Chapter 97: Chapter 97

That question was blunt as h*ll.

But Yang Wenchao didn’t answer directly.

He just replied to Jiang Ye: 【I’m at your apartment room door. Got a minute to talk in person? @Jiang Ye】

At his apartment door?

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow and replied: 【Try knocking.】

Not long after he sent that message, he really did hear a knock on the door of Room 2025.

Inside Room 2025, Replica No. 3 and Replica No. 4 were standing guard.

Jiang Ye gave it a thought and swapped Replica No. 3 with Replica No. 1.

So Replica No. 3 headed over to the ruins of the Beginner Apartment where the White-Clad Woman had stayed, guarding the Main Body.

Sure enough, standing outside was Yang Wenchao.

Yang Wenchao was still in his usual black combat jacket, but the front of it had a massive tear, stained with filthy blood.

There was also a creepy, dark-tinged scar on his face—he looked a mess.

When he saw Jiang Ye, Yang Wenchao’s attitude was relatively polite and friendly. “Mind letting me in?”

Jiang Ye nodded quickly. “You’re already at the door, of course I’ll let you in.”

Saying that, he welcomed Yang Wenchao inside.

Right now, he had all his trump cards at the ready, so he wasn’t afraid of Yang Wenchao in the slightest.

He was even hoping for a chance to claim “self-defense” and settle the score with this guy.

It all depended on whether Yang Wenchao had the nerve to give him that chance.

While scheming inwardly, Jiang Ye still kept a concerned expression on his face.

“Bro Chao, what happened to you? Why are you all beat up? And what’s with that weird-looking wound?”

Yang Wenchao’s expression stiffened slightly. After entering the living room, he plopped down on the sofa.

He let out a long breath, pulled a bottle of water from his Spatial Item, and chugged it down.

Then, instead of answering, he suddenly asked:

“That Lucky Bracelet you gave me… you didn’t mess with it, did you?”

That question made Jiang Ye’s heart skip a beat.

But he didn’t show it at all and just responded with a look of surprise:

“How would I even mess with a Lucky Bracelet?”

“And even if I did, Detection should’ve picked up on it, right?”

His reaction really did throw Yang Wenchao off a bit.

Before he could say anything else, Jiang Ye asked:

“What, you wore the Lucky Bracelet and had bad luck instead?”

“Bad luck is putting it lightly!”

Yang Wenchao tossed the empty water bottle into the trash with a loud thunk and shot him a glare.

“I had f***ing catastrophic luck, like cursed-for-eight-lifetimes level!”

He pointed at the tear in his combat jacket. “I was this close to losing my f***ing life!”

“Huh? That serious…” Jiang Ye put on a shocked face and started analyzing out loud. “Could it really be that the Lucky Bracelet’s faulty?”

“But it worked fine when I used it… maybe you picked up some other dirty stuff that affected your luck?”

“Forget it, let’s not talk about that.” Yang Wenchao waved it off, clearly not wanting to dwell on it.

He scanned the living room for a moment, then asked Jiang Ye, “Where’s that Big Leg you’re clinging to?”

“Oh, that guy? Pfft, didn’t Huang Bo just wreak havoc in our apartment? The Blood Mist Guy got so spooked he was trembling when he spoke.”

“He left me with a ‘I’ll be back’ and then dipped.”

Speaking of which, Jiang Ye added with mock concern, “You wouldn’t suddenly attack me just because I lost my backer, would you, Bro Chao?”

That’s what he said out loud, but in his heart he was thinking:

Go ahead, take the first swing!

If you attack first, I can totally ignore our past ties and go full ‘self-defense’ mode!

But Yang Wenchao had no intention of making a move. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and said:

“You may have lost the Blood Mist Guy, but you still have that Bald Guy backing you up, don’t you?”

Jiang Ye shrugged helplessly. “Yeah, I guess…”

Yang Wenchao pressed, “You still in touch with Bald Guy? How’s he doing now?”

Jiang Ye gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “That’s just it—I’ve lost contact with Bald Guy. That’s why I’m on edge, worried you might suddenly attack me.”

As he said this, Yang Wenchao kept his gaze fixed on him, subtly studying every nuance of his tone and expression.

Jiang Ye picked up on that probing look right away and asked directly:

“What is it, Bro Chao? Something on your mind?”

Yang Wenchao pressed his lips together, then asked in a low voice, “Do you know Bald Guy’s real name yet?”

Jiang Ye shook his head and shot back, “Do you?”

—If you dare say yes, I’ll have to seriously consider whether our relationship is worth sparing your life.

But sure enough, Yang Wenchao really said it: “I’ve got a lead.” Thıs text ıs hosted at novel{f}ire.net

At that, a shadow crossed Jiang Ye’s mind, but he kept a straight face and asked, “What kind of lead?”

Yang Wenchao tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the sofa.

He looked like he was mulling something over.

“I suspect the two Cross-Apartment powerhouses that showed up in our building later—”

“Qu Xing and Huang Bo.”

“One of them might actually be that Mysterious Bald Guy!”

Jiang Ye was stunned.

Seeing his expression, Yang Wenchao also paused in surprise and muttered, “Did I guess wrong?”

Well d*mn! That’s when Jiang Ye realized—

This Yang Wenchao is trying to bait him again!

Just like when they went to the High-End Mall with Bald Guy—he’d used wild guesses to test Bald Guy’s identity.

But what had Jiang Ye speechless was:

“How the h*ll did you come up with that? Bald Guy should be one of our classmates, and none of our classmates are named Qu Xing or Huang Bo!”

Yang Wenchao nodded and explained his reasoning:

“Names can be changed easily.”

“And we’ve never seen what Qu Xing or Huang Bo actually look like, right?”

“I just find it weird. There’s nothing special about our apartment, so why did Cross-Apartment bigshots start showing up one after another?”

“That’s why I suspect either Qu Xing or Huang Bo is actually that Bald Guy from before, just with a new identity.”

“I really was trying to test you earlier—”

“If one of them really is that Mysterious Bald Guy who used to live in our apartment…”

“Then it makes perfect sense why they’d come back.”

“And I suspect—you may have already met them.”

At that point, Yang Wenchao paused on purpose, then looked at Jiang Ye and said meaningfully:

“If you weren’t standing beside him at some point, why would you ask in the chat group about what happens if someone is ‘just standing together’?”

Jiang Ye had no clue what Yang Wenchao was thinking, so he didn’t know how to respond.

But Yang Wenchao suddenly leaned back into the sofa, looking all laid-back, and started talking at ease:

“If I’m not mistaken—”

“You’ve had close contact with Huang Bo.”

“The first time was when Huang Bo first showed up in our apartment.”

“Back then, your Blood Mist Guy didn’t react to him at all.”

“The second time was after Huang Bo was put on the Kill-on-Sight Order. He came crashing into our apartment, and you two had contact again.”

“And that time, your Blood Mist Guy did react.”

“The Blood Mist Guy ran away, and that made you start to question things—”

“Why is it that when a Light-type Ability user stands next to a Dark-type being, there was no fear the first time, but there was the second time?”

“That’s why you asked me that in the group chat.”

“And now, I can give you the answer—”

“When a Light-type Ability user stands next to a Dark-type being, the Dark-type will definitely sense it and feel fear.”

“The reason your Blood Mist Guy didn’t react the first time you came into contact with Huang Bo…”

“Is because at that time, Huang Bo wasn’t a Light-type yet!”

“If I’m right, Huang Bo must have a Dual Ability!”

“And Light-type is his second ability, which only awakened later!”

“Maybe he thought that with a second ability, he’d soar to the top.”

“But he never imagined that the second one would be the extremely rare Light-type.”

“And it’s precisely that Light-type second ability that led him down a path to certain death.”

As Yang Wenchao said all this, he sounded so confident, like he’d already uncovered the ultimate truth.

Jiang Ye, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded.

He really didn’t expect this guy’s imagination to run this wild.

All he did was ask a question in the chat group…

And this dude came up with all that?

Still, the question he asked in the chat did get answered—

So, it really was abnormal that Replica No. 5 and Replica No. 6 stood together without triggering fear.

Could that be a characteristic of Replicas?

Even if his Replicas had Dark-type attributes, they might not be affected by the Light-type ability of No. 6?

Jiang Ye pondered in silence.

Seeing him not respond for a while, Yang Wenchao became even more convinced he was right.

He continued analyzing in a serious tone:

“Looking at it this way, even if Huang Bo isn’t Bald Guy from before, he must have some connection to you.”

“A friend? A relative? Or something else?”

“Jiang Ye, the reason I came to talk to you in person today is because I want you to think clearly about one thing—”

“Huang Bo, who’s now under a Kill-on-Sight Order, is definitely doomed.”

“So if he’s definitely going to die, then the question is—who would benefit the most from being the one to kill him?”

So that’s why Yang Wenchao came knocking—he was trying to convince Jiang Ye to kill Huang Bo.

No wonder he insisted on showing up in person.

Chances are, he had his eye on the Kill-on-Sight Reward.

Not that Jiang Ye could blame him.

With such luxurious rewards, any normal person would be tempted.

Jiang Ye felt a mix of emotions—some introspection, some contemplation.

Yang Wenchao, to be or not to be, that is the question.

And it was one he hadn’t yet answered.

Then Yang Wenchao, like he had a death wish, suddenly asked:

“Have you been to the Duel Room lately?”

“There’s someone named Jiang Ye on our War God Ranking.”

“Ranked 96th—what a coincidence, huh?”

That line sounded half like a casual remark, half like a probe.

Jiang Ye didn’t even react yet.

Yang Wenchao just laughed to himself, “Probably just someone with the same name. Yours isn’t exactly rare.”

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, sat down on the sofa, and said in a deep voice:

“What are your thoughts on killing Huang Bo?”

Yang Wenchao’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of darkness flashing within.

He scooted closer and was just about to speak when Jiang Ye suddenly interrupted:

“You’re probably a Dark-type being too, right?”

That line made Yang Wenchao freeze.

But he quickly recovered and responded with a low voice:

“It’s exactly because I’m Dark-type that I can help you strategize about killing Huang Bo—but I can’t take the kill myself.”

“After all, facing a terrifying Light-type Ability like that, I don’t even have the guts to confront him directly.”

“That’s why I truly want to help you.”

“Truly?” Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.

Yang Wenchao smiled calmly, with a deeper meaning in his tone: “So you’re not stupid after all.”

“You call me ‘Bro Chao’ all nice and friendly, but what you’re actually thinking? Only you know.”

That slightly mocking remark made Jiang Ye mentally reply: Thinking about killing you :)

Yang Wenchao, oblivious to Jiang Ye’s inner thoughts, continued analyzing:

“From your perspective, it’s natural to think I’m trying to use you to steal the kill on Huang Bo.”

“But having that thought means you’re underestimating how deeply Dark-types fear Light-type abilities.”

“Yes, the Kill-on-Sight reward is super tempting.”

“But that temptation isn’t enough to overcome the fear.”

“So yes, I sincerely want to help you.”

“But yeah, I’ve got selfish motives too.”

“I’m thinking, if you really do manage to kill Huang Bo…”

“Then having you as my backer would be just as good as having Bald Guy and the Blood Mist Guy on my side.”

That line left Jiang Ye momentarily stunned.

He didn’t expect Yang Wenchao to actually be seeking him as a backer.

And since things had reached that point—

With Yang Wenchao plainly saying “you’re not dumb,” Jiang Ye decided to speak plainly too:

“To be honest, there’s not much sentiment between us.”

“Back when I was stealing that package on the stairwell, you let me go.”

“But that ‘mercy’—by your own words—was just you paying me back.”

“And that time on the rooftop when I was saved, don’t think I don’t know—the one who actually saved me was Bald Guy.”

“You were just tagging along. If anything, you dragged Bald Guy down a bit.”

“So really, there’s not much between us.”

“Why should I believe you’d willingly want me as your backer?”

That statement laid everything bare.

Classmate bonds, a favor for not killing, a life-saving rescue—all clearly sorted out.

For a moment, the air between the two was eerily still.

Replica No. 2, assigned to fight in the Duels, had just secured his 30-win streak.

With his strength, that kind of streak was practically a walk in the park.

Though this time, he had lost contact with the Main Body midway.

A single Replica couldn’t perform Replica Fusion on its own.

Luckily, the Fusion had already been completed beforehand.

So although there were some bumps, it wasn’t a big issue.

Replica No. 2 paused for a bit, waited until the Main Body returned, then resumed fighting.

Hitting the 30-win streak went smoothly.

What he didn’t expect was—

His 30th opponent turned out to be an old acquaintance—Wu Ying!

And Wu Ying even deliberately took on his appearance and walked straight into the Duel Arena.

The moment he saw him, he grinned and said:

“Well? Surprised? Shocked?”

“It’s me again, back to feed you another win.”