So now it's our 1.0 mechanism versus the enemy's 10.0 stats

"?"

Doctor Ya fell silent for a moment before finally speaking, "That's one reason."

"But another..."

"Why does the world suffer so many attacks from Abominations? Even if they were artificially released, there shouldn’t be this many."

"This actually... is related to one thing."

At this point, Doctor Ya's expression turned deathly serious: "Abominations are drawn to the chaotic energy emitted by broken fate lines."

"In other words..."

Doctor Ya suddenly leaned in. Qin Luo caught the heavy scent of blood mixed with antiseptic as she stared straight into his eyes, her voice low and grave: "Altering their destined paths attracts Abominations."

"Similarly, your predetermined script will unfold."

"You’ll keep killing, slaughtering Abominations until they’re all wiped out. But in the end, you’ll be left utterly alone."

"Family, friends—they’ll all die one by one on your path of destruction."

As she spoke,

her icy fingers pressed against Qin Luo’s chest: "You think it was coincidence that you were chosen as the Janitor? Wrong. It was inevitable."

"Because you possess the 【Fate】 of a protagonist without a heroine."

"And do you know why the Janitor must have a 【No Heroine】 Fate?"

The digital clock on the wall suddenly went haywire, leaping from 14:30 straight to 3:00 AM.

The hallway lights flickered wildly. The restrained Chosen Ones all lifted their heads in unison, their eyes swirling with the same dark gold.

"Because emotions lead to foolish decisions."

Doctor Ya’s voice suddenly echoed with overlapping reverberations.

"Like right now—you’re pushing the world toward ruin for Su Muwan’s sake—"

"Stop!"

Shadows erupted from Qin Luo’s feet, plunging the entire hallway into absolute darkness.

When the light returned, all the Chosen Ones had turned into pitch-black shadow statues.

He took a step back, sighing in exasperation: "Cut to the chase. Since you seem to know everything, you must already understand what I’ve been doing."

"I don’t care how much you’ve hidden from me, or what’s really happening outside, or how many of these 'protagonists' are left, or whether things will get even more complicated."

"Bottom line."

"I just want to know—can all this..."

He pulled over a bewildered Su Muwan: "...cleanse our young mistress’s villainous luck?"

Qin Luo had a hunch it wasn’t that simple. Last time he’d asked Doctor Ya about the Martial Alliance’s containment system, she’d played dumb.

Right now, he didn’t care about anything else. Let the world burn.

He just needed to know if Su Muwan could be redeemed.

Hearing this,

Doctor Ya silently walked to Containment Room No. 19.

The door slid open. Unlike Xiao Tian’s simple, austere bedroom from before,

this time, a crystal coffin hovered inside.

Carved on its surface was... 【Lin Jiu】.

Beneath it, an inscription read:

【Lin Jiu killed Su Muwan, fulfilling his ordained duty】

But then, Qin Luo blinked—

and in the next second, it changed to:

【Lin Jiu was captured by the Shadow Garden’s "Weeping Specter," becoming a puppet】

"See that?"

She pointed at the coffin, its interior seeping black mist, her tone indifferent: "When you overwrite their Fate with your Janitor’s authority, Su Muwan’s karma is indeed being purified..."

Sshhk!

Without warning, she slashed her own palm and smeared the blood over Qin Luo’s eyelids.

The world shattered and reassembled in a haze of crimson.

Qin Luo saw countless golden threads extending from his body, all tethered to Su Muwan.

And now, twenty-two new black threads were coiling around those golden strands.

"But each purification transfers an equal backlash onto you."

Doctor Ya’s blood burned on Qin Luo’s face.

"So tell me—when all the Chosen Ones become shadow puppets... will you still be Su Muwan’s protector, or will you become her greatest calamity?"

"Don’t forget Su Muwan’s script..."

"It’s also... the script of a main heroine."

Bzzzt—!

Su Muwan stood there, utterly lost.

Wait... what’s happening now?

How did Qin Luo suddenly turn into my worst enemy?

Ugh... this is too complicated...

My brain’s overheating...

Qin Luo nodded in understanding: "I get it now."

"Huh?"

Su Muwan whipped her head toward him, eyes wide with disbelief.

You actually understood all that?!

Qin Luo turned back to Doctor Ya: "I’m the Janitor. My duty is to contain the protagonists."

"The best—and most common—method is to follow their predetermined scripts, like the classic 'kill the villain' trope."

"After the villain’s eliminated, I step in for a clean containment."

"But now, I’ve become an outlier, disrupting their scripts and destinies."

"And breaking fate lines only generates chaotic resonance, luring more Abominations and raising the difficulty."

"Plus, my original role was to exterminate Abominations, so the system’s stacking two penalties—turning this world’s challenge level exponential."

"It might even draw attention from higher-tier entities."

"So, when you gave us that quota of 99 Chosen Ones, you were betting I’d disrupt fate. You wanted us to contain them slowly."

"Because faster containment means more altered fates, and more altered fates accelerate the crisis."

"You hoped we’d use that time to grow strong enough to face the coming storm."

"In gaming terms, we’re still in Version 1.0."

"But since I’ve altered too many protagonists’ fates at once, the enemies’ stats have inflated to Version 10.0 levels while we’re stuck with 1.0 mechanics."

"Worst case, I might absorb all the karmic backlash and become the 【Fated Death】 in Su Muwan’s storyline."

"Am I right?"

Qin Luo finished his analysis.

Su Muwan finally grasped it—once he framed it as a game.

Doctor Ya raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised: "Did you max out your comprehension stat?"

Qin Luo shrugged: "One point’s enough to figure this much out."

Su Muwan: "......?"

After a pause, Doctor Ya sighed: "I expected at least some regret, but you’re still this composed. Truly fitting for a 【No Heroine】 protagonist."

"Can we stop bringing up the 'no heroine' thing already?"

"Fine."

Doctor Ya nodded. "Then listen carefully—if you insist on forging your own path instead of taking the easy way out 【Sacrifice Su Muwan, Save This World】..."

"What I’m about to say next will shatter everything you know."

"First..."

Doctor Ya took a deep breath and looked earnestly at Qin Luo. "Cleaners like you... tens of thousands, if not thousands, have died."

Qin Luo: ?

"And then," Doctor Ya turned to Su Muwan, "villains like you, fused with the world's essence... hundreds of thousands, if not millions, have died."

Su Muwan: ?

Is that even the same unit?