Chapter 144: Chapter 144
Obviously impossible.
If Zhang Jintian really had a fate-type ability, he wouldn’t need to be afraid of Wang Lingling in the first place.
And he did say—it was a logic-based game.
Which meant it required a different way of thinking.
The usual way of thinking: each person opening boxes has a ½ chance of finding their number, and with 50 people, that’s (½)^50.
A probability so low it’s practically zero.
That approach treats each person as the subject of 50 independent random events.
The more people there are, the smaller that chance becomes.
So let’s reverse-engineer it: the low probability comes from the "large number of people."
Is there a way to avoid the issue of a large number of people shrinking the probability?
Thinking this way naturally shifts focus to the 100 boxes.
People are random variables.
But the 100 boxes are fixed.
What if we change the approach from “people opening boxes” to “boxes being opened”?
By the formula for permutations, there are 100! (100 factorial = 100×99×98×…×3×2×1) different arrangements.
That number is massive.
But following this line of thought…
Is there a specific box-opening strategy that, among those 100! permutations,
allows a significant portion of them to satisfy 50 people finding their numbers and thus clearing the task?
Then the goal becomes finding a pattern in how the boxes are opened—
Using a fixed method to cover as many of those 100! permutations as possible.
Even this still sounds daunting.
100 factorial is still a terrifying number.
But even elementary schoolers know—
Big data problems can be reduced to small data to derive patterns, and then scaled back up.
Like adding 1 to 10,000—it’s not done manually.
You can use patterns from adding 1 to 5, 1 to 10, and derive the Gauss summation formula.
So this problem too—maybe it could be simplified to 10 boxes and 5 people.
As long as a pattern for opening boxes can be found,
and a concrete probability formula like summation can be established,
then it could be applied to the full 100 boxes and 50 people.
Jiang Ye thought of this as the basic solving strategy.
But actually working out the exact method and the probability formula would take time.
At that moment, Zhang Jintian gave him the answer directly:
"Actually, it’s simple—"
"The arrangement of the 100 boxes is fixed."
"So using a fixed box-opening strategy can raise the chance for everyone to find their number."
"We all used the same method—"
"Let’s say my number is X, and I need to find the box that holds number X."
"After entering, I first open box X. Inside is a number, say X1."
"If X1 isn’t X, I then open box X1. The number inside that one is X2."
"If X2 isn’t X, I open box X2 next. That box contains X3."
"If X3 still isn’t X, I go to box X3 next…"
"Following this sequence, eventually I’ll find Xn that equals my number X."
"The number of steps, ‘n’, is how many boxes I opened."
"If n ≤ 50, I find my number within the allowed tries and personally pass."
"If n > 50, then I fail to find my number—it’s a fail."
"Since the box arrangement is fixed,
using this fixed chain method, the probability that all 50 people have n ≤ 50
—meaning everyone passes—
is close to one-third."
"Still not high, but way better than (½)^50."
Jiang Ye had already figured the solution was about a shared opening method to boost the success rate,
so hearing this specific strategy made perfect sense.
But when Zhang Jintian casually stated the exact probability, Jiang Ye couldn’t help asking:
"How did you calculate that probability?"
Zhang Jintian’s voice took on a slightly amused tone:
"I didn’t. I’d read an analysis of this game before."
Jiang Ye fell silent.
Zhang Jintian couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud:
"Hahaha… so yeah, I just got lucky. I happened to read about it before, so I knew how to play it."
Even if he hadn’t, with enough time, he probably could’ve figured it out himself.
Modern people are impatient—they rarely spend focused time thinking about a single problem.
But Zhang Jintian was a high school student.
As the saying goes, high school is when your academic knowledge is at its peak.
You sit for exams that last two hours, solving tons of problems.
If you’re willing to put in the time and mental effort,
you can absolutely figure it out yourself.
Jiang Ye didn’t dwell on it and asked,
"A one-third success rate—you guys beat it on the first try?"
Zhang Jintian’s laughter faded, replaced by a helpless tone:
"Nope. Our group of 50 inmates played the game three times before we cleared it."
"And it’s not like we could just retry immediately after failing.
We had to spend three more days behaving well before we were granted another attempt…"
Hearing that, Jiang Ye interjected:
"Three days, then another three…
You must’ve spent over ten days in that instance, right?"
"More than that—nearly twenty days, probably," Zhang Jintian answered, guessing Jiang Ye’s thoughts.
"But when I exited the instance, only twenty minutes had passed in the apartment."
"Clearly, time flows differently in the Personal Instance."
"When I came back and thought about it, I realized—
during the time I spent ‘behaving well’ in the prison, it felt like fast-forwarding through life."
"Those memories, now, feel like flashes, like a slideshow."
This information left Jiang Ye feeling heavy.
Because by that logic, Zhang Jintian spent only twenty minutes inside the Personal Instance before returning.
But his main body… still hadn’t come back.
And those extra Replicas he sent in later—
Who knew if they’d even been helpful…
With that thought, he decided not to waste any more time.
With a thought, Jiang Ye spoke toward the unseen Zhang Jintian:
“You sharing your Personal Instance experience as a favor—I’ll remember that. But right now, I’ve got something else to ask you.”
If it was just asking for information, Zhang Jintian didn’t hold back: “Go ahead.”
“Do you know if our apartment’s Administrator is currently in the 1st-floor lobby?”
Zhang Jintian was a bit surprised.
He’d assumed Jiang Ye wanted to ask about Wang Lingling or the Mutual Aid Group.
He hadn’t expected a question about the Administrator.
“The Administrator has probably been affected by that Huang Bo who was put under a Kill-on-Sight Order,”
“Ever since Huang Bo made a scene in our apartment, the Administrator hasn’t been seen.”
“Now at the 1st-floor lobby, there’s a wooden puppet handling rent collection and loans in his place.”
Heh. Nowhere to be seen.
As Jiang Ye pondered, Zhang Jintian continued:
“Wait no—the Administrator did show up once. When Wang Lingling exchanged her Survival Stone for Game Coins.”
“During that transaction, it wasn’t the puppet, but the Administrator himself who showed up and personally accepted the Survival Stone.”
So that’s how it is...
Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow and asked directly: “You cleared your Personal Instance, so you have a Survival Stone, right? Did you exchange it for Game Coins?”
Hearing the sudden shift to his Survival Stone, Zhang Jintian immediately grew cautious.
Even his voice tightened noticeably:
“With my strength, there’s no need to trade a Survival Stone for Game Coins.”
Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow. “In that case, how about doing me a favor?”
“Go down to the 1st floor and initiate a Survival Stone exchange. Don’t actually trade it—just use it to draw out the Administrator.”
There was a beat of silence before Zhang Jintian finally responded:
“To do that, I’d have to confirm to the puppet that I want to exchange the Survival Stone. Only then would the Administrator possibly show up.”
“But once he appears, I probably won’t have a chance to back out...”
His tone clearly showed his reluctance.
Jiang Ye continued: “Relax. I’ll make sure you can back out.”
“As long as you get this done for me, how about I deal with Wang Lingling for you?”
Now it was a trade, but even so, Zhang Jintian still hesitated.
Truthfully, he wasn’t sure about Jiang Ye’s actual strength.
Or he might just be overestimating himself.
Like a frog in a well, thinking he can touch the sky with just a bit of ability...
Could Jiang Ye really deal with Wang Lingling? Zhang Jintian wasn’t convinced.
And even if he could eliminate her...
What if Jiang Ye just became the next Wang Lingling?
A very real possibility.
Because the world worked like that—the strong eat the weak.
After several rounds of inner debate, Zhang Jintian finally responded in a low voice:
“Honestly, even if you kill Wang Lingling, it doesn’t help me.”
“In this dangerous apartment, big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.” Read full story at n0velfire.net
“You kill one big fish, but there are still countless others in the sea.”
His meaning was obvious—
What he wanted wasn’t for the big fish to die.
He wanted to become one.
Jiang Ye understood instantly. He had to admit, Zhang Jintian was sharp.
Thinking about it, he suddenly grinned:
“In that case, how about a little gamble?”
“You go and use the Survival Stone to lure out the Administrator.”
“Once it’s done, I’ll give you a surprise.”
That was pure bait—a vague promise.
But Zhang Jintian wasn’t stupid. He instantly realized—
Jiang Ye’s “gamble” was really testing his nerve and ambition.
Not knowing what Jiang Ye planned to do, or what the reward would be—
Would he take that leap of faith?
If he won, he might really get a “surprise.”
If he lost, he might get nothing—or worse, lose the Survival Stone too.
This was some serious sleight-of-hand bulls**t, and Zhang Jintian really wanted to curse.
But... he was still young.
If he were 35 and had been beaten up by society, he’d never buy into this.
But at 18, full of youthful pride and ambition—
“The dreams of youth once swore to be the best in the world.”
Zhang Jintian took a deep breath and replied with a firm voice:
Jiang Ye chuckled cheerfully. “Alright then—go get ’em, Pikachu.”
“All you need to do is lure out the Administrator.”
“Once he appears, I’ll show myself.”
Zhang Jintian listened to Jiang Ye’s stupid Pikachu line.
Then saw how happily Jiang Ye was laughing...
And for some reason, he suddenly felt a complex wave of silent regret.
Did he really just fall for a hands-free scam?!
Forget it. A promise is a promise. Might as well go all the way.
With a sigh in his heart, Zhang Jintian added as he walked off:
“I’m not in the Mutual Aid Group. If I show up in the 1st-floor lobby, Wang Lingling might show up too.”
“If you really can handle her, do me a favor and protect me, yeah?”
And with that, Zhang Jintian left.
He didn’t want to think anymore—afraid he’d change his mind.
Jiang Ye didn’t respond, but inside he thought—
He wasn’t about to show up until the Administrator did.
Wouldn’t want to scare the guy off.
If Zhang Jintian really got attacked by Wang Lingling,
he’d just have to fend for himself.
So many non-group members had died—
and Zhang Jintian was still alive.
He had to have some kind of survival method.
Once he decided not to worry about Zhang Jintian’s fate,
Jiang Ye slowly “disappeared” from the hallway on the 20th floor.
This disappearance didn’t use any skill—
He activated the Observer state.
Back during his duel with Zhou Qiming, Jiang Ye had used the Observer’s abilities.
But at that time, he hadn’t fused the Observer into Replica No. 2.
In fact, he couldn’t use Replica Fusion on the Observer at all.
The reason a replica could use Observer abilities
was thanks to the Fate Thread Ultimate Technique of the Observer.
The Observer and Jiang Ye’s replicas shared a unique bond by default.
So even without the Observer initiating a link,
he could passively share his abilities with one replica at a time.
And the Observer himself—
was like something with no awareness, not even a real existence.
Jiang Ye could barely sense any thoughts or emotions from him.
He could only attach him to a replica and use the Observer’s powers through the replica.
if the Observer himself used fate-type abilities directly,
the effect would be much stronger.
But used via replica?
It always felt like something was “off,” like there was interference.
The problem was, this seemingly mindless Observer had no will to act on his own.
He was like a mascot—completely passive.
For now, Jiang Ye had no way to change that.
Fortunately, he didn’t need the Observer to take initiative just yet.
Now that he’d merged with the bonded Observer,
he used the Existence Denied state to make himself completely untraceable.
Then headed for the 1st-floor lobby to watch the show.
Sure enough, when he arrived, the receptionist’s spot where the Administrator usually sat
was now occupied by a wooden puppet.
Its pitch-black eyes looked unsettling.
And Zhang Jintian, approaching the desk to conduct the transaction,
was now fully visible—looking tense and jumpy, obviously on guard for a sudden ambush from Wang Lingling.
The wooden puppet in front of him opened and closed its mouth with mechanical stiffness, saying:
“You—confirm that you wish to exchange a Survival Stone for Game Coins?”
“Once confirmed, this action cannot be undone.”