Surviving the Doomsday Apartment—With Infinite Clones!-Chapter 136: First Vow

“……”
This same kind obviously realized—she was the one who started being awkward.
So when she spoke again, her voice sounded a bit unnatural—
“Just kidding. Call me He Xingyue.”
He Xingyue…
So it really was a girl.
Still, whether that name was real or not wasn’t certain.
Jiang Ye didn’t think much of it—having a name just made communication easier.
He didn’t bother with any nonsense and went straight to the point:
“When I was circling around just now, I noticed—in one of the Mirror Palace grids, there was a humanoid ‘fan.’ Did you see it?”
Humanoid fan…
He was naturally talking about the Comprehension Replica swinging along with the Dice of Fate.
He believed this Light-type same kind must have noticed it.
Sure enough—
A voice quickly echoed from the air, no longer altered.
It was a crisp and spirited female voice, rather boyish in tone:
“Oh, that dumb*** thing? Just ignore him. Stay away, wait for him to die, and loot the body.”
“But let’s be clear upfront—first come, first served. Whatever loot I get from the corpse is all mine.”
“……”
Jiang Ye thought: That’s my corpse. No way I’m letting some outsider loot it!
And besides, he might not even die!
Still, he couldn’t reveal that he and the Comprehension Replica were the same person, so he put on an indifferent tone:
“First come, first served? I don’t think so. I remember it’s ‘finders keepers.’”
“Since I’m here, I should at least get forty percent of the loot.”
He Xingyue was an old-school Light-type, no way she’d give in to a newcomer. She shot back across the space with raw authority:
“You? You think you can bargain with me?”
“And that dumb*** thing probably doesn’t even have anything good. You want forty percent?”
“No way. It’s all mine, no negotiation!”
Tsk tsk, that’s fierce.
Jiang Ye played along, pretending to give in: “Fine, all yours then.”
“All one hundred percent—mine.”
He Xingyue was just starting to enjoy his supposed good sense, when his next line threw her off: “What did you say?”
Jiang Ye patiently repeated: “I said—all of it is mine.”
As he spoke, he took on human form, pulled out the Entropy Scythe, and casually flipped it in his right palm.
The move was like a gangster playing with a gun—one part intimidating, three parts casual, and 5.9 parts utterly nonchalant.
If the Light-type didn’t look so ugly, he’d have looked like a walking, fan-shaped diagram of a domineering CEO.
The air went eerily quiet.
Who knew whether He Xingyue was stunned by Jiang Ye’s swagger, or by the Entropy Scythe in his hand—she said nothing for a long time.
Jiang Ye worried maybe she didn’t recognize the Entropy Scythe, this kind of god-tier item.
He was about to say he’d smash something in the Void Mirror Palace for a demo, when He Xingyue suddenly blurted out in pure shock:
“Concept-Level Weapon? You…”
So her knowledge was sharp, and yes, she was shocked.
But she quickly composed herself and calmly said:
“That weapon really is insane…”
“But do you really think you can land a hit on me with it?”
Jiang Ye thought for only a second before sighing helplessly: “Sorry, I can’t hit you.”
He Xingyue gave a smug snort, about to say “Glad you know your place.”
Then Jiang Ye continued:
“But, I used this Entropy Scythe to destroy the barrier in the underground Graveyard of Apartment 4444. That moved up the apartment’s destruction time to the next zero hour.”
“As far as I know, for a Reincarnated Player to cycle back to the next Beginner Apartment, it takes a lot of preparation time.”
“If the apartment gets destroyed by the next zero hour, you won’t have enough time to reincarnate, will you?”
Now that was a direct threat.
He Xingyue’s voice dropped, now serious:
“Moving up the destruction time doesn’t benefit you either, does it?”
“Besides, even if you did bring forward one apartment’s destruction time, couldn’t I just switch to another?”
She meant—she wasn’t afraid of Jiang Ye’s threat.
But Jiang Ye was crazier than she imagined.
He didn’t explain further, just wore that ugly-handsome face, full of unrestrained arrogance and madness, and said fearlessly:
“Doesn’t matter. I’ve already got a Server-wide Kill-on-Sight Order on me. I’m capable of anything.”
Indeed, Jiang Ye intentionally made his Light-type form always seem on the edge—like he’d lost all sense of consequence.
The air went quiet again, unnaturally so.
He Xingyue’s voice stayed low:
“It’s just a Dice of Fate... let’s change the topic.”
That humanoid fan loot? She’d just stop thinking about it.
Jiang Ye kept flipping the Entropy Scythe, still crazy and domineering: “Shut up, I’ll change the topic.”
“First of all—”
“Do you know what that humanoid fan really is?”
Nobody likes to be threatened—He Xingyue included.
Her opinion of “Huang Bo” instantly tanked. She cursed in her head, but still played along:
“What do you mean? Just some idiot who grabbed the spinning Dice of Fate.”
“But it’s weird—he’s lasted way longer than expected…”
“And from afar, I noticed something off—his aura was all patchy and strange.”
“From afar?” Jiang Ye latched onto those words. “Was there something that kept you from getting close?”
He wondered—was it her Light-type nature keeping her away, or something wrong with the Dice of Fate itself?
But as soon as he asked, He Xingyue paused and asked back:
“You’ve never heard this saying?”
“—All gifts from fate have their prices marked in secret!”
“Even those lucky-type items—they seem to give a temporary boost to luck, but in reality, they’re just borrowing the player’s own future luck in advance.”
“So, the Dice of Fate is the same. Sure, it looks like only a one-in-six chance of instant death.”
“But the hidden cost behind it? Totally unmeasurable!”
“And…”
She paused again, hesitated, then asked:
“Do you know about Death Priority? Ever heard that legend?”
A legend about Death Priority?
Jiang Ye: “You mean... that complete erasure of a person’s existence? Including being erased from the memories of everyone around them?”
“Exactly. They say that ultimate erasure comes from a Fate-type ability that severs all karmic ties—utterly denying someone’s existence.”
As He Xingyue spoke, even her tone held a trace of fear.
Jiang Ye fell into thought—then his eyes suddenly flashed with alarm.
Because at that moment, the Comprehension Replica—or rather, the combined consciousness of all replicas fused into it—was finally buckling under the intense pain.
The burden on his heart was getting heavier and heavier!
Even with nearly a hundred Super Stamina replicas, he still couldn’t sustain the weight of that heartbeat!
That feeling of imminent heart explosion, of death bearing down again, came surging back!
The Comprehension Replica—all of them—couldn’t hold on anymore!
He even suspected that terrifying heartbeat… might’ve already stopped.
The last few seconds he held on—it wasn’t his body doing it, it was pure willpower!
Even with the Replica Substitution ability, Jiang Ye couldn’t help but feel fear.
After all, He Xingyue said it—Fate-type powers could sever karma itself, causing the ultimate erasure from existence!
He couldn’t be sure—if the next moment brought that legendary Death Priority...
What kind of end would he face?!
So, even as a replica that didn’t fear death, in this moment, Jiang Ye had a single overwhelming thought—I don’t want to die! I have to hold on!
Yes! It’s just cardiac arrest!
Cardiac arrest doesn’t mean death! He’s still alive! He has to stay alive!
In that instant, even the connection between his Light-type Replica and the Comprehension Replica felt thin and faint!
His heart grew inexplicably heavy.
At that moment, all the replicas made a major decision together—
Before, because of how important the SS-tier ability was, he hadn't fused the two SS-tier replicas.
But now, he couldn't care anymore!
The newly created SS-tier replicas Fu Xi and Li Zhi were now fused into the Comprehension Replica.
And immediately, Jiang Ye began thinking about the consequences of using the S-tier skill Artistic Explosion.
Artistic Explosion wasn’t just powerful.
More importantly, it allowed him to sacrifice his own organs.
Because of the skill’s traits, even if he sacrificed his heart, his body could stay alive for 30 seconds—long enough to witness the explosion.
So he started to think…
If, right now, he chose to sacrifice that unbearably heavy heart, the one his body could barely sustain...
Could he, within those 30 seconds, find a sliver of hope?
Besides that, the skill Vow was also being tested.
And the result shocked him—
Vow (S)
Set Goal: Stay in this state and survive.
Time Limit: 30 seconds.
Reward/Penalty Rank: SSS
PS: If this vow is completed, the ability will automatically be upgraded to the reward level (SSS).
In other words, surviving another 30 seconds in this state was as difficult as killing three Apartment Administrators within 30 minutes!
That hard...?
Normally, Jiang Ye followed a cautious path.
But at this moment, his determination to survive outweighed his instinct to play it safe.
He feared that if he hesitated even one more second, he’d give up.
So this time, he didn’t hold back, didn’t hesitate at all—he directly activated the Vow skill.
And so, the skill took effect!
Whether it was to earn the SSS-tier reward or to avoid the SSS-tier punishment—
This vow, he had to fulfill!
And as his thoughts aligned and his resolve solidified,
Jiang Ye faintly sensed the true charm of the SS-tier ability Lofty Ambition.
Before this, he thought Vow was just about completing goals to earn rewards.
But now, he understood clearly—
Vowing wasn’t just for the reward.
It was for the inner resolve!
Like how some people chase dreams not for money, power, or fame,
But for self-worth—
To live up to themselves.
In that moment, after making the vow, Jiang Ye felt not a craving for reward, but a powerful inner drive!
And this drive—it was like that saying—
Even the gods will bless you!
Jiang Ye understood with complete clarity.
In that saying, it wasn’t gods that would bless him—it was himself!
Once he was resolute, there was no more hesitation.
He chose—to sacrifice the heart that was dragging him down!
And then...
BOOM—
A thunderous explosion.
The S-tier skill Artistic Explosion activated.
Its terrifying power shocked even Jiang Ye himself!
In almost an instant, the entire Void Mirror Palace began collapsing violently under the tremors!
He Xingyue and “Huang Bo,” mid-conversation, were both shaken hard!
Fortunately, “Huang Bo” reacted quickly and instantly shifted into Light and Shadow Escape.
But even the untouchable form of light could feel the force of this blast!
Even Apartment 6996 and Apartment 9669, both linked to the Void Mirror Palace, felt the shockwaves.
The two rooms connected to the palace were turned to rubble instantly!
Players in both apartments were so shaken they began doubting reality!
Even the two Apartment Administrators turned pale!
In fact, both apartments simultaneously sounded the same alarm that had previously gone off in Apartment 4444!
[WARNING! WARNING! This apartment is under unknown attack!]
[WARNING! WARNING! This apartment is under unknown attack!]
You had to know—the alarm in 4444 had only triggered when a Concept-Level Weapon destroyed the apartment’s special barrier!
And now, the effect of Artistic Explosion had already reached the level of a Concept-Level Weapon!
It wasn’t hard to imagine just how terrifying that heart Jiang Ye sacrificed had become—
transformed by the Dice of Fate.
Even the Light-type Replica, which hadn’t fused, felt a lingering fear—as if his own heart had exploded too…
Of course, beyond being awed by such devastating power—
What Jiang Ye cared about more was the status of the Comprehension Replica.
More accurately, what made him panic was—
The instant the explosion went off,
The already fading connection between the Light-type Replica and the Comprehension Replica completely vanished!
Not only that,
Even the non-fused Replica No. 1 and Replica No. 2 lost all connection to the Comprehension Replica!
How could Jiang Ye not panic?!
And at the moment of the explosion, the earlier-fused replicas were the first to dissolve the fusion, and they brought back fragments of memory from the Comprehension Replica—
Almost at the exact moment Jiang Ye sacrificed his heart,
The endlessly spinning Dice of Fate suddenly changed.
The six glowing icons lit up like they were real,
Shot out from the dice,
And all embedded into the shattered Comprehension Replica!
Then, the blood-soaked dice held in the replica’s palm—vanished completely!
At the same time, in the Comprehension Replica’s ruined chest,
At the site of the exploded heart,
A spinning illusion of a dice took its place!
Also, in the replica’s mind,
Faint, broken voices started to echo, like they were trying to say something.
But his consciousness was too hazy—he couldn’t understand a thing.
The only thing certain—
Was that the voice belonged to no one else but Jiang Ye himself!
And after fully dissolving fusion, all the other replicas felt it too...
Their link to the Comprehension Replica was completely gone!
How could Jiang Ye not panic?!
In that moment, he almost truly believed—
That Comprehension Replica... might really be gone...
And that eerie Dice of Fate—
God knows what kind of chaos it just unleashed...
On his side, Jiang Ye’s heart was completely unsettled, mind fully absorbed by the Comprehension Replica.
Meanwhile, on the Duel Arena, Replica No. 2 had no heart for the duel with Zhou Qiming.
He fought extremely half-heartedly—not even fusing with a single replica.
Just moving around casually, swinging a weapon, doing basic physical attacks.
Of course, Replica No. 2’s Hard Work Pays Off ability helped him grow fast even mid-battle.
So even his simple physical attacks still showed solid combat instincts.
But—
Zhou Qiming, in this duel, didn’t even fight back.
Even when Jiang Ye slit his throat with a blade—he was completely unharmed.
And when he noticed Jiang Ye was clearly phoning it in, he coldly mocked:
“That’s all you’ve got?”
“Let me be clear—I’ve already become immune to all physical deaths.”
“In other words, nearly every C-tier or lower death effect is useless on me!”
“So—show me something real. Don’t embarrass yourself.”
“You should know, even if you have a ton of Privilege Cards, they’re worthless.”
“After all, just like when I matched with Lin Jing, if I can match you once, I can match you a hundred times!”