Chapter 2

It felt as if he had walked through a layer of water, his vision went dark, then quickly recovered, but the scenery had changed.

Zhang Hao cautiously surveyed his surroundings, which were similar to what he had seen in the video. The sun was shining brightly, the scenery was pleasant, and the sounds of birds and beasts could be heard from the distant mountains, indicating that there were no signs of human habitation.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Hao felt a strange sensation as he relaxed. The air here seemed particularly fresh, even better than those hyped-up oxygen bars. It felt as if every cell in his body was breathing along with him, making him feel exceptionally invigorated and energized.

"Is this the Three Kingdoms world?" Zhang Hao muttered to himself.

Yes, before coming to this world, Zhang Hao knew about its origins. This was one of the pieces of information the Time Gate had conveyed to him. From the previous situation, the information from the Time Gate was undoubtedly reliable.

Turning to look at the Time Gate, Zhang Hao walked through it again, returning to his rental apartment. After confirming that he could travel back and forth, he checked the clock and then returned to the Three Kingdoms world, this time taking the Time Gate with him.

He chose to head northwest, away from the mountains and forests. Now, Zhang Hao needed to find signs of human habitation to determine his location. Although he could measure the latitude and longitude to determine the area, it was too troublesome and unnecessary.

As for GPS, don't even think about it; this world had no satellites or base stations.

While walking, Zhang Hao pondered the various pieces of information about the Time Gate. These pieces of information had suddenly appeared in his mind, and he hadn't had the time to think them through. Now that the reality of the Time Gate had been confirmed, he needed to carefully analyze and understand the other information.

Apart from the information about the Three Kingdoms world, most of the other information was about the Time Gate itself. This Time Gate was not just for traveling between the modern world and the Three Kingdoms world. It had other functions as well.

By accumulating enough energy, the Time Gate could search for other dimensions, meaning that Zhang Hao could travel to other worlds, not just the Three Kingdoms world.

The energy accumulated by the Time Gate also had other uses. For example, using this energy, he could create a storage space. If he had enough energy, he could even create a paradise-like world. In that world, the creator would have various powers, much like a legendary creator.

Leaving aside the paradise-like world, as it required an enormous amount of temporal energy, which was far beyond Zhang Hao's reach. Now, he was more focused on changing his life and seeking revenge.

The source of the Time Gate's energy was quite unique. Changing the historical trajectory of a world would yield temporal energy. If each world were seen as a movie, then changing the plot would generate energy.

There was no need to worry about the bacteria he carried from the modern world causing disasters in this world. The Time Gate would eliminate any potentially harmful bacteria, preventing Zhang Hao from inadvertently becoming a plague bearer.

After carefully memorizing and analyzing the information about the Time Gate, feeling that nothing was missing, Zhang Hao finally had the leisure to observe the surroundings.

Looking at the plants and animals around him, it was clearly spring, but he couldn't determine the exact location, which should be in the Central Plains.

Feeling a bit tired, Zhang Hao stopped, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked around, still seeing no signs of human habitation.

"This is too desolate, isn't it?"

Although Zhang Hao knew that the land in this era was not fully developed and there were many deep forests, the desolation was a bit excessive.

About twenty minutes ago, he had found a simple road, thinking that if he followed it, he would soon see signs of human habitation. But it turned out to be otherwise.

Originally, Zhang Hao was somewhat excited about coming to this brilliant era of the Three Kingdoms, thinking about the famous emperors, ministers, generals, and beauties. But now, he felt no excitement at all.

He opened the Time Gate and returned to his rental apartment, drinking a few gulps of cold water. He then checked the clock and the phone he had brought with him.

The time on the phone had passed by more than an hour, but the clock in the apartment had only passed about twenty minutes. It seemed that the time flow rates in the modern world and the Three Kingdoms world were different, roughly at a ratio of 1:3.

However, there was no need to worry that frequent time travel would reduce his lifespan. The Time Gate itself stabilized the time flow around Zhang Hao, using the time flow rate of the modern world as the standard. In a sense, if he frequently traveled through time, he would actually extend his lifespan.

But only Zhang Hao, as the owner of the Time Gate, enjoyed this benefit. It might be more accurate to say that the Time Gate stabilized his life span. At least in other worlds, his cultivation efficiency and physical recovery speed would not be affected by the time flow rate.

Putting on a cigarette and a lighter, Zhang Hao prepared to return to the Three Kingdoms world.

Suddenly, he thought of something and paused. There was one more thing he needed to test: whether other living beings could travel through the Time Gate. This was a very important matter.

Thinking of this, Zhang Hao immediately ran to the market, where live chickens and ducks were sold. He bought a rooster and brought it back to his apartment, then walked through the Time Gate with the rooster.

At this moment, Zhang Hao received a notification from the Time Gate: other living beings could travel through the Time Gate, but they needed Zhang Hao's approval. Otherwise, they could not pass through. Like himself, other living beings traveling through the Time Gate would not have to worry about spreading harmful bacteria to other worlds.

After noting this, Zhang Hao released the rooster, which might be the first living being to travel through time, and continued his exploration.

After walking for another half an hour, Zhang Hao faintly heard voices coming from a distance. His expression changed, and he carefully extinguished his cigarette, then quickly walked over.

As he got closer, Zhang Hao felt that the voices were somewhat strange, like angry shouts and the sound of metal clashing. Bandits robbing travelers? Thinking this, Zhang Hao became much more cautious. Fortunately, there was a mountain pass ahead, and Zhang Hao hid behind a tree, peeking out.

Seeing the situation on the other side, Zhang Hao's face changed. It was as he had guessed: hundreds of bandits were robbing a group of about twenty people. However, these bandits seemed to have met their match, even though their targets were only twenty people.

Real cold weapon combat was extremely brutal, and the human body seemed particularly fragile under the blades and spears. Various shouts and screams filled the air, and blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Some people had limbs cut off, and others were gutted, with their organs spilling out.

Seeing such a scene, especially being downwind and smelling the blood and other strange odors, Zhang Hao's stomach churned, his face turned pale, and his body trembled slightly.

Zhang Hao forced himself to look carefully. He knew that the Three Kingdoms world was filled with war and chaos, and poems like "Bones exposed in the fields, no roosters crowing for miles" were enough to illustrate the cruelty of this world. To survive here, he had to adapt to such scenes.

There were hundreds of bandits, but they didn't seem to be doing well. Their weapons were crude, their clothes tattered, and they had no horses.

The group being attacked consisted of about twenty people, each riding a horse, and two horse-drawn carriages. At this moment, a few people had dismounted to protect one of the carriages, while the remaining dozen or so were charging and fighting on horseback.

Compared to the bandits, these twenty people were not only physically stronger but also more skilled in combat. Even when surrounded, they remained calm and composed, giving the impression of fighting with ease.

The most striking figure was a middle-aged man on a yellow horse, dressed in sturdy armor. Despite his age, he was exceptionally strong and robust, wielding a long-handled large saber. The bandits were no match for him. Occasionally, the man, whose hair was streaked with gray, would take out a long bow, and his arrows would fly like meteors, picking off the bandits shooting from the rear and the slopes with sniper-like precision.

The bandits were now afraid of these people, as none of them had been killed, and their attacks were hesitant.

One of the bandits, wearing a yellow headband and seemingly the leader, shouted a few commands but had no intention of retreating. He waved his hand, and a loud noise came from the slope. Then Zhang Hao felt the ground tremble as the bandits pushed several irregularly shaped large rocks down the slope, targeting the protected carriage.

Behind the rolling rocks, two or three dozen bandits in iron armor and robust bodies charged forward. It seemed these were the leader's trump card.

Yellow Turbans? Zhang Hao thought, feeling some concern for the people. But something that left him speechless happened.

The middle-aged man jumped off his yellow horse, took a few large steps toward the rolling rocks, and shouted angrily. His hair and clothes fluttered, and a faint red aura surrounded him.

After the red aura appeared on his body, the man's speed suddenly increased, and in Zhang Hao's eyes, a series of afterimages of the man appeared. He charged straight at the rolling rocks.

Zhang Hao didn't even see what happened; the large rolling rocks heading toward the carriage exploded as if they had been rigged with explosives. Before the armored bandits behind the rocks could react, the man's saber, which glowed with a faint red light, had torn through their bodies. Limbs and blood flew, and because of the man's incredible speed, it looked as if the bandits had disintegrated into a shower of blood.

After cleanly dispatching the elite bandits, the man charged up the slope, slicing through any bandits who tried to block his path, creating an extremely bloody scene.

The bandit leader screamed in terror but couldn't escape the man's incomprehensible speed and was beheaded.

Holding the leader's head, the man's eyes scanned the panicked bandits, and he let out a cold snort. The remaining bandits immediately scattered in all directions.

Fortunately, none of the bandits ran in Zhang Hao's direction, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking about the man's incredible power, Zhang Hao was speechless. Is this the Three Kingdoms? Is this a historical drama or a martial arts movie?