That shadow appeared out of nowhere.

There hadn’t been a single sign beforehand!

At this moment, Jiang Ye’s No. 2 Replica was still in stealth mode.

He instantly became alert but wasn’t sure if this shadow could actually see him.

Until a deep, resonant voice emerged from the darkness:

"Short on money?"

??

What?

Short… short on money?

Jiang Ye remained uncertain and didn’t dare to respond.

Seeing no reply, the shadow seemed impatient and directly exposed him:

"That little invisibility trick—who do you think you're fooling?"

"I’ll ask again—"

"Are you short on money?"

"I can help you amass wealth quickly."

"Faster and easier than working as a cleaner."

Good one.

Fast and easy money?

Why did this sound exactly like a scam pitch?

Jiang Ye instinctively didn’t believe it.

But since he had no idea what this shadow was, he didn’t reject it outright.

Instead, he asked in a deep voice, "What exactly do I have to do to make this fast money?"

"Simple."

The shadow appeared to be a creature completely wrapped in a black robe.

It seemed to raise a hand.

A jade token flew toward Jiang Ye.

He caught it, inspecting it while listening to the shadow’s explanation:

"Wear it. Any Survival Points you earn from killing will be stored inside."

"After that, return to the 20th floor and find me. I'll buy this jade token from you at a rate of 1 Survival Point for 100,000."

"For example, if you collect 5 Survival Points, you can exchange them for 500,000."

Hiss…

Hearing that, Jiang Ye was startled!

He was currently in debt for 350,000—a sum he definitely couldn’t pay off just by working!

And according to this shadow’s deal…

He only needed to kill four people.

Not only could he clear his debt, but he’d even have extra cash!

This…

This was truly tempting!

Jiang Ye strongly suspected that Yang Wenchao’s constant killings—and his strength far surpassing the other students—were due to a similar deal with this shadow!

However, Jiang Ye’s situation was different from Yang Wenchao’s!

He could use Survival Points to generate Replicas!

At this rate, exchanging 1 Survival Point for 100,000 was absolutely not worth it.

And according to his own judgment—

The real value of Survival Points and Survival Stones must far exceed 100,000.

This shadow appeared to be making a deal with him…

But in reality, it was ripping him off!

From this perspective…

The shadow itself likely couldn’t earn Survival Points from killing.

That’s why it needed to make these deals with players.

Jiang Ye thought for a long time.

He wasn’t the kind of person who killed indiscriminately.

Nor would he go around murdering just for the sake of Survival Points.

But if there was truly no way to repay his 350,000 debt…

Then, working with this shadow might be a way out.

So, instead of rejecting the shadow outright, he asked, "As long as I have this jade token on me, all Survival Points from my kills will be absorbed into it?"

The shadow caught the hidden meaning in Jiang Ye’s question and nodded, explaining:

"If you want to keep the Survival Points for yourself, just leave the jade token in your apartment or store it in a spatial item."

"However, let me remind you—"

"Survival Points are useless inside this apartment."

"If you can’t leave this apartment alive, then all the Survival Points in the world won’t mean a thing."

Clearly, this was a push to convince Jiang Ye to store his Survival Points in the jade token and exchange them for cash.

Jiang Ye didn’t respond.

He put the jade token away and said to the shadow, "I’ll think about it carefully."

The moment he spoke, the shadow that had been blocking his way seemed to vanish into thin air.

Jiang Ye scanned his surroundings, but in the dim light, he couldn’t see anything.

After a brief moment of thought, he immediately headed toward the red-lit elevator.

He used the Disguise Mask to transform his appearance into a bald-headed man before taking the elevator down to the first floor.

In the first-floor lobby, several students had gathered at the front desk.

It looked like they were all preparing to take out loans from the Apartment Administrator.

The moment Jiang Ye—now bald—stepped out, he drew their attention.

A few of them instantly started whispering:

"That bald guy… is he a classmate in disguise, or an actual apartment resident?"

"I remember Li Wenjie from Class 1 has a detection-type skill. Maybe she can figure it out!"

"Li Wenjie went upstairs on an errand. No idea when she’ll be back."

"When she returns, we should have her check the Duel Room. Maybe she can expose the bald guy’s true identity!"

"But if he’s actually an apartment resident and gets hit with a detection skill, won’t he go berserk and start killing?"

"I doubt it. Even if he does, Yang Wenchao is in the Duel Room. He wouldn’t just stand by and watch, right?"

"Pfft. Forget about it. We’d be lucky if Yang Wenchao doesn’t take advantage of the chaos to steal Li Wenjie’s kill."

"Never mind. Whether that bald guy is a classmate or a resident, we should just stay out of it and avoid unnecessary trouble."

"Ugh, if only I were as strong as Yang Wenchao."

"I’m taking out this loan to use the Training Room. Hopefully, I can boost my stamina and energy."

"I’m hoping I can unlock a skill…"

Jiang Ye ignored their chatter completely.

As soon as Jiang Ye stepped into the Duel Room, he saw rows of machines that looked like ATMs.

There were two rows in total, each with ten machines—20 duel devices in all.

The machine closest to the door on the left side had a green light on, indicating that Yang Wenchao was using it.

The other 19 machines were idle.

Besides that, two students were standing near Yang Wenchao’s machine—Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang, the same two who had been actively sharing updates about Yang Wenchao in the group chat.

The moment they saw the bald-headed Jiang Ye, their eyes filled with wariness.

But Jiang Ye walked over openly and glanced at Yang Wenchao’s machine.

With that one look, he immediately understood what Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang were watching.

Because on the ATM-like enclosed machine, there was a display screen the size of an A4 paper.

And on that screen, Yang Wenchao’s duel was being broadcasted live!

The scene showed an arena the size of a basketball court.

Yang Wenchao was currently engaged in a fierce battle against a quick-footed female opponent.

She was likely a player from another apartment, looking to be in her early twenties—probably a college student.

However, she might have been an athlete or trained in martial arts.

Even against Yang Wenchao, she wasn’t at a disadvantage!

Seeing this, Jiang Ye was a little surprised.

He had assumed that with Yang Wenchao’s strength, he would be unbeatable in the Duel Room.

But now, it was clear that the top players from other apartments were no pushovers either!

Fortunately, victory or defeat in the Duel Room only affected money, not life and death.

Even if someone lost, they would only lose money—they wouldn’t actually die.

So in essence, this Duel Room was like a virtual game.

Jiang Ye watched from the side for a while.

Seeing that Jiang Ye wasn’t here to cause trouble, Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang gradually relaxed and refocused on Yang Wenchao’s battle.

As Yang Wenchao started to fall behind, Wang Qiang couldn’t help but sigh:

"Didn’t Yang Wenchao bet 100,000 on this match? If he loses, he’s going straight back to square one!"

Xiao Likun nodded. "Nothing he can do—his opponent this time is too strong! That girl is probably at least an S-tier ability user!"

"Plus, I have a feeling that the opponent Yang Wenchao gets matched with is based on how much money he bets!"

"At this time of day, anyone betting 100,000 must be a serious player!"

Wang Qiang grumbled, "Damn it, I can’t even scrounge up 100, and here Yang Wenchao is, losing 100,000 like it’s nothing! Comparing yourself to others is just asking for pain!"

Xiao Likun sighed even deeper, "If literally everyone in the world was transported into these apartments, then the people at the very top of the pyramid… might be even stronger than Yang Wenchao and this girl!"

"After all, with such a massive population, there must be some insanely lucky people who are beyond our imagination!"

Wang Qiang suddenly had a thought, "Super lucky people… could that mean someone with an SSS-tier ability?"

"Damn… I wish my parents had SSS-tier abilities. That way, when I reunite with them, I’d instantly be a rich second-gen kid!"

Xiao Likun was speechless.

But thinking about it—if their parents really became top-tier powerhouses, and they managed to survive long enough to reunite…

Then yeah, they actually would be rich second-gen kids, wouldn’t they?

Now that was an exciting thought.

Just as the two of them were lost in their daydreams of luxury—

A sudden notification rang in their minds.

【Ding!】

【Apartment Announcement: 8 residents have reached Level 1. The Apartment Ranking Board is now activated!】