“So, if I understand correctly, besides the difference in how many horrific movie worlds each team has experienced, the difficulty of those worlds also varies. But didn't your Southern Flame Continent team already go through The Lord of the Rings?” Zheng Zha asked curiously.

Neos sneered, replying, “Yes, they experienced The Lord of the Rings before, but it has nothing to do with me…” After saying this, Neos fell silent.

Zheng Zha, curious, then turned to Xue Ling'er, a girl from the Southern Flame Continent team he was quite familiar with. It was the little girl who finally explained his doubts.

It turned out that ever since the Starship Troopers world, the Southern Flame Continent team’s strength had severely declined, and the team’s overall power was judged as extremely weak by the “Main God.” Fortunately, the few who survived were all powerful individuals, especially Richard Robias, who possessed self-created skills. Because of these unique skills, he was not factored into the “Main God’s” power calculation. Thus, the Southern Flame Continent team’s actual strength was much greater than the “Main God” calculated. After their first horrific movie, Perfect Storm, where they disposed of the newbies, they were free of burdens and began aggressively seeking out Subplots, managing to acquire two, accumulating a substantial amount of Reward Points and Subplot counts.

“...The second horrific movie after that was The Mummy.”

“Because our team had no newbies, and our strength was already deemed extremely low by the ‘Main God,’ we entered much earlier than the other team.”

“Not only did we steal two Bibles, but we also immediately resurrected Neos. However, following his plan afterward, we greedily searched for the Scorpion King’s ruins, and as a result, all of us died except for him. In the final battle against the Scorpion King and the pursuit of the other team…” From the Southern Flame Continent team.

Aya, the beautiful mixed-race woman who used witchcraft, took over the conversation: “But thankfully, his prior planning was extremely effective, leading to our deaths annihilating the other team along with the Scorpion King. Moreover, we completed this Subplot mission ahead of schedule, with a difficulty multiplier double that of the normal state. Thus, he obtained triple the Reward Points and Subplot counts.”

“Coupled with the Reward Points and Subplots gained from the team battle, in that horrific movie world, he resurrected me, Richard Robias, and Xue Ling’er—the three of us—while he also gained the acknowledgment of an Inheritor. One of the newcomers in The Mummy was an Inheritor, so he became the undisputed captain of our Southern Flame Continent team.”

Zheng Zha listened, utterly confused. The question he asked was: can a team re-enter a horrific movie world they have previously experienced? Instead, the other party recounted everything they had been through. Wasn't that a complete non-answer? Who knew that Chu Xuan suddenly spoke up, saying, “Oh, so that’s how it is… Everyone who experienced The Lord of the Rings died once, and the selection for the captain was redone. In other words, this team can essentially be considered brand new. So, can you no longer enter the horrific movies you experienced before?”

Neos looked deeply at Chu Xuan a few times, took a chocolate bar from a paper box, and snapped off half with a loud crack. Only then did he say, “That’s right. The horrific movies they experienced, and even the ones I experienced, have vanished. In other words, we can experience any horrific movie again, as long as the ‘Main God’ deems the difficulty sufficient.”

In any case, the Southern Flame Continent team could be considered reborn from the ashes. Especially since several members of this team had previously been to the Lord of the Rings world; they should be very familiar with that world’s mission structure, Subplots, and difficulty levels. This was precisely why the weakest Southern Flame Continent team could form an alliance with the stronger Northern Ice Continent team.

“The place where we appeared that time was within the Elven territory. The mission was to escort the Fellowship of the Ring through the Pass of Caradhras, that abandoned Dwarven tunnel where the Balrog sleeps. That’s where we saved Gandalf and obtained the amulet that nullifies negative point deductions. The other team’s mission was simply to survive ten days in the abandoned tunnel. Therefore, we didn’t reach the vast regions of Middle-earth. The previous mission in The Lord of the Rings cannot be compared to this one at all. This time, we actually need to go to the city of Mordor, which means we have to experience most of the events from the first to the third Lord of the Rings movie,” Aya said to the others.

As Aya was speaking, the door of a small, low room not far away opened, and an old man in his sixties emerged. He wore a gray linen robe and a pointed wizard's hat. As the old man stepped out, a young Hobbit followed behind him.

“…But you’ve only just arrived, Gandalf.”

The young Hobbit quickly said.

The gray-robed wizard Gandalf silently turned around. He whispered something to the Hobbit youth, then turned and walked toward the spot where Zheng Zha and the others were standing.

(In the original movie plot, Gandalf is now going to research those historical documents; he wants to know the origin of that ring, and then the entire Lord of the Rings story is about to begin…) Zheng Zha and the others were all well aware that when Bilbo Baggins, the Ringbearer, began his journey, he entrusted the Ring to his nephew Frodo. Gandalf had already sensed the unusual nature of this Ring and wanted to investigate its origins. This moment was precisely when he was leaving the Shire.

Before Gandalf approached them, he raised his hand and tossed a pouch. The pouch flew over ten meters and landed directly in Zheng Zha’s hands. Zheng Zha quickly raised his hands to catch it. With a light clink, it was a money pouch full of gold coins.

“This is your reward, forty-three gold coins. Protect that child just now until I return tomorrow evening. I will use magic to return as quickly as possible, but researching documents takes a lot of time. In short, I leave this in your care.”

After throwing the gold bag, Gandalf leaped onto his horse. Before Zheng Zha and the others could react, he had galloped a considerable distance away. The speed was something the group had never seen before; within seconds, he had vanished from their sight.

“Oh wow! So cool! Did you see that speed? It looked like a phantom!” Some youths among the three teams shouted, one of them even pulling out a V8 video camera and pointing it in that direction. But Gandalf was long gone; there was no way to film him now.

“Magic, that’s real magic! I can’t believe there’s actually magic in this Lord of the Rings world!” Except for the members of the Southern Flame Continent team who had completed the Lord of the Rings Reincarnation mission, the others showed varying degrees of surprise. Especially some of the young men, who were both surprised and delighted, loudly discussing how they could learn magic for free in this world, even starting to dream of artifacts or forbidden curses. It was clear these were rookies visiting a Reincarnation World for the first time.

(Don't joke. The “Main God” would never allow you to gain any ability easily and safely. For every bit you gain, you must pay an equal price. If you want to learn magic, be prepared to fight to the death first.) Most of the veterans watched with quiet, cold smiles. Even though Gandalf used magic, they weren't surprised. That was how it should be. The power of the Reincarnation Squads participating in team battles far exceeded that of the original Lord of the Rings movie. For instance, a Gatling-style rotary machine gun with infinite ammunition was powerful enough for one person to wipe out an army of a hundred thousand on a plain—or at least shatter it. Therefore, the “Main God” would never create a farming paradise for the Reincarnation Squads. Technology weapons would be ineffective against the people of this world, and conversely, the power levels of the characters in this world were absolutely much stronger than depicted in the original movie. Gandalf’s magic was just one example.

“What now?” Gangnir quietly asked the other two captains beside him, Neos and Zheng Zha.

Before either of them could speak, the mixed-race beauty Aya spoke first, “The plot has already started. Last time, we also received a request from a plot character who wanted us to escort the Fellowship through the Dwarven tunnels. Then the ‘Main God’ would quickly give us a prompt. I wonder if we'll get the same prompt this time…” As soon as Aya finished speaking, a solemn voice indeed appeared in everyone’s mind.

“...Before reaching the Citadel of Mordor, if Frodo, Gandalf, Elrond, Gimli... and others remain alive, each surviving person grants every member of the three teams 1000 Reward Points. If one person dies, 1000 Reward Points are deducted from each person. Simultaneously, for every victory achieved in battle between the Human/Elven Allied Army and the Mordor forces, every member of the three teams gains 3000 Reward Points. For every defeat, 3000 Reward Points are deducted from each person. Scoring ends when five teams reach the Citadel of Mordor.”

As the voice ended, Aya immediately said, “That’s it, this is what we got. Last time, we only needed to protect Gandalf’s group as they passed through the Dwarven tunnels in the original movie plot. This time, there are so many people we need to protect… And what about the war between two factions? We didn't have a war mission the last time we entered the Lord of the Rings world.”

Neos sneered, swallowed a piece of chocolate, and was about to speak when Chu Xuan, standing behind Zheng Zha, spoke with utter calmness, “It is to divide the team's combat power, and it is also a test of the team by the ‘Main God’… The Reincarnation World is likely nearing its end.”

This statement stunned everyone present. Neos also paused slightly before saying fiercely, “…Exactly, that’s the meaning. If my deduction is correct… someone in the Heavenly God Squad or the Demon Squad must be on the verge of breaking through to the Fifth Stage of the Genetic Lock!”

The words of these two left many confused. Besides them, only Hao Tian, the newcomer who had just joined the Central Continent team, a handsome youth, showed a look of sudden realization. Everyone else looked completely bewildered.

Zheng Zha asked strangely, “What do you mean? You can analyze all this just from the mission released by the ‘Main God’? I don’t understand.”

Neos sneered, but Chu Xuan said dismissively, “The source of the analysis is not just the mission released by the ‘Main God’; it also includes the combat status of our five teams. That is also a source of analysis. Last time in Starship Troopers, we experienced battles among three teams, and this time it’s an all-out brawl among five teams. What does this imply? It implies the ‘Main God’ is accelerating the collision and consumption between teams. I recall analyzing with you before that the ‘Main God’s’ purpose is to make us evolve, not to kill us. When it starts accelerating the team brawls and collisions, the only reason it would do so is that someone across all Reincarnation Squads is close to unlocking the Fifth Stage of the Genetic Lock—that is, the ‘Saints’ who created the ‘Main God’ space. The ‘Main God’s’ mission is almost complete, and ordinary humans like us, who are still far from being ‘Saints,’ are no longer that important to the ‘Main God.’ Therefore, it needs to increase our difficulty and accelerate the danger to our lives to promote our evolution. It no longer cares as much about our life or death. That is the highest probability I have deduced: someone among all Reincarnation Squads is about to break through to unlocking the Fifth Stage of the Genetic Lock.”

(…Amazing. I deduced this from intelligence obtained from another team. What about him? Can he infer all this just from these scattered clues? Impossible!) Neos gritted his teeth fiercely and snapped another piece of chocolate in half.

Zheng Zha and the others ignored Neos’s frustration. Zheng Zha immediately asked again, “I more or less understand what you mean. Are you saying that once someone reaches the Fifth Stage of the Genetic Lock, we can return to the real world? So the ‘Main God’ wants to maximize the difficulty and team collisions before then to make us evolve?” Chu Xuan sneered, “Return to the real world? Don't joke. While the ‘Main God’s’ goal isn’t to kill us, it’s also not to let us live; its sole purpose is evolution. The fundamental reason for this war mission and the mission to protect plot characters is to force us to split our forces, making the team learn multi-line and coordinated operations. I said it before, intelligence is also part of evolution. Therefore, multi-team operations and multi-mission operations are the key to forging and growing the team. I guarantee that once someone reaches the Fifth Stage of the Genetic Lock…”

“…It will definitely place all teams into one world for a massive brawl. The last team standing, regardless of whether they have the person who unlocked the Fifth Stage of the Genetic Lock, that team will qualify to survive!” Neos suddenly interjected, viciously biting off another half of a chocolate bar.