Lin Jing had just returned not long ago.

And now, someone was knocking at the door.

The visitor outside wasn’t too hard to guess.

Jiang Ye was getting lazier and lazier.

He didn’t even want to move, just sat on the sofa, fusing the Phantom Replica with the Blackened Replica.

Then, with a raise of his hand, an eyeball floated over to the peephole and showed him the scene outside the door.

But the visitor wasn’t the just-returned Lin Jing.

It was… Ouyang Fan.

And Ouyang Fan looked quite serious.

Not at all like his usual joking self, like when he teased Wan Xin in the Spectator Stands.

Jiang Ye paused slightly, and then the eyeball at the peephole transformed into a hand, gripping the door handle and opening the door.

But as soon as the door opened, the hand vanished.

From Ouyang Fan’s perspective—

He didn’t see anyone open the door for him.

It was as if the door had opened all on its own.

He was slightly startled, but his attention was quickly drawn to the glowing golden shield, where Wang Chengjin was still kneeling.

When Wang Chengjin was kowtowing to Jiang Ye earlier, he hadn’t felt anything wrong.

After all, Jiang Ye was stronger than him, and could decide his life or death.

Begging to live wasn’t a big deal.

But now, with an “outsider” suddenly here, staring at him in astonishment…

Wang Chengjin’s face burned with shame.

Like he’d just been slapped repeatedly across the face!

Ouyang Fan usually acted just as carefree as Wan Xin, but he was actually sharp and observant.

Yet now, his eyes rolled and he said something completely tone-deaf:

“Holy sht! Brother Jin? Wha—what happened to you? Your forehead’s all swollen, and you’re, you’re still…”

His exclamation was deliberately dramatic.

And the look in his eyes as he stared at Wang Chengjin was pure, unfiltered shock.

Wang Chengjin felt utterly humiliated by that exaggerated reaction. He wanted nothing more than to shout at Jiang Ye, “What the hll are you doing letting someone in here? Are you trying to humiliate me?!”

Of course, in his current situation, he didn’t dare say that out loud to Jiang Ye.

So he swallowed it, redirecting his frustration toward Ouyang Fan, glaring and growling,

“I have my reasons! The real question is—what are you doing here, goofing off all day?”

Ouyang Fan wasn’t actually clueless.

He didn’t flinch at all and fired back, “I came here for a reason, of course—I’m here to see Master Jiang.”

As he spoke, he turned to Jiang Ye, his tone respectful.

On the sofa, Jiang Ye’s posture looked relaxed.

But internally, he was still very much on guard.

Even in the face of Ouyang Fan’s slightly fawning attitude, he replied bluntly:

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll end up like Wang Chengjin?”

That line made Ouyang’s expression stiffen for a moment.

But he quickly recovered and responded politely:

“Wang Chengjin ended up like this because of his own actions.”

“I believe Master Jiang isn’t the type to kill indiscriminately.”

Hearing this, Wang Chengjin suddenly realized—

This Ouyang…

He seemed to know about Jiang Ye’s strength!

How did he know?

Did he guess it just from seeing him kneeling?

Or did the recently returned Lin Jing tell him?

Or did he have some intel on Jiang Ye himself?

Wang Chengjin was full of doubts.

But Jiang Ye knew—

Ouyang probably knew about his strength before he entered the room.

That serious look the eyeball caught through the peephole? That was real.

Yet even knowing how strong Jiang Ye was, Ouyang still came willingly…

Was it because he believed Jiang Ye wouldn’t kill recklessly?

That might be part of it.

But Jiang Ye was more inclined to think—Ouyang had some kind of trump card.

With that in mind, he wasn’t going to randomly target Ouyang.

Accepting the “not a killer” label, he raised an eyebrow casually and said,

“So, what are you here for? Don’t tell me you’re here as Lin Jing’s messenger to negotiate?”

Ouyang blinked, then smiled and nodded, “Yes.”

“I really am here on Lin Shen’s behalf to discuss something with you.”

Jiang Ye nodded. “Speak.”

Ouyang took a moment to organize his words, then said slowly,

“Just like the group chat was guessing, Lin Shen had left to go after the Kill-on-Sight Order target—Huang Bo.”

“And he’s already located the apartment Huang Bo is in.”

So what? Jiang Ye didn’t bat an eye.

Because the Void Mirror Palace had a unique structure—even if tens of thousands of players entered at once, they were unlikely to run into each other.

Not to mention, his Light and Shadow Escape skill made the palace his home turf.

And more importantly, Lin Jing was most likely a Dark-type Being. If he really dared approach a Light-type presence, it would be suicide.

With that confidence, Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow at Ouyang and said:

“So what? Is Lin Jing inviting me to team up and hunt down Huang Bo?”

But Ouyang shook his head. “No.”

He glanced at Wang Chengjin, hesitated for a moment, then said directly:

“Lin Shen’s idea is—to seal off the apartment where Huang Bo is.”

“Seal it off?” Jiang Ye was momentarily surprised.

Ouyang nodded. “Apartment Administrators can apply for the authority to seal an apartment.”

“Once an apartment is sealed, the rooftop teleportation array is disabled.”

“Players in the apartment can no longer cross between apartments.”

“The whole place becomes one-way—entry allowed, exit not. Any Light-type would be completely trapped inside like a turtle in a jar.”

Ah, that…

If it were a normal Light-type, they really would be stuck like a turtle in a jar.

At that point, a swarm of non-countered, non-Dark-type players could just storm in and kill them easily.

But Jiang Ye wasn’t just any Light-type.

He could completely bypass this using Replica Swap to cross apartments!

So he remained calm and said with a straight face:

“And? Sealing the apartment—what’s that got to do with me?”

Ouyang pursed his lips, looking a bit helpless:

“Lin Shen said he already approached the Administrator of Huang Bo’s apartment to discuss sealing it.”

“But that Administrator absolutely refused…”

“Because Administrators are quite restricted—they can’t cross apartments.”

“And since this one is also a Dark-type Being, he’s naturally terrified of Light-types.”

“He’s desperate for the Light-type to get the hell out—no way he’s going to trap such a dangerous figure in his own apartment…”

Well then…

Apartment Administrators weren’t even part of the Kill-on-Sight Order rewards.

So for them, killing a Light-type was something they hoped other players would do—

while they just reaped the benefits.

Not their business, not their problem.

And to a Dark-type, a Light-type was like the scariest viral bioweapon imaginable.

Trapping one in your own apartment? Yeah, no thanks.

So…

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then looked at Ouyang and asked:

“So Lin Jing’s plan is for the two of us to kill that stubborn Administrator and then take over his post so we can seal the apartment ourselves?”

But Ouyang shook his head again. “If we players did it, we might not make it in time.”

“And rushing to kill an Administrator is too risky.”

“So…” Jiang Ye followed his line of thinking, especially that phrase “we players,” and quickly guessed:

“Lin Jing wants to have an NPC kill the Administrator, doesn’t he?”

This time, Ouyang finally nodded. “That’s exactly what Lin Shen means.”

“Because if an NPC attacks an Administrator, it won’t trigger the Erasure Mechanism—instead, there’s a chance they can win by pure strength.”

“So having an NPC kill the Administrator is feasible.”

“Lin Shen approached me first to ask if I had connections with any powerful NPCs.”

“But the ones I know are all Apartment Administrators.”

“Apartment Administrators are strong, sure, but they can’t cross apartments, so they obviously can’t go kill another Administrator.”

“So Lin Shen thought of you. After all, it seems like you know a powerful NPC who can move between apartments.”

Right—he was talking about the White-Clad Woman.

Seriously, Lin Jing had some nerve!

He actually wanted him to ask the White-Clad Woman to kill an Apartment Administrator?

Even if she could do it, why would she listen to Jiang Ye?

Not to mention, the apartment Lin Jing wanted to target had a dangerous Light-type in it!

Even that Administrator wanted nothing to do with the Light-type.

And the last time the White-Clad Woman encountered one, she vanished in a flash.

In that case, how the hell would she agree to go into that same apartment and kill the Administrator?

But before Jiang Ye could voice all these objections,

Ouyang was already offering reassurance: “Of course, all those concerns you’re thinking of—Lin Shen thought of them too.”

“But as the saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“That NPC you’ve met—if she had the guts to issue a mission to kill the Apartment Boss, then she’s definitely not some average figure.”

“Someone who dares challenge the Apartment Boss shouldn’t be too scared of a Light-type. She should be able to help us take out that Administrator.”

As he spoke, Ouyang looked him directly in the eye, his tone firm:

“And I believe you can convince her.”

That much, Jiang Ye believed too.

But the problem was—

Why should he?

He returned Ouyang’s stare, meeting his eyes squarely, and said bluntly:

“But everything you’re saying still has nothing to do with me.”

“If the White-Clad Woman kills an Administrator and seals the apartment—how does that benefit me?”

Now they were finally getting to the heart of the negotiation.

Ouyang glanced at Wang Chengjin, still inside the golden shield, and suddenly turned to ask him,

“Have you ever encountered the term ‘Main Storyline’ in the Doomsday Apartment game?”

“Main Storyline?” Wang Chengjin was startled, his expression blank.

That reaction said it all—he’d never even heard of it.

Ouyang then turned back to Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye, after a brief moment of thought, looked at Wang Chengjin and said,

“Alright, you’re done here. Get lost.”

Wang Chengjin was stunned—

Jiang Ye was letting him go that easily?

He figured this was probably because they were about to discuss something he wasn’t allowed to hear.

Still, considering their earlier tense conversation, it felt unreal to be spared just like that.

Seeing his hesitation, Jiang Ye smirked, “What, you don’t want to leave?”

Wang Chengjin quickly shook his head.

He also remembered—Ouyang said Jiang Ye wasn’t the type to kill indiscriminately.

And their issue had only been a verbal spat over 12.8 billion. No real grudge.

So it kind of made sense for Jiang Ye to let him off.

Still cautious inside, Wang Chengjin put on a grateful expression and said,

“I’m going, I’m going! Thanks, Master Jiang, for sparing my life!”

“If you ever want to ask me more about S-tier skills, I’ll definitely tell you everything I know!”

That’s what he said.

But what he thought was—

Once he got out of Jiang Ye’s room, he’d leave the apartment as fast as he could!

No matter how kind-hearted Jiang Ye was supposed to be, he wasn’t about to leave his life hanging in the balance again.

Saying one thing while thinking another,

Wang Chengjin carefully dispelled the golden shield.

Using Ouyang as cover, he crept slowly toward the door.

Jiang Ye, watching him inch along like a slow-mo scene from a martial arts movie, grew impatient and barked,

“Move faster.”

Wang Chengjin finally picked up the pace.

As he stepped out the door, he let out a huge sigh of relief—like he’d just escaped a tiger’s den.

But the next second, a chill shot up his spine!

It felt like a venomous snake was slithering up his back!

In that instant, his scalp went numb!

That familiar, suffocating sense of Death descending enveloped him again!

Wang Chengjin’s neck stiffened, eyes wide, every cell in his body screaming “TERROR!”

This time, forget begging—he didn’t even have time to kneel.

A split second later—his head rolled to the ground!

He experienced, once again, that paralyzing fear and hopelessness of death.

And all of it happened in an instant—silently, without a trace.

Moments later, Ouyang calmly walked to the door to clean up.

He used a small black box, about the size of a lighter, shaped like a miniature coffin with a strange, eerie design.

Such a tiny coffin, yet it stored Wang Chengjin’s entire corpse.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he handed the coffin to Jiang Ye.

Without mentioning Wang Chengjin again, he turned smoothly back to Jiang Ye and said,

“I heard you bought some strategy guides from Wan Xin.”

“But as far as I know, Wan Xin never encountered the Main Storyline.”

Jiang Ye didn’t bring up Wang Chengjin either. He just lounged on the sofa and said lazily,

“But you and Lin Jing have encountered the Main Storyline.”

“And now you want to trade this so-called ‘Main Storyline’ for something from me?”

His tone made it clear—he wasn’t impressed by the offer.

Because from what Ouyang had said, very few people knew about this “Main Storyline.”

Ouyang and Lin Jing knew about it.

But Wan Xin and Wang Chengjin didn’t.

So how could Jiang Ye be sure this “Main Storyline” wasn’t just some lie the two of them cooked up?

He wasn’t interested at all in something that sounded this sketchy.

He figured—

If there really was a Main Storyline,

he didn’t need to learn about it this early anyway.

Once he got stronger, he’d naturally gain access to a bigger world and more information.

But Ouyang seemed to have predicted this mindset.

At this point, he dropped the idea of negotiation and instead said slowly and solemnly:

“The Beginner Apartment has a survival cycle of 10 days. On Day 11, it will self-destruct.”

“And actually, the same is true in the game—the Doomsday Apartment also ends on Day 11.”

“When I encountered this info in-game, I thought it was just a storyline device meant to push players to explore.”

“But now, it might be something that every player will have to face in real life—”

“On the 11th day, the Doomsday Apartment will be destroyed.”

Destroyed on Day 11?

Wait—what? That doesn’t make sense!

Day 11 was supposed to be when they entered the Doomsday Apartment.

Did that mean the Beginner Apartment and the Doomsday Apartment would both be destroyed?

They’d all die without even making it in??

Just as Jiang Ye frowned,

Ouyang continued,

“Relax—it’s not what you think.”

“In the Doomsday Apartment, a ‘day’ isn’t a 24-hour cycle like we know it.”

“There’s a Moon Phase Clock, and it determines when the next day starts.”

“So one day in the Doomsday Apartment is very long.”

“But no matter how long it is, it still represents one thing—”

“A countdown to death.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep