Xiao Likun, who possessed the Comprehension Enhancement ability, immediately speculated,

"This should be a gold-element skill! In this state, that bald guy might not even be able to break through her defense!"

"No, it's not just stronger defense—her strength is also incredible!"

On the screen, the girl's punch toward the bald man seemed to stir the air with a fierce whooshing sound!

Even through the screen, they could feel the overwhelming metallic force behind it, as if it could crush anything in its path!

Wang Qiang couldn't help but blurt out another "Holy sh*t!" and marveled,

"You really can't judge girls by their looks these days!"

"She looks so soft and delicate, but damn, she's actually this violent!"

Xiao Likun speculated further, "This gold-element skill is both offensive and defensive. It must be at least B-rank!"

Wang Qiang was shocked. "Then doesn't that mean her ability is S-tier?"

Xiao Likun shook his head. "Not necessarily. What if she, like Lu Shen, has extremely high comprehension? With high comprehension, even a B-tier ability can unlock B-tier skills!"

Wang Qiang sucked in a sharp breath. "Then if she has high comprehension, she might have more than just one skill!"

In just a few sentences, the two spoke rapidly while continuing to watch—

On the screen, the bald man actually dodged the violent girl's punch!

He was even faster than her!

With a swift raise of his hand, he firmly caught her wrist mid-punch!

Then, without the slightest pause, he twisted her wrist and executed a seamless over-the-shoulder throw!

"Boom!"

The girl's back slammed hard against the ground!

This scene left Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang utterly dumbfounded!

What the hell?! It's one thing for girls to be violent these days, but why do guys have no sense of pity either?!

That throw…

Even as two grown men watching, they felt an unbearable pain just imagining it!

But with her gold-element defense, she probably wasn’t too badly hurt.

Still, her expression twisted between pain and utter disbelief!

Especially her gaze, lying on the ground, staring up at the bald man—it was as if she had just seen a ghost!

Yet in the next second, that ghost-like expression froze completely on her face!

The bald man, after executing the throw, wasted no time.

With a single stroke of a black dagger, he slit the girl's throat!

The cut was deep—blood gushed out in streams!

Immediately after…

Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang watched in stunned silence as—

The words [Win] appeared on the screen!

Then, the screen went black.

The two stared at it in a daze for a long time before snapping back to reality, exclaiming in disbelief,

"What the hell?? That's it??"

"That girl’s gold-element defense should've been really strong, right? How did the bald guy break through it??"

"Or was it a critical hit to the throat, so she got one-shot killed??"

"No! It’s the dagger! That thing must be like Brother Chang’s wristband—some kind of powerful item!"

"That bald guy's stats must be way higher than hers!"

"Sh*t… so this bald guy is seriously strong! Could he be the low-profile Zhang Jintian or Ke Zhengfei? Or some other hidden powerhouse?"

"Wait! Look at the ranking board! A new player just got listed!"

On the ranking board, a new entry had appeared—

[Rank 9: Liu Shun (Level 1)]

"Liu Shun from Class 1? Could it be him? That guy's an athlete and hardly ever talks in the group chat!"

"F*ck! Feels like all the real experts are quietly getting rich in the shadows!"

"It's just us cannon fodder making noise in the chat for attention!"

"F*ck! Comparing ourselves to them is infuriating! I’ve decided—I'm gonna keep a low profile and stop wasting time in the group chat!"

—

At the same time.

Virtual Combat Space.

Second-floor lobby.

Two adjacent seats.

Li Ran's face stiffened. Her large, watery eyes snapped toward the bald uncle sitting beside her.

The sharp turn of her head sent her bangs sweeping through the air, practically radiating her fury.

How could she not be angry?!

That damn uncle!

At a time like this, he still had the audacity to wear that honest, goofy smile and cheerfully thank her—

"Thanks, little miss! That was a generous 400 you gifted me."

"You're such a kind person! Kind people always get good karma!"

That innocent and sincere tone!

Those familiar-sounding words!

Li Ran almost coughed up blood in rage!

At this point, there was no need to keep up the innocent act.

Her glare at Jiang Ye was filled with resentment—and a hint of wariness.

After a brief silence, she spoke coldly,

"If I'm not mistaken, you don’t actually have a son my age. You're not some bald uncle at all."

"This bald uncle appearance—it's just a disguise!"

"What do you really look like? Are you a man or a woman? How old are you?"

Jiang Ye chuckled. "What, you wanna get revenge on me?"

"That bald teammate of yours also used a Disguise Mask, didn’t they?"

"I was curious at first. Why, out of all the people in the first-floor lobby, did she single me out?"

"At first, I thought it was just because we were both bald."

"But then I realized—it was because we were both bald."

"She must’ve known that the item I pulled from my apartment treasure chest was a Disguise Mask."

"The Disguise Mask is a support item with minimal stat boosts, so compared to other players on the 20th floor, I’d naturally be weaker."

"That’s why she approached me, right?"

Li Ran's face remained cold, silent for a long moment.

Finally, she muttered, "Are you really a first-time player in the Duel Room?"

Jiang Ye grinned. "Of course!"

"And not just that—I really did take out a 500-loan too."

"Believe it or not, I’m actually 35,000 in debt to the apartment. I might not even survive the day!"

"I’m seriously broke! Little miss, why don’t you show some more kindness and help me out?"

"…"

Help your damn sister!

At this point, even hearing words like "little miss" and "kindness" felt like pure mockery to Li Ran!

Too infuriating!

She gritted her teeth and speculated directly,

"If I'm not mistaken, you should be a man—a career professional who’s been working for a few years?"

Jiang Ye, of course, had no intention of answering anything related to his identity.

He simply kept up his honest, goofy smile. "If little miss isn’t willing to be generous, then I’ll have to make money on my own."

Li Ran was still gritting her teeth but suddenly called out, "Wait!"

"I can share some fast-money strategies with you."

Jiang Ye turned around.

At that moment, he was standing by his seat while Li Ran remained seated.

With one standing and the other sitting, a natural contrast of dominance and suppression formed between them.

With that posture, he smiled at Li Ran and said,

"Fast money, huh?"

"Tsk tsk, that sure sounds familiar."

"Wouldn’t you agree, scammer?"

Li Ran's face flushed red with anger. She was both furious and embarrassed.

"I've already paid the price for my actions—why would I try to scam you?!"

"So?" Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you want?"

"I want to see your real face without the disguise!"

"Not happening."

Without giving her any chance to argue further, Jiang Ye simply turned and left.