They

Another major factor in Liao Ji choosing Irin was his appreciation for her familiarity with this region as a scavenger.

Guided by Irin, who had already become a Corrupted, the journey was much faster than when they arrived. In less than an hour, the two figures emerged from a cave entrance.

The bright, high-noon sun made Liao Ji, who had just emerged from the underground Relic Cave, squint his eyes.

Once he gradually adapted and his vision cleared, Liao Ji, having "seen the light of day" once more, gazed into the distance.

The skyscrapers, city streets, bustling crowds, and the neon-lit, prosperous commercial districts he was familiar with on Blue Star had all vanished.

Replacing them

was a land of flying sand and stones, a barren wilderness.

And

just like in the "Black Cave Plains" of the game, the most iconic features were the holes sunken into the ground, one after another.

These were all entrances to the Kobold Nest below, a dungeon Liao Ji had loved to grind in the early stages of the game, and during his exploration, he had left behind quite a few resource points, much like the secret chamber where he had first awakened.

However.

He hadn't expected that five hundred years had passed. Because the source of the Corrupt Calamity had been eliminated by his own hand, the number of monsters had plummeted. The underground areas of this Black Cave Plains had instead been renamed "Relic Cave" due to the early-game resource points he had once left behind.

Liao Ji shook his head with a sense of melancholy, realizing once again that this was not a dream, nor an illusion. He had truly transmigrated into the world of Falling that belonged to him, and it was the "second playthrough" world five hundred years later.

"Old antique, you were only talking about me before, but what about you? What are you planning to do next?"

Back on the surface, Irin had become more talkative. As the two headed toward the nearest major Black Cave Settlement, she began to strike up a conversation with Liao Ji.

"As for what's next, I plan to go find them." After some thought, Liao Ji solidified this main objective.

"Them?"

Liao Ji explained simply: "The five personal guards of the Great Emperor you mentioned."

Then, as expected, the girl beside him widened her eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"You, you, you, you!"

Irin really wanted to say that he was crazy. After all, the simple word "them" that Liao Ji spoke referred to the five women who stood at the very pinnacle of power in the world today.

Even though she knew Liao Ji had a mysterious background and origin, Irin felt it was necessary to properly educate this old antique from five hundred years ago about the current state of affairs.

The girl held up her five fingers: "Come on, old antique, listen carefully. The first person you're going to look for is the Empress of the Dragon Kingdom, the world's foremost power on the surface, possessing the vastest territory and the largest population."

"The second is the Elf Queen of the Forest Alliance, who invented magic by researching the Corrupt Calamity and is pursued by countless people."

"The third is the head of the Mechanical Alliance, the source of the world's largest weapons production and the hub of the most advanced technology."

"Then there's the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, whose believers are spread across the entire world, with countless churches under her, and who is regarded as a faith by countless suffering people."

"As for the last one, hmph, and the only one I think you have even the slightest chance of meeting, that would be the City Lord of the Demon City."

Uh.

Should he say that it was truly worthy of the wives he had raised?

Being listed like this by Irin, Liao Ji did indeed feel a bit of pressure.

At the same time, he noticed an interesting point in the girl's words.

It was very obvious that Irin was filled with awe for the first four, but when it came to the last one, she lacked all those long-winded prefixes and showed absolutely none of the previous reverence.

This made Liao Ji quite curious.

"Tell me, why do you think Rena... this City Lord of the Demon City, is easier for me to meet? To be able to rank alongside the others as one of the five major powers based solely on a neutral city, she must be quite extraordinary, right?"

"Hmph! You certainly wouldn't meet her through normal channels, but this City Lord of the Demon City is a succubus! It's said that she absorbs the essence of many men every night, and rumor has it that she loves young masters and pretty boys like you the most!"

"If you put in some effort... who knows, you might be chosen by that City Lord, and wouldn't you have met her then?"

When the girl said this, she looked as if she held the City Lord of the Demon City in utter contempt.

This made Liao Ji find it quite interesting.

To be so "well-read" on the dark web, yet unexpectedly seem so innocent?

Also

"Regarding what you said above, the scandals about the City Lord of the Demon City, is there any substantial evidence?"

Facing Liao Ji's questioning, Irin put on a standard keyboard warrior expression and said exaggeratedly: "Huh? What kind of evidence do you need? That's a succubus, a succubus!"

Rena's race was indeed a succubus.

But she was truly that kind of... very special kind. Recalling all the character events where he had raised Rena from childhood, Liao Ji remained completely unshaken by the rumors in Irin's mouth.

"Alright, since we are currently within the territory of the Holy Kingdom, let's go nearby. We'll go find the little nun first. Oh, the Church Saintess, that is."

Watching the young man's calm and relaxed demeanor, Irin sighed deeply and covered her face, feeling as though everything she had just said had been in vain.

But soon.

The girl frowned, suddenly noticing something wrong.

"Hey! Wait a minute, how do you know we are currently in the territory of the Holy Kingdom? I remember I never told you anything about our geographical location, did I?"

"That? Naturally, I deduced it."

"Deduce? You can even deduce this!?" Irin stared with wide, puzzled eyes, but unfortunately, Liao Ji beside her clearly had no intention of explaining further this time, merely offering a smile.

Seeing the young man act this way, the girl huffed and stopped asking, deciding that if he didn't want to say it, fine—she hated riddle-mongers the most!

In truth, Irin was really misjudging Liao Ji here.

He really couldn't be blamed for being cryptic.

After all.

Liao Ji couldn't exactly tell the girl that this Black Cave Plains was one of the starter zones he had pioneered in the game, and back then, the only character who had accompanied him from the start was Stia.

This land, which held memories belonging only to the two of them, would certainly be incorporated into her territory if Stia had truly established a new faction.

And judging by Irin's reaction, it proved his guess was correct.

Having confirmed this, Liao Ji felt much more at ease.

To be honest.

The most popular folk rumor that Irin had told him about in the secret chamber—that the Emperor's disappearance was caused by his five personal guards conspiring to murder him—had served as a wake-up call for Liao Ji, even though he, as the person involved, knew that wasn't the case.

Turning love into hate... it really didn't seem impossible.

Recalling how he had "benched" them and how he had fickle-mindedly "stripped their gear" to give to others, even though their affection levels for him were all above 90% by the game's ending—to the point where calling them "wife" felt too distant, as they were already at the level of family—Liao Ji still felt it was better to be safe, especially given that his own strength had been reset.

However.

There was one exception.

That's right.

Stia.

She was the only character whose affection level never dropped, no matter how much he benched her or gave her equipment to other women after reaching max affection, and she was the only character who remained at "100% affection" for him in the final ending CG.

Five hundred years could change a lot; perhaps the other four no longer acknowledged him as their Emperor, but Liao Ji believed that Stia, at least, would never change her heart, let alone do anything to harm him.

Even though this once-destitute little nun had now become the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, worshipped by countless followers, Liao Ji believed that throughout those five hundred years, Stia must have never given up on searching for him, and must have always been looking forward to his return.

The 2D character who was once deeply devoted to him had now become reality, and was there anything more wonderful than this!