After the subtitle flashed, the movie's plot officially began.
Hobbits are short, gentle, and kind by nature.Always smiling, always down for a good meal.
They love peace, quiet, and farmland that's easy to work. Most of them live in cozy caves and tunnels nestled in low hills out in the countryside.
They don't care much for complicated stuff, but they've got a real talent for simple crafts.
Their feet have thick soles and curly brown hair, so shoes? Not necessary.
They dress in bright colors—green and yellow being their favorites.
They love to laugh, enjoy their food and drink, and are always down for a harmless joke or two.
Super friendly folks, too—big on gift-giving and throwing feasts.
With a race like this, it's hard for the crowd watching the movie not to instantly fall in love.
They're pure, without all the schemes and drama that humans get tangled up in.
It makes the viewers marvel at the diversity of intelligent races in Middle-earth.
Humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits… and probably more out there.
Meanwhile, in Teyvat, humans are pretty much the only true intelligent race.
Honestly, the Hilichurls might even be less clever than Sauron's half-orc underlings.
Anyway, back to the story.
Bilbo is about to celebrate his 111th birthday, and his old friend, the gray-robed wizard Gandalf, comes by to wish him well.
But thanks to years of living with the One Ring, Bilbo's mind has started to slip.
So during his birthday party, he decides to leave everything—including the Ring—to his nephew Frodo, and go off on one last adventure.
Then boom—Bilbo vanishes mid-party. And Gandalf realizes the truth about the One Ring.
At the same time, the Dark Lord Sauron, thought to be long gone, senses that the Ring has fallen into a hobbit's hands.
He starts rebuilding the dark fortress of Barad-dûr, calling his armies of orcs and preparing to take back the Ring… and the world.
Because Frodo has a pure heart and strong will, he's able to resist the Ring's whispers. So Gandalf convinces him to take it to the Elven kingdom of Rivendell.
Frodo sets out with his loyal friends Sam, Pippin, and Merry.
At the Prancing Pony Inn, they meet Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, who helps them escape from the terrifying Ringwraiths chasing them.
These Ringwraiths? Former human kings, now twisted into Sauron's servants after being corrupted by the Rings of Power.
"Is human willpower really that fragile…"
That thought hit the crowd hard, especially remembering how King Isildur once gave in to the Ring, missing his one shot at destroying it.
Compared to Frodo, the hobbit, it kinda made humanity look weak.
Anyway, back to the movie.
The group finally reaches Rivendell.
But the elves refuse to keep the Ring. They know they can't resist its pull, and it brings nothing but chaos.
So leaders of all the races gather for a meeting—elves, dwarves, humans—to decide what to do.
The dwarves try smashing the Ring with a battle axe, but the axe shatters instead.
Boromir, the son of Denethor, steward of Gondor, is clearly tempted by the Ring.
Viewers start to feel uneasy. Of all the races, humans seem to have the weakest resistance to its power.
Boromir felt like a ticking time bomb. The kind of guy who might try to snatch the Ring mid-quest.
After all, the Ring doesn't want someone like Frodo, who can resist its whispers. It wants someone it can control—someone weak enough to help it find its way back to Sauron.
Anyway.
The group agrees: the Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom.
Frodo steps up to take the mission. Alongside him are Sam, Pippin, Merry, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas the elf, Gimli the dwarf, and Boromir.
Their journey won't be easy. They're being hunted by Sauron's forces—Ringwraiths, orcs, and worse.
On the snowy peaks, Saruman the White attacks them with a lightning storm, forcing them to detour through the mines of Moria.
But the dwarves dug too deep in Moria, and woke something terrifying—the Balrog.
To protect the others, Gandalf faces the Balrog and falls into the abyss.
The crowd in the café went silent.
Gandalf? Gone?
Everyone loved him—the kind old wizard with a spark in his eye. Yeah, they expected danger, maybe even death along the way—but Gandalf, gone so soon?
"He was supposed to be the leader… He was supposed to make it to the end…"
"On the road to salvation, sacrifice is inevitable," said Grandpa Zhongli, remembering the Archon War.
He, too, had gathered allies to bring peace to Liyue. Now, only a few remained.
That's how he became the unshakable pillar he is today.
Back to the movie.
Gandalf was gone. The Fellowship, heartbroken, pushed forward.
Then came the next loss.
Boromir.
Saruman sent elite Uruk-hai to break the Fellowship, and a brutal fight broke out.
Boromir—who many had written off as a liability—stood his ground to protect Frodo.
Tempted by the Ring again and again, he still chose to die a hero.
A man who, in the end, held on to his humanity and stood tall before the statue of Gondor's kings.
One last stand. One final breath.
The crowd couldn't help it—some actually cried.
"Damn, I misjudged the guy."
"He might've stumbled, but when it mattered, he did the right thing."
"This is human willpower! We're not weak after all (▼皿▼#)!"
"Screw you, Sauron! We beat your ass 2,500 years ago, and we'll do it again 2,500 years from now!"
"Please, no more deaths… they're dropping like flies (T▽T)!"
...
The Fellowship had lost another member.
After encouragement from Galadriel, the Elf Queen, Frodo decides to carry the burden alone—so no one else will fall because of him.
But Sam won't let him go alone.
The two hobbits move forward side by side, eyes set on their impossible task.
They'll face whatever's ahead.For Middle-earth.For freedom.For Gandalf.For Boromir.
The final scene fades out as they walk into the distance.
The audience, completely pulled in by the story, slowly drifted back to reality as the end credits rolled.
Incredible.
Breathtaking.
No—this wasn't just a story.
It was a full-blown epic legend from another world.
A squad of fewer than ten.
Carrying the hopes of all the races of Middle-earth, off to destroy evil and bring peace.
But… is that really the end?
What happens next?
Frodo and Sam are on the road—what dangers do they face?
Does anyone catch up to them?
Do they really destroy the Ring in the end?
It's only part of the story—maybe not even half—and the movie just ends?
Suddenly, Rui Shen's system lit up with a flood of emotional point notifications.
Looking around at the crowd in the Internet café, most were standing up with dissatisfied looks on their faces. Rui Shen just smirked to himself.
Heh. Exactly the reaction I wanted. Keep 'em on edge, rack up those points.
Even Zhongli looked a little down. The story had been so good, and now—cut off halfway? What a shame.
Ningguang managed to pull herself together and asked Rui Shen, "Boss Rui Shen, there's no way that's the end, right? Where's the rest of the story?"
Grandpa Zhongli chimed in, "It's been a long time since I've seen something this captivating. I'd love to know what happens next. When can we see more?"
The crowd shouted too—itching for the continuation.
Rui Shen raised his hands to quiet them down, then said, "Of course there's more. The Lord of the Rings has three parts. But I don't know exactly when the next ones will come through."
"Some cross-world tech issues. The connection's kind of shaky, and what I get is a little random. Could show up tomorrow, or it might take a while."
He shrugged with a helpless look.
The café erupted into groans and complaints.
Rui Shen just grinned again—another clean wave of emotional points secured.