171: Huangfu Dong: There is something dirty!

Cheng Zhen had heard the name Huangfu Dong many times.

Initially, it was due to his rivalry with Jing Zhiyuan; when competing for the top spot on the rankings, he inevitably heard of this person's name.

Later, both Cheng Zhen and Huangfu Dong had their eyes on a staff being auctioned, but Xiao Jiao, wanting to connect with Cheng Zhen, chose to trade with him, and the auction was eventually called off.

After Wu Daxing added Cheng Zhen to the chat group, other than an initial greeting, the two had no further conversation, only seeing other group members frequently chatting.

From the various chats of others in the group, Cheng Zhen generally learned that Huangfu Dong was a man of few words, a powerful, cold, and aloof person, perfectly fitting the image of certain stoic powerhouses in shonen manga.

But at this moment…

“I just felt it was strange… so that’s how it was!”

Huangfu Dong, speaking in a dialect, angrily clenched his fists, “Cheng Zhen, I know it now!”

“Ha…”

Cheng Zhen thought he knew that he had taken a hit for him, and with a dry laugh, he was about to explain when he heard Huangfu Dong say decisively:

“That bastard Jing Zhiyuan wants to wipe us both out!”

Cheng Zhen: “Huh???”

After the enemies left, Huangfu Dong sorted out the situation and immediately ‘understood’ many things.

The three Ge family members, following Jing Zhiyuan’s orders, wanted to eliminate two people: one was him, Huangfu Dong, and the other was ‘advertising space for rent,’ who was very likely to break the record.

In the top 100 group of the New Talent Rankings, although people didn't actively use their names as IDs, since most were Tier 4 or 5 ability users, they all had intelligence databases and generally knew who each other was.

Only for ‘advertising space for rent’ did Huangfu Dong not really know much about him, not even what tier his abilities were.

But after excluding everyone else, the name ‘Cheng Zhen’ could only match ‘advertising space for rent.’

And it wasn't difficult to determine the identity of ‘Old Xu,’ or rather, Cheng Zhen.

First, the age of that person, Da Shan, didn't match; judging by his voice, Da Shan was probably over thirty.

Rui Jun and Xiao Tong were also unlikely; they were almost knocked out by NPCs when they first started looking for the mole, so it's hard to imagine them hiding their strength at that time.

Instead, that ‘Old Xu’ exuded a mysterious aura from beginning to end.

He was the first to find the mole, and he was the first to solve the puzzle by dealing with the NPCs; those NPCs were so thoroughly fooled by him that their storage was completely plundered.

Judging from the guides ‘advertising space for rent’ had previously published, he was someone exceptionally skilled at clearing dungeons, otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to acquire so many purple titles.

And just now, ‘Old Xu’ used a reconnaissance tool to accurately reveal the enemy Raiders’s skill information, clearly showing a deep understanding of the three Ge family members.

All these signs combined, ‘Old Xu’s’ identity was obvious.

And Cheng Zhen might have known he was being targeted, which is why he used the alias ‘Old Xu’!

Huangfu Dong thought of Jing Zhiyuan's repeated targeting of him before, and his anger burned.

That bastard, harming him wasn't enough; he didn't spare anyone else either!

Seeing Huangfu Dong's angry expression, Cheng Zhen scratched his head, unsure what to say.

Look at this poor child, he took a beating for him, and an introvert was almost beaten to death.

Now, all sorts of misunderstandings have arisen…

Cheng Zhen thought for a moment, deciding not to deceive the other party, and honestly explained: “Actually, this was all an accident. Those people were originally coming for me, and you were implicated by me…”

It was truly unbelievable that those three were five-star assassins, yet they could mistake their target and go after Huangfu Dong.

But the next second, Huangfu Dong sighed, “Cheng Zhen, you are still too naive!”

Cheng Zhen: ?

I'm naive?

Is there something I haven't thought of here?

Cheng Zhen scratched his head in confusion, then heard Huangfu Dong say seriously: “You have to understand, items and skills are incredibly diverse, with all sorts of abilities. There might really be a method that can bind two people together and send them into a dungeon without either of them knowing!” (No more strange pronunciations, everyone can imagine it themselves~)

“That Ge Chang used a [Follow Card] to link with you, which is why you were so wary and distrustful of others when you first entered the dungeon.”

“And I didn't know about Ge Chang's situation, I didn't know there were hidden dangers in the dungeon, and my vigilance was insufficient.”

“In fact, that was also one of their goals; they wanted to eliminate both of us!”

Cheng Zhen: “Oh, this?”

Huangfu Dong's face was serious: “I just thought carefully, why did they keep calling your name while targeting me?”

“Without a doubt, they wanted me to develop hatred towards you!!!”

Huangfu Dong angrily said, “What kind of stupid assassin wouldn't even recognize the target he's supposed to kill?”

“Did Jing Zhiyuan spend a large sum of money just to hire three such incompetent amateurs?!”

“Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!”

“So… they must have done it on purpose!”

“They deliberately made me think their target was you, and then made me lower my guard against them!”

“If I was killed, they would then turn their attention to you!”

“If I survived, then I would definitely develop hatred towards you, believing I was harmed by you!”

“This way, they could also incite infighting between you and me!”

“Hmph… Jing Zhiyuan’s methods are as dirty as ever.”

“But I’m not some fool; I won’t be deceived by their so obviously flawed and exaggerated performance!”

Cheng Zhen: “…”

He was a bit dazed.

He even felt that what Huangfu Dong said made a lot of sense!

It sounded more logical than 'a professional assassin killed the wrong person'!

For a moment, Cheng Zhen even began to doubt himself.

Am I really too superficial, too quick to judge people by their surface?

After all, Jing Zhiyuan's guild and Huangfu Dong's guild have a feud, so it seems reasonable for him to hire assassins to take out both himself and Huangfu Dong?

Cheng Zhen's face was filled with confusion, his thoughts wavering between 'it was all an accident' and 'Huangfu Dong is right.'

“Hmph, Jing Zhiyuan…”

Huangfu Dong clenched his fists, then suddenly looked at Cheng Zhen and said something startling:

“Cheng Zhen, how about I help you out in this dungeon and assist you in reaching the top of the rankings?”

Cheng Zhen: ( ° mouth ° ๑ ) Ah?!