The chaotic memory scenes were filled with blood and screams.

Clearly, the massive serpent body was indeed harvesting human lives.

It seemed to be venting its own hatred, taking revenge for the painful times it was imprisoned in the wine jar.

While sensing these chaotic scenes, numerous thoughts flashed through Jiang Ye's mind.

Two of them were particularly prominent.

The first was that he thought of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

Inside the alchemy furnace, he developed fiery golden eyes.

It was also like the Black Snake, becoming stronger inside the wine jar.

Exactly as the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

The other thought was...

Brother Monkey truly lives up to his name, pure and kind-hearted.

After being released from five hundred years of suppression, Brother Monkey chose to cheer.

While the Black Snake, trapped for who knows how long, chose fury.

Jiang Ye's second thought was—

Those people strangled to death by the Black Snake with its scales...

Were clearly different from these Prison Players in the Land of Exile.

Whether due to time, location, or identity.

When those players were strangled by the Black Snake, blood-colored patterns did not appear on their corpses.

Instead, like normal humans, they gushed large amounts of blood.

The Black Snake's constantly churning vision was almost dyed red with blood.

This rampant killing spree was no less impressive than Jiang Ye's light clone back in the day.

But ultimately, the Black Snake's fate was not as fortunate as the light clone's.

After a frenzy of destruction, the Black Snake was "arrested" again!

When it was "arrested" before, the "thin threads" embedded in its body had never disappeared.

But years of soaking in wine seemed to make it stronger while also getting accustomed to that long-existing pain.

So accustomed that it itself forgot, it had completely become a BUG that was part of its physical body.

Until it went on a killing spree, thinking it had avenged itself as a victor...

That pain buried deep in its body surged back again.

The experienced Black Snake knew very well that with this kind of pain, the more it struggled, the more it hurt.

So from the start, it gave up struggling.

But the strange thing was...

The "thin threads" that had grown into part of its body seemed like another soul, manipulating its serpent body.

In extreme agony, the massive serpent body was manipulated like a marionette, slowly coiling around that giant tree.

Oh right, that giant tree was where the Black Snake had been buried for who knows how many years.

The wine jar that sealed it was buried under that very tree.

Later, the Black Snake tightly coiled around that tree.

Of course, it was more like being nailed to that tree by the "thin threads" inside its body.

And so, it seemed to experience another long, drawn-out era...

But this time, Jiang Ye didn't see the aftermath of that long era.

When he returned from the lengthy memories, his whole being was still filled with a sense of disorientation.

As if, besides those intense emotions that felt like personal experiences, he had truly lived through such a long era in such a short time...

This feeling was much stranger than stealing extremely brief memory fragments before.

So much so that when Jiang Ye regained his senses, he couldn't help but ponder—

What exactly caused this memory theft to be so different?

Was it because he changed the contact point with the skill target to the center of his forehead?

Like in some cultivation novels, those jade slips that record cultivation techniques are supposed to be pressed against the forehead?

Or perhaps, because Xiao Hei had no defenses against him, so the theft went smoothly?

Or even, because Xiao Hei was a "clone," so these memories that could originally be directly shared, he could steal more efficiently?

Jiang Ye still had doubts about Xiao Hei's "clone" identity.

But now he couldn't help but suspect...

This version of Xiao Hei might be the little black snake that once grew on Xiao Bai's head, given Xiao Hei's consciousness.

Because in the memory scenes...

During the numb years when the little black snake coiled around the giant tree, there seemed to be other little black snakes that also coiled up there.

So there's a possibility—

All the little black snakes shared Xiao Hei's consciousness?

Actually, the fundamental reason Jiang Ye doubted Xiao Hei wasn't the changes on Xiao Hei himself.

But... it was too coincidental!

Just as he was here selling blood, he just happened to run into Xiao Hei?

But if all the little black snakes were "Xiao Hei," all responsible for managing players' blood selling affairs...

Then it wasn't a coincidence.

Thinking this way, Jiang Ye also completely pressed the black scale into the center of his forehead.

He originally intended to instantly steal memories, then use the scale to turn invisible.

But the memory theft took too long, and these four veterans with two newcomers had already come in and seen him.

Turning invisible now would be a pure case of "no silver buried here" (protesting too much).

So he acted as if nothing was wrong, his gaze surveying the six newcomers.

Of course, the first thing he did was recognize He Yuliang.

And from He Yuliang's eyes, he could see...

He didn't recognize him.

The other newcomer who had a bit of conflict with He Yuliang was a completely unfamiliar face.

After listening briefly, Jiang Ye knew their conflict was over "selling blood."

He Yuliang's blood, 100cc could sell for 600 minutes, which was 10 hours.

The other newcomer's blood, 100cc could only sell for 2 hours.

So that unfamiliar newcomer wanted to sell more of He Yuliang's blood, then when it was time to operate the sewing machine, use his own blood to pay back.

Logically, this idea wasn't flawed.

But such verbal agreements were easily betrayed.

And that unfamiliar newcomer was too stingy, giving He Yuliang too little benefit.

It was clear He Yuliang wasn't too willing to accept this deal.

After some argument, they handed the decision-making power to that fierce-looking youth who brought them here.

They called that fierce youth with tattoos around his eyes "Lord Leopard."

And Lord Leopard's attitude toward the two was clearly far worse than Song Jie's toward Jiang Ye.

He directly decided: "If you want me to mediate, then I'll just arrange it for you."

"For this blood selling session, you—" he pointed at He Yuliang, "sell 800cc of blood."

Then turned to the other youth: "Later during the two hours operating the sewing machine, his blood will be provided by you."

Once this decision was announced, both newcomers were dissatisfied.

He Yuliang's face turned pale: "800cc... will I even survive?"

He had heard that normal healthy adults donating blood shouldn't exceed 400cc at once.

And he wasn't even an adult!

Drawing 800cc of blood at once might cause him to go into shock on the spot, right?

He was unhappy, and the unfamiliar youth was also unhappy, muttering a question:

"Operating the sewing machine for 2 hours, how much blood is usually needed?"

Lord Leopard snorted at the two, explaining one by one:

"800CC of blood carries risks, but us Prison Players are generally more resilient than ordinary people, so you'll basically be fine."

"As for the blood needed for operating the sewing machine, that depends on your success rate in sewing Blood Skin Coats."

"In two hours, each person sewing two Blood Skin Coats counts as completing the task."

"If your sewing success rate is 100%, then the blood consumption for two coats is about 200cc."

"Meaning, with a 50% success rate, it would only consume 400cc of blood."

So...

He Yuliang quickly calculated in his mind—

The two of them, newcomers, sewing Blood Skin Coats on the sewing machine for the first time, probably wouldn't achieve 100% success rate.

So let's calculate with 50%.

Then for two people, it would also use exactly 800cc of blood.

Now he was selling 800cc of blood.

On the surface, it seemed fair.

But the problem was...

His blood was more valuable!

With this arrangement, he, with more valuable blood, gained no advantage at all!

Thinking this, He Yuliang immediately wanted to reject the plan Lord Leopard proposed.

Before he could speak, the unfamiliar youth shouted first: "What?"

"What if later, he intentionally fails at sewing, dropping the success rate below 50%, wouldn't I be at a huge loss?"

Lord Leopard gave him a cold look: "Whether it's him or you, if the Blood Skin Coat sewing success rate falls below 50%, the production time will exceed 2 hours, meaning you won't walk out of the sewing machine class alive."

Meaning, below 50% success rate equaled a death sentence!

So, He Yuliang naturally couldn't intentionally fail.

Hearing this, the unfamiliar youth was satisfied, but He Yuliang grew more dissatisfied.

But still before he could speak, Lord Leopard said to him:

"You don't need to feel wronged either."

"800cc from selling blood, and 800cc from operating the sewing machine, are not the same concept."

"You selling 800cc of blood here is just a momentary thing, at most dizziness and nausea, eat more meat and you'll recover quickly."

"800cc from operating the sewing machine means inserting special sewing threads into your body, continuously drawing blood for 2 hours!"

"In this mode, it's not just losing blood, it also harms the body."

"So in this transaction, his risk is actually higher than yours."

Hearing this, He Yuliang's dissatisfaction did lessen somewhat, but he still hesitated.

Including the unfamiliar youth, who now also started looking pale, hesitating.

Lord Leopard's gaze swept over the two, his eyes contemptuous.

But he didn't urge them, instead deliberately turning his gaze to Jiang Ye.

His look carried obvious deep meaning and implication.

The hesitating He Yuliang and the unfamiliar youth, following Lord Leopard's gaze, also looked at Jiang Ye.

Suddenly, the unfamiliar youth seemed to think of something, abruptly asking Jiang Ye: "Did you sell your blood? How much did you sell?"

With just that simple question, Jiang Ye instantly guessed what was going through this guy's mind.

If these two "cooperated," they both had to contribute 800cc of blood.

But if they pulled Jiang Ye into the partnership, the pressure on each person might be smaller.

Jiang Ye didn't answer immediately, instead asking curiously:

"You two... met before entering the 'school'? Or after enrollment?"

As soon as he said this, He Yuliang's expression changed dramatically: "You, you..."

Clearly, he recognized the familiar voice.

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow at him, meaningfully.

With just that look, He Yuliang swallowed his unspoken words.

He immediately answered: "I met him in the principal's office. I arrived first, he came later, then when we left the office together, we encountered these four veteran players."

Jiang Ye turned to ask Song Jie: "If newcomers complete 'enrollment' during the school's 'non-free time,' is it still 4 veteran players guiding newcomers?"

Song Jie had first accepted Jiang Ye's Exile Fruit, then witnessed Jiang Ye being called "Master" by a top senior, so naturally he didn't dare neglect now, directly explaining:

"Yes. As I mentioned before, Student Council members have privileges. These privileges allow us to welcome newcomers even during non-free time."

Jiang Ye followed up: "So, how does one join this Student Council?"

As soon as he asked, He Yuliang and the unfamiliar youth also looked over curiously.

That Lord Leopard snorted contemptuously.

Song Jie still patiently explained: "This requires relatively high contribution points."

"For example, the time handed over to the Boss daily is converted into contribution points;reaching a certain standard allows entry into the Student Council."

Song Jie didn't think Jiang Ye couldn't join the Student Council.

But from his conversation with Xiao Hei, he already knew Jiang Ye would go to Exile City, so naturally there was no need to join any Student Council.

Jiang Ye indeed had no intention of joining the Student Council, just asking further: "Is it always 4 Student Council members receiving newcomers? Is there any significance to this number?"

"These 4 are a fixed team;the four of us usually act together, and as a team, our combat power is quite decent."

Song Jie glanced meaningfully at Jiang Ye before continuing: "The reason a four-person team receives newcomers is to avoid situations where among the newcomers there are individual freaks who, just after enrollment, have the strength to directly confront veteran players..."

This meaningful statement clearly hinted at Jiang Ye.

But soon, Song Jie changed the topic:

"Lord Leopard's situation is special, which is why he's receiving 2 people at once."

After saying this, that Lord Leopard suddenly stared at Song Jie, looking him up and down.

Seemingly surprised by Song Jie's attitude toward Jiang Ye.

But he didn't directly ask Song Jie, instead suddenly saying to Jiang Ye: "Asked enough? You should hurry up and consider whether to 'cooperate' with the two newcomers I'm guiding?"

Jiang Ye thought about it.

He definitely wasn't willing to use his own blood for operating the sewing machine.

But Song Jie had said before that if he agreed to sell blood, he would help him during sewing machine operation.

And now, Jiang Ye should count as having sold blood, right?

Even though he only "sold" two drops...

Thinking, he asked Song Jie again: "You said before you'd find a way for me during sewing machine operation?"

Actually, in Song Jie's mind, Jiang Ye hadn't sold blood at all.

Mainly because Jiang Ye's two drops of blood wouldn't count toward Song Jie's "performance."

But Jiang Ye himself had already surpassed all "performance."

Song Jie naturally didn't hesitate: "Right, I keep my word. During sewing machine operation later, we won't use your blood."

Jiang Ye nodded, looking at Lord Leopard, which was his answer.

Lord Leopard clearly disliked Jiang Ye.

But after glancing at Song Jie again, he didn't say much, just vented his displeasure on the two newcomers he was guiding: 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Alright, stop wasting time, we'll do as I said!"

With his forceful declaration, the two newcomers naturally didn't dare object anymore.

So, He Yuliang sold 800cc of blood, receiving 80 hours.

He and the unfamiliar youth each got 40 hours.

He Yuliang, originally pale from excessive blood loss, seemed to recover somewhat after getting 40 hours.

Just as they completed the transaction and were about to leave this office named "Jiazi."

Jiang Ye noticed one of Lord Leopard's subordinates glance at his watch.

And soon after...

A deep, resonant bell toll suddenly rang over the entire "school."

Having previously recorded the bell tolls, Jiang Ye almost instantly looked at his own watch when the bell rang, deducing from the countdown timer that this bell toll occurred at exactly 13:00.