This question also voiced the doubt in Zhou Yuling’s heart.

Even though Zhou Yinsu hadn’t elaborated on her inner unease.

Zhou Yuling faintly sensed that she seemed to be hiding something from her…

Zhou Yuling didn’t interrupt.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yinsu, facing Jiang Ye’s questioning gaze, suddenly looked toward Xiao Hei.

After examining Xiao Hei for a moment, she suddenly turned to Zhou Yuling and uttered meaningfully: “Sis, do me a favor…”

Zhou Yuling’s brows slightly furrowed.

But after a moment of silence, she suddenly plucked a long, slender strand of hair.

Like Sun Wukong pulling out his monkey hairs, she blew the strand into the air.

The lock of black hair floating in the air instantly turned white.

And at an extremely rapid pace, transformed into a stream of…

Milky-white gas!!

Holy shit?!

Jiang Ye was utterly stunned!

Because this milky-white gas…

Was exactly the same gas that had surrounded his clone when it went missing before!

What the hell?!

He had been racking his brains earlier, wondering what this milky-white gas could possibly be…

Never expecting that Zhou Yuling’s hair could actually transform into this gas!

In that instant, Jiang Ye naturally also felt—

His Clone No. 1, currently surrounded by this milky-white gas in this space, had directly lost contact with his other clones outside!

At this moment, Jiang Ye was immensely shocked inwardly!

However, he didn’t show any unusual expression on his face, merely pretending curiosity as he asked:

“What’s this milky-white gas… used for?”

Zhou Yuling remained silent for a moment, waiting until the milky-white gas had completely enveloped the three of them evenly, before calmly explaining:

“Nothing much, just a method to block detection, that’s all.”

What the hell?! A method that could make his clones lose contact, and she called it “that’s all”?!

Jiang Ye almost felt like holding a knife to Zhou Yuling’s throat to make her say it again.

But no matter how turbulent his inner thoughts, he maintained an appearance of simple curiosity on the surface and asked another question:

“Is this method… very common?”

Zhou Yuling rolled her eyes at him, looking too lazy to answer.

Instead, the White-Robed Woman quite amiably answered Jiang Ye:

“If it can block Lin Ling’s detection, do you think this method would be common?”

Naturally, it couldn’t be common.

So, Zhou Yuling releasing this milky-white gas now wasn’t to make Jiang Ye’s clones lose contact.

But rather to help the White-Robed Woman block Lin Ling’s detection?

Then…

Jiang Ye’s increasingly curious gaze turned to the White-Robed Woman.

Wondering what kind of scheme she was brewing.

The White-Robed Woman didn’t keep him in suspense either, directly asking:

“Can I borrow your Xiao Hei to help me with an experiment?”

Jiang Ye glanced at Xiao Hei, weighing his words: “As long as it’s not intentionally harming Xiao Hei… you can begin your performance.”

“Alright.”

So, the White-Robed Woman also plucked a strand of hair.

In a similar manner to Zhou Yuling earlier, she blew it into the air.

Her strand of hair transformed into a wisp of black smoke that directly coiled around Xiao Hei.

Then, the White-Robed Woman said to Xiao Hei:

“I saw that when you appeared, you took the form of a wisp of black smoke…”

“So, you should also be able to transform into black smoke now and merge with my wisp of black smoke, right?”

Xiao Hei seemed to ponder for a moment, nodded slightly, and indeed transformed into black smoke, merging with the White-Robed Woman’s wisp of black smoke.

Then, the White-Robed Woman made a beckoning gesture.

The merged black smoke transformed into a black snake and returned to her hand.

This scene utterly stunned Jiang Ye!

“Holy shit?! My Xiao Hei! How did it become your black snake?”

“Xiao Hei! Do you still recognize me as your master?”

The black snake flicked its tongue, emitting a “hiss” while also producing Xiao Hei’s firm voice: “Of course!”

Thankfully, Xiao Hei hadn’t betrayed him…

Coming back to his senses, Jiang Ye looked at the White-Robed Woman and said:

“You mean, by having Xiao Hei merge with your black snake, you can secretly take it to the Abyss Restricted Zone without anyone knowing?”

“Even Lin Ling wouldn’t be able to detect it?”

The White-Robed Woman nodded: “Generally speaking, as long as it doesn’t actively reveal itself, even Lin Ling can’t detect it.”

As she spoke, she raised an eyebrow at Jiang Ye: “So, can you agree to the conditions I proposed?”

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then looked at the black snake and said: “Whether to go to the Abyss Restricted Zone or not, I still need to ask Xiao Hei for his own opinion.”

However, the black snake hissed twice, and Xiao Hei’s voice emerged again:

“I have no objections! My master’s opinion is my opinion!”

“…” Fine then, Xiao Hei really doesn’t have much of his own opinions.

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then began bargaining with Xiao Bai:

“Agreeing to let Xiao Hei accompany you to the Abyss Restricted Zone is fine, but besides information about the ‘monster-raising space’ where Xiao Hei was born, I want to know some additional information.”

The White-Robed Woman vaguely knew what information he wanted, but still asked: “Such as?”

Jiang Ye raised his fingers one by one—

“Such as,” first finger, “information about the dense forest space connected to your television;”

“Such as,” second finger, “information about the Novice Apartment ruins you once took me to;”

“And such as,” third finger, Jiang Ye glanced at Zhou Yuling, “information about the Mist Train your sister once took me on.”

These three fingers stood straight up, making Zhou Yuling’s eye twitch slightly.

Thinking to herself that this Jiang Ye still loved to demand outrageous prices as always.

She was about to help Zhou Yinsu bargain.

But unexpectedly, Zhou Yinsu directly replied: “Alright.”

This straightforward attitude not only surprised Jiang Ye but shocked Zhou Yuling even more!

In her view, how could such important information be given to Jiang Ye for free!

If Lin Ling found out about this…

As Zhou Yuling thought further, she suddenly had a startling realization—

Zhou Yinsu’s unusually abnormal attitude…

Her unusually firm desire to have Xiao Hei accompany her to the Abyss Restricted Zone…

Could it be that she sensed that the Abyss Restricted Zone would pose fatal danger to her?

This…

A flash of alarm and worry suddenly passed through Zhou Yuling’s eyes.

Thus, her shock at Zhou Yinsu directly agreeing to Jiang Ye’s conditions faded considerably.

Zhou Yinsu said without almost any hesitation:

“Then, let’s take them one by one.”

“First, given your perspective, you should already know—”

“Generally, when a Novice Apartment is destroyed, it doesn’t leave ruins behind.”

“Only under extremely special circumstances will ruins remain.”

“And generally, there won’t be channels leading to apartment ruins either…”

As Xiao Bai spoke, Jiang Ye nodded.

Indeed, when he had visited Xiao Bai’s apartment ruins before, due to his limited perspective, he hadn’t felt anything particularly special.

But as he learned more information later, he naturally came to understand that those apartment ruins were absolutely extraordinary.

Clearly, backed by the Defenders’ Alliance, and even assigned the important task of exploring the Abyss Restricted Zone by the alliance…

Then, Xiao Bai’s identity must also be extraordinary.

Sure enough, Xiao Bai continued:

“Even, you should already know—my existence is also very special.”

“Most Reincarnation Ghosts are unwilling to become monster players and leave the Novice Apartment, mostly due to soul dignity, not wanting to invade players…”

“But I became a Reincarnation Ghost because I carry a mission from the Defenders’ Alliance.”

“Which is—to guard that ‘Dense Forest Space’.”

Jiang Ye smoothly continued: “So that means, that ‘Dense Forest Space’ essentially belongs to the Defenders’ Alliance…”

“Except, that space can only exist within the Novice Apartment, so you have to keep reincarnating in the Novice Apartment as a Reincarnation Ghost.”

The White-Robed Woman thought for a moment, then nodded slightly: “You could understand it that way.”

Of course, this raised new questions—

If the White-Robed Woman carries a mission, why did she give him the mission to kill the apartment boss?

Moreover, she was indeed interested in the Crow Eggs…

This seemed inconsistent with the attitude she had previously shown about wanting to leave the Novice Apartment.

However, her telling him the Defenders’ Alliance’s secrets now was also abnormal in itself.

So…

Jiang Ye had some faint suspicions in his heart.

He didn’t ask about those additional topics, continuing instead:

“So, what exactly is special about that ‘Dense Forest Space’?”

Xiao Bai thought for a moment, then explained very seriously:

“Because the ‘Dense Forest Space’ essentially doesn’t belong to me, so I’m not clear on how the Defenders’ Alliance obtained it, I only know…”

“Underground in that ‘Dense Forest Space’, there also exists massive radiation.”

“However, I don’t know what method the Defenders’ Alliance used to isolate that radiation.”

“So when you step on that dense forest soil, you won’t sense the presence of radiation.”

“Additionally, as you already know, behind every tree in that ‘Dense Forest Space’, there connects another space.”

“Like the apartment rooftop I often go to; like the apartment ruins you visited; and also like the ‘monster-raising space’ where Xiao Hei was born.”

“Actually, behind the dense forest trees, there exist numerous ‘monster-raising spaces’.”

“Of course, the ‘monster-raising spaces’ behind the dense forest are not the same nature as the monster-raising spaces understood by monster raisers.”

“Because generally, monster raisers’ monster-raising spaces are about creating various dark-type environments to cultivate normal small monsters.”

“Whereas the ‘monster-raising spaces’ behind the dense forest, the monsters they raise all originate from underground…”

“To be precise, from an underground world containing massive radiation!”

“You might not believe this—those special monsters feed on underground radiation.”

“And the black snake on my head was also raised using those special monsters.”

Hearing this news, Jiang Ye was shocked once again!

To be honest, he really found it somewhat hard to believe—

What kind of creature could possibly feed on radiation?!

The key point was…

He directly asked: “Those creatures that feed on radiation, do they still belong to dark-type creatures, and are they still afraid of light?”

Xiao Bai nodded: “Of course. Essentially, they still belong to monsters. They’re just somewhat special compared to ordinary monsters.”

Jiang Ye felt somewhat dazed, concluding:

“So my Xiao Hei was created through massive invasion and mutation by those radiation-feeding monsters…”

The White-Robed Woman nodded, then added thoughtfully:

“This is all I know about the situation in the ‘Dense Forest Space’.”

“What follows is only my speculation—”

“I suspect the ‘Dense Forest Space’ must have some connection to the Abyss Restricted Zone.”

“Those small monsters born underground that feed on radiation should also be related to the Abyss Restricted Zone.”

“Which means, the black snake I raised, and Xiao Hei who recognizes you as master, are most likely also related to the Abyss Restricted Zone.”

“Exploring the Abyss Restricted Zone is a task assigned to me by the Defenders’ Alliance that I cannot shirk.”

“But to be honest, I’m not sure what I and the black snake I raised will be required to do once we enter the Abyss Restricted Zone…”

At this point, what Xiao Bai wanted to express had become quite clear.

The reason she hid this information from Lin Ling and told Jiang Ye;

The reason she was particularly firm about having Xiao Hei accompany her…

Simply put, she was afraid that once she reached the Abyss Restricted Zone, she would be sacrificed by Lin Ling.

But would bringing Xiao Hei prevent her from being sacrificed?

To be honest, after hearing her description, Jiang Ye was even somewhat worried that Xiao Hei, accompanying her to the Abyss Restricted Zone, might become a sacrifice for the Abyss Restricted Zone too…

However, having already agreed, it wouldn’t be appropriate to go back on his word now.

And clearly, Xiao Hei’s origins, meaning those special monsters that had invaded it originally, must be related to the Abyss Restricted Zone.

From this perspective, Xiao Hei accompanying them to explore the Abyss Restricted Zone might also yield unexpected gains?

Anyway, Jiang Ye’s other clones would most likely also go to the Abyss Restricted Zone.

By then, they should be able to look out for Xiao Hei.

Thinking this, Jiang Ye looked at Xiao Bai again.

This time, he clearly saw the deeply hidden unease in Xiao Bai’s eyes, fleeting though it was.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Ye deliberately used a joking, light tone:

“Alright then, considering you’ve always been quite good to me…”

“If you really encounter danger in the Abyss Restricted Zone, Xiao Hei will consider protecting you.”

“Of course, only ‘consider’. Meaning, within the scope of his capabilities.”

“Beyond that scope, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”

The White-Robed Woman was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled, also pretending to be lighthearted: “Then thank you.”

“If possible, I hope you can also help look after…”

Before she could finish, Jiang Ye directly raised his hand: “Stop right there!”

“Let’s not go there. Sister Zhou taking care of me would be more like it, how could I possibly qualify to take care of her!”

His tone of refusal was straightforward and decisive.

Zhou Yuling remained silent.

But Jiang Ye looked at her and asked bluntly:

“My three ‘such as’ haven’t been fully explained yet, what’s the deal with your Mist Train exactly?”

“And—”

“The black snake on Xiao Bai’s head was raised using those special monsters…”

“Then how was the white snake on your head, which looks like a mutant twin of the black snake, raised?”

To be honest, Jiang Ye was very concerned about the white snake on Zhou Yuling’s head.

After all, the white snake transformed into milky-white gas that could even make his clones lose contact!

He had to figure out where that thing came from!

And Zhou Yuling inwardly wasn’t actually willing to share this information with Jiang Ye.

But since Zhou Yinsu had already agreed in advance…

After a moment of silence, she ultimately said concisely:

“You should be able to guess—”

“The white snake I raised is somewhat similar to the black snake Yinsu raised.”

“The monsters used to raise the black snake were born from underground radiation and feed on radiation…”

“Whereas the monsters used to raise the white snake were born from the mist and feed on mist.”

“The reason I have the ‘Mist Train’ is because I need it to travel to special spaces within the mist, to guard a mist space similar to the dense forest space that I’m responsible for.”

Seeming to sense that Jiang Ye still wanted to push for more information, Zhou Yuling directly said seriously:

“If you want to ask for more details, then I’m sorry, but I cannot reveal more.”

Jiang Ye was silent for a moment, still pressing with another question:

“That method of raising special monsters in mist spaces… do major players in the apartment faction also master it?”

Otherwise, what explained his two previous instances of clones losing contact?

Sure enough, Zhou Yuling directly nodded: “Probably not just the apartment faction; other factions in the Doomsday Apartment might also have experts who possess Mist Trains and master this monster-raising technique.”

“After all, the mist surrounding the apartment has always been something all top players strive to decipher…”

Which meant that the milky-white gas was born from the mist.

No wonder it had the terrifying isolation capability to make his clones lose contact…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep