Melvin and MC were friends and if you remember from SB1 at the end it revealed Melvin was just trying to get MC to build a harem with him. Albeit in a dysfunctional way.
We also have to remember the full extent of the effects of the nurovirus really hasn't been revealed yet and Emperess Amazones is still the main villain. So far pulling strings behind the curtain.
Melvin and Mai are villains in that they're obsessed with MC and wanted to control him.
This is not a reboot, but part two if a trilogy. The story will progress further with future updates.
Remember it took a while with part 1 for Llama to reveal more of the underlying story and bam end of part one was the climax of the build up. I would expect the same of part 2.
Recalibrated is named that way for a new loop starting with the higher zeta levels, higher corruption levels from the start. Higher rewards and risks.
The higher zeta and corruption levels carried over from the first loop aka SB1. That's why SB2 aka Recalibrated is called Sexbot Recalibrated. So the girls are either going to be more in love with MC ( higher zeta level ) or more susceptible to outside influences ( higher corruption level ).
Think of it as a continuation of part 1, but as a new chapter.
Llama is in no way a people pleaser. He has alot of fetishes and constantly makes decisions that go against group opinion. Telling us to trust him we're going to love it. And at first we grumble grumble, but then end up liking what he did, because he has a knack for properly inserting comedy to get our guards down.
