When Zhao Zimo realized a monster was attacking her, she immediately knew things had taken a terrible turn.
Frantically spinning the steering wheel and slamming the gas pedal, she changed direction and desperately tried to flee.
For the next half-hour, she raced through the streets, pursued relentlessly by the abyssal beasts.
As she kept checking the rearview mirror to monitor the situation behind her, her car suddenly blared an alarm.
The sound signaled that her fuel was nearly empty, and her heart sank.
“Damn it, why didn’t I fill up the tank before leaving? Now I’m screwed.”
Cursing herself inwardly, she kept driving at breakneck speed. But with the fuel depleted, her car visibly slowed down.
Meanwhile, the abyssal beasts chasing her grew closer and closer.
After about two or three minutes, the tank ran completely dry.
Her car lost all power, coming to a dead stop.
Glancing at the rearview mirror and seeing the abyssal beasts closing in, Zhao Zimo knew staying put meant certain death.
Without hesitation, she abandoned the car, pushing the door open and stepping outside.
Then, she sprinted toward a sturdy building in the distance, hoping its structure could shield her.
But as an ordinary person with no special abilities, there was no way she could outrun these powerful abyssal beasts.
She had barely taken a few steps when the creatures chasing her were already at her heels.
One of them opened its gaping maw, ready to swallow her whole.
Hearing the thundering footsteps behind her, Zhao Zimo knew the beasts were right there—she could die at any second.
At that moment, she suddenly thought of her daughter and the promise she had made to her.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she silently whispered in her heart:
“I’m sorry, Jiamin. Mom broke her promise.”
Just as Zhao Zimo resigned herself to fate, closing her eyes and waiting to be devoured—
A blood-red sword streaked down from the sky, obliterating every last abyssal beast chasing her in a single strike.
“Nice work, Sis Yu.”
Seeing the motionless corpses of the abyssal beasts behind Zhao Zimo, Yan Qi, controlling her avatar Ji Zige, spoke in a praising tone.
Complimented like this, Yan Yu—now in her Blood Empress form—showed a faint hint of bashfulness.
But the expression didn’t last long. Quickly regaining her usual demeanor, she turned to Ji Zige and Yan Qi and said:
“Enough about that. Let’s go check on Aunt Zhao Zimo.”
“Right.”
Ji Zige responded, then reached out, holding her true body’s hand as they walked toward Zhao Zimo.
Not lingering behind, Yan Yu followed them.
“Aunt Zhao Zimo, are you okay?”
Once they reached her, Yan Yu immediately asked with concern.
Hearing Yan Yu’s voice, Zhao Zimo—who had been certain of her impending death—snapped back to reality upon hearing the beasts collapse.
Lifting her head, she saw a girl in a black hanfu, with striking white hair and crimson eyes. After a brief pause, she stammered:
“I-I’m fine… but who are you? How do you know my name?”
Instead of hiding anything, Yan Yu replied directly:
“Aunt Zhao Zimo, I’m Yan Yu! Your daughter Zhou Jiamin’s roommate—we’ve met before. Don’t you remember?”
At this self-introduction, Zhao Zimo’s face instantly filled with shock.
“Yan Yu? You’re Yan Yu? That’s impossible! The Yan Yu I remember looks nothing like you!”
“Aunt Zhao Zimo, the reason I look so different now is because I’ve used supernatural powers given to me by someone else.”
“Supernatural powers?”
“Yes, exactly—supernatural powers.”
“If you still don’t believe me, here’s my phone. You can check my WeChat account to confirm it’s really me.”
Seeing Zhao Zimo’s lingering doubt, Yan Yu retrieved her phone from thin air, opened WeChat, and handed it to her.
Without hesitation, Zhao Zimo took it and saw Yan Yu’s profile, including her own and her daughter’s contacts in the friend list.
“You really are my daughter’s roommate, Yan Yu…”
Now convinced that this white-haired, red-eyed girl was indeed Yan Yu, Zhao Zimo spoke in disbelief.
Taking her phone back and storing it away again, Yan Yu—aware that this wasn’t the time for long explanations—urged:
“Aunt Zhao Zimo, we can talk more later. Right now, you need to come with us. This place is far too dangerous for someone without powers.”
Recalling how she had been chased and nearly killed by the abyssal beasts, Zhao Zimo quickly nodded—but then frowned in confusion.
“You’re right. This place, shrouded in that black barrier, is deadly. But how do we even get out?”
Yan Yu didn’t know how to escape the black barrier created by the Flesh Bloom, so she couldn’t answer.
Instead, she turned to Yan Qi and Ji Zige with a pleading look, hoping they could provide a solution.
Noticing her sister’s silent plea, Yan Qi stepped forward to help.