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

"What?! Absorbing the turbidity? A calamity-transformed being?! You're insane! You're committing suicide!"

There's a reason why the female scavenger called Jason crazy.

after all

The Cursed One.

In the old days, this word represented hope for people in the wasteland, but in the new era, it has become a source of nightmares that fills people in major cities and countries with fear and dread.

Ultimately, it all boils down to one reason.

Since the great emperor disappeared five hundred years ago, no one has been able to control the power of "turbidity" as perfectly as the great emperor did back then.

The Calamity-Transformed Ones are the product of the fusion of humans and Calamity. While they bring great power and superpowers, they also corrupt the mind and spirit. If they are not careful, they will go berserk and lose control, turning into Calamity monsters.

The higher the level of the Evil One, the easier it is for them to lose themselves and the greater the destructive power they cause. In severe cases, under the influence of their rampage, they can even cause the terrifying "natural disasters" of the old wasteland to reappear.

In the post-wasteland era, the nations, independent cities, and alliances finally reached a consensus: they could no longer cultivate extremely stable Evil Ones, so much so that they would have no side effects, like the "Emperor of Ash."

On the contrary, the frequent loss of control by those affected by the Calamity, coupled with the fact that the remaining "Cursed Calamity" had been significantly reduced after the "Abyss of Turbid Calamity" was purified, further increased the risk for those affected by the Calamity who wanted to advance.

All these factors combined ultimately led to "Cursed Ones" being placed on "wanted" lists by various countries, requiring immediate arrest and control upon discovery.

The "tainted items" mentioned earlier are also classified as serious "contraband".

But now, Jason actually says he wants to absorb the Calamity and become a Calamity Transformer.

No.

He's not crazy.

Irene finally fixed her gaze on the reddish-brown stone coffin.

If this really is the "legacy" of that legendary emperor, then perhaps it really is possible.

Damn!

The female scavenger quietly put one hand behind her back and raised the other.

Irene made a last-ditch effort: "I promise you, I won't tell anyone about what happened here! I don't want the remaining payment either, please let me leave."

Unfortunately, her response was Jason's index finger pulling the trigger.

And his sarcastic tone, full of disdain.

"The dead will never speak."

Bang!

This was not a gunshot.

Before Jason could pull the trigger, another abrupt sound rang out in the secret room, beating him to it.

At that moment, everyone present instinctively looked in one direction, where the real source of the muffled sound was.

That is

The deepest part of the secret chamber contains a reddish-brown stone coffin!

Thud! Thud!

The sound of impact kept coming from inside the stone coffin, as if something inside was about to come out.

The brownish-red patterns on the coffin wall flickered wildly as the coffin lid trembled, spreading red light as if to dye the entire secret chamber blood-red.

As everyone was enveloped by these brownish-red ripples, they involuntarily clutched their heads in pain, their faces contorted and their expressions ferocious.

Because it was right next to their ears.

Cries, screams, shouts, and laughter

The chaotic sounds merged into a murmur of madness. Even though they tried their best to cover their ears, these maddening and insane sounds continued to echo in their minds and ravage their spirits.

The pointer of the "turbidity" detector in Jason's hands swung wildly along with everyone else, and cracks appeared on the glass wall of the monitor. This meant that the concentration of "turbidity" in this place had gone from "off the charts" at the beginning to the point that the instrument had completely failed.

Fortunately.

The next second.

Bang!

Clang!

This was a muffled thud that was even louder than before.

After that sound, everything came to a stop.

Whether it was the chaotic sounds in everyone's minds, the erratic pointers on the detector's dashboard, or the shimmering brownish-red patterns on the stone coffin that stained the entire chamber red, it was all a matter of sound.

Jason was like someone who had just been rescued from drowning. Everything that had happened before may have only lasted a few seconds, but for him, it felt like an entire century of agony.

He was absolutely certain that it was the dreaded contamination that everyone feared—the turbid pollution.

And it is the source of the strong "turbidity".

At this moment, the patterns on the stone coffin had faded and no longer emitted a brownish-red light. Even the sense of mystery and vicissitude that they had initially felt had disappeared, and it seemed to have become just an ordinary coffin.

Of course, these are not the point.

The focus is

And there's something else that's most important, which is also gone.

The lid of the stone coffin.

Hold your breath.

Everyone's forehead was covered in cold sweat, their backs were chilled, and a sense of dread quickly crept into their hearts.

Amidst the stunned, bewildered, shocked, and terrified gazes of Jason, the female scavenger, and all the gang members.

From the shadows of the deep stone coffin, the silhouette of a young man slowly emerged.

The black-haired youth who rose from the stone coffin seemed to be confused for a moment, but after looking around, especially at the layout of the secret room, he seemed to suddenly realize something.

The young man suddenly became inexplicably angry.

And then came a string of strange words that they didn’t understand at all.

"Boiled!"

"This is the second playthrough?!"

Chapter 3 A Wonderful Start

Liao Ji considered many possibilities for a "second playthrough".

But I never imagined it would create a real-life version of the Falling Online game for me.

And what's more, he was born in a coffin?

Even after kicking himself several times and finally "lifting himself from the coffin," he had to face a group of people who were obviously there to rob his "grave," staring at each other in disbelief.

Is there anything more outrageous than this time travel story?!

There's more.

It was after a moment of deathly silence.

These shameless tomb raiders, surprisingly, began to turn the tables, pointing their guns at themselves as they emerged from the stone coffin, their faces filled with terror.

Liao Ji was not born in the United States.

Therefore, he did not have much gunfight experience, and he only felt his hair stand on end and his heart seemed to slow down.

At this moment, Liao Jicai truly understood the words in the "friendly reminder" from the system when he started his second playthrough.

Unable to save, unable to restart.

Damn it!

Oh, so that's what it meant!

fortunately.

"Put them down, all of you put them down!" Jason was even more anxious than Liao Ji himself when he saw his men pointing their guns at Liao Ji. He glared and started shouting.

He was indeed quite frightened by the initial commotion surrounding the "inheritance".

However, as everything returned to normal, as if nothing had ever happened, and Liao Ji did nothing else except get out of the stone coffin, Jason became bolder again.

Seeing that the scarred man, who appeared to be their leader, had given them a stern talking-to, the tomb raiders finally lowered their guns.

This relieved Liao Ji.

At least the other party was a civilized tomb raider.

Who knew what would happen?

"If you damage the 'inheritance,' even a thousand of you couldn't afford to pay for it! No shooting allowed! Anyone who dares to fire a shot will be the first to be shot!" The scarred man warned his henchmen in the most ruthless tone.

Liao Ji: "."

It's clear that he really wants to "protect" himself.

However, Jason seemed to have forgotten that there was another person present who would not obey his orders.

While Jason was focused on his underlings, Irene pursed her lips, as if she had made up her mind, and suddenly began to move.

From Liao Ji's perspective, he saw a petite figure rush out of the opposing team at an extremely fast speed, and within a few breaths, she was behind him.

Wearing a tattered trench coat, an old hood, and pockets all over his body, he must be a scavenger.

Before Liao Ji could analyze further...

Followed by.

He experienced firsthand what it felt like to be hugged from behind by a member of the opposite sex for the first time in his life.

The visuals are acceptable.

Of course, Liao Ji thought it would have been even better if the scavenger behind him hadn't pulled out a gleaming, sharp dagger and waved it in front of him from behind.

"Don't move! Throw away your weapons and then kick them over here!" Irene threatened Jason and the others, using Liao Ji as leverage.