Chapter 1 The Doubt

"You're going?" Gu Xiao Shang was quite surprised. Han Family Young Master's goal in joining them had always been to deal with Qian Li Zui and Jian Gui, the two players guarding the city. He had been indifferent to everything else. Now, he suddenly volunteered, and Gu Xiao Shang couldn't help but suspect, "Do you think there's something wrong with this?"

"I can't see any problems yet, but I have a suspicion," Han Family Young Master said.

"You suspect it's that little guild Qian Li Zui and Jian Gui created?" Gu Xiao Shang had also learned about Qian Li Zui and Jian Gui forming a guild from Han Family Young Master.

"I can't be sure, but their guild must have been established already," Han Family Young Master said.

"How do you know?" Gu Xiao Shang asked.

"Asked directly," Han Family Young Master said.

"Then can we ask directly about this now?" Gu Xiao Shang asked.

"I asked, and they pretended not to know," Han Family Young Master said.

"Pretended not to know... it seems you're very suspicious of them?" Gu Xiao Shang laughed.

"Qian Li Zui and the others have already had assassination missions targeting guild leaders. Now this auction just happens to have a condition that requires the guild leader to claim it. Several guild leaders gather together, and the mission is completed by assassinating them all. Give me a reason not to suspect they're behind it," Han Family Young Master said.

"Then what do you think we should do now?" Gu Xiao Shang said.

"This... if it's true, I think they're determined to prioritize completing the mission even at the cost of their lives, so there's no use in us setting up some mantis stalks the cicada scenario. The people the other three guilds are sending are enough to overwhelm them... so it's more useful to prevent their assassination plan from the root. This requires communication with the other guilds," Han Family Young Master said.

"How do we communicate?" Gu Xiao Shang asked.

"Simple, it's just an auction. Everyone should just avoid sending their guild leaders and just send a few nobodies," Han Family Young Master said.

"Alright, we'll send you then," Gu Xiao Shang said angrily. This guy really had no filter, calling people nobodies! Now that he'd said it, how could she conveniently send anyone else? Wouldn't whoever she sent become a nobody in her, the guild leader's, eyes?

"Of course, I can go, but at least give me a few helpers!" Han Family Young Master laughed, unconcerned.

So Gu Xiao Shang started rallying troops in the guild. At the same time, she sent a message to Wu Shi Zhi Jian, "Wu Shi, I think we need to be extra careful about this. Be careful it's a trap!"

"Oh? What's wrong?" Wu Shi Zhi Jian paid extra attention to Gu Xiao Shang's words.

"It's possible that this is an assassination plan orchestrated by Qian Li Zui and the others," Gu Xiao Shang said.

"Why do you say that?" Wu Shi Zhi Jian asked. Although he wanted to obey Gu Xiao Shang unconditionally, he still had to deal with the guild members. Without clear evidence, if he suddenly told people, "Gu Xiao Shang says this auction is a trap, so we're not participating," he would definitely lose his position as guild leader. Wu Shi Zhi Jian was still careful to maintain appearances.

"There's no evidence, just a suspicion, so I'm reminding everyone to be careful. I suggest that none of our guild leaders show up at the auction for now. Send someone you trust to participate. What do you think?" Gu Xiao Shang said.

"Yeah, that's no problem. I'll just send Dao Ying," Wu Shi Zhi Jian readily agreed. Actually, Wu Shi Zhi Jian was so eager to participate in the auction because he wanted to meet Gu Xiao Shang and have a chance to flirt with her. Now that he learned that Gu Xiao Shang was unlikely to go, Wu Shi Zhi Jian naturally lost his enthusiasm and immediately sent a message to Dao Ying Nian Hua, "Dao Ying! I won't be going to the auction this time. Take some brothers with you."

"Why?" Dao Ying Nian Hua was right next to Wu Shi Zhi Jian, yet he received a message from him. He was very strange, but he didn't dare to say too much and replied in a message.

"After thinking it over, what if this is a trap set by Qian Li Zui and his gang, precisely to lure us guild leaders over and then eliminate us? What should we do? So I think it's better if I don't go in person," Wu Shi Zhi Jian said seriously.

"Is that so?" Dao Ying Nian Hua was suspicious. "Is it because Gu Xiao Shang isn't going?"

"Uh, I can't deny that there's a little bit of that," Wu Shi Zhi Jian said.

"Damn it," Dao Ying Nian Hua replied, while glancing at Yun Xiang, who was following right next to them. He turned to him and said, "Brother Yun Xiang, I'll go to the auction with you later."

"Oh? What about Guild Leader Wu Shi?" Yun Xiang asked.

"He's providing support from the outside," Dao Ying Nian Hua said blandly.

Yun Xiang had also gained experience from this mission and calmly said "Oh" without changing his expression. He quickly sent a message back: "Situation has changed. Wu Shi Zhi Jian said he will not participate in the auction. Guild core member Dao Ying Nian Hua will participate."

At this time, Gu Xiao Shang had also negotiated with Yun Zhong Mu Di and Hei Se Shi Zhi. Although these two guild leaders didn't have the same absolute trust in Gu Xiao Shang, Gu Xiao Shang had a good reputation in Cloud City. The two guild leaders believed that if Gu Xiao Shang wanted to compete for this mission, even if she gathered a group of people for a brawl, she would never resort to any schemes. Therefore, they both accepted Gu Xiao Shang's reminder, and the two families also made arrangements one after another, choosing trusted members to participate in the auction.

"Damn! This must be Gongzi's doing!" Gu Fei said after receiving the message.

"Yeah, the guild leaders didn't have this kind of behavior originally, but they reacted halfway through, so they must have received some kind of reminder. But I guess they don't have any evidence, just the precaution that one should always be wary of others. Plus... your images are deeply rooted in people's minds," Xi Xiao Tian said to Gu Fei and Jian Gui. She was an archer, so her movements were relatively fast. After coming out from Upstream, she returned to the logging camp one step ahead, and had already met with everyone.

"In this situation, if we continue to pretend and hold the auction, we can still win an assassination opportunity in the end. There will always be a guild leader to take on this mission," Gu Fei said.

"But if Wu Shi Zhi Jian and Gu Xiao Shang come, then it's meaningless, right?" Jian Gui said.

"In the current situation, these two have a very high chance of winning. You guys can't not know about Wu Shi Zhi Jian and Gu Xiao Shang, right?" Xi Xiao Tian said.

"The system is inexplicable. Why did Wu Shi Zhi Jian's mission on you fail when I was the one who died?" Gu Fei said.

"How would I know," Jian Gui said.

"You two stop discussing this. Next, I think we can only make the fake real and continue with the auction," Xi Xiao Tian said.

"That's all we can do," everyone sighed.

"I'll still host the auction!" Xi Xiao Tian said, "Since Han Family Young Master is already suspicious, then there's no need for me to hide. If I can find a chance to resolve the other party's doubts, things might still turn around."

"Whatever you want!" Gu Fei never cared about Xi Xiao Tian's plans and looked indifferent.

"Good luck!" The others gave Xi Xiao Tian great encouragement. So Xi Xiao Tian sent another message to Yun Xiang, saying that she would still be taking over the auction.

In the suburban logging camp, the final situation was very different from what everyone had expected at the beginning. None of the guild leaders they wanted to see came, but Han Family Young Master, whom they didn't want to see, was the first to arrive. A group of people were hiding in the dark, and when they heard Xi Xiao Tian's message that Han Family Young Master had arrived, they all gritted their teeth. Yu Tian Shen Ming suddenly suggested, "Forget it, we can talk about the guild leader later. Let's jump out and kill Gongzi now! Let him be arrogant again."

"Kill him? Isn't he a neutral player now? There's no point in killing him!" Jian Nan You was the most practical.

"Stay calm, stay calm, the overall situation is more important," Gu Fei advised.

Xi Xiao Tian was standing under the pile of wood where the "mission person" Witt was sitting. When she saw Han Family Young Master, she showed a slight look of surprise and quickly greeted him, "What? Didn't Guild Leader Ni Liu say he wasn't coming to participate?"

"I'm no longer with Against the Current. I'm now representing Colorful Clouds," Han Family Young Master laughed, "What, are you from this guild too?"

"Yes!" Xi Xiao Tian laughed.

"Well, it seems we're a little early," Han Family Young Master looked around.

"Yeah, the other three guilds will be here soon too. The auction will be held here later, so just wait a moment!" Xi Xiao Tian said.

"Okay," Han Family Young Master nodded and started wandering around, looking here and there, but he didn't find what he was looking for. At this time, Dao Ying Nian Hua arrived with a few people from Across the Horizon. They nodded to Han Family Young Master as a greeting and came up to ask in a low voice, "Did you find anything?"

"Not yet," Han Family Young Master shook his head, "Maybe they received the message that the guild leader wasn't coming and retreated. In short, don't pay the money before getting the mission."

"Of course!" Dao Ying Nian Hua nodded.

Dao Ying Nian Hua had just arrived, and behind him, the Mu Yun guild and the Black Alliance also arrived together. Because everyone was wary now, they all came furtively, looking around to see if there was anything strange about this place, while walking over to greet the people who had arrived earlier. The Mu Yun side recognized Xi Xiao Tian, while Dao Ying Nian Hua and the Black Alliance recognized Yun Xiang.

After Yun Xiang arrived, he didn't say much and stood next to Xi Xiao Tian. After Xi Xiao Tian confirmed everyone's identities, she nodded and said, "Then, if there are no questions, let's start?"

These guys didn't look like they didn't have any questions at all, but their doubts were no longer about the auction. They were gathered on the side, whispering something. At this time, Xi Xiao Tian suddenly announced the start, and everyone was a little taken aback. Because of their suspicions, none of these people came with the intention of participating in the auction.

"Alright, the auction starts now. Please everyone look up. This young NPC Witt sitting on the pile of wood is the NPC for this mission. As long as you win this auction, after our guild leader gives up the mission, the winning party's guild leader can immediately talk to Witt and receive the mission. Alright, let's start now. The auction will follow the rules of the system auction house. We set the starting price at 200 gold coins, with a minimum increase of 20 gold coins. There is no upper limit. Who would like to open the bidding first?"

Three of the four representatives were looking at each other. Han Family Young Master was constantly sneering and decided to help warm up the atmosphere, raising the wine bottle in his hand and saying, "Then let's get things started!"

"Okay, Colorful Clouds bids 220 gold coins," Xi Xiao Tian announced.

"240?" Someone called out with some uncertainty.

"Mu Yun bids 240," Xi Xiao Tian announced.

"260?" The Black Alliance was also not very sure.

"Black Alliance bids 260," Xi Xiao Tian repeated to help.

"It's really starting?" This thought flashed through everyone's minds. So, there's no trap? The few people looked at each other again and started to get into character. The 20 gold coin increase became higher and higher, and they all bid very seriously. Han Family Young Master, after getting things started, didn't care much. He occasionally shouted out a price like he was interrupting, and 80% of his attention was not on the auction. He wandered around with his wine bottle, walking in circles, and even took out a telescope to observe everywhere.

Those three who were auctioning diligently reported to their guild leaders, describing the tragic competition and, more importantly, confirming what the psychological price the guild leaders had in mind. The price had instantly been shouted to 500. How much was this mission worth?

In this era of economic chaos and difficulty in measuring the value of gold coins, this was a difficult question. Facing an unknown mission, how much money was worth spending? Each guild leader was calculating in their heart, while inquiring about the assets of everyone in the guild, to calculate their financial strength. At the same time, they were also mobilizing their spies in other guilds to find out the other guilds' psychological price and financial strength.

The guild leaders didn't send any messages for a long time, and the representatives' bidding gradually became less enthusiastic than at the beginning. Every round of bidding, they would first ask for instructions from the guild leader. Xi Xiao Tian seemed to be very understanding of the other party's difficulties. Sometimes, when the time it took was relatively long, she wouldn't call the hammer, but just waited with a smile. Whenever this happened, the person who had just shouted the price would be very unhappy, thinking that they shouldn't be taking so much time to consider. The two who were considering supported Xi Xiao Tian's approach, thinking that it was just a game, and there was no need to be so rigid, and that this was a good thing. As a result, a new family quickly bid, and the other family began to procrastinate, and the one who requested that there be no rules without order changed again. The representatives of the three guilds were constantly changing their positions, and Xi Xiao Tian was just happily stirring things up in the middle, and never intended to drop the hammer. What made the three even more unhappy was Han Family Young Master. That person was wandering around everywhere, and sometimes he would just walk past them like a passerby, raise his wine bottle, and shout a random price. Was this an auction? It looked like he was just trying to cause trouble! Especially since this guy raised the minimum bid directly to 50 gold coins, the other three were complaining even more.

"Brother Han, what are you doing?" Dao Ying Nian Hua couldn't bear it anymore and grabbed Han Family Young Master when he passed by again and was about to raise his wine bottle.

"I'm seeing what tricks they're up to," Han Family Young Master said.

"You can look, but don't shout random prices! Is Colorful Clouds sincerely trying to buy the mission or is it just here to cause trouble!" Dao Ying Nian Hua said.

The people from the Black Alliance and the Mu Yun guild had even more opinions about Han Family Young Master, and when they saw the two whispering, they immediately came over and shouted, "What are you doing? What are you two doing sneakily?"

"Be open, be transparent!" the two strongly demanded.

"Damn it, shout your prices, you're always taking forever to call out! Miss Xi, this won't do! You're obviously waiting for us to raise the price. Auctions aren't like this, you have to set a time limit!" Dao Ying Nian Hua said.

"Damn, what time limit! You were also considering just now, why didn't you say a time limit at that time," the two on this side became anxious, now it was their time to consider.

"Set a time limit now, and if no one bids when the time limit is up, then the hammer drops!" Dao Ying Nian Hua said angrily.

"Damn, your guild has already discussed it, right? We haven't finished yet, no way!" Actually, everyone knew what they were considering, which was to communicate back and forth with the guild leader! Now that he saw Dao Ying Nian Hua suddenly become firm, he thought that this guy might have received instructions from the guild leader, but they hadn't discussed a plan yet! Of course, the two didn't want to.

They were arguing with reason, and suddenly the guy from the Black Alliance changed his mind in the next second: "Okay, then let's discuss a time limit!"

"Damn, you have a conclusion too, right!" The Mu Yun representative was instantly abandoned by his ally, wanting to cry without tears, and could only quickly ask Yun Zhong Mu Di for help: "Guild Leader, what's the maximum we can bid, you have to give me a price quickly, I'm always relaying to you, I really can't keep up, a new rule is about to be introduced, they won't wait for us to discuss it anymore, if no one bids in three seconds, the hammer will drop directly."

"What's the current bid?" Yun Zhong Mu Di asked.

"It's already at 1300," the representative replied.

"Okay, you start by bidding at 10,000. We'll discuss it during this time," If a thousand people in the guild each took out 10 gold coins, that would be 10,000. Yun Zhong Mu Di felt that this price wouldn't make everyone jump up and start a rebellion. Any more than that would have to be discussed, and gold coins were very valuable now.

The Mu Yun representative received the order and immediately bid: "1350!"

"Okay. 1350 gold coins, the Mu Yun guild is now bidding 1350 gold coins," Xi Xiao Tian announced.

"Wait, wait, let's pause first, we must clarify the rules this time first," Dao Ying Nian Hua said.

"That's right, how long can we wait, give us a time," the Black representative said.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Let's bid slowly, everyone can consider it at will," Xi Xiao Tian smiled.

"Of course you're happy for us to consider it slowly. Let's discuss this!" The three major representatives started to discuss. Han Family Young Master was excluded by them. They had serious doubts about this person's sincerity, and even the brothers who had come with Colorful Clouds felt that this person was too perfunctory. However, after they complained to Gu Xiao Shang, Gu Xiao Shang didn't care much, just saying "Let him be." After all, Gu Xiao Shang didn't have much hope for this mission.

"Thirty seconds? Just thirty seconds, is there no problem?" Dao Ying Nian Hua said.

"No problem, the hammer will drop if no one bids in thirty seconds," the other three were also firm.

"Very good, you, you count the seconds," Dao Ying Nian Hua pointed at Yun Xiang.

"Me?"

"Go, time for the bosses," Xi Xiao Tian smiled, "So, can we continue now?"

"Yes, we can."

"Okay, Mu Yun guild bid last, 1350 gold coins. Now continue."

"Ten thousand!" Han Family Young Master drifted by calmly with his wine bottle.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

There are so many mosquitoes, ferocious and evil, which greatly affects the performance of coding!