Yes! The Apartment Administrator!

The moment Jiang Ye saw “Ding Deng,” he knew—

That wasn’t the real Ding Deng!

Ding Deng was already dead, and his name on the member list hadn’t reappeared!

So, once he figured that out, the relatively calm main body of Jiang Ye quickly thought it over—who could be impersonating Ding Deng?

The first person that came to mind, of course, was the White-Clad Woman.

After all, she had crawled out of his TV screen before.

But the White-Clad Woman didn’t seem to have any motive for doing this.

Just to scare him?

Or even if, for some unknown reason, she did have a motive…

She had no connection with Ding Deng whatsoever.

They were two beings who had never even met.

Why would she think of using “Ding Deng” to scare him?

But if we’re talking about someone who did have a connection to Ding Deng…

All the classmates from Class 1 and Class 2 could technically count.

But those classmates of his probably didn’t have this kind of capability.

And aside from them, there was one more person…

You see, when Jiang Ye killed Ding Deng, it happened right in the lobby on the first floor of the apartment—at the front desk where the administrator was stationed.

Ding Deng, that guy, had initially wanted Jiang Ye to be his guarantor for a loan.

Then he listened to Yang Wenchao’s bullsh*t about “killing someone to get Survival Points, which can be used for Resurrection.”

So he ambushed Jiang Ye and ended up getting killed instead.

At the time, there were two witnesses—You Ziyu, and the Apartment Administrator.

You Ziyu had already been labeled a traitor and was killed by Wang Lingling.

Of course, it’s still possible that for some eerie reason, he might continue to exist as an Eerie.

But Jiang Ye couldn’t imagine You Ziyu bearing any grudge against him.

If he wanted revenge, it should be against Wang Lingling.

So, the most likely suspect… was the Apartment Administrator!

The administrator had seen him kill Ding Deng with his own eyes.

And he probably knew that Ding Deng was the first person Jiang Ye had killed—a classmate—making him the most likely to become a psychological shadow.

Plus, the administrator had a motive—

Because Jiang Ye had already intended to kill the Apartment Administrator.

Back in the lobby, he had openly interrogated Xing Man about it, and even mentioned it to Yang Wenchao.

There’s a good chance the administrator took note of that back then!

So that emotionless, middle-aged man might have taken some kind of action!

It was impressive that Jiang Ye was able to think all of this through in such a short time.

But in truth, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure it was the Apartment Administrator until “Ding Deng” spoke.

The final confirmation came when—

In that life-or-death moment, even when instinct was screaming at him to fight back,

He used an immense willpower to suppress that instinct.

He didn’t make a move!

Because he remembered—

One of the big shots from Apartment 9999 had mentioned it before.

When a player attacks the Administrator proactively, the Administrator gains the right to Erasure.

To cancel out that right, a player has to use the Madman Mask, which is only obtainable from a hundred-win streak.

Exactly!

That was what reminded Jiang Ye—

He didn’t have the Madman Mask yet!

If he attacked the Administrator now, he’d be instantly erased!

In fact, when he swapped his No.1 Replica with his Mirror Replica, he hadn’t fully thought that through.

Everything had happened so fast, there was no time to think it all over.

So you could say it was some kind of uncanny sixth sense.

Only after his main body held back that instinct and nothing happened,

Did he fully confirm—

The one impersonating Ding Deng, trying to lure him into attacking, was the Apartment Administrator!

At that moment, Jiang Ye let out a breath of relief deep down, but didn’t dare relax.

He kept his eyes locked on the fake Ding Deng.

“Ding Deng” gave a weird smile again, voice still dry and indifferent:

“Didn’t you claim you were going to kill me?”

“Well, here I am at your doorstep, and now you’re too scared to make a move?”

Jiang Ye chuckled, putting on a relaxed act: “Hey, that’s just who I am—got too much of a conscience.”

“Instead of hurting others out of malice, I prefer good old self-defense.”

“Ding Deng can vouch for that.”

“How about this, Uncle—why don’t you make the first move, and I’ll defend myself?”

“Hmph.” The Administrator let out another scoffing laugh, and in that moment, shifted from Ding Deng’s form back into his original face—the emotionless middle-aged man.

“Hmph, hmph, hmph…”

That blank expression paired with scoffing laughter was downright creepy.

The look he gave Jiang Ye was cold and full of contempt.

“If I really made a move, you think you’d still have a chance to ‘defend yourself’?”

That line came out with full force, heavy with pressure.

But Jiang Ye didn’t flinch, still smiling easily: “Seriously? Well then, Uncle, why don’t you try and see—see if I survive it?”

The administrator’s expression darkened again, his gaze taking on a more sinister edge.

After a beat, he let out another round of “hmph hmph hmph” laughter.

Eyes narrowing, he stared at Jiang Ye, his tone dangerous:

“Hmph… hmph…”

“Kid, you really haven’t figured out what’s going on yet, have you?”

“Don’t tell me you think that just because you got away this time, you’re in the clear?”

“Truth or illusion—I don’t believe you’ll be able to hold back every time something unexpected happens!”

“In fact, maybe you think you’re just fighting in the Duel Room, but really, you’re making a move on me…”

“Hmph hmph hmph hmph…” The Administrator’s laughter was deeply eerie and chilling.

“When I think about it that way, you getting through this round might actually be a good thing.”

“After all, I wouldn’t want such an amusing little toy to die too soon.”

“So from now on, brat, get ready to really feel what it’s like to live in fear!”

“That feeling’s gotta be way more exciting than just dropping dead, right?”

“Don’t you think so? Hmph hmph hmph hmph…”

As he spoke, he didn’t bother waiting for Jiang Ye’s reply.

With a flash, he vanished on the spot.

And as he said, Jiang Ye was indeed feeling a little heavy and fearful!

After all, he was just a Beginner Player, and yet he’d provoked the Apartment Administrator…

F**k’s sake! This was basically hell difficulty mode!

Just like the Administrator had said, if he wanted to target him, there were tons of ways to do it!

This time, the Administrator had personally shown up, and Jiang Ye only survived because he didn’t fight back.

But what if next time, the Administrator sent some kind of monster after him?

If he didn’t fight back then, wouldn’t he really be killed by the monster?

Just like the Administrator said—

With truth and illusion all mixed up, how was he supposed to handle it?

Besides, the Apartment Administrator handled operations in place of the Apartment Boss.

He had a lot of authority!

For instance, when it came to paying rent, Jiang Ye had to deal with the Administrator.

If the Administrator decided to pull something shady on that…

He could end up being Erased at midnight for failing to pay rent!

F**k’s sake!

This situation was super bad for him!

He had to find a way to resolve this potential crisis fast!

Actually, there was a simple way—Cross-Apartment.

If he moved to another Beginner Apartment, this Administrator wouldn’t be able to touch him.

But honestly, that felt kinda humiliating.

Jiang Ye felt speechless just thinking about it.

He hadn’t even planned on killing the Administrator of his own apartment.

He’d originally been thinking about teaming up with Lin Jing and the others to take down the Administrator of Apartment 9999.

But instead, it was his own Administrator who picked a fight with him first…

Seriously…

Looking for death for no reason!

Now that Jiang Ye had some power, he also had a bit of temper.

He was thinking—besides Cross-Apartment, there was another way to solve this: just get rid of the Administrator ASAP!

This Administrator who couldn’t leave well enough alone—he needed to be taught a lesson!

In the spectator seats of Lin Jing’s Quick Battle…

His No.2 Replica had started chatting with Wan Xin again.

Seizing the opportunity, he casually asked Wan Xin:

“Hey, say we’re planning to kill an Apartment Administrator, would the Administrator strike first and target us players in advance?”

That question stunned Wan Xin: “Strike first? Target? Who? The Apartment Administrator?”

“You’re overthinking it. We’re not trying to kill Apartment 9999’s Administrator, so of course there’s no reason for him to come after us.”

That left Jiang Ye momentarily speechless.

Not killing your own Administrator, that made sense.

But he couldn’t help asking again: “But whether we kill him or not is our decision—how can Apartment 9999’s Administrator be 100% sure we won’t try?”

“……”

Now Wan Xin was left speechless.

But considering Jiang Ye was just a clueless newbie, he still explained patiently:

“That’s easy to understand—”

“Because Apartment 9999’s Administrator is the strongest.”

“And killing any Administrator has the same result.”

“So for us players who know how the game works, unless we’ve lost our minds, there’s no way we’d try to challenge the 9999 Administrator.”

“More importantly, even if we did challenge him, there’s basically zero chance of winning.”

“So the 9999 Administrator is totally fearless—he has no reason to ‘target or strike back’ in advance.”

Okay, now Jiang Ye got it.

The 9999 Administrator was super powerful, so he wasn’t worried about players attacking him, and therefore didn’t preemptively retaliate.

But his own Administrator from Apartment 1010?

Just your average dude.

Acting all arrogant, picking a fight with him.

But in reality? Just scared!

So the problem he was facing—big shots in Apartment 9999 didn’t have to deal with that.

No wonder all the elites went to Apartment 9999. Definitely saved them a ton of trouble.

Thinking about that, Jiang Ye suddenly remembered:

“I heard that if you make it onto the War God Ranking, you can get your own place in Apartment 9999?”

“But how do you get on the War God Ranking? I already got a ten-win streak and I’m still just Nameless Black Iron.”

Wan Xin raised an eyebrow: “You get on the War God Ranking through your match record.”

“As long as your record beats the person ranked 100, you’ll replace them and make it onto the board.”

“There’s also another way—through ‘Challenge Mode,’ you can directly challenge someone on the War God Ranking.”

“But that kind of challenge can be declined.”

“As for how to upgrade from Stubborn Bronze, there are three requirements—”

“First, get a ten-win streak.”

“Second, pay either one million Game Coins, or 100 Duel Points.”

“Third, go to the first-floor lobby and complete a title upgrade trial. It’s pretty simple—with your strength, you should clear it in no time.”

The first and third points weren’t hard.

But the second one—paying a million Game Coins? What the h*ll!

He was already dirt poor and still had to pay to use the Duel Room!

Jiang Ye cursed silently, then asked again: “So, if I, as Nameless Black Iron, challenge a Stubborn Bronze on the War God Ranking, can I still get on the ranking with the Nameless Black Iron title?”

“……”

Wan Xin looked speechless but still broke it down for him: “Technically yes, but I really wouldn’t recommend it.”

“First off, the guy you challenge is on the War God Ranking—he’s not gonna bother with someone like you. It’s like an elephant ignoring an ant. These big shots don’t have time for nonsense.”

“Second, there are rewards for making it onto the War God Ranking. If you do it as Nameless Black Iron, the benefits aren’t as good as if you go up as Stubborn Bronze.”

“Besides, everyone who makes it onto the board pretty much meets the upgrade conditions, so they all go up as Stubborn Bronze.”

Man, these elites sure are loaded.

Jiang Ye was strapped for cash right now, and coughing up that million really hurt.

He thought about it and then leaned in to whisper in Wan Xin’s ear:

“Brother Wan, we’ve got a bit of a connection now, right…”

“Can you hook me up with one of the War God Ranking guys from Apartment 9999? Maybe help me challenge one through the back door?”

Wan Xin looked totally speechless—what connection?

They’d just chatted in the group a few times, that’s it.

Still, he gave Jiang Ye a pointed reminder:

“Did you forget the difference between Challenge Mode and Matchmaking Mode?”

“In Matchmaking Mode, you’re paired with someone at similar strength. That’s why you’re doing well.”

“But in Challenge Mode, you’re only Level 3 with around 80 Combat Power. And you want to challenge someone from the War God Ranking? You kidding me?”

Uhh, yeah.

Jiang Ye had nearly forgotten that part.

So he asked: “Then what’s the lowest Combat Power among the War God Ranking guys?”

Wan Xin’s face suddenly turned weird.

After a long pause, he finally snapped: “Lowest one’s your big bro here—over 400 Combat Power.”

Huh?

Awkward.

Jiang Ye quickly forced a laugh to smooth things over: “Hahaha, oh wow, Brother Wan, you’re on the War God Ranking too? Sorry, I only looked at the top names, didn’t pay attention to the bottom ones…”

Wan Xin: “……”

Jiang Ye realized that sounded like a burn, so he quickly tried to fix it:

“No no, I mean—”

“Brother Wan, you’re amazing! You’re ranked last in level, but still made the Combat Power board!”

“I think you’re only Level 8, right? When you hit Level 10, I bet you’ll instantly dominate the War God Ranking and scare everyone silly!”

Wan Xin swore, rolled his eyes: “F**k, if you don’t know how to flatter someone, just don’t. Are you trying to get under my skin?!”

“Hahaha…” Jiang Ye gave a dry laugh, then enthusiastically added, “Then how about it, big bro? Help me out—let me challenge you once?”

Wan Xin was totally baffled now, staring in disbelief: “You? Level 3 with 80 Combat Power? Want to challenge me, Level 8 with 400+ Combat Power?? You serious right now??”

“I just want to get a feel for how strong War God Ranking guys are…”

Wan Xin thought about it and figured, whatever.

But then he glanced at Lin Jing’s duel and said:

“I bought ten rounds of spectating. Got four or five left.”

Jiang Ye’s spectating session had ended.

With the Administrator now targeting him, he was feeling the pressure and didn’t want to waste any time, so he suggested to Wan Xin:

“Each of Lin God’s duels takes like 3 or 4 minutes.”

“Four or five rounds means twenty minutes tops.”

“I’ll go get a few more wins in during the next fifteen minutes, then come back and challenge you. How’s that sound?”

Right then, Wan Xin really took on the big bro role, nodded calmly: “Sure, go ahead.”

“I’m curious to see how many wins you can rack up in the next 15 minutes.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep