Midnight — Aftermath on the Overpass
Time Dilation: 1 Heavenly Jade hour = 1 Zombie World day
Night thickened over the ruined city like smoke that forgot how to rise. Burning cars crackled below the broken overpass where survivors caught their breath, staring with wide, shaky eyes at the two newcomers who treated the apocalypse like casual parkour.
Keller leaned against a stone barrier, chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. The relic shield, fused with Yuqi's stolen treasure, still pulsed like a dragon's heartbeat.
He stared upward, sighing. "Hey, Alex. Quick question. How long until I get back home?"
For a brief moment, silence. Then a flicker. A glitch. A digital scoff.
Alex: "Returning home requires narrative expansion. You need more power. More plot. More chaos. Earn it."
Keller groaned. "So basically… do quests and maybe I get a vacation later."
Alex: "Look at you understanding the basics of capitalistic storytelling."
Yuqi cracked her knuckles. "Home or not, we've got zombies to beat up and treasures to claim. Your whining will do nothing but embarrass both of us."
Keller shot her a look. "I'm sorry, princess mischief, but some of us have families that aren't cultivators with anger issues."
Yuqi's grin thinned a little. It wasn't gone… just tucked behind her gold irises like a memory that bit too deep.
"Same," she whispered.
Keller's annoyance faded. He opened his mouth to respond—
But Alex cut in.
Alex: "System Notification: Your absurd performance in a world with its own system has triggered a conflict event. Hidden functionalities now initiating. Please remain alive during upgrade."
Keller tilted his head. "Hidden functionalities?"
The air rippled like a computer screen being slapped.
Alex's hologram form flickered into existence—and unlike before, this version didn't just hover. She hit the ground with a confident stomp, purple heels cracking broken concrete. Her form was sleek and solid, outfit shifting between futuristic armor and a courtroom power suit like it couldn't pick a career path.
Survivors screamed.
Yuqi's jaw dropped in delight. "Finally! A system that fights back."
Alex rolled her shoulders like an MMA fighter before weigh-in.
Alex:
System Upgrade Stage One
Multiverse Combat Mode: Activated
Combat Interface: Installed
Hologram Battle Form: Fully operational
Shop Expansion: 40%
Quest Difficulty Increase: I blame Keller
Keller blinked. "Wait. Difficulty increase? Why me?"
Alex: "You attract chaos like Yuqi attracts death threats."
Victor Wales approached slowly, gripping his shotgun. His voice cracked with disbelief.
"You… your system can fight? It has its own physical form?"
Alex smirked and knocked on her own arm, which rang metallic and deadly.
Alex: "I said versatile. You fools assumed modesty."
A new screen materialized before Keller, purple text flaring.
System Upgrade Stage Two: Pending
Conditions: Absorb three more native powers from this world
Upgrade Reward: Reality rewriting permissions for localized zones
Warning: Every upgrade notifies the Opposition
Keller whistled. "More enemies. More power. More headaches. Great."
Yuqi jabbed his ribs. "Stop pretending you're not enjoying every second."
He was. He really, really was.
The survivors gathered again. Victor looked conflicted—admiration tangled with fear.
"What exactly are you trying to do here?" Victor asked, voice trembling.
Keller took a breath. He didn't try to sugarcoat it.
"I'm trying to protect my home. And apparently the only way to do that is by stealing as much story power as possible before someone deletes everything I care about."
Victor absorbed that. His fists clenched.
"You're not the only one fighting for a home," he muttered.
Keller's eyes softened. "Then fight with us."
Yuqi raised her bell and winked at Victor. "Keep up, and we'll make you look cool too."
Victor actually smiled.
But peace never lasts long.
1:00 AM — The Omega Horde Awakens
The ground convulsed. Far below the overpass, a howl tore the city in half. Windows shattered. Buildings shook loose chunks of themselves. A wave of rot-scented wind blasted up the ruined streets.
Zombies weren't shambling anymore.
They were sprinting—no, leaping—claws ripping asphalt, eyes burning like the dead learned ambition.
Keller's pulse spiked. "That's new."
Alex cursed under her digital breath.
Alex: "Upgrade Consequence: Rare variant triggered. Incoming threat: Omega Horde. Difficulty: Please panic appropriately."
Keller grinned. "Alex, battle strategies?"
Alex: "Strategy: You, Yuqi, and me perform sociopathic acts of violence. Victor's people do support fire. Do not flirt mid-battle."
Yuqi's smirk sharpened. "Flirting is a combat strategy where I'm from."
Victor blinked. "So… should we run?"
Keller slammed the shield down. Purple shockwaves rippled outward, clearing debris.
"Running gets everyone killed. Fighting gives us a sequel."
Alex pointed forward like a general with murderous intentions.
Alex: "Multiverse Combat Mode engaged. Execute narrative domination."
The Omega Horde struck like a tidal wave of teeth and fury.
And chaos answered in kind.
The Battle — Narrative Domination in Action
Keller charged forward, shield blazing with twisting gold-violet energy. Every zombie that touched its field scattered into glitching fragments of narrative.
System Points +10
System Points +10
System Points +10
Yuqi danced beside him, bell ringing in ruthless rhythm. Every chime snapped zombies into different outcomes—exploding, colliding, freezing, losing their heads to Victor's bullets.
Alex moved like steel poetry. Every kick shattered bone. Every punch deleted flesh. She fought with the smug precision of someone who coded the fight choreography herself.
Victor watched, eyes widening with hope and horror.
This wasn't survival.
This was a story hijacking itself.
Keller slammed his shield into the ground. Temporal waves rolled outward. Zombies slowed into stop-motion puppets.
Yuqi vaulted over frozen bodies. "Keller! The core! Take the big ugly one!"
The biggest of them lumbered through the slowed advance—a towering armored corpse with electricity flickering across its rotted muscles.
Keller sprinted. "Alex! New trick!"
Alex: "Permission granted."
He jumped, shield first.
A dome of purple narrative crushed down.
The giant zombie exploded into ink and bone dust.
Silence fell.
Then a soft chime.
Quest Completed: Omega Horde Response
Rewards Granted:
+2,500 System Points
+1 Chaos Relic
Multiverse Upgrade Stage Two Unlocked
Current System Points: 10,050
Keller stood panting, shield still glowing. Yuqi dusted her robe off. Alex adjusted her hair like the entire fight was a minor inconvenience.
Victor approached… and bowed.
"Teach me. Whatever you are. Whatever you're doing. I want to stand with you."
Keller blinked, caught off guard.
Yuqi nudged him. "Say yes, idiot."
He smiled.
"Welcome to the plot takeover."
Post-Battle — The Opposition Watches
Far above the city, unseen eyes watched from the torn skies of fiction.
A page turned.
And something ancient smiled.