Chapter 228: Chapter 228
The bald man cursed inwardly—
No matter how big your so-called "surprise" was, even if it were nine hundred or ninety thousand disguise masks instead of just nine, it still wouldn't make up for the heartache of losing his Nomadic Merchant Mask!
The bald man could clearly see one thing.
This kid was dead set on obtaining the Nomadic Merchant Mask.
Finally, with the resignation of a man who had lost all will to live, the bald man sighed helplessly:
"Rather than your so-called 'surprise,' what I'd truly prefer is for you to come back later saying you've changed your mind and decided to return the Nomadic Merchant Mask to me..."
"If that happens, I'd be willing to exchange it for other masks while still accepting your 'surprise.'"
So much so that he wasn't particularly interested in Jiang Ye's "surprise" either.
Once this bald man actually saw the surprise he had in store, his jaw would probably drop in shock, changing some of his perspectives.
Yet in the end, Jiang Ye refrained from spoiling the surprise prematurely.
After simply collecting his thoughts and calming his emotions, he left with one final remark: "Then I'll be back in about ten minutes to pick up the [Madman Mask] and [Enforcer Mask]."
With that, he temporarily departed from [Mask Master's Shop].
This Zhang Minghan clone hadn't stayed at Mask Master's shop for very long.
And during this exact period, over at the Void Mirror Palace ruins...
The light-element clone, using the identity of "Lu Renjia," was leading Li Aoliang's team in exploring the Void Mirror Palace ruins.
To be honest, Jiang Ye had explored these ruins countless times in his Light and Shadow Escape form.
Back and forth, over and over—he'd never found anything noteworthy in these ruins.
This time, there was someone with [Protagonist Halo] in their team: Chen Cang.
And that made all the difference!
When the group arrived at the explosion site triggered by the Wisdom Clone holding the [Dice of Fate]...
They actually discovered a silvery-white vortex floating mid-air!
When Jiang Ye spotted that silvery-white vortex from a distance, he was utterly dumbfounded!
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His light clone had visited this explosion site innumerable times!
In fact, just moments ago, the light clone transformed into "Lu Renjia" had departed from this very spot!
Yet when he left earlier, there had been no vortex here whatsoever!
But now, following Chen Cang here, this vortex suddenly appears???
What the actual hell???
Was this some blatantly obvious destined opportunity exclusively for those with [Protagonist Halo]?!
Jiang Ye's mind flooded with question marks.
However, Li Aoliang lacked mind-reading abilities. Upon seeing the vortex, he immediately lashed out:
"Damn you! What was that crap you said earlier? 'No opportunities in the ruins'?? Spouting bullshit with your eyes wide open, weren't you?!"
"Don't give me that shocked and innocent act now! Don't tell me you somehow missed this glaring silvery vortex before? That's so absurd I wouldn't believe it even if you beat me to death!"
Li Aoliang strongly suspected this Lu Renjia had lied deliberately to divert him away, making him miss this opportunity!
That when Lu Renjia left Room 6996 earlier, he was probably going to call his backers to explore this opportunity instead!
Yet Jiang Ye was genuinely speechless. He attempted to explain:
"I swear, when I explored here earlier, there really was no silvery vortex!"
"It must have appeared for some reason after I left!"
His words carried absolute conviction.
Li Aoliang almost believed him...
After hesitating briefly and studying the vortex, he turned back to Jiang Ye:
"Fine...let's set aside whether you intentionally hid this for now. Just tell me—what do you make of this silvery vortex?"
What did he make of it?
Jiang Ye thought the vortex looked like an entrance to some special space.
And within that space might lie some unique secret realm?
Though exactly what awaited in such a realm remained uncertain.
Since this vortex appeared during Chen Cang's exploration...
Could this contain some [Protagonist's Opportunity]?
Of course, anyone who's read web novels knows—
Some opportunities that let protagonists soar to greatness
Might prove fatal disasters for cannon fodder!
Even protagonists often barely survive obtaining such opportunities...
So Jiang Ye couldn't say for certain what awaited beyond that vortex.
But while he hesitated...
Chen Cang, empowered by his SSS-grade [Divine Assistance] talent, instantly dashed forward without hesitation and leaped straight into the vortex!
His entire body seemed sucked into some spatial rift, vanishing without a trace!
This bold, unilateral action naturally shocked Li Aoliang and his team.
Li Aoliang cursed "Fuck!" and instinctively moved to follow into the vortex.
Yet he lacked such courage and resolve—fearing he might lose his life chasing an opportunity.
But as he wavered, he suddenly saw—
That bald Lu Renjia, after brief contemplation, also resolutely jumped into the vortex!
With two people diving in without hesitation...
Li Aoliang couldn't help suspecting the vortex might truly contain some heaven-defying opportunity!
That Chen Cang and Lu Renjia might possess insider knowledge about it!
Before he could decide, another teammate named Xing Yishan also leaped in!
What? Damn it! Were they all rebelling now?!
Completely disregarding him as team leader!
Finally, Li Aoliang stopped hesitating and plunged into the vortex himself.
People naturally follow crowds—
Making personal decisions is hard, but following others' choices is easy.
Thus the remaining members followed suit without deliberation.
Around this same time, the Zhang Minghan clone emerged from Mask Master's shop.
His experiences there naturally transmitted immense shock to all clones.
Especially the 4444 Administrator clone in the Reincarnation Graveyard—
Originally contemplating and rehearsing his upcoming exchange with the Nomadic Merchant...
Soon he'd be dealing with that mysterious merchant.
Now he learned the merchant shared his original face!
Jiang Ye had once wondered—
If he could trick the merchant into assuming his appearance,
Could he then convert the merchant into a clone?
Yet now he discovered...
No trickery needed—the merchant already wore his face!
This raised a critical issue—
According to Jiang Ye's [Infinite Clones (X)] mechanics,
Anyone sharing his face should be his clone, subject to his clone abilities...
So why did he sense no connection to this identical merchant?
Why couldn't he use clone fusion or other clone skills on the merchant?
Was it because the merchant also possessed X-grade Infinite Clones?
This led to a more terrifying thought—
Could the merchant, also with X-grade Infinite Clones,
Use clone skills on Jiang Ye and absorb him as a clone?!
This notion was indeed horrifying.
But upon reflection, Jiang Ye deemed it unlikely.
Not because the merchant's stats showed [Skills: None], indicating no clone abilities.
But based on his experience with [Infinite Clones]—
His clones sense the original, and vice versa—
All clones and original share a mutual, indistinguishable connection.
Thus, his relationship with the merchant should likewise be "mutual"—
If he can't sense the merchant as his clone,
Then the merchant shouldn't sense him as the merchant's clone either.
Perhaps related to the merchant's unique traits?
Like his "Reincarnation" state and X-grade [Infinite Self-Forgetting] talent...
Could the merchant simply not remember sharing Jiang Ye's face?
During their brief interaction, Jiang Ye noticed nothing unusual—
The merchant seemed far more interested in his [Reincarnation Key] than in him personally.
The merchant showed no reaction to his face either.
Previously, the woman in white mentioned the merchant had many clones.
So the one Jiang Ye met was likely just one merchant clone.
Could different merchant clones have different faces and memories?
Explaining why "his" merchant clone didn't recognize Jiang Ye's face?
Like Jiang Ye's current original,
The merchant's original might also be disconnected from its clones?
That merchant clones lack the original's information,
Thus don't recognize Jiang Ye who shares the original's face?
Or maybe the merchant's original isn't just disconnected,
But in prolonged stasis?
Could Jiang Ye's original actually be the merchant's original,
Just long-separated from merchant clones, causing anomalies?
With "merchant original" and "merchant clones" introduced,
Numerous possibilities emerged.
Jiang Ye couldn't determine the truth yet.
Fortunately, the Silent Tombstone had revealed one certainty—
The merchant bore him no ill will.
So temporarily trading the [Reincarnation Key] to a merchant clone should be safe.
Besides, Jiang Ye had little choice.
Beyond the impending merchant exchange,
Another grave concern troubled Jiang Ye's clones—
New clones entering the Instance had conveyed outside clones' urgent demand—
For the original to release clones immediately,
Allowing outside clones to learn the original's status.
Normally, barring emergencies...
The original would instantly release clones to transmit information.
Even if accidentally fusing all clones at 0:00 left none to release...
The newly delivered clones could be sent back unchanged, right?
Yet despite outside clones' urgent messages,
The original in the Instance still hadn't released any clones...
The original must be in trouble!
Just how severe remained unclear—
Merely unable to release clones?
Or some life-threatening crisis?
This severed connection caused greater distress than discovering the shared face.
Meanwhile, inside the Instance...
The original had indeed encountered problems.
More precisely, the crisis began at 0:00 on the second day.
At that hour, all players heard an announcement marking 0:00 Day 2.
Different players experienced unique sensations then—
Jiang Ye's dark clone felt serene;
His light clone felt discomfort.
But the original's experience was far more complex—
So intense his consciousness blurred, nearly tearing apart!
Fortunately, this caused no actual harm.
Beyond these unique sensations,
The original heard a slightly different 0:00 announcement than outside players!