Chapter 326: Chapter 326

The red-lit elevator in Apartment 9999 leads to a hidden space, so Jiang Ye’s Clone No. 2 has been keeping an eye on it.

Moreover, Jiang Ye can sense all his clones to some extent.

Therefore, when the lost-and-returned discarded clone stepped out from the red-lit elevator, it was under the watchful gaze of Clone No. 2.

On Clone No. 2’s face, there was a flicker of doubt and even suspicion.

At the moment he saw the discarded clone, he naturally sized it up first.

He noticed that this discarded clone’s state was...

Quite similar to Xiao Hei’s.

Neither shared consciousness with the Generated Clone.

Both looked dumb and clueless, as if their brains weren’t functioning properly...

So naturally, he held the same suspicion toward this returning clone.

However, he didn’t directly expose this suspicion to the fake clone stepping out of the elevator.

Instead, after sizing it up, he suddenly stepped forward and frowned, asking:

“What’s going on? You went to the hidden space through the elevator’s displayed ‘Safe Exit’? Or were you pulled into the hidden space?”

“Tell me exactly what happened, now.”

To be honest, among Jiang Ye’s real clones, such communication wasn’t necessary.

All information was shared directly.

Of course, sometimes when acting in front of outsiders, there would be clone-to-clone dialogues, which was just him playing multiple roles.

This clone-to-clone conversation now was also an act. Fınd the newest release on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

But it was performed for the fake clone and whoever might be behind it.

Of course, if acting could really extract some useful information, that would be even better.

However, obviously, he was overthinking...

This clone, which looked dumb and clueless to the naked eye, after being asked these questions, froze like it had crashed, standing blank for several seconds.

After a while, as if it had just understood the question, it blankly muttered:

“I don’t remember...”

“What happened in the elevator? Don’t remember...”

“Who am I? Don’t remember...”

“What do I have to do? Don’t remember...”

This guy might as well have had “I’m an idiot” written all over his face...

Jiang Ye’s mouth twitched slightly.

He was almost ninety percent sure this fake clone had definitely gone wrong somewhere.

However, on the surface, he furrowed his brow and blurted out:

“Why the hell are you turning into the same idiot as Xiao Hei...”

After saying that, he thought for a moment and snapped his fingers in the air, then shouted with a bit of flair:

“Xiao Hei, where are you? Summon Xiao Hei!”

Of course, in reality, he used clone swapping to bring Xiao Hei nearby.

So, Xiao Hei appeared quietly and unobtrusively behind the fake clone.

The fake clone didn’t seem truly dumb or was just a great actor.

The whole person barely reacted at all.

Clone No. 2 then glanced past the fake clone and gave Xiao Hei a look:

“Xiao Hei, come take a look. This guy somehow caught some kind of evil and turned into your exact copy...”

On Xiao Hei’s weird, silly smiling face, the frown was obvious.

That frown expressed emotion so clearly, it practically said, “There’s no way I’m as dumb as him” right on his face...

But since Jiang Ye had spoken, Xiao Hei naturally took action.

It flickered and instantly appeared in front of the fake clone.

Then it raised its right hand and plucked off its own nose...

Holding its nose barehanded, it sniffed the fake clone.

The fake clone still showed no reaction.

After a moment, Xiao Hei brought its nose close to Clone No. 2 as well and sniffed again.

Then, its always silly smile suddenly curved a little more, becoming even clearer.

However, it quickly suppressed the smile and seriously said to Clone No. 2:

“Based on the smell alone, both have the same scent...”

Jiang Ye immediately rolled his eyes at it: “No kidding! My clone obviously smells the same as me!”

“I wanted you to check how this guy lost his memory and why he turned into such a dumb idiot!”

Xiao Hei’s silly smile stiffened slightly but continued according to Jiang Ye’s idea:

“Same smell, but the blood might not be the same. If I evaluate the blood, maybe I can...”

“Smack—” Jiang Ye slapped Xiao Hei on the back of its head, angrily saying: “You’re evaluating my ass!”

After saying that, he glared at the fake clone with the same anger:

“These clones, one after another, really don’t give me peace of mind!”

“As expected, high-quality human clones like me are extremely rare...”

Yeah, he smoothly bragged about himself.

Xiao Hei wasn’t bothered by the slap; it just took its head off, rubbed the back of it, and put it back on.

What puzzled it was what its master just said...

In its impression, although the master had many clones, he never compared or ranked them.

All clones regarded themselves as “I,” not “I, this clone.”

But just now, the master clearly expressed that this clone was superior to others...

Of course, strange or not, Xiao Hei had no doubt about Clone No. 2’s identity as master’s clone.

On the contrary, it felt that the dumb master clone might be the one with problems.

Even though their appearance and aura were the same...

It had a strong feeling that if it could evaluate the blood, it would immediately discover what was wrong with this dumb master clone.

Unfortunately, Clone No. 2 wouldn’t allow it to taste the blood.

Xiao Hei wasn’t very assertive, so it didn’t say more.

As for Jiang Ye, he seemed to fall into deep thought.

He muttered vaguely: “If only I could continue to use the Life Stone to awaken the memory...”

Meanwhile, on the other side, inside the black ice domain under the chessboard.

Wu Wang led Jiang Ye’s Zhou Qiming clone, along with Lin Jing and Ouyang, quickly passing through one domain chess grid after another, while also appreciating various natural landscapes.

Sky mirrors, giant waterfalls, endless snow mountains, vast oceans, even the aurora...

The younger Ouyang couldn’t help but sigh:

“When I was a kid, I dreamed of traveling the world. I thought it was impossible, but here within this domain, I’ve seen so many natural wonders in such a short time...”

“However, the more I travel, the more I suspect these natural landscapes are illusions.”

“To truly create such realistic landscapes, divided into these grids, would be very difficult, right?”

Lin Jing and Wu Wang didn’t respond.

But besides rushing through quickly, they indeed appreciated the different natural scenes.

Perhaps, like Ouyang, they simply enjoyed the scenery.

Or maybe they hoped to find clues within these landscapes to break through the black ice domain.

In fact, the two already had a rough guess—

The method proposed earlier by Ouyang, likened to the Huarong Dao sliding block puzzle, was probably wrong.

Because they had already passed many chess grids.

But they hadn’t found any grid patterns that could be barely pieced together.

So, in Lin Jing and Wu Wang’s hearts, a faint realization emerged: this entire domain space likely wasn’t a puzzle like Huarong Dao.

Jiang Ye, who had more information, also developed some thoughts while enjoying the natural scenery.

He was thinking that the so-called Three Life Stone Staff corresponded to information about a living being’s many lives...

The process of crossing these chess grids reminded him of a setting from the game The Legend of Sword and Fairy.

Ling’er collected many bubbles on a tree.

Each bubble, when opened, was a scene.

He remembered as a kid watching that, thinking the scenes were beautiful.

Crossing a palace grid now gave him a similar feeling to Ling’er opening memory bubbles.

Moreover, shows like Eternal Love, which featured three lives and three worlds with past and present life characteristics, had long flooded the entertainment market.

So naturally, Jiang Ye associated some stories about “past life, present life, and future life,” revolving around reincarnation through many lifetimes.

He remembered watching a drama called The Phoenix Quartet, which told four love stories from the late Qing dynasty to modern times.

Since it was the same actors, it played out four stories in one go.

As a kid, Jiang Ye took those four stories as reincarnations of past and present lives.

The first story set in the late Qing was the actors’ first life;

By modern times, it corresponded to their fourth life.

From this story structure and the concept of “past and present lives,” combined with the chess grids in the black ice domain...

He naturally had an idea...

Ouyang thought the chess grids were scrambled because he saw “space.”

But what if the real encoding of the chess grids was the “time” dimension?

For example, the first chess grid represents one time.

The second chess grid represents another time.

Or, if the measurement standard of this time dimension was expanded...

Then the first grid represented the first life;

The second grid represented the second life?

With this idea, Jiang Ye realized clearly for the first time—

People perceive the world with their “eyes.”

But eyes can only perceive space, not time.

Of course, despite these thoughts, his definition of “time” for each grid might not be accurate.

Maybe the chess grid with the Three Life Stone Staff was the “first life” he imagined?

Anyway, reaching the chess grid where the Three Life Stone Staff lay was the priority now.

Naturally, he didn’t share these thoughts with Wu Wang, Lin Jing, and Ouyang.

After all, Lin Jing must have information he hadn’t shared either.

Their 2v2 alliance was basically a tacit understanding of mutual suspicion.

At almost the same time as the fake clone’s return, Lin Ling, who oversaw the chessboard, allowed Jiang Ye to make a request...

Wu Wang looked at the stars and said toward the front:

“It’s that grid ahead.”

“I’m not sure if it’s a blank grid, but there should be a treasure.”

Then, his gaze shifted to Jiang Ye’s Zhou Qiming clone, seemingly waiting for his decision.

On the chessboard, Lin Ling seemed to sense something.

Just as Clone No. 2 muttered about wishing to use the Life Stone to awaken the fake clone’s memory...

Lin Ling’s eyes flickered, and she raised both hands.

The Three Life Stone Staff, which she had summoned earlier, dropped back to the grid where it had originally appeared.

Making this move, Lin Ling acted as if nothing happened and turned directly to Jiang Ye:

“Well? Haven’t decided what to request yet?”

Honestly, Jiang Ye’s original request was indeed related to the Three Life Stone Staff.

For example, he wanted to use the Life Stone but hoped Lin Ling wouldn’t steal his memories;

For example, he wanted to know how Lin Ling could use the Life Stone without binding it;

For example, he wanted to know more about the Three Life Stones—how she got them and what she planned to do with them...

But honestly, he was starting to suspect—

This woman, so generous and willing to let him make compensation requests...

Could she be deliberately luring him to ask for something related to the Three Life Stone Staff?

After all, she so openly placed the staff back into the grid that Zhou Qiming, Lin Jing, and others were about to explore...

What was this woman really up to?

And what to do about the lost-and-returned fake clone was also a problem.

He could use the clone kills clone effect to turn the fake clone into a real clone on the spot.

But honestly, any action he took toward the fake clone might give others clues to speculate about his clones’ situation!

That dumb fake clone was probably the one behind the clone loss, used to test his existence!

Thinking this, Jiang Ye’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly said to Lin Ling:

“Actually, I’m not the kind of person who insists on being right and won’t let go...”

“It’s just a test of strength. If you want to make a big deal out of it and demand excessive compensation, I won’t do it... and you wouldn’t agree anyway.”

“But if it’s some insignificant small request, honestly, it’s useless...”

“So I want to take this chance to make a trade with you again, Sister Lin.”

Lin Ling looked at Jiang Ye strangely.

Even Chubby Guy, standing by Yu Mo’s corresponding square mirror, couldn’t help but laugh:

“You were just opposing him, now you’re talking about trading again?”

Jiang Ye ignored Chubby Guy.

Lin Ling raised an eyebrow: “Go ahead, tell me, what do you want to trade?”

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then looked into Lin Ling’s eyes and said meaningfully: “What I want to trade concerns your Jade Flask.”

Sure enough, after this sentence, Lin Ling’s previously indifferent attitude changed abruptly.

She straightened up considerably.

Seeing that she valued it, Jiang Ye said bluntly:

“After you left Apartment 9999, I arranged for a clone to research the red-lit elevator again...”

“Then, unexpectedly, one of my clones should have entered the hidden space you’ve always wanted to see.”

“But for some reason, this clone returned with all memories lost...”

Hearing this, Lin Ling narrowed her eyes and responded:

“You mean you want to trade with that amnesiac clone?”

Before Jiang Ye could answer, she frowned:

“You don’t want me to use the Life Stone to probe that clone’s memories, do you?”

“But you should still have two unused Life Stones. If you want the amnesiac clone’s memories, just use yours directly.”

“Also, using the Life Stone on your amnesiac clone...”

“That way, I could view all your memories... This kind of situation, you definitely wouldn’t accept, right?”

At this point, Lin Ling seemed to realize:

“So the trade you want to propose isn’t...”