IRCDM Chapter 1

Liang Huan died.

On a spring day when the grass grew, the orioles flew, and the sun was shining, he died alone on the cold Dragon Throne, surrounded by piles of official duties.

He should be glad that he hadn’t had time to make that stroke on the memorial demoting Bai Li Cheng An before he died, at least leaving Northern Liang with someone who could hold things together.

But he was truly unwilling.

Crimson blood soaked through the rice paper, and his vision gradually faded to black as he heard the palace servants scream in terror.

On the second day of the third month of the thirty-third year of Yuanxing in Northern Liang, Emperor Liang Huan died in the Hall of Diligent Governance at the age of thirty-nine. He was given the posthumous title of Wenrui and was buried in Xingding Mausoleum. The whole country mourned, and the people wept.

Emperor Yuanxing was diligent in his administration and never slacked off. He treated virtuous people with courtesy, knew how to employ people well, unified the four kingdoms, and governed with benevolence. During his thirty-three years on the throne, Northern Liang entered an unprecedented period of prosperity, known in later generations as the Prosperous Era of Yuanxing.

Liang Huan didn’t care how later generations would evaluate him. He struggled to open his eyes, wanting to see clearly what was in front of him.

He saw the Dragon Throne he ascended on the day of the New Year’s Eve snow, he saw the azure sky outside the palace on the day he took personal control of the government, he saw the dragon flag fluttering on the day Huadong County was recovered, he saw the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield and countless wronged souls, he saw the bowing ministers and people, and he saw the towering palaces and vast land.

But he was still unwilling.

Even though he had unified the four kingdoms, the national treasury was full, and the army was strong, the country was in urgent need of reconstruction after the great unification. The court was already showing signs of factionalism, the aristocratic families were making a comeback, and many old problems and deeply rooted malpractices remained unresolved in the middle of the reform… If heaven gave him another thirty years, perhaps he could ensure that everyone could eat their fill and wear warm clothes.

Just like in the stories Uncle Yang told.

However, no matter how he struggled, his remaining consciousness finally faded into silence.

“Good morning, residents. Today is March 2nd, New Era 137, Sunday. Today in the Eastern Third District, it will be cloudy turning to light rain, with a temperature of 23℃, a light breeze, and a radiation index of 3.37 KGUT, which is not suitable for travel. Please take protective measures when going out.”

“Today, the Population Matching Center has an opening quota of 136, and the opening hours are from 8:00 to 11:00. Residents who have made reservations in advance, please match according to your number.”

“The Dawn Memorial Tower will hold a memorial ceremony today. Residents who wish to participate, please take the special train KGUT250. Swipe your chip for free access 24 hours a day.”

“Today’s KGUT crystal nucleus transaction index is 4.9, and the condensed coin exchange rate is…”

The darkness in front of him gradually turned into a blurred image, turning into large patches of earthy yellow and hazy gray. The scorching wind made it almost impossible to stand still. Liang Huan blinked hard in the dizziness, and then was shocked by the scene in front of him.

This was a desert with no end in sight. Huge, mountain-like gray objects towered into the clouds, burning with raging flames. Strange, disc-shaped things without support points roared and hovered in the air, and flaming shells streaked across the sky, over his head, and exploded with a bang. Behind him came sharp hisses and wails.

The ground shook, and Liang Huan almost didn’t stand firm. He turned around, and the shock in his eyes turned into fear.

They were a group of distorted humanoid monsters with blue-white skin and protruding eyeballs. Their clothes were ragged, and they rushed towards him, either crawling or running, as if they had no intelligence. They were extremely fast, and even faster than them were those hideous insect-like monsters. Their huge mouthparts opened and closed, revealing dense teeth and scarlet tongues inside. Their bodies were covered with black scales, which burst open as they moved, revealing revolving eyes inside. Then, a strange, strong, fishy stench swept in with the wind, exploding into a cloud of thick fog in front of him.

Liang Huan’s mind went blank.

If he had known that the eighteenth level of hell was like this, he would have paid more attention to his health and shouldn’t have died so early.

“Get out of the way!” A stern shout brought him back to his senses.

Liang Huan instinctively wanted to run, but his body was empty, without a trace of internal strength, and even his legs were weak, unable to move at all.

A black shadow rushed out from the group of monsters and kicked him away.

After a stinging, tingling sensation, Liang Huan fell heavily on the sand. He looked up and saw that the monsters were blocked by a translucent, light blue barrier. They lay on it, struggling and roaring, making one’s scalp tingle.

The pain in his back reminded him that he seemed to be still alive. He propped himself up on his arms, trying to get up, but the next second, someone stepped on his neck, heavily stepping him back to the ground.

Liang Huan was angered by the stomp: “How dare you!”

“Don’t move.” The other party impatiently stepped harder, directly pressing half of his face into the sand.

As an emperor, when had Liang Huan suffered such humiliation? Even if he had lost all his internal strength, he would never allow himself to be bullied. He grabbed the other party’s ankle and twisted it fiercely. Taking advantage of the moment the other party lost his strength, he rolled to the side. However, his originally light body had become particularly heavy for some reason. Before he could get up, he was kicked in the shoulder, and a sharp pain came, and he was stepped on the ground again.

It was a strangely styled boot with a round toe, a thick sole, and many straps on it. Then there were strange black trousers, which looked very stiff, with many strange pockets on them. Finally, a leather belt was fastened around a trim waist. The upper body was wearing a black short coat, close to the skin, outlining the figure completely. The neckline was low, and some tattoos could be vaguely seen on the neck.

He raised his eyes and finally saw what the other person looked like.

It was a young man who looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. He was very tall, with wheat-colored skin and short hair. He had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, with a fierce look between his brows and eyes. There was a scar in the middle of his nose, which ruined the original upright features and added a bit of evilness, making him seem unapproachable.

Seeing him staring at himself, Li Yao felt annoyed. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it in his mouth, sneering: “Little beast, where are you running?”

God knows, although Emperor Yuanxing had a rough childhood, he was still a member of the imperial family. When had he ever been called a beast while someone pointed at his nose? He couldn’t react for a moment.

Li Yao exhaled a puff of smoke and pointed behind him with a frown: “This is the S-Grade Mental Power you were talking about? I could grab a kid off the street who can run faster than you. Are you making a fool out of me? Trying to fool your dad.”

Liang Huan’s eyes turned cold. He pulled out a dagger from the other party’s boot and tightly gripped the other party’s ankle with his other hand. When the other party kicked over again, he stabbed into the weakest part of the boot, piercing his entire foot. Then he twisted it and decisively abandoned the knife, rolling forward to avoid the other party’s punch.

“Little bastard…” Li Yao never expected that he could use one move twice, and even more so that he would dare to really attack him. He was in so much pain that his face turned pale, and he knelt on the ground, looking up at the other party with killing intent.

His eyelashes were stained with a drop of blood. Liang Huan slowly blinked his eyes, and he felt a little better after confirming that it was the foot that had stepped on him that he had pierced.

“Who ordered you to assassinate me?” Liang Huan stood with his hands behind his back, asking him.

Li Yao’s patience ran out. He took out a controller and pressed it, and the person who had been arrogantly questioning him was firmly tied in place by a rope net that appeared out of thin air.

These rope nets seemed to appear from nowhere. Liang Huan said in a deep voice, “What kind of Taoist priest are you? What kind of magic is this?”

Li Yao limped to him with a dark face: “Taoist priest? I’m your husband.”

He picked up the tightly bound man and carried him on his shoulders, continuing to limp forward.

Liang Huan roared, “Put me down!”

“Be honest!” Li Yao slapped him on the butt. “If you act up again, I’ll feed you to the zombies.”

Liang Huan was so angry that he was speechless. He, the dignified Emperor of Northern Liang, was not only being carried on someone’s shoulders, but he was also being spanked. This was simply outrageous!

“I see you’re tired of living!”

Smack!

Li Yao slapped him again.

Liang Huan frowned and closed his eyes. Once he recovered his internal strength, he would definitely personally cut this traitor into a thousand pieces to avenge today’s humiliation.

He saw that this traitor carried him out of the desert and came to a clean and open place, surrounded by bright white lights, and many accomplices dressed like this traitor, and judging by their physique, they were all martial artists, coming and going, extremely busy.

What was even more surprising was that there were many transparent curtains in the center of the hall, with rolling, incomplete characters, emitting a faint fluorescent light.

“Yo, Brother Li, what’s going on?” Someone was enjoying the show. “You just got your certificate in the morning, why are you tying him up already? Be careful he sues you.”

“Get out of here.” Li Yao scolded with a smile, “We’re in love.”

“What’s wrong with your foot?” the man asked again.

“A zombie bit me!” Li Yao shouted back, quickening his pace and arriving at the parking lot, stuffing the man into the car.

Liang Huan lay on his back in the seat, looking at this strange thing. Judging by the appearance, it should be the “car” that Uncle Yang had told him about when he was a child. He didn’t expect that he would be able to see it with his own eyes one day. Just as he was about to observe it carefully, the traitor suddenly leaned over, rudely tied him with a wide belt, and squeezed up himself, sitting opposite him.

Just as Liang Huan was about to speak, the car under him suddenly started and rushed straight into the high sky.

His pupils trembled slightly. Uncle Yang had only said that cars could run on the ground, but he had never said that cars could enter the clouds. Could this be the so-called “airplane”?

Li Yao casually wiped the blood from the dagger on Liang Huan’s white coat and put it back in his boot.

“I—”

“If you dare say another word, I’ll throw you down now.” Li Yao glanced at him.

This traitor spoke wildly, but this was not Northern Liang, and Liang Huan could only endure it for the time being, waiting to figure out the other party’s background before making a plan.

Li Yao turned his stiff neck, habitually putting his feet on the opposite seat. As a result, Liang Huan was lying on it, and he directly stepped on Liang Huan’s thigh with his boots stained with zombie and heteromorph fragments, crossed his arms, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

Liang Huan’s jaw tightened, and anger appeared in his eyes.

Simply outrageous!