Chapter 194: Chapter 194

To be honest, Zhou Qiming was really struggling to keep up with Jiang Ye’s train of thought.

What the h*ll was this guy even thinking?

Why was his mind jumping around so much?

Could this be a side effect of having too many Replicas?

Just a second ago, he was talking about extracting Glyph Pattern Abilities to revive Eerie Beings…

And the next second, he was back to asking about the Apartment Trader?

Right now, what Zhou Qiming cared most about was—could that Eerie Being named Lin Yu Hu still be revived?!

This might be his only shot at survival! Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn NovelHub(.)net

So he ignored whatever Jiang Ye asked afterward about the Trader, and instead urgently pressed,

"What did you just say about reviving an Eerie Being? What do you mean by that? Why would you even have such a crazy idea? Are you saying... an Eerie Being can actually be revived??"

Jiang Ye understood—the guy cared more about whether he’d live or die.

So he didn’t get hung up on it and quickly explained,

"It’s because I’ve seen the Apartment Trader extract a Glyph Pattern Ability from an Administrator before, that’s why I came up with this theory."

"I don’t think my theory is necessarily possible."

"But really, whether it’s doable or not isn’t the point!"

"The point is—what that madwoman thinks!"

"You’ve seen it before too, right? People with cancer will try all sorts of wild methods just to survive."

"That madwoman is probably the same."

"To me, it’s just a hypothesis. But if she thinks of it, she’ll definitely give it a shot!"

"That madwoman herself probably doesn’t have the ability to extract Glyph Pattern Abilities."

"But the Apartment Trader does!"

"So she might go looking for the Apartment Trader…"

"The question now is whether the Apartment Boss knows the Trader can extract Glyph Pattern Abilities."

"If the Apartment Boss knows… then maybe the Trader is also part of the Boss’s plan!"

Jiang Ye laid it all out in a long string of analysis.

Zhou Qiming increasingly felt that this guy’s thinking was too all over the place.

But what he was saying did make sense!

Still, the part Zhou Qiming just couldn’t buy was—

"You really saw it with your own eyes? The Trader extracting an Administrator’s Glyph Pattern Ability?"

"Are you sure it was the Trader’s ability, and not the Administrator and Trader putting on an act together?"

"Could it be that the Administrator just had a special Glyph Pattern Ability that could self-extract, and the two of them staged a show for your benefit?"

To be honest, Jiang Ye had recently been suspicious that the Trader and that 9999 Administrator had coordinated some kind of act.

But the Administrator who got their Glyph Pattern Ability extracted was one of Jiang Ye’s own Replicas.

So on that point, there was no way it was a setup.

He shook his head firmly. "I’m absolutely sure it wasn’t staged."

He didn’t go into too much detail, but Zhou Qiming was willing to trust his judgment and didn’t press further.

After thinking in silence for a bit, Zhou Qiming offered his own analysis:

"I think if anyone could really extract Glyph Pattern Abilities…"

"Then maybe besides the Trader, someone in the Defenders’ Alliance can also do it."

"Think about it. Why are the Defenders in the Alliance all so dead set against awakening Glyph Pattern Abilities?"

"Could it be because someone high up, or even the Alliance Leader, has the power to extract them?"

"Let’s assume the Alliance Leader really does have this power…"

"Then to any player who relies on Glyph Pattern Abilities, this Leader would be a terrifying existence, on par with Light-type players!"

"Sure, it’s not like Light Scorch that can instantly kill Dark-type Beings."

"But having your Glyph Pattern Ability extracted is practically the same as being crippled!"

"So, for Dark-type Beings like the Apartment Boss, the Defenders’ Alliance would be a major thorn in their side."

"If my guess is right…"

"Then the one being calculated against isn’t the Trader who can also extract Glyph Patterns—"

"It’s the Alliance Leader of the Defenders."

Jiang Ye immediately agreed with this take.

Ever since he learned the Trader could extract Glyph Patterns, he’d become instantly more curious about the Defenders’ Alliance.

And thinking about it now, it really was possible that someone in the Alliance had the same ability.

Which meant the Apartment Boss’s real target might be the Defenders’ Alliance.

Looking at it this way…

That Apartment Boss who talked to the madwoman and claimed to be “detecting Light-type Reincarnated Players”…

That was probably just a cover.

What they really wanted to "detect" was the Defender!

It was also possible that the Apartment Boss wasn’t fully sure yet whether the Defenders had someone who could extract Glyph Patterns.

But through the madwoman’s behavior, they could run a test.

If she actually locked up Zhou Qiming temporarily in order to revive Lin Yu Hu…

And once back in the Defenders’ Alliance, sought out the Leader to extract the Glyph Pattern Ability…

The madwoman herself was the one in the Alliance who could do it?

Jiang Ye was deep in thought and about to speak again—

When Zhou Qiming suddenly got serious and said to him in a low voice,

"I can share my experiences and all the information I got from the Apartment Boss with you."

"But before that, I need to know—"

"Why didn’t you kill me? Why did you save me instead?"

Jiang Ye rolled his eyes and said with exasperation, "Seriously?"

"You’re that madwoman’s 'precious darling' right now!"

"If I’d killed you, I’d be the one screwed!"

"You came banging on my door trying to get me to kill you, just to drag me down with you, didn’t you?"

"Heh." Zhou Qiming chuckled strangely. "Getting hunted by that madwoman actually came with a perk ."

Jiang Ye’s gaze flickered, then he spoke honestly,

"Actually… Huang Bo has already been captured alive by that madwoman."

"Because she suspects that when he was causing chaos everywhere, he might have accidentally killed Lin Yu Hu."

Zhou Qiming’s eyes swirled rapidly, clearly deep in thought about something.

Right now, he felt oddly relaxed.

The Glyph Pattern Ability representing Yu Hu was now on him.

This thing was basically his life-saving charm.

Jiang Ye didn’t dare to kill him, and that madwoman wouldn’t kill him immediately either…

But once his Glyph Pattern Ability got extracted, all bets were off.

At that point, he might be sliced into a thousand pieces and suffer pain worse than death!

Zhou Qiming's mind spun rapidly. After careful consideration, he finally made a bold decision.

He turned to Jiang Ye again and asked,

"You said earlier that the 4444 Administrator already decided to hand over the Graveyard to the Apartment Trader."

"But the handover hasn’t happened yet. Do you know when it’s scheduled for?"

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow and didn’t hide anything:

"That 4444 Administrator seems to want to find the hidden Raven Egg in the Graveyard first, so he scheduled the handover for 12 noon."

"12 noon..." Zhou Qiming mulled it over, then said to Jiang Ye, "You’re on good terms with the 4444 Administrator. Can you help me apply for—"

"At noon, when the Administrator and the Trader make their deal, to also give me a chance to make a trade with the Trader?"

As he spoke, he emphasized especially:

"As long as you agree to introduce me to the Trader."

"How to persuade the Trader to deal, I’ll handle that myself."

"Also, once I finish the deal, I can tell you everything I know."

This guy really knew how to make a deal.

Jiang Ye had a vague guess in his mind—

Was this guy planning to ask the Trader to extract his Glyph Pattern Ability?

But then what? If it got extracted, how was he planning to survive?

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then shook his head and said,

"My benefit only comes after you complete the deal with the Trader."

"That kind of arrangement is way too unfair for me."

"So, if you want me to make sure you safely meet the Trader, you’ll have to give me part of the reward in advance."

"The rest can come after it's done."

This setup was indeed more reasonable.

Zhou Qiming nodded, just about to bring up the upfront payment.

But Jiang Ye beat him to it and said,

"I want one Red Light Elevator Card, one Bitter Buddha’s Heart, and more info about you."

"That includes how you got into the Hidden Housing, how you obtained the Glyph Pattern Ability through Yu Hu, the specific effects of that ability, and how you got connected with the Apartment Boss…"

The Red Light Elevator Card and Bitter Buddha’s Heart were originally the third part of his payment from the contract signed with Ouyang Lin Jing.

Now that Jiang Ye’s Replica had become the 4444 Administrator,

That previous contract naturally couldn’t proceed to the third stage.

But the agreed-upon payment—Jiang Ye still had it in mind.

And now was the perfect chance to bring it up smoothly.

As for Zhou Qiming’s information, knowing more in advance would make it easier for him to replace Zhou Qiming at any time if things went south :)

Still, hearing Jiang Ye ask for so much made Zhou Qiming’s mouth twitch.

"Seriously? I tell you everything about me, leave myself with no cards to play… how can I be sure you’ll help me meet the Trader?"

To that question, Jiang Ye didn’t give a direct answer.

He simply informed him calmly:

"Almost forgot to tell you—"

"Even though you used my facial recognition to enter the Secret Graveyard…"

"I also have a way to throw you out directly."

"Oh, and by the way, that madwoman is already going crazy over in Apartment 4444."

"No exaggeration—once you’re out of the Secret Graveyard…"

"With that madwoman’s methods, she’ll have you captured alive in one second flat!"

"Now think about what I asked for—it’s really not that outrageous, right?"

"You could even consider it as payment for me saving your a** by letting you into the Graveyard.