As long as you have the courage, fierce ghosts go on maternity leave.

It’s not just because there are two poor players in every cycle. The main issue is that the young boy himself is a liability!

Fifteen minutes into the game, he has eight deaths, zero kills, and zero assists. Add two more poor players to that equation, and it would be surprising if they did win.

"Big Brother, the people you’re looking for seem to have gone to the dining hall area! I heard there’s a wealthy person handing out money," the young boy’s childish voice piped up just when Alexander was thinking his trip had been in vain.

"Damn it!" Both Alexander and the duplicate blurted out expletives in unison.

At this moment, Alexander felt as if he had dug a pit and buried himself in it.

He had employed a similar strategy before, doling out money like crazy, directly hiring hundreds of thousands of locals to help him move corpses. And he had gained quite a bit!

Two Emperor-level ghost corpses and a ghost crystal could create an Emperor-level duplicate whose strength far exceeded that of a typical Ghost Emperor and could even reach the level of a normal inheritance Ghost Emperor.

By that calculation, Alexander did indeed need ghost corpses. But the issue was, there were just over two days left until the Cangshan City Instance ended. By then, ghost corpses would be plentiful.

What Alexander truly lacked were ghost crystals of Emperor quality. Right now, the priority wasn’t collecting ghost corpses, but breaking cycles to acquire ghost crystals.

Though he had gathered quite a bit of information on cycles last time, there were less than ten from which he was certain of obtaining an Emperor-level ghost crystal.

If the duplicates also disrupt the cycles in Cangshan City like he did last time, how could they possibly acquire any ghost crystals?

"After all, they are my duplicates. They can’t be that foolish, right?" Alexander seemed to be asking his Number One duplicate, but also appeared to be comforting himself.

"It’s not a matter of foolishness. But... we are your duplicates; you should know our character well," the duplicate responded.

Alexander felt numb on the spot. Was it wrong to be a tiny bit greedy?

"Forget it. Let’s go check out the situation," Alexander said, striding with his Number One duplicate towards Dining Hall No. 9.

Public transportation? Forget about it. The streets were empty.

Occasionally, a local would flash by, their bodies enveloped in Ghost Energy, moving quickly as if racing to be reborn.

If you tried to strike up a conversation, they’d ignore you completely, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

But with spatial talents and ample Ghost Food to replenish Ghost Energy, Alexander wasn’t worried about speed. Soon, he and his duplicate arrived near Dining Hall No. 9.

However, the scene in front of the dining hall left Alexander utterly stunned.

There were no other participants; that much was certain. Looking at the swarming Rampage State natives, it would be strange if there were.

The expansive streets, buildings, and even the sky were filled with natives. By the looks of it, their numbers far exceeded those of the previous instance—easily in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

Encircled in the middle were a group of duplicates, numbering in the tens of thousands at least. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Of course, neither the number of natives nor duplicates was what surprised Alexander.

What truly stunned him was the power levels of these duplicates and what they were currently doing.

Tens of thousands of duplicates, and at least ten thousand were at the King level, over a thousand at the Imperial level, and twelve among them even exhibited Ghost Emperor-level energy fluctuations.

Twelve Ghost Emperors? Including the Number One duplicate beside him, that would make thirteen!

Initially, Alexander had estimated that six or seven duplicates reaching Ghost Emperor-level would be a decent haul. He hadn’t expected the actual number to be more than double his initial guess.

Moreover, with tens of thousands at the King level and over a thousand at the Imperial level, this implied they had completed at least a few thousand King-level cycles and several hundred Imperial-level cycles. How could this be possible?

"Don’t worry, everyone. Take your time!" shouted the Number Two duplicate, who had reached the Ghost Emperor tier, using a Ghost Treasure to amplify his voice.

"Let me do it! I’m cheap! A King-level cycle for just 1 billion Ghost Energy!"

"King-level cycle and you dare to ask for a billion? My Imperial-level cycle is just 2 billion Ghost Energy, guaranteed success!"

"Emperor-level cycle! I have an Emperor-level cycle! I’ve been through tens of thousands of cycles and know it inside and out. The obsession is just a young boy who likes to play games; help him win, and you’ll definitely get an Emperor crystal!

I got matched with the boy at the very start of the cycle. And this guy beside me too; you can use his computer later. I am the strongest ADC in the national server; it’s a sure win for us! All for just 120 billion Ghost Energy!"

The crowd erupted in shouts, and the Number Two duplicate’s eyes brightened upon hearing the claims of the strongest ADC in the national server.

"You’re the one! Number 16, accompany him!" Number 16 duplicate Alexander stepped forward, took two natives with him, and disappeared using his spatial talent.

Alexander and his Number One duplicate exchanged a glance, seemingly understanding something. They didn’t rush to reveal themselves but continued to observe.

"Two Emperor-level corpses, we need two Emperor-level corpses now, for 30 billion Ghost Energy! Who has them?" shouted Number Two duplicate, as he saw Number 16 leave with his recruits.

"I come from a Mysterious cycle, hard to break and short on time. But it’s loaded with corpses! I’ll take the 30 billion offer and bring you at least three!" an Emperor-level native shouted.

"Deal!" Number Two duplicate yelled, and Number 19 duplicate stepped out from behind him. Without further ado, he took the native’s coordinates and vanished with him.

What followed was a flurry of activity that resembled players in a video game—bidding, taking on quests, and being whisked away by duplicates.

Most were at the Prince level, a few at the King level, occasionally some at the Imperial level, and only that one initial Emperor-level native.

About fifteen minutes later, Number 19 duplicate returned with the Emperor-level native, tossing an Emperor-level corpse on the ground. He then retreated to the back, surrounded by a crowd of duplicates, and began consuming Ghost Food.

Twenty minutes later, the natives from the second Emperor-level cycle bid 20 billion and left with another duplicate. Meanwhile, the initial Number 16 duplicate had returned on his own, using his spatial talent. After greeting Number Two duplicate, he walked straight to the back.

By this time, Number 19 duplicate had absorbed two Emperor-level Ghost Foods and reached the Emperor-level himself. He took a Ghost Crystal from Number 16 and consumed it. Soon enough, a terrifying aura erupted into the sky—another Ghost Emperor-level duplicate was born.

Both Number One duplicate and the original Alexander were stupefied.

What kind of gameplay was this? These maneuvers were getting increasingly cheeky!

This was basically an assembly line for leveling up!

Instead of buying corpses directly with Ghost Energy, Number Two duplicate enticed the natives to break their own cycles. Once the natives reached a Rampage State, their memories of countless previous cycles would return.

Who would know better about their own cycles than they did?

No wonder there were so many Ghost Emperor duplicates. This was a Ghost Emperor manufacturing factory, a complete streamlined operation!

Given enough time, they could potentially break a significant portion of the Cangshan City cycle. This was nothing short of astonishing.

Slick moves, seriously! This was downright incredible!

As the original Alexander, he felt a bit ashamed. Why hadn’t he thought of pulling off something like this?

"Something’s wrong!"

Just then, a somewhat familiar and anxious voice rang out.