160: Practice is the only criterion for testing truth!

As soon as this intelligence was released, Ge Chang and his two companions already had black lines and '...' appearing above their heads.

If there really was a 'Speechless System', Cheng Zhen's combat power would have increased by another +3 at this point.

To be fair, the first reaction to such intelligence would definitely be to curse the Thousand Eye Tower for lying, 'Geneva, refund our money!'

Cheng Zhen has his own system? What kind of joke is that? Do you think he's a novel's male lead?

But the problem was, the other intelligence provided by the Thousand Eye Tower was incredibly accurate.

From his height and weight to various hobbies, from the dungeons he experienced to the equipment he wore, they even dug up Cheng Zhen's niche hobby of eating pineapple with soy sauce, so detailed it was as if he himself had written it!

With that detailed and accurate intelligence, looking at the piece of intelligence that said he had a system, the implications became different.

Although Ge Chang and his two companions said they didn't believe it, they couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious deep down.

Just looking at how Cheng Zhen suppressed a group of Fifth-Order skill users, it was indeed extraordinary.

Despite his skills being so useless, the intelligence showed that he had pulled out extremely powerful and strange items more than once.

Those things weren't items sold in the Endless Game Mall, so where did he get them?

Could it be that he really has his own system and got them from it?

If that kid really... then we three won't become cannon fodder, right?

Ge Chang and his two companions were lost in thought, and they really were starting to believe it somewhat.

"Forget it, let's not think about those things."

Ge Chang told the two to stop thinking and continued to arrange the upcoming action plan:

"Currently, it's very certain that those two people just now definitely weren't Cheng Zhen. So, for the dungeon's mission, we'll let those two gather intelligence, and we can intervene when necessary."

"Because the NPCs on both sides are hostile, there will definitely be many opportunities for combat later."

"If the opposing Raiders makes a move, we'll try to pinpoint Cheng Zhen's location and prioritize eliminating him! If we can use the NPC's combat power to take him down, that would be even better!"

Ge San frowned upon hearing this, "But Cheng Zhen is not only perceptive but also very cautious. It will be difficult for us to use NPCs or directly pinpoint him..."

"Heh..." Ge Chang sneered, "If he doesn't want to make a move, then we'll make him have to!"

...

Clatter!

Two chopsticks fell to the ground, and the hand that held them was trembling uncontrollably.

Black Cleaver Axe's already somewhat dazed eyes now looked very cloudy, his whole being seemed to be in a fog, and he was constantly shivering.

"He has a fever, a very serious one."

Xiao Tong took a thermometer from him and showed it to everyone.

Seeing the 39° temperature, everyone's expressions turned serious.

How much time had passed? Only half an hour, right?

Just standing outside and breathing for a while, and a person could get such a high fever?

Not only that, Black Cleaver Axe's skin also developed greenish-black pustules and spots... all these symptoms made them think of a very terrifying plague—

The Black Death!

The Black Death, also known as the plague, was one of the most severe pandemics in human history. Between 1347 and 1351, it caused the deaths of over 25 million people in Europe, accounting for about one-third of the European population!

This plague was highly contagious, rapidly onset, and once infected, patients could die within days or even hours.

Early symptoms included high fever, accompanied by chills. Bacterial infection could also lead to black spots appearing on the skin, which is where the name Black Death came from.

All the symptoms matched Black Cleaver Axe's presentation, and it seemed to be more rapid and severe, making everyone even more worried.

Even if everyone had drunk Physique Enhancement Potions and had higher resistance than Black Cleaver Axe, it was impossible to be completely unharmed; it was only a matter of time before problems arose.

"It seems we really can't do without these protective suits."

Cheng Zhen shrugged, and everyone else also tightened their clothes a bit more.

"Can your skill be used?"

Cheng Zhen looked at Xiao Tong. He remembered Rui Jun saying that Xiao Tong's skill could remove a negative status effect, and illness should be included, right?

"This skill has a probability, it's not guaranteed to succeed, but I'll give it a try."

Xiao Tong responded, walked forward, and snatched the noodle bowl from Black Cleaver Axe's hand, smashing it to the ground—

"Wake up, the ants have been racing for ten years!"

[Skill: Ants Have Been Racing for Ten Years]

[After smashing the bowl, say the line to the target. There is a 70% chance of making the target mentally clear, and a 30% chance of clearing a negative effect for the target.]

[Note: (Tactical lean back)]

Black Cleaver Axe was startled by her, his body trembling, and his dull eyes became much clearer.

But he was still trembling, and his body temperature had not decreased.

"It failed, I'll try again."

Xiao Tong raised her hand and took out several bowls from her inventory.

After all, her skill required bowls, so it was reasonable to carry more bowls with her.

Finally, after she had smashed four more bowls, the black spots on Black Cleaver Axe's body faded, and his body temperature returned to normal.

"That's great, it seems effective."

Xiao Tong's voice revealed fatigue, but she couldn't hide her joy.

"Your skill consumes a lot of mental power, doesn't it?" Cheng Zhen keenly noticed something was off about her.

"It mainly depends on the effect being cleared." Xiao Tong rubbed her head, sighing, "If it were ordinary dizziness or hallucination effects, I wouldn't be this tired. But the negative effect of this plague is quite severe, and clearing it consumes more mental power."

She estimated her remaining mental power and sighed, "If anyone among us gets infected, I can at most help three people clear the effect."

"So everyone should still pay attention to recharging like the NPCs. Even if I help you clear the negative effects, once my mental power is depleted, I won't be able to fight and deal with enemy Raiders."

Everyone nodded. It was certainly better not to get sick; Black Cleaver Axe's condition was truly frightening.

"Then should we go back and recharge now?"

Rui Jun, while supporting his girlfriend, suggested, "Although we don't know how often we need to recharge, we've been out for a while, and I feel like the color of these clothes has dimmed a lot."

They weren't stupid; they naturally saw the correlation between color and recharging.

"Don't rush, I think this can also be experimented with."

Cheng Zhen proposed another plan.

From following the team leader out to waiting for the guinea pig's reaction, about three hours had passed.

If they could determine the usage time limit after recharging the protective suits, it would make subsequent actions much more convenient.

Everyone thought there was no problem; anyway, Xiao Tong's skill was still usable, so even if a problem arose during the experiment, they could just smash a few more bowls.

Xiao Tong, the skill user for dispelling control, definitely couldn't participate in the experiment. 'Old Xu' had already offered up Black Cleaver Axe, so he didn't participate either. The remaining three decided by drawing lots.

Da Shan drew the short straw and became the experimenter. He walked to the side and stood against the wall, calculating the remaining usage time of the protective suit, while letting the others return to recharge.

As the others were about to leave, they saw Cheng Zhen pull out several more Black Cleaver Axe.

Everyone looked on with question marks, unsure of what he was going to do.

"It's a multi-faceted experiment!"

Cheng Zhen was as meticulous as a scientist: "Next, we also need to know how long it takes to die after getting sick, how long after a negative effect is cleared will it be reinfected, whether disease resistance exists, what effect the potion the team leader sprays on patients has, what the difference between different concentrations of spray will be..."

"Comrades, remember, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth!"

=======

Black Cleaver Axe is sending a telegram...