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

Doesn't matter?

It's so nice. This feeling of peace of mind.

Irene nodded and was about to follow Liao Ji closely when, before she could even take another step, she felt dizzy and lightheaded, her vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Fortunately, Liao Ji reacted quickly and grabbed the girl.

Liao Ji breathed a sigh of relief after a quick check.

Nothing serious. She had just broken through to the "dangerous level" and had gone through a fierce battle. She was on edge the whole time, and when she relaxed a little, her exhausted body backfired, causing her to fall into a deep sleep.

Looking back, it's really terrifying. From the time the girl started "digging up the grave" to when she started, so many things happened in just half a day. No wonder Irene couldn't hold back anymore. So, could this be considered a kind of karmic retribution or curse for grave robbing?

Liao Ji shook his head.

Fine.

I told you to win without lifting a finger, and you actually did.

but

It's not necessarily a bad thing.

Fortunately, there are some things that would be more troublesome to bring along with Irene, so it would be better to act alone. After he discovered that there was a "church" behind the scenes, the nature of this matter changed for Liao Ji. It was no longer as simple as "saving people".

"The church?"

Muttering to himself, Liao Ji carried the unconscious Yilin toward the factory exit, but he stopped halfway there because he had almost forgotten.

"Waaaaah! Waaaaah!"

In a hidden corner, a gangster, bound hand and foot, stared in terror at the young man approaching him.

This is none other than Artur, the seasoned gangster who brought Liao Ji and the girl into the factory at the very beginning to "mooch soup".

"Um, what's your name, Atu? Sorry, I forgot. But thanks a lot for leading the way and telling me there were 'relics' inside. As a reward, I've taken over the entire factory for you. How about that? Pretty generous, right? Now you finally don't have to make money against your conscience anymore!"

"Waaaaaah!" Artur, with a rag stuffed in his mouth, shook his head frantically, sobbing uncontrollably.

It's clear that he doesn't really like this reward.

Liao Ji sighed with deep regret.

"Hey, don't be so nervous. Everyone here is dead now. You're the only one who can prove that I did a good deed. I'm not the kind of person who likes to do good deeds anonymously, so I'll have to rely on you to help me gain credit in the Knights later!"

"By the way."

"Could I borrow your phone to make a call?"

Chapter 42 I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush.

thud

咚咚

Boom boom boom!

"Damn it, knocking on the door so late at night! Can't a person get any sleep?! Who is it?!"

Still half asleep, Brian got out of bed and grumbled as he went to the door. He looked through the peephole and was instantly jolted awake as if he had been doused with ice water. All his sleepiness vanished.

He hurriedly opened the door, and behind it stood Liao Ji, holding the girl.

"Come in quickly!"

"What happened to Irene Irene?!"

Brian stared anxiously at the unconscious Irene, and cried out in a panic. Fortunately, Liao Ji immediately handed the girl over to him and explained that Irene had just fallen asleep.

Brian didn't believe it at first, because he recognized it at a glance: Irene was still wearing the Kaleva uniform, which was covered with signs of fighting and even had three glaring gun holes!

But upon closer examination, he discovered that the girl indeed had no wounds and was breathing steadily. If he had to pinpoint a problem, she just looked exhausted. This confirmed Liao Ji's words: Yilin had simply fallen asleep.

Brian breathed a sigh of relief, but his tension didn't lessen at all.

"What on earth happened? Shouldn't you be picking up Nolan and leaving the Black Hole?!"

Liao Ji didn't answer, but pointed at Irene, indicating that Brian should put the girl in the house first and settle her in before coming back to talk.

He moved to the empty second bedroom, took off Irene's coat, carefully covered the sleeping girl with the blanket, and then quietly closed the door and left.

Liao Ji: "After we parted ways at the bar, we went to Dane's Clinic, but we couldn't find Aunt Nolan."

"What?! Impossible! I clearly sent someone to check on Nolan yesterday!"

"Well, later I arrested the director there and found out after interrogating him that they took advantage of the fact that when Irene and the Kaleva people went down into the ruins cave at noon today, they thought Irene wouldn't be coming back, so they sold her to the Cleaners."

Brian stood there, stunned by the sheer volume of information, unable to process it all at once.

"Irene Kaleva. The Ruins Cave?"

"Yes, he accepted the high-paying exploration commission from the gang in order to raise money for his mother's surgery, but now it seems to be a scam. Kaleva never intended for Irene to come back alive."

After hearing Liao Ji's words, Brian's forehead veins throbbed, and he was so angry that his blood rushed to his brain.

"Idiot! Fool! This damn girl! Has her brain been kicked by a donkey?! How stupid can she be to do something like this?!"

Liao Ji seemed to understand who Yilin had learned her speaking style from.

After his outburst, Brian quickly steered the conversation back to the main point, pressing, "Where's Nolan? Where did that cleaner take Nolan? Could it be...?!"

“Yes, Kaleva.”

The nod from the young man opposite him confirmed the worst-case scenario he had imagined. Like a bolt from the blue, Brian felt his head buzz and the world spin.

Kaleva

it's over

If it were any other faction, he might have had a sliver of hope in rescuing Nolan, but if it were Kaleva...

Brian clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.

The next moment, the bearded man turned around, pulled a submachine gun from under the sofa, strapped five grenades to his waist, and was about to rush out the door with red eyes.

"Forget it, Uncle, it's too late." Liao Ji shook his head.

"Late? I fucking know that! But even if I can't save Nolan, I'll make these bastards and scum pay the price!!"

In a fit of rage, Brian carried a large can of gasoline out of the room, presumably to put it in his car and make something like a car bomb.

Upon seeing this, Liao Ji's eyelids twitched.

"Don't get agitated, calm down, don't rush, let me finish what I have to say."

"Calm down? How the hell can I calm down?! You don't understand, you absolutely don't understand!! Nolan is the only woman I've ever loved in my life, I'd give my life for her! I've already lost her once, I don't want to go through it again! Don't fucking talk to me about reason, I've lost my reason! I'm going to go and take those guys down with me! I'll make them pay for Nolan's life!!!"

"That's why I said it's too late for you, because the person you wanted to take down with you, the leader of the Kaleva tribe named something like Fam, has already been killed by Irene."

Liao Ji's words finally pulled Brian back from his madness.

He stared wide-eyed at the young man, wondering if he had misheard, and asked incredulously:

"What, what did you just say? The King of Falm Black Hole, the Supreme Leader of Kaleva, is dead?"

"Yes, and his doctor subordinate, as well as the entire Turbid Factory that was conducting experiments by kidnapping living people, were all taken down by Irene."

"Are you...you're not crazy?"

Now, Brian is the opposite, starting to suspect that Liao Ji is mentally unstable.

Even when he was so irrational as to seek revenge on Kaleva, the target he wanted to "trade one for one" was at most a mid-level leader. As for Farm? Brian wouldn't even dare to dream of that.

"If you don't believe me and insist on going to see, that's fine with me, but I suggest you stay home. Firstly, I think given Irene's condition, it would be better if someone stayed with her. Secondly..."

Liao Ji glanced at the wall clock as he spoke.

"Hmm, it's about time. The area should be sealed off by the Knights right now, right? You can't get in even if you want to."

Brian opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Reason told him that this was impossible, that Liao Ji was joking, but his deepest intuition told Brian that the young man opposite him was not joking at all.

However, Brian quickly realized that if the young man was telling the truth, then...

"Where's Nolan? Didn't you find Nolan?! Or did you say she's already... already..."

“Auntie is still alive, but the trouble is about to begin. Because she survived the experiment, Kaleva sent her back to the church.”

"church?"

"Yes, Kaleva is actually being secretly supported by the Church, acting as a puppet for that priest to study the relics of the emperor that they dug out from the ruins."

Liao Ji's few casual words stirred up a storm in Brian's heart. After all, any one of those words could probably shock and upheaval the entire Black Hole.

At this moment, Brian deeply felt the sorrow of being an insignificant person. What had they done wrong? They just wanted to live, but even so, they were still swept away by the vortex of those above, and he was powerless to stop it.

If Brian still harbored the resolve to exact a grand revenge against Kaleva, things changed when the target became the church.

Do not!

There is still hope! There is!

Brian looked pleadingly at Liao Ji, but his eyes dimmed again when he thought that even Liao Ji had just described the church as "troublesome."

Is there really no other way?

Yes, that's the Church. Who in the Holy Kingdom can defy the Church?

"Uncle, you may have misunderstood me. The trouble I was referring to is because I have an acquaintance in the church."

"acquaintance?"

"Yes, she's someone I know very well. It's precisely because of her that I'm hesitant now, unsure of how to handle the church. Sigh."

Liao Ji seemed to be explaining to Brian, but it was more like he was talking to himself in frustration.

"Forget it, let's take one step at a time."

"We've dragged this out long enough. The Knights' investigation results should be out by now. Uncle, can I borrow your phone? I need to make another call."

Delaying the process? Investigation results? Telephone call?

Brian was completely lost and confused by Liao Ji's train of thought, but that didn't stop him from rushing to the room and handing the phone to Liao Ji.