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

At that time, there was zero impact inside the Sea Sand Bar.

This finally gave Liao Ji a chance to catch his breath, and at the same time made him realize that Styutia was right; the other four, at least "Zero," were indeed also concerned about him.

Should we describe it as "full of malice"?

Within the murky red mist, Liao Ji saw the familiar mecha girl. Sure enough, she had sensed him due to her ability and was following him via projection.

They transformed his virtual sculpture into a cyber giant over two meters tall, covered entirely in prosthetics, with only his head remaining intact.

Liao Ji's lips twitched violently at this.

He can accept external armored skeletons, but internal cybernetic modifications? Forget it, he doesn't want to become a cybernetic psychopath.

"You see, Lord Ash? This is Zero, this is the ungrateful and hypocritical maid. I told you long ago not to trust those cold machines, but don't worry."

The scene shifts from the red mist to a battle between Zero and Zero's summoned "Emergency Medical Squad" and Sthiuthia. It's clear that, due to the home-field advantage, the battle is almost one-sided, with the nun achieving a crushing victory.

“Shutia has already punished that unfaithful maid for you, and Zero will no longer bother you! She and her machines have been reduced to a pile of scrap metal.”

After saying all this, she even showed a picture of Zero. Styutia desperately wanted to see despair on Liao Ji's face, so that Lord Ash would no longer refuse to be happy with her.

however

"Why! Why can you still laugh! Without Zero, what do you have left? Is there anyone around you who can stop Tia!?"

The nun screamed.

Yes, why did Liao Ji suddenly smile? It's actually quite simple. It was just that the contract had sensed something, telling Liao Ji that one of his subordinates, a Calamity-Transformer, was very close to him.

And location

Right above his head!

"Tia, shall we make a bet?" Liao Ji suddenly threw down the only weapon he had, the water pipe, and asked the nun opposite him with a smile.

"bet?"

"That's right, let's bet on whether Irene will come back, and whether she'll come back with Zero?"

Styutia stared intently at the young man, trying to discern a hint of joking on Liao Ji's face, but she failed.

Eileen?

Sister Ren never imagined that, at this critical juncture, the last name to appear in Lord Ash's mouth would be Irene!

In her view, this was the kind of trash character that Lord Ash would discard immediately. She didn't even consider "Irene" when considering the possibility of Lord Ash's rebellion; she wasn't even a threat.

Results

"Hehehe, Lord Ash is really sick. Didn't you see that Zero is completely ruined and turned into scrap metal by Tia?"

"So, come back to me, Lord Ash. Tia will heal you. Tia will."

The nun hadn't finished speaking yet.

All I heard was

boom----

A deafening roar, as if the sky were collapsing, erupted from above, followed by a tremor throughout the entire underground sewer system. Countless bricks, tiles, and debris rained down from overhead. For the first time, with an incredulous look, Styutia shifted her gaze from Liao Ji to...

Above.

The ceiling of the sewer where they were located had completely collapsed, creating a huge, sunken cave that looked like it had been bombarded by tons of explosives, staring down at Styutia like an abyss.

At this moment, Liao Ji's voice rang out again.

The words echoed in the nun's ears.

The sound echoed in the sewer, which had been drilled through a large hole in the top.

"Tia, do you remember asking Irene what she did before becoming a Calamity-Binder?"

Without the nun needing to answer, Liao Ji had already given his own answer.

"Eileen is a scavenger, a profession that involves picking up trash to make a living."

"so."

Liao Ji opened Yilin's character panel and looked at the skill that was often subconsciously ignored, as if it were just a useless decoration.

That's Irene's "infrastructure" capability.

[Infrastructure Specialty: Waste Master IV - Has a "medium probability" of turning waste into treasure within the cluster]

"Her personality..."

"But she's really good at picking up trash."

The situation was increasingly out of Sthija's control, and the sense of familiarity she felt with the Ash Lord on the other side was growing stronger.

Because back then, when they faced one dead end after another, which she thought was utterly hopeless, hopeless, and hopeless, it was Lord Ash's ingenious planning and perfect command that allowed them to escape from desperate situations, turn the tide, defeat one powerful enemy after another, and win one miraculous battle after another.

However, at that time, she, at that moment, felt a sense of familiarity as a companion of Lord Ash—a feeling of peace, ease, joy, and happiness.

But this time

She stood opposite Lord Ash.

That familiar feeling quickly transformed into tension, unease, and impatience deep within Styutia's heart.

Fear and terror.

Styutia didn't care anymore; she was reckless.

Even though she had to endure the backlash from the contract, she still lunged at Liao Ji and reached out to grab the young man.

She feared Lord Ash's power, not in terms of strength. After all, what truly made Lord Ash powerful and instilled fear in countless forces in the wasteland was not his personal strength, but his command.

But obviously.

It was all too late.

Intense flames flashed from the large hole above, gunfire erupted at Sthiuthia, and several miniature missiles hurtled towards her, tracking and locking onto the nun's body.

"Anger. Protect. Master!" A mechanical, yet not cold, synthesized electronic voice rang out.

And

A roaring sword cry.

Behind the flames, a new crimson light shone brightly, and a blood-red greatsword, filled with killing intent and ferocity, descended from the sky, slashing straight at Styutia, who was trying to capture Liao Ji and take him away.

"Take your filthy hands."

"Get off him!"

Both chapters are 3,000 words each!!!

Chapter 64 In this world, no one understands Ti better than me...

Explosions and flames filled the sewers.

When Styutia, who had been forced to retreat, anxiously searched for Liao Ji's figure, she found that the young man had already been taken to a place far away from her.

On Liao Ji's left and right

It was the android maid with a gun barrel still smoking on her arm, and Irene, whom she had just sent away from Liao Ji not long ago, who had now returned wielding a giant sword!

Oh, there's actually another one, Knight Tamick, but because his art style is so different from everyone else's, he was subconsciously overlooked.

"Old fogey, she...she didn't do anything to you, did she?" The girl immediately turned her concerned gaze to Liao Ji behind her.

"No, but if you had come any later, things might have been different."

Looking at Liao Ji's pale and weak face, as if he was about to collapse, and recalling the maid's simulation calculations, Irene felt even more heartache and self-blame. The girl gripped the sword in her hand tighter.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. If only I had found your message sooner..."

Before Yilin could finish speaking, Liao Ji waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No, no, no, actually, the fact that you could understand the meaning of that business card far exceeded my expectations."

"What!? You only have this much expectation of me? Do you think I'm a fool?" The girl's feelings of self-reproach and guilt vanished instantly, replaced by angry glares.

"I can't say."

"What would you do if I didn't come?"

"What else can we do but obediently keep up with her until she's satisfied?"

Looking at Liao Ji's expression that seemed to say, "Anyway, my wife won't lose out," Yilin blushed and spat.

"You stinking bastard—aren't you ashamed!"

"What? Not being a tomboy this time?"

"Pooh!"

"Warning. An abnormal increase in the combat power of a hostile target has been detected. Please, Master and Miss Irene, refrain from any further pointless provocations."

It was the warning voice coming from the mechanical maid that interrupted the two who were about to continue bickering.

And it's clear that Styutia on the other side once again struck her classic pose, lowering her head and covering her expression with her bangs.

Whenever this posture appears, it means that the nun has lost control of the terrifying, dark, and twisted expression on her face.

"I've got something good for you."

Before Yilin could react, Liao Ji took out the two top and bottom branded marks of "Let's raise a glass!" and, as usual, gave them directly to the girl.

The branding mark entered her body, causing Irene to let out a muffled groan. For some reason, this time it was completely different from before, and the sensation was unusually intense.

indeed.

Because Liao Ji had previously fed Yi Lin "dog food" and "upgrade materials," which became Yi Lin's possessions after being sent in.

But this time the [brand] is different; it's equipment. Even if Liao Ji gives it to Irene, he can take it off at any time. For the girl, it's a real "foreign object."

The brand penetrated into the girl's body, and the contract behind Irene's neck flashed with red light. All powerful tainted items are a double-edged sword; while they can bring unparalleled power, the price of corruption that must be borne is also more severe.

This is why Father Groon spent decades trying to find a single person who could successfully equip themselves with the branding.

However, all of Irene's supposed mad ramblings and chaotic whispers under the influence of the Turbid Calamity were instantly suppressed by the radiant light of the "contract" and vanished without a trace.

Instead, a "tall wine glass"-shaped tattoo appeared on the skin of the girl's upper and lower back.