is in the black and gray on the outside and in the red sky.”

“I can tell this ash is harmful.” Xiao Honglu plucked a hair. “But that doesn’t prove anything.”