Chapter 311: Chapter 311
In that instant, Jiang Ye felt as if his pain had completely vanished!
Not only that, but his entire body seemed freed from gravity's constraints, experiencing a peculiar weightlessness.
And within this sensation of weightlessness...
Something extraordinary seemed to be calling to him.
From the depths of his soul, he even heard an ancient summons—
Simultaneously, Administrator 0000 also called out: "Jiang Ye..."
"Hmph..." Administrator 0000 emitted a light, mocking snort through his nose.
Meanwhile, from the direction where the stone wall had shattered, a highly mechanical-looking mecha figure gradually emerged from the milky mist.
Had Jiang Ye still been conscious, he would have recognized this mecha's appearance as identical to the Salvation mecha from Wu Ying's memories!
And of course, identical to the Salvation mecha that had appeared during the Nomadic Merchant's transaction.
Administrator 0000's gaze settled on the familiar mecha, a pleased smile curling his lips.
He addressed the mecha: "How does it feel?"
Yet the mecha simply stood on the other side of the broken stone wall, completely unresponsive.
Frowning, Administrator 0000 strode forward.
As he walked, he added: "Playing dead now serves no purpose."
Reaching the mecha, he casually manipulated something near the back of its head.
The mecha slowly raised its hand, revealing a display screen on its palm.
However, the screen showed only white static—no image whatsoever.
This sight made Administrator 0000's expression abruptly change, his eyes widening in shock.
While tapping the mecha's head and fiddling with its display hand, he muttered:
"How is this possible? Why no response?"
That Jiang Ye had played him—that this clone contained no "soul" at all?
Had the request for [Soul Locking Nails] just been a ruse?
With this thought, he grabbed Jiang Ye's collapsed physical body.
With a blade, he sliced open several sections of flesh, exposing the bone gaps.
Within these gaps lay shattered remnants of [Soul Locking Nails].
This proved Jiang Ye had indeed implanted them.
A soulless clone couldn't have anchored the Soul Locking Nails!
Therefore, Jiang Ye's clone did contain a "soul"!
But now... where was it?
Why hadn't it been absorbed into the mecha?
Was Salvation's information wrong?
Or was there something unusual about Jiang Ye?
Could he have somehow anticipated this scenario in such short time and performed a soul thread self-destruction?
Or was there another explanation?
Administrator 0000 couldn't make sense of it.
But one thing was certain—
That wisp of soul from Jiang Ye's clone was now neither in Jiang Ye's body nor the Salvation mecha.
Taking a deep breath, Administrator 0000's gaze shifted repeatedly between Jiang Ye's body and the Salvation mecha.
After a moment, he waved his hand, storing the Salvation mecha in spatial equipment.
Then he plucked a single hair from his own head.
Tossing it casually to the ground, the hair instantly transformed into Jiang Ye's likeness.
This hair-created "Jiang Ye" smiled slightly and spoke in Jiang Ye's exact voice:
"Hey, Zero Boss, what's up?"
These were the very words Jiang Ye had recently spoken.
Even the tone matched perfectly with the real Jiang Ye's earlier delivery!
Administrator 0000 nodded slightly, expressionless: "Not bad."
The fake Jiang Ye raised his chin slightly, pride unconsciously flashing across his features:
"I've studied this—I was probably an award-winning actor in my past life."
"Among all monsters in the Novice Apartment, none could outperform me!"
Elsewhere, Wu Wang—who was helping Yu Mo find a player to invade—suddenly wrinkled his nose and sneezed.
While deploying fire spirits into the yellow sand, he told Yu Mo:
"To avoid complications, let's just find an average-strength newbie player to invade."
Yu Mo didn't quite agree with this approach.
If not for being controlled by the Eternal Witch Gui, he would have invaded a player long ago to shed his Reincarnation Ghost identity.
For monsters, invading a player to assume their identity was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
So even under his "cousin's" instructions, he naturally wanted to invade a stronger target.
Ideally an experienced veteran player.
Failing that, if forced to settle for a newbie, given his Reincarnation Ghost pedigree, shouldn't he at least pick a talented newcomer?
After consideration, Yu Mo offered serious analysis:
"The body I obtain will primarily serve my cousin for quite some time!"
"My own mediocrity matters little, but my cousin deserves better!"
Wu Wang didn't correct the "cousin" address, finding some logic in his words.
The Witch Gui had never revealed true strength before them.
Her hidden capabilities surpassed Wu Wang's imagination!
To properly please the Witch Gui big shot...
Perhaps they should help Yu Mo select a stronger host?
Yu Mo was a fairly powerful Reincarnation Ghost after all.
With his abilities, invading a strong player shouldn't be problematic.
As Wu Wang pondered, Yu Mo volunteered:
"How about invading Jiang Ye? He is this batch's Newcomer King, right?"
Wu Wang shook his head: "Not Jiang Ye."
"Jiang Ye has numerous clones of varying strength, too many secrets and entanglements. Invading him would just create headaches for the Witch Gui big shot."
"But..." Yu Mo began listing alternatives.
Wu Wang cut him off: "I suspect the Witch Gui big shot mainly wants to observe whether blood patterns will cover your body post-invasion."
"So no need for meticulous selection. I'll find you a decent candidate—stop being picky."
"..." Yu Mo had sensed something amiss but dared not dwell on it.
In his position, refusal wasn't an option.
He could only obediently fall silent.
Administrator 0000 observed the fake Jiang Ye's proud expression, his lip twitching slightly.
Rubbing his forehead, he said bluntly: "Drop the arrogance."
"When Jiang Ye acts cocky, he never looks like that. More —"
Administrator 0000 demonstrated a slight smile:)
The fake Jiang Ye nodded eagerly: "Got it! Just smile, right? Watch this :D"
Administrator 0000 thought: Some award-winning actor you are!
The fake Jiang Ye adjusted his expression: "How about this :)"
Closing his eyes, Administrator 0000 nodded: "No time for acting lessons. Proceed as planned."
The fake Jiang Ye flashed an "OK" gesture before dissolving into black smoke that entered Jiang Ye's unconscious body.
Soon, the soulless "Jiang Ye" regained consciousness.
Upon opening his eyes, he saw Administrator 0000 holding a bell.
"Jiang Ye" narrowed his eyes and coldly demanded:
"What's the meaning of this, Zero Boss?"
Administrator 0000 gave him a casual glance before pocketing the bell.
"Exactly as stated earlier—"
"I wanted to experiment with your useless clone."
"Results indicate your clone can enter Return Soul Abyss without Soul Locking Nails."
"Jiang Ye" raised an eyebrow, internally assessing the shattered nail remnants within.
He murmured: "Is that so?"
Then, eyeing Administrator 0000 meaningfully:
"Then why did I experience momentary disorientation earlier?"
Administrator 0000 feigned surprise: "Oh? You? Disoriented? Really? I noticed nothing."
"Perhaps Return Soul Abyss's unique environment affected you?"
"Are you still feeling disoriented?"
His performance suggested genuine ignorance about Jiang Ye's "blackout," even showing interest.
"Jiang Ye" studied Administrator 0000's expression before glancing toward the broken wall:
"The milky mist seems to be dissipating."
Administrator 0000 nodded: "Yes, rather unfortunate."
"Jiang Ye" pressed: "With your vast knowledge, Zero Boss, you don't recognize this mist?"
Administrator 0000 shook his head: "The Doomsday Apartment—especially my 0000 Apartment—has countless unexplored areas."
"Soul Resting Mound clearly shows no prior exploration. Unknown mist here isn't surprising."
As he spoke, the milky vapor from the shattered wall completely vanished.
Jiang Ye's external clones immediately sensed—
The clone that had lost contact in Return Soul Abyss...
This reconnected clone...
Felt not like a [Generated Clone],
But rather... belonged to the [Fake Clone] category!
[Fake Clones] were those who voluntarily assumed Jiang Ye's form, recognized as his clones usable by his skills...
But lacking his consciousness. Fınd the newest release on NoveI(F)ire.net
The previous discarded clone had vanished!
Replaced by a Fake Clone housing another being's consciousness!
Without shared consciousness, Jiang Ye now lacked the Soul Resting Mound perspective.
Unaware of this, the two beings there continued their act...
Externally, Jiang Ye desperately wanted to manipulate this new Fake Clone.
Perhaps swap it with a real clone...
But lacking intel about events there, rash action might alert Administrator 0000.
Thus, the Soul Resting Mound thread was severed without clone surveillance.
He suspected this Fake Clone might attempt infiltrating his clone forces later?
This thread would wait.
With two "lost clones" creating major concerns,
Jiang Ye felt compelled to investigate possible connections to his main body at [Court of Disorder].
Though his main body seemed safe while disconnected,
Until its status was confirmed, external clones couldn't act freely.
Moreover, Jiang Ye's strength relied entirely on [Clone Skills]!
Skills like Clone Fusion, Clone Swapping, Clone Sacrifice, even the S-grade Soul Link!
Only by obtaining more clone skills for his main body
Could his overall power increase significantly with each new clone.
Additionally, the Mirror Palace secret realm might require [Observer] clones to solve...
Thus, reconnecting with his main body became imperative!
Abandoning both lost clones,
Even the red-lit elevator in 9999 Apartment went uninvestigated.
Zhang Minghan and Mask Master clones abruptly ended their Battle to the Death.
Returning to [Mask Master's Shop], the Mask Master clone transferred 100,000 survival points to Zhang Minghan.
Bound by permissions, Mask Master remained in shop.
But Zhang Minghan—lacking restrictions—could leave with the points.
Initially planning to spawn 100,000 puppet clones for Court of Disorder,
Or dispatch powerful clones,
He reconsidered—knowing too little about Court of Disorder.
Would 100,000 clones trigger maximum difficulty?
Losing them all would be catastrophic!
Zhou Yuling's assistance seemed necessary.
Delaying his Court trip, Zhang Minghan wandered Twilight Sands.
Meanwhile, Clone No.1 from 4444 Apartment contacted Zhou Yuling via voice transmission bead.
The Witch Gui clone that had left Yu Mo's body returned to its Void Mirror Puppet form in Mirror Palace.
Reentering, it discovered—
The previously quiet Mirror Palace now bustled with activity!
Light shadows darted between mirror grids.
Void Mirror Puppets of varying appearances had multiplied dramatically!
Within moments, the Witch Gui clone spotted eight Zhou Yuling lookalikes!
One appeared particularly vivid.
It even witnessed one Zhou Yuling puppet merge with the strongest version!
While processing this...
A Lu Renjia-faced Void Mirror Puppet No.2 located its grid.
Well, merged with its current puppet vessel.
Clone No.1 asked via transmission bead: "Sister Zhou? What's happening over there?"