Gu Jin closed her eyes for a moment.
’Rare treasures, a path to a hidden world, and maybe... maybe a clue to Long Yifan.’
When she opened her eyes again, they were steady and firm.
"All right," she said. "I’ll go with you."
The couple gasped in relief.
But Gu Jin held up one finger.
Gu Jin held up one finger.
"I have one condition," she said calmly.
The couple stopped, eyes wide, and quickly asked, "What is it?"
Gu Jin looked straight at them. "I’ll protect you. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt, and if danger comes close, it’ll have to get through me first. I’ll do my best to keep you safe."
The couple nodded quickly, full of hope.
"But," Gu Jin added, her voice turning firm, "you have to listen to everything I say. No questions. No arguing. If I say move, you move. If I say stop, you stop."
The couple exchanged a quick glance, then nodded again. "Yes. We agree."
Gu Jin continued, "Also, I have someone I need to find. He’s important to me. I’ll help you find your daughter, but once that’s done, our deal is over. I won’t follow you after that."
The couple paused, but after thinking for a moment, they agreed. It made sense. They only needed help until their daughter was found.
"One more thing," Gu Jin said. "While we return, I might help you again. But don’t expect me to be your servant. Don’t wait for me to open every path or find every answer. You’ll need to help yourselves too."
The couple looked at each other again and nodded.
Gu Jin hadn’t asked for much—just respect. That was something they could give her.
They reached a quiet agreement.
Gu Jin gave a small nod. The couple nodded back, and finally, they left.
Just as Gu Jin turned to enter her tent, someone else appeared.
It was a young man with a handsome face and bright, sharp eyes. He smiled at her and asked, "Can I partner with you?"
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow. "Who gave you the confidence to ask that?"
The man chuckled. "I’m ready to be your slave if that’s what it takes."
Gu Jin narrowed her eyes. "You must want something."
The man nodded. "I do. My sister once fell into a spatial rift. I haven’t been able to find her... but I believe she’s in the same world—the one filled with only women."
Gu Jin looked skeptical. "And how can you be so sure?"
The man replied seriously, "I have a connection with her. A link. I can sense her when she’s near any man... but for the past year, I’ve felt nothing."
He clenched his fists. "That only makes sense if she’s in a world with no men at all. And there’s only one place like that."
Gu Jin’s expression softened slightly. She understood his pain.
"I get it," she said. "But why should I help you?"
The young man gave her a pitiful look. "I’ll do anything you ask. Just help me."
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, then smiled suddenly.
"Anything?" she asked, teasing a little.
The man blushed and nodded.
Gu Jin gave a short laugh. "Fine. You can come. But only if the couple agrees to take you with them."
And with that, she turned and walked away.
God knew what the man told the couple later that night, because the next morning, they agreed.
Without any hesitation, they said he could come too.
Now, there were four of them: Gu Jin, the couple (the man named Jiang Wei and his wife Ming Rou), and the young man, who finally introduced himself as Qin Ye.
They didn’t have to wait long.
That afternoon, a new rift opened in the sky.
It was huge and glowing—but calmer than the last one.
All four of them stood outside their tents, staring at it.
Jiang Wei looked at Gu Jin. "What do you think?"
Gu Jin stepped forward, her eyes serious. She stood still for a moment, her senses sharp.
"...I don’t feel any danger," she said.
Qin Ye took out a measurement device to double-check. The screen lit up green.
"It’s safe," he confirmed. "A real spatial rift."
Without hesitation, Jiang Wei grabbed Ming Rou’s hand. Qin Ye nodded at Gu Jin.
Then the four of them jumped in together.
The moment they entered, the space around them changed.
They weren’t falling—they were floating in a strange, dark tunnel filled with glowing portals.
Some of those portals pulsed gently, but others... others twisted and crackled with red, dangerous energy.
Gu Jin instantly knew what they were.
"Chaos rifts..." she muttered.
The air grew heavy. Their bodies felt like they were being pulled apart.
Gu Jin gritted her teeth. Even with her strong body, the pressure was painful—like her skin was peeling off.
Qin Ye let out a sharp breath. "This place is tearing us apart..."
Ming Rou staggered. Jiang Wei wrapped an arm around her to keep her from floating toward one of the dangerous portals.
Suddenly, Jiang Wei reached into his storage ring and pulled out a glowing silver ball.
He threw it into the air.
The ball floated above their heads and burst open with a soft boom. A clear dome of light spread out around them.
It wrapped around all four of them like a protective bubble.
The terrible pressure disappeared.
They could breathe again.
"Whew..." Qin Ye gasped, wiping sweat from his forehead. "That was close."
Gu Jin glanced at the silver dome.
"So you had this all along?" she asked.
Jiang Wei gave a small smile. "Only for emergencies."
Gu Jin snorted. "Good. Keep it close."
They floated quietly through the strange tunnel, surrounded by spinning portals—some calm and glowing, others wild and dangerous.
It was hard to tell which one to enter. None of them had any signs or directions.
reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of cloth. It was small, torn from a shirt or dress—clearly old, but carefully kept.
He also took out a long scroll.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the scroll into the air. It floated in front of them, glowing faintly, then began to spin.
The cloth in Jiang Wei’s hand suddenly flew out, as if pulled by magic, and attached itself to the scroll.
Right away, the scroll stopped spinning and turned sharply toward one direction—north.
"The portal is that way," Jiang Wei said firmly.
They followed the scroll as it glided ahead of them, glowing and pointing. After a few minutes, it led them to a strange black portal. It didn’t flicker or twist like the chaos rifts, but it didn’t feel calm either.
"This is it," Jiang Wei said, stepping aside and looking at Gu Jin.
Gu Jin nodded and closed her eyes.
Inside her mana space, the white mana ball jumped up and down quickly, like it was excited or anxious. Gu Jin touched it gently with her hand.
The mana ball stopped moving and gave off a warm feeling. It whispered to her thoughts.
’This portal is correct,’ it said. ’But it is unstable. If you want to be safe, use more protection.’
Gu Jin opened her eyes and turned to the others.
"This portal is right," she said calmly. "But it’s unstable. You should protect yourselves. Strongly."
Jiang Wei and Ming Rou looked surprised.
"It looks fine..." Ming Rou murmured.
But they trusted Gu Jin, and without arguing, both of them started pulling out defensive gear, glowing shields, a protection robe, and magical rings.
Qin Ye also took out a silver-colored vest and arm guards.
Gu Jin, meanwhile, took out something special.
A shining golden armor.
She carefully put it on. It was smooth and light, but powerful. The moment she wore it, a gentle light covered her entire body. This was Solaris, a semi-god level armor given to her by her parents long ago.
Jiang Wei and Ming Rou stared at it in shock.
"A semi-god artifact..." Jiang Wei whispered.
They looked at each other and smiled with relief. With someone like Gu Jin on their side, they had a real chance of surviving.
"All right," Gu Jin said. "Let’s go."
The scroll floated into the portal first, followed by the others. One by one, they jumped in.
Everything went dark.
They opened their eyes.
The sky was green. Not just light green—but bright, glowing green, like someone painted it with neon.
The trees were blue. The ground was purple. The buildings were all shaped like crystals, and the roads were like rainbows—stretching out in every direction in wild, shining colors.
It looked like a city from the future, but with the colors all wrong.
Gu Jin narrowed her eyes. Her senses were sharp. She looked around quickly.
On the streets nearby, there were women everywhere—walking, chatting, shopping, flying on strange hoverboards... but not a single man in sight.
They had arrived. This was the world of women.
"We’re here," Jiang Wei whispered.