Qin Dynasty: They've all turned into zombies, what's there to fear about a rebellion?

"Want to take a nap?"

Zhao Gao seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. The muscles on his face were contorted with extreme excitement, and a few crocodile tears even squeezed out of his sinister eyes.

"Su Ming, what do you take this place for? This is Xianyang Palace! Who do you think His Majesty is? Someone you can just sleep with whenever you want?"

He whirled around and shouted at the trembling imperial physicians, "What are you all standing there for? Go and examine him! If His Majesty really... really..."

By the end, Zhao Gao could no longer hide the mad grin spreading across his face; his so-called grief was thinner than paper.

The imperial physician, Xia Wuqie, shakily climbed the imperial steps and placed his withered fingers on Ying Zheng's pressure point. A few seconds later, the old physician's face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground as if his spine had been removed.

"No...that's all."

Xia Wuqie's voice, choked with sobs, echoed in the deathly silent hall, "No pulse, no heartbeat, Your Majesty... Your Majesty has passed away!"

That one sound sealed their fate.

It belongs not only to Ying Zheng, but also to Su Ming.

"Did you hear that? Did you hear that!"

Zhao Gao straightened his back instantly, his previously hunched body now exuding a nauseatingly arrogant aura. He pointed at Su Ming, his shrill voice like the hooting of an owl: "Su Ming presented poisoned pills, murdering the emperor and his father! His crimes are heinous and unforgivable! Guards, seize this traitor!"

"Splash!"

Without giving Su Ming any chance to explain, two strong, black-armored imperial guards pounced on him and kicked him in the back of the knee.

Su Ming cried out in pain and knelt down. Then his arms were twisted behind his back, and the cold leather rope wrapped around him like a python, instantly binding him like a dumpling.

"I'm not convinced! I'm innocent! This is medical malpractice... no, this is a case of apparent death!"

Su Ming was still struggling desperately, his neck red with rage. "Prime Minister Li Si! Speak up! You saw it yourself, His Majesty was detoxifying! If we start fighting now and disturb His Majesty's recovery, you'll all be finished!"

Li Si stood aside, his face ashen.

He stared at the motionless Ying Zheng, the light in his eyes completely extinguished. As a leading figure of Legalism, he believed only in facts. And the fact before him was that the once invincible First Emperor was truly dead.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, the dark age belonging to Zhao Gao and Hu Hai was probably really coming.

"Su Ming..." Li Si closed his eyes, his voice hoarse and weary, "No need to shout anymore. The victor is king, the loser is villain; this is fate."

"Screw fate! I'm a time traveler, I don't believe in fate!"

Su Ming was internally screaming, but outwardly he was being dragged to the center of the main hall like a dead dog.

Zhao Gao looked down at him, his eyes full of mocking amusement: "Great Taoist Master Su, aren't you quite the talker? Keep talking! Let's see who can save you now!"

After saying that, he ignored Su Ming and turned to face the civil and military officials, taking out a roll of bright yellow silk that had been prepared in advance from his sleeve.

That was a will.

Or rather, it was a forged edict that Zhao Gao and Li Si (although Li Si had not fully agreed yet, the situation was now hopeless) were about to fabricate.

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day." Zhao Gao unfurled the silk, his voice booming, "His Majesty once decreed that if anything were to happen to him, the throne should be passed to his eighteenth son, Huhai..."

An uproar erupted in the main hall. Meng Yi and other loyal and upright generals, their faces contorted with anger, gripped their sword hilts and prepared to step forward.

"Don't move!"

Zhao Gao shrieked, "This is His Majesty's dying wish! Anyone who dares to disobey will suffer the same fate as Su Ming!"

At the same time, an executioner wielding a large, ghost-headed cleaver had already approached Su Ming from behind. The blade gleamed coldly, clearly a weapon frequently used for drinking blood.

Su Ming knelt on the cold floor, staring at the gleaming blade, his heart feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

"System! System, you damn rip-off!"

He screamed in his mind, "Stop playing dead! I know you're here! This is the 'improved version' you were talking about? The person's completely dead! You're making me be buried with Qin Shi Huang!"

My mind was completely silent; the aloof system seemed to have lost its connection, offering no response whatsoever.

"Damn it! They let us down at the crucial moment!"

Su Ming gritted his teeth, cold sweat trickling down his forehead and into his eyes, stinging painfully. Since he couldn't rely on this lousy system, he could only depend on that newbie gift pack.

"Exchange it! Quickly exchange it for that [Earth Escape Talisman]!"

Although using this thing to escape is a bit shameful, and once you suddenly transform into a living person in front of everyone, you definitely won't be able to stay in the Qin Dynasty. You'll have to live on the run, and you might even have to go to an island to compete with Xu Fu for a job.

But it's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death!

"Ding! The beginner item [Disposable Earth Escape Talisman] has been extracted to the host's right palm. Usage: Crush it to instantly dive 500 meters underground and be randomly teleported 100 miles away."

Su Ming felt a thin paper talisman in his palm.

This is not just a spell, it's his life!

"Prepare for execution!"

Zhao Gao gave the order, not wanting things to escalate any further.

The executioner took a deep breath and raised his large, gleaming sword high in the air.

"Kid, don't blame me. In your next life, don't play with fire again." The executioner muttered under his breath as his blade whistled through the air, heading straight for Su Ming's nape.

Su Ming closed his eyes, then suddenly exerted force with his fingers, about to crush the earth escape talisman.

"Goodbye, Great Qin! Goodbye, Brother Zheng! You can just stay here and cool off, I'm not serving you anymore!"

however.

At this critical moment.

Just as Su Ming's fingers were about to close, and the ghost-headed knife was only 0.01 centimeters away from his neck.

A crisp, abrupt sound suddenly rang out from the dragon bed that symbolized supreme imperial power, but now held a cold corpse.

"Click."

The sound wasn't loud, but in the deathly silent hall, it was like a thunderclap.

That was the sound of bones realigning.

It is also a signal that some kind of terrifying creature is awakening.

The executioner's hand trembled slightly, and the blade barely stopped on Su Ming's skin, leaving a shallow bloodstain.

Before Zhao Gao could even wipe the maniacal laughter from his face, he froze, like a duck being choked. Mechanically, little by little, he turned his head to look at Qin Shi Huang, who should have been dead.

next second.

Everyone heard that voice that sent shivers down their spines.

"Uh...hoo..."

It was a low, guttural roar, like a wild beast rumbling in its throat, carrying the chill of the deepest hell, slowly spreading above the hall.

Su Ming's hand, which was holding the talisman, froze.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his lips twitching uncontrollably, it was hard to tell whether he was crying or laughing:

"Holy crap...it's come back to life?"