He's here!

He finally came to the door!

Jiang Ye instantly went into battle mode.

First, his main body quickly hid in the most remote room of the apartment, wearing the Heart-Guard Jade on his chest and the Lucky Bracelet on his wrist.

He also held a pitch-black syringe, an item drawn from Huang Qi’s spatial watch, with two doses of poison left.

Additionally, he had a scroll that could randomly teleport him.

But he wouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary.

After all, the teleportation was random—no telling where he might end up.

Huang Qi hadn’t used it before dying, likely for the same reason.

Despite all the defensive measures, Jiang Ye’s main body wasn’t planning to fight.

In his plan, no one should ever make it to the room where his main body was hiding.

But if Xing Man brought all his underlings with him…

If there were too many people, too much pressure...

Still, that seemed unlikely.

Even if Xing Man was rich, not all his people would live on the 20th floor.

So the number of people breaking in shouldn’t be too large.

Once the Replicas fused, Jiang Ye figured he could finish the fight within three minutes!

With that, all of his focus shifted to preparing for battle with Replica No. 3.

He even got a bit distracted from what was happening on Replica No. 2’s side in Apartment 9999.

Thud—thud thud—

Jiang Ye’s heartbeat pounded along with the knocking.

He directed the Mirror Replica to check through the peephole.

Through the dim light, he saw a blurry figure fiddling with the doorknob using some kind of object.

From the look of it, it really did seem like Xing Man.

The object in his hand looked like a black card.

Meanwhile, in the group chat, Bai Ruowan was still crying for help.

Jiang Ye was puzzled—

Xing Man was outside his door, so why was Bai Ruowan asking for help?

Was she caught by one of Xing Man’s underlings?

But then, everyone was shocked by Bai Ruowan’s next message:

【Help me… help! Wang Lingling is trying to kill me! Someone save me wuwuwuwu!!】

What??

Wang Lingling??

It wasn’t Xing Man or his men chasing her—it was Wang Lingling?!

How was that possible?!

Classmates from Class 1 and Class 2 in the group chat were completely confused.

Then Bai Ruowan continued shouting:

【It’s true! You Ziyu was killed by Wang Lingling too!】

【She claimed the registry went from You Ziyu to Xing Man, and because You Ziyu didn’t die, it meant he betrayed us and joined Xing Man!】

【Now she says I ran into Xing Man and survived, so I must’ve joined him too!】

【What do I do? No matter what I say, she won’t believe me! She’s dead set on killing me wuwuwuwu!】

【Wang Lingling… she’s just looking for excuses to kill people! She wants Survival Points! She wants to become like Xing Man or Yang Wenchao!】

【But I don’t want to die yet, wuwu what do I do…】

Jiang Ye kept his attention locked on the door that could be breached at any moment.

While reading the group messages—

He was stunned!

Wang Lingling wanted to go on a killing spree like Xing Man and Yang Wenchao?

She killed You Ziyu and now wanted to kill Bai Ruowan too?!

This…

Jiang Ye felt uncertain.

He believed You Ziyu was really killed by Wang Lingling, and there was a good chance it was because he betrayed them.

But Bai Ruowan’s version of events? That was harder to judge.

Maybe, just like she said, Wang Lingling had finally snapped and wanted to experience the thrill of killing.

So she made up an excuse, killed You Ziyu, and now wanted to kill her too.

But maybe, You Ziyu and Bai Ruowan really had defected to Xing Man.

Wang Lingling found out, killed You Ziyu, and when trying to kill Bai Ruowan, the girl escaped and turned the tables.

Or maybe Wang Lingling simply misjudged the situation and chose to err on the side of caution—better to kill than risk letting a traitor go.

Whatever the reason, suspicion or self-interest, Wang Lingling had grounds to kill both You Ziyu and Bai Ruowan.

But something still felt off to Jiang Ye.

After all, it was Wang Lingling who first proposed that if anyone got attacked, they should post in the chat to immediately expose the attacker.

So now that she was the one doing the killing… why would she let the other side expose her like this?

If she really meant to kill Bai Ruowan—

Would Bai Ruowan even have the chance to expose her?!

Unless… she didn’t really mean to kill her?

A new possibility flickered through Jiang Ye’s mind.

And the more he thought about it, the more surprised he felt.

Just how strong was Wang Lingling’s group?

Were they seriously planning to counter-kill Xing Man?

While the group chat’s “ruse of self-injury” was in full swing,

Jiang Ye heard an even more aggressive knock at the door.

He’d been waiting all this time, yet Xing Man hadn’t broken in—just kept knocking now and then, super annoying.

It made Jiang Ye hesitate—

Should he just open the door himself and get it over with?

But…

Just as he was hesitating, the Mirror Replica saw through the peephole—

That shadowy figure now looked visibly impatient.

He kept swiping the black card tool near the doorknob repeatedly.

He looked like he was getting frustrated that the door wouldn’t open.

Can’t get the door open??

Why not?!

Jiang Ye felt confused and suspicious.

And then, outside the door, Xing Man finally stopped trying to force his way in and took a step back.

With that move, his shadowy figure became even clearer—

It really was Xing Man, no doubt.

But…

Jiang Ye was still puzzled.

Then suddenly, in the chat group, Xing Man @-ed him:

【Hmph, 2025—did you fill in a fake room number on the registry? @Jiang Ye】

【Looks like your Mutual Aid Group isn’t that united after all!】

【First someone fakes a room number, now your leader’s out here killing his own teammates! Hahaha! What a wonderful display of human nature!】

【I know exactly what some of you are thinking!】

【Still trying to believe that You Ziyu and Bai Ruowan really defected to me, and that Wang Lingling had a good reason to kill them?】

【Tch! Use your brains—do I look like I need those Level 0 small fries to join me?】

【Let me tell you something: guys like Wang Qiang, Ge Zining, and Yang Wei… they all begged to serve me like dogs just to survive when they died.】

【But I don’t need garbage dogs like that!】

【So? Got it now?】

【Wang Lingling didn’t kill because she suspected traitors. She’s finally seen the truth of the Doomsday Apartment. She’s awakening!】

【She’s learning from me! She wants to become a powerhouse like me!】

【Too bad, though. It’s already too late for her!】

【@Wang Lingling, you’ve missed your chance to become a true powerhouse!】

Who would’ve thought that Bai Ruowan’s accusation of Wang Lingling would turn into a chance for Xing Man to brag about himself.

Suddenly, the whole group chat felt like it had become his personal stage.

Only his domineering, arrogant posts kept popping up—

Well, that and Bai Ruowan’s desperate cries for help, which awkwardly kept interrupting.

Xing Man seemed annoyed and directly @-ed her:

【Where exactly is Wang Lingling chasing you? I’ll come save you! @Bai Ruowan】

Under normal circumstances, Bai Ruowan would never believe something like that.

But she was clearly in a panic and had lost all rational thought.

Her chaotic crying for help continued in the group, and when she did reply to Xing Man, there was a noticeable delay.

It was like she had grabbed onto a lifeline—like she didn’t even realize it was Xing Man offering help:

【It’s where we teamed up to level before—the 3rd-floor hallway! Hurry! Please come save me!】

Then, almost like she just noticed who she’d replied to, she panicked again:

【Wait—Xing Man?! No! Nooo!! Is there anyone else who can come save me, wuwuwu QAQ】

At this point, Bai Ruowan looked like she was losing her mind.

Xing Man didn’t respond again. He just turned and headed straight toward the Red Light Elevator.

Inside the apartment, Jiang Ye was left dumbfounded—

Wait… dude? Weren’t you just about to bust down the door?

You didn’t even get the door open yet!

Hold on—this guy was literally outside his room, and now he’s saying the room number on the registry was fake?

Was it because he couldn’t break in?

But why not?

Was this some kind of trick?

Or did he sense danger?

Or maybe there were specific conditions required to force entry?

Maybe for some reason, Jiang Ye’s room didn’t meet those conditions?

Jiang Ye had made every preparation for battle—

And now his opponent just walked away…

It was kind of awkward, honestly.

But should he chase after Xing Man and kill him now?

What if it was a trap? What if walking out played right into his hands?

What if Xing Man had some OP life-saving item or a killer trump card?

With all that uncertainty, Jiang Ye held back.

He switched to Replica No. 4 to guard the door, watching through the peephole.

Meanwhile, over at Apartment 9999 with Replica No. 2,

After Jiang Ye asked how Wang Chengjin and Wan Xin recognized the NPC item,

The two of them looked at him with strange expressions again.

It made Jiang Ye nervous—did he just expose his noob status again?

Luckily, Wan Xin seemed to have come to his own conclusion and explained,

“Duh! With our Detection skills, if an item in a Beginner Apartment shows up as all question marks, it has to be an NPC item!”

Jiang Ye thought it over.

Since he’d die anyway if he couldn’t pull off a ten-win streak in ten minutes,

He wasn’t too worried about exposing his noob status anymore.

So he asked, “Even Survival Point exchange items wouldn’t show all question marks?”

He asked casually, just to learn more.

But unexpectedly, both guys froze up again.

Their eyes turned strange—shocked, even.

Just a moment ago, Wang Chengjin had spoken to him with full disdain.

Now, his expression turned complicated.

After a moment of silence, he said slowly,

“Items exchanged with Survival Points can go beyond Beginner Apartment standards.”

“But…”

He paused before adding the second half:

“But you? You could afford an item that costs over ten thousand Survival Points?”

It sounded like a taunt on the surface.

But his tone was heavy—serious.

Clearly, Jiang Ye’s two “noob” questions had made these two big shots start overthinking things.

They didn’t know he was actually a rookie.

So naturally, they assumed that someone this mysterious wouldn’t waste time asking meaningless questions.

That meant… putting both of his questions together…

The implication was:

The item he had might not be an NPC item at all!

But if it wasn’t from an NPC, and it still showed as all question marks under their Detection…

Then how freaking powerful was that Survival Point item?!

Ten thousand Survival Points?

That was just a rough estimate!

Could it be…

That test tube was the very item that alarmed the Duoe Organization and let this mysterious bald guy one-shot Zhao Yudie?

Was it even possible—could he really pull off ten wins in ten minutes because of that item?!

For a moment, both Wang Chengjin and Wan Xin couldn’t help but get a little greedy.

But they still couldn’t be sure.

After all, how could someone rack up over ten thousand Survival Points in such a short time?!

Jiang Ye, of course, was completely unaware of all this overthinking.

He had asked purely out of curiosity, just trying to learn something.

And upon hearing Wang Chengjin’s response, his first reaction was:

“So if an item costs more than ten thousand Survival Points, your Detection shows all question marks?”

“If NPC items also show all question marks under Detection…”

“Doesn’t that mean NPC items are worth at least ten thousand Survival Points too?”

As soon as Jiang Ye said that, both Wang Chengjin and Wan Xin were stunned speechless again.

Their expressions grew even more bizarre as they looked at him.

How could this guy ask such an absurd question?

Was he genuinely clueless, or was he playing dumb to mislead them?

Could it be… he noticed their subtle greed toward the item,

So now he was deliberately dropping a line like that to make them believe the test tube really was just an NPC item, and not some insanely rare Survival Point treasure?

But come on!

They only started suspecting it wasn’t an NPC item because this bald guy opened his mouth with those weird questions in the first place!

Now these two top players were more confused than ever about Jiang Ye.

Especially Wang Chengjin. He didn’t even bother answering anymore and just frowned hard:

“Are you trying to play mind games, or are you just stalling for time?”

“……”

Jiang Ye felt helpless.

He wanted to yell—

I f***ing really don’t know, okay?!

Is it still not too late to admit I’m just a clueless rookie…?

Clearly too late!

Thanks to his big talk in the group chat earlier, these two were already holding a grudge.

They were in full-on “you better win ten straight or die trying” mode.

Now they weren’t even entertaining questions anymore.

Instead, they quickened their pace and dragged him to a vacant Duel Machine.

Wan Xin took out a timer:

“No one can say we’re being unfair. I’ll start the clock 30 seconds after you enter.

Now, get in and start your challenge.”

Honestly, the 30-second buffer was pretty generous.

However—Jiang Ye, never one to follow the script, had to throw in another curveball:

“Hey, uh… can I borrow some game coins from you?

Or maybe take out a loan from the Apartment Administrator?”

“I mean, if I’m gonna do this ten-win streak, I might as well try to make some extra profit too.”

Wan Xin was speechless.

Wang Chengjin straight-up snapped,

“Shut the f*** up already! Get in there and hurry up and die!”

His tone sounded like he was ready to kick Jiang Ye into the machine himself.

Jiang Ye had no choice but to walk toward the Duel Machine.

At the same time…

Replica No. 1 also began moving.

But he wasn’t heading out to chase Xing Man—

He was sneaking his way toward Apartment 2064, the white-robed woman’s unit.

That’s right—he was taking Yang Wenchao’s advice.

Since the white-robed woman had left to “kill the bald guy,” this was the perfect time for a little… “cleaning service.”

In other words, looting.

Just as Replica No. 2 was about to enter the Duel Machine,

And Replica No. 1 was about to enter Room 2064—

Wang Chengjin, who had been rushing Jiang Ye to start his duel, suddenly let out a horrified:

“Holy sh*t!!”