“Right.” Jiang Ye smiled and nodded, “That’s what I meant too.”

But in his heart, he was thinking—

He could use the middle part of the job to squeeze out an extra cut.

For example, when passing on the White-Clad Woman’s conditions to Ouyang, he could purposely exaggerate a little.

And that exaggerated portion would go right into his own pocket…

Honestly, Jiang Ye used to be just a high school student.

He had never had to pull strings or be pulled into a web of favors.

But now, he found himself doing this kind of thing with ease, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Thinking like this, no wonder history had so many corrupt officials…

And now this newly minted “corrupt official” already had his scheme all planned out.

But then Ouyang suddenly said:

“To ask that Cross-Apartment NPC, the one you call the White-Clad Woman, for help, we won’t be letting her name her own price.”

“Instead, we’ll be deciding what gift to offer her.”

“If she’s willing to accept the gift, then this matter goes through.”

“If she doesn’t accept it, then we drop it.”

That statement effectively killed Jiang Ye’s plan to skim off the top—right in its cradle!

It was like Ouyang had already seen right through his little scheme!

Jiang Ye’s thoughts spun quickly. He suddenly raised an eyebrow:

“Sounds like you’re very confident that this gift you’ve prepared is something the White-Clad Woman definitely won’t turn down…”

As he said that, another idea popped into his head—

This gift didn’t have to go to the White-Clad Woman.

If Jiang Ye was skilled enough to convince her on his own,

Then the gift meant for her could go straight into his own hands!

In that case, this gift would be for him.

Once he’d sorted that out in his mind, he asked Ouyang, “So what exactly is the gift you’re offering to the White-Clad Woman?”

Ouyang smiled mysteriously and calmly said:

“It’s a — Raven Egg.”

Jiang Ye’s first reaction was… duck egg?

But he quickly snapped out of it—

Raven…

Was a kind of crow.

And he definitely remembered seeing something about Ravens before.

They were said to feed on carrion and, in legends, often symbolized death, plague, and disease.

In various literary works and games, they usually appeared in scenes of death and horror, filled with corpses.

But Jiang Ye also recalled another kind of description in a sci-fi story he’d seen—

It said that Ravens looked black to humans because we couldn’t see ultraviolet light.

Their feathers reflected UV rays.

And in their own eyes, their feathers looked as radiant as a rainbow.

Based on this feature,

Jiang Ye remembered one line that had left a strong impression—

“What the human eye sees as black isn’t necessarily black.”

It was that line that made Ravens stick in his memory.

But what shocked him now was—

From what he knew previously…

In the Doomsday Apartment, crows were considered a symbol of luck and blessing.

They were a rare and noble species, not commonly seen.

And yet Ouyang was saying he had a Raven Egg to offer to the White-Clad Woman!

Jiang Ye’s mind raced, but he kept his expression casual and asked with curiosity:

“A Raven Egg… what does it do? Is it a pet egg?”

Ouyang didn’t answer, just gave a faint smile and said:

“All you need to do is pass the message to the White-Clad Woman. I believe she’ll act for the Raven Egg.”

“……”

At that moment, Jiang Ye clearly saw a teasing glint in Ouyang’s eyes.

Exactly like when he’d teased Wan Xin in the Spectator Stands earlier.

This guy definitely knew he wasn’t planning to pass the egg to the White-Clad Woman, but to pocket it himself.

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, but didn’t press further. He shrugged and said:

“Alright, then the second part of the deal is settled.”

“Now let’s talk about the first part—the deposit, and the third part—the reward if the job is done.”

According to their transaction flow, the main payout would be in part three.

That way, Jiang Ye would be more motivated when acting as the go-between.

The first part, the deposit—or good faith fee—wasn’t usually a large sum.

Otherwise, Jiang Ye could take the money and do nothing, just pocket it for free.

So for the deposit, he hadn’t planned to ask for anything big.

But what he didn’t expect was that Ouyang would open with a bombshell:

“I heard from Wan Xin that you tried to trade the Bodhi Enlightenment Fruit with Cheng Qun earlier, originally to exchange for an S-tier Skill.”

“And just now, Wang Chengjin also said you were looking into S-tier Skill info?”

“If that’s the case… then our deposit can be an S-tier Skill for you.”

That bombshell left Jiang Ye stunned!

What the h*ll?!

The S-tier Skill he’d been chasing everywhere and couldn’t get…

Ouyang and that guy behind him, Lin Jing, were just going to give it to him?

And that’s just the deposit!

No matter whether the job succeeded or not, the deposit wouldn’t be returned.

If Jiang Ye were just a little more black-hearted…

He could totally take the deposit, do nothing,

And then turn around and tell them the task failed.

Even if it failed, he’d still walk away with an S-tier Skill for free!

This…

Ouyang and Lin Jing were this generous?

No—something was definitely off here!

Jiang Ye’s shock faded quickly, and he frowned.

Ouyang smiled in response:

“Of course, we’re not giving you direct ownership of an S-tier Skill. After all, Cheng Qun and Wang Chengjin probably already told you—getting a new S-tier Skill during the beginner phase is insanely difficult.”

“So the S-tier Skill in our deposit is more like a trial card.”

“Essentially, it’s not something your own Comprehension Enhancement awakened or something you truly understood.”

“It’s simulated by an Eerie Item, a version of the skill with a usage time limit.”

That statement felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped over Jiang Ye.

Still, it made sense. This was a deposit—they couldn’t really give him something too valuable for free.

And if there really was a way to directly obtain an S-tier Skill, Lin Jing and Ouyang would’ve used it themselves—they wouldn’t be handing it to him.

With a time limit, it was much more reasonable.

Jiang Ye hesitated.

After all, his X-tier Ability was way too overpowered.

He couldn’t be sure that the time-limited version of an S-tier Skill would truly match the level of his X-tier Ability.

As he was hesitating,

Ouyang’s gaze locked on him, pupils suddenly trembling.

A moment later, he said in a low voice: “Looks like your Ability really isn’t as simple as the Hard Work Pays Off shown on your Data Panel.”

This much—Ouyang had suspected for a while.

Even Wang Chengjin just now was actually a little suspicious.

Because with an S-tier Hard Work Pays Off ability, Jiang Ye shouldn’t be this obsessed with obtaining an S-tier Skill.

And his current hesitation only confirmed Ouyang’s speculation.

Ouyang’s throat tightened, and with a tense voice, he blurted out:

“You’re worried that the item we promised isn’t high enough quality for your hidden SSS-tier Ability, aren’t you?”

Jiang Ye looked back at him with a calm, deep gaze. After a long pause, he suddenly chuckled:

“You’re worried Wang Chengjin’s too lonely in that mini coffin and want to go keep him company?”

Ouyang immediately shook his head hard and quickly turned back to the main topic:

“Relax. No matter what level your ability is, as long as you meet the conditions to comprehend an S-tier Skill, the trial card will work.”

Jiang Ye no longer pressed on that issue and asked directly, “Then what’s the time limit?”

Ouyang gave a peace sign with his fingers: “Two hours.”

Only two hours??

That’s way too short!

Jiang Ye was naturally dissatisfied and was just about to renegotiate when Ouyang added:

“Besides letting you experience the S-tier Skill, this item also has a hidden benefit—”

“If you try to learn the same S-tier Skill later, it’ll be easier for you.”

“For example, normally you might burn through ten S-tier Skill Scrolls without learning a thing.”

“But with this prior experience, you might only need one or two scrolls to successfully comprehend the skill.”

If that were true, it would save him eight or nine S-tier Skill Scrolls.

Jiang Ye thought about it briefly and asked, “What about the reward for the third part?”

Seeing the negotiations were nearing an end, Ouyang let out a slight breath and continued steadily:

“The third-part reward includes three items.”

“First, information about the game’s main storyline we discussed earlier.”

“This includes the relationship between the Duoe Organization and the Apartment Boss, their goals in running the Beginner Apartment, and their strategies for dealing with the ‘end of the world.’”

He paused, then added: “And also the connection between the Duoe Organization and the Ravens. That’ll be delivered to you as part of the information package.”

Only then did Jiang Ye realize—

Raven, Duoe…

So there was a connection!

Then for Ouyang and Lin Jing to be able to offer a Raven Egg, they must be entangled with the Duoe Organization too?

If that’s the case, could this entire negotiation be part of a Duoe Organization scheme?

Jiang Ye thought about all this, but didn’t let it show on his face.

Ouyang continued:

“The second reward is a Red Light Elevator Card for Apartment 0000.”

“Each floor of Apartment 0000 is a unique environment—there are no actual apartment rooms.”

“Even the Red Light Elevators on each floor don’t have fixed coordinates.”

“Without a Red Light Elevator Card, a player will find it extremely difficult to explore each floor of Apartment 0000.”

“Even if you’re strong enough to avoid death, you’d waste tons of time exploring blindly.”

“But with the elevator card, you can go directly to the environment you want to reach, making exploration much more efficient.”

“You can ask Wan Xin or Cheng Qun about how rare and useful these cards are.”

Jiang Ye nodded—he was satisfied with this item too.

Given how things were going, he’d probably end up entering Apartment 0000.

Having an elevator card to save time would be really handy.

Next, Ouyang’s expression grew a bit more subtle as he continued:

“The third reward is an ‘Bitter Buddha’s Heart’.”

“It’s an Eerie Item with three effects—”

“First, it hides your Data Panel, making it immune to any detection method.”

“Second, if you’re trapped in an illusion, the Buddha’s Heart will ache faintly to warn you.”

“Of course, the illusion here refers to any level of illusion.”

“Third, over time, it subtly enhances your Comprehension.”

“Also, it serves as a pass to enter the Ten Thousand Buddhas Cavern.”

“The Ten Thousand Buddhas Cavern?” Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow. “Never heard of it.”

Ouyang wasn’t surprised and explained:

“It’s a special Secret Realm filled with the tension between sin and salvation.”

“Inside, countless deity and Buddha statues are imprisoned, all bearing deep sins. They’ve been repenting in darkness for so long that their resentment twisted them into grotesque, terrifying forms.”

“Any player who enters and manages to restore even a single statue to its original form will be handsomely rewarded.”

“Different statues offer different rewards.”

“But one reward is guaranteed for every statue—a moment of enlightenment.”

“You’ve already experienced how hard S-tier Skills are to get.”

“Then above that, SS-tier and SSS-tier Skills are practically impossible to find.”

“Even the Stellar-Tier Dojo rewards from Kill-on-Sight Orders can’t easily help players comprehend those top-tier skills.”

“But the enlightenment granted by the Buddha statues can.”

“In fact, in the game’s basic rule set—”

“Whatever your Ability Rank is, that’s the rank of skill you’re capable of learning.”

At those words, Jiang Ye was seriously tempted!

After all, his Ability was X-tier!

But X-tier Skills… he didn’t even dare to dream of them!

Forget X-tier—his Main Body didn’t even have an S-tier Skill yet!

But if the Ten Thousand Buddhas Cavern really could help him attain a skill that matched his X-tier Ability…

Then that place was somewhere he had to go!

Still, no matter how stirred up he felt inside,

Jiang Ye kept his cool on the surface so Ouyang wouldn’t see through him.

He even raised an eyebrow and said, “Sounds great, but I’m guessing those Buddha statue rewards in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Cavern aren’t easy to get, are they?”

Ouyang smiled and nodded, “Of course.”

“After all, if the rewards were that easy, there’s no way we’d offer such a rare item to you.”

“But even though the rewards are hard to earn, the Bitter Buddha’s Heart is still extremely valuable.”

“Especially for players with higher Ability Ranks—its value only increases.”

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Wan Xin too.”

Jiang Ye said nothing, remaining quiet.

Ouyang continued: “Besides those three parts of the third reward, we can also throw in a fourth.”

“The fourth reward will be after the mission is successful—sealing off the Apartment.”

“If at that time, I or Lin Jing win the Kill-on-Sight Order Reward,”

“Then the Stellar-Tier Dojo in the reward—we’ll let you use it to help you comprehend an S-tier Skill.”

That additional reward was certainly generous.

But to Jiang Ye, it meant nothing.

Because there was no way he was letting these two take the Kill-on-Sight Order Reward.

Still, to avoid letting Ouyang catch on, he acted tempted and even said bluntly:

“All four parts of the reward are very generous. I accept the deal.”

“But—”

“Once the apartment is sealed, I’ll still be competing with you for the Kill-on-Sight Order Reward.”

That was a perfectly normal response for a player.

After all, who could resist the Kill-on-Sight Order Reward?

Ouyang wasn’t surprised. He nodded and said, “Alright, in that case, shall we draft the contract now?”

Jiang Ye nodded, then while continuing to gather info on the Ten Thousand Buddhas Cavern, watched as Ouyang drafted the agreement.

It was then he suddenly thought of a key point—

Light-type player Huang Bo was currently inside the Void Mirror Palace.

And according to what Wan Xin had said—

The Void Mirror Palace could be used to travel from Room 9669 of Apartment 6996 to Room 6996 of Apartment 9669.

In other words, using the Void Mirror Palace, you could move between the two apartments.

So in that case, if they truly wanted to block Light-type actions, they’d have to seal both Apartments 6996 and 9669!

Yet Ouyang, throughout the negotiations and even while drafting the contract, had never mentioned that.

He hadn’t even brought up the apartment number Lin Jing had discovered.

Thinking about all this, Jiang Ye casually asked at a suitable moment while watching Ouyang draft the agreement:

“By the way, we’re almost done with this contract—and I still don’t know which apartment Huang Bo is in?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep