Kiba sat down on his chair without any worry. Ashlyn sighed as she looked at Vasco who was in Mendel’s arms.
She couldn’t help but think of the people whom Kiba faced before they visited the core region. Besides the defeat of his opponents, she found another common point.
Pure, unadulterated sadistic pleasure.
At least, this time she felt he didn’t enjoy much. She reasoned it was not due to the location but rather Vasco being so weak that he didn’t find the idea of toying around any fun.
A medical team rushed in the auditorium with a stretcher. Mendel placed Vasco on the stretcher and walked back to his seat. The medical team gave a quick check to Vasco and detected heavy internal damage.
The damage could be undone in no time thanks to advanced medical facilities. The problem was he suffered this damage when two Dark Stars were rushing to save him.
Mendel was visibly dejected and he was in no mood to counter Kiba’s sarcastic remarks. Anamarie was same and she sat down in her seat.
The auditorium was filled with silence for a long time. Most of them didn’t find Vasco to be any strong but they were stunned nevertheless.
The threat posed by Vasco was not his strength but rather his background. The usage of bloodline suppression left no doubt on his identity as a noble descendant.
Everyone might know he is weak but rarely would anyone dare thrash him in public. It was similar to how a strong, bulky man wouldn’t dare harm a frail prince out on streets. The identity itself was both protection and threat.
Yet, Kiba not only harmed him but also humiliated him in the cruelest way possible.
Maynard looked in Kiba’s direction for a long while. He wanted to issue a threat and challenge Kiba but he was afraid.
Afraid of being mocked and shamed just like how his friend was.
Marita glanced at Kiba for a long time before bringing back the glass walls of the booth. She turned towards Maynard and said, “Young master, should I service you?”
Usually, Maynard would have agreed but given what happened to his friend, he didn’t dare agree.
“No. Just sit.”
“As you wish.”
Marita controlled a smile.
In her private booth, Sophia was annoyed by Vasco.
“Damn pig made the villain win again!”
The middle-aged woman didn’t know whether to cry or smile. She then gently pacified her master…
On the stage, Wassily was a bit taken aback by the development but he quickly got the situation under control.
He was in a joyous mood after the previous sales so he decided to be a bit generous. On his command, the patrons were served with free refreshments.
A few minutes later, auction resumed with full force. The conduct was such that no one even bothered about Vasco any longer.
Yasmine placed the next item on the table. It was a piece of dark rock stored in a glass container. The rock piece was as small as a baby’s fist and it showed no extraordinary features.
Every pair of eyes was focused on the rock to see why it was being auctioned.
The transparent force field allowed them to freely check it out, and even though the aura of the rock was not sealed, no one felt any energy fluctuations.
“Dear patrons, don’t judge a book by its cover,” Wassily rubbed his palms and continued. “This special rock was retrieved in a previous exploration of the core region. A detailed scan has shown it contains something far too extraordinary.”
Loud discussion started as soon as the core region was mentioned.
“Core region! Then it must be definitely extraordinary!”
“Indeed!”
“Nothing from there can be normal!”
“I must purchase it!”
“Are you all idiots?” A middle-aged mercenary named Rashad asked. He was sitting in the ordinary seating zone but his voice was lough enough for everyone to focus on him.
“What?!”
“How dare you!”
“What dare?” Rashad suppressed his urge to facepalm. “Idiots, I’m saving you from being scammed.”
“Scam?!”
“Yes! Give some work to your unused brain and remember the previous item that was auctioned.”
“A set of three seeds…!”
“Auctioneer said they originated from a legendary tree… they only needed nourishment and care…”
“But we now know those seeds were completely useless,” Rashad reminded them the most important part.
“Damn!”
“That young master from before almost went bankrupt…”
“Origin means nothing,” Rashad said with a sigh. “Someone might bring a pair of shoes from the core region. Would you start treating them as a royal crown?”
“That’s…!”
“Auctioneer is running a scam!”
“This rock must be as precious as a pebble!”
The excitement instantly died. Everyone looked at Wassily with heavy suspicion.
“I have never lied much less commit fraud or scam,” Wassily was internally angry but on the outside, he sported a professional smile. “There is a risk in everything in life and the same applies to this auction. But tell me, if I was running a scam, would thousands of people come to attend this auction twice a year?”
The crowd felt his words made sense but the memories of Vasco’s fall was far too fresh in their mind.
“Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles,” Wassily tried to clear suspicion from audience mind.
No one started bidding yet.
Wassily brought his eyes on Kiba and muttered to himself, “If only he hasn’t mentioned the truth about those seeds! Now this rock wouldn’t make any profit! Damn him!”
Wassily wasn’t lying when he said a detailed scan was done on the rock by the researchers at the fair. It was just that the scans found a big obstacle and the research team felt it was unfeasible to spent a fortune to bypass the obstacle.
Even before, many obstacles have been found. Usually, those obstacles were pieces of some unknown material that would hinder the sensors. They were worthless compared to the cost.
This was why the research team let go of the rock and gave it for auction.
Kiba neither listened to chaotic discussion nor he felt Wassily’s stare. He was too focused on the rock to divert his attention.
“This is…!”
Cosmic energy wrapped his pupils and his visual perception changed. He saw everything in a different spectrum of light and energy.
The piece of rock indeed contained an unknown metal that restricted electromagnetic and other forms of sensory arrangement.
The unknown metal was a darker shade of blue. So dark that it was almost black.
Kiba saw this metal was folded in a conical form.
As his vision passed right through the conical metal, a familiar incendiary feeling developed inside him.
This sensation was like the briefest moment before a burning matchstick catches fire in a pool of gasoline.
It was a prelude to an explosion.
Not an explosion of some ordinary fuel, but rather, an explosion of the greatest power source the humanity has ever known.
Gene.
The sequence of nucleotides that serves as blueprints for building the chemical machinery that keeps cells alive.
Genes were more than just physical and functional unit of heredity. Unlike what was believed before the era of evolution, genes carried more than just a particular set of instructions.
They actually stored infinite power source…
Thanks to this untapped potential, human body was actually a treasure trove with endless possibilities.
The incendiary sensation crawling inside Kiba targetted this very potential to start an explosion of grand proportions.
“Thankfully I didn’t make a direct connection,” Kiba sighed in relief as he saw the source of this sensation.
“Otherwise the entire forest would be exterminated in a series of chain explosion.”
What could be the source if not for Nanites?
The very reason he was forced to visit this forest…
