Although he asked the question, Jiang Ye actually already had a bit of information.

The Light-type, using Light and Shadow Escape, had run all over Apartment 4444 twice.

Even though he moved quickly and a bit carelessly, he really hadn’t noticed anything unusual about any particular room.

And even in the strategy guide Wan Xin had given him, there was no mention that Room 4444 of Apartment 4444 had any special features.

So as he asked the question, he instinctively felt he might have guessed wrong.

But unexpectedly—

Wan Xin nodded and gave a firm answer:

“Room 4444 of Apartment 4444 is indeed special.”

“The special thing is—”

“Apartment 4444 doesn’t have a Room 4444.”

“…”

Ah… well, that is pretty special, huh -_-||

As Jiang Ye was still thinking it over, Wan Xin continued to explain:

“Many players have explored and investigated this point in the game.”

“The final conclusion everyone reached was—”

“That the underground Graveyard probably evolved from Room 4444.”

“So the special underground Graveyard is basically the special Room 4444.”

“That’s why I didn’t specifically mention the missing Room 4444 in the guide I gave you.”

I see…

Thinking about it further, Jiang Ye felt—

What most players believed wasn’t necessarily the truth.

It was entirely possible that the Graveyard was the Graveyard, and Room 4444 was Room 4444.

The missing Room 4444 might have simply never been discovered by the players.

Thinking this, he looked again at Yang Wenchao.

Yang Wenchao seemed to read his mind and nodded directly:

“That’s right. I found the missing Room 4444, and it wasn’t the Graveyard—”

He naturally said “not the Graveyard,” but quickly corrected himself:

“More accurately, not the Graveyard we’re standing in now.”

Jiang Ye instantly got what he meant: “You mean, the missing Room 4444 is also a Graveyard?”

Yang Wenchao nodded: “Honestly, Graveyard 4444 and the underground Graveyard are very similar. When I first went in, I thought I’d entered the underground Graveyard too.”

“But in Graveyard 4444, the ‘greenery’—the plants—aren’t black, they’re red.”

“And it seems Graveyard 4444 isn’t under the Administrator’s control either.”

“There are lots of coffins there for free. You can bury accounts yourself without paying anything, and without being detected by the Administrator.”

This explanation really opened Wan Xin and Jiang Ye’s eyes.

Especially Wan Xin, who prided himself on being a veteran gamer, but he truly hadn’t known about this hidden strategy.

But soon, his mind clicked, and he immediately caught a flaw: “No! Something’s off! There’s a hole in your story!”

Wan Xin suddenly raised his voice, looking proud like he had just caught Yang Wenchao lying.

He turned to Jiang Ye and pointed out:

“Think about it! According to him—”

“There are two Graveyards in Apartment 4444, one underground, and one called Graveyard 4444.”

“And he said he buried accounts in Graveyard 4444!”

“But then what? He revived in the underground Graveyard! That doesn’t add up!”

Jiang Ye noticed the issue immediately too.

But he didn’t think Yang Wenchao would lie about something with such an obvious hole.

Sure enough, Yang Wenchao quickly explained:

“I really did bury accounts in Graveyard 4444.”

“And because I wasn’t sure if the burial worked, I specifically tested account retrieval in the game.”

“Strangely enough—the retrieval process was exactly the same as for normal players.”

“The retrieved account also revived in the underground Graveyard.”

“So I started suspecting back then that Graveyard 4444 and the underground Graveyard might be connected somehow.”

“Or maybe there’s some other reason why accounts buried in Graveyard 4444 ended up appearing in the underground Graveyard.”

Saying that, he met Jiang Ye’s gaze:

“You know me well enough. I wouldn’t make up such a stupid lie with such a glaring hole.”

Jiang Ye nodded and smoothly asked:

“When you retrieve an account in-game, the Administrator helps you open the coffin, and your account revives from it, right?”

Wan Xin and Yang Wenchao both nodded.

Jiang Ye asked Yang Wenchao again:

“When you retrieved your account, didn’t the Administrator notice anything weird?”

Yang Wenchao shook his head:

“The coffins were the same. The Administrator didn’t notice anything.”

“But because I was worried something might get exposed, I only retrieved an account once.”

Seeing that Jiang Ye seemed to believe Yang Wenchao, Wan Xin started thinking too:

“So it’s true… there’s some connection between Graveyard 4444 and the underground Graveyard.”

“You buried your account in Graveyard 4444, but it showed up in the underground Graveyard…”

“Could there be some special teleportation device?”

“Or maybe it’s a game bug? Like, Graveyard 4444 and the underground Graveyard are actually the same place, but because of magnetic fields or whatever sci-fi stuff, it feels like they’re different?”

Yang Wenchao gave him a look like, “Are you stupid? You think I can’t tell the difference between two Graveyards?”

Wan Xin ignored his side-eye and kept rambling excitedly:

“Or maybe the underground Graveyard and Graveyard 4444 are connected vertically—one on top, one on the bottom?”

Saying that, he started gesturing with his hands:

“Like this line I’m drawing is the soil of the Graveyard.”

“Above the line is Graveyard 4444, below it is the underground Graveyard.”

“And the line itself, like Earth, has gravity. So whether you’re standing above or below, it feels normal and you can’t tell the difference.”

“Whether you bury an account in Graveyard 4444 or the underground Graveyard, you’re actually burying it into this same ‘line.’”

“So from your perspective, it looks like two different Graveyards.”

“But in reality, it’s the same place.”

“Maybe even the Administrator doesn’t know this secret!”

Wan Xin got more excited the more he talked, his gestures growing wilder, and he looked increasingly confident:

“So actually, what players have been saying is right—the original Room 4444 really did evolve into the underground Graveyard.”

“It’s just that players didn’t know that under the underground Graveyard, there’s another secret Graveyard!”

“And only you, by looking for Room 4444, managed to find that secret Graveyard!”

Yang Wenchao, half-influenced by Wan Xin’s excitement, started thinking about whether that crazy theory might actually make sense.

But Jiang Ye was thinking…

Did the Administrator really not know about the secret Graveyard?

When the Light-type had fought his way to the underground Graveyard, he had immediately scouted the entire place.

Yet he hadn’t found any sign of the 4444 Administrator.

Even the Raven Egg he’d seen in the videos wasn’t there.

That’s why he had considered digging up graves to find him.

And now…

While Wan Xin was still excited and Yang Wenchao was still pondering, Jiang Ye’s Light and Shadow Escape pierced downward into the soil beneath the Graveyard.

The power of Light and Shadow Escape wasn’t just about speed—it could phase through solid objects too.

Even soil could be phased through.

However…

The soil of this Graveyard carried an overwhelmingly strong Dark attribute.

The Light-type, already suffering from the pain caused by the Comprehension Replica, felt even worse now.

As he burrowed deeper into the dark soil, he felt like his stomach was turning inside out, and his brain felt like someone was playing a full symphony of chaos on taut strings, buzzing and pounding with pain!

And the deeper he went, the stronger the nausea and the pressure grew.

For a Light-type, this experience was truly abnormal.

After all, when he was in Light and Shadow Escape mode, phasing through matter should never produce a sense of pressure.

At most, he would just feel physically exhausted from the heavy energy consumption.

But this time, the deeper he went, even while in Light and Shadow state, he could feel pressure!

It was as if some special energy was compressing the light itself!

Yes, energy — not a physical object.

Jiang Ye was certain: physical matter could not compress light.

Whatever was compressing him could only be some special form of energy.

If the Comprehension Replica weren’t in trouble right now, he might have tried fusing a large number of Replicas to force his way deeper.

But given that so many Replicas had been consumed for the Comprehension Replica,

Jiang Ye thought it over and decided not to let the Light-type take any more risks for now.

Very quickly, he shot back up through the soil to the surface.

Thanks to this process, when Huang Bo opened his mouth again with a weakened voice, it wouldn’t raise any suspicion.

He said bluntly, “I don’t know if it’s because of the ‘gravity’ Wan Xin mentioned, but there’s definitely some weird oppressive force underground.”

“Even I couldn’t keep exploring deeper.”

“So even if there really are two layers of Graveyards, it’s probably impossible to cross between them directly.”

Saying that, the Light-type immediately turned to Yang Wenchao and asked:

“So, let’s ask you now—”

“How did you find the missing Room 4444?”

“I…”

Yang Wenchao was just about to answer,

when suddenly, Huang Bo’s form returned to normal.

The sudden return to human form startled Yang Wenchao.

It wasn’t because Huang Bo’s face was ugly,

but because Light and Shadow Escape was considered a Light-type’s lifesaving trump card.

Although it consumed a lot of stamina,

its incredible speed and immunity to physical attacks meant almost no one could ambush a Light-type in that state.

But once the Light and Shadow form was lifted and his human form exposed…

If someone had bad intentions, he could be ambushed and instantly killed!

However, seeing Huang Bo’s pale face, Yang Wenchao guessed—

this guy probably couldn’t keep it up anymore.

After all, Light and Shadow Escape really did burn through stamina fast.

And he had just tunneled into the ground too…

In his current weakened state, if someone launched a sneak attack…

Of course, this idea only flashed through Yang Wenchao’s mind. He didn’t act on it.

Jiang Ye didn’t care what he thought anyway.

In Huang Bo’s voice, low and steady, he said:

“Everything happening in this Graveyard might be under the Administrator’s surveillance.”

“So from here on, you should leave the Graveyard before continuing the conversation.”

“You guys?” Yang Wenchao was momentarily confused.

Huang Bo nodded, his gaze serious and his voice heavier: “Yes, you guys.”

“I’m extremely weak right now. To avoid any unnecessary ideas from you all, let’s split up.”

“You two follow Yang Wenchao to find the missing Room 4444.”

“I’ll stay here and act alone.”

This made perfect sense to Yang Wenchao.

He was convinced by now that this Light-type was indeed too exhausted to continue.

Since he was carrying the Kill-on-Sight reward, it was only logical to send them away.

After exchanging a glance with Wan Xin, they both agreed to the split.

Entering the Graveyard needed permission, but leaving didn’t.

Very soon, Jiang Ye, Wan Xin, and Yang Wenchao left the Graveyard according to Huang Bo’s arrangement.

The entire underground Graveyard was left with only Huang Bo alone.

He was indeed weak right now — but he was also deliberately acting weaker.

If someone really was monitoring the Graveyard…

Maybe they would seize the opportunity.

Meanwhile, back in the Duel Space, Jiang Ye noticed—Zhou Qiming’s expression remained unchanged.

He really seemed unaware of everything happening at the Graveyard.

From beginning to end, he sat there like an old monk, calm and steady.

Only when the timing was just right did he suddenly speak:

“Three minutes are up.”

Three minutes had indeed passed.

But Jiang Ye was really not in a good condition to fight!

Mainly because almost all of his Replicas had been fused into the Comprehension Replica!

However, there were less than a minute left before those fusions were fully complete.

So No. 2 Jiang Ye deliberately stalled for time, casually asking:

“Should I just hit random match? What’s your combat power? You sure you can match with me 100%?”

Zhou Qiming, dead serious, his eyes under his dark circles calm as still water, said:

“You don’t need to worry about that. Just match.”

Seeing this guy wasn’t giving him a chance to stall any further, Jiang Ye thought—

Fine, random match it is.

He still had the Blackened Replica left unused.

And besides, if Zhou Qiming really intended to die at his hands to dig out his secrets…

Then Jiang Ye could beat him easily.

Even if Zhou Qiming wanted to defeat him and crush his spirit, Jiang Ye had a Privilege-Exempt Card, so his win streak wouldn’t be broken anyway.

Thus, No. 2 Jiang Ye didn’t stall anymore and began the regular random matching process.

At the same time, the Light-type left behind in the Graveyard sat cross-legged and lit a stick of Confusion Incense.

The Confusion Incense was an item he had swiped from Ke Peng, its effect being to mess with one’s mind and cause minor hallucinations.

In Jiang Ye’s understanding, it was kind of like pufferfish toxin.

And of course, lighting the Confusion Incense wasn’t for himself.

It was to create a layer of defense.

Also, it was another way of projecting weakness to the enemy.

If anyone saw him sitting cross-legged, surrounded by Confusion Incense, they might think he was too weak to use Light and Shadow Escape anymore—and get tempted to launch a sneak attack.

Besides that, the real reason for the Confusion Incense was—

Under its cover, he discreetly used Replica Swap again.

He swapped the seemingly weak Light-type Replica with one of the three Light-type Sub-Replicas that Wang Hai had gifted him after killing Prism.

There was a difference between a Light-type Replica and a Sub-Replica.

Sub-Replicas looked like semi-transparent shadows; with careful observation, you could tell they weren’t real people.

So the Confusion Incense helped blur that distinction.

Thus, the Sub-Replica posed as the weakened Light-type, staying in the Graveyard both as bait and as an observer.

The real Light-type Replica, through the swap, had returned to the Void Mirror Palace.

And this time, he wasn’t back just for the Comprehension Replica stuck in a dilemma.

It was also because—

Huang Bo circled the center area of the Void Mirror Palace and then, standing in front of a certain mirrored section, shouted:

“Hey, fellow kindred?”

“Looking that ugly, don’t call me kindred.”

“Call me… call me senior!”

The voice clearly carried a mischievous excitement,

like some bratty elementary school kid demanding to be called daddy.

Hearing that, Jiang Ye couldn’t help but play along, responding seriously:

“Since you’re insisting, then this honored self shall reluctantly agree to be your senior. :)”

“…”

The other one was obviously thrown off by the awkwardness, immediately snapping:

“Look at you, calling yourself ‘honored self’! Shameless!”

Jiang Ye said calmly, “Says the guy calling himself ‘senior.’ Pot, meet kettle.”

“…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep