Zhang Yuqi wiped the blood from her brow, the crackle of static still dancing along her fingertips like a fading echo of the battle. Now that the enemy was vanquished, and the roar of chaos had died down, she finally had the moment to take in her new surroundings.
She had known all along that Xin's ability to create portals was dangerously unstable—barely tested and nowhere near refined, but she decided to gamble on it anyway. Trusting the kid's raw power had seemed better than dying alongside the Zombie King. The unstable portal Black Hole had sucked both her and the Zombie King in, but she hadn't imagined they'd survive the hurdle and end up somewhere like this.
No ruined skyscrapers, and no rotting corpses in sight. She wasn't anywhere near Base 01 anymore. Instead, she found herself standing amidst towering mountains and dense forests, some trees scorched and broken as if the chaos had followed her. The jagged remains of what had once been a battlefield now stretched in every direction, but not a single trace of her fellow survivors and zombies could be seen.
Such a serene and peaceful environment was something that was long gone.
Zhang Yuqi's frown deepened as she surveyed her surroundings.
Then she saw them.
A strange group of people stood some distance away. Their eyes were wide with fear, and they stared at her as if she were an alien who had descended from the sky. Their garments were foreign but vaguely familiar—robes, silken gowns, armor polished to a dull sheen. Clothing straight out of old historical dramas, the kind she'd half-watched as a teenager while scrolling through her phone.
"Where the hell am I?" Zhang Yuqi muttered under her breath, her gaze locking onto the odd assembly of people.
Among them, one figure stood out—a youth clad in the refined robes of nobility, exuding the calm arrogance of a pampered young master. The others were dressed in black, some wearing armor, others clearly fighters or guards of some sort. But regardless of status, rank, or costume, every single one of them wore the same expression.
Fear. Respect. Awe.
Well. They were the only people around. If they weren't going to move, then she would.
Zhang Yuqi began walking toward them. They were still a good distance away, so she used her powers to boost her speed—just enough to close the gap in a blink.
But the instant she appeared in front of them, the reaction was immediate.
As soon as she landed before them, the entire group dropped to one knee. Heads bowed, eyes cast down, as though the mere sight of her was too much to bear.
She froze.
Captain Liang, who had placed himself protectively in front of well-dressed Second Prince, cupped his fists respectfully while his eyes remained fixed on the ground.
"Please, Revered One, spare us your wrath!" he pleaded.
Zhang Yuqi blinked, confused by his words. "What? I'm not here to hurt you. What's with the-" she then sighed. "Forget it. Just tell me, where is this place? Which base are you guys from? Has the zombie wave reached here yet?"
The crowd remained silent, silently exchanging fearful glances, clearly not understanding her words. Zhang Yuqi's frown deepened. She could feel her fatigue catching up to her, making her mood worsened.
Maybe because they could feel her mood, but one of them, the best-dressed youth, finally spoke while keeping his head bowed low.
"This is the Jin'an Province, Revered One…" He said. "We know not of any base you are referring to or what… wave.. We are quite far from the ocean, Revered One. We are in Jin'an province."
"Jin'an Province?" Zhang Yuqi muttered, brushing some soot off her sleeve. When she registered his words, she felt confused. Where did she mention anything about the ocean?
She racked her brain for a map of China. Though it had been several years since the beginning of the Dark Era, she recalled that there was definitely no "Jin'an Province" anywhere on the map of China. Her brow furrowed as she narrowed her eyes at the young man, who still hadn't dared to lift his gaze.
"First of all, you can stop calling me that. Second, where exactly is this Jin'an Province?" she asked suspiciously.
The well-dressed youth finally lifted his head a little, but still avoided looking directly at her.
"We are located in the northern reaches of the Yu Kingdom, Revered- Your Grace," he said politely, choosing each word carefully. "Our province is surrounded by mountains and forests, but if you seek the sea, it lies far to the east, or northeast, past several territories."
Zhang Yuqi blinked slowly.
Your Grace?
Yu Kingdom?
Revered One?
North?
East?
Territories?
What kind of ancient fantasy-sounding nonsense was this? None of this made sense. Not the clothes, not the language that sounded archaic but intelligible, not the reverent behavior. Her head spun.
His answer didn't clarify anything—in fact, it only muddled things even more. Her brows twitched with irritation. "Wait, wait—hold on. Back up. Who are you?"
The young man placed a hand on his chest and stepped forward slightly, performing a proper ancient-style greeting by cupping his fists and bowing slightly.
"This humble one is Ji Xuan, the second prince of the Yu Kingdom," he said with all the elegance of a noble-born. "We were patrolling the Jin'an borderlands when we encountered the great disturbance caused by your… divine descent."
Zhang Yuqi stared at him, deadpan. Second prince of Yu Kingdom?
The old her would've laughed and called it cosplay or maybe an elaborate film set—but she wasn't the young but old Zhang Yuqi anymore.
After all the bizarre things she had seen these past four years—people mutating, people wielding unnatural abilities, time travel, a literal hole tearing through space and time behind a zombie king—this wasn't even in her top five weirdest experiences.
Dimensional travel?
Yeah, sure. Why the hell not?
"…Shit, I think I just got isekai'd." she muttered under her breath. She might really be in another world.
Her gaze shifted briefly to the terrified soldiers and assassins all kneeling in reverent silence. She remembered how they called her Revered One. A strange term, but she could work with that. No, actually—she had to work with that.
Zhang Yuqi straightened up, mentally shifting gears. If she was going to survive in some ancient kingdom, she needed leverage. And if these people already thought she was some kind of deity…
Then hell yes, she was going to lean into that.
She turned to Ji Xuan and the others, then pointed dramatically behind her, to where the sky had split moments ago and the battle with the Zombie King had torn the ground apart.
"What you saw just now," she began, voice rising with practiced authority, "was a battle between this one… and a demon king from the deepest pits of hell. His kind—what you may call demons—have ravaged a once peaceful world for years. This one chased him through the void… and now, by the will of the heavens, I have arrived here and eliminated the demon."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Even Ji Xuan's composed face twitched with astonishment.
Zhang Yuqi felt awkward deceiving a bunch of adults with nonsense fantasy setup but she pressed on. "The Realm of the Dead is real. And it is full of sinners like him. Bloodthirsty. Ruthless. Mindless. Demons will devour everything in their path."
These superstitious ancient men' faces went pale. After all, they were raised with the concept of Heaven, Earth and the Underworld. After witnessing Heaven's wrath and the hellish form of a demon they could never imagine, their belief started to change. After all, what could a mere weak mortal like them do?
Zhang Yuqi took a slow step forward, her voice cold now. "That is the fate of those who commit sins. Before your time runs out, I advise you all—repent. Fix the wrongs you've done. Or the next time the gate to hell opens…" she let her power crackle briefly at her fingertips, sending a small arc of electricity shooting toward the charred ground, "you might not survive it."
A natural thunder cracked in the distance. Perfect timing.
The crowd collectively flinched, some dropping lower to the ground, muttering prayers or begging for forgiveness right then and there. Zhang Yuqi had to fight the urge to roll her eyes and sigh.
Still, she lifted her chin, projecting the calm of a righteous cultivator or divine messenger. The dramatic part was over.
Now, she needed answers.
But before that,
"You can stand up now," she said, trying not to sound too commanding.
No one moved.
They remained in their kneeling posture, heads bowed, eyes averted. Not even Ji Xuan dared look up. It was as if they believed even eye contact would get them smitten by divine lightning.
Zhang Yuqi frowned. Her gaze dropped to herself—and she immediately understood.
Tight black turtleneck. Torn long trousers—ripped at the knees and thighs. Grime on her face, blood on her sleeves. She looked like a feral wanderer who'd just emerged from the underworld. And she hadn't showered in two days. Great.
If this was a world that resembled ancient China, then of course they'd have some kind of modesty taboo. No wonder they were acting like this.
She sighed inwardly. Then, with a subtle flick of her wrist, she tapped into her spatial ring—thank goodness she'd kept it on her—and retrieved a long, pristine white coat. It shimmered faintly with faint threads of silver—one of her old relics from the pre-apocalypse days.
She slipped it on.
The effect was immediate. The coat flowed around her like sacred robes. Clean. Regal. Otherworldly.
She straightened her spine and spoke again. "Now, you may raise your heads."
There was hesitation. Murmurs. Uncertainty.
Eventually, Ji Xuan was the first to look up—only halfway, his gaze firmly fixed on her feet. Then others followed, still kneeling, still afraid to look her in the eyes.
Zhang Yuqi resisted a sigh. Well then.
"You," she looked at the prince, and said "Tell me more about this land."