Jiang Ye’s sentence was phrased like a question, but his tone was flat, almost like a statement.

After all, Yang Wenchao’s behavior really was out of the ordinary.

Compared to something absurd like “rebirth” or “body possession,” having played a similar game before just sounded more reasonable.

If that were the case…

Then maybe Yang Wenchao wasn’t the only one who had played that game!

Like those Stubborn Bronzes on the War God Ranking in the Duel Room—maybe most of them had played the game too!

With more information at their disposal, of course they’d progress faster than regular people.

By comparison…

Yang Wenchao didn’t even seem particularly strong among those who had played the game.

After all, Jiang Ye had personally seen Yang Wenchao lose a duel in the Duel Room and instantly lose 100,000!

Thinking back…

Could the girl he lost to in that match also be a game player?

Just as he was deep in thought,

Yang Wenchao didn’t seem like he was trying to hide anything.

In fact, he glanced at Jiang Ye with a calm look in his eyes and said openly,

“I did spend 4 Survival Points to buy the Five-Win Streak Package, and I’ve already completed the five-win streak.”

So the match he lost was after that—when he was going for the ten-win streak?

Jiang Ye was still mulling it over when

Yang Wenchao seemed to guess what he was thinking and added,

“But my win streak wasn’t interrupted by that 100,000-point loss.”

What?

He lost a duel but his win streak didn’t break?

How does that work?

“Because the random reward I got from the five-win streak was a Privilege-Exempt Card.”

“The effect of the Privilege-Exempt Card is that it cancels out one loss in the Duel Room.”

“For example, if you fail on your ninth win, you can use the Privilege-Exempt Card to erase that loss.”

“So your next match still counts as your ninth win.”

Whoa! That’s a thing?!

Jiang Ye quickly guessed, “This Privilege-Exempt Card must be a High-Tier Card, right?”

Yang Wenchao nodded. “The win streak rewards in the Duel Room keep improving the more wins you rack up.”

“And for players who’ve already built up a long streak, losing once and breaking it would be incredibly painful.”

“So the Privilege-Exempt Card that prevents that is naturally super valuable.”

“In some cases, it’s even more valuable than the Privilege Card.”

Jiang Ye nodded. He didn’t feel much yet at three consecutive wins.

But if he were at ninety-nine wins and lost…

That would be brutal.

So the further you get, the more precious the Privilege-Exempt Card becomes for streak players.

If he had the chance, Jiang Ye would definitely want to get one just in case.

That said…

“Can the Duel Room win streak rewards be traded between players?”

Yang Wenchao raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”

As he spoke, he slid a few fingers across the operation console and pointed at the display stand:

“Look, through the player trading function in the High-End Mall, the cards earned in the Duel Room can also be traded.”

Jiang Ye looked at the display and, sure enough, saw all sorts of cards listed for sale.

Among them, the Announcement Card was the most common and cheapest.

Even so, its price was over 100,000!

Level-Up Cards mostly started at 300,000.

As for Privilege Cards, they were rare—only three were listed.

One was selling for 600,000, another for 800,000, and the last for a full million!

The h*ll? That’s insane!

Straight-up daylight robbery!

But then again…

To regular players, relying solely on odd jobs, life was naturally hard—barely enough to pay rent or afford food.

But to players on floor 20 and above…

Killing one person earned them 100,000!

That setup inflated their economy big time.

If you told someone like Wang Lingling, a below-20th-floor player—

“Give me 300,000 and I’ll boost your level instantly.”

Wang Lingling would never agree.

She’d rather grind levels herself than blow 300K on a Level-Up Card.

But for players above the 20th floor,

300K was just three lives.

They could find three no-skill trash players, kill them off, and it’d be way easier than risking their life grinding.

So for them, 300K for a Level-Up Card wasn’t expensive at all.

This whole system once again showed Jiang Ye the unfairness of the world.

Come to think of it, the real world before Doomsday Apartment was kind of like this too.

Some people bust their *ss in all weather for a measly hundred bucks a day;

Others sit in luxury cars and mansions, dodging taxes worth more than someone else could earn in multiple lifetimes.

No matter where you are, ridiculous wealth gaps are always a thing.

Jiang Ye was lost in thought when Yang Wenchao, eyeing the price of Privilege Cards, suddenly asked,

“How much did you make from your duel with Zhao Yudie?”

“If you go by the price of a Privilege Card, anything less than 600,000 means you took a loss.”

“…”

Jiang Ye didn’t answer, but his mood turned complicated.

Less than 600K was considered a loss?

He’d just finished the match with Zhao Yudie, feeling good about the money he made.

But hearing this from Yang Wenchao made him feel…

He really might’ve lost out.

After all, he hadn’t actually made 600K from that match.

He’d thought most of the earnings would come from spectating fees.

Zhao Yudie did have quite a few spectators.

But in the final tally, the total viewing revenue for that match was just over 60,000!

Which meant there were only about 6,000 viewers.

But what really surprised Jiang Ye—

Zhao Yudie’s wager was a whopping 500,000!

So in the end, he made 560,000 from that match!

That windfall not only wiped out his massive debts,

He even had cash left to splurge in the High-End Mall.

But now, looking at the price of Privilege Cards, he started feeling…

Maybe he really did take a loss?

But back then, he was mainly trying to avoid the drop-in veteran players.

If he’d delayed using the Privilege Card and waited for more powerful opponents to appear in the Duel Room,

He probably could’ve earned even more.

Now that he thought about it, he kind of regretted it.

If only he’d known—he could’ve just sold the Privilege Card in the trading zone instead of using it against Zhao Yudie.

But there’s no “if only” in hindsight…

If Zhao Yudie knew what Jiang Ye was thinking right now, she’d probably be so pissed she’d cough up blood!

Especially if she found out that this sneaky b*stard used the Privilege Card just to make money by targeting her—

Which ended up breaking her nine-win streak…

She’d probably be ready to die from rage!

I mean seriously…

That ultra-valuable Privilege Card—why the f**k would you waste it on me?

And you actually thought you could make bank off me?

And you f**king broke my nine-win streak in the process?!

That’s not just wasting a good item—you used your waste to ruin an innocent bystander!

Unbelievable! Unforgivable!

Good thing Zhao Yudie didn’t know…

Yang Wenchao had pretty much guessed it and felt a bit sorry for Zhao Yudie.

But there wasn’t much he could do—after all, beginner players didn’t know anything. Some dumb moves were just part of the process -_-||

After thinking it over, he still decided to explain it to Jiang Ye:

“To be honest, that’s not how you’re supposed to use a Privilege Card.”

“The reason it can be sold between players for millions is mainly because it’s used to block win streaks.”

“Those key streaks like three, five, or ten wins get targeted by powerful veteran players.”

“And even among beginners, some might deliberately start doing that too.”

“They use the Privilege Card to block other players’ eight-win or nine-win streaks.”

“Then they make the players pay to keep their streak.”

“Anyone who can get to eight or nine wins is usually not short on money.”

“Even if they are, they’re often willing to pay a high price to protect their streak.”

“Take your match with Zhao Yudie, for example…”

“If you’d shown your ability to beat her and then talked with her, I think she would’ve paid a lot to keep her win streak.”

“She might’ve even gritted her teeth and agreed to pay close to a few million.”

D*mn!

A few million??!

Not long ago, Jiang Ye was still worrying about a 350,000 debt.

Now he might have had a shot at earning millions?!

Sure enough, as long as your strength is up there, making money’s not that hard!

But then Jiang Ye thought of something: “But if I intentionally lost to her, wouldn’t my own win streak break?”

Yang Wenchao nodded. “Yeah, that’s why the best use of a Privilege Card is to sell it in the trading zone to one of those streak-blocking organizations.”

“Those groups train people specifically for that role—strong players who don’t care about win rates.”

Alright, so it really is true—

Wherever there are people, there’s a jianghu (power struggle).

Veteran players had already formed organizations.

Even among newbie players, some were probably starting to band together.

Jiang Ye then followed up, “In the game you played, were there also people forming those kinds of organizations?”

Yang Wenchao nodded. “Yeah.”

After a slight pause, he suddenly gave a relaxed smile:

“Actually, the reason I played that game in the first place was to make money off those groups.”

“You haven’t played Doomsday Apartment, but from your experience in the Beginner Apartment, I’m sure you’ve felt it by now?”

“That game is seriously unfair.”

“Pay-to-win players and regular players are basically playing two different games.”

Finally, they were on the topic of the game—Jiang Ye perked right up.

He was dying to know what kind of game it really was, and what hidden information he was still missing.

But Yang Wenchao deliberately left him hanging.

Instead of revealing any game info, he jumped straight to his point:

“You should be able to tell—I’m no selfless philanthropist.”

“So, if you want game info, you’ll have to give something in return, right?”

Jiang Ye understood perfectly.

After a brief moment of thought, he cut straight to the point:

“You came to me, which means you’re trying to use the information you have to strike a deal with me, right?”

Yang Wenchao raised an eyebrow. “Rather than a deal, I’d call it a partnership.”

“Like I said earlier, this game has two completely different modes—free-to-play and pay-to-win.”

“I want to partner with you to beat the Beginner Apartment in pay-to-win mode.”

Jiang Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking it over…

Yang Wenchao had probably noticed his strength.

But…

He copied Yang Wenchao’s expression, raising his brow and said,

“So without your game intel, you think I can’t beat the Beginner Apartment in ‘pay-to-win mode’ on my own?”

His tone had a definite edge to it, full of confidence in his own strength.

But Yang Wenchao gave him a cryptic smile:

“You might be strong, but…”

He paused, then suddenly asked, “Do you know how to move between apartments?”

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow and answered directly, “There’s a teleportation device at the top floor of the apartment.”

That bit he’d learned from the Black-Robed Player he met after getting three wins.

Yang Wenchao didn’t seem surprised and continued with a grin, “Then do you know the condition to activate the teleportation device?”

Jiang Ye answered again, “You have to pay 1 Survival Point.”

But this time, Yang Wenchao shook his head. “Nope. The Survival Point is just the teleportation fee.”

“To actually move between apartments, there’s one more crucial condition—”

“You have to earn the favor of the apartment’s boss behind the scenes.”

The apartment’s boss behind the scenes?!

Sounds like someone who controls the entire apartment?

But up until now, Jiang Ye hadn’t even gotten familiar with the Apartment Administrator.

And now this—an ‘apartment boss’—was a brand-new concept to him.

But then…

What about that shadow he encountered on the 20th floor when he got the Survival Jade Token—could that be the apartment boss?

Didn’t seem likely…

Someone of that level probably wouldn’t be skulking around like that.

So if he hadn’t even met the apartment boss, how was he supposed to gain their favor?

While thinking, Jiang Ye suddenly remembered Huang Qi.

Since Huang Qi had successfully moved between apartments, did that mean he’d gained the apartment boss’s favor?

And Yu Xiangming too…

But what exactly did they have that the apartment boss would favor?

Suddenly, Jiang Ye turned to Yang Wenchao and directly guessed:

“Kill all the players in the apartment, and you’ll earn the apartment boss’s favor?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Yang Wenchao was stunned.

“You—you guessed that? Or did you get that info from somewhere?”

“I guessed.” Jiang Ye replied with a straight face, totally calm.

Though to be fair, it wasn’t entirely a lie.

He had been inspired by what Huang Qi said.

So yeah, it was kind of a guess.

Yang Wenchao looked at his expression, then grew thoughtful.

After a while, he sighed.

“Alright then, since you’ve figured it out, I’ll give you a little more info—”

“The Beginner Apartment actually has three special entities, or you could call them three bosses.”

“The first one is the public figure: the Apartment Administrator.”

“The second is the shadow in the hallway that gives out Survival Jade Tokens to tenants above the 20th floor.”

“And the third one only appears after you’ve killed all the players in the apartment—the apartment boss.”

“And just like you guessed—”

“To move between apartments, you need to kill all the players, meet the apartment boss, and get their permission to transfer.”

Hearing that, Jiang Ye’s mood instantly sank.

He had originally thought that once he reached the top floor, he could move to another apartment.

But now, he was being told…

To move between apartments, he had to kill everyone else?!

Wait a minute!

Jiang Ye thought for a second, then suddenly looked at Yang Wenchao:

“If you’re bold enough to tell me this, then you must know there’s another way to move apartments besides killing everyone, right?”

“Otherwise, aren’t you afraid I’ll go kill all my classmates because of what you said?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep