Chapter 69: Chapter 69

Reverse the situation...

A lot of students lit up at those words.

If they could use Xing Man’s “big shot” to turn things around and get rid of Xing Man...

Then the crisis they were facing would most likely be resolved!

They could even be the ones to cling to that “big shot” afterward!

Of course, that was wishful thinking.

In reality, that kind of “big shot” wasn’t easy to cling to.

And they weren’t just clinging for survival—they were trying to turn the big shot!

That... wasn’t going to be easy.

Yang Xiaoman didn’t get a chance to continue analyzing.

Instead, Lu Shen quickly suggested: “The fact that this ‘big shot’ looks exactly like Jiang Ye... maybe we can use that somehow?”

Bai Ruowan, probably from watching too many palace dramas, suddenly had a lightbulb moment and excitedly proposed:

“How about we pull a Prince-and-Pauper swap—let Jiang Ye impersonate the ‘big shot’?”

“Then, Xing Man takes the fake Jiang Ye to find Yang Wenchao, and we go find Yang Wenchao too.”

“At the critical moment, we all help Yang Wenchao, and Jiang Ye switches sides—don’t you think we’d be able to take down Xing Man?”

She looked thrilled as she spoke, thinking she finally came up with some clever scheme.

But clearly, her idea didn’t line up with what Yang Xiaoman and Lu Shen were thinking.

And it was... obviously pretty childish.

Yang Xiaoman immediately pointed out: “Prince-and-Pauper swap? Then what do you plan to do with the real prince?”

“Prince?” Bai Ruowan blinked dumbly.

In the palace dramas, “the prince” would usually be quietly taken care of.

But saying it out loud, she suddenly snapped back to reality—

The “real prince” in this case was the actual “big shot” who looked just like Jiang Ye.

Her whole plan had a glaring hole—

That “real prince” was way too powerful. There was no way they could replace him.

Which brought them back to the root problem—how to get the “big shot” to switch sides!

And honestly, if they could turn the “big shot,”

There wouldn’t be any need to go through the whole “Prince swap” plot.

Just have that powerhouse of a “big shot” directly take down Xing Man and be done with it!

Realizing this, Bai Ruowan got a bit embarrassed.

Still, she tried to save face by saying:

“I only thought of that because I figured Jiang Ye might be with Yang Wenchao right now.”

“Think about it—on the second floor, we were grinding monsters.”

“Xing Man was on the third floor.”

“But Jiang Ye leveled up to Level 3 during the time when both leveling zones were taken.”

“So he must’ve leveled up somewhere above the third floor.”

“There’s no way he did that on his own.”

“So he’s probably been grinding with Yang Wenchao.”

Yang Xiaoman nodded: “I thought the same thing.”

“That’s why I was thinking—”

“Maybe, if Yang Wenchao reveals his location and lets Xing Man come to him…”

“And then that ‘big shot’ of Xing Man’s meets Jiang Ye face-to-face…”

“Maybe… something magical might happen?”

Something magical… like a chemical reaction?

Sounded kinda mystical.

But both Class 1 and 2 were science-track classes.

And somehow, in everyone’s minds, the left side of a chemical equation popped up—

Xing Man (big shot) + Yang Wenchao (Jiang Ye)...

If they added Bai Ruowan’s “Prince swap” idea,

Then it could be a displacement reaction, turning into—

Xing Man (Jiang Ye) + Yang Wenchao (big shot)…

Or, if it wasn’t a standard single-replacement reaction, maybe the right side would be—

Xing Man + Yang Wenchao (Jiang Ye)(big shot)?

With Yang Wenchao pulling a 2v1 setup—how could Xing Man not die?

But to trigger this “chemical reaction,” Yang Wenchao had to be a highly oxidizing high-valence metal ion.

What the hell were they even thinking?

Dmn! Too many test papers—now they were fully losing it (/ω＼*)

While the students were spiraling into scientific madness, wondering what kind of catalyst could trigger this reaction—

There was suddenly a knock at Jiang Ye’s apartment door!

His heart jumped, and he instinctively looked toward the TV screen, thinking maybe the woman in white had broken in again.

But there was no voice from the woman in white this time.

Instead, Replica No. 4 looked through the peephole and saw—

Why was Yang Wenchao coming to him?

And just then, the group chat suddenly lit up with Yang Wenchao’s reply to Xing Man’s arrogant message!

Yang Wenchao: 【You’ve been barking for so long, surely you won’t chicken out again this time, right? @Xing Man】

Was he talking about how he’d been waiting on the rooftop for Xing Man, and Xing Man never showed?

But calling that “chickening out” didn’t seem quite accurate...

Before he could finish that thought, Yang Wenchao continued:

【Good thing you bailed that time—otherwise, I wouldn’t have made it into the top class.】

Right after that, Xing Man fired back with mockery:

【Tch! Top class? You mean Class 1 and 2, who can’t even fart back in the group?】

【I’ll admit, before coming to the Doomsday Apartment, the top class sounded impressive. But here, top class ain’t worth sh*t!】

【Wang Qiang, Yang Wei from your “top class”—their screams before dying were definitely sharp enough to be “top.”】

Yang Wenchao didn’t hold back either:

【Oh yeah? No surprise. I mean, Wang Rui’s screams before she died were probably even sharper, right?】

【Oh, and by the way—Wang Qiang was right. Wang Rui was killed by me. I did it for you, and honestly, it felt pretty damn good.】

Turns out, there had already been a round of unresolved taunting between Xing Man and Yang Wenchao.

And this round of mutual verbal jabs and provocations—

Made it clear to every student watching the group chat—

Holy sh*t! So there’s some personal vendetta between Xing Man and Yang Wenchao?!

That meant Yang Wenchao killing Wang Rui wasn’t just about sending her to reunite with her parents—

It was also tied to some private beef with Xing Man?!

Some of the students started remembering—

Back in freshman year, Yang Wenchao had quite the delinquent reputation too.

Apparently, after that rumor about stealing money, he became quiet and withdrawn, didn’t really have any friends, and then his grades started climbing.

By senior year, he was assigned to Class 1.

So what now—Yang Wenchao and Xing Man are fallen brothers turned enemies?

Plenty of students couldn’t help gossiping in their heads, though none dared to speak in the group.

Xing Man, however, was clearly provoked hard by Yang Wenchao claiming to have killed Wang Rui.

He was probably boiling with rage.

He didn’t bother with more back-and-forth. He just dropped a direct reply:

Even the text seemed to be grinding its teeth:

【So you’ve made up your mind to settle this with me once and for all?】

Yang Wenchao stayed arrogant as ever:

【I don’t need to prepare to deal with you.】

【To avoid more whining about “saving face,” let’s make it simple. No need for you to come find me, or for me to look for you. Three minutes from now, first-floor lobby—either you die, or I live. Sound good?】

Jiang Ye, still spectating purely for the drama, couldn’t help but roast in his head—

“Either you die, or I live”?

So either way, Xing Man’s dying, huh?

Xing Man seemed to pick up on that too. Furious again, he gritted out a reply:

【Hope you can keep up that attitude when you get to the lobby!】

So that meant he agreed to the first-floor duel?

In that moment, all the remaining Class 1 and 2 students were getting excited.

Could Yang Wenchao really take out Xing Man?

Yang Wenchao didn’t respond again and just kept knocking at Jiang Ye’s apartment door.

But Xing Man added more in the group:

【Right now, Class 9 is full of powerhouses. To avoid you calling it unfair, I’ll go alone—just me, and we’ll fight 1v1.】

【But on one condition—you bring Jiang Ye with you.】

【Because killing just you isn’t enough to vent my anger!】

【I want that Jiang Ye you saved to join Wang Rui in death!】

【Of course, killing Jiang Ye will come after I kill you.】

【So if you can beat me, Jiang Ye will be just fine.】

Jiang Ye had been enjoying the drama just fine—

Then suddenly saw his name dragged into this mess again.

And this Yang Wenchao guy? Didn’t even hesitate— ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI~Fire.net

He replied directly: 【OK.】

“You” OK? I’m not OK!!

Why the h*ll do I need to be there for your fight?!

Jiang Ye was mentally cursing nonstop.

Still, after thinking it over for a moment, he sent out Replica No. 1 to open the apartment door.

Stepped outside, and shut it again right behind him.

Yang Wenchao didn’t even get a chance to peek inside.

So he frowned and asked, “You got something in there you don’t want people to see?”

“Nope!” Jiang Ye looked completely innocent, shaking his head, “Didn’t you and Xing Man agree to fight in the lobby in three minutes?”

“So obviously you don’t have time to tour my apartment, right?”

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Yang Wenchao didn’t press further, turning toward the Red Light Elevator.

As they walked, he gave Jiang Ye a sidelong glance and asked, expression complex:

“How’d you get to Level 3? And that guy Xing Man’s following—who looks just like you—any idea what’s going on there?”

“Well... about leveling up, it’s a long story. I’ll explain after you beat Xing Man. As for that guy who looks like me... I have some ideas, but I’m not totally sure...”

In other words, he said a whole lot of nothing.

Still, Yang Wenchao noticed something in his tone and mannerisms—

The kid was clearly a lot more confident than before.

He spoke calmly and steadily, a big change from how he used to be.

Looked like his boost in strength had given him some real backbone.

Yang Wenchao didn’t push the issue. He and Jiang Ye entered the Red Light Elevator together.

Meanwhile, on the third-floor hallway—

After finalizing the duel with Yang Wenchao, Xing Man turned to his underlings and calmly gave instructions:

“All right, according to plan, I’ll keep Yang Wenchao occupied first;”

“Then Ran Ziyi, you’ll ambush Jiang Ye.”

“Once you confirm Jiang Ye is dead, Xin Hang—you signal the Blood Mist guy to release the mist and suppress Yang Wenchao’s attributes.”

Clearly, the fact that the Blood Mist Guy looked identical to Jiang Ye was still on his mind.

That’s why he demanded that Yang Wenchao bring Jiang Ye to the first-floor lobby.

Once Jiang Ye was dead, and the Blood Mist Guy made his move—

There shouldn’t be any surprises.

As for all that stuff he said in the group about fighting Yang Wenchao 1v1, killing Yang Wenchao first, then killing Jiang Ye…

That was all bullsh*t.

Back in school, words might’ve meant something.

But here, in the Doomsday Apartment?

Going back on your word was the norm.

Xing Man had it all planned out.

But before leaving, he turned to Zhou Qiong with a polite smile:

“Thanks for helping me ID the guy, Teacher Zhou.”

Zhou Qiong was clearly afraid of Xing Man.

Even now, being thanked, her expression was stiff—she didn’t dare say much.

What she didn’t expect—

Was that Xing Man, still smiling, suddenly said something straight out of hell:

“But tell me, Teacher Zhou—are you gonna run to the group chat and blab about what I do next?”

Her pupils shrank, face went pale in an instant!

She stammered out, “N-no! I won’t say anything!”

But Xing Man just shook his head with a smile:

“Only the dead don’t speak.”

Blade flashed, head dropped.

Afterward, he even put on a look of sorrow, sighing softly:

“Too kindhearted for this world. Just not cut out for survival in the apocalypse.”

“Maybe logging off early isn’t such a bad thing after all.”

“I’m not wrong, am I, Teacher? Double negatives make a positive—so it’s a good thing.”

“Never thought I’d be the one teaching you one day.”

With that, Xing Man’s mood seemed to improve.

As planned, he entered the Red Light Elevator alone.

And Zhou Qiong’s death—

Was noticed by the students immediately.

But since Xing Man was still alive, no one in the group dared to speak.

Still, her death left a bigger impact than when Wang Qiang, Yang Wei, and the others died.

The remaining students were becoming more and more aware—

Of just how brutal life in the Doomsday Apartment really was.

They had no one left to rely on.

They had to depend on themselves and grow stronger—fast!

The silent group chat hadn’t received a single new message, yet Zhou Laoshi’s death seemed to fill it with a wordless grief.

Back in Room 2025, Jiang Ye’s main body also felt a twinge of emotion.

But soon, he collected himself and used his chopsticks to lift the Lucky Bracelet out of the blood-filled bowl.

Then, he cast a 【Detection】.

【Slightly boosts luck attribute. Duration: 8 minutes (Rechargeable)】

And it actually recharged the 【Lucky Bracelet】!

Was he seriously some kind of heaven-defying luck god, a super lucky charm on par with a cursed crow?!

If that were the case, couldn’t he just keep charging up luck-based items and make a fortune that way?

The woman in white did call him “dirty”!

Then maybe this Lucky Bracelet had already been corrupted into a “Misfortune Bracelet”?

Even if it wasn’t tainted...

The woman in white had specifically warned him not to use luck-based items going forward.

So this Lucky Bracelet, powered up by his blood... best not to use it, huh?

Thinking that, Jiang Ye dropped the bracelet back into the blood bowl, then stashed the whole thing into his Replica Shared Space.

Meanwhile, in the first-floor lobby—

Yang Wenchao and Xing Man both arrived, face to face at last!