This...

Honestly, it's very strange!

Within pure darkness, there was actually hidden light difficult to detect with the naked eye!

And the reliefs containing this light could actually give rise to dark-type energy that amplifies Glyph Pattern abilities!

This... what does it mean?

Jiang Ye didn't ponder it in detail.

As the burning pain in his eyes disappeared, the sense of light hidden within the darkness also vanished.

He stepped back, moving his eyes away, and when he reached out to touch the two pure black "little fish" again, no more "Black Ash" would stick to his fingers.

It seemed that all the dark energy on these two "little fish" had been absorbed by his eyes!

Did this mean that even without a Glyph Pattern ability and not being a dark-type creature, one could still absorb dark-type energy?

Of course, it might also be related to those two vanished mechanical eyeballs?

After some slight contemplation, Jiang Ye flew back down from the high altitude to the ground.

He keenly noticed that the gazes of this batch of new and veteran players present looking at him were clearly somewhat abnormal.

Those few pure newbie players hastily averted their eyes, clearly not daring to meet his gaze.

Li Ku, He Yuliang, and Du Yuheng—these three could barely maintain eye contact, their expressions revealing unconcealable shock.

And within that shock, there was even a faint sense of fear.

Such a change in their gazes...

Jiang Ye vaguely realized something. He raised his hand to touch the corner of his eye, then raised an eyebrow at the few of them and asked, "My eyes... have they changed somehow?"

The three were still clearly stunned. He Yuliang was the first to snap out of it. He looked away, swallowing hard, and said,

"Your eyes, on the outside, don't look any different. Maybe the pupils are just a bit blacker than before."

"But I don't know why, when I look at them, I feel an inexplicable, uncontrollable sense of fear..."

Du Yuheng chimed in, "Me too."

Li Ku also nodded, but what he cared more about was: "You used your eyes to absorb dark energy?!"

If one could really absorb dark energy just using their eyes...

Then the dark energy overflowing after the entire auditorium reliefs blackened probably couldn't be monopolized by Li Ku alone as he had envisioned.

It was very likely Jiang Ye would take the lion's share, or even monopolize it entirely!

This made Li Ku feel somewhat uneasy inside.

Jiang Ye could naturally guess what he was thinking.

He didn't answer. Instead, following the information from He Yuliang's previous life, he confirmed with Li Ku:

"The number of players in our school, does it remain stable at a specific figure long-term? When a certain number of veteran players go offline, will that many new players be added?"

Li Ku pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Pretty much."

Jiang Ye then speculated, "So based on He Yuliang's previous life, perhaps we can conclude—"

"When a large number of veteran players go offline, and the number of new players isn't enough to make up the difference, the school will admit robots like Zhou Qun."

Li Ku thought about it and nodded again. "That should be the case."

After all, according to He Yuliang's description, after the auditorium incident, with the background of many veteran players dying, the school then admitted a large batch of robots impersonating normal living players.

Jiang Ye continued his speculation: "If I'm not mistaken, in He Yuliang's previous life, you went to Exile City for a month and then returned to the school, directly slaughtering the living players in the school..."

"Perhaps the goal was to turn all the players in the school into those robots disguised as normal players!"

At this point, there was no need to continue.

Li Ku instantly also realized that a school with an all-robot student body should play a significant role in the production of 【Blood Skin Coats】.

Although he didn't know how he managed it.

But those robots were likely indeed utilized by him!

Li Ku was still pondering his dream-building journey in He Yuliang's previous life.

Jiang Ye didn't give him much time to think before directly proposing an idea that could be called insane:

"What if I want to introduce a large number of robots in advance..."

"Or even, directly have all the living players in the entire school replaced by disguised robots..."

"Then, do you have any good methods to make all living players 'go offline' in a short time?"

These words shocked not just Li Ku, but all the players present!

Make all living players "go offline" in a short time...

This... this this??!

This is too insane!

Even He Yuliang, who had experienced the previous life, couldn't help but widen his eyes in disbelief as he looked at Jiang Ye.

In contrast, Li Ku, the ambitious schemer, quickly accepted this crazy idea.

After a moment of silence, he actually answered seriously:

"Speaking of players 'going offline' from this school dungeon, the simplest way is—kill."

"And to make everyone 'go offline,' that would be a terrifying massacre."

"To complete a thorough massacre in a short time, the difficulty is probably not small."

Jiang Ye naturally knew this, which was why he asked Li Ku.

Li Ku also thought of this and soon proposed a new plan:

"Besides death, these players certainly have other ways to 'go offline.'"

"For example, the most direct is to leave the school."

"There are quite a few ways to leave the school. For instance, obtaining a 「Pardon」 naturally allows one to leave this school, even leave the entire Land of Exile."

"Or, for example, find a way to change the Authority Level, from 「Youth」 to another status."

"Or like He Yuliang's previous life, obtain a spot for Exile City and go directly there, which also counts as 'going offline' from this school."

"Also, perhaps one could exchange for a chance to leave the school from the 'Boss.'"

These new plans weren't necessarily easier than a thorough massacre.

After all, the most difficult aspect of Jiang Ye's insane idea was the player count.

If it were just making one or two players go offline, or a few dozen, achieving it naturally wouldn't be hard.

But insisting on making all living players go offline—such a massive number of players going offline naturally made the difficulty skyrocket.

Li Ku thought about it and still considerately suggested, "For a short time, we could actually just introduce some robots."

"Perhaps we could do as I did in He Yuliang's previous life—"

"First establish a foothold in Exile City, then use the power and influence from Exile City as an entry point to find a way to achieve an all-robot school."

"However, in He Yuliang's previous life, the reason I achieved this step in just one month was probably inseparable from the pure black version of the body."

"Now, without pure black bodies, wanting to establish a foothold in Exile City again probably can't be achieved in just a month..."

Between the lines, he was still hinting to Jiang Ye to at least follow the path of Du Yuheng's dream.

However, Jiang Ye looked at the densely packed relief Fish School and suddenly had another idea:

"One robot can provide two mechanical eyeballs..."

"Then do you think it's possible... that the number of players in our school is exactly half the number of little fish in the Fish School?"

This question was essentially meaningless.

But Li Ku instantly realized, "You couldn't possibly be thinking..."

Jiang Ye nodded. "Yes."

He wanted all the "little fish" to each absorb one mechanical eyeball!

Because he thought perhaps only the little fish that turned black after absorbing a mechanical eyeball could have their dark energy absorbed by the eyes.

Li Ku looked thoughtful, feeling somewhat disappointed inside.

Because according to Jiang Ye's idea, the opportunity in this auditorium probably couldn't be obtained today at least.

All his effort to block the veteran players from entering the auditorium was purely unnecessary...

Just as he was thinking this, a loud, angry shout suddenly came from outside the Grand Auditorium: "Li Scarface! Get your ass out here!"

Li Ku frowned, instinctively touching a scar on his brow bone.

The unfamiliar, completely different touch startled him.

Oh right, the scars on his face had all turned into black cracks like abysses.

After a moment of silence, Li Ku said to Jiang Ye, "Since you have other plans, I don't need to block the veteran players anymore?"

Jiang Ye nodded, then hesitated, "They won't cause trouble, will they?"

Li Ku left with a "They won't" and flashed out.

The two doors of the auditorium, front and back, opened one after another.

From the front door, a youth who looked even younger than He Yuliang flashed in.

Calling him a "youth" was already a bit of a stretch.

The boy was at most a little over ten years old, even with a bit of baby fat on his cheeks, paired with pure black, innocent eyes, looking like a cute, naive little boy.

This image immediately made Jiang Ye think of that Evil Infant Wulie!

At the same time, he almost instantly confirmed in his heart—

This boy-like "youth" was probably like the Evil Infant, having made himself younger and younger by eating people.

His real age was probably not that of the boy he appeared to be.

And this thought suddenly made Jiang Ye realize...

Perhaps the change of "status" within the Authority Level could be achieved through "eating people"?

For example, eating people to change oneself from an "Adult" into a "child"?

This tender youth was probably the closest existence to a "child" within the "Youth" status, right?

Just as he was thinking this, Du Yuheng lowered his voice and introduced to him, "This is the Student Council President Lin Dong. He should be about to 'graduate' from the school."

Du Yuheng said "should," but presumably in his Reincarnation dream, Lin Dong did indeed "graduate" from this school.

As for where he went after "graduating"? Possibly kindergarten?

Jiang Ye's gaze subtly sized up this President Lin.

And Lin Dong had naturally heard Du Yuheng's words. He secretly assessed this newcomer, a trace of wariness flashing in his eyes.

Because newcomers might be mixed with Superior People traveling incognito, Lin Dong, as president, almost never personally received newcomers.

And he always kept a respectful distance from them.

To avoid accidentally provoking a terrifying existence that couldn't be offended, like Song Jie back then.

Honestly, Song Jie back then couldn't even be considered "provoking";it was more like being "framed" by a Superior Person.

With that Precedent, most veteran players naturally wouldn't casually provoke newcomers either.

Even the task of receiving newcomers was basically considered a high-risk project.

Although the probability of triggering danger was low, once triggered, it meant utter disaster.

Li Ku's earlier ability to have people block veteran players outside the auditorium also exploited the veteran players' fear of casually provoking newcomers.

However, now...

As his eyes shifted, Lin Dong showed Du Yuheng a kind, friendly smile. His tender child's voice carried a kind of innocent, artless naivety:

"You, a newcomer, actually know me?"

This voice was completely different from the one that just shouted angrily, telling Li Ku to "get out." Clearly, they were from two different people.

In his Reincarnation dream, Du Yuheng had long since figured out how to deal with veteran players. He smiled back and said,

"Naturally because I'm not an ordinary newcomer~"

His tone was quite relaxed.

He didn't seem afraid of this "President" at all.

Lin Dong's eyes shifted again. He was clearly pondering whether Du Yuheng was truly a Superior Person or just bluffing by exploiting the veteran players' psychology.

However, because of the terror of those Superior People, he simply couldn't afford to gamble.

Moreover...

Among this batch of newcomers, it wasn't just Du Yuheng who was odd.

There was also Jiang Ye.

The attitude Du Yuheng had just shown when actively introducing Lin Dong to Jiang Ye clearly carried a sense of trying to please.

And when Lin Dong's gaze fell on Jiang Ye, he couldn't help but shudder.

Because just looking into those pitch-black, night-like eyes, he felt an inexplicable sense of fear, making him almost instinctively want to look away, not daring to meet that gaze!

This...

Such a phenomenon, Lin Dong had never experienced before!

Even that Superior Person who traveled incognito here before didn't have such terrifying eyes!

Such a pair of eyes inevitably made Lin Dong suspect...

Could what Li Ku said be true?

Could this newcomer really be an authority figure from a normal city?

Lin Dong and the other academy-faction seniors originally indeed didn't dare to barge into the Grand Auditorium because of Li Ku's obstruction.

But soon, they grew suspicious.

Because Lin Dong understood Li Ku.

That guy harbored "treasonous" ambitions in his heart!

With that kind of mentality, how could he possibly be acquainted with an authoritative Superior Person?

Precisely because of this suspicion, they defied Li Ku and barged into the auditorium early.

However, seeing it with their own eyes, they had to admit...

These one or two newcomers indeed had extraordinary qualities!

Lin Dong's nerves were taut. His entire attitude became even friendlier. He didn't dare voice the doubts in his heart, only managing to ask with concern:

"The one shouting outside just now is a troublemaker in the school, named Zhang E. I wonder if he disturbed you?"

Jiang Ye directly nodded. "Yes."

This was truly impolite. Lin Dong's face stiffened. He forced a smile and said, "I apologize on his behalf..."

As he spoke, he was considering whether to offer some compensation.

Jiang Ye directly asked again, "You look more tender than the other youth students. Is it because you've eaten more human meat?"

This question was quite direct.

Lin Dong was asked into a state of half-dazed, half-stiff shock.

But having reached the position of president, his psychological resilience was naturally strong. He soon smiled and said,

"Whether a player can become younger doesn't depend on the quantity of human meat consumed, but on the quality of the human meat."

"For example, for our batch of youths not exceeding 18 years old, the human meat quality is medium."

"Then we need to consume superior human meat from sources not exceeding 10 years old long-term to possibly become younger."

"Our school, which accepts youths, at most only provides medium human meat corresponding to youths."