I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

Several days passed very quickly since the incident at the Hunter Association. Sylvia’s stay in the luxurious Silver Tower apartment in Black Lotus City had ended, and she spent her remaining days lounging about, enjoying the high-class facilities, and devouring the various exotic dishes sent by Kael. Now her brief vacation on the border was over, and it was time for the Queen of Death to step onto a larger stage.

At present, Sylvia was on a long journey toward the Capital of the Tianhua Kingdom. Sitting back in a very soft red velvet seat, she gazed out through the round crystal-glass window beside her. The view of white clouds rolling like a sea of cotton under the morning sunlight looked extremely soothing to the eyes.

The transportation carrying her was not a conventional wooden airship based on steam balloons of the kind usually used by middle-class merchants. This vehicle was a VIP-level private magical jet that had been specially modified by the Central Hunter Association. Its aerodynamic design was extremely sleek, made from a light metal alloy and the bones of high-rank bird monsters coated with an anti-gravity matrix.

What attracted Sylvia’s attention most when she first boarded this vehicle was its propulsion system. The jet engine of the aircraft was powered by a new fuel whose concept resembled the Astral Star Furnace reactors used by Sylvia’s Nocture fleet. However, the difference was very clear; this private jet only used raw cores or monster cores as its energy source, without any sophisticated energy-compression process. The monster cores were burned directly inside a magical furnace to produce raw thrust. Although it sounded primitive compared to the Lumina civilization technology Sylvia possessed, this innovation was already an extraordinary achievement by the standards of the civilization on this new continent.

The distance to the Capital of the Tianhua Kingdom was indeed fantastically vast, stretching more than 50,000 kilometers toward the center of the continent. On ancient Earth, a distance of 50,000 kilometers was more than enough to circle the planet’s equator. Yet in this post-apocalyptic world, where Earth had undergone dimensional collisions, crustal fusion, and expansion to a hundred times its original size, the landscape had become unreasonably vast.

Because of that extraordinarily far distance, anyone who wished to go to the capital absolutely needed a high-speed aerial vehicle. Walking or using a magical horse carriage across 50,000 kilometers of land was the same as suicide, considering that the wild ecosystem below was filled with high-rank mutated beasts and deadly weather-anomaly zones.

Realizing the scale of this continent, Sylvia finally understood the status of the city where she had previously stayed. It was true that although Black Lotus City looked quite large, possessed paved stone streets, and was equipped with magic-iron-layered architecture as well as magical lighting lamps, the city was still essentially a peripheral city located on the outermost border of human territory. Of course, its condition was still far better and more civilized than the previous Black Steel City, which had been extremely chaotic, squalid, and backward.

Then a question crossed the mind of an ordinary person: how could a super-luxurious private magical jet that was normally reserved only for high nobles of the capital be present and on standby in a remote place like Black Lotus City? The answer was clearly because of Sylvia herself. Money was king, and absolute power was god. With Sylvia spending 50,000 Gold Credits without batting an eye using her Unlimited Black-Gold VIP Access Card, the Central Hunter Association was of course willing to fly their best private-jet prototype to the border solely to pick up one great guest.

Sylvia smiled faintly at the thought. She then adjusted her sitting position, leaning back peacefully in the silent and completely soundproof cabin. On the fur carpet beneath her feet, Sol the Golden Dragon in the form of a sacred glowing cat and Noir the Rank 7 Zombie Dragon in the form of a black cat were curled up comfortably, enjoying the cabin’s warmth.

Feeling a little bored by the silence, Sylvia raised her left hand and lightly tapped the surface of her bracelet. Instantly, a thin blue-glowing hologram projection appeared in the air, floating right in front of her face. This was the Hologram Bracelet, or more commonly known as the Magic Smartphone, a technological masterpiece she had designed herself using residual dust from low-rank Monster Cores, which functioned as a communication tool and internal social media for the entire Nocture fleet.

Sylvia’s slender fingers slid across the hologram screen, opening the internal social-networking application (SNS) she had created specifically for her crew. The timeline page was immediately filled with hundreds of the latest posts. Sylvia read several statuses written by officers, Dwarf soldiers, Elves, Beastkin, and undead commanders.

"Day 87 at sea. The water is still reddish-black. I just caught a three-eyed mutant fish, but it tastes like stale mud. When will we see land again?" Post from a Wolf Beastkin soldier.

"The Mana Cannons on the Eclipse-Class Dreadnought have been cleaned for the 14th time this week. No stupid sea monsters dare approach after the Queen’s death energy was radiated. Extremely peaceful. Too peaceful. I need skulls to crush." Post from an Elite Death Knight.

"Spatial calculations for the weather anomaly are finished. Everything is stable. But I have already read this digital library three times. I need new terrestrial ecology samples." Post from the alchemy scientist Stacia, tagged with a sighing emoticon.

Looking at that timeline, Sylvia could not hold back a small laugh. It was still the same as the previous weeks; most of them felt extremely bored. After all, the gigantic fleet had already been sailing for months across the toxic miasma ocean. Although their ships were equivalent to luxurious floating cities, the daily routine above an endless empty ocean would eventually erode anyone’s mentality, even that of the undead army.

As the absolute ruler of Nocture, Sylvia felt she had a responsibility to maintain her troops’ morale. She thought hard about doing something to entertain the crew so they would not grow bored. Should she hold a combat tournament on the ship’s deck? Or order a full-scale battle simulation against deep-sea monsters? Sylvia appeared puzzled while considering the various options available.

"Forget it for now," Sylvia murmured to herself while letting out a light sigh. "Later just order Stacia to dock at the nearest island for a while. If the scanner drones detect a tropical archipelago or uninhabited land, they can park the fleet there, go down to the beach, and let the crew release their stress by hunting, making campfires, or simply partying with strong liquor."

Sylvia had just opened the private-message window to send that instruction to her fallen-angel sister Stacia when her sharp ears caught the soft sound of approaching footsteps from the front cabin corridor.

In that instant, with a single extremely fast snap of her fingers, Sylvia immediately turned off and hid her hologram bracelet. The blue projection in the air vanished without a trace just before the cabin’s sliding door opened. After all, this was exclusive technology of hers that surpassed the era on this continent. If it were opened and seen by local people, there would be many troublesome questions, and she did not currently wish to deal with bureaucracy or spies seeking the secrets of her technology.

A beautiful jet flight attendant in an elegant dark-blue uniform stepped into the VIP cabin. The attendant bowed with great respect, a professional and friendly smile engraved on her face.

"Excuse me, Your Excellency Miss Sylvia. I apologize for disturbing your rest time," the attendant said in an extremely soft tone. "We are preparing to serve the lunch meal. Do you have any particular preferences? Our kitchen has brought various high-grade cooking ingredients in accordance with the Association’s request."

Hearing the word "food," Sol’s and Noir’s ears, which had previously been folded leisurely, immediately stood upright. Both cat-formed creatures simultaneously looked up and stared at Sylvia with sparkling eyes. Sol even let out a soft meow while rubbing its head against Sylvia’s shoe, while Noir tapped the floor with its claws. It was clear that the two ancient predators greatly desired meat.

Sylvia glanced at Sol and Noir with an amused look. "Are your stomachs made of black holes or what? Only a few hours ago you finished off the mutated snow beef at the apartment," Sylvia thought.

Yet Sylvia did not refuse her pets’ request. She looked at the attendant and gave her order. "For these two friends of mine, please prepare large portions of roasted monster meat. Make sure the doneness is medium-rare, and do not add too many seasonings; they like the original taste of the meat."

The attendant nodded quickly while noting the order in her small book. "Very well, Miss. And for yourself? We have Wyvern meat steak, mutant-bear ribs, or deep-sea fish..."

"No, thank you," Sylvia cut in gently. She had already eaten giant roasted meat far too often since arriving on this continent, from mutant-bull ribs to mutated armored boar. Sylvia was extremely bored with conventional meat menus. "I want something with broth, spicy, and rich in spices. Can your kitchen serve hotpot? Prepare a very spicy red broth, plenty of exotic vegetables, magic mushrooms, and just a few thin slices of meat for dipping."

The attendant appeared slightly surprised by the simple request from the VVIP guest, yet she quickly regained her composure. "Of course it can, Miss Sylvia. Our chef will immediately prepare a special spicy hotpot for you. Please wait a moment."

After the attendant withdrew and closed the cabin door, Sylvia leaned back comfortably once more. About thirty minutes later, the cabin door opened again. The extremely appetizing aroma of spicy broth immediately filled the room, mixed with the savory scent of high-quality roasted meat.

Two servants pushed a silver trolley table inside. On it, a brass hotpot heated by a magic stone appeared to be simmering gently, releasing bubbles of dense red broth that spread the sharp aroma of mutant chili and spices. Beside it were small plates containing slices of green vegetables, crystal mushrooms, and rolls of thin meat. Meanwhile, for Sol and Noir, two gigantic trays containing roasted meat portions weighing dozens of kilograms were placed in the corner of the room.

Without wasting time, the two cat-formed dragons immediately pounced on their food ferociously, tearing the meat fibers with their tiny yet lethal fangs.

Sylvia smiled at their behavior. She took her silver chopsticks and began eating leisurely. She dipped the thin meat slices into the boiling spicy broth for several seconds, then lifted them and blew on them gently before placing them into her mouth. The stinging spicy flavor, combined with the richness of the broth and the tenderness of the meat, created a perfect explosion of taste on her tongue. The vegetables and mushrooms provided a refreshing crunchy texture that dispelled the heavy feeling after days of consuming heavy food.

While peacefully enjoying her hotpot meal, Sylvia turned her face to enjoy the view from the glass window. The magical jet aircraft glided through the clouds at an astonishing speed, so smooth that the turbulence was almost unnoticeable. Below, the land of the Tianhua Continent stretched without end, displaying a continuously changing landscape from dense forests of blackish-purple color, volcanic mountains spewing smoke, to gigantic rivers that wound like the veins of the earth.

Besides, although this jet was extremely fast, the flight still required several full days to reach the capital because of the unimaginable distance. Sylvia felt not the slightest hurry. Time was not her enemy. She was an entity who held authority over death itself, so several days of aerial travel were merely the blink of an eye in her long lifespan.

For Sylvia, this journey was not merely a process of moving from one point to another, but a transitional period for relaxation. She chewed her crystal mushrooms slowly, sipped a cup of warm green tea served together with the hotpot, and allowed her thoughts to drift freely. The Capital of the Tianhua Kingdom surely held many secrets, intrigues, and of course... new high-rank types of monsters that might be far more delicious to hunt.

Accompanied by the satisfied purring of Sol and Noir who were digesting their gigantic lunch, as well as the soft hum of the jet engine burning monster cores at the rear of the aircraft, Sylvia closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the peaceful moment above the sky of this world that had been destroyed and reborn.