I, the Ash Emperor

Liao Ji: "."

"That's impossible, right? As far as I know, they were all personally raised by that Great Emperor. The bond between them should be closer than family. How could they possibly harm the Great Emperor?"

Even though he knew this wasn't the truth, Liao Ji still wanted to understand why people in the future would have such absurd ideas.

And Irin's answer was:

"You're right, but precisely because of that, love can turn into hate, can't it? It's true that the Great Emperor saved this precarious world, but in terms of personal conduct, especially his private life, rumors say he was an absolute scumbag!"

"That Great Emperor wasn't just extremely lecherous—the personal guards he chose had to be incredibly beautiful women—he was also a serial philanderer who grew tired of the old and craved the new. Once he had played enough with a guard, he would discard her without hesitation, like a tool, and then go off to find the next one."

Liao Ji: "."

"The most damning evidence is that the Great Emperor's five personal guards came from five different races, ranging from noble Elves to seductive Succubi, and he didn't even spare mechanical androids! You can imagine just how depraved that Great Emperor must have been!"

Perhaps because they were both women, Irin was filled with indignation as she spoke.

And Liao Ji.

Liao Ji: "."

"Maybe, just maybe, the Great Emperor simply thought they were pleasing to the eye? Or is there a possibility that the Emperor never even touched those five guards?"

"Huh!?"

Even though the female scavenger was tied up, it didn't stop Irin from giving Liao Ji a look that suggested he was an idiot.

"You're a grown man, how are you still as naive as a child? Oh, there's a beautiful woman who is infatuated with you right in front of you, and you just look at her, think she's pretty, and do nothing? Then you're truly worse than a beast!"

Liao Ji: "."

"Hmph, that Great Emperor was an absolute beast. It's said he often enjoyed perverted games—handcuffs, whips, wax. Every night, he made his five guards serve him in turns. Sometimes he made all five of them go at once, and sometimes he even..."

Irin grew more animated as she spoke, looking quite gleeful, but Liao Ji beside her was already covered in black lines.

Falling is a legitimate game.

It's not some R-18 eroge on a certain Steam platform, damn it!

"Stop!"

"Where on earth are you getting all this nonsense from?" Liao Ji demanded angrily.

Irin: "These? There's plenty of them on the dark web."

"Hey, what's with that look? You haven't read any of them, have you? Come on, some of them actually have pretty good writing and plots. How about this? As long as you let me go, I might consider letting you read some of these—mmph! Mmph!"

Irin's cheerful voice came to an abrupt halt, quickly replaced by her glaring with wide, angry eyes as she whimpered in protest.

Liao Ji took a deep breath.

It seems people in the post-wasteland era are living a bit too comfortably and easily.

"Alright, my questions are finished. Now it's your turn to ask me one question. But I must warn you, you only get one chance, so I hope you think carefully before you speak."

With a wave of the young man's hand.

Irin regained her voice.

It was clear the female scavenger wanted to spew profanities, but she ultimately held it back. Irin didn't dare waste this hard-won opportunity.

Fearing that Liao Ji might go back on his word, she immediately asked her most pressing question.

"What exactly did you do to me!"

Liao Ji shrugged, having guessed as much: "I think you've probably figured it out, right? I helped you ascend into a Corrupted, but it requires paying a small price. For instance, I can place certain constraints on your actions."

Liao Ji had assumed that if Irin were to object, it would be to the latter part.

But to his surprise, the female scavenger's face fell the moment she heard the word "Corrupted," as if the worst-case scenario had come to pass.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to become a Corrupted?" Liao Ji asked, very confused.

After all, in the setting of Falling, the Corrupted were the hope of the wasteland, the most powerful combat force capable of resisting those monsters and the Corrupt Calamity.

But Irin's next words made Liao Ji realize that times had changed.

"Heh... hehe, are you talking about the Corrupted who have a 70% chance of going berserk and losing control within a month, who become increasingly mentally deranged as time goes on, who are wanted by local governments and guards wherever they go, and who, once caught, spend their lives in dungeons or are executed on the spot? The kind where all your family and friends are implicated, leading to the destruction of your home and the loss of your loved ones—all for the sake of that pathetic bit of power?"

Irin's speech grew faster and faster, reaching a peak. Her anger was bizarre, and there was even a look of painful memory in her eyes.

"Who the hell wants to become a damn—Corrupted!"

After roaring this out, the female scavenger seemed to have all the strength drained from her body, and she fell into a dazed, listless state.

The chamber fell into a brief silence.

Eventually, it was Liao Ji who spoke.

"I'm sorry, I take back what I just said. I didn't know you had such a strong aversion to the Corrupted. However... as far as I know, going berserk and losing control should mostly only happen to Corrupted above the 'Calamity Rank,' and the probability shouldn't be nearly as high as you say."

But Irin's next words shocked Liao Ji.

"Are you kidding me? A Corrupted who can reach the 'Danger Rank' while remaining mentally sound is already rare. And 'Calamity Rank' Corrupted... you might have seen them in history books two or three hundred years ago, but their endings were all the same: either they lost control and triggered a natural disaster, or they went berserk and turned into monsters. Is that what you call a low probability?"

The information Irin provided left Liao Ji deep in thought.

It seemed he had indeed fallen into a misconception. Whether it was the birth of a Corrupted or the subsequent enhancement of their abilities, the source was always dependent on the Corrupt Calamity.

In the wasteland world of the first playthrough, Corrupt Calamity pollution was visible everywhere, so Corrupted were not uncommon.

As for high-level Corrupted, in Liao Ji's memory, four-star Danger Rank ones were a dime a dozen, and while five-star Calamity Rank ones were fewer, they weren't exactly rare either; the kind Irin described as appearing once every hundred years should refer to the highest six-star Disaster Rank.

But now, in this new era five hundred years later, the source that produced Corrupt Calamity had been destroyed by him, so not only had the number of natural disasters and monsters decreased significantly, but the same was true for the Corrupted.

Furthermore, people's primary needs were no longer about surviving in the wasteland, but about development and progress; just as firearms become illegal items after entering a civilized society, perhaps for this new century five hundred years later, these Corrupted were equivalent to firearms? For the sake of peace and stability, they were strictly prohibited and had to be dealt with immediately upon discovery.

As for the extremely high runaway rate of the Corrupted that Irin mentioned, which far exceeded his own impressions, perhaps that was also related to the scarcity of Corrupt Calamity?

Liao Ji guessed to himself.

In short, after digesting the information obtained from Irin and gaining a deeper understanding of this world he had transmigrated into for his second playthrough, Liao Ji exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He could now understand Irin's attitude to some extent.

It was probably like someone who had just narrowly escaped death, only to be told they had a terminal illness?

But precisely because of that.

Liao Ji smiled.

"Miss Irin, rest assured, I can guarantee you that as long as the contract between us exists, no matter how recklessly you use your power, there is no possibility of the Corrupt Calamity within you going out of control."

"And once I find your replacement, I will help you dissolve the contract and reclaim the Corrupt Calamity inside you; by then, you can fully continue to enjoy your life as an ordinary person."

"I know you might not believe me, but consider it a free bonus: I will additionally answer one of your previous questions and tell you who I am."

Under Irin's indescribable look of astonishment, Liao Ji nodded slowly, then said word by word.

"I am the Ash Emperor."