Strength and mentality are both good?

Jiang Ye wasn’t sure about his strength.

But his mentality? That was definitely solid.

After all, he had Replicas as his safety net.

Each Replica was like an insurance policy.

And since the Duel Room didn’t have real consequences—no one actually died—he saw no reason to stress over a win streak.

With that thought, his mindset stabilized even more. He calmly asked the black-robed player:

"Just now, you said that under normal circumstances, I would be guaranteed to lose against you."

"So, does that mean... there’s also an abnormal circumstance?"

"Exactly!" The black-robed player chuckled again. "In fact, I can say with certainty—"

"More than 80% of players in your Duel Room who achieve win streaks… do so through abnormal means."

"This includes plenty of players weaker than you, and even some of the so-called War God Ranking elites you see."

"Most of them… achieved their streaks through non-standard methods."

Jiang Ye’s heart skipped a beat.

So, almost nobody was winning purely on skill?

Even the War God Ranking players weren’t exceptions?

Then those who did manage to win naturally must be the true elite among the newcomers.

Just as he was processing this, the black-robed player’s tone suddenly became serious:

"That said—not everyone is qualified to benefit from these non-standard methods."

"Now, let me ask you—"

"On any apartment floor above the 20th, have you encountered a mysterious black shadow?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Jiang Ye’s eyes flickered.

And just from that brief reaction, the black-robed player seemed to already have his answer.

His stern tone softened slightly, and he let out a knowing chuckle.

"Looks like I wasn’t wrong about you. You’re lucky."

Lucky?

If encountering that black shadow counted as luck…

Then it was probably thanks to the Lucky Lantern, and Jiang Ye had only just realized it.

But that eerie black shadow had given him something…

Just as Jiang Ye was recalling the event, the black-robed player spoke again:

"Since you’ve met the black shadow, that means you should have also received a Survival Jade Token, right?"

Jiang Ye nodded. "You mean that token that automatically stores ‘Survival Points’ whenever someone is killed?"

The black-robed player smirked. "That’s right. That’s the Survival Jade Token!"

Hearing this, Jiang Ye suddenly understood—

The "abnormal method" the black-robed player was referring to… was probably match-fixing.

He was offering to throw the fight, allowing Jiang Ye to secure his crucial third win.

But in exchange, Jiang Ye would need to pay him something as compensation.

In other words—

Win streaks were a commodity you could buy!

Realizing this, Jiang Ye felt incredibly relieved.

Back when the black shadow gave him the Survival Jade Token, he had almost refused it—just because he thought 1 Survival Point was only worth 100,000!

Looking back now—thank god he hadn’t turned it down!

But…

Something still felt off.

Would the black shadow really just hand him an item for free, only for him to immediately trade it for a win streak?

There had to be a catch.

After learning his lesson from opening packages and being hunted by monsters, Jiang Ye had grown more cautious.

So he directly asked:

"That black shadow—what exactly is it? If I give you the Survival Jade Token, will it come after me for revenge?"

"Give me the Survival Jade Token?" The black-robed player chuckled lightly.

"No, no. I don’t want the token itself."

Jiang Ye immediately realized his mistake.

The black-robed player didn’t want the Survival Jade Token.

What he wanted was the Survival Points stored inside it!

This made one thing very clear—

Survival Points were extremely valuable.

From the very beginning, the game’s announcement had warned players that Survival Points were precious.

The black shadow had given him the Survival Jade Token because it wanted Survival Points.

And now, this experienced player—someone willing to throw a fight for him—also wanted Survival Points.

Jiang Ye couldn't help but ask, "Just how valuable are Survival Points?"

"They say you can trade them for anything you desire..."

"But we new players can already increase our strength just through treasure chests and packages."

"I can’t even imagine—if someone spent Survival Points to get items, just how strong could they become?"

The black-robed player, seemingly intrigued by Jiang Ye’s potential, patiently explained:

"You’ve got it wrong."

"The true purpose of Survival Points isn’t to exchange them for powerful items."

"Their real purpose… is to survive."

"That’s right—Survival Points literally mean the cost of survival."

"Without them, you won’t survive."

"And I don’t mean that figuratively—I mean literally."

"Right now, your Beginner Apartment is called ‘Beginner’ for a reason. Its survival conditions are too easy—it’s practically a tutorial."

"But once you clear the Beginner Apartment and enter the real Doomsday Apartment…"

"Then you’ll understand what ‘Doomsday’ truly means."

"First—rent in the Doomsday Apartment must be paid in Survival Points."

"If you can’t pay, you die."

"Second—every player loses 1 Survival Point daily at midnight."

"On special occasions like holidays, or when the Doomsday Apartment triggers some event announcement, even more Survival Points are deducted."

"And if your Survival Points ever drop into the negative…"

"You're erased."

"So in short—Survival Points are your life. Without them, you die."

"As for using Survival Points to buy powerful items? Heh, only the top Old Players can afford to do that. Newbies shouldn’t even consider it."

Jiang Ye finally understood—

This was why 1 Survival Point was enough to create 1 Replica.

Because Survival Points were worth that much.

But then another realization hit him—

If every player lost 1 Survival Point per day at midnight…

Would the Survival Point deduction apply only to his main body, or would each Replica also have to pay?

If every Replica had to pay…

Then he'd be forced to merge unnecessary Replicas just to avoid unnecessary losses!

But thinking about that now was getting ahead of himself.

For now, all he needed to understand was that Survival Points were incredibly valuable.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Ye directly asked:

"So, how much are you charging for this three-win streak?"

The black-robed player chuckled again.

Though it was just a laugh, it carried an eerie undertone.

Then, in an almost formal tone, he explained:

"As I mentioned earlier, selling win streaks is extremely common in the Duel Room, and it's even developed into a structured business model."

He gestured toward the black mask covering his face.

"As you can see, this black mask is the symbol of our organization."

"Right here—" he pointed to the upper right corner of the mask, "—you'll find a slanted V-shaped mark."

"The reason I’m telling you all this is to let you know—our organization is massive, highly structured, and we offer different packages tailored to different customers."

"For example, buying a three-win streak on its own has one price."

"Buying a five-win streak package, which includes the three-win streak, has another price."

"And if you want a ten-win streak package, which includes both three and five wins, well—that’s a whole different deal."

"In short, as long as you're willing to pay Survival Points, our services will be flawless."

"Plus, we use contract-based tools, ensuring that neither party can break the deal."

Holy sh*t…

Jiang Ye had originally thought he was just playing a normal third match in random matchmaking.

Turns out, his opponent wasn’t an enemy—he was a merchant!

He had assumed that this Win Streak Blocker mechanic was system-generated.

But now, it seemed…

It was more likely an entire organization of Old Players, deliberately targeting newcomers to block their streaks while simultaneously offering to sell them wins.

On the surface, they were just selling win streaks.

But in reality, they were the same people making win streaks so difficult to achieve in the first place!

These guys were stealing what others deserved and selling it back to them.

This was the purest form of capitalism!

At this point, Jiang Ye had completely ruled out the idea of buying a win streak.

But still, he asked:

"Can you break down the pricing for buying just a three-win streak, a five-win streak, and the bundle deals?"

The black-robed player answered matter-of-factly:

"Simple. Buying a three-win streak costs 3 Survival Points."

"Buying a five-win streak costs 5 Survival Points."

"But if you buy the three-win + five-win package, it's only 4 Survival Points."

Jiang Ye was stunned.

Wait—how the hell was buying two streaks together cheaper than buying them individually?!

The black-robed player seemed to notice his confusion and explained:

"The package works like this—"

"If you buy the three-win streak, we guarantee those three wins immediately."

"But for the five-win streak, you need to win your fourth match first before getting paired with one of us."

"If you lose the fourth match, that’s on you. We won’t be responsible for delivering the five-win streak anymore."

"In other words, the package is cheaper because you take on part of the risk."

Oh, now that made sense.

It meant that some players paid for two wins but only received one, since they lost on their own before securing the fifth victory.

No matter how you looked at it, the package deal was way better than buying wins one by one.

It was like how membership deals in stores were structured to tempt people into buying more.

Jiang Ye thought that if he really wanted to buy wins, he’d probably go for a bundle deal too.

But after thinking a little deeper—this whole thing was a ripoff!

Forget using Survival Points to create Replicas.

Even if he just traded directly with the black shadow, 1 Survival Point was worth 100,000!

So a three-win streak costing 3 Survival Points was basically 300,000!

That was a massive amount of money—way more than the Duel Room’s win streak rewards!

This was insanely overpriced!

It was totally not worth it!

But before Jiang Ye could even voice his complaint about the price,

The black-robed player, as if reading his mind, immediately launched into another sales pitch:

"You need to understand—a three-win streak isn’t just about the Duel Room rewards."

"More importantly, it’s the foundation for five-win and ten-win streaks!"

"Without this foundation, you'll be nothing more than a mediocre, forgettable player."

"You’ll never qualify for the War God Ranking."

"You have to realize—energy fields exist around people."

"If you lose your momentum, if you hesitate and falter, then one loss could mean a lifetime of failure!"

"On the other hand—if you make the firm decision to secure this victory today, you might just be gambling on a future of absolute glory!"

Holy sh*t. This guy’s sales skills are insane.

Was he the top salesman in their entire organization?!