A pleasant surprise?
The bald man cursed inwardly—
No matter how big your so-called "surprise" was, even if it were nine hundred or ninety thousand disguise masks instead of just nine, it still wouldn't make up for the heartache of losing his Nomadic rchant Mask!
However...
The bald man could clearly see one thing.
This kid was dead set on obtaining the Nomadic rchant Mask.
Finally, with the resignation of a man who had lost all will to live, the bald man sighed helplessly:
"Rather than your so-called 'surprise,' what I'd truly prefer is for you to co back later saying you've changed your mind and decided to return the Nomadic rchant Mask to ..."
"If that happens, I'd be willing to exchange it for other masks while still accepting your 'surprise.'"
Clearly, the bald man still couldn't bear to part with that Nomadic rchant Mask.
So much so that he wasn't particularly interested in Jiang Ye's "surprise" either.
But Jiang Ye knew—
Once this bald man actually saw the surprise he had in store, his jaw would probably drop in shock, changing so of his perspectives.
Yet in the end, Jiang Ye refrained from spoiling the surprise prematurely.
After simply collecting his thoughts and calming his emotions, he left with one final remark: "Then I'll be back in about ten minutes to pick up the [Madman Mask] and [Enforcer Mask]."
With that, he temporarily departed from [Mask Master's Shop].
This Zhang Minghan clone hadn't stayed at Mask Master's shop for very long.
And during this exact period, over at the Void Mirror Palace ruins...
The light-elent clone, using the identity of "Lu Renjia," was leading Li Aoliang's team in exploring the Void Mirror Palace ruins.
To be honest, Jiang Ye had explored these ruins countless tis in his Light and Shadow Escape form.
Back and forth, over and over—he'd never found anything noteworthy in these ruins.
However—
This ti, there was soone with [Protagonist Halo] in their team: Chen Cang.
And that made all the difference!
When the group arrived at the explosion site triggered by the Wisdom Clone holding the [Dice of Fate]...
They actually discovered a silvery-white vortex floating mid-air!
When Jiang Ye spotted that silvery-white vortex from a distance, he was utterly dumbfounded!
He swore!
His light clone had visited this explosion site innurable tis!
In fact, just monts ago, the light clone transford into "Lu Renjia" had departed from this very spot!
Yet when he left earlier, there had been no vortex here whatsoever!
But now, following Chen Cang here, this vortex suddenly appears???
What the actual hell???
Was this so blatantly obvious destined opportunity exclusively for those with [Protagonist Halo]?!
Jiang Ye's mind flooded with question marks.
However, Li Aoliang lacked mind-reading abilities. Upon seeing the vortex, he imdiately lashed out:
"Damn you! What was that crap you said earlier? 'No opportunities in the ruins'?? Spouting bullshit with your eyes wide open, weren't you?!"
"Don't give that shocked and innocent act now! Don't tell you sohow missed this glaring silvery vortex before? That's so absurd I wouldn't believe it even if you beat to death!"
Li Aoliang strongly suspected this Lu Renjia had lied deliberately to divert him away, making him miss this opportunity!
That when Lu Renjia left Room 6996 earlier, he was probably going to call his backers to explore this opportunity instead!
Yet Jiang Ye was genuinely speechless. He attempted to explain:
"I swear, when I explored here earlier, there really was no silvery vortex!"
"It must have appeared for so reason after I left!"
His words carried absolute conviction.
Li Aoliang almost believed him...
After hesitating briefly and studying the vortex, he turned back to Jiang Ye:
"Fine...let's set aside whether you intentionally hid this for now. Just tell —what do you make of this silvery vortex?"
What did he make of it?
Jiang Ye thought the vortex looked like an entrance to so special space.
And within that space might lie so unique secret realm?
Though exactly what awaited in such a realm remained uncertain.
Soon, it struck him—
Since this vortex appeared during Chen Cang's exploration...
Could this contain so [Protagonist's Opportunity]?
Of course, anyone who's read web novels knows—
So opportunities that let protagonists soar to greatness
Might prove fatal disasters for cannon fodder!
Even protagonists often barely survive obtaining such opportunities...
So Jiang Ye couldn't say for certain what awaited beyond that vortex.
But while he hesitated...
Chen Cang, empowered by his SSS-grade [Divine Assistance] talent, instantly dashed forward without hesitation and leaped straight into the vortex!
His entire body seed sucked into so spatial rift, vanishing without a trace!
This bold, unilateral action naturally shocked Li Aoliang and his team.
Li Aoliang cursed "Fuck!" and instinctively moved to follow into the vortex.
Yet he lacked such courage and resolve—fearing he might lose his life chasing an opportunity.
But as he wavered, he suddenly saw—
That bald Lu Renjia, after brief contemplation, also resolutely jumped into the vortex!
With two people diving in without hesitation...
Li Aoliang couldn't help suspecting the vortex might truly contain so heaven-defying opportunity!
That Chen Cang and Lu Renjia might possess insider knowledge about it!
Before he could decide, another teammate nad Xing Yishan also leaped in!
What? Damn it! Were they all rebelling now?!
Completely disregarding him as team leader!
Finally, Li Aoliang stopped hesitating and plunged into the vortex himself.
People naturally follow crowds—
Making personal decisions is hard, but following others' choices is easy.
Thus the remaining mbers followed suit without deliberation.
Around this sa ti, the Zhang Minghan clone erged from Mask Master's shop.
His experiences there naturally transmitted imnse shock to all clones.
Especially the 4444 Administrator clone in the Reincarnation Graveyard—
Originally contemplating and rehearsing his upcoming exchange with the Nomadic rchant...
Soon he'd be dealing with that mysterious rchant.
Now he learned the rchant shared his original face!
Jiang Ye had once wondered—
If he could trick the rchant into assuming his appearance,
Could he then convert the rchant into a clone?
Yet now he discovered...
No trickery needed—the rchant already wore his face!
This raised a critical issue—
According to Jiang Ye's [Infinite Clones (X)] chanics,
Anyone sharing his face should be his clone, subject to his clone abilities...
So why did he sense no connection to this identical rchant?
Why couldn't he use clone fusion or other clone skills on the rchant?
Was it because the rchant also possessed X-grade Infinite Clones?
This led to a more terrifying thought—
Could the rchant, also with X-grade Infinite Clones,
Use clone skills on Jiang Ye and absorb him as a clone?!
This notion was indeed horrifying.
But upon reflection, Jiang Ye deed it unlikely.
Not because the rchant's stats showed [Skills: None], indicating no clone abilities.
But based on his experience with [Infinite Clones]—
His clones sense the original, and vice versa—
All clones and original share a mutual, indistinguishable connection.
Thus, his relationship with the rchant should likewise be "mutual"—
If he can't sense the rchant as his clone,
Then the rchant shouldn't sense him as the rchant's clone either.
As for why...
Perhaps related to the rchant's unique traits?
Like his "Reincarnation" state and X-grade [Infinite Self-Forgetting] talent...
Could the rchant simply not rember sharing Jiang Ye's face?
During their brief interaction, Jiang Ye noticed nothing unusual—
The rchant seed far more interested in his [Reincarnation Key] than in him personally.
The rchant showed no reaction to his face either.
Previously, the woman in white ntioned the rchant had many clones.
So the one Jiang Ye t was likely just one rchant clone.
Could different rchant clones have different faces and mories?
Explaining why "his" rchant clone didn't recognize Jiang Ye's face?
Or perhaps...
Like Jiang Ye's current original,
The rchant's original might also be disconnected from its clones?
That rchant clones lack the original's information,
Thus don't recognize Jiang Ye who shares the original's face?
Or maybe the rchant's original isn't just disconnected,
But in prolonged stasis?
Or—most extre—
Could Jiang Ye's original actually be the rchant's original,
Just long-separated from rchant clones, causing anomalies?
With "rchant original" and "rchant clones" introduced,
Nurous possibilities erged.
Jiang Ye couldn't determine the truth yet.
Fortunately, the Silent Tombstone had revealed one certainty—
The rchant bore him no ill will.
So temporarily trading the [Reincarnation Key] to a rchant clone should be safe.
Besides, Jiang Ye had little choice.
Beyond the impending rchant exchange,
Another grave concern troubled Jiang Ye's clones—
New clones entering the Instance had conveyed outside clones' urgent demand—
For the original to release clones imdiately,
Allowing outside clones to learn the original's status.
Normally, barring ergencies...
The original would instantly release clones to transmit information.
Even if accidentally fusing all clones at 0:00 left none to release...
The newly delivered clones could be sent back unchanged, right?
Yet despite outside clones' urgent ssages,
The original in the Instance still hadn't released any clones...
Undeniably—
The original must be in trouble!
Just how severe remained unclear—
rely unable to release clones?
Or so life-threatening crisis?
This severed connection caused greater distress than discovering the shared face.
anwhile, inside the Instance...
The original had indeed encountered problems.
More precisely, the crisis began at 0:00 on the second day.
At that hour, all players heard an announcent marking 0:00 Day 2.
Different players experienced unique sensations then—
Jiang Ye's dark clone felt serene;
His light clone felt discomfort.
But the original's experience was far more complex—
So intense his consciousness blurred, nearly tearing apart!
Fortunately, this caused no actual harm.
Additionally—
Beyond these unique sensations,
The original heard a slightly different 0:00 announcent than outside players!
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