Kael freezes.
"Huh?"
"Isn't checking Pain supposed to be a real-world reward? I remember that in the life simulation, you can't use real-world Talents."
[…That is indeed the case. However, I have records of all character data related to you.]
[It is recommended that Host view Yelan's data.]
Since binding with Kael, the System has rarely taken the initiative to interfere with the course of his life simulations.
That is because it knows his personality all too well. His indecisiveness and soft heart are traits perfectly suited for a life simulation.
It had once been bound to other Hosts in other worlds.
Their mindset at the beginning was no different from Kael's initial attitude toward the life simulation.
To them, the life simulation was nothing more than a game filled with romantic encounters.
They treated themselves as the center of the world and acted recklessly, relying on the System's rewards.
But the characters within the life simulation are projections of the real world.
They possess the same ways of thinking and acting as real people.
They are not fools.
They can naturally tell the difference between false affection and genuine sincerity.
Those Hosts never truly tried to feel the world, so they never realized that the characters in the life simulation were actually connected to reality.
Kael was the only one who noticed this.
In fact, during his very first life simulation, he had already shown how different he was.
He would grieve and rage for his Hilichurl foster mother and adopted brother in the simulation.
Even in Text Mode, he could still empathize deeply with them.
He even chose options that were unfavorable to himself for their sake.
Those choices made him more real, more human.
They also brought him much closer to Amber.
His personality allowed him, even when he was still confused at the very start of the life simulation, to make the best choices purely by instinct.
And now?
After experiencing so many simulations, Kael no longer needed the System's help at all.
He could handle everything perfectly on his own.
This time, the System could not help but intervene and remind him precisely because Kael had done too well.
One could even say he had exceeded expectations.
This was the first time Kael had ever seen the System act so proactively.
A bad feeling rises in his chest.
"…Then check Yelan's Pain."
[Yelan: Current Pain Value 100. Corruption Value 99.]
"…What?!"
So that's it. No wonder he kept feeling that something was off about Yelan.
The last time Kael had seen a Corruption Value this high was with Ayaka.
Back then, her Corruption Value had been infinitely close to 100.
The System had acted as if the sky were falling.
It had even paid out of its own pocket to let him re-enter that life simulation.
Kael remembers the System saying that once Corruption Value reaches 100, the character will completely corrupt, turning into a villain.
The change in their personality would be irreversible.
And it would also affect their real-world counterpart in the same way…
Does that mean Yelan is already in extreme danger right now?
"Why is this happening…" Kael murmurs.
"Yelan's will is so strong. How could she be affected like this…"
[According to the data, Yelan's Pain Value toward Host was already as high as 60 when she first met you.]
[After Host left Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and moved into Yanshang Teahouse, it directly reached 100.]
[And Yelan's Corruption Value began rising continuously after her Pain Value reached 100, never once stopping.]
Kael's expression stiffens.
"Could it be… that being with me is actually something very painful for Yelan…?"
[Not necessarily pain. Possessiveness, jealousy, obsession… various negative emotions can all cause Corruption Value to rise.]
[This is likely because during her interactions with Host, Yelan continuously generated negative emotions.]
Kael lets out a bitter smile.
"That doesn't really sound much better…"
[In short, after discovering Host's corpse, Yelan's Corruption Value spiked sharply and has now reached 99.]
[It is recommended that Host eliminate the Corruption Value as soon as possible to avoid affecting the real world. Otherwise…]
The System stops there and does not finish the sentence.
It knows that, in Kael's eyes, it already looks like a miser.
If it says the rest, wouldn't that just deepen the impression that it refuses to spend a single coin?
Besides, looking at Yelan in her current state…
That remaining one point of Corruption Value.
No one knows how long it will hold.
If it really reaches 100…
Then everything will truly be beyond saving.
Kael feels a burning anxiety in his chest as well.
"I know that… I really want to eliminate Yelan's negative emotions too…"
"But in my current state, how am I supposed to comfort her? No one can see me…"
Wait.
Kael suddenly remembers something.
In one of the life simulations, he had used a Talent and lived inside it for an entire week in the form of a spirit.
Not everyone had been unable to see him.
There was one person who noticed him.
Hu Tao.