The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Suddenly, Roselle materialized a large truck behind her and smiled, "The props are ready. Want to try and see if we can travel to another world?"

"Please forgive me for refusing." Su Qi replied with a resolute expression, as if he were sacrificing himself for justice: "As the saying goes, one should be the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures. There are still many people in the world living in dire straits. As a partner of justice and a savior of good people, how can I secretly enjoy happiness by myself at a time like this?"

"What a pity."

Roselle regretfully put the interdimensional teleporter away, and Su Qi steered the conversation to the main topic, "By the way, did you receive any notifications about defeating the BOSS?"

Roselle nodded slightly. "I received it too. It indicates that the mission is complete, and there are three more days to stay."

"Is there anything else you want to do in this world? If so, take advantage of these three days to do it."

"What about you?"

"I'm all ready. I can just say hello to Theresa and the others and I'm good to go."

“In that case…” Roselle paused suddenly, then looked at Su Qi and said, “Then come with me on this trip.”

"Huh? Tourism?"

“That’s right.” After confirming, she said to herself, “I’m very interested in the ruins left by various ancient civilizations and want to visit them in person. Let’s start with the Pyramids of Egypt.”

"Uh, wait a minute, I don't think I've agreed yet?"

Roselle stared at Su Qi, her delicate face expressionless, and said, "Aren't you going?"

"Well, if I refuse now, won't it make me look like I'm destined to be single forever?"

"How pitiful..."

A dramatic sadness crossed her face as she spoke in a monotone tone, “Although we’re supposed to be allies on equal footing, he’s been exploited from start to finish since he transmigrated here, barely even leaving the lab; while some others can live a carefree life outside, playing the savior while seducing beautiful girls… Ah, thinking about it carefully, isn’t he being used as a tool? Roselle’s favorability towards Su Qi has decreased by a thousand points, by the way, out of a hundred.”

"Doesn't this turn us into opposing camps?"

Su Qi couldn't help but complain. Then he thought that Roselier was indeed very boring in this trial. She worked far more than the legendary 996 schedule every day and was full of blessings. It seemed that he was indeed a model of a heartless teammate. He could only say, "Okay, I'll travel with you in this world for the last three days. I'll accompany you to any corner of the world."

Thus, Su Qi transformed into the world's best mode of transportation.

Chapter 81 Settlement

After a rare three-day leisurely trip, Su Qi and Roselle returned to the system space once again.

"Let me see what kind of cup I can get this time."

As soon as he returned, Su Qi turned to look at the black stone base representing the world of Honkai Impact 3rd not far away, and then... a silver trophy came into view.

"Silver cup, Grade B... Well, that's acceptable."

He survived the trial without dying once, which should have earned him extra points, but perhaps because it dragged on for too long and resulted in too many casualties, he did not receive an excellent rating.

"Although the basic rating is not high, since I haven't died even once, I should be able to get another special lottery."

Having already mastered the process, Su Qi walked straight to the trophy, triggered the settlement panel, and began the lottery draw.

"Low-Tier Intelligence Reduction Aura: Active skill. When activated, it reduces the intelligence of everyone within a 10-meter radius. It can be used to target friendly units for immunity. The intelligence reduction is weak and fluctuates within a certain range depending on the enemy's soul strength. It consumes 1% of the total spiritual power every 10 seconds it is active."

His eyes lit up. "This is a good thing, but it's a pity the effect is too weak, and the consumption is still based on a percentage. I wonder how effective it will be."

Then close the panel and start the C-level lottery.

"Balala the Fairies Transformation Wand: Using this item, you can transform into a Balala fairy within ten minutes, use all the magic of the righteous fairies, and have all your basic attributes doubled. However, you must strictly follow the instructions to recite the incantation and perform the corresponding poses when using magic."

Looking at the pink magic wand in his hand, Su Qi fell silent for a moment, as images of colorful-haired Sabbat fairies flashed through his mind.

Watching the lottery draw, Roselle chuckled softly, "Oh my, it's a very useful prop. I look forward to the day Mr. Su Qi becomes a Balala the Fairy, I'll definitely record it with a camera."

She had read most of Su Qi's memories and could also remember everything she saw, so of course she knew what Balala the Fairies was.

"Don't even think about it!"

Su Qi said resolutely, "Even if I, Su Qi, am beaten to death, die outside, and the game rewinds to the point of collapse..."

He suddenly stopped. No, he absolutely couldn't make the same mistake as last time, setting a flag and repeating the same error. What if the "it's actually good" principle kicked in again? Wouldn't his lifelong reputation be ruined?

So Su Qi decisively stopped talking and said instead, "In short, I will absolutely not use this damn thing. If you are interested, you can take it and study it."

After saying that, he tossed the wand in his hand to Roselle, ignoring her eyes which lit up and she immediately began to examine it, and went straight to the third lottery draw.

"Drake's Ring: An artifact from the Uncharted universe, originally a relic of Francis Drake, the famous 16th-century English navigator, politician, and privateer captain, later became an important personal item of Nathan Drake, the Chosen One. Over the long period of time with its new master, the artifact gradually absorbed the Chosen One's aura and gained the same inherent skill as its master—Drake's Soul Possession."

"Drake's Soul Possession: Passive curse skill, can be activated when carried. The longer you stay in a certain location in a building, the more fragile that part of the building becomes and the easier it is to collapse. At the same time, the more unstable the structure and the more historical the building, the more likely the effect will be triggered."

"Damn, they even have props like this? I'm not a demolition crew."

Su Qi picked up the old silver-gray ring in his hand and looked at it. Sure enough, the phrase "Small things lead to great achievements" was written in Latin on the inside.

"This is a huge loss. Out of three lottery draws, besides the intelligence-lowering halo, the other two items were either poisonous or basically only good as collectibles, neither of them had any use."

He sighed, feeling saddened by his dark expression.

"But when it comes to lotteries, you have to be willing to take the risk to win, and you have to be willing to participate to win... I just don't believe that I, being an Asian, will always have bad luck!"

Su Qi's eyes narrowed, and he immediately activated the final special lottery chance he received from clearing the game with zero save points. The result was...

"Trial World Change Ticket: A special item that can be used to change the next designated trial world, randomly selecting a new trial world."

Looking at the information on the panel, he fell silent. Undoubtedly, compared to the companion invitation he'd won in the last special lottery, this item, while still useful, was clearly a level below.

"Okay...it seems the last time there was some shady dealing that gave me too many good things, so this time I have to weaken and balance it out. It's definitely not because I'm unlucky."

A moment later, Su Qi said this as if burying his head in the sand, closed the lottery page, and began this time's exclusive item conversion.

"It's you I've chosen, Yu Duchen!"

Because Yu Duchen's ability was so useful, he didn't hesitate to place the Divine Key he brought from the Honkai World onto it, and then...

"The Feather of Illusion: A personal item bound to the soul of the trial participant. It cannot be damaged or lost. Its inherent abilities are 'Illusion' and 'Bewitching'. The former can create incredibly realistic illusions, while the latter can interfere with and hypnotize the consciousness of others. The skill's effect is directly proportional to the amount of spiritual energy consumed and inversely proportional to the enemy's soul strength and willpower."

After the transformation, the psychedelic feather still resembled a beautiful phoenix feather, but its color was no longer red. Instead, it was hazy and transparent, overflowing with iridescent light, as if it were forever shrouded in a thin layer of mist.

With a thought, Su Qi naturally integrated the Illusionary Feather into his body and soul, and then the information flowed out, immediately making him understand how to use it.

"Hmm, not bad, but unfortunately, due to the different world rules, the ability to enter other people's subconscious space has been reduced."

Su Qi felt a little regretful, but he was already prepared. After all, Yu Duchen's full version of ability was indeed too overpowered. How could they have fun if they didn't weaken their enemies?

So, the settlement is done. Next... let's see which trial world is next. If it's too dangerous, we'll immediately use a world exchange ticket to change to another one...

With that thought in mind, accompanied by the tremors of the entire pure white space, he arrived in front of a newly risen black stone base and activated the panel.

The Sixth Trial World: Junji Ito's "Paradise"

Difficulty: Extremely high

Status: Pending

"Clearance requirements: Survive for more than one year"

Additional evaluation items: None.

"Holy crap! You shameless system, you've tricked me again! And you're doing this blatantly!"

Su Qi almost spat out his drink. "Ito Junji's 'Paradise'? Why isn't it Suiryuukei's Paradise? It's more like I'm a monkey, some kind of monster-and-ghost show amusement park... Change it for me, change it right now!"

Despite his deep resentment towards the system's awful practices, he still used the Trial World Exchange Ticket without hesitation.

In fact, given the power levels displayed by the monsters and demons in Junji Ito's original manga, even if Su Qi needs to retrain his body in the new world, surviving for a year shouldn't be too difficult. However, under the "extremely high" difficulty, it's hard to guarantee that those abnormal monsters and demons won't be strengthened. Moreover, unless absolutely necessary, Su Qi, as a normal person, really doesn't want to go to that kind of bizarre and disgusting world.

So he decisively changed it, changed it to...

"Huh? Touhou Gensokyo? It's a retirement home-style world? Does this mean I can finally relax and unwind?"

Upon seeing the newly appeared trial world, Su Qi breathed a sigh of relief, but soon he realized that he had been overthinking things, thinking it would be relaxing and leisurely.

Sigh, my inspiration has dried up, I feel no urge to write, I'm practically a useless person... I owe six thousand, I'll try my best to get back into shape starting tomorrow...

Chapter 1: Shocking! A young girl suddenly transforms into an old woman overnight!

Gensokyo is a place located deep in the mountains of Japan in the far east, a place isolated by a great barrier where non-humans and humans coexist.

It was early summer, the sun was shining brightly, and the mirror-like Misty Lake rippled in circles under the gentle breeze. The surrounding area was shaded by green trees and surrounded by lush vegetation. The leaves were as green as jade under the sunlight, and the occasional birdsong and rustling of the trees created a serene and ethereal atmosphere, making it a picturesque scene.

Suddenly, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared silently on the green carpet-like grass by the lake.

The former was tall and slender with a well-proportioned figure, black hair and black eyes, and a handsome appearance. He wore a loose black yukata and wooden clogs, and his temperament was peaceful yet mysterious and lazy. He was Su Qi, who had just transmigrated to Gensokyo to start his trial mission.

Standing next to him was his companion, Roselier. However, to avoid being misunderstood again and having his integrity questioned, he had his companion change out of her white silk cat-ear maid outfit and into a black and white Gothic Lolita dress, making her look more like a delicate and flawless doll.

"Gensokyo..."

Su Qi took a light breath and felt refreshed and invigorated, as if he had just been washed after a rain. It also contained a very high concentration of mysterious and active energy. The air itself was completely different from the world he had been in before.

Roselle looked around with interest and said, "Hmm, the rules of this world seem to be quite lenient. It seems that magic can also be used here."

After saying this, with a thought, the energy in the air quickly gathered and transformed into a water ball the size of a fist in front of him; then, with another thought, the water ball changed shape and froze, transforming into a crystal-clear ice lotus flower.

"Perhaps it's because all sorts of power systems exist here..."

As Su Qi spoke, he also had a thought and silently activated a minor Taoist spell called "Flick of Thunder," which he had learned from the world of "Shaman King." Then, he flicked his finger, and a bolt of lightning the thickness of a chopstick shot out like a spear, flashing and disappearing in the air.

"However, the rules are still not entirely the same, so the power has been weakened and the casting is somewhat obscure. It will take time to modify it into a version that adapts to this world."

"Unfortunately, we don't have much time."

"That's right, we really don't have much time."

This time, the system's task is to find the root cause of the recent incident in Gensokyo and resolve it within three days, so they are destined not to have time to slowly adapt to the rules of this world.

"In short, we need to act quickly, find clues first, and figure out what this anomaly is."

Su Qi glanced around, then stopped, his gaze sweeping across the vast lake. He immediately spotted the sprawling, Gothic-style red mansion across the water and instantly understood his location: "The Lake of Mist and the Scarlet Devil Mansion..."

After thinking for a moment and weighing the pros and cons, he decided not to go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to gather information, but instead to go to the Human Village, which is also near the Lake of Mist.

The reason is that the owner of the Scarlet Devil Mansion is a truly arrogant and imposing vampire, and a hasty visit might lead to conflict, so it's best to avoid it if the situation is unclear. The Human Village, on the other hand, is the human settlement of Gensokyo, making it a more suitable place to gather information.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from above, "Extra! Extra! The latest issue of Wenwen's newspaper is out!"

Before she could finish speaking, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept by, whipping up grass and making her clothes flutter wildly.

Edison Chen? That's a good person to ask around.

Su Qi's heart stirred, and he looked up to see a dark shadow swiftly sweep across the sky, flying towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion. At the same time, a piece of paper spun in the wind and fluttered down.

He raised his right hand, and with a surge of mental energy, he instantly caught the piece of paper that was falling from mid-air. He then flipped it over and looked down, where text and photos formatted like a newspaper immediately came into view.