Jiang Ye thought to himself: What can I say? I, of course, love peace!

The key is he doesn't understand anything!

Actually, he really wanted to figure out how wearing the [mimic mask] allowed him to sense a clone.

At the same time, he was also very interested in the [Madman Mask] in Li Hongbin's hand.

So, he sent a message to Li Ku: [Do you know about the Madman Mask?]

Li Ku was also a newcomer, so naturally, he didn't know either.

However, he saw Li Hongbin holding a mask, clutching it nervously.

So he replied to Jiang Ye: [Is it the mask in that Li Hongbin's hand?]

Jiang Ye: [Yes, it would be great if we could borrow it to play with.]

[Or, can you ask them to borrow some mimic masks to play with?]

After typing this, Jiang Ye realized something else: [You seem to know this administrator is Jiang Ye in disguise? So, you know I have a mimic mask that looks like an administrator?]

Li Ku: [Yes, and this mimic mask was something I had to pay my Prison watch to trade with the administrator for.]

Considering Guiwen had amnesia, Li Ku added another line: [The Prison watch is a very important item for me.]

Hearing this, Jiang Ye instantly understood his meaning—

Guiwen had paid a significant price to trade for the mimic mask from the administrator...

So, perhaps Guiwen knew that wearing the mask would make the administrator become his clone?

Then... did the administrator himself know?

How should this administrator, who didn't share consciousness, be understood?

While Jiang Ye was pondering this, Li Ku had already followed his suggestion and agreed to Guan Ce's "talk properly."

He simply lifted his chin, his gaze locking onto the mask in Li Hongbin's hand, and said with an ambiguous tone:

"That thing, is it the Madman Mask?"

Li Ku's eyes were a pair of scars, so you couldn't really see any "expression" in them.

But with just that scarred face and a light, airy tone, he still carried an indescribable aura of intimidation.

Li Hongbin felt his whole body tense up under that stare, his voice slightly stiff as he tried to explain: "I don't have any other meaning..."

However, Li Ku didn't listen to his explanation at all, directly asking: "Can you lend it to me to wear?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the three people on Li Hongbin's side turned slightly ugly.

On the other hand, Guan Ce, the one with the Guan Gong tattoo, suddenly had a flash in his eyes. As if he had thought of something, he proactively explained:

"The Madman Mask is different from the mimic mask. It's a one-time-use item. After use, it grants 3 minutes of immunity to the Erasure Effect from Permission Players."

"Such an item is obviously not suitable for trying on."

Hearing this, Li Ku was inwardly shocked, becoming extremely interested in this item.

What did Moon People players fear most? Wasn't it the Erasure from Sun People players?

If Moon People players could obtain the [Madman Mask]...

Even if one mask only lasted 3 minutes, it would be enough for a Moon People player to turn the tables!

Such a good item...

It was practically tailor-made for Moon People players!

Li Ku, who had always understood this world as an "Instance World," inexplicably felt that the most valuable item in this instance might just be this [Madman Mask]!

If there were enough of them, and they could even be mass-produced...

If they could give every Moon People player ten masks each...

Then who would dare say his dream of annihilating the Sun People players was just a delusion?!

Thinking this, Li Ku got completely excited!

He was just pondering in his heart how to subtly inquire about information regarding the [Madman Mask].

He didn't expect Guan Ce across from him to directly lay all his cards on the table:

"Li Ku, who suddenly appeared in Apartment 4869 and even dared to charge directly into the mist..."

"If I'm not mistaken, you should—not only know nothing about the [Madman Mask], but also be completely ignorant of everything about the Doomsday Apartment?"

Hearing this, Li Ku simply stopped pretending. He asked directly:

"How many of these Madman Masks do you have? Can they be mass-produced?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Hongbin's mouth twitched, and Guan Ce's expression also became somewhat complicated.

However, having confirmed that Li Ku truly knew nothing about the Doomsday Apartment, it wasn't too outrageous for him to ask such a question.

Guan Ce quickly clarified: "[Mimic masks] are actually quite easy to mass-produce. However, [Madman Masks] can only be obtained by achieving a hundred consecutive victories in the Player Battle Room..."

After saying this, as if he thought of something, he suddenly had a flash in his eyes and changed his tune:

"Oh, right, perhaps there's another way—"

"If you can clear the Novice Apartment and reach the real Doomsday Apartment..."

"Then you might have a chance to get an opportunity to go to [Mask Master's Shop] from more veteran players."

"However, it's said that after the major reshuffle on the Ninth Day, the Mask Master also disappeared."

"Perhaps even the current veteran players have completely lost the method to go to [Mask Master's Shop]."

What Guan Ce said was actually a very slim hope.

But Li Ku was precisely the kind of dream-chaser who was exceptionally firm in his dreams.

He almost didn't hesitate at all before confirming: "Mask Master's Shop, how many Madman Masks could be inside?"

"This..." Guan Ce hesitated, "I can't say for sure, after all, I've never been there."

"However, since it's the Mask Master, then he should be able to mass-produce Madman Masks."

With just this one sentence, Li Ku felt the blood in his entire body heat up!

And Jiang Ye's blood was also somewhat heated.

But not because of the Madman Mask.

It was because of Guan Ce's statement that "[Mimic masks] are actually quite easy to mass-produce"...

What Jiang Ye fantasized about was—

If it was really true that wearing whose mask allowed you to sense that person as a clone...

Then, if he manufactured mimic masks all over the world, wouldn't he have clones everywhere?

Even if they couldn't share consciousness, they would still be clones!

This [mimic mask] was truly a good thing!

Seeing Li Ku had laid his cards on the table, Jiang Ye simply stopped pretending too.

He also directly asked Guan Ce: "Mimic masks can be mass-produced? How are they produced?"

Uh...

Guan Ce was suddenly stunned.

Huh? This Jiang Ye, if he really was the Jiang Ye from the Eighth Day, how could he possibly not know about mimic masks??

So... he really was just someone with the same name?

But even with the same name, this Jiang Ye was clearly not simple!

Mulling over various thoughts in his heart, Guan Ce still answered Jiang Ye's question:

"Very simple. Apply Skin Sand to a player's face, let it set a little, and you have a brand new [mimic mask]."

"And the Skin Sand item is very common in the secret realms of the Doomsday Apartment. It's like dirt on the ground, a completely common, worthless item."

Hearing this, Jiang Ye's eyes lit up: "Then you all should have Skin Sand on you, right?"

As soon as he said it, he received a private message from Li Ku: [When Administrator 4444 gave you the mimic mask, he also gave you a portion of Skin Sand. Look for it in your inventory.]

Jiang Ye searched his inventory and, sure enough, there it was!

And it was placed near where he had taken out the mimic mask.

So, Guiwen definitely knew the secret of the mimic mask!

Guan Ce across from him shook his head at this moment: "Skin Sand is very common in the Doomsday Apartment, but the Novice Apartment doesn't have much of this stuff."

"So, we don't have any Skin Sand on us. However, Administrator 4444 should have a lot."

Administrator 4444...

Jiang Ye thought, if he could use [clone kills clone] to share consciousness with Administrator 4444...

Then, naturally, all of Administrator 4444's Skin Sand would be his.

But the problem was...

How could a Combat Power 5 Trash like him have the strength to kill an administrator?!

He wondered...

If this administrator clone killed him, his clone, would that work?

It probably wouldn't.

If it really worked for the administrator to kill him, then wouldn't the prompt for [clone kills clone] sound in the administrator's mind?

So this shortcut probably wouldn't work.

However, Jiang Ye thought again—

If he could get Li Ku's mimic mask, then perform Clone Fusion on Li Ku, and use Li Ku's power...

He directly asked Li Ku: [Are you confident you can take down Administrator 4444?]

Li Ku thought for 3 seconds: [I wasn't confident before. Now, with the Madman Mask, I have a thirty percent chance.]

Jiang Ye frowned: [Only 30%?]

Li Ku: [After all, the mask only lasts 3 minutes, and I don't know the administrator's full hand of cards.]

[Especially his Hidden Hand, which is very similar to Li Si's Glyph Pattern Ability.]

[This administrator probably has a backer similar to Li Si.]

Jiang Ye didn't know what the Hidden Hand was, nor who Li Si was, but he didn't ask. He chose to trust Li Ku's judgment.

He then directly asked Guan Ce again: "I saw players in the 4444 Apartment group chat discussing that on the Eighth Day of the apartment, that Jiang Ye with the same name as me once killed an administrator?"

"Does anyone know how he killed the administrator?"

Strictly speaking, the Jiang Ye of the Eighth Day had only used the "Jiang Ye" identity to kill the Administrator of Apartment 9999.

The other administrators were killed using the mutated clone.

However, the entire Novice Apartment of the Eighth Day was destroyed.

Many of the people involved were also wiped out.

So the true situation of the Eighth Day, passed down by word of mouth among Ninth Day players, had long become distorted rumors.

That's why the story spread that Jiang Ye had killed Administrator 4444.

If Jiang Ye had his memories, he would naturally see that this was purely gossipers accidentally speaking the truth while spreading rumors...

Unfortunately, Jiang Ye had no memory, so he truly believed those rumors.

Hearing his tone, Guan Ce became even more certain he wasn't *that* Jiang Ye.

But at this moment, Li Ku was by his side, and they also had the administrator substitute work badge.

Guan Ce naturally continued to explain: "The situation of the Eighth Day has long become an unresearchable history due to the Abyssal Cataclysm."

"How a newcomer like Jiang Ye took down Administrator 4444 is naturally impossible to verify."

"However, among the veteran players, there is a commonly accepted speculation..."

Jiang Ye waited for him to say that speculation.

Li Ku actually wanted to continue learning about the Madman Mask.

However, Jiang Ye was asking here, so he couldn't interrupt.

So he listened while pondering how to go to Mask Master's Shop to plunder Madman Masks...

Guan Ce paused slightly to build suspense before saying with a profound and meaningful tone:

"And that speculation is related to the Taboo."

"The Taboo?" Jiang Ye pressed, "What is the Taboo?"

Guan Ce became even more meaningful: "The Taboo is something that cannot even be spoken of!"

"It is an existence that was completely eradicated on the Eighth Day of the Doomsday Apartment."

"At the same time, it is also an existence that became a Taboo on the Ninth Day of the Doomsday Apartment..."

"If a player tries to say that word... the next second, they will be Erased!"

"I heard from Li Hongbin that you used your proxy administrator privileges to Erase his bodyguard."

"Then you can carefully recall, what is the state of a player when they are Erased?"

What is it?

Isn't it just... light?

Jiang Ye was just about to say this word.

Suddenly meeting Guan Ce's meaningful gaze, he shuddered all over.

Taboo...

This word, you can't even say it out loud?

Say it, and you'll be Erased?!

How is this instance world so dangerous, so perverse?!

Jiang Ye silently complained in his heart for a moment, then continued asking: "But players could easily accidentally touch upon this Taboo word in daily conversation, right?"

"Would they also be Erased if they accidentally said the word?"

Guan Ce shook his head: "Of course not."

"When players use that word in normal conversation, they won't be Erased."

"Only when a player attempts to 'express this concept' will they be Erased."

"That is, it's not just that one word. If you try to express it through other descriptions... you will also be Erased!"

"For example..." Guan Ce started to say, then suddenly shook his head, "I won't give an example. It's too dangerous."

Jiang Ye understood.

However, the encrypted conversation between the two left Li Ku utterly confused: "So... what exactly is the Taboo? Is it Erasure?"

Jiang Ye wanted to explain it to him, but thinking of Guan Ce's reminder, he gave up.

He comforted Li Ku: "According to Guan Ce, players who don't know about that Taboo are actually safer."

"Players who know about it are more likely to accidentally mention it and get Erased."

Li Ku still felt an itch in his heart. What on earth was it?

Why did this Jiang Ye understand as soon as he heard it, but he couldn't grasp it?

Could it be a special kind of privilege?

All Li Ku could think of was privileges.

A privilege that could Erase administrators?

But it probably wasn't the word "privileges," because players wouldn't be Erased for saying "privileges."

While Li Ku was still stuck thinking about it, Jiang Ye, following the information he had grasped, silently summarized in his heart—

The Jiang Ye of the Eighth Day probably used a Light faction talent to kill Administrator 4444.

Why could he guess Light faction talent? Because Ji Zixuan had a Dark faction talent.

And according to Guan Ce—

That Abyssal Cataclysm on the Eighth Day destroyed the final Novice Apartment session, destroyed a large number of Permission Players.

And also, destroyed the Light faction talent.

So the world of the Ninth Day has no Light faction talent.

It seemed Jiang Ye's plan to imitate the Eighth Day Jiang Ye's method to kill Administrator 4444 wouldn't work...

However, Guiwen probably had the confidence to take down Administrator 4444.

As long as he could rescue the out-of-control Guiwen...

Jiang Ye also wouldn't remain in an amnesiac state.

Thinking this, Jiang Ye unconsciously looked up at the sky.

The continuous infant crying and laughter still came from the air.

However, the eerie sound made it impossible to tell how far or near it was.

Following his gaze and expression, Li Ku couldn't help but guess—

Could this infant crying and laughter be a kind of Taboo?

Or...

Could "moon infant" itself be a Taboo?

Jiang Ye is the moon infant, so that's why the Eighth Day him could kill administrators?

But Li Ku had just said "moon infant" and wasn't Erased.

Forget it, if he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it.

Li Ku didn't have a motive that required him to kill an administrator.

Just as he was preparing to ask Guan Ce again about the Madman Mask...

Guan Ce spoke up first: "We agreed to talk properly—you've asked me so many questions, and I've answered them all truthfully."

"So now, shouldn't it be my turn to ask you some questions?"