The way the black-robed player spoke actually made Jiang Ye feel like—

If he lost this match, he’d be like a deflated balloon, forever stuck on a downward spiral, doomed to become just another mediocre nobody in the vast crowd of the ordinary.

The worst part?

He had read countless cultivation novels where the concept of an "Invincible Path" existed.

The idea that the protagonist never loses throughout their entire life—ultimately reaching the peak of the world without a single defeat.

So...

Originally, Jiang Ye had thought this win streak wasn’t that important.

But after this golden-tongued salesman finished talking—

Suddenly, he felt like—

He absolutely couldn’t lose this match!

But…

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Ye asked,

"What if my Survival Jade Token doesn’t have any Survival Points in it right now?"

The black-robed player wasn’t surprised. Instead, he explained,

"That’s not a problem at all."

"I can help you apply for a ‘Use First, Pay Later’ deal."

"In other words, you can secure your win streak now and pay back the Survival Points within the specified time."

"However—since players in this Apartment Survival Game can die at any time, the seller bears all the risk in a Use First, Pay Later deal."

"So, to compensate for that risk, the buyer has to pay extra."

Jiang Ye immediately understood and asked, "How much extra?"

"Roughly double the original price."

Holy sh*t! "Only" double?!

A three-win streak that originally cost 3 Survival Points would now cost 6?!

This was straight-up loan sharking!

And the black-robed player wasn’t even done yet—

He continued his explanation:

"Because the death rate in the Apartment Survival Game is extremely high, the repayment period for a Use First, Pay Later deal is usually within 24 hours."

"Our automatic collection time is always at midnight game time."

"If you don’t have enough Survival Points in your Survival Jade Token at the time of collection, you get a 24-hour extension to make the payment."

"However—late payments will incur an additional penalty fee."

"And if by the end of the grace period, your Survival Points are still insufficient to pay off the loan…"

"Then, according to our contract-based tools, you will be directly erased."

"The organization will receive 1 Survival Point as a guaranteed compensation for your death."

"Of course, you should already know—killing a player grants 1 Survival Point, right?"

The black-robed player spoke so casually, as if he were just discussing business as usual.

But at this moment, Jiang Ye finally realized—

The true horror of this Apartment Survival Game!

Every single human life was just a walking Survival Point!

Before, Jiang Ye had thought that 1 Survival Point = 100,000 was too cheap to justify killing.

But if he owed Survival Points…

Then, when his debt was about to get him killed…

Would he start killing others just to survive?

Would others do the same?

No.

They would do far worse than him.

This was human nature.

When faced with life or death, people would always choose survival, even if it meant killing others.

And according to the black-robed player—

Over 80% of win-streak players had bought their streaks.

Which meant…

They either had already killed someone to pay off their win streak immediately—

Or they were in debt, meaning that within the next 24 hours, they’d definitely go out hunting for victims.

The real danger in the Doomsday Apartment wasn’t the monsters.

It wasn’t the rent.

It was other players.

People. Killing. People.

The black-robed player noticed Jiang Ye’s expression change and chuckled lightly.

"Yeah," he said, still in that casual tone, "everything you just imagined is absolutely correct."

"The Beginner Apartment announcements talk about surviving past Day 8 or Day 10, right?"

"But in many apartments, the players don’t even make it to Day 10."

"Most of them are already dead by Day 5."

"You think the Old Players show up just to slaughter and wipe out the newcomers?"

"No need for that."

"By the time Old Players arrive, most of the new players are already dead."

"Those who couldn’t adapt to survival in the Doomsday Apartment—"

"Have already become Survival Points for the strong."

Jiang Ye was shaken.

He had thought about a possible war between new players and Old Players.

But based on what the black-robed player was saying…

By the time Old Players arrived, there might not even be any new players left.

Which meant that when Old Players and New Players finally faced off…

Jiang Ye suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine.

He couldn’t stop himself from asking, "So… tell me…"

"After the Beginner Test, how many new players actually survive?"

But the black-robed player didn’t answer.

Instead, he simply changed the subject—and went back to his sales pitch:

"Honestly, the Survival Points we charge for win streaks aren’t even that much."

"I know several strong newcomers who have already saved up over 10 or 20 Survival Points."

"And believe it or not—"

"One War God Ranking player has held over 100 Survival Points before."

Jiang Ye's eyes widened in shock!

Over 100 Survival Points?!

Did that mean… he had killed over 100 people?!

Wait—hold on!

He immediately asked, "But doesn’t a Beginner Apartment start with only 80 players?! How can someone have over 100 Survival Points?"

"Oh, that’s simple."

"They just go to other Beginner Apartments and harvest players there."

"Every Beginner Apartment rooftop has a teleportation gate leading to other Beginner Apartments."

"As long as you pay 1 Survival Point, you can transfer to another Beginner Apartment."

"That’s why some Beginner Apartments don’t even last until the Old Players arrive."

Jiang Ye was beyond shocked.

And in that moment, he immediately realized—

That’s how those two new players appeared in his apartment.

And judging from all this…

Those two new players were definitely bad news!

Jiang Ye’s heart pounded wildly.

But the black-robed player remained as relaxed as ever:

"Well, I think I’ve shared plenty of free information with you."

"So, brother, how about a ten-win streak package?"

"To be honest, most average players wouldn’t even qualify for a ‘Use First, Pay Later’ ten-win streak package."

"But I have high hopes for you, so I’m willing to use one of my precious top-tier sales spots on you."

"So, what do you say? You won’t let me down on this ten-win streak, right?"

The way he spoke…

It really sounded like he genuinely believed Jiang Ye was some kind of chosen one, destined to reach a ten-win streak without fail.

But Jiang Ye knew—

This was just a sales tactic!

This guy was probably saying the exact same thing to every single customer!

Hell, even at the beginning of their conversation, he had complimented Jiang Ye’s strong mentality and impressive skill—that was probably sales talk too!

Jiang Ye didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he pretended to seriously consider it.

Meanwhile, as Replica No. 2 kept stalling the gold-medal salesman,

Replica No. 1 had already returned to Apartment 2025 with the Skill Scroll from the Bronze Treasure Chest.

Since the Lucky Lantern only had a few minutes left,

Jiang Ye immediately tore open the Bronze-Tier Skill Scroll!

His Replicas all came with skills linked to their abilities.

But his main body, with its X-Tier "Infinite Replication" ability, had no skills at all.

Could an X-Tier ability even gain a skill?

And what if he got unlucky and the scroll failed?

That would be a huge loss!

Jiang Ye held his breath, feeling an unexpected wave of nervousness.

The moment the blank paper was torn apart, it transformed into white light and instantly merged into his body.

A surge of refreshing energy swept through him—

It felt like he had just slept for days, wiping away all fatigue, leaving his mind clearer than ever.

In that moment, his mental perception seemed to extend outward, reaching toward something unknown…

And as the strange sensation faded, Jiang Ye immediately checked his data panel!

【Jiang Ye】

Level: 0

Stamina: 0.8

Energy: 1.2

Combat Power: 1.8

Survival Points: 0

Ability: Infinite Replication (X)

Skill: Replica Fusion (D)

【Replica Fusion (D)】

Select up to 3 Replicas for targeted fusion.

Fully merge the attributes, abilities, and skills of up to 2 Replicas into a designated ‘Primary Replica.’

Fusion lasts for 3 minutes.

Hiss…!

What?!

Replica Fusion?!

Wait a second!

According to the skill description…

This fusion wasn’t permanent.

It only lasted for 3 minutes.

Jiang Ye’s mind raced—

If he chose Replica No. 2 as the ‘Primary Replica’ and activated Replica Fusion…

Would he be able to defeat the black-robed player by sheer force in those 3 minutes?!