In Moncarlo during the night, within the vast Huannlang Theater, the highly anticipated auction was currently proceeding in an atmosphere of intense fervor. Item after item was displayed, high price after high price was called out, and amidst bursts of thunderous applause, the venue reached one climax after another.
"Congratulations to the guest in Box Number Nine, who won this exquisite Uso carved bone scepter with the high price of 20,000 Lire! May this ancient craft bring you the blessings of good fortune! Tonight, our sixteenth auction item has also been successfully sold!"
As the small hammer in the host's hand fell once again, another auction item was sold at a high price. Amidst the applause from the venue, the lift on the stage slowly descended, and the exhibit placed upon it also lowered into the backstage area.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's auction is drawing to a close. Before we present the final highlight item, let's first take a look at the next small dish. Now, allow us to showcase tonight's seventeenth auction item, the Vic Palace crystal bottle from Faloro!"
As the host introduced it loudly once again, the lift beside him began to operate again. Amidst a rumbling mechanical sound, another small exhibition stand was raised onto the stage. Placed upon the stand was a small, crystal-clear bottle.
"The Vic Blue Palace is a famous palace of the Faloro Sun Flower Dynasty, and this crystal bottle is a treasure from within it. Legend has it that the Royal Family of the Sun Flower Dynasty had the refined habit of consuming morning dew, and this crystal bottle was designed to collect and preserve the Royal Family's morning dew. If there are guests who wish to experience the life of the Faloro Royal Family, be sure not to miss this. This item starts at 4,000 Lire!"
Facing the audience before him, the host spoke loudly, and a round of bidding immediately began. The onlookers in the audience and the boxes started to give their bids one after another. However, perhaps because the value of this crystal bottle did not seem very high in everyone's eyes, the competition for bids on site was not very fierce. Compared to the many high-priced items before it, the final transaction price of this crystal bottle could already be predicted to not be very high.
Just as the bidding at the venue was proceeding in an orderly manner, within a certain box surrounding the venue, Edward, dressed in a cotton robe, was silently observing the scene before him. After watching several boring auctions of ordinary mundane items throughout, a hint of impatience had emerged in the depths of this powerful Extraordinary's eyes.
Standing not far from Edward, Tonic was also silently paying attention to the auction situation before him. Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, and his expression solidified. Then, he raised his right arm, brought his forearm close to his ear, and after maintaining that position for a moment, a glint appeared in his eyes.
"Captain, Sword Scale has sent word, the time for the transaction has arrived."
Putting his hand back down, Tonic respectfully said to the stern-faced Edward beside him. Hearing Tonic's words, Edward's eyebrows couldn't help but raise slightly, and then he spoke.
"Tell me... has Sword Scale finished inspecting the goods? How does he plan to give the things to me?"
"Sword Scale has confirmed Captain's results. The Seed of Corruption has been planted on Sister Vanya, and he is ready to complete this transaction. The crystal bottle currently being auctioned on stage contains the water from the Fountain of Youth. As long as Captain buys it directly, the Fountain of Youth water will belong to Captain."
Bowing slightly towards Edward, Tonic said with a smile. Hearing Tonic's words, Edward was slightly taken aback, then shifted his gaze to the crystal-clear bottle on the exhibition stand in the center of the venue. After examining it for a couple of seconds, he couldn't help but let out a cold snort and spoke.
"Hmph, to avoid showing his face in front of me, he's certainly put in some effort..."
After speaking, Edward turned his head to look at the servant beside him, then softly gave an order.
"Double the bid, take it down."
Hearing Edward's words, the servant beside him nodded, then took out a larger bidding paddle from the ones that hadn't been used before, walked to the edge of the box's viewing platform, and raised it high towards the outside.
"Vic Palace crystal bottle! The current bid is 9,000 Lire, are there any higher bids? A Royal Family item from the Faloro court, with high artistic and practical value, this is a treasure not to be missed.
"9,000 Lire once, 9,000 Lire twice... 9,000... Oh! The guest in Box Number Fourteen has directly shown the double bid paddle! Indicating they want to take this treasure with the high price of 18,000 Lire! It seems this guest is determined to get it!"
The host shouted loudly, and the audience at the venue couldn't help but turn their gaze towards the box's viewing platform that had suddenly increased the bid by so much at once. Many of the 'knowledgeable' people among them knew that the crystal bottle's value wasn't high, and they were secretly laughing at this unknown'sucker' who was willing to spend so much money in one go.
"18,000 Lire once, 18,000 Lire twice, 18,000 Lire sold! Congratulations to the guest in Box Number Fourteen for winning their desired treasure! Let's give him a round of congratulatory applause!"
On the stage in the center of the venue, after seeing the new bid, the host immediately shouted loudly as if cheering, and the audience at the venue also generously applauded again. Meanwhile, inside Box Number Fourteen, Edward, hearing that the item had been successfully auctioned off, slowly rose from his seat.
"Get the item, then return to Jun Hai Fort now. I need to inspect the goods..."
"Yes."
As he stood up, Edward spoke to his subordinates beside him, and his subordinates immediately gathered around him, leaving the box with Tonic.
Thus, with his acquisition, Edward left the venue early and embarked on the journey back to his base camp. Meanwhile, at this very moment, this grand auction had also begun to enter its final stages, of course... only on the surface.
Within another box, a pale-faced man with deep dark circles under his eyes sat motionless on a chair, looking expressionlessly at the noisy venue, and slowly murmured.
"Soon..."
After the crystal bottle was sold, the final highlight item was presented on the stage. Under the host's guidance, round after round of high prices were successively bid. Finally, the highlight item, the North Wu Ancient Civilization Crown, was sold for the highest price of the entire venue, 31,000 Lire, breaking the auction record for the night.
Finally, in the host's concluding remarks, the auction finally drew to a close. Amidst the melodious music, the host on stage stepped onto the lift and slowly descended beneath the stage, and the audience at the venue also began to rise and leave one after another. The entire auction was gradually dispersing at this time.
However, during the process of dispersal, not all the audience chose to leave immediately. Some audience members in the seating area, as well as a considerable number of audience members in the boxes, remained completely unmoved after the host announced the departure, still sitting in their original spots and waiting slowly, and there were no staff members at the venue to urge them to leave.
Finally, after quite some time of dispersal, the originally lively and crowded venue suddenly became very spacious and cold. In the vast audience seating area, only a sparse thirty to forty audience members remained sitting in their seats. Most of these audience members were wearing loose clothing and hats, largely concealing their figures and appearances. Everyone sat silently in their seats without saying a word, seeming to be patiently waiting for something, and there were many people similar to them in the boxes.
After the band also withdrew, there were no other people in the venue except for these remaining audience members. At this time, the originally bright Lights in the venue gradually dimmed. Around the venue, a circle of black-clothed guards suddenly appeared at some point. They stood in a circle around the circular venue, silently gazing at the people who still remained before them.
Then, without any accompanying music, the lift on the stage in the center of the venue emitted a series of muffled, continuous sounds. Amidst these continuous movements, the lift on the stage rose again. Standing on it as it ascended was a mature woman wearing a black dress and a half mask.
After stepping onto the stage, a woman scanned the sparsely populated venue. After bowing slightly in all directions, she slowly opened her mouth.
"Noble guests who know the hidden side of this world and have gathered from the shadows of all sides, welcome to the second half of this auction! The true treasures that surpass the mundane will be displayed one by one for your selection. May you all purchase your desired items tonight."
The new auction host delivered a new opening speech to the few attendees in the venue. Afterwards, she reached out to the lift beside her, and amidst continuous mechanical sounds, new items were slowly being transported onto the stage.
"Without further ado, I will now present to you tonight's nineteenth lot, which is also the first Extraordinary lot: the bark of an Aolu Human-Faced Tree!"
As the host spoke, the new lot was finally fully raised onto the stage. What was displayed before everyone present was a piece of old tree bark hanging on a display stand, bearing a human-shaped face. On the wrinkled, rough bark, a lifelike human face grew, and it was even breathing evenly, as if the entire piece of bark was truly alive.
"Legend has it that the Aolu people, who are now almost extinct, possessed a secret tree burial method. After death, the Aolu people would voluntarily allow the trees in their habitat to devour their bodies, causing their faces to grow on the trees, forming Human-Faced Trees. Human-Faced Trees with a hundred or even a thousand faces possessed powerful Extraordinary abilities and could become the guardian gods of the Aolu people. The facial bark of the Human-Faced Tree also has many Extraordinary effects. It is an important prop for many ""Cup"" rituals and a key material for making living wood and disguise masks."
"One piece of Human-Faced Tree facial bark, starting bid is 40,000 Liel. The auction now begins."
Facing the sparsely populated venue, the masked female host made the announcement in a tone that didn't carry much emotion. Immediately, a new round of tense bidding slowly unfolded.
Meanwhile, the pale man with dark circles under his eyes still sat in his seat, waiting for something, showing no intention of competing for the item before him.
And the man wearing the snake-shaped ring had already disappeared from his private box with his servant. For them, the second half of the auction also seemed to hold no appeal.
...
Just as the Huannlang Theater auction reached its second half, within Moncarlo's most fortified Jun Hai Fort, a raging fire of fury was dangerously burning.
"Ah!!"
Within the vast audience hall of Jun Hai Fort, a piercing scream echoed through the empty space. Tonic, an Extraordinary, was currently lying on the floor of the audience hall covered in blood, twitching incessantly. On his body were dozens of blood holes of different sizes, from which dripping blood flowed out. His blood-stained expression was filled with terror and confusion.
"Ah... Edward... what's going on... why..."
Lying on the ground, Tonic stared at the old man currently sitting on the main seat of the audience hall, struggling to speak. Edward, sitting on his throne, had a gloomy face and coldly said while shaking the small crystal bottle in his hand.
"What's going on? I'd like to ask you that question... Is this the Fountain of Youth that Sword Scale promised to trade me? What's with the extremely thin Spirituality in here? Is this what the essence of life that can grant fifty years of lifespan looks like? Do you really think I'm easy to fool..."
"Thin Spirituality... That's not right... This crystal bottle should be correct... That should be the Fountain of Youth..." Listening to Edward's cold words, Tonic endured the severe pain in his body and said somewhat distractedly. Edward responded sternly.
"Shut up! There's no room for you to speak now, tell Sword Scale to talk to me himself!"
Edward directly roared at Tonic. Listening to Edward's angry roar, Tonic paused slightly, then tremblingly raised his arm, pulled up his sleeve, revealing a set of closed facial features growing on his forearm.
Then, Tonic brought the forearm with the facial features to his mouth, whispered something, then tremblingly held it up towards Edward. Then the eyes and mouth on it slowly opened, looking at Edward on the seat and speaking in a man's voice.
"What's going on? Edward, you should have received your payment. The Fountain of Youth can grant you fifty years of lifespan."
"Fountain of Youth... You call this stuff the Fountain of Youth?! The Spirituality is so thin, the main component is just ordinary water! Do you think you can fool me with this kind of thing?! Sword Scale, you kid!"
Looking at the wriggling facial features on Tonic's arm, Edward spoke angrily. He slammed his hand on the armrest beside him, shattering the entire chair into pieces.
"Thin Spirituality... water... No, Edward, what I gave you was the real Fountain of Youth water! Did you get something wrong? Or are you dissatisfied with what you got... and want to extort more from me?"
After hearing Edward's words, Sword Scale, who was on the other side of the human facial features altar, paused slightly and then spoke cautiously. Clearly, for Sword Scale, the credibility of all of Edward's words was low, and Edward's continued angry words were his response.
"Nonsense! There's something wrong with your Fountain of Youth water, and you want to bite back? This is what's inside your little crystal bottle that obscures Spirituality. I bought it according to what you said. You come over and see for yourself if these few drops of water can give fifty years of life! If you don't come, I'll personally come and invite you..."
With a threatening tone, Edward angrily said to Sword Scale. Hearing Edward's words, there was a silence from Sword Scale's side, and then he continued to speak.
"Hmph... Although I don't know what trick you're trying to pull again, what I want to say is that you can't find me now, so don't waste your efforts trying to catch me. However, if there is really something wrong with the Fountain of Youth water you received, I advise you to look for the reason elsewhere and stop targeting me. I have already given the real Fountain of Youth water to your auction house..."
"Auction house..."
Listening to Sword Scale's words, Edward suddenly paused slightly, then his brows furrowed slightly, as if he was thinking about something. Just then, there was a sound of hurried footsteps from outside the audience hall door. Edward glanced over and saw his son, Lao Lan, walking quickly into the audience hall.
"Father! Something unusual has happened at the auction house." Kneeling on one knee on the carpet of the audience hall, Lao Lan said respectfully to Edward after glancing at Tonic, who was covered in blood beside him. Edward immediately responded.
"What's the situation? Speak..."
"It's the auction house staff. The staff responsible for the first half suddenly fainted during the work handover. It took a while to wake them up...
"However... after they were woken up, they were actually eager to go to work! They had completely forgotten their memories of working tonight and didn't know that their shift for tonight had ended. They said that when they came to work, they suddenly felt very sleepy and then inexplicably fell asleep until just now! Father, there's an 80% chance that Extraordinary power was involved here. The second half of the auction might have problems."
Lao Lan reported the strange incident he had just been handling and his speculation to Edward. Listening to Lao Lan's words, Edward couldn't help but widen his eyes and froze in place, then slowly opened his mouth and murmured softly.
"Hypnosis... sleepwalking..."
As he spoke, Edward's tone became heavy, and his face became terrifying. He gritted his teeth and squeezed a word through them.
"Black Dream..."