Chapter 231: Chapter 231

The reason was simple—

Anyone who had personally experienced the Novice Apartment would inevitably undergo some tempering of their character.

Just look at how wretched Zhang Minghan had been in the Novice Apartment?

Those tragic experiences had forged a ruthless Zhang Minghan who showed no mercy—a man practically devoid of humanity.

But Yuan Qiu's personality was far too naive.

She didn't seem like someone who had endured the brutal trials of the Novice Apartment at all.

This led Zhang Minghan to speculate—

Perhaps Yuan Qiu had originally been one of the apartment's resident monsters.

It was only when her father, VIP player Yuan Yihong, descended upon the Novice Apartment that she was revived.

Of course, this was merely Zhang Minghan's speculation.

And there was one particularly outrageous flaw in this theory—

Through discreet investigation, Zhang Minghan had confirmed that Yuan Qiu was indeed not a dark-type creature.

Yet logically, if she had transformed from a monster into a player, she should have remained a dark-type being.

Could monster players truly revert completely to human players after tattoo and bone purification?

Even becoming non-dark-type human players?

This was something Zhang Minghan wished to investigate further.

But such profound secrets were far beyond his ability to casually uncover.

Now, this naive little fool Yuan Qiu was descending upon the Novice Apartment as an experienced player.

Naturally, her father had arranged for numerous "older siblings" to protect her.

Moreover, if anything happened to Yuan Qiu, Jiang Ye's Zhang Minghan doppelganger would likely pay with his life.

Thus, Zhang Minghan bore some responsibility for Yuan Qiu's protection.

According to Zhang Minghan's memories, he had originally planned to quickly claim the rewards from the light-type bounty before returning to the young mistress's side.

Partly for protection, partly to seize some benefits.

Though Yuan Yihong's warnings prevented him from taking advantage of Yuan Qiu directly,

he could still leverage her connections to access certain opportunities.

After all, someone as sheltered as Yuan Qiu was remarkably generous.

If she discovered any valuable opportunities in Apartment 0000, she'd happily share them with her "older siblings"—and "Old Zhang" Zhang Minghan.

After Jiang Ye assumed Zhang Minghan's identity, he had been reluctant to interact with Yuan Qiu.

Based on his experience—

Some seemingly airheaded girls possessed terrifyingly accurate intuition.

In fact, the more innocent and naive they appeared, the sharper their instincts tended to be.

Having only inherited Zhang Minghan's memories without fully assimilating his personality,

prolonged contact with acquaintances carried risks of exposure.

Interacting with a girl who had feelings for him was especially dangerous.

What if Yuan Qiu's intuition kicked in and she tearfully accused him: "You're not him!" upon their first meeting?

Was Jiang Ye supposed to humor her with some melodramatic performance?

Thus, it was best to minimize contact with such troublesome individuals.

Yet now, the troublesome one had initiated contact.

After some thought, Jiang Ye replied in the teasing tone Zhang Minghan typically used with Yuan Qiu:

[Doesn't the young mistress have enough people around her already? Why think of me now?]

As expected, Yuan Qiu showed no signs of suspicion, quickly responding:

[When I think of you, it's always for something good! Unlike you—when do you ever think of me?]

[I've got an incredible opportunity here. Want in?]

The first part carried a coquettish tone.

As for the latter part—an incredible opportunity?

Given the young mistress's personality, this likely wasn't a trap but a genuine chance.

Unfortunately, Jiang Ye wasn't particularly interested.

After some thought, he suddenly asked:

[Are there many people with you? Is Zhou Yuling there?]

This question wasn't entirely out of character.

Having been warned by Yuan Yihong, Zhang Minghan often deliberately mentioned other girls around Yuan Qiu

as a subtle way of rejecting her advances.

Bringing it up now wouldn't seem unnatural.

Though consistent with his persona, Yuan Qiu's tone immediately soured:

[Do I need to say Zhou Yuling's here for you to come? If I say she's not, will you refuse?]

Jiang Ye quickly replied: [Nothing like that. Just making conversation.]

Yuan Qiu: [I messaged Zhou Yuling too, but she hasn't responded. No idea if she'll come.]

Jiang Ye pressed: [Thought this opportunity was for me? Sounds like you've invited quite a crowd?]

Now sounding petulant, Yuan Qiu snapped back:

[Who said it was specifically for you? I just thought of you when this came up! Not like I planned it for you!]

After this defensive retort, she added: [Haven't you always wanted to meet core members of the Defenders' Alliance?]

[We've got someone here whose status rivals my father's, currently gathering forces.]

[If you want in, I'll send coordinates. Otherwise, forget I asked!]

Someone comparable to Yuan Yihong?

Could it be Lin Ling?

Lin Ling had disappeared after leaving the underground graveyard.

The Ge Ge doppelganger, Ouyang Linjing, Wang Lingling and others who had followed Lin Ling

were all transformed into puppet dolls using talisman-like items.

These puppet dolls had no perception—their very thoughts frozen—

until Lin Ling removed the talismans to reactivate them.

The Ge Ge doppelganger was merely a new clone created to test Qu Xing's abilities, unimportant to Jiang Ye.

But why would Lin Ling be rallying the Defenders?

After brief hesitation, Jiang Ye replied: [Send me the coordinates. I'll come.]

In the Doomsday Apartment, there were many ways to transmit coordinates.

The young mistress opted for the most extravagant method—

A gold-tier delivery box!

Back before Jiang Ye's doppelgangers shared inventories, he'd used these too—

wincing at the cost each time.

Now, the young mistress casually sent him an anchor-marked teleportation stone via gold-tier delivery.

Such stones could mean life or death in emergencies—

yet she treated them as mere transportation tools...

Damn these filthy rich people!

Cursing internally, Jiang Ye crushed the teleportation stone after brief consideration.

A spatial vortex engulfed him.

In an instant, he arrived at another location.

Still within Apartment 0000's first floor—the Twilight Sands environment,

as evident from the distant swirling sands.

Yet the ground beneath him wasn't sand—

but something like... ice?

Chilling energy seeped through his soles.

Someone had carved out this black ice domain amidst the sands.

Numerous figures stood within the black ice field.

At its center stood none other than Lin Ling herself!

Zhang Minghan's flashy teleportation entrance drew considerable attention—

even earning a glance from Lin Ling at the center.

But her gaze quickly shifted to Yuan Qiu before dismissing Zhang Minghan entirely.

Other Defenders who'd noticed him similarly lost interest after seeing Yuan Qiu.

A few even shot him disdainful looks.

The real Zhang Minghan, having clawed his way up from the bottom, would've ignored such scorn.

As for Jiang Ye—he was more concerned about being recognized as an imposter.

Yet what truly shocked him was—

The first words from the petite (barely 1.5m) girl who approached were:

"Eh? Old Zhang? You seem... different somehow?"

Alarm bells rang in Jiang Ye's mind as he quickly offered his prepared excuse:

"Probably from making over a dozen disguise masks recently."

He stiffly touched his face: "Feels kinda numb."

The girl's eyes widened as she scrutinized him: For more chapters visıt NovєlFіre.net

"Why in the world would you make disguise masks?"

"Don't you worry someone might use them to frame you?"

Jiang Ye smoothly shifted blame onto the Mask Master—

claiming he'd been tricked, now regretting his decision but unable to undo it.

"Speaking of which, I'll need to pick up my customized masks from the Mask Master's Shop soon."

His gaze swept across the black ice domain before lingering meaningfully on Lin Ling:

"Is that woman at the center gathering Defenders for something?"

He'd deliberately lowered his voice,

but Yuan Qiu's expression changed as she urgently pulled him closer.

Finger to her lips, she whispered: "Check messages."

Sure enough, her private message read:

[That woman is Lin Ling—terrible temper, hates being talked about behind her back.]

[Avoid looking at her directly. Any questions about her—message me privately.]

After a pause, she added with visible relief:

[You got lucky this time. Only because of me did she not come slap you...]