Not only was Wu Wang shocked by his “second brother’s” strength.

Even Salvation in the light screen was clearly stunned by Jiang Ye’s outrageously arrogant statement.

He actually…

Wanted to make Salvation submit to his control!

This…

This was simply ignorant and fearless, way too damn arrogant, wasn’t it?!

However, Salvation wasn’t stupid either.

He carefully pondered Jiang Ye’s words and naturally understood his reasoning.

Indeed…

As long as no method to completely eradicate Lightburn was developed for even one day, Jiang Ye could keep him under control.

Not just controlling him, but controlling everyone infected with Lightburn.

Moreover, with Jiang Ye’s methods…

He could actually make others contract Lightburn!

This way, with one hand making others contract Lightburn, and the other hand “helping” them suppress Lightburn…

With this back-and-forth manipulation, that would be astronomical wealth!

And with such astronomical wealth right before his eyes…

How could he possibly sincerely research methods to eradicate Lightburn?

In fact, hadn’t the Defenders’ Alliance already proven this point?

The Defenders’ Alliance had already created ribbons to suppress Lightburn pain.

But they never considered researching methods to eradicate Lightburn.

The reason was simple…

They, the Defenders themselves, couldn’t contract Lightburn, so naturally they had no need to eradicate it.

Instead, methods to suppress Lightburn pain could bring long-term benefits.

So Jiang Ye could completely follow the Defenders’ Alliance’s established path.

Of course, he was far from having the powerful influence of the Defenders’ Alliance yet.

So truly wanting to control others was actually quite difficult.

The slightest misstep could lead to mutual destruction where both sides suffer.

Salvation being so polite to him was precisely to avoid making the situation too ugly, which would be bad for both sides.

But he never expected…

This kid actually dared to make such outrageous demands.

Salvation naturally couldn’t possibly be willing to submit to others.

However, after sorting out the interests involved, he quickly regained his composure and pretended to be coldly detached:

“Completely and eternally submitting to you…”

“Heh… You asked me to think from your perspective, and I’ve figured it out.”

“Then, why don’t you also think from my perspective? Do you think, if you were me… would you agree to submit to others?”

Jiang Ye actually put on a thoughtful expression.

However, he didn’t ponder for long before giving his answer:

“If I were you, then at this moment, of course I wouldn’t agree.”

“But, as time passes, when I reach the point of being about to be consumed by Lightburn…”

“Then, compared to death, submitting to others isn’t that hard to accept anymore.”

Just like before, Jiang Ye clearly knew Lin Ling had ill intentions, but unable to endure the Lightburn pain, he still used that black ribbon.

So, nothing in this world is impossible—it’s all about trade-offs.

And the ninth day of the Doomsday Apartment could arrive at any moment.

By then, Salvation infected with Lightburn would undoubtedly die!

But when that life-or-death crisis moment arrives, if he then wants Jiang Ye to develop methods to eradicate Lightburn, it might already be too late.

So, if death is already inevitable…

Then, compared to certain death, submitting to others actually isn’t that hard to accept anymore.

Moreover, Jiang Ye considered himself not some devil.

Even if Salvation submitted to him, he wouldn’t specifically torment people.

Just like Zhou Yuling—although she acknowledged him as her master and allowed him to seize her body at any time.

Wasn’t she living perfectly fine?

She even benefited from Jiang Ye’s influence, becoming a [Privileged One]!

Thinking of [Privileged One], Jiang Ye couldn’t help but ponder…

I wonder how the [Forbidden Body] effect would interact with Lightburn?

If a player infected with Lightburn becomes a [Privileged One]…

Then when dying from Lightburn, would it be complete death, or would they be imprisoned in the so-called “Taboo”?

Just briefly considering this point, Jiang Ye didn’t delve deeper.

Instead, looking at Salvation’s still difficult-to-accept expression in the light screen, Jiang Ye added:

“Of course, I know what you’re thinking—”

“Even if you submit to me, how can you guarantee that I’ll obediently research methods to eradicate Lightburn for you?”

Indeed, this was the point Salvation truly found hard to accept.

He was betting on Jiang Ye to eradicate Lightburn, but it was just a bet.

No one could ensure whether Jiang Ye could actually develop methods to eradicate Lightburn before the ninth day.

If Salvation maintained his freedom, he naturally had more room to maneuver and plenty of means to negotiate with Jiang Ye.

He could even place bets on other people simultaneously.

Gathering various opinions to collectively explore methods to eradicate Lightburn.

Conversely, if he truly submitted to Jiang Ye, that would be equivalent to putting all eggs in Jiang Ye’s basket.

If Jiang Ye ultimately failed to develop methods to eradicate Lightburn…

Then Salvation would still inevitably die.

Of course, Salvation could also consider that if he completely submitted to Jiang Ye.

He would become Jiang Ye’s weapon, so Jiang Ye would naturally want this weapon to last longer and would sincerely research methods to eradicate Lightburn.

In short, there were pros and cons.

And Salvation simply didn’t dare to gamble.

However, what Salvation didn’t expect was…

After Jiang Ye pointed out his concerns and the air grew quiet for a moment.

Jiang Ye suddenly smiled.

Those eyes belonging to Zhou Qiming, originally tired and dejected with obvious dark circles.

But now, Jiang Ye using those eyes, radiated an unfathomable brilliance.

Even more shocking were Jiang Ye’s next words—

“So, to eliminate your concerns…”

“As exchange for you submitting to me, I can agree…”

He paused before solemnly declaring: “To actively contract Lightburn.”

These simple six words directly made Salvation’s eyes—the ones he was using from Xing Xiu in the light screen—widen in shock!

His gaze toward Jiang Ye was filled with disbelief!

Not just him, even Wu Wang serving as background nearby showed an expression of questioning reality.

Although Wu Wang appeared to be background, he didn’t dare miss a single word of the two big shots’ conversation, eavesdropping with extreme attention!

Yet even so, he couldn’t help but doubt now…

Was he hallucinating?

Or had he accidentally zoned out and missed a sentence?

This second brother, who did he say should contract Lightburn?

Salvation was already infected, so definitely not him…

It couldn’t be him, the background character, right?

As for the most absurd possibility, Wu Wang didn’t even dare think about it!

Because this… was indeed too absurd!

As for Salvation…

He also doubted his ears.

But he thought more deeply, so he was absolutely certain! He hadn’t misheard!

Jiang Ye meant…

As long as he was willing to submit to him…

Then, Jiang Ye would also actively contract Lightburn!

Thus, although Salvation would be controlled by Jiang Ye, the two would become grasshoppers on the same rope!

By then, eradicating Lightburn would no longer be something done for Salvation as an exchange condition.

Rather, if Jiang Ye wanted to survive…

He himself would have to find methods to eradicate Lightburn!

This…

But if there were fundamentally no methods to eradicate Lightburn in this world…

Then wouldn’t Jiang Ye be gambling with his own life?!

This, this, this…

Even Salvation, who had experienced countless storms, felt somewhat disoriented now.

No matter what, he couldn’t understand Jiang Ye’s thinking.

He thought it over repeatedly for a long time, but Jiang Ye grew impatient and urged him:

“You should be able to understand, right? In this kind of ‘transaction,’ I’m actually the one taking the big loss.”

“And by tying you and me to the same boat, your chances of eradicating Lightburn will skyrocket!”

“So, what else are you hesitating about?”

Salvation slowly came back to his senses: “Precisely because of this that I hesitate…”

He stared deeply at Jiang Ye: “After all, I don’t believe you’re someone willing to actively take losses.”

After a moment’s thought, he narrowed his eyes: “I remember…”

“You seem to have been infected with Lightburn before. But after trading with the Nomadic Merchant, you no longer had the black ribbon Lin Ling gave you.”

This Salvation really knew quite a lot.

And since he knew these things, he probably had some speculation—

The Nomadic Merchant could help him eradicate Lightburn.

But Salvation would rather seek out Jiang Ye, even consider the possibility of submitting to Jiang Ye, rather than set his sights on the Nomadic Merchant…

Clearly, in Salvation’s eyes, the Nomadic Merchant was more terrifying than Lightburn.

Thinking this, Jiang Ye spoke without reservation:

“Yes, I was infected with Lightburn and transferred it to the Nomadic Merchant.”

“So, even without the black ribbon, I don’t feel Lightburn pain.”

“But to be honest…”

Jiang Ye paused, his next words being half-truths:

“I can’t be certain whether the Lightburn transferred to the Nomadic Merchant can still harm me.”

“If the Nomadic Merchant harbors ill will toward me, and didn’t tell me…”

“Even though I transferred Lightburn, even though there’s no trace of Lightburn infection on me now…”

“When the ninth day arrives, I might still die from Lightburn…”

“This possibility actually exists.”

So, actively contracting Lightburn, while appearing to be his loss, was actually eliminating hidden dangers on himself.

“Of course, the main reason is the Luminox Larva you gave me.”

“This thing, without you saying more, I also plan to properly ‘research’ it.”

Jiang Ye didn’t say more, just deliberately emphasized the word “research.”

The rest didn’t need saying—Salvation vaguely realized…

Jiang Ye choosing to actively contract Lightburn wasn’t just to reassure him for the transaction.

But to better research the Luminox Larva.

That thing, although experiments could be done on others.

But Jiang Ye’s own body was already different from ordinary.

Moreover, previously he used others’ black ribbons…

But now he could suppress Lightburn pain himself.

This also gave him confidence for bold research.

However, this audacity was way too big!

Salvation’s mind raced with thoughts, quickly realizing…

Besides obtaining the Luminox Larva, there was another important reason this kid dared to be so bold—

That was Salvation himself was also infected with Lightburn.

Lightburn threatened players in two ways.

One was the unbearable Lightburn pain.

This, Jiang Ye could handle with the Luminox Larva.

The other was the zero o’clock death curse!

The ninth day of the Doomsday Apartment…

All players infected with Lightburn would undoubtedly die!

And Salvation…

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze passing through the light screen to land on Jiang Ye:

“You think that I can manipulate the Moon Phase Clock to delay the ninth day’s arrival?”

Jiang Ye indeed… really thought so.

After all, from Zhou Qiming, he obtained some memories of Administrator 4444 from the previous reincarnation.

So he knew the [Moon Phase Clock] belonged to the Apartment Faction.

It was always jointly guarded by the 26 apartment bosses.

In this cycle’s apartment, there was an additional Salvation above the 26 apartment bosses.

So that Moon Phase Clock was probably under Salvation’s control.

Plus Salvation was infected with Lightburn…

Jiang Ye naturally thought Salvation would definitely try every means to postpone the ninth day’s arrival.

But…

Judging by Salvation’s current tone…

Had he guessed wrong?

Salvation didn’t have the ability to delay the ninth day’s arrival?

Just as he wondered, he heard the person in the light screen cough several times again.

He still looked quite weak, coughing quite urgently this time.

While coughing, he actually laughed.

But the laughter carried a touch of sorrow and madness, with unconcealed resentment.

Soon, his coughing stopped, his laughter ceased, and he finally snorted coldly:

“I’m not afraid to tell you—”

“If it were the previous me, I could indeed manipulate the Moon Phase Clock to delay the ninth day’s arrival.”

“But the current me no longer has this capability.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so politely negotiating with Jiang Ye.

“And…”

Salvation sneered again, his eyes filled with chilling intent.

After a moment, he suppressed those emotions and looked relatively calmly at Jiang Ye:

“Since you already know about Apartment Boss Q’s duplicity…”

“Then do you think the other apartment bosses would still obediently listen to me?”

“Do you think they might be eagerly anticipating the ninth day arriving early, eagerly awaiting my early death?”

“…”

Of course they would.

Jiang Ye had already speculated about this before.

After Salvation lost Crow, his status probably wasn’t as before…

Of course, he still had foundations.

In the short term, the apartment bosses wouldn’t rebel against him.

And actually, there was no need to rebel.

They just needed to wait until the Doomsday Apartment’s ninth day, when Salvation would naturally die from Lightburn…

So they only needed to wait.

But if that’s the case…

With the Moon Phase Clock not under Salvation’s control, the ninth day could arrive at any time…

Then Jiang Ye actively contracting Lightburn would be quite dangerous!

Just as he thought this…

Jiang Ye’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

He saw milky-white gas slowly spreading within the light screen!

Good heavens!

Was this going to completely isolate Jiang Ye?!

This wasn’t the first time Jiang Ye lost contact due to that milky-white gas.

Instinctively, he wanted to escape, to get away from the milky-white gas.

However, after a quick thought, he understood something and took no action.

Allowing this Zhou Qiming clone to lose contact with external clones.

After the milky-white gas enveloped the entire barrier space, Salvation in the light screen suddenly asked him:

“What’s your relationship with that Guiwen Grandmaster?”

Jiang Ye pondered internally, his expression unchanged: “Not much, can’t figure him out.”

Salvation narrowed his eyes and said directly:

“If we could borrow his Blackened Funeral Crow…”

“Then I could indeed continue controlling the Moon Phase Clock, constantly postponing the ninth day’s arrival.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep