Chapter 448: A Web of Suspicion

A task?

They’re handing out a task?

Listening to the good news from Blood Nightingale, Yinglong—already suspicious—couldn’t help but pause in astonishment.

A strange expression flashed across his face, prompting everyone to turn and look at Blood Nightingale in unison.

But this time, things seemed a little different.

“Miss Blood Nightingale, none of us received the task. How odd—could it be that the task was meant solely for you?”

Standing behind Yinglong, Zhang Yuan, a Third-Stage Advanced Awakener, instinctively frowned and blurted out in puzzlement.

Everything was unfolding in a very strange manner.

Unlike before, when no one questioned Blood Nightingale’s words, now everyone sensed that something was off.

Especially Yinglong…

Glancing sideways at Blood Nightingale, Yinglong nodded thoughtfully.

Though Blood Nightingale’s expression revealed nothing amiss, it was just too coincidental.

“Miss Blood Nightingale.”

“Since you received the task, why not share it with us?”

“You know as well as I do that this dungeon is vital to me. I can’t rest until I see it…”

She smiled.

After speaking, Yinglong strode toward Blood Nightingale, carrying the corpse of Renmane. His aura was unmistakably zeroing in on her.

Yes, he indeed wanted to take her down. But as a top-tier human champion, how could he let a whiff of personal feelings make him trust anyone!?

Meanwhile, he even ignored Li Dafu’s sudden shout as he snapped back to reality and continued his act.

Given that the task had already been issued, this NPC would obviously steer clear of them.

To put it mildly, even if he showed a hint of disrespect by ‘ignoring’ this NPC at this point, it wouldn’t matter!

Now, he was just eager to see what task Blood Nightingale had mentioned!

Seeing Yinglong walking toward her, Blood Nightingale’s heart skipped a beat.

Damn it!

She knew this man was extremely suspicious, but she never expected him to be this paranoid!

In just a few seconds, he even started to doubt her!

Task? There was no task! She was just forced into action, trying to save Li Dafu and herself!

“Commander Yinglong, I’ll read it to you.”

“I never expected the follow-up task to be assigned to me.”

“Hmm, it says we need to cooperate with the Hell’s Gate Guardian to take down the Otherworldly Ghost Emperor. That guardian is the key!”

Quickly speaking, Blood Nightingale forced a tone of shock—as if she hadn’t detected the skepticism in Yinglong’s voice—and replied with a bright smile.

Yet no matter how normal she acted, Yinglong’s approach showed no sign of backing down. His cold intent only grew icier.

It’s over…

Should I run away!?

Her smile grew increasingly forced.

Seeing the entire Blood Shadow Squad slowly encircle her and the NPC sent by Yenir, Blood Nightingale felt a surge of despair.

There was no escape…

Not to mention if Yinglong acted—even if Zhang Yuan did—she’d be blown to pieces in an instant!

Being outright killed would be preferable! She could already picture what fate awaited her if Yinglong realized she’d betrayed him, if he discovered someone was scheming within the dungeon!

In that instant, the usually calm and collected Blood Nightingale regretted betting her all on this attempt!

What should I do!? What on earth am I going to do!?

Despair filled her eyes.

Just as Blood Nightingale was desperately reciting the fabricated task details, an unexpected shout of astonishment rang out.

“Wait a minute!? You’re saying this Ghost Hunter will lead us to kill the Otherworldly Ghost Emperor!?”

“Could it be… the legend is true!?”

In an instant, both Yinglong and Blood Nightingale turned in astonishment toward the other side.

The speaker was none other than the group of NPCs they had completely disregarded—a Military Ghost Hunter.

The middle-aged man spoke out in surprise, then fixed them with a solemn gaze.

The next second, a system notification echoed in everyone’s ears:

“Beep: Task issued – Kill the Otherworldly Ghost Emperor…”

“Task Reward: ??? Set Component”

…..

As his steps came to a halt, Yinglong instinctively checked his task panel. At the sight of the words ‘Legendary Suit’ and ‘Otherworldly Ghost Emperor,’ his expression changed subtly.

There really was… a task!?

A Legendary Suit reward? Otherworldly Ghost Emperor!?

Could it be that this dungeon truly held a Legendary Suit reward as he had suspected!?

After a brief moment of shock, Yinglong suddenly seemed to realize something and quickly turned toward Li Dafu.

If he had doubted moments ago, now he had also received a task. Although different from the one Blood Nightingale mentioned, the details matched up! Perhaps it was just her task that differed slightly from theirs!

He had to meet this NPC’s requirement!

A Fourth-Stage Emperor!? It seemed that the hope of completing the task rested on this NPC!

Reacting swiftly, Yinglong, lost in his own thoughts, didn’t hesitate to offer Renmane with both hands, earnestly ingratiating himself to Li Dafu.

His intense craving for the Legendary Suit had him completely disregarding his earlier suspicions!

After all, it’s a Legendary Suit reward!

“Sir…”

..

Standing dumbfounded in place, Blood Nightingale, barely surviving, panted heavily, drenched in cold sweat.

In a mix of acute tension and relief, she felt her legs turning to jelly…

Just one second away—everything would have been over!

Watching Yinglong and the others, who paid no attention to her and focused solely on Li Dafu, her expression grew incredibly puzzled.

Almost instinctively, she clenched her Communication Stone, desperate to ask Yenir what was really going on!

If there was a backup plan and a task could be issued, why hadn’t they told her in advance!

For heaven’s sake, she was nearly terrified to death.

But how did that bastard manage it!? Getting an NPC to lie for him was one thing, but even issuing a system task!

……………….

Meanwhile, 40 kilometers away, on an abandoned rooftop.

Unlike Blood Nightingale’s confident image of Yenir—who seemed to have everything under control…

Even though Li Dafu had already secured Renmane, Yinglong and the others were ready to leave, duped by the ruse.

At that moment, Yenir, standing at the edge of the rooftop, blinked in astonishment, a surge of dread gripping his heart.

Feeling the frantic, vibrating message from Blood Nightingale in his palm, he found himself at a loss for words.

Holy crap…

“This dungeon really has a Fourth-Stage Otherworldly Ghost Emperor!? Did I actually get the tip right!?”

It was beyond comprehension.

Even if he was the mastermind behind it all, Yenir was utterly baffled, unable to understand what was happening.

The task obviously wasn’t issued by him—he had even braced himself for failure…

If he had the power to issue tasks, why bother orchestrating a rigged outcome?

In a heartbeat, he could have had Yinglong on his knees calling him ‘daddy.’

“It must be that the words ‘Otherworldly Ghost Emperor’ spoken by Li Dafu or Blood Nightingale were actually heard by the real NPC, triggering the task.”

“Maybe it was even a system-laid trap?”

Looking at the message from Blood Nightingale, which mentioned that the task was issued by the Military Ghost Hunter—the ‘Otherworldly Ghost’ whom Yinglong didn’t suspect.

Coming to his senses, Yenir keenly sensed something was off.

He had also received a task—to descend to the final floor and retrieve something for the Otherworldly Ghost.

Yinglong’s task was similar, but it included the Emperor info and the tantalizing Legendary Suit reward.

If he didn’t know the task was issued by the Otherworldly Ghost, he wouldn’t have suspected anything.

But…

“How could the Otherworldly Ghost possibly issue a task to take itself down!?”

“Given that this dungeon has been riddled with traps from the start, these tasks must all be fishy!”

With a flash in his eyes, Yenir reached a conclusion in an instant.

He had taken out the Otherworldly Ghost lurking by his side in advance—Yinglong hadn’t! Perhaps that was the key to why Yinglong received this task!

In a twist of fate, the Otherworldly Ghost inadvertently helped him deceive Yinglong!