On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

Because only saw

The next moment, from the trunk at the base of the World Tree, a body slowly emerged under the secret magic of the elf Anno.

The body had no obvious features.

Because his entire body was shrouded in a grayish-brown, slightly tattered cloak, his face was completely obscured by shadows, making it impossible to see anything.

But for those who have experienced the "old world," cloaks and shadows are already the most prominent features.

"Lord Ashes!?" Styutia was the first to exclaim in surprise.

The dragon maiden beside her also frowned.

They recognized him immediately; there was no mistake. The figure appearing in the image was "Ash," their Ash Emperor.

Next, the elf seemed to be about to cast some kind of magic on the gray-robed man, with Lena assisting from the side. It was at this point that Anno, after using magic, discovered the observation object hidden here. Before the observation object could connect to Zero, a powerful energy from the succubus directly killed the observation object.

The scene ends here, and Styutia and Jiuyou are completely different from when they first started. They are now bewildered and confused, full of doubts.

"Zero, what on earth is going on! Why is Lord Ash under the World Tree?!"

Jiu You asked anxiously, wanting an answer, while the nun looked at Liao Ji with great concern.

"Lord Ash, you..."

Neither the nun nor the dragon girl doubted Liao Ji's identity, since Liao Ji had genuinely re-established their contract, and their intuition was unquestionable.

So what they now believe is that Liao Ji had been tricked by Lena and Anno before this.

Considering Liao Ji's initial state, his strength has indeed returned to its original level. Even now, there is a significant gap between him and Ash at his peak.

Neither Styuya nor Jiuyou dared to ask Liao Ji the reason. Since Liao Ji didn't say it, they wouldn't delve into it. After all, they weren't after Lord Ash's power. They were worried that Liao Ji would mind because of it.

But now it seems

"Lord Ash, is it because your strength has declined?"

Styutia clenched her fists, the gentle look in her nun's eyes began to disappear, the light in her eyes gradually darkened, and her aura became increasingly dangerous.

Jiu You, standing beside her, understood the nun's meaning, and an uncontrollable rage seemed to rise from her purple dragon eyes.

If it was truly because of Lena and Anno's betrayal that Lord Ash lost all his power, then they would undoubtedly disregard all past actions and would treat Lena and Anno as enemies to be eliminated.

Fortunately, at that moment, Zero's voice rang out.

"Based on my analysis, Lord Ash should not have this memory, because the body that Lena and Anno were in front of at that time should just be an empty shell."

"A shell?" The nun and the dragon girl asked simultaneously.

"Yes, in your words, it means there is no soul, only a body."

After a moment's silence, the three women simultaneously turned their expectant gazes toward Liao Ji.

As for Liao Ji, if he had to describe his memories, it would be pressing the "confirm" button to enter the second playthrough, so he nodded.

"Zero is right, I really don't remember any of that."

After receiving confirmation from Liao Ji, both Si Xiutiya and Jiu You breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, if they really had to choose between body and soul, they would definitely choose the safety of Lord Ash's soul.

But what followed was even greater anger.

"So what are they going to do?"

"What ritual are they going to perform using Lord Ash's body?"

"No, how did they do that? Could they separate Lord Ash's body and soul? Or..."

Styutia's muttered analysis ended abruptly when she stopped talking.

Because if we go any further, it would be...

Or perhaps, Lord Ash chose to separate his body and soul himself?

Styutia dared not ask such a question.

They didn't want to ask either.

Because this involves a truth that even "they" still yearn to know, yet are afraid to know.

That is

Why did Lord Ash disappear after successfully defeating Turbidity? Why did he disappear?

For Jiuyou and Sishutia, now that Lord Ash has returned, the truth seems to have become irrelevant.

But now that they have obtained this information from Zero, they find that things seem to have become more complicated than they imagined.

As for Liao Ji

As someone who knows the whole "truth," Liao Ji can be quite certain that Lena did not "betray" him.

in contrast.

Considering Lena's life from the Holy Kingdom to the current Mechanical Alliance, and her constant "appearances" despite never actually showing herself, Liao Ji had a certain guess in his mind.

Thinking of this, Liao Ji sighed inwardly, or rather, felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both regret and reflection).

He recalled that when he was the overlord of the Ash Base, at the end of Jiuyou Huanmeng, he received a message from the Succubus Clan, who were preparing to offer him their clan leader's daughter as "tribute" in hopes of gaining his protection.

The next day, a new event occurred in the game: an anonymous letter containing black roses and pink petals.

Liao Ji doesn't remember the complete letter, but the general meaning should be similar.

I would never marry a weirdo in a cloak.

By the time you read this letter, I will have already left the tribe.

[Human lord? Let's assume you're human for now. This princess kindly advises you not to try to capture me. Even if you chase me to the ends of the earth, it will all be in vain—the greatest psychic of the future, Lena.]

Chapter 282 A Minor Shock

At the time, Liao Ji thought that Lena's words about "the ends of the earth" and "the end of the world" in her letter were just empty talk.

No, perhaps at that point in time, Lena was indeed, but when that succubus princess, who was treated as a tribute and cried out "Don't underestimate a poor girl," became the greatest sorcerer...

Liao Ji's heart trembled.

Like all games, the characters that appear later in the game are all very powerful, both in terms of their background and abilities.

And Anno and Lena were Liao Ji's last two contractors.

They clearly knew more than the three women in the room. Liao Ji even had a vague premonition that he himself might not have as much information about "this world" as they did.

This might explain why, despite secretly assisting him all along, Lena has been reluctant to meet him.

Why did Anno form the Old Alliance? Why did the elves use their own bodies to recreate the Mother of Calamity, the source of the old world's calamities, now known as Polika?

Therefore, Liao Ji never considered the possibility that Lena would betray him or that Anuo would be detrimental to him.

He is the Emperor of Ashes, not some undead king made of bones.

What is the origin of that saying?

Anyone can betray you.

Aside from the anime/manga characters you play.

"Alright, I trust Lena. Whatever she does, she has her reasons. Instead of discussing this here for so long, let's go to the Demon City and ask Lena herself."

This tense meeting ultimately ended with Liao Ji's words.

Even without this "betrayal," Liao Ji's next stop would have been the Demon City.

The reason why Sciutia and Jiuyou couldn't come to the Mechanical Alliance with him before was because of Zero's hibernation. Under the pollution of Turbidity, the observation objects around the world were out of control. Any slight movement would be like a lit powder keg, threatening to destroy the world.

However, now that Zero has been re-contracted, all the servants have been integrated into the same "Cyber ​​World Tree" network, sharing the contract between themselves and 86, so all these concerns no longer exist.

In other words, he can now travel the world freely with his three "troublesome" wives.

Oh no.

It's not about having three wives; that would make him seem promiscuous.

It should refer to a lover, girlfriend, or wife.

After all, each of them is "unique" to her!

After Liao Ji spoke, everyone nodded. Going to confront Lena in person was indeed the quickest and most efficient way.

Moreover, with the three of them by Lord Ash's side now, that's the source of her confidence.

Even if Lena and Anno team up, in terms of combat power alone, Jiuyou could probably take on both of them by herself, not to mention that she would be assisting from the side and Zero would be providing fire support, Sciutia thought silently.

Even though Liao Ji said he trusted her, the little nun still put Liao Ji first and was prepared for any "battle".

"Lord Ash, do you need me to arrange for a flying vehicle to go to the Demon City immediately?" Zero asked quickly.

Liao Ji didn't rush to answer. Instead, he smiled and said, "From now on, you can just call me Liao Ji."

"Understood, Lord Grey Liao Ji."

For the three women, the change from "Master Ash" to "Liao Ji" was indeed a little difficult to adjust to, but not challenging.

In the past, they would have found it very difficult to accept, because they only had memories of "Lord Ash".

But now, they also have many experiences with "Liao Ji".

"We don't need the aircraft anymore. After all, with Lena's calculations, she must have anticipated this. So let's continue with the plan Lena arranged for us and head to the Demon City."

"The Demon City is Lena's territory. As guests, we are kindly treated by Lena, so we should accept it properly."

The three women could only understand half of Liao Ji's words. What exactly did Lena's hospitality mean? Did Lena arrange the way to the Demon City for them?

At this moment, Irene, who had been listening in the room the whole time and whose presence seemed very low compared to the three women, suddenly seemed to understand something.

The girl's eyes lit up at first, but then she spoke to Liao Ji with uncertainty and doubt, "Doctor, you don't mean..."

"That's right, it's him."

When Liao Ji returned to the floor rented by the Quess Group, he found that in addition to Luo Xiaoji, many scholars from Shanghai had also gathered there.

These young people are now having a lively and animated discussion with Professor Einstein, who is leading a group of scholars.