Jiang Ye couldn’t be bothered to watch these little Small Fries act all shocked.

His Replica No. 1, who was currently with Yang Wenchao, turned to him seriously and said:

“Tell me again—”

“In the game, after the 4444 Administrator was killed, was there a new 4444 Administrator that took their place?”

Yang Wenchao was reading the group chat and was caught off guard by the sudden question.

But he still quickly responded, “That batch of Beginner Apartments didn’t get a new one.”

“But when the next batch of Beginner Apartments came out, of course they had a new 4444 Administrator.”

As he spoke, Wan Xin nodded in agreement.

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then asked again to confirm:

“When you buried your account in the secret Graveyard 4444, that was after the 4444 Administrator had been replaced, right?”

Yang Wenchao nodded: “Of course.”

After all, he only started paying attention to Apartment 4444 after the Kill-on-Sight Order was issued due to the 4444 Administrator’s death.

Jiang Ye continued thinking as he asked:

“When you buried your account in the secret graveyard, the current 4444 Administrator didn’t notice your actions at all…”

Yang Wenchao was just about to say something.

He had previously assumed that when Jiang Ye and the White-Clad Woman mentioned 4444 having a Death-State, it meant the Administrator had noticed his exploit.

But when he saw Jiang Ye’s thoughtful look, a lightbulb went off—he seemed to get what Jiang Ye was trying to say.

After a moment of contemplation, he followed up:

“You’re saying—”

“In the game, the previous 4444 Administrator who was killed did indeed have access to the secret graveyard.”

“But the newly appointed 4444 who replaced him couldn’t enter that graveyard…”

“So that’s why the little trick I pulled using a glitch wasn’t noticed by the Administrator?”

Thinking of it that way, Yang Wenchao found it more reasonable.

Simply put—

There were two different 4444 Administrators in the game.

The first had Death-State and could access the secret graveyard.

The second didn’t have Death-State and couldn’t access it.

It was even very possible that the second 4444 knew nothing about the secret graveyard!

That would explain why Yang Wenchao’s glitch exploit wasn’t discovered while the second 4444 was in office—

A much more logical explanation than assuming the Administrator saw it and chose to ignore it.

And based on this information, it wasn’t hard to conclude—

The second 4444 Administrator in the game had weaker authority!

Most likely, the black cross that originally belonged to the 4444 Administrator had ended up in the hands of the Apartment Boss!

At this point, the connections between the game and reality were becoming clear.

Many game players, including Yang Wenchao, used to think—

That the Kill-on-Sight Order was issued by the Apartment Boss because a player had killed the 4444 Administrator.

But now that they knew the Apartment Boss had planned to kill 4444 anyway—

Jiang Ye realized—

The unlucky guy in the game who got hunted down across the entire server and even died in real life…

His role was likely the same as Zhou Qiming!

That guy probably went after the 4444 Administrator not on a whim, but because he was instructed by the Apartment Boss or the Duoe Organization!

He may have even been able to succeed in killing 4444 thanks to their support!

But what he didn’t realize was that from the start, he was just a pawn!

In order to obtain the black cross, the Apartment Boss had probably made other arrangements.

And in that setup, the pawn who killed 4444 was sacrificed.

That’s how the Apartment Boss managed to get the cross smoothly.

And in that same setup, the player who fulfilled the Global Kill-on-Sight Order…

Was probably someone who had cozied up to the Apartment Boss and the Duoe Organization, which let him rise quickly and become the so-called Strongest Player.

Right now, Zhou Qiming was playing the role of that player who went to kill the 4444 Administrator in the game.

It wasn’t clear whether he realized this himself or stumbled into it by accident.

He didn’t seem to intend to kill 4444 personally, instead seeking Jiang Ye’s help and asking the White-Clad Woman to make the move.

And now, one very important question remained—

Whether in the game or in real life, when trying to kill the 4444 Administrator…

What method did the Apartment Boss actually use to finish him off?

Was that method related to Light?

Jiang Ye’s thoughts had gone back and forth on this.

After learning that 4444 had Death-State and was hard to kill,

he once again believed that the player who killed 4444 in the game must’ve had Light-type powers.

But now, that idea was overturned again.

Back to his earlier thought—

If the player really had Light-type abilities, it’d be hard to keep hidden.

And Zhou Qiming, who was working for the Apartment Boss now, didn’t have Light abilities either.

Even when he looked for someone to help kill 4444, he didn’t consider partnering with the Light-type Huang Bo.

So it was very likely that there really were non-Light-type methods that could deal with an Administrator’s Death-State.

No.

Maybe it wasn’t about targeting the Death-State.

But rather—targeting the weakness of the 4444 Administrator himself?

And in that targeting, what role did the Raven Egg buried in the graveyard play?

Jiang Ye couldn’t figure it out for now, but one thing was certain—

Now that his Administrator Replica had become the new 4444, he too would be a target the Apartment Boss wanted to eliminate.

But then again, it wasn’t the first time one of his replicas had become a thorn in the side of the bigshots.

He was used to it.

Unshaken.

Still, this deep comparison between the game and real life had sparked a new thought—

That game-version of Doomsday Apartment experienced by Yang Wenchao and the others…

Was it really just a bunch of virtual data…

Or had it actually existed?

And regardless of whether it was just virtual or once real—

Could it be considered a previous cycle of the entire Doomsday Apartment?

Or maybe…

It wasn’t just the “previous” cycle?

Could it already have been the “Nth” cycle?

And if the “Nth Cycle” theory holds…

Then Jiang Ye, his classmates, and every Doomsday Apartment player—

might not be experiencing this cycle for the first time!

And the moment that idea popped into his mind,

Jiang Ye couldn’t help but recall some sci-fi short videos he had seen.

According to them, Northern Song dynasty philosopher Shao Yong once calculated—

That all things in the world go through a cycle every 120,000 years.

It was said that even modern scientists had theories about a cyclic universe.

When Jiang Ye watched those videos, he just treated them as jokes.

After all, whether the universe cycled or not didn’t seem to have much to do with him.

But now…

The creation, destruction, and reincarnation of the Doomsday Apartment—

seemed like a microcosm of universal evolution?

A microcosm…

Then were they all just part of an experiment conducted by some mysterious being to explore the secrets of the universe?

Or perhaps this was simply the natural form of how the universe operates?

Philosophical questions always have a way of shaking a person’s core and making them doubt their existence.

So Jiang Ye didn’t like to think too deeply about them.

His musings only scratched the surface, and he quickly stopped there.

But the mention of “reincarnation” reminded him of the legendary mythological figure—Sisyphus.

Sisyphus angered the gods by kidnapping Death itself, halting death from the world.

As punishment, the gods condemned him to roll a massive boulder up a hill.

Yet every time he pushed it to the top, it would roll back down—nullifying all his efforts.

So Sisyphus was doomed to endlessly repeat the task of pushing the rock uphill…

The gods believed this was the harshest punishment they could inflict.

That myth has inspired many interpretations.

Many writers and directors have drawn from it to create “loop”-themed stories.

The most classic example being Triangle, where the female lead encounters versions of herself from previous and earlier loops.

Of course, some people believe Triangle contains two loops: Loop A and Loop B.

Some even argue it includes three: Loops A, B, and C,

with the female lead existing in all three states simultaneously…

Emmmmm…

Just thinking about that movie gave Jiang Ye a headache.

So he quickly shook it off.

Replica No. 1 exchanged a glance with Yang Wenchao.

Clearly, Yang Wenchao had also connected the dots between the game and reality.

Before, he had only viewed the game Doomsday Apartment from a single perspective.

But now, from a new angle—

He realized that the game, for players, might seem like a fleeting moment of fun,

but in reality, it spanned across an entire timeline.

And that full timeline had its own internal system.

Each point in time saw a different version of the Doomsday Apartment.

The one they were experiencing now—

Seemed to align with the timepoint where the 4444 Administrator was about to be killed.

Of course, there were still many differences between the game and real life.

After thinking for a while, Yang Wenchao couldn’t help but ask Jiang Ye:

“According to the Apartment Fusion Announcement…”

“The original 4444 Administrator has been replaced by the 1010 Administrator…”

“So, does the current new Administrator still have access to the secret Graveyard 4444?”

“If not, who holds that authority now?”

Jiang Ye knew the answer, but didn’t say it aloud.

After all, there was no way he’d reveal the secret that he had become the 4444 Administrator.

He checked the time,

then turned to Yang Wenchao and Wan Xin and said:

“It’s almost midnight…”

“Do you dare go to the so-called secret graveyard in Mecha Undead Mode?”

As soon as he said that, Wan Xin’s face twisted like he was constipated and shook his head immediately:

“Of course I don’t dare! I only buried my account once in the game! If I die again, that’s real death!”

“Besides, with my bad luck…”

“And after midnight, I’m heading straight to Apartment 0000 to take revenge on Cheng Qun!”

Jiang Ye wasn’t surprised. He didn’t expect much from Wan Xin anyway.

So his attention focused mainly on Yang Wenchao.

Yang Wenchao actually wasn’t that bold.

If it were just the game, of course he wouldn’t hesitate.

But then he realized—that fearless state of mind he used to have in the game

was exactly what he was lacking now.

So, after a moment of thought, he asked Jiang Ye in return:

“You dare?”

Jiang Ye raised a brow: “Of course I do.”

Yang Wenchao took a deep breath:

“You haven’t even buried your account and you still dare? Then I’ve got no excuse not to.”

“And—”

He glanced at Wan Xin and added:

“To get to Apartment 0000, we have to go through the Administrator.”

“Right now, 4444’s hiding like a turtle. We can’t even get to 0000.”

“So, we’ve got to figure out how to deal with 4444 first. It’d be best if we uncover the secret of the graveyard before going to 0000. That’s the smart move.”

He looked at Jiang Ye and raised his brows:

“Who knows? Maybe after digging up the graveyard secret, you’ll get an infinite revive account too.”

Jiang Ye grinned, looking like he was quite looking forward to that “infinite revival.”

Wan Xin, hearing that, couldn’t help but waver again—

D*mn it! If there really is such a thing as infinite revives…

Then going to the secret graveyard at midnight might actually be worth it!

But with his terrible luck…

What if Jiang Ye and Yang Wenchao both get infinite revive accounts,

and he alone ends up dying in the graveyard?

Wan Xin couldn’t make up his mind, so he offered instead:

“There’s not much time left until midnight. How about I help you guys trade for Mechanical Cores?”

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then shook his head:

“We don’t really trust each other that much.”

“The Mechanical Core—just buy your own.”

“Let’s split up now. We’ll meet back here at 23:59?”

Yang Wenchao had long wanted to split up.

Being around Jiang Ye made him feel a weird kind of pressure.

So he nodded without hesitation.

Wan Xin had no objections either.

So the three of them immediately split up to act separately.

And at that moment, Jiang Ye came up with a bold new idea…

Originally, he had planned to focus entirely on his Main Body’s Personal Instance after killing the Administrator.

But now—plans couldn’t keep up with change!

The changes brought about by this Administrator identity were just too significant!

Of course, he could try seeing if his Administrator Replica could also enter the Personal Instance!

If an Administrator Replica with Death-State could enter, it might provide even more benefits to the Main Body.

However, the privileges tied to the Administrator identity made him hesitant to act rashly.

Back when the fake 1010 Administrator impersonated him, he gave Zhang Jintian a small iron chip.

That item was actually called an Administrator Substitution Badge.

It really could let someone act with administrator authority, but only as a temp.

The true Administrator authority was held by the official Administrator Work Badge.

This badge looked very similar to the basic badges Jiang Ye had received earlier for Errands, Cleaning, and other service jobs.

But its craftsmanship was much more refined.

The jet-black color also made it look more high-end and elite.

The Administrator Work Badge was not only a symbol of the Administrator identity,

it also recorded all the Administrator’s rights and restrictions.

As for rights, those were relatively straightforward:

collecting rent, issuing loans.

What was worth noting—

If a player was Erased due to unpaid rent or overdue loans,

the Survival Points generated by that Erasure would be directly credited to the Administrator’s account!

In this sense, a player’s life was essentially passive income for an Administrator.

Administrators should, in theory, be hoping for players to fail at paying rent or loans, and get Erased.

But in practice, players could exchange Survival Stones for Game Coins.

And one Survival Stone could be converted into a Survival Point.

So even players who survived could still indirectly provide extra income for Administrators.

Besides privileges, Administrators also had many strict restrictions.

First, they had to provide service promptly when players paid rent—they couldn’t refuse.

Second, loans couldn’t be issued arbitrarily just to trap players into default.

Loan limits were restricted by the badge and followed strict rules and procedures.

In addition, there were two very serious limitations:

They could not leave their assigned Apartment,

They could not proactively kill players.

If an Administrator left their assigned Apartment, they’d be instantly Erased.

If they actively killed a player, they would be penalized 10,000 Survival Points.

A deduction of 10,000 Survival Points—might as well be a death sentence.

Of course, if attacked by a player, they could retaliate with Erasure Authority.

That was considered self-defense, which wouldn’t deduct points—

But also wouldn’t earn any.

So, compared to self-defense,

Administrators would clearly prefer players to get programmatically Erased due to unpaid rent or loans.

After reviewing these permissions, Jiang Ye hesitated about letting his Administrator Replica enter the Personal Instance.

He had learned from the White-Clad Woman that the Personal Instance Space was a special kind of space.

Even Zhang Jintian had mentioned that its time flow was different from the outside world!

A space like that might no longer fall under the Apartment’s jurisdiction!

If his Administrator Replica entered the Personal Instance

and ended up being Erased for leaving his jurisdiction—

That would be a total loss.

So, Jiang Ye made a decision:

He needed a different candidate.

In other words…

He had to get Wu Ying into his hands—as soon as possible!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep