History

"Who exactly are you? And what did you do to me? And—"

"Why do you know my name?!" Irin shouted at the mysterious young man across from her.

Ever since they'd fallen into this secret chamber, one strange thing after another had unfolded in ways far beyond her understanding. If Irin could choose again, she'd sooner die than accept this job guiding someone around, no matter how generous the gang's offer had been.

"Don't panic. We're not enemies. At least put your weapon down first."

Liao Ji also wanted to talk to the female scavenger. He desperately needed to find a local and learn about this "world," but he didn't want to have a conversation with someone pointing a sword at him.

He tried to defuse the tension peacefully, but unfortunately, he failed.

Irin not only kept her sword raised but gripped it even tighter. The deep wariness in her eyes was unmistakable.

Left with no choice, Liao Ji had to resort to less civilized methods if he wanted to communicate more effectively later.

He'd never expected a scavenger to keep her word without a fight.

After all, if someone kept their promises, could they really be called a scavenger?

Liao Ji's real confidence came from his ability.

In the game, players could control every Corrupted who signed a "Contract" with the protagonist. To put it simply, once you were on his ship, you belonged to him. There was no chance of getting away.

In the real world—

When Liao Ji focused his thoughts on the female scavenger, several faint threads appeared in his vision, connecting him to Irin.

As soon as Liao Ji thought, "Put down your sword," the female scavenger across from him cried out in shock. Irin felt her body suddenly stop obeying her. To her horror, her arm lowered the sword she'd pointed at the young man.

That wasn't all. Irin could only watch helplessly as the black-haired young man walked toward her. Then, from who knew where, he produced some thick, coarse rope—he seemed to know this secret chamber like the back of his hand—and bound her round and round.

Irin could do nothing but stare, eyes on the verge of tears. She couldn't even make a sound. All she could do was watch her body get toyed with at the other's whim, like a puppet on strings.

"Miss Irin."

"That look on your face could easily give people the wrong idea. Anyone who didn't know better would think I'd actually done something to you."

The female scavenger was bound hand and foot, unable to move. Her face was flushed with shame and humiliation, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

Liao Ji clapped his hands in satisfaction, then lifted the restrictions on Irin and returned control of her body.

In an instant—

The secret chamber filled with a torrent of furious abuse.

"You son of a—! I knew you were—! Hurry up and—untie me!"

"I—! Mmph! Mmmph!"

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

"Miss Irin, listen carefully. First of all, I won't even bring up how you initially used me as a hostage to save your own skin."

"After you played with fire and summoned those uncontrollable Kobold monsters, you were the one who came to me for help. You said you were willing to pay any price to get out of that crisis. I gave you what you wanted, so according to our agreement, you have no grounds to accuse me of anything that happens to you. So please don't pull up your pants and pretend you don't know me."

"Second, I know you have a lot of questions. So do I. Out of basic decency and respect for you, we'll take turns asking questions. I'll go first."

"Lastly, when the other person is asking a question, keep your mouth shut and listen quietly and patiently. Then answer carefully. Don't waste time on irrelevant talk."

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

"So."

"'Yes' means nod, and 'no' means shake your head."

"By the way, if you shake your head, I'll leave you right here." Liao Ji stared into Irin's eyes, making it clear he wasn't joking.

In the end, though anger still shone in the female scavenger's eyes, she nodded.

"Excellent, Miss Irin. You've taken the first step toward a harmonious relationship between us." Liao Ji nodded in satisfaction, then lifted the restraints on the female scavenger.

And Irin—

Basic decency!

Did she have any other choice?

Of course, she'd only shouted those words in her heart.

She'd already learned her lesson once. Besides, she'd agreed to the other party's proposal to take turns asking questions. So this time, Irin did as Liao Ji had said and kept her mouth shut.

She couldn't use her mouth, but that didn't stop Irin from glaring at Liao Ji in protest. Unfortunately, the young man ignored her completely.

After all, if you compared it to a game, he'd just acquired a new character. Their affinity was low. That was perfectly normal.

"Right. According to the rules, I'll ask first. So, Miss Irin, could you explain what you meant earlier when you kept talking about 'the legacy'?"

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

But—

"Hm? What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Liao Ji asked, watching her stare at him with a puzzled, peculiar expression.

Seeing that the young man didn't seem to be joking, Irin asked in disbelief, "You don't even know about the Ash Emperor?!"

"Just to be sure, let me clarify. By 'the Ash Emperor,' do you mean that handsome, dashing man who started from nothing, united the Wasteland with his extraordinary intelligence and leadership, purified the Corrupt Calamity, and ended the Wasteland—the greatest savior and emperor of all time?"

"Is there another Ash Emperor in this world?" Irin asked in return, still utterly baffled by the smug look on the young man's face.

"If you know about the Ash Emperor, why ask what 'the legacy' means? It's everything the Ash Emperor left behind after he died! This secret chamber, this stone coffin, and what's inside it—"

As she spoke, Irin suddenly fell silent.

Liao Ji had seemed so normal up to this point—not like those indescribable, bizarre entities, but more like the kind of person she hated, all refined manners and endless chatter, always acting as if he were the best at reasoning things out.

That had nearly made her forget that the black-haired young man had emerged from this "stone coffin." Or, to put it another way—

The young man himself might be the "legacy."

Liao Ji didn't notice Irin's pause. His brow furrowed as he focused on her last words and quickly pressed her for details.

"The Ash Emperor... died? When did that happen? And how? As far as I know, with the Ash Emperor's power, nothing in this world could have threatened his life."

As far as I know?

Irin found the young man's way of speaking stranger and stranger.

But considering his mysterious origins, Irin softened her attitude a little and answered honestly.

"Actually, saying the Great Emperor died is just a popular belief. The more official version, if I remember what the history books said correctly, is that the Great Emperor disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"I don't know the full history, but about five hundred years ago, after the decisive battle over the source of the Corrupt Calamity, the Great Emperor returned in triumph. Then he vanished that very night. Even the five strongest personal guards he'd trained couldn't sense where he'd gone. The Ash Empire once mobilized the entire nation to search for clues, but found nothing. In the end, they could only announce that the Great Emperor had disappeared."

"But the whole thing was so suspicious and bizarre that many people didn't believe the statement issued jointly by the five guards. They thought the Great Emperor hadn't disappeared, but had been mortally wounded in battle and died of his injuries. Others guessed he'd been infected by the Corrupt Calamity and killed himself to keep from going berserk. And some said—"

"Wait!"

Liao Ji had no interest in hearing more theories about his own "disappearance." He'd more or less figured out the real reason already.

It had happened at the point when he'd entered the "Second Playthrough."

Except—

He hadn't traveled to another world. He'd ended up in the Wasteland five hundred years later? No, he'd ended the Wasteland in the first playthrough, so this was—

The post-Wasteland era, five hundred years later?

A brand-new age?

All that was secondary, though. What Liao Ji cared about most was—

"Are they still alive?!"

"'They'?" Irin didn't understand.

"The five personal guards you just mentioned!"

This was the first time Irin had seen the young man so anxious and flustered.

At the same time, she was even more confused.

"Come on, isn't that common knowledge? If they weren't around, where would the five great powers dividing up the continent have come from?"

Before Liao Ji could ask again, Irin explained, as if she'd expected the question. "After the Ash Emperor died—disappeared—the five personal guards each took their own followers and split away from the empire. They established their own powers in different parts of the continent, eventually giving rise to the two kingdoms, two alliances, and one city we have today."

"The two kingdoms are the Northern Holy Kingdom and the Eastern Dragon Kingdom. The two alliances are the Mechanical Alliance in the south and the Forest Alliance in the west. Finally, there's Demon City, in the middle of the continent. It's the largest neutral city in the world."

Irin had been about to explain which of the Great Emperor's guards had founded each nation, alliance, and city, but judging by the young man's expression, just hearing the names of the powers seemed to be enough for him.

Instead—

"That can't be right. Why would they split up?" Liao Ji murmured.

Judging by the history Irin had described, after he'd "disappeared," his six-star Disaster Rank wives—the ones he'd raised with so much care and effort—had split apart the Ash Empire they'd built together. It made no sense.

"So stop interrupting me!" Irin spoke up, sounding annoyed.

She continued with what she'd been trying to say before Liao Ji interrupted her.

"Didn't I tell you that there were all sorts of theories among the public about the Great Emperor's disappearance? One of them is what many people today, myself included, think is the most likely explanation. It's that—"

"Actually, the Great Emperor's five personal guards were the five strongest Corrupted in the world after the Great Emperor himself. And together, they—"

"Murdered the Great Emperor!"

Irin spelled it out, word by word.