Qu Xing, on his end, had just secured another new Replica.

And it was a Defender Replica—one even stronger than Wu Ying!

Naturally, he was beyond excited.

And all the ruckus stirred up here in the Reincarnation Graveyard didn’t go unnoticed by Zhou Qiming.

Zhou Qiming was currently on the run, constantly on edge.

Hearing the terrifying explosions from afar, his face went pale for a moment.

He quickly turned to Jiang Ye beside him and asked,

“What’s going on?!”

“Did that Madwoman break in?!”

As for Jiang Ye—this version of him—he was elated inside over acquiring a Defender Replica.

But unfortunately, he had to completely suppress that joy.

Facing Zhou Qiming’s unease, he shifted his gaze and forcibly pushed down his excitement, then furrowed his brows and said,

“It’s nothing. This is a good spot we’ve got here. Without permission from the 4444 Administrator, that Madwoman absolutely can’t break in.”

Zhou Qiming nodded, realizing he might’ve overreacted.

Just as he was starting to feel relieved, Jiang Ye suddenly clapped a hand on his shoulder and said, in a heavy tone,

“Yeah, without the 4444 Administrator’s permission, she really can’t get in.”

“But… if she manages to convince the 4444 Administrator, you could get kicked out of the Graveyard at any moment.”

Zhou Qiming wasn’t stupid. He immediately frowned and said, “But you—”

Jiang Ye pressed a little harder on his shoulder and sighed,

“Yeah, I don’t want you getting kicked out either.”

“After all, if you get thrown out, you’re definitely dragging me down with you.”

“But the thing is, the situation’s dicey—”

“You know about my Replicas, right?”

“And now, one of my extremely important Replicas has fallen into the hands of that Madwoman…”

“If that Replica can’t convince the 4444 Administrator to let you go, then that Replica’s a goner.”

“That one Replica of mine… it’s worth a few hundred Survival Points at least, and now…”

“…”

Zhou Qiming quickly picked up on the subtext.

It all boiled down to two words—pay up.

And not just that—Jiang Ye had even hinted at the amount.

A few hundred Survival Points…

What the h*ll, why not just rob me instead?!

Zhou Qiming cursed in his mind.

But then he caught a loophole and said, “Wait a second. Doesn’t the Graveyard’s facial recognition system already remember your face?”

“Shouldn’t that super important Replica of yours be able to sneak into the Graveyard too?”

Huh, true.

But that didn’t faze Jiang Ye. He immediately put on a grim face and replied,

“Under normal circumstances, yeah, it could’ve slipped in.”

“But that Madwoman used a god-tier item that completely trapped my Replica.”

“It’s this tiny bottle-shaped item—looks like a glass vial. That thing can trap even Light-types. Not even Light and Shadow Escape can get out…”

“You know what kind of item that is?”

Zhou Qiming really didn’t know.

But Jiang Ye seemed so convincing—it didn’t look like he was lying.

In fact, it was obvious he was asking Zhou Qiming for more info on the item.

So, Zhou Qiming’s suspicion that Jiang Ye was scamming him started to fade a little.

After all, with how nuts that Madwoman was, she definitely wouldn’t sit around doing nothing.

If it weren’t for Jiang Ye helping him get into this secret Graveyard…

He’d probably already be in that Madwoman’s clutches.

Still… a few hundred Survival Points…

That wasn’t pocket change for him.

Zhou Qiming didn’t agree right away. Instead, he asked,

“Can we move up the transaction between the Administrator and the Apartment Trader to before noon?”

“Even if I cover the cost of your Replica with a few hundred Survival Points…”

“With how relentless that Madwoman is, I’m afraid I won’t even survive until noon…”

What Zhou Qiming said wasn’t without merit.

The problem was…

Jiang Ye’s eyes glinted.

The reason he set the deal with the Trader at 12 PM was to give himself more time to enjoy the perks of the Reincarnation Graveyard.

But if his earlier analysis held true—

Even if he handed over the Reincarnation Key, the Trader wouldn’t actually gain access to the Graveyard.

Instead, the 4444 Administrator who lost the Key would simply no longer be able to enter.

So, if he could figure out a way to keep entering and leaving the Reincarnation Graveyard even after handing over the Reincarnation Key…

Then moving the deal earlier wouldn’t be a problem.

And as for how to get in and out after losing the Key—Jiang Ye already had an idea—

It was simple: Replica Swap!

So far, Replica Swap seemed to let him freely move in and out of the Reincarnation Graveyard.

As long as he had a Replica inside the Graveyard to act as a swap anchor…

Then for all his Replicas, this Graveyard was basically home—come and go as they pleased!

Still, even with that theory, he had some concerns.

First, he couldn’t be sure that the Trader who got the Reincarnation Key would truly be locked out of the Graveyard.

Second, he also couldn’t be sure that a Replica who lost the Key could still use Replica Swap to get in and out.

What if the reason Replica Swap worked was because the 4444 Administrator Replica had special privileges—and other Replicas were just benefiting from that?

If only there was a way to test that out in advance.

Fortunately.

On Qu Xing’s end, he was currently going through the Defender Replica’s data panel and checking its inventory.

And over with Replica No. 1, he could make a request to the rich woman.

He didn’t hold back, going straight to the point:

“From what I know, the 4444 Administrator is super into soul-searching abilities.”

“Boss, do you have anything that could let him gain a soul-searching ability?”

“Even if it’s limited-use, it should be enough to tempt the 4444 Administrator.”

If he could get all of the Defender Replica’s memories…

Then Jiang Ye would have a clearer understanding of the Doomsday Apartment’s situation, and instantly grasp knowledge far beyond what Wu Ying’s level could reach!

Even though the handsome youth didn’t seem to know about the Light-type organization…

He had managed to leave Apartment 0000 early and even carried the Crow Feather that could absorb Glyph Pattern Abilities…

A guy like that—even if he ranked below Lin Ling—definitely knew tons of top-tier secrets!

Plus, only by perfectly mastering the Defender Replica’s memories could Jiang Ye properly use this identity.

Otherwise, like with Ge Ge, who had no memory at all—when he went to Apartment 9999, he almost got exposed by Ouyang.

If it hadn’t been for the Madwoman conveniently distracting Ouyang…

Eventually, as they kept interacting, Ouyang would’ve noticed something was off.

And this issue didn’t just apply to this one Replica.

In the future, if he had another important Replica but no memories, it would still be a major inconvenience.

But his plan sounded better in theory than in practice…

Lin Ling listened to him and burst out laughing in anger on the spot: “Ha, soul-searching ability…”

“Why don’t you just ask for an ascension method while you’re at it?”

“I’ll give you an immortality elixir and let you ascend to godhood right here, how about that?!”

“……”

Jiang Ye thought to himself: Weren’t you the one who told me to give a general direction so you could pick an item for me?

Now I’ve made my request and you can’t deliver?!

Then what were all those big words just now?

Were you just flexing for fun??

Feeling helpless, Jiang Ye rephrased, “Then, instead of forcefully stealing someone else’s memory, what about awakening memories that already belong to oneself?”

“Do you have any items that do that?”

Lin Ling paused at his words.

Because once, she too had searched for that kind of item.

She’d wanted it to…

Help an Eerie Being awaken its memories from when it was still alive.

But unfortunately.

Lin Ling’s mind stirred. With a wave of her hand, several items appeared in front of Jiang Ye.

Wearing a cold face and speaking in a lazy tone, she said:

“These things can only help players awaken sealed memories. They can’t help an Eerie Being recall memories from before death.”

“If what the 4444 Administrator wants is an item that helps Eerie Beings awaken their memories…”

“Then sorry—I want that too, but I don’t have it.”

Jiang Ye was secretly thrilled, but kept a blank face.

After all, this place was full of sharp people.

If anyone figured out that he wasn’t picking a gift for someone else but rather for himself, that would be trouble…

So he pretended to hesitate as he looked over the items, thought for a long while, then took a deep breath and said uncertainly:

“Let’s give it a shot. Out of these items, which one works the best?”

Lin Ling, seeing how unsure he was, looked disappointed.

She’d thought this guy was kind of clever and might actually help bribe the Administrator effectively…

But in the end?

A little cleverness is still just that—no wonder people like him never end well.

And maybe he really wouldn’t end well under her care.

Lin Ling sighed inwardly, but on the surface, she warned again: “You sure you’ve thought this through? If all three tries fail… you really will die.”

“And the death I’m giving you—no resurrection item in existence can bring you back.”

Jiang Ye’s heart sank.

This woman’s glass bottle could even block Replica Swap.

So he was genuinely worried that she had a way to bypass even Substitution Replica effects and kill him for real.

But it didn’t matter. The 4444 Administrator was him—he decided whether Zhou Qiming stayed or went.

So, pretending to hesitate, he finally nodded firmly, “I’m sure.”

Seeing this, Lin Ling didn’t say much more. She pointed at a plain-looking stone and said:

“Stone of This Life. It’s the rarest among this batch of items.”

“If you use the Eye of True Sight to examine it, you’ll see the item description includes the word ‘Incomplete.’”

“You do know how valuable the ‘Incomplete’ label is, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Jiang Ye nodded repeatedly. Of course he knew—White-Clad Woman and the Apartment Trader had both explained it to him.

But—

“Aren’t items labeled ‘Incomplete’ usually limited in use?”

Lin Ling raised an eyebrow: “True. The Incomplete Stone of This Life can only be used once. Sleep on it just once—even if you’ve got dementia, your memories will become crystal clear. From that point on, you’ll have a photographic memory.”

Jiang Ye listened and felt like this item’s effect didn’t quite live up to its “Incomplete” label.

From Lin Ling’s expression, he had a hunch this Stone of This Life had some hidden effect she wasn’t revealing.

He thought about asking—but decided against it. He just shook his head and said, “I think what the Administrator wants is something that can be used multiple times—maybe even permanently.”

But Lin Ling shook her head right away: “Nope. The kind of item you’re asking for—most of them are single-use.”

Seeing Jiang Ye frown, she revised slightly: “At most, I can give you three Incomplete Stones of This Life.”

Three? That’s not enough!

Jiang Ye immediately started bargaining: “How about ten?”

Lin Ling replied with a blank face, “Five. Max.”

Fine, five it is.

Either way, it’s a free benefit. Getting the Defender Replica’s memories comes first!

So Jiang Ye immediately compromised, “Alright, then pass five Stones of This Life (Incomplete) to the Administrator and let’s try it.”

Lin Ling gave him a strange look but didn’t say anything.

She just controlled the Shadow Puppet, had it enter an empty coffin, and it quickly turned into a cloud of black mist.

Soon, that mist formed a string of text at the bottom of the coffin.

It read: Stone of This Life (Incomplete) ×5

Seeing this scene, Jiang Ye finally realized—

“You’re not handing over the bribe directly, huh…”

Lin Ling rolled her eyes at him: “No sh*t!”

“If I handed it over directly, what if the guy took the gift and didn’t follow through?”

“……” Fair enough—but still—

“What if he releases Zhou Qiming and you turn around and refuse to deliver the promised goods?”

“Isn’t that simple?” Lin Ling rolled her eyes again and raised her hand, pointing toward the Tombstone Zone, “The Administrator can just summon a Gravekeeper’s Oath Tablet and make me swear.”

“……”

Alright, fine. Makes sense. If both sides want to deal, there are always ways.

The issue now was—if the Administrator only agreed to release Zhou Qiming after noon…

Then the Madwoman would likely wait until after noon to deliver her gift too.

So yeah, it looked like the trade with the Apartment Trader really needed to happen sooner.

Jiang Ye was pretty eager to get his hands on the Defender Replica’s memories.

So soon, he brought up a second request related to the uncertainties of trading with the Trader:

“If the Stone of This Life doesn’t impress the Administrator, I think there’s another type of item that definitely would!”

“Do you have anything that… predicts the future—or if not that, then simulates outcomes under certain conditions?”

He just wanted to know:

After trading the Reincarnation Key to the Apartment Trader, would he still be able to monopolize the Reincarnation Graveyard using Replica Swap?

And what about Chen Cang…

If he accidentally provoked that guy, what would happen? It’d be great to simulate that too…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep