This feeling was way too bizarre!

And more importantly—

Even Jiang Ye’s main body started to feel a bit dazed!

It was as if his connection with No. 3 Replica could snap at any second!

That was really bad news!

He’d invested so much into No. 3 Replica—if something actually happened, it’d be a total blood loss!

Jiang Ye, from his main body, immediately attempted a maneuver—

He tried to use the Mirror Replica created by No. 2 Replica to swap places with No. 3 Replica.

Logically speaking, if Mirror Replicas can fuse...

Then they should also be able to switch places!

Sure enough!

Jiang Ye’s vision rippled.

No. 3 Replica’s consciousness gradually cleared.

What he saw changed from a place filled with blood mist and cracked earth...

to the familiar interior of Apartment Room 2025!

The discomfort from the foreign invasion in his body had completely disappeared.

It worked!

A flash of joy quickly crossed Jiang Ye’s eyes!

Because this meant—the Replica Reflection Mirror’s bug was even more broken than he thought!

From now on, anytime a replica faced certain death, he could try to use a Mirror Replica to swap them out.

Then let the Mirror Replica die in their place!

Just like now—

The Mirror Replica had taken No. 3 Replica’s spot and bore the brunt of the ghost mist invasion.

All Jiang Ye had to do now was remove the Mirror Replica, and it’d all be over.

Or just wait for it to die naturally.

That Mirror Replica had been created using No. 2 Replica.

And No. 2 hadn’t eaten any Attribute Fruits yet, so it was way weaker than No. 3.

In those conditions, the Mirror Replica shouldn’t last long.

But...

Jiang Ye still felt something was off.

That ghost mist that rose from the cracked abyss—it gave off a disturbing, indescribable vibe.

So, he didn’t want to wait for the Mirror Replica to die on its own.

He planned to remove it directly.

Removing a Mirror Replica was pretty simple—

When Jiang Ye used the Replica Reflection Mirror to create a Mirror Replica,

a blurred silhouette would remain on the mirror’s surface.

It was exactly because of this silhouette that the mirror couldn’t be used twice at the same time.

In other words, only one Mirror Replica could exist at any given moment.

To create a new one, you had to “erase” the silhouette on the mirror.

And erasing that silhouette would simultaneously delete the existing Mirror Replica.

That’s how Mirror Replicas are cleared.

It was always a very simple process.

But this time—

When Jiang Ye tried to wipe the silhouette from the Replica Reflection Mirror...

It failed!

The silhouette on the mirror, which had always been easy to erase—

was now stuck like it had been welded to the glass, no matter what he did!

The f**k?! What the hell??

A chilling wave of dread surged through Jiang Ye’s heart.

He couldn’t help but wonder—

Could it be that the Mirror Replica invaded by the ghost mist in the Blood Mist Space...

can’t die naturally?

And now, since he couldn’t delete the Mirror Replica and it wouldn’t die on its own,

did that mean he had to kill it manually?

Otherwise, if it didn’t die, his Replica Reflection Mirror would be unusable!

Jiang Ye felt cold despair creeping in.

At the same time, he held onto a sliver of hope—

Maybe, just maybe, that out-of-control Mirror Replica would die in the Blood Mist Space soon?

That space was insanely dangerous.

Surely a weak Mirror Replica would die easily... right?

But what Jiang Ye didn’t know was—

Apartment 2064.

The white-robed woman sitting in front of the TV was staring at the screen in shock!

At first, when she saw the kid on-screen get invaded by the Soul-Eroding Phantasm,

she figured he was about to lose a replica, just like that.

And based on what happened after, it did seem like the kid was giving up on that replica.

That replica didn’t even struggle—just calmly accepted the invasion.

Or rather than “calmly accepted,” it was more like... enjoyed it?

Watching that moment, the white-robed woman had felt a creeping unease.

Besides, usually a replica was just that—a replica. It didn’t have a complete “soul.”

So when a replica got invaded by a Soul-Eroding Phantasm, it usually just disintegrated.

Unlike normal living creatures, whose souls die and bodies become monsters.

But Jiang Ye’s replica was clearly different.

That replica showed no signs of fading.

On the contrary—

What left the woman completely stunned was—

The replica, originally with its eyes closed, looking like it was blissfully enjoying the invasion...

suddenly opened its eyes.

Its pupils were an unnatural pitch black—like two black holes.

Its facial expression was stiff,

but it forced a weird, unsettling smile.

Then, “he” slowly opened his arms.

The Soul-Eroding Phantasms in the depths of the abyss below seemed to respond to a call—

they all surged upward!

Even the ones that had already emerged were now diving straight into that “replica’s” body!

The replica opened his arms again and closed his eyes.

As if indulging once more in the pleasure of being invaded by thousands of phantasms.

That scene made the white-robed woman’s scalp prickle.

She had absolutely no idea what that kid was doing!

From her perspective, things now seemed to be slipping out of control.

The white-robed woman sat on the sofa like she was sitting on needles. Suddenly, her figure flickered.

With a whoosh, it was like she dove straight into the TV.

But in the next second, she didn’t appear in the Blood Mist Space.

Instead, she emerged in the Gloomy Forest.

Her figure darted around, and she quickly locked onto a bloodstained bedsheet hanging from a dead tree.

With a flick of her hand, a ball of dark red flame surged forth and burned the sheet.

Even so, she still had a lingering sense of dread.

It felt like something was already beyond her control.

But after the sheet was fully consumed by flames, nothing unusual happened.

The white-robed woman frowned. Her figure flashed again and vanished from the Gloomy Forest.

—Elsewhere—

Jiang Ye swapped No. 2 and No. 1 Replica again.

He had No. 2 return to Apartment 9999 and enter the Golden-Tier Duel Machine to inspect the Quick Battle Card’s effects.

After confirming Wan Xin hadn’t lied, he took the Quick Battle Card out separately.

Then, he asked in the group:

【By the way, if a Survival Point item malfunctions, can I ask the shadow in the hallway to repair it?】

As soon as he said that, the chat went silent.

After quite a while, Wan Xin finally replied:

【Your Survival Point item broke?】

Jiang Ye: 【Wouldn’t say it’s “broken”… more like a minor issue.】

Wan Xin (cold face): 【Oh, a minor issue.】

【But let me ask—this malfunctioning Survival Point item… don’t tell me you snatched it from some cross-apartment player?】

Jiang Ye: 【emmm... is that a problem?】

【……】

【……】

【……】

At this point, a bunch of players just sent rows of ellipses, like they were collectively speechless.

Jiang Ye was confused.

Wan Xin finally replied again:

【Forget it. You’re a rookie—it’s normal if you don’t get it.】

【Since you’re willing to sell the Quick Battle Card, I’ll explain a bit more—】

【Survival Point items usually have a “binding” feature.】

【In other words, they recognize their owner!】

【You can’t just steal one and expect to use it!】

【If you managed to steal it, there are only two possibilities—】

【Either that cross-apartment player scammed you and it’s not a real Survival Point item…】

【Or, it is a Survival Point item, but one that can’t be bound to an owner.】

Jiang Ye was a bit stunned and was just about to ask more,

when Wan Xin helpfully continued:

【If it’s not a Survival Point item but you mistook it for one, it might be an NPC item. That cross-apartment player you killed could’ve been doing an NPC quest.】

【As for Survival Point items that don’t bind, there are a few out there. But most players wouldn’t voluntarily exchange for unbindable items…】

【Do you know how many Survival Points that cross-apartment player spent on the item?】

Jiang Ye replied right away:

【He seemed to have killed two or three apartments’ worth, had about a hundred points.】

Wan Xin quickly deduced:

【If it cost over 100 Survival Points and it’s unbindable, there’s only one explanation—defective product.】

【That player probably exchanged with a traveling Apartment merchant for a Survival Point item marked with “damaged” or “cursed.”】

D*mn!

So the Replica Reflection Mirror was that special?

Jiang Ye recalled what Huang Qi had told him—

He figured the mirror really had come from a traveling merchant.

The smug way Huang Qi bragged about the Replica Reflection Mirror didn’t feel like a lie.

Now that Jiang Ye thought about it,

that boast had another hidden meaning—

That mirror was something rare even among Survival Point items!

And...

Huang Qi had said the Replica Reflection Mirror was unique!

So Jiang Ye quickly asked:

【Do Survival Point items all have uniqueness?】

Wan Xin answered bluntly:

【Of course not! But wait, are you saying the one you stole is unique? Seriously? Did that cross-apartment player tell you that?】

Only now did Jiang Ye realize—

That bug-creating Replica Reflection Mirror of his...

might really not be just some basic item!

And that out-of-control Mirror Replica in the Blood Mist Space...

might end up causing him big trouble!

Jiang Ye hated trouble—but he couldn’t bear to give up such a god-tier item.

So he had to find a way to fix this.

Plus, he understood the saying: "an innocent man gets into trouble just for holding treasure."

So he posted in the group again:

【That guy was probably just bragging. Thinking back now, maybe I got scammed. The item isn’t even working anymore.】

Then he changed the subject:

【Anyway, my Quick Battle Card is ready. @Lin Jing, when do you want to trade?】

Meanwhile, his main body still hadn’t stopped trying to wipe off the blurry figure from the Replica Reflection Mirror.

During this process, whether due to frictional heat or some other reason, he suddenly felt a warmth in his palm.

Soon, the misty silhouette on the mirror became clearer and clearer!

But in the end, it didn’t vanish—it turned into a bright silvery outline, like a new mirrored surface.

Only a faint trace remained around the humanoid edges.

If the earlier silhouette was like a solid shadow drawn in pencil,

then now, that “solid” shadow had turned hollow.

Only the outer contour remained.

Jiang Ye didn’t know what had happened, so he tried wiping away the outline again.

But this time, he felt—

The line seemed engraved into the Replica Reflection Mirror.

When he touched it with his finger, he could feel a slight raised texture!

He was shocked and uncertain.

Then he had a thought—

Previously, the Replica Reflection Mirror couldn’t be used again because the misty silhouette blocked it from reflecting anyone else.

But now that the silhouette had turned into just an outline…

Could it be usable again?

So Jiang Ye sent out his weakest No. 4 Replica to stand in front of the mirror and display its panel for 30 seconds.

Sure enough—it worked!

The Replica Reflection Mirror successfully copied again!

It looked like that out-of-control Mirror Replica had already perished.

The mirror had returned to normal.

But the humanoid outline left on it still gnawed at Jiang Ye’s mind.

And he couldn’t shake the feeling that this new No. 4 Replica had... a faintly eerie vibe.

He tried fusing No. 4 into No. 3.

The process felt the same as always—nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Then he canceled the fusion and once again tried to erase the blurry silhouette on the Replica Reflection Mirror.

That, too, succeeded without issue.

—Meanwhile, in Apartment 9999—

Not long after Jiang Ye submitted the trade request, a knock sounded at the door.

Almost at the exact same time—

his main body’s apartment room also had a knock at the door.

He knew the knock at Apartment 9999 was Lin Jing coming to complete the trade, so he wasn’t worried.

But the knock at his main apartment?

What the hell was that about?

Jiang Ye glanced at the group chat again.

It was completely quiet.

No updates, no chatter.

Xing Man had gone to “rescue” Bai Ruowan, but who knew how that was going.

He had No. 4 Replica—the one he was always ready to sacrifice—peek through the peephole.

But outside the door... there was no one there!

So where had the knock come from?

Just as the creep factor spiked—

A familiar voice suddenly echoed from the TV in the living room:

“Stop looking outside. I don’t use the apartment hallway.”

That was...

The voice of the white-robed woman!

Coming from the TV?!

What the f**k?! Was she seriously about to crawl out of the TV?!

It’s one thing for players to force their way into someone’s apartment...

But now even NPC residents could break in too?!

Was nowhere in this Beginner Apartment safe anymore?!

Jiang Ye was still reeling when that lazy voice came through the screen again:

“I’ll give you 30 seconds to clean up.”

“I’m coming in after that. If I see something I shouldn’t, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“……”

What the actual f**k? Is she... being considerate?!

He had no idea the white-robed woman already knew about his replicas.

Jiang Ye quickly grabbed No. 3, No. 4, and the Replica Reflection Mirror,

and rushed into a secluded side room with his main body.

He left only No. 1 Replica in the living room to deal with the white-robed woman’s intrusion.

At the same time, he used No. 3 to create a new Mirror Replica,

ready to back up either No. 1 or No. 2 at any moment.

—Over on No. 2 Replica’s side—

the person knocking was Wang Chengjin, running the errand for Lin Jing to complete the Quick Battle Card trade.

The whole transaction went smoothly.

One Quick Battle Card in exchange for 30 million game coins and the right to spectate Lin Jing’s Quick Battle run.

Jiang Ye had expected some kind of contract or agreement for the spectator access.

But instead, all he got was Lin Jing’s spectator seat number for the Quick Battle Duel.

He’d have to look it up himself to join the viewing.

Still... verbal agreements could easily be broken.

Seeing the concern on his face, Wang Chengjin chuckled:

“If God Lin really wanted to screw you over, wouldn’t it have been easier to just rob you of the Quick Battle Card?”

“But instead, he didn’t steal your card—and didn’t even touch the Golden-Tier Duel Machine afterward.”

“With that, you still don’t trust him?”