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

It was aimed at itself.

Chapter 7 History

"Who are you? What have you done to me? And what else?!"

"How do you know my name!" Irene demanded sharply at the mysterious young man opposite her.

From the moment they fell into this secret room, events began to unfold in a direction completely beyond her comprehension. If Irene had another chance, she would never have accepted the guide's commission for the gang's generous reward.

"Don't be nervous, we are not the enemy. At least put down your weapons first."

On the other hand, Liao Ji did want to talk to the female scavenger. He was eager to capture a native and learn about the current "world," but he also didn't want to be forced to talk to someone with a sword pointed at him.

He tried to de-escalate the tense atmosphere peacefully, but unfortunately, he failed.

Instead of putting down her sword, Irene gripped it even tighter, and one could see the deep fear in the female scavenger's eyes.

Left with no other option, Liao Ji had to resort to some uncivilized methods in order to communicate more effectively later.

From the very beginning, he didn't expect a scavenger to keep his promise.

After all, can someone who keeps their promises still be called a scavenger?

Liao Ji's true confidence stems from his own abilities.

In the game, players can control anything associated with any of the Evil Ones who have signed a "contract" with the protagonist. To put it simply, once you're on my ship, you're mine, and there's no chance of you running away.

In the real-world version.

After Liao Ji tried to focus his mind on the female scavenger, several faint threads appeared in his vision, linking him to Irene.

As soon as Liao Ji uttered the thought of "putting down the sword," immediately, amidst the exclamation of the female scavenger opposite, Irene felt her body suddenly become uncontrollable, and strangely, she lowered the sword that was pointed at the young man.

That wasn't the end of it. Immediately afterwards, Irene could only watch helplessly as the black-haired youth walked towards her. Then, as if he had somehow come to regard this secret room as his own home, he found some thick, rough, and sturdy hemp rope and tied her up in circles.

Throughout the entire process, Irene could do nothing but stare blankly with her eyes brimming with tears. She couldn't even utter a sound. She could only watch helplessly as her body was manipulated at will, like a puppet on a string.

“I said, Miss Irene.”

"Your expression is easy for others to misunderstand. They might think I really did something to you."

Looking at the female scavenger, whose face was filled with shame and humiliation, and whose eyes were streaked with tears, he saw her bound hand and foot and unable to move.

Liao Ji clapped his hands in triumph, then released the restraints on Yilin and returned control to her.

Instantly.

The secret room was filled with the sounds of birds singing and the fragrance of flowers.

"You bastard—!! I knew you were a bastard! Quickly—let me go!"

"I'm so frustrated—wailing and screaming!!"

To protect his own ears, Liao Ji chose to mute the female scavenger first.

“Miss Irene, listen carefully. First of all, I won’t even mention that you initially treated me as a hostage to save your own life.”

"After you played with fire and summoned an uncontrollable kobold monster, you took the initiative to ask me for help, expressing your willingness to pay any price to resolve the previous crisis. And I met your needs. So, according to the agreement, no matter what happens to you, you have no reason to blame me. Please don't turn your back on me after you've already done your job."

"Secondly, I know you have many questions, and so do I. Out of humanitarianism and respect for you, we will take turns asking questions, and I will start."

"Finally, when the other person asks a question, everyone should keep quiet, listen patiently and quietly, and then answer carefully without saying anything irrelevant."

Liao Ji emphasized the words "shut your mouth tightly".

"so."

Nodding means acceptance, shaking your head means rejection.

"By the way, if you shake your head, I'll just leave you here." Liao Ji stared into Yilin's eyes, not joking at all.

In the end, although the annoyance was still evident in the female scavenger's eyes, she nodded.

"Very good, Miss Irene. You have taken the first step towards our harmonious coexistence in the future." Liao Ji nodded in satisfaction and then released the restraints on the female scavenger.

And Irene

Humanitarianism!

Is there any other option left for her?

Of course, all of these words were shouted from the bottom of Irene's heart.

She had already learned her lesson once, and had also accepted the other party's suggestion to "take turns asking questions," so in reality, this time, Yilin obediently kept her mouth shut, just as Liao Ji had said.

Although she couldn't use her mouth, it didn't stop Yilin from giving Liao Ji a protesting look, but the young man simply ignored it.

After all, from a game perspective, it's like having a low affinity with a newly acquired character, which is quite normal.

"Alright, according to the rules, I'll ask first. So, Miss Irene, could you please explain to me what you mean by the 'inheritance' you've been mentioning?"

After Liao Ji finished speaking, he gestured to the female scavenger, indicating that she could speak now.

but

"Huh? What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Liao Ji asked, seeing the other person staring at him with a puzzled and strange expression.

Seeing that the young man didn't seem to be joking, Irene said in an incredulous tone, "You don't even know 'Emperor of Ash'?!"

"Well, just to be on the safe side, let me confirm with you first. Is the 'Emperor of Ashes' you're referring to the handsome, dashing, self-made man who, through his exceptional intelligence and leadership, successfully unified the wasteland and ultimately purified the 'Turbidity' pollution, ending the wasteland—that greatest, most, most, most savior emperor?"

"Is there another 'Emperor of Ashes' in this world?" Irene retorted, completely baffled by the smug look on the young man's face.

"Since you already know about Emperor Ash, why ask what 'legacy' means? It refers to everything Emperor Ash left behind after his death! Like this secret chamber, this sarcophagus, and everything inside the sarcophagus."

As she was talking, Irene suddenly stopped.

Because Liao Ji had acted too normally before. By normal, I mean that he didn't seem like one of those indescribable weird beings. Instead, he seemed more like the kind of person she disliked: a gentle and refined air, a small mouth that could talk non-stop, and a better speaker than anyone else when it came to reasoning.

So much so that she almost forgot that this black-haired youth came out of this "stone coffin," or rather...

It is highly likely that the youth are the "legacy" itself.

Liao Ji didn't notice Yilin's pause. His brows were furrowed, his attention completely drawn to the previous sentence, and he quickly pressed on, asking:

"The Ash Emperor... is dead? When did this happen? And how did he die? As far as I know, with the Ash Emperor's power, there shouldn't be anyone in this world who could threaten his life, right?"

As far as I know?

Irene felt increasingly that the young man was talking strangely.

However, considering the other party's mysterious background, Irene slightly toned down her attitude and answered honestly:

"Actually, the idea that the Great Emperor died is just a popular belief. The more official version, which I remember from history books, is that the Great Emperor disappeared?"

"disappear?"

"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics of history, but it was roughly five hundred years ago, after the decisive battle concerning the source of the 'Turbid Calamity,' the victorious emperor vanished that very night. Even the five most powerful personal guards trained by the emperor couldn't sense his whereabouts at all. The Ash Empire in history mobilized the entire nation to search for any clues, but ultimately found nothing and could only declare the emperor's disappearance."

"However, because the whole incident was so strange and bizarre, many people did not believe the statement jointly issued by the five guards. They believed that the Emperor had not disappeared, but speculated that he had died from severe injuries sustained in battle. Some even speculated that the Emperor had been infected with the Turbid Calamity and chose to commit suicide to prevent himself from going berserk. Others said..."

"and many more!"

Liao Ji had no interest in hearing any more speculation about his "disappearance," since he had already guessed the real reason for his "disappearance."

That is the point where you enter the "second playthrough".

only

He didn't just transmigrate directly, but instead arrived in a wasteland world five hundred years in the future? The non-wasteland era was ended by his first playthrough, so this is...

The post-wasteland era, five hundred years from now?

A brand new era?

Actually, all of these are secondary. What Liao Ji is most anxious about and concerned about is...

"Are they still alive?!"

"Them?" Irene didn't understand.

"They are the five personal guards of the Emperor that you just mentioned!"

This was the first time Irene had ever seen the young man so anxious and out of control.

But this also made her even more confused.

"Come on, isn't that common sense? If they were gone, where would the five major powers that are now dividing up the continent come from?"

This time, Liao Ji didn't need to ask again. Irene explained as if she had expected it: "After the Ash Emperor died and disappeared, the five personal guards under the emperor split off from the empire with their respective subordinates. They then established their own forces in different locations on the continent, eventually forming the two countries, two alliances and one city we know today."

"The two countries refer to the Northern Holy Kingdom and the Eastern Dragon Kingdom, the two alliances are the Southern Mechanical Alliance and the Western Forest Alliance, and finally, the Magic City, located in the center of the continent and the largest neutral city in the world."

Irene had originally intended to explain which of the emperor's personal guards these countries, alliances, and cities corresponded to, but judging from the young man's expression, it seemed that he didn't need her to say anything more just by hearing the names of the factions.

反倒是

"That's impossible. Why would they separate?" Liao Ji muttered to himself.

Judging from the history described by Irene, after he "disappeared," the six-star "Calamity-level" wives that she had painstakingly raised and nurtured actively split the Ash Empire that they had built together. This doesn't make sense.

"So, stop interrupting other people!" Irene said, her voice tinged with reproach.

She continued to add to what she had said, but she hadn't finished because Liao Ji had interrupted her at the top.

"Didn't I mention before that there are many speculations among the people about the disappearance of the Great Emperor? One of them, which is also the most likely one that many people today, including myself, think is..."

"In fact, the five personal guards under the Great Emperor are also the five most powerful Calamity Transformers in this world, second only to the Great Emperor. When they join forces..."

"The emperor has been murdered!"

Irene said these words carefully, word by word.

Chapter 8 I, the Ash Emperor

Liao Ji: "."

"That's impossible, isn't it? As far as I know, they were all raised by that Great Emperor, and their relationship should be even closer than that of family members. How could they possibly harm the Great Emperor?"

Despite knowing that this was not true, Liao Ji still wanted to understand why people in later generations would have such an outrageous idea.