Chapter 290: Chapter 290

Originally, it was expected that the discussion would drag on a bit longer.

Unexpectedly, after a brief silence, Lin Ling actually took out a small wooden puppet.

This time, Jiang Ye focused intently to watch carefully—

He saw that on the talisman paper attached to the small puppet, there seemed to be flickering dark golden light.

The light moved extremely fast, as if it was tracing the entire talisman paper according to a specific pattern.

Afterward, the talisman paper detached from the miniature wooden puppet and was collected by Lin Ling.

Then, the small puppet instantly grew larger, eventually transforming into the appearance of Lin Jing.

Lin Jing, while sealed, had no consciousness.

At this moment, suddenly released, his face was stiff, his pupils filled with undisguised vigilance, wariness, and unease.

But seeing Lin Ling, he clearly realized there was no way out, so his whole body stiffened even more.

Lin Ling evidently didn’t care about such a mere ant and directly ordered:

“In a moment, enter the red-lit elevator and press floors 3, 6, 7, 9, 23, 26, and 50—these seven floor numbers.”

“Then check if a ‘Safe Exit’ appears on the 49th floor.”

She paused to think, then added: “Just take a look, you don’t need to explore that ‘Safe Exit’.”

Lin Jing heard clearly but was confused inside. He dared not ask and just confirmed the seven numbers once more: “3, 6, 7, 9, 23, 26, 50?”

“That’s right.” Lin Ling nodded calmly, but the next second, suddenly raised her finger, releasing a tiny white insect about one millimeter in size, which shot straight into Lin Jing’s eye.

Lin Jing’s expression changed drastically, but he had no time to react. The tiny insect seemed to merge into his eye...

He panicked and took out a mirror to look, but found nothing unusual.

Lin Ling then said indifferently, “Just obediently do as I say, and nothing will happen.”

“But if you try to play any tricks on me, I’ll destroy you—it won’t be harder than crushing an ant.”

Lin Jing’s face suddenly turned grave, but he dared not say more.

Seeing this crazy woman apparently unwilling to waste time, she was about to force him into the red-lit elevator.

Lin Jing suddenly glanced toward Jiang Ye.

That look was very complicated.

It was unclear what he was thinking deep down, but his gaze quickly shifted between Jiang Ye and Lin Ling before suddenly calling out:

Jiang Ye interrupted lightly, “I am Administrator 9999! Do you think you have the right to call me ‘Jiang Ye’?”

Lin Jing’s mood was originally heavier than losing his own mother.

Being interrupted left him somewhat speechless.

The breath he was holding seemed to suddenly escape.

But despite the speechlessness, he indeed felt a bit relieved.

He raised his hand and threw a ring to Jiang Ye.

Then he entered the red-lit elevator.

Lin Ling glanced at the ring but said nothing more.

Her attention was more focused on the red-lit elevator.

Watching it operate normally, she waved her hand and instantly teleported with Jiang Ye to the elevator entrance on the 50th floor.

On the other side, Zhang Minghan was bragging about how awesome Administrator 4444 was.

It was as if he had become 4444’s dog, even showing some intention to recruit the chubby guy for 4444.

However, the chubby guy remained indifferent.

His face showed almost no emotion.

It was unclear whether he didn’t believe Zhang Minghan’s words or if he had other thoughts.

He silently waited for Zhang Minghan to finish speaking, then said in a low voice:

“In fact, judging whether a permission player is strong is very simple.”

“You just need to see if they can leave their own permission domain.”

“If they can’t even leave their own permission domain...”

“Then no matter how impressive you talk, 4444 is just so-so in my eyes.”

Leaving the permission domain...

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then said without fear:

Before he finished, the chubby guy answered directly: “I want 4444 to come to my shop in person to meet me.”

He raised his chin slightly: “Can he? Dare he?”

Jiang Ye, still wearing Zhang Minghan’s face, pretended to be confused: “This should be your little shop, right?”

“Just like the Mask Master’s Shop, outsiders can’t step in without your permission, right?”

The chubby guy nodded while handing him an iron plate.

Jiang Ye took it and saw it was inscribed with—

[Card Master’s Little Shop]

So this chubby guy... was the Card Master!

However, Jiang Ye held the iron plate and blurted out:

“But in the Doomsday Apartment, card-type items seem to be quite rare?”

The chubby guy glanced at him indifferently and said calmly:

“As the saying goes, rarity makes something precious. The fewer card items circulating on the market, the more it proves the Card Master’s high status.”

Alright, your status is high.

Jiang Ye then casually asked, “So Lin Ling’s identity is Rune Master?”

The chubby guy directly denied: “No.”

If not a Rune Master, then what permission identity?

Slap Master? One Punch Man?

Just as he was thinking this, the chubby guy took the initiative to say: “It’s Rune Grandmaster.”

“...” Alright, blame him for using the wrong term.

Jiang Ye looked again at the iron plate in his hand.

Though it read [Card Master’s Little Shop], this chubby guy who could leave the shop was probably a Card Grandmaster rather than a Master.

His previous guess was likely correct.

After permission identity upgrades, one could leave their permission domain.

In terms of strength, they should be far above unadvanced permission players.

As for Jiang Ye’s [Administrator 4444] identity, it had also undergone an upgrade.

After merging the Silent Tombstone, his identity would become [Reincarnator].

This directly stepped out of the administrator category.

And according to Zhou Qiming’s memories, the previous [Administrator 4444] had also achieved the [Reincarnator] upgrade.

But it wasn’t through the Silent Tombstone inside the Cross-shaped Tombstone.

It was through... a chance in the Tenth Day Major Reshuffle.

In fact, the previous reincarnation’s [Administrator 4444] had never entered the Cross-shaped Tombstone.

He didn’t even dare to approach it, as if instinctively restrained by bloodline.

However, thinking of this, Jiang Ye suddenly recalled—

Lin Ling had once mentioned that the Reincarnation Graveyard had twelve tombstones.

At that time, he had not yet used the Life Stone (Incomplete) to obtain memories, so he understood very little.

He had thought that the fact of twelve tombstones in the Reincarnation Graveyard was known by the apartment’s higher-ups.

But after obtaining Zhou Qiming’s memories, he realized—that was not the case!

Even the previous reincarnation’s [Administrator 4444] did not know what twelve tombstones existed inside the Cross-shaped Tombstone!

So how did Lin Ling know?

At this moment, Jiang Ye suddenly had another thought—

Perhaps Lin Ling had long known the secret of reincarnation achieved by [Administrator 4444]?

Maybe the secrets she held far surpassed what Jiang Ye obtained from Zhou Qiming’s memories?!

After all, this woman possessed the full version of the Life Stone.

She had many opportunities to gather vast amounts of information!

Moreover, the secret phrase she gave to the Light Clone obviously contained a great deal of information!

Also, her arrangement for Zhou Yuling to explore the Court of Disorder might have been based on information she acquired!

The amount of information she controlled was probably far beyond Jiang Ye’s imagination!

After obtaining Zhou Qiming’s memories, Jiang Ye was shocked for a long time.

But for Lin Ling, much of the information in Zhou Qiming’s memories was likely already known to her!

Thinking this, Jiang Ye slowly exhaled.

This [Card Grandmaster] implied that if [Administrator 4444] dared not enter his little shop, it wasn’t just to provoke him, but he really believed it.

Because these big shots who had advanced permission identities were truly strong!

This chubby guy probably also possessed a similar full version of the Life Stone artifact.

His strength, in all likelihood, was also unfathomable.

Jiang Ye’s heart grew cautious, but his expression remained calm. He held the iron plate and said:

“Let me leave first so I can give this iron plate to Administrator 4444.”

“Once he has it, he will come find you.”

He added, “Actually, even if he doesn’t come, you should go find him, right?”

At this moment, the chubby guy returned to his usual simple demeanor.

He nodded slightly and spoke in a very sincere tone:

“I follow the Mohist philosophy of universal love and non-aggression, so I’m easy to get along with :)”

“You can tell Administrator 4444 that if he really dares to come, I guarantee I won’t make a move against him.”

“And if both parties are satisfied with the trade, I’m willing to prepare a thank-you gift for him.”

Jiang Ye neither agreed nor disagreed, then left the Card Master’s Little Shop still wearing Zhang Minghan’s face.

Actually, he could have used the Clone Shared Space without leaving the shop to hand over the iron plate directly to the 4444 clone.

However, Zhang Minghan’s clone still had to visit the Mask Master’s Shop.

There was no need for two clones to negotiate with the Card Grandmaster simultaneously.

So Zhang Minghan left, and 4444 came over at the right time.

Zhang Minghan left the shop, his figure appearing directly on the radiation soil outside the Abyss Restricted Zone.

He exited where he had entered.

At this time, there was no one left on the radiation soil.

The White-Robed Woman’s whereabouts were unknown, and the entire soil seemed sealed by a thin membrane.

Jiang Ye didn’t linger and vanished from the area.

The Zhang Minghan clone did not enter the Mask Master’s Shop directly.

Instead, Administrator 4444, who took the iron plate from the Clone Shared Space, handed it directly to one of the ten powerful mirror clones he had previously created.

These ten mirror clones all looked like Administrator 4444.

But outsiders could still easily tell they were clones upon investigation.

Therefore, Jiang Ye fused a discarded clone into that mirror clone.

This was a technique he had recently discovered.

Previously, mirror clones were fused into generated clones as tool clones.

But he found that after a generated clone fuses into a mirror clone, the mirror clone could also share his consciousness, just like a generated clone.

This way, a mirror clone fused with a generated clone was less likely to be recognized as a clone.

The mirror clone holding the iron plate entered the Card Master’s Little Shop directly from the Reincarnation Graveyard.

Where it appeared, the chubby guy was standing nearby.

He still had the simple expression, curiously scrutinizing the clone.

After a moment, he blurted out:

“This is... a mirror clone created by the Clone Replica Mirror?”

“And it’s modified? Usually mirror clones aren’t this agile, it looks almost like a real person.”

He seemed surprised by this almost lifelike mirror clone and circled around it twice.

Jiang Ye was not surprised. Such a grandmaster-level permission player could immediately see through the clone he used.

He raised an eyebrow and suddenly smiled:

“If you’re interested, do you want to trade for a Clone Replica Mirror from me? I heard you want to prepare a thank-you gift for me in the trade, so I’ll give you a discount—50 Survival Points, how about that?”

Upon hearing this, the chubby guy waved his hands repeatedly: “Forget about 50 Survival Points. At 10 Survival Points, I might consider it.”

Obviously, this Card Grandmaster was well aware of the pitfalls of incomplete items.

Only at 10 Survival Points would he accept, probably intending to resell it to naive newcomers for a profit.

Judging by this, this Card Grandmaster probably also had similar items.

This idea only strengthened Jiang Ye’s resolve—

In the future, he would avoid using items whenever possible.

Especially incomplete items, which were strictly forbidden!

Thinking this, he didn’t plan to sell the Replica Mirror cheaply for 10 Survival Points and cut straight to the chase:

“Just tell me what you want to trade for.”

“If it’s the Nomadic Merchant Mask, I’m sorry. That thing has already been agreed upon in trade with the Nomadic Merchant.”

“Of course, if your offer is tempting enough, I might risk my fear of the Nomadic Merchant to trade it to you.”

“But even if I dare to trade it, do you dare?”

The chubby guy shook his head and smiled simply: “Of course not. You’ve already mentioned the Nomadic Merchant, so naturally I won’t provoke him.”

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow: “So, what trade are you asking me for?”

The chubby guy smiled meaningfully, both his gaze and tone loaded with implication.

What he said was very familiar:

“I want to trade for the method of soul usurpation.”

Jiang Ye’s eyes narrowed.

The chubby guy continued: “To be precise, it’s the technique of splitting off a strand of soul thread, then letting this residual soul control the body’s actions.”

As he spoke, he flipped out an oil lamp.

Inside the lamp burned a faint blue-green flame, flickering like a living ghost fire.

He said frankly: “I devoted much effort early on to study resurrection methods, so I have considerable understanding of soul thread splitting.”

“There’s a strand of my soul thread inside this oil lamp.”

“But no matter what I try, I can’t make this soul thread control the body to move like a living person.”

“...” Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

Jiang Ye knew such a technique indeed existed to split off a soul thread to avoid absolute death.

Even from Zhou Qiming’s memories, the previous reincarnation’s [Administrator 4444] had mastered this method and spent a lot of time researching it.

Unexpectedly, this Card Grandmaster was also passionate about this research.

And he seemed to think that Administrator 4444 possessed the ability to make the soul thread control the body normally like the main soul.

Jiang Ye was speechless in his heart, but maintained the demeanor of a big shot on the outside.

He opened his mouth and earnestly spouted nonsense:

“I do have a method that lets the soul thread have self-awareness and control the body like the main soul.”

“But the risks of this method are probably beyond what you can bear.”