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

revenge!

However, the Source Essence itself is not a weapon or equipment; it is merely an upgrade item. Therefore, its method of revenge can only be achieved through one means.

The Cursed One.

This [Calamity Source Essence] has sensed that there is someone nearby who has a master's "contract".

Only those who possess the Emperor's "contract" are qualified, worthy, and allowed to use them.

Liao Ji sighed.

This is perhaps the difference between games and reality. In games, he can stay calm and analyze the benefits from a god-like perspective, maximizing the profit with every step and not wasting a single resource.

But at the moment.

Holding the "Crimson Star," Liao Ji turned around under everyone's gaze.

When he saw the girl who was still following behind him, who had not retreated because of the pollution caused by the turbidity of the source material, and who was a stubborn girl who had not been "left behind" by him, Liao Ji shook his head.

He now seemed to understand why the Luck stat was set to E on Irene's panel back then.

So, should we say she was lucky or unlucky?

But no matter what.

Since Irene has persisted to this point and even followed me, I should give her this opportunity. It is something a young girl deserves, something she fought for.

So

Liao Ji stared into the girl's eyes and asked softly, word by word:

“Eileen.”

Do you crave power?

Chapter 39: Great Destruction (Part 1)

power

What is power?

As the young woman spoke, images of Irene's life over the past ten years flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.

Six years ago, when her father went berserk and lost control, becoming a "turbid corpse" monster and being killed by the church, she was too young to understand what power was; she only knew that it was the demon that had caused her to lose her father.

When her mother was excommunicated and the family's wealth was plundered, she began to understand her father's actions during the impoverished days when she and her mother depended on each other. She realized the importance of "power".

As the hidden danger from six years ago came to light, her mother, whose body was filled with turbidity and pollution, suddenly fell seriously ill. Faced with exorbitant medical expenses, she was overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness and realized her own weakness.

In the ruins cave, when the Kaleva gang wanted to kill her to silence her, and the dark gun barrel was pointed at her, she craved power. When the kobold monsters swarmed into the lair and the blood-stained shovels were viciously swung at her, she craved power again.

That's why she begged the young man, and he responded, giving her power in exchange for her freedom.

It was through her power that she transformed from prey into hunter, annihilating the kobold monsters in the cave. It was because of her power that she was able to stand up for Kaleva when he attempted to extort and seize the Sand Bar, protecting what she cherished.

However, now the mother is caught in an even bigger vortex, and she has become the weaker party again. Her strength is insufficient. If she had never seen the light, she could indeed endure the darkness, but that guy has already opened that door for her.

Irene admits it's addictive, but

"I want!"

With a firm and unwavering tone, the fleeting image of the lantern was merely a momentary thought in the girl's mind. In reality, Yilin answered almost immediately, as soon as Liao Ji finished speaking.

Liao Ji felt both helpless and somewhat reluctant about this.

If this [Calamity Source Essence] is not damaged, he will definitely leave it to the four-star Calamity Transformer. After all, one is going from four to five, and the other is going from three to four. The latter is losing out big time.

If this were a game, Liao Ji could withstand a 60% chance of failure, since there's always the save/load (SL) method.

Unfortunately, this is a wonderful second playthrough; there are no "what ifs."

“You need to think this through, Irene. If you really take this, I won’t let you go so easily. Our contract period will be extended indefinitely, and your hopes for a happy and stable life as an ordinary person will probably be dashed.”

Liao Ji was not joking when he said that.

He could accept firing a three-star character, but if it was a four-star character who still took a [Calamity Essence] from him, even if it was just a damaged one, even though Liao Ji swore before starting the second playthrough that he would no longer be a power-obsessed player, he would still feel this sense of injustice. He would have to thoroughly drain the girl until she was completely drained of her last drop of energy later on.

That's why Liao Ji confirmed with Yilin a second time. He was afraid that the girl was just acting impulsively and wanted to describe to Yilin the miserable life of a working-class person under his command in the future.

However, Liao Ji underestimated Yilin's awareness.

The girl was clearly indifferent to this.

Moreover, Irene wondered if it was just her imagination, but once the Crimson Star was in Liao Ji's hands, it not only completely lost its initial terror for her, but even...

Irene felt that the "Crimson Star" also longed for her, and that it shared the same emotions as her—anger and desire for revenge against Kaleva!

they

They'll definitely get along well!

Irene was absolutely certain of this.

So

"Give me!"

The word "young girl" is just two words, and in a special context, it's a word that almost no man can refuse.

Liao Ji didn't know if the current situation could be considered a special circumstance.

But when he understood the meaning conveyed in Irene's eyes—a message like, "Don't even mention the contract period, I'll work my whole life for you!"—Liao Ji nodded.

"As you wish."

Many people don't like raising simulation games. They don't understand what's so good about raising someone else. If Liao Ji were to answer, it would probably be the feeling of being depended on. Having been alone since birth, he quite enjoys this feeling, as it fills the void in his heart.

Some people like to be invincible and sweep away all enemies, while others prefer to be a lord, conquering the land and developing their territory. Liao Ji is clearly the latter.

Moreover, he is rather vulgar; he only likes to fertilize the bodies of beautiful young girls.

Just like before, Liao Ji wanted to use physical means to insert the Calamity Source Essence into the girl's body through her chest, but this time he encountered a slight obstacle.

[Ding, cannot be used, current level of the Evil One is insufficient]

Looking at the pop-up notification box, Liao Ji almost forgot that the prerequisite for star-level upgrade is to reach the maximum level in the current star-level tier.

The level cap for a three-star character is 30. Feeding the girl with the last three [Turbid Crystal (Small)] pieces would be more than enough. Unfortunately, the extra experience points would be wasted. This is the disadvantage of low-star characters: they consume fewer resources, but that's their limit.

"Well, Cheng has really squeezed me dry this time."

After muttering a complaint under his breath, Liao Ji flipped his left hand, and three dark red crystals floated on top of it.

Before Irene could react, she felt a fire burning in her lower abdomen, which stirred restlessly after the appearance of these dark red crystals, as if she had seen a delicious feast, causing her to gulp.

But when it comes to the other people present, these Kaleva gangsters are a completely different story.

Unlike the young girls who were already accustomed to Liao Ji's [Turbid Crystal], and had even "eaten" one, they were not like the girls.

The fear that had just subsided on the gangsters' faces immediately reappeared. They showed deep fear towards the dark red crystals in Liao Ji's hands, just like their former leader "Grey Wolf," because everyone could feel the turbidity emanating from these dark red crystals.

Pure turbidity.

A turbid calamity concentrated to its extreme!

“What, what is that! Dr. Loka! I’m asking you a question! Answer me! What is that thing?!” Farm took a few steps back and roared in the gray-coated man’s ear.

As the leader of Kaleva and a researcher of the power of "Relics," Falm was naturally a Calamity-Binder. It was precisely because of this that he was able to better perceive the incredible power of the dark red crystal in the young man's hands.

Dr. Loka, who was already kneeling on the ground, completely ignored Falm's roar beside him.

Wearing a gray overcoat, he stood up shakily. Roca began to breathe heavily, as if he had seen a naked beauty. The Turbid Crystal in Liao Ji's hand held his gaze firmly.

"There's no mistake. There's no mistake! That's...that's crystallization, it's crystallized turbidity! Ahhhhhh!"

Loca frantically tore at his hair, constantly grabbing his scalp, like a scientist who had spent his whole life researching without making a breakthrough, only to have someone suddenly place the formula for the truth of the universe right in front of him.

Yes, that's the truth.

In Dr. Loca's mind, the crystallized turbidity is the truth he seeks.

"It's so beautiful. This is it, there's no mistake, the most beautiful thing in the world."

"I actually saw it! In my lifetime, I can't believe I've actually seen three such perfect creations of calamity! Hahahaha!!"

"How dreamlike, how wonderful!! I know, I must be in heaven, in heaven ahhhhhh hahaha!!"

If Liao Ji's possession of the "Crimson Star" had only caused Dr. Loka's worldview to collapse, then...

Now.

When Liao Ji took out three [Turbid Calamity Crystals (Small)] at once, the man in the gray coat clearly went completely insane and lost his mind.

This is perhaps what scientists are all about.

After all, if we're to draw a comparison, isn't science itself a kind of calamity?

the other side.

Even though Dr. Loca has gone mad.

But at least, from his words, Falm learned that what Liao Ji was holding was actually crystallized turbid calamity!

In contrast, Farm pulled out the "precious" reagent he had carefully hidden in his pocket. It was the most successful and highest concentration of the [Turbidity Reagent] that they had developed in decades.

Falm had been holding back from using this reagent, and even now, he would take it out every day to admire the beautiful brownish-red liquid inside and wipe the surface of the reagent bottle.

But now, when Falm took it out and then compared it to the dark red crystal in the youth's hand...

Although he wasn't a scientist, anyone could see that.

Rubbish!

Utter garbage!!

The amount of turbidity stored between the two was not even in the same league. This made Falm both afraid and, at the same time, feel as if a cat's claws were scratching at his heart, giving rise to greed and desire. With the appearance of the three dark red crystals, he even temporarily ignored the "Emperor's Relics" that Liao Ji was still holding in his hand.

after all

In Falm's mind, the "relics" were like a pie in the sky, something he could see but couldn't touch, with a future prospect that outweighed their practical use. But those dark red crystals were real, and even he knew how to use them!

If he could get his hands on those dark red crystals...

If he absorbs the rich turbidity within, his strength as a "Calamity Transformer" will advance by leaps and bounds, and it is even possible that he could reach the legendary "Dangerous Level" in one fell swoop!