Having privileges really is great.

Recalling his previous experience of forcing his way into the underground burial ground with the [Entropy Reaper], Jiang Ye felt both nostalgic and a bit embarrassed.

Seeing Jiang Ye moving with such familiarity, Li Ku naturally followed along.

This underground burial ground of the 4444 Apartment looked pretty much the same as before.

The only difference might be...

Jiang Ye's gaze immediately went to the tombstone area of the burial ground.

Li Ku also looked in that direction.

There, several tombstones that should have been standing upright seemed to have been destroyed, with stone fragments scattered all over the ground!

"Is this... a grave robbery?"

As he spoke, he casually flashed over to the tombstone area to inspect the stone tablet remnants, completely unguarded.

Jiang Ye had a thought and also approached.

This time, there was no sensation at all, and he didn't hear any voices again.

So he had the opportunity to examine these seemingly destroyed tombstones more carefully.

"Not only are the tombstones destroyed, but the space beneath them also seems to have been excavated."

Black iron wires directly flew out from the scars on Li Ku's face, deftly flipping over the remaining stone debris of those tombstones.

Beneath the remaining stone debris, a blocked underground palace passage was clearly revealed.

The entrance gap didn't look very large, barely enough to accommodate one person, and even then, someone a bit chubbier might not fit.

However, the space below after passing through the entrance steps was somewhat unpredictable.

Li Ku instinctively wanted to use the black hair strands seeping from his scars to probe into the pitch-black space beneath the steps.

But before taking any action, he paused first and analyzed to Jiang Ye:

"This space belongs to that administrator, right? And obtaining the acting administrator privileges allows entry here?"

"If that's the case, then that administrator should have anticipated we'd discover this place..."

His meaning was quite clear—he suspected this underground palace space hidden beneath the broken tombstones might be a trap deliberately set by the administrator.

And even if it wasn't a trap...

Since this space belongs to the administrator, it has most likely already been explored by him, making it difficult to find anything good left.

Even if there were still good things, they'd probably be things even the administrator couldn't obtain...

Li Ku didn't know much about this "hidden world."

But he could vaguely sense that the administrator was probably not simple.

Not only was he not simple, he definitely had powerful backing behind him.

If such an existence couldn't take away benefits from the tombstone underground palace...

Then others, even if they entered, most likely couldn't take them either.

Actually, Li Ku's thinking wasn't wrong.

But Jiang Ye was thinking...

Li Ku had the [Reincarnation Key].

Yet the Reincarnation Graveyard didn't belong to him.

It was like someone holding a key but not knowing which door it opened.

Jiang Ye had a few suspicions...

Could this tombstone underground palace hide secrets leading to the Reincarnation Graveyard?

His original plan was simply to dig graves.

After all, previous experiences had confirmed that there seemed to be some kind of passage between the burial mounds of the underground burial ground and the Reincarnation Graveyard.

So, following similar principles...

Actually, the tombstone underground palace was equivalent to a higher-level grave compared to ordinary burial mounds.

Therefore...

If ordinary burial mounds could lead to the Reincarnation Graveyard.

Then this tombstone underground palace most likely could too.

However, Jiang Ye couldn't help but suspect...

Did that Administrator 4444 really not know that Li Ku possessed the [Reincarnation Key]?

If other administrators, like that 4869 who was instantly killed, couldn't recognize the Death State, that could be understood.

But Administrator 4444...

Even without the [Reincarnation Key]...

He could recognize the watch moving through the mist.

Even his [Time-Limited Instant Kill] had already failed on Li Ku...

In such circumstances, as Administrator 4444, could he really not recognize Li Ku's Death State?

Jiang Ye was highly skeptical!

So, assuming 4444 recognized the Death State, he naturally knew the [Reincarnation Key] was with Li Ku...

Jiang Ye didn't believe that, forget being Administrator 4444, even an ordinary player probably couldn't resist the temptation of the [Reincarnation Key], right?

Therefore, thinking this way...

Even if this tombstone underground palace truly contained secrets leading to the [Reincarnation Graveyard]...

This secret itself was probably a deliberately set trap!

Thinking this, Jiang Ye nodded along with Li Ku's words:

"Indeed, this is after all that administrator's territory. If we explore without permission, we probably won't gain much."

As he spoke, Jiang Ye turned and looked toward the burial mound area again.

He was pondering in his heart, while Li Ku, looking at the burial mound area, couldn't help but ask another question:

"Does this underground burial ground belong to Apartment 4869 or Apartment 4444?"

Jiang Ye answered: "Naturally, it belongs to Apartment 4444."

This answer was both within Li Ku's expectations and somewhat surprising to him.

He nodded slightly and voiced his own view:

"Indeed, from the numbers, '4444' sounds more related to 'death.'"

"But according to my speculation about the 'underworld'... this burial ground should exist more reasonably in the 4869 where we first appeared?"

"Our appearance in 4869... shouldn't be random, right?"

"Speaking of which, are there ten thousand apartments here, from 0000 to 9999?"

Jiang Ye nodded, and after some consideration, said to Li Ku: "I plan to go check another place. Will you stay here to explore this burial ground, or come with me?"

Li Ku glanced at the burial ground. He naturally maintained a strong desire to explore this place, which felt quite connected to his "underworld" speculation.

But he understood clearly—

This place now belonged to that Administrator 4444's territory.

Now was not the best time to explore here.

He vaguely sensed that this Guiwen seemed to have means to deal with that Administrator 4444.

So...

Li Ku quickly stated: "I'll go with you."

Thus, Jiang Ye took Li Ku away from the underground burial ground and rode the red-lit elevator to the 22nd floor.

Then he found room number 2218 in the corridor.

In the previous novice apartment that was reportedly destroyed by the anomalies of the Abyss Restricted Zone.

2218 of 4869 belonged to Guiwen's residence.

And on Day 9 of the Doomsday Apartment, during the new novice apartment period...

Theoretically, room 2218 of 4869 should accommodate new "residents."

But another possibility existed...

Reincarnation Ghosts.

Just like the White-Robed Woman, a Reincarnation Ghost, she could continue living in legally assigned housing of the newly born apartment from the destroyed novice apartment.

And the Eternal Witch Gui was essentially also a Reincarnation Ghost...

But Guiwen's situation was truly somewhat special.

Jiang Ye wasn't entirely sure, with Guiwen himself wandering outside and not making any preparations for the novice apartment's reincarnation cycle...

Whether he could be judged as a Reincarnation Ghost and continue legally possessing room 2218 of Apartment 4869.

Moreover, even if he legally possessed room 2218, they had just experienced an apartment fusion...

The current apartment changed from 4869 to 4444.

Room 2218 had obviously also undergone fusion.

So...

Jiang Ye gave Li Ku a meaningful look.

Li Ku then knocked on the door of room 2218 and skillfully called out: "Delivery!"

It felt like this phrase was the new era's equivalent of "checking the water meter."

However, this time, there was no response from inside the room; it seemed truly empty.

Jiang Ye didn't mind, taking out the acting administrator's iron badge and swiping it against the door with a "beep."

Result...

The door actually didn't open!

Jiang Ye was somewhat surprised and went to the neighboring room 2217 to "beep" it too.

Room 2217's door opened, and abnormal sounds came from inside.

So...

The acting administrator's work badge clearly worked on 2217 but couldn't open 2218's door!

Li Ku also instantly realized this problem and turned back to room 2218: "This room... has something special about it?"

Jiang Ye glanced at him: "Didn't you speculate that I'm a monster belonging to this hidden space?"

With this rhetorical question, Li Ku instantly guessed: "So this..."

Jiang Ye nodded: "This is my room."

Li Ku thought to himself: As expected of a senior among monsters! The room he lived in can't even be opened by an administrator's work badge!

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and said to Li Ku: "I'll go in alone. You're responsible for handling that Ji Zixuan outside."

As he spoke, Li Ku witnessed Ji Zixuan transform from a calm and composed senior demeanor one second to a completely bewildered expression the next.

Especially upon seeing him, Ji Zixuan was so shocked he froze stiff, looking like he wanted to run away any second.

From the gaps in Li Ku's scars, very short black hair strands faintly emerged.

Thus they looked just like body hair growing from him.

However, this poised and ready stance—Ji Zixuan naturally understood—he couldn't escape!

Li Ku didn't actually use the hair strands to tie him up.

He simply asked questions, continuing to gather information about this "hidden space."

He initially asked about prison watch-related questions.

Only to discover this newbie player knew nothing about prison watches.

But other apartment common knowledge, he basically knew.

What shocked Li Ku even more was what Ji Zixuan revealed...

The game "Doomsday Apartment"!

"You mean... before being drawn into this world, you played a game called 'Doomsday Apartment'?!"

Ji Zixuan didn't know what was up with this senior, but being a game player wasn't some high-level secret.

He nodded: "I just played it casually, the novice apartment period of Doomsday Apartment..."

Li Ku couldn't help but suspect whether the players in this "hidden space" were like prison players, drawn into the prison world from the real world? Or... were they just instance NPCs?

Were they real people with independent personalities?

Or just data-generated NPCs?

Ji Zixuan thought Li Ku would continue asking him about the game.

But he didn't expect this terrifying guy to suddenly ask him:

"Do you know you're an NPC?"

"NPC?" Ji Zixuan was startled, "Are you an NPC?"

As he spoke, he shook his head, then said in shock: "Or in an NPC's world, are we players the NPCs?"

His shock seemed more like self-directed speculation.

Li Ku frowned and asked Ji Zixuan: "Do you know about the Turing test?"

Ji Zixuan snapped out of his shock: "Y-yes, I know."

Li Ku directly commanded: "Then from now on, we'll ask each other questions to prove the other isn't human."

"..."

Thus the two of them, like two mental patients, asked each other strange and bizarre questions.

For example—

Assuming the bathtub in front of you is filled with water, and you have a bowl and a spoon in your hand, what's the fastest way to empty the bathtub...

Of course, Jiang Ye knew nothing about the conversation between these two mental patients.

After entering this 2218, he discovered not entirely surprisingly...

This room was indeed still Guiwen's room 2218 in Apartment 4869!

Only...

Here, just like the tombstone area of the underground burial ground, seemed to have been deliberately destroyed by someone!

The old, musty scent once mixed with tobacco and chemical reagents was replaced by a choking dust smell.

All the furniture inside, including the chemical instruments placed on the desk, looked like they'd been ransacked by robbers.

The floor was even more cluttered with various object remnants piled up, chaotic and messy.

Even the large area spreading from the fireplace showed signs of being burned.

On the wall above the fireplace, originally densely pinned with letters, drafts, photos, and newspaper clippings, even connected with red threads to outline clues, forming a [Memory Wall].

Yet now...

That [Memory Wall] had become the most severely burned area!

Everything once hung there had disappeared, leaving only charred black marks after the burning.

And in this room, there was originally a dwelling place Guiwen prepared for his own Conscious Soul Body—an old puppet.

But now, the puppet had vanished without a trace.

Yes, vanished, not destroyed.

It didn't leave any remnants of destruction, so it just disappeared into thin air!

Perhaps it was taken away by someone, perhaps...

Jiang Ye carefully observed every detail of this ruined 2218 room.

Soon, after clearing away the debris around the most severely burned fireplace area, he discovered that beneath this fireplace hid a space, just like the underground palace in the tombstone area, where only downward steps could be seen!

But this wasn't the underground burial ground, so spatially speaking...

The space extending downward from 2218 would be 2118, right?

But would this space lead to 2118?

Jiang Ye didn't act rashly. Instead, he thoroughly investigated the room again, confirming there were no usable items left, then seized Ji Zixuan's body outside.

Suddenly, he heard Li Ku ask:

"How many 'fei' characters are in the sentence 'airplane flies over Tiananmen'?"

?

Jiang Ye: "Two... oh no, three?"

Li Ku: "You really are an NPC!"

???

Jiang Ye: "What? What are you guys talking about??"

Li Ku realized and suddenly sounded a bit awkward: "Uh, I was testing whether the players in this hidden space are real people or data-generated fakes..."

Jiang Ye fell silent for a moment, then asked: "Then, how many 'fei' characters are in the sentence 'airplane flies over Tiananmen'? How should a real person answer?"