Chapter 293: Chapter 293

Previously, it was also in Apartment 9999 that Ouyang had been slapped by Lin Ling.

This was the second time.

He was about to break down!

Besides looking stunned, his entire body was in a daze.

It was as if he was still dreaming, unable to fully wake up...

However, the ruthless and decisive madwoman didn’t give him any time to adjust his emotions.

With a sharp “whoosh,” she grabbed his collar again and forcefully demanded:

“How much do you know about Lin Jing? Tell me everything!”

Lin Ling was about to slap him again.

Jiang Ye spoke up instead:

“I know a little about Lin Jing.”

“When Zhou Qiming died in the battle zone, I asked Lin Jing inside that space.”

“He said he chose to commit suicide when invaded by a monster.”

“Because he would rather die than have the monster possess his body...”

As he said this, Jiang Ye’s tone became a bit delicate, worried that Lin Ling might slap him too because of his words.

Fortunately, Lin Ling only looked displeased but didn’t interrupt him.

So Jiang Ye continued:

“He had hidden his character in the game, so after death, he was resurrected in the underground graveyard of Apartment 4444.”

“And his resurrection wasn’t because Zhou Qiming opened the coffin, nor was it the Administrator 4444 who released him...”

“But a mysterious existence set him free, and that mysterious existence wanted him to kill Administrator 4444.”

“That’s why Lin Jing went to the battle zone, hoping to quickly get the Madman Mask.”

“Of course, this was what Lin Jing told me in Chapter 141, so how much of it is true is uncertain...”

“However, since he could mention the mysterious existence in the underground graveyard... there must be secrets on him.”

Jiang Ye highly suspected that the mysterious existence who asked Lin Jing to kill Administrator 4444...

Was probably the same one his light clone had encountered in the graveyard’s tombstone area.

At that time, the light clone was also told by that entity to kill Administrator 4444...

But later, after Jiang Ye himself became Administrator 4444 and went to the graveyard to look for that mysterious existence, he could not find it at all.

That made sense—if it wanted to kill him, it naturally wouldn’t show itself in front of him.

Later, Clone No. 1, other clones, and even Qu Xing’s clone had all been to the graveyard.

None of them encountered that mysterious existence again.

The light clone once asked Lin Ling about that mysterious existence.

But Lin Ling replied it was an illusion.

Now, could she still say it was an illusion?

Lin Ling’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this.

Jiang Ye raised his eyebrows and said, “You can also ask Ouyang.”

“When Lin Jing said those things, Ouyang was there too.”

Saying that, he reached out and lightly tapped Ouyang’s forehead, reminding him, “Snap out of it, man, or you’ll get slapped again.”

A flash of terror suddenly appeared in Ouyang’s dazed eyes.

This time, he immediately came to his senses, nodded hard, and trembled as he said,

“Yes, yes! I—I heard it too!”

At this moment, he vaguely realized—his inexplicable slaps were very likely caused by Lin Jing!

Could he have escaped?

Could he really run away under the watchful eyes of this madwoman?!

Ouyang felt some regret now.

Lin Jing was captured alive by Lin Ling only because Ouyang forcibly tricked Lin Jing and the others into coming to Apartment 9999.

That’s what caused them all to be caught by Lin Ling together.

Otherwise, only Ouyang and Jiang Ye’s Ge Ge clone would have been captured by Lin Ling.

Ouyang had betrayed Lin Jing once; now being implicated by Lin Jing, he could only say he got what he deserved...

Now that he was in Lin Ling’s hands, to save himself, he had to keep selling out Lin Jing.

After confirming Jiang Ye’s account, he even took the initiative to add:

“But I think Lin Jing definitely hid something in what he said!”

“That mysterious existence in the underground graveyard must have given him some benefits!”

“Anyway, when I was in Apartment 9999, I noticed Lin Jing was extremely lucky! And he probably could see things others couldn’t!”

“Doesn’t he have that [Chaos Paper Box]? A reward from winning ten consecutive battles.”

“If it were you,” Ouyang suddenly turned to Jiang Ye, “if you got the [Chaos Paper Box] randomly from ten consecutive wins, would you lend it to others so easily?”

“But Lin Jing gave the [Chaos Paper Box] to other players in Apartment 9999 without charging anything!”

“At first, I thought he was trying to buy loyalty, but after spending time with him, I realized Lin Jing isn’t the type to care about ‘loyalty’.”

“So, his letting others use the [Chaos Paper Box] was probably for some other purpose!”

Then Ouyang suddenly asked Lin Ling, “Boss, do you know if our Doomsday Apartment has some kind of... ‘energy conservation’ law?”

“Of course, I’m not talking about energy, but... luck?”

“For example, there’s a typical case—Wan Xin and Cheng Qun.”

“Wan Xin’s luck is terrible, almost like a curse.”

“Cheng Qun was ordinary, but after meeting Wan Xin, he became lucky...”

“It’s like Wan Xin is unlucky himself but brings good luck to those around him.”

“So what I want to say is—”

“Lin Jing letting others use the [Chaos Paper Box] might be to let them consume the negative effects in the box, so when he uses it again, his luck will explode?”

Ouyang said this with absolute conviction, clearly believing it.

Jiang Ye listened and also doubted—could there really be such a luck version of energy conservation?

If one person is lucky, those around them are unlucky?

If one person is unlucky, those around them are lucky?

Jiang Ye had heard from Wan Xin about Lin Jing letting other players use the [Chaos Paper Box].

That was also when he learned Wan Xin was cursed with terrible luck.

Besides that, after gaining Zhou Qiming’s memories, his view on “players hiding their characters” changed.

From a player’s perspective, they couldn’t have known in advance that a hidden character in the underground graveyard could offer resurrection in the real Doomsday Apartment.

But the game NPCs at that time were permission players from the previous round of Doomsday Apartment.

Those NPCs, formed from permission players, surely knew the benefits of hiding characters!

What if those NPCs had set traps on the players in advance?

After gaining Zhou Qiming’s memories, Jiang Ye’s feelings toward game players were different.

Because those players were no longer just ordinary players.

They had encountered permission players from the previous reincarnation!

So Lin Jing and Yang Wenchao, these two game players, seemed to have secrets!

What he could think of, Lin Ling probably could as well.

However, Lin Ling didn’t answer Ouyang’s speculations.

She just kept a calm face, paused silently for a moment, then suddenly pressed down on Ouyang’s head.

Ouyang’s eyes widened instantly.

At that moment, he thought he was going to die.

But the next second, he felt his brain being painfully squeezed and crushed as if by a giant palm!

He screamed miserably, his pupils dilating and unfocused.

Jiang Ye watched this scene, his pupils also jolted.

But he quickly adjusted his mood and casually asked,

“Is this... soul searching?”

Lin Ling didn’t answer but fixed her gaze on Ouyang.

More precisely, she seemed to be looking through Ouyang, as if seeing something else.

Her eyes became distant yet still radiated the aura of a powerful expert.

Her voice was low and slow:

“I often regret not being ruthless enough...”

“Otherwise, no nonsense would dare to mock me so openly.”

Clearly, she regretted not having searched Lin Jing’s soul...

If she had, she wouldn’t have just released a small bug and let Lin Jing enter the red-lit elevator alone.

Having learned from that mistake, she directly searched Ouyang’s soul.

Within two minutes, Ouyang completely collapsed and fell to the ground like dead.

Lin Ling’s expression was indifferent and cold, yet with a hint of madness.

She casually used a special immobilizing talisman, turning Ouyang back into a puppet.

Just when Jiang Ye thought she was going to take away the puppet-state Ouyang, she suddenly removed the talisman.

Ouyang returned to his normal human form.

When his consciousness came back, he again felt disoriented, like he didn’t know the time or place, as if still dreaming.

Lin Ling directly ordered, “Help me take the red-lit elevator.”

“Enter from the first floor and press the buttons in this order: 3, 6, 7, 9, 23, 26, and 50.”

“Then exit at the 50th floor and tell me if you see a ‘Safe Exit’.”

“Complete this task, and I will let you go.”

Ouyang had suffered immensely during the soul search.

But after turning into a puppet, he regained his spirit.

Now hearing Lin Ling was willing to release him...

He simply couldn’t believe it!

But facing the madwoman’s cold face, he dared not doubt and promised, “Okay! I guarantee to complete the task!”

With that, he headed to the red-lit elevator.

Lin Ling watched the elevator doors close, then turned her gaze to Jiang Ye.

Before Jiang Ye could speak, she flipped her hand and took out a glass bottle.

Inside that glass was the miniaturized Yang-Wan-Wen-Xin-Chao!

Just like before in the Nomadic Merchant’s space, Yang-Wan-Wen-Xin-Chao saw Jiang Ye again and pounded on the glass begging for help.

Jiang Ye ignored him and looked at Lin Ling: “What does this mean?”

Lin Ling’s expression was serious, suddenly saying:

“If I’m not mistaken...”

“The possession line on you... could it be pointing to the Nomadic Merchant?”

Jiang Ye didn’t understand and was slow to react:

“I was possessed by the Nomadic Merchant, then possessed Administrator 4444, and possessed more people...”

“All the masterminds behind the scenes are the Nomadic Merchant?”

His reaction was like hearing a joke.

But Lin Ling’s face was expressionless, as if already convinced—there was definitely something fishy between him and the Nomadic Merchant!

Jiang Ye was about to say something.

Lin Ling interrupted directly: “Since you already know the effect of the incomplete Life Stone, let’s not explain further.”

“First, according to Eternal Witch Gui’s memories, Administrator 4444 was originally immobilized by my special immobilizing talisman.”

“But later, I sensed—”

“That talisman immobilizing Administrator 4444 was destroyed.”

“Not just removed, but completely destroyed...”

“The one who did all this should be the Nomadic Merchant, right?”

Jiang Ye nodded, “But that’s because there was a deal between the Nomadic Merchant and Administrator 4444. How could a deal happen without releasing him?”

Lin Ling didn’t answer but continued: New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

“Secondly, the Lightburn black ribbon Zhou Yuling gave you, you haven’t worn it since you met the Nomadic Merchant.”

“So, after seeing the Nomadic Merchant, the Lightburn on your body disappeared.”

Damn, he had forgotten about this.

No, not forgotten exactly.

He just didn’t expect Lin Ling could sense whether he used the black ribbon or not...

So indeed, the tools this woman gave can’t be used casually!

Choosing to transfer the Lightburn and no longer wearing the ribbon was the right move!

But regarding this, he also had an explanation:

“Is it hard to understand? I made another deal with the Nomadic Merchant, and he helped me expel the Lightburn.”

“Another deal?” Lin Ling smiled slightly.

“Throughout history, countless players wanted to eradicate Lightburn...”

“But none succeeded.”

“Only you succeeded.”

True, even the Dark Emperor never succeeded...

Yet Jiang Ye managed to completely eliminate Lightburn.

At that moment, Jiang Ye couldn’t help but think—

Maybe just come clean?

Stop pretending, bro, you are the Nomadic Merchant!

If you talk to the Nomadic Merchant like that, you better quickly kneel and apologize!

But what if pretending to be the Nomadic Merchant doesn’t cause trouble?

What if the moment he says “I’m done pretending, I’m gonna flex now,” the Nomadic Merchant slaps him?

Getting slapped for showing off—how embarrassing!

And the Nomadic Merchant is someone you dare not offend more than Lin Ling!

So, don’t admit it, just mislead?

Anyway, Jiang Ye didn’t admit it. He raised an eyebrow, calm as ever:

“Think what you want.”

“If you want to think I’m your Jade Flask, I have no objections.”

“...” Hearing this metaphor, Lin Ling’s mouth twitched.

She thought: If you’re the Jade Flask, I’d just bash my head on the spot!

Jiang Ye thought: Let me see if I can ‘possess’ the Jade Flask, then watch what you say?

“Whatever I think, it probably doesn’t matter to you,” Lin Ling waved her hand, mainly shaking the glass bottle in her hand.

Inside, Yang-Wan-Wen-Xin-Chao wobbled around, dizzy and dazed.

Lin Ling stopped moving and raised the glass bottle to Jiang Ye, her voice serious:

“I want to make a deal with you.”

“If you agree, I will give you this glass bottle.”

Jiang Ye was about to say that Yang-Wan-Wen-Xin-Chao wasn’t worth much to him.

Lin Ling added, “Including the person inside the glass bottle and the bottle itself.”

Alright, hearing this, Jiang Ye got interested.

He remembered when the light clone was trapped inside this glass bottle, not only could Light and Shadow Escape not be used, but clone swapping was also impossible!

So maybe this glass bottle and the mirror surface in the cycle grid of the Mirror Palace secret realm were made of the same material?

Anyway, he was quite interested in the glass bottle and asked directly:

“So, what do you want me to agree to?”

Lin Ling’s eyes darkened, her voice deeper: “Possess Apartment Boss A, then have old A use the incomplete Life Stone.”