Chapter 427: Traveling Through Time and Space?

Hmm…

A 46-minute countdown can still be called “Death Sentence with Reprieve”?

What the hell is the difference between this and “Immediate Execution”?

Back when Jiang Ye was in the personal-exclusive instance’s [Prison], the reprieve for a death sentence, though also measured in “days,” was a full several hundred days!

But here, it’s only 46 minutes?

And what made his eye twitch was…

In the brief moment Jiang Ye was feeling speechless internally.

The “Countdown: 46 minutes” on the screen changed to “Countdown: 45 minutes”!

Hiss…

Jiang Ye immediately took a deep breath, his entire body tensing up.

He still had no intention of directly consuming the [Exile Fruit] in his hand.

Instead, he quickly summoned his [Data Panel] again!

His Data Panel now no longer displayed Zhou Qiming’s later stats.

It clearly showed the initial data of a new player —

[Zhou Qiming]

[Level: 0]

[Authority Level: Evil Adult]

[Physique: 2.5]

[Spirit: 2.8]

[Combat Power: 9.8]

[Ability: Holds Grudges (SSS)]

[Skills: Grudge Memory (SS), Ritual Curse (S)]

Huh??

This initial data was genuinely a bit bizarre!

The first thing that made Jiang Ye’s heart sink was —

The X-tier Ability [Infinite Clones] was gone!

Furthermore, all abilities related to clones seemed to be gone!

Including the realization he had the moment he regained consciousness —

He and the other 24 clones were once again out of contact!

He wasn’t sure before whether it was just this Zhou Qiming clone that was out of contact, or if all 25 clones were disconnected.

Now, after looking at the Data Panel, it seemed he could confirm —

The current situation appeared to be that his clone ability had been completely stripped away!

Not only could he not generate clones or use clone skills, the most absurd part was that even the connection between clones was gone!

Jiang Ye wasn’t even sure if, should he encounter his other clones, those clones… would still be him?

Besides the stripping of his clone abilities.

This Data Panel had an additional “Authority Level”…

He just didn’t know what exactly this “Evil Adult” level was.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this “Authority Level” should be different from a permission identity.

Based on the earlier prompt about the Doomsday Prison…

This “Authority Level” was probably related to his “Crime.”

The heavier the “Crime,” the lower the freedom under the restrictions of the Authority Level?

And he needed to earn effects like [Sentence Reduction] through “performance” to increase his Authority Level?

This should be considered another type of game rule within this Doomsday Prison environment.

The so-called “performance” wasn’t explicitly stated in the announcement.

So, it was probably like rule-based anomalies, requiring players to figure it out themselves?

As for the “Enforcers” mentioned in the announcement, it was also unclear what kind of existence they were…

Besides that, the ability of this Zhou Qiming identity was also strange.

Holds Grudges…

Jiang Ye certainly didn’t remember any player having such an abstract ability before…

After some simple exploration, Jiang Ye suddenly had a thought.

In a momentary daze, his consciousness seemed to swipe across the “Data Panel.”

Then, as if switching a phone screen, the “Data Panel” before his eyes switched to a “Chat Channel”!

And sporadically, messages were popping up in the chat box!

[Anyone there? Is this the newbie group for Prison Players?]

[Should be, right? I’m a new Prison Player who just arrived? What about you, the person above?]

[I… I am too?]

[? Why do you sound so hesitant?]

[I wonder if everyone here has heard of the names of seniors like “Zhou Qiming” or “Lin Jing”?]

[Holy shit! I have! Could it really be what I’m thinking?!]

[So… we’re all old acquaintances here? We are…]

Clearly, although Prison Players were considered new to the prison.

They were essentially no longer pure newbies.

The communication in this chat channel obviously had a somewhat evasive flavor.

No one dared to actually say the words “Time Travel” out loud…

But it could basically be confirmed —

Many in this [Chat Channel] were probably “companions” from the same boat who heard the bell toll together back then!

It just couldn’t be determined if, besides “companions,” there were also “outsiders” in this group.

That’s why they didn’t dare to openly share more information.

Someone quickly tried to probe: [How many people are in our group? If it’s 75, or 77, 78 people, then it’s correct.]

75 was the number of people who could walk normally back then.

77 included Liu Re and Wang Lingling from the pot.

78 further included Lin Jing from the Next Life Stone.

Unfortunately, this [Chat Channel] only displayed popping messages and didn’t show a member list.

And the popping messages didn’t display names, not even a marker.

Meaning, even if someone was role-playing multiple parts talking to themselves, it couldn’t be detected.

Including the messages popping up now, it was hard to tell exactly how many people were participating.

Due to the lack of information, someone speculated:

[I think it might be 80 people. Weren’t we 80 people back in the Novice Apartment?]

Someone quickly refuted:

[That speculation isn’t necessarily accurate. This is a prison, not an apartment. Many situations are different from the Novice Apartment. The initial player count might not be 80 either!]

[And even if it is 80, it means there are “outsiders” present! We “insiders” should still be careful with our words.]

[Actually, there’s no need to be overly fixated on “insiders” and “outsiders” right now. Our initial situation clearly isn’t very optimistic!]

Next came some content about exchanging information.

Jiang Ye gave it a quick glance;
it was merely descriptions of their own prison cell situations.

And the information displayed on the electronic screens in their own rooms.

These “newcomers” were essentially old hands.

When revealing information, they were all very cautious.

Not a single one revealed their own “Crime.”

Though someone was “crying poor,” saying their “countdown” was only half an hour…

Jiang Ye’s time was also tight. After quickly scanning those chat messages, he had a vague suspicion —

He suspected that the anonymous player who first brought up the terms “insiders” and “outsiders”…

Was none other than one of his other clones!

Because this Jiang Ye in the Zhou Qiming identity, upon discovering the existence of the [Chat Channel], his first thought was whether he could leave some secret signal to secretly communicate the situation with other clones?

At the very least, he needed to know if the other clones were still clones?

And since he would think this way, then the other clones would surely think the same.

Jiang Ye had a feeling —

The one who brought up “insiders” and “outsiders,” ostensibly was talking about “time travelers” and unknown “outsiders.”

In reality, they might be signaling Jiang Ye’s clones.

All of Jiang Ye’s clones were the “insiders,” and everyone else were “outsiders”!

Unfortunately, the information being discussed now was all about prison issues.

For Jiang Ye to bring up “insiders” and “outsiders” again would seem rather abrupt.

So, knowing that the clones were most likely still himself was enough for now.

Seeing that the chat group was mostly cautious and contained little useful information, Jiang Ye prepared to explore on his own.

He was just about to try out this new abstract ability “Holds Grudges.”

When he suddenly saw a somewhat useful piece of information pop up in the group chat —

[Everyone, I just left the prison and saw the so-called “Enforcers”!]

Naturally, this statement prompted many inquiries.

Questions about the “Enforcers,” about how to leave the prison, and requests for more details.

Since that person proactively made such a statement, they naturally revealed more soon after, with another message popping up:

[First, I need to state that I’m not sure if what I saw counts as “Enforcers.”]

[But after leaving the prison, I quickly saw pairs of “eyes,” floating alone in the air.]

[Wherever I went, these “eyes” followed, as if deliberately monitoring me!]

[The gazes these “eyes” directed at me felt weighty! That kind of look also seemed very authoritative! That’s why I felt these “eyes” were the Enforcers! And they were existences that could execute me on the spot with just their “gaze”!]

This statement even faintly revealed fear, naturally stirring the emotions of many players.

However, most players were still more concerned with survival and getting stronger —

[So how did you leave the prison?]

[So to obtain [Sentence Reduction], do we need to have some “performance” under the surveillance of those “eyes”?]

After a round of inquiries, it seemed like a different person answered:

[Actually, the method to leave the prison isn’t hard. I also discovered it —]

[Just press your hand against the light screen displaying our prison information for more than 5 seconds. That light screen will transform into a black wristwatch, and the wall where the light screen was will reveal an exit!]

[What the person above said is correct. But don’t blame me for not warning you — that black wristwatch transformed from the light screen will lock directly onto our hands. I tried;
it can’t be removed no matter what!]

[And based on my speculation, this watch probably replaces the function of the prison. It’s under the control of this watch that “Enforcers” float around us, and the Enforcers can execute us directly on the spot!]

[So, think carefully about whether you want to wear the watch and leave the prison!]

[Without the watch, you can’t leave the prison. Wearing the watch, you’re also under real-time surveillance with restricted movement.]

So it wasn’t hard to understand —

That so-called watch also served the same function as the sealed prison.

It allowed Prison Players to leave the prison, but from another level, it restricted the players’ freedom.

If there were other choices, Jiang Ye wouldn’t want to wear such a watch either.

But clearly, as Prison Players who were convicts, there were no other choices.

Either wait for death in the prison.

Or take action while wearing the watch.

Mainly because this Jiang Ye in the Zhou Qiming identity didn’t have much time left on his death countdown.

Based on his speculation, Prison Players probably needed to have some “performance” under the surveillance of those Enforcer eyeballs to obtain [Sentence Reduction].

If he wanted to extend his life, he had to leave the prison and move around.

Thinking this, Jiang Ye didn’t hesitate.

While continuing to pay attention to any potentially revealing information in the chat group.

He also placed his entire palm on the light screen displaying [Zhou Qiming]’s crime.

Simultaneously, while pressing against the light screen, he tested his newly acquired ability skill — Grudge Memory.

This skill was also quite abstract.

The skill description was: [Touching any item has a chance of obtaining a fragment of grudge memory.]

To be honest, just looking at the skill description, it was really hard to imagine this skill could be SS-tier!

Remember, his life-saving divine skill, Light and Shadow Escape, was only S-tier!

S-tier skills were already very strong.

SS-tier skills, even with all the clones Jiang Ye had, weren’t exactly common.

Yet this SS-tier skill was just about obtaining grudge memories…

If it directly stole all memories, it would actually pair quite well with Jiang Ye’s clone ability.

Unfortunately, this skill only obtained grudge memories, and it was “has a chance,” “fragment”…

Jiang Ye had already touched the prison’s blank white walls on all four sides and hadn’t obtained any memory fragments.

He was just about to touch the light screen when he learned the news about the light screen turning into a watch.

Now, with his hand pressed against the light screen —

One, two, three, four, five…

Jiang Ye gave it a quick glance;
it was merely descriptions of their own prison cell situations.

And also at this fifth second, something flashed rapidly through his mind!

Grudge Memory?!

But the problem was, the scene flashing in his mind was pitch black, with only fragments of shadows floating.

Just as he thought this grudge memory, like the flashbacks in his mind during the bell toll, couldn’t capture any information…

He actually faintly heard a voice in his mind!

A firm, resounding, yet hate-filled voice.

Clearly a tone that was almost venting-like, hysterical.

Yet the voice itself tended towards calmness, word by word —

“Because — Evil, Is, Stronger, Than, Good!”

Probably right after this sentence ended.

The flashback of the grudge memory concluded.

When Jiang Ye returned to his senses, he couldn’t help but press a hand against his chest.

It was strange…

He seemed to have been emotionally affected by this so-called “grudge memory” scene.

Just now, hearing that sentence, a surge of emotion stirred in his chest, as if resonating with it.

But what kind of emotion was stirred up was really hard to describe.

Was it anger? Was it ecstasy?

It seemed…

All five emotions (joy, anger, pensiveness, sorrow, fear) were present.

Stirring within the five organs (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys).

Jiang Ye suppressed his emotions, inevitably pondering internally —

Whose voice was that from the pitch-black scene, and what did it mean?

Evil is stronger than good?

To be honest, before getting involved in the Doomsday Apartment, Jiang Ye vaguely held such a belief.

After all, whether in movies, TV shows, or novels and stories, villains often bossed others around, appearing exceptionally dominant.

The one who brought up “insiders” and “outsiders,” ostensibly was talking about “time travelers” and unknown “outsiders.”

Although mainstream ideology promoted “evil cannot triumph over good.”

Jiang Ye privately still felt that evil was always more powerful than justice.

Of course, that was his thinking before getting involved in the Doomsday Apartment.

And after getting involved in the Doomsday Apartment…

He personally experienced the absolute restraint of the Light faction over the Dark faction!

Meaning, in this Doomsday Apartment environment, Light was stronger than Dark!

And in general perception, the Light faction represented justice, the Dark faction represented evil…

For Jiang Ye to bring up “insiders” and “outsiders” again would seem rather abrupt.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep