Ouyang Fan paused in the middle of drafting the contract and quickly explained:

“That kind of valuable information can’t be revealed to you just like that.”

“After all, like you just said, when it comes to the Kill-on-Sight Order Reward, we’re competitors.”

“If this goes through, you’ll naturally know which apartment Huang Bo is in.”

“But if it doesn’t, and I tell you in advance, wouldn’t that be aiding the enemy?”

“Besides, we still need some time to pull this off. During that period, Huang Bo might change apartments.”

Sounded reasonable.

Seemed logical enough.

But Jiang Ye grew even more suspicious deep down.

After all, Huang Bo was inside the Void Mirror Palace!

How could he switch apartments so easily in a short time?

According to what Wan Xin said, it takes at least a full day for an ordinary player to get through the Void Mirror Palace.

Unless Ouyang and Lin Jing knew that the effect of Light and Shadow Escape allowed free movement within the Void Mirror Palace?

Jiang Ye had a strong feeling something was off, so he asked again:

“Right, and you said Huang Bo might change apartments.”

“Then what if he runs off during the White-Clad Woman’s attack on the Apartment Administrator? Wouldn’t sealing the apartment be useless then?”

Ouyang quickly explained this too:

“Well, that’s where luck comes in—”

“Best-case scenario, she kills the Administrator quickly and quietly.”

“Hopefully we’re not unlucky enough for Huang Bo to make his escape at that exact moment.”

“Besides, we can have a few people stationed at the rooftop to stop him in case he tries to flee.”

Sounded like another reasonable explanation.

But Jiang Ye became even more convinced something was wrong!

They were putting in all this effort, and then leaving it up to luck?

That was way too careless!

And as for guarding the rooftop to prevent escape—that made even less sense!

Back when the Light-type Player escaped from Apartment 9999, weren’t Wang Chengjin, Li Junqi, Jiang Wenhan, and Sha Bo—the so-called Four Heavenly Kings—already guarding the rooftop?

But Light and Shadow Escape was so fast that none of them could stop him.

And besides—

If guarding the rooftop actually worked, why bother sealing the apartment at all? Just have people watch the top floor!

So clearly, both of Ouyang’s explanations were flawed.

Jiang Ye’s mind was full of speculation and doubt.

But he didn’t ask anything more.

After all, the only reason he was this suspicious…

Was because he himself was the Light-type Player. He knew which apartment he was in.

If he asked too much, it would only arouse Ouyang’s suspicion.

Soon enough, the contract was finalized by Ouyang right under Jiang Ye’s nose.

Both sides reviewed it multiple times and added some final details.

Once everything checked out, Ouyang signed and pressed his palm seal first.

When he handed it over to Jiang Ye, Jiang Ye didn’t take it immediately. He just watched him quietly.

Ouyang let out an “oh” and took out his Survival Jade Token, operating it for a few moments.

Soon, there was a knock at Jiang Ye’s door.

Ouyang went to open it himself, and this time, Lin Jing walked in.

As he welcomed Lin Jing inside, Ouyang smiled at Jiang Ye and said:

“A three-party contract needs all three of us to sign, of course.”

Jiang Ye didn’t respond, just locked eyes with Lin Jing as he walked in slowly.

Lin Jing was still wearing that black tactical coat, exuding an upright, commanding aura, like a real big shot.

But when he looked at Jiang Ye, his eyes were somewhat conflicted.

After a few seconds of eye contact, he spoke first: “You killed Wang Chengjin?”

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, his tone casual: “Didn’t you see it in the hallway?”

Lin Jing was silent for a moment, then frowned and said:

“I did. That ability looked like Fleshweaving… but…”

He gave Jiang Ye another complicated look. “But I don’t sense that energy from you.”

“No, it’s not that it’s absent—it’s there, but only sometimes.”

Jiang Ye had a good idea what he was puzzled about.

The method used to kill Wang Chengjin was indeed the Blackened Replica’s Fleshweaving skill.

That was a Glyph Pattern Ability Lin Jing also possessed, so it made sense he recognized it.

But Jiang Ye hadn’t fused with the Blackened Replica at the moment.

So his body didn’t carry the Blackened Replica’s energy.

That’s probably what Lin Jing was confused about.

But Jiang Ye had no obligation to explain anything.

He chuckled and brushed it off, “What aura? Light-type aura? Dark-type aura? What, do I look like Ultraman with transformation powers?”

Lin Jing also knew that in a lawless place like this, probing other people’s secrets was taboo, so he dropped it.

He naturally shifted his attention to the contract, skimmed through it quickly, and agreed to sign.

With that, all three of them completed the contract.

Then Lin Jing handed Jiang Ye a black ribbon. “This is the deposit. Tie it around your forehead for two minutes to activate two hours of S-tier Skill use.”

“If you don’t trust it, you can have the White-Clad Woman inspect it for you.”

Jiang Ye accepted the ribbon and found it wasn’t pure black—it was a deep crimson, so dark it looked nearly black.

He immediately stored it in the Replica Shared Space, and had Replica No. 5, located with his Main Body, retrieve it from there.

Once it was out, he first had the Blackened Replica verify the item. Once confirmed, Jiang Ye put it on his main body’s forehead.

Even though the S-tier Skill only lasted two hours, best saved for a critical moment,

Truth be told, Jiang Ye didn’t want to wait.

He already made up his mind—

As long as the S-tier Skill was strong enough, he’d go claim his Personal Instance right away!

But honestly, there was no way to predict what S-tier Skill it would be.

He’d previously used a Skill Scroll and ended up with something as basic as Detection.

That was clearly a generic skill—not something derived from his X-tier Infinite Replication.

Sure, S-tier Skills probably wouldn’t be that basic,

But there was still a chance it might be something not very useful.

So in those two minutes while waiting for the ribbon to activate, Jiang Ye was pretty nervous.

Meanwhile, his Replica No. 2 continued dealing with Lin Jing and Ouyang.

Everything had already been settled in the contract, so the two simply reminded him to act quickly.

They added Jiang Ye as a friend via Survival Jade Token to stay in contact, then left his room.

The two of them headed straight back to the rooftop of Apartment 9999.

But the moment they arrived, they bumped into a poor sap crossing over from another apartment.

Ouyang Fan’s eyes suddenly widened, and he quickly checked the member list in the Apartment Group Chat.

Then leaned over to whisper in Lin Jing’s ear:

“Li Aoliang, Level 8.”

Lin Jing instinctively frowned but hadn’t even had time to say anything before—

That poor sap swaggered over with a cocky grin and said to the two of them:

“What are you whispering about behind Grandpa’s back, huh?”

“If you’re trying to find my name on the member list, you might as well just check the Apartment Ranking Board. I’m right at the top—”

Halfway through his sentence, his expression suddenly changed.

That arrogant attitude instantly vanished, replaced by sheer terror. He even blurted out—

“Holy sht?! Lin Jing!”

“And wait—Jiang Wenhan, Li Junqi, and Sha Bo too…”

“What the hll?? What the hell is this?!”

“Aren’t these guys all top dogs from the War God Ranking?!”

“And what’s up with this ranking board? Everyone’s Level 10?!”

“No—wait, after me there’s that Level 8 Wan Xin, and then Level 3 Jiang Ye…”

By now, Li Aoliang, already shaken to the core by the stacked lineup of Apartment 9999,

slowly turned back toward the two people he’d just been trash-talking…

He couldn’t help but gulp hard, then stammered, “You two…”

“You’re not… Wan Xin and Jiang Ye, the ones at the bottom of the rankings, right?”

Right? Right??

Li Aoliang was frantically praying in his heart: Please, I’m begging you—please let the two of you be Wan Xin and Jiang Ye QAQ

I’ve just taken my first step on the road to godhood!

I can’t just randomly jump into a lucky-numbered apartment for fun and get myself killed, right?!

“……”

Lin Jing’s frown twitched slightly. He’d already figured it out—

This guy was just an unlucky fool who blindly crossed into another apartment.

Among ordinary players, his strength could be considered top-tier.

But among the top-tier players of Apartment 9999, he was firmly at the bottom.

Lin Jing couldn’t be bothered with someone like that and was about to take him out.

But Ouyang grabbed his arm and said in a low voice, “Taking out a cross-apartment player right now might make Jiang Ye suspicious…”

Lin Jing had indeed come into contact with the Duoe Organization through a previous cross-apartment move.

Feeling guilty himself, he agreed with Ouyang’s reasoning.

They’d just left Jiang Ye’s place, and if they killed a cross-apartment player immediately afterward, it might make Jiang Ye suspicious.

And this Li Aoliang—he was obviously just a comic relief character.

As long as he posted something in the group chat and gave away a bit of info, Jiang Ye would quickly realize this clown had nothing to do with them and was just an unlucky guy who stumbled into Apartment 9999.

With that thought, Lin Jing decided not to act.

But Li Aoliang had no idea what these two were whispering about.

He figured the odds of these two being weaker than him—like Wan Xin and Jiang Ye—were just too low.

And besides, he’d heard the names Wan Xin and Jiang Ye before.

Wan Xin used to be ranked 96th on the War God Ranking before being replaced by Jiang Ye.

Even though everyone knew their match was rigged, Wan Xin’s earlier ranking was likely real.

So, being the same Level 8, Wan Xin would still be stronger than him.

Li Aoliang quickly grasped the reality and began backing toward the console, changing his attitude like a Sichuan Opera face-change, and nervously stammered:

“No need to say anything, masters! I—I’ll show myself out! I’ll leave! No need to see me off, really!”

As he turned to flee across apartments—

That lack of information drop would still raise Jiang Ye’s suspicion.

Naturally, Lin Jing and Ouyang couldn’t let him leave just like that.

Ouyang flashed in front of him, blocking his way with an easygoing smile:

“What’s the rush, bro? We’re not monsters or anything.”

Li Aoliang was exactly the kind of guy who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

In his mind, in a place like the Doomsday Apartment, strong players had to flex on the weak!

If these two were stronger than him, how could they not be monsters?

Blocking him like this—it had to be for his money or his life!

But now that he was trapped, he couldn’t run!

What to do, what to do?!

Li Aoliang was panicking inside.

Ouyang more or less guessed what he was thinking and said with a smile:

“Relax, we’re not here to rob you or kill you. I’m just about to leave Apartment 9999 and want to ask you to take care of something for me while I’m gone.”

At those words, Li Aoliang finally relaxed a little.

If it was just an errand…

Then maybe he still had a chance to live.

After a moment of silence, he stiffened his neck and asked, “What do you want me to do? I’m probably bottom-tier in this apartment, right?”

Ouyang grinned easily: “I’ve got a friend named Wan Xin—the second-to-last guy on the Level Ranking.”

“I want you to keep an eye on him. See if he does anything unusual.”

“Especially if he leaves Apartment 9999, let me know.”

That…

If it was just surveillance.

Li Aoliang still hesitated: “But I…”

Before he could finish, Lin Jing stepped forward.

“No ‘but.’ You don’t have a choice.”

His aura intensified, and a single glance from him was enough to make Li Aoliang feel like he was facing death itself.

After playing the bad cop, Ouyang switched to good cop and gave Li Aoliang more details.

Then used an item to bind him to the task. Only then did the two of them leave the apartment.

Leaving Li Aoliang alone on the rooftop, ready to cry.

F**k! If I’d known, I never would’ve crossed apartments!

Not only did I waste Survival Points for nothing—I walked right into a den of wolves!

But fortunately, Li Aoliang soon discovered—

Though the bigshots in the group were all teasing him and probing his background, none of them seemed to harbor lethal intent.

Maybe it was because they weren’t sure how strong he was, and didn’t want to make the first move and risk backlash.

These top-tier players were actually more cautious than someone like him, a semi-competent strong player…

With that in mind, Li Aoliang felt more and more like he’d been acting like a nouveau riche idiot earlier—thinking he was invincible with just a little bit of power.

He gave himself a good internal scolding, then continued lurking in the group chat, quietly observing, while thinking about how to respond to these bigshots.

So many of them… if only he could latch onto one as a patron…

As for this cross-apartment player, Jiang Ye naturally noticed him as well.

But at the moment, his main focus was on his Main Body.

To be exact, all of his replicas were completely shocked by the trial S-tier Skill!

Two minutes after activation, Jiang Ye’s Main Body felt the ribbon seemingly merge into his brain.

And on his Data Panel, a new S-tier Skill appeared!

【Soul Link (S-tier) (1 hour 59 minutes)】

And the skill’s effects—

Made his eyes go wide!

【Effect 1: I Am My Replicas】

There is no distinction between the Main Body and all replicas linked by soul. The Main Body is the replicas; the replicas are the Main Body.

Any skill used on a replica will also apply to the Main Body.

All skills of the Main Body can be directly used by replicas.

【Effect 2: Shared Life】

As long as one replica remains, the Main Body cannot die permanently.

As long as the Main Body is alive, no replica can die permanently.

If either a replica or the Main Body dies, but not all are dead, the dead portion enters soul-form cooldown and revives after 24 hours.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep