"Actually, a bald, scheming brute told me that you’re super weak and easy to trick. That’s why I specifically came to challenge you..."

"But now, I feel like someone as kind-hearted as you shouldn’t be deceived."

"So, forget it. I can’t bring myself to take advantage of you."

As he spoke, Jiang Ye even let out a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

But—what the f***?!

Li Ran was completely dumbfounded!

In this day and age, there are still genuinely honest uncles like this?!

She actually felt a little bad about it…

But then, a new thought crossed her mind—

This uncle is so dumb.

Even if he didn’t get scammed by her today, some real bad guys would eventually scam him out of everything!

So, she had to help him.

She needed to teach him the harsh reality of human nature!

Only then would he stop being so gullible in the future!

Yes! That’s it!

She was doing this for his own good.

She really was too kind…

Thinking this, Li Ran’s eyes even got a little misty.

She looked at Jiang Ye with deep emotion, her gaze firm.

"Uncle, you’re such a good person! QAQ"

"Good people should be rewarded!"

"I have to help you!"

"Challenge me, Uncle!"

"I’m willing to be scammed by you!"

"Wait, no! Uncle, you’re not scamming me—I’m willingly helping you!"

"Don’t refuse me, Uncle! Think about your son!"

"With my help, you’ll have a higher chance of reuniting with him!"

Hearing this, Jiang Ye instantly knew—

Yeah, this girl was definitely setting him up.

She was probably even convincing herself that she was helping him "see the cruel reality of the world."

Jiang Ye chuckled inwardly but put on a hesitant expression, acting like he was reluctantly giving in.

"Well… since you’re so determined to help me, I guess I shouldn’t refuse anymore?"

With that, he quickly used the control panel in his mind to issue a challenge to her.

His entire net worth was only 400.

So, he set the bet amount to 400.

The moment Li Ran accepted the challenge—

Their consciousnesses plunged into darkness.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Ye found himself standing on a basketball court-sized battle arena.

Around the arena, there was a ring of seats.

At the moment, all the seats were empty, meaning there were no spectators watching this match.

However—

Back in Jiang Ye’s apartment Duel Room, Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang were stationed outside the #2 Duel Machine, watching his battle on the machine’s display screen for free—all arranged by Yang Wenchao.

Yang Wenchao had fought in several battles already and was fairly experienced.

So, while other students were still guessing, he was already certain—

That bald guy was using a Disguise Mask from a Bronze Treasure Chest!

And Bronze Treasure Chests only appeared in apartments above the 20th floor.

The only known 20th-floor residents in this apartment were himself and Jiang Ye.

So, his first instinct was—

That bald guy must be Jiang Ye in disguise!

But then he thought about it again.

Something didn’t add up.

Because based on chat group messages—

When the bald guy was spotted on the first floor, Jiang Ye was upstairs, secretly opening a package in the stairwell.

In fact, Yang Wenchao himself was the witness to Jiang Ye’s alibi.

So…

That meant—there was another 20th-floor resident in their Beginner Apartment!

Was it Zhang Jintian or Ke Zhengfei, who were keeping a low profile on the Ranking Board?

Or was it someone else, a classmate who hadn’t reached Level 1 yet?

Yang Wenchao wasn’t sure.

But one thing was certain—

Players who started on the 20th floor or higher had higher rent, but they also had more opportunities!

These players would either die on the first day or grow rapidly!

If he saw that bald guy again tomorrow, it meant the guy truly had the potential to become a powerhouse.

Of course, the same went for Jiang Ye.

But between the two, Yang Wenchao was more interested in the mysterious bald guy.

So, he had Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang stay at the Duel Room to monitor the bald guy’s battle.

As for himself—he went to the 3rd floor, waiting near the red light elevator exit to meet up with his team members for leveling up.

Unfortunately—

The top-ranked players Zhang Jintian and Ke Zhengfei still didn’t show up for the party.

Instead, four Ranking Board powerhouses arrived together—

Wang Lingling, Gao Chang, Lu Shen, and Xu Yuewan.

These four were all part of Wang Lingling’s mutual aid group.

Besides them, seven Level 0 players from the same group also joined.

Although Yang Wenchao was the one who suggested this team-up, he was actually the only one not in their mutual aid group.

With such a large team, including four Level 1 powerhouses, none of them really feared Yang Wenchao.

In fact—

When Wang Lingling chatted with him, she subtly probed for information, trying to figure out—

Why was he so strong?

How did he resurrect?

However—

Yang Wenchao was naturally eccentric and deliberately spoke nonsense, throwing them off with random, fabricated explanations.

This nearly pissed off Gao Chang, who had a short temper and almost started a fight with him.

Luckily, Wang Lingling stopped him.

In the end, they successfully formed a party and began exploring the deeper parts of the hallway to level up.

Meanwhile, other players continued their daily grind for money, keeping an eye on the Leveling Rankings in the chat group—

Watching closely to see if any of the leveling team actually gained experience.

Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang were thrilled at the moment, eager to seize the opportunity to cling to Yang Wenchao’s thigh.

Yes, in their eyes, being able to work for Yang Wenchao meant they had latched onto a powerhouse!

So, the two of them stood diligently outside Jiang Ye’s Duel Machine #2, keeping watch like loyal subordinates.

When the screen outside Duel Machine #2 lit up, both their eyes brightened.

"It’s finally starting! This should be the bald guy’s first match in the Duel Room, right?"

"But why is his opponent some delicate-looking girl? Even if he wins, it won’t prove anything about his strength."

"Can’t say for sure! What if she looks weak but is actually really strong? Don’t forget, Yang-ge lost 100,000 Survival Points in a fight against a girl!"

Wang Qiang nodded in agreement, sighing,

"That’s true… You really can’t judge strength by gender or appearance anymore. Wang Lingling from our apartment is the best example!"

Xiao Likun added,

"Not just Wang Lingling—Xu Yuewan too! Out of the top 8 players on the Ranking Board, two of them are girls."

As they spoke, the countdown appeared on the Duel Machine’s screen:

[3]… [2]… [1]…

At the same time, inside the virtual arena, the same countdown rang in Jiang Ye’s mind.

As the numbers ticked down, he kept up his simple, honest act, smiling warmly at the girl in front of him.

"Little sister, just stand still, okay? Uncle will make this quick."

"Okay, Uncle."

Li Ran nodded obediently while flashing him a strange smile.

That smile…

It was the exact same eerie grin as Si Nuo from Detective Chinatown 1.

Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang, watching the screen, were stunned.

"Wait… hold up. Why does this feel off?"

On the arena, Li Ran thought—

Wow, this uncle is seriously slow.

She had literally grinned like a psycho, and yet, the guy still hadn’t realized anything was wrong!

Sigh, too naive.

Such an honest, gullible uncle…

Almost makes me feel bad…

She sighed inwardly.

But the moment the countdown hit [1], her petite figure suddenly exploded forward like an unsheathed blade, lunging straight at Jiang Ye!

Her speed!

Xiao Likun and Wang Qiang both gasped in shock.

"She really isn’t what she seems! She’s fast as hell!"

"Speed and strength are tied to stamina attributes—her stats must be pretty high!"

"But still not as strong as Yang Wenchao!"

In the blink of an eye, Li Ran had already reached Jiang Ye!

And at that moment—

Her skin suddenly turned into a hardened, metallic gold!

Wang Qiang’s jaw dropped as he blurted out,

"Holy s***! What the hell is this?!"

"Is she… Muscle Barbie?!"