Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After that excited announcement, the whole auction was bathed in bright white light, the powerful spotlights all around them lighting up one by one.
Bam!!
A ring of fire abruptly exploded on the very front of the stage, like a rocket shooting into the sky.
The platinum-colored flames fell slowly with time, fading, and then a handsome man, tall and slender, and dressed in white, appeared on the stage without anyone else noticing.
He raised his arms high, and bent his waist, bowing low towards the crowd below him.
“Welcome, everyone, to the auction.”
“I am Earl Platinum. I believe that everyone here understands just how precious time is, so I will not beat around the bush, let us now go to the main topic of the night.” The man snapped his fingers loudly.
Two large men carried a white box from the side onto the stage. The box had deep patterns engraved onto it, and in these path-like craters, there were actually several thin platinum-colored snakes.
The live snakes kept swimming regularly through the pathways, with no intention of escaping the box.
“The first Serpent Crate, Light of Frenya, the mysterious crown originating from Frenya. Apparently, it has magical rays that can prolong one’s youth.”
White smoke sprayed out of the crate slowly, revealing a slightly small platinum crown resting in the middle of black swan down.
“Bidding begins at sixty million. Starting from now!”
“Are you interested?” Garen looked at Celine with a laugh.
“I’m not that kind of idiotic woman who puts everything else aside just to make myself look good all the time,” Celine clicked her tongue, picked up her drink, and took a sip from it. “Rather than using so much money to buy a white elephant like that, I might as well just go for one round of Genetic Amelioration.”
Garen did not comment further, and just turned his attention downward, without making an offer.
The bidding below had already begun, and as expected, all the voices bidding were female. Such an intricate crown could not even be worn out once bought, so he had no idea why these people were trying to buy it.
Soon enough, the crown was successfully sold, and they proceeded to the next Snake Crate.
“The second Snake Crate, Auto-Equip Armor, also known as Mech Armor, it’s a must-have for powerful pilots. Bidding starts at three hundred million.”
This caught Garen’s eye somewhat, but he knew of it as well. Auto-Equip Armor had always been something only Inherited Level pilots could use. He did not even have his own specialized Mech yet, it was still far too early for him.
Soon enough, this thing was bought by a merchant with a large pot belly, evidently not for his own use. It was very likely meant to be a gift.
The third item followed closely after that, and the fourth. They were all just rare gems, nothing else special.
By the sixth item, the box seat opposite theirs finally made a move.
The VIP in the first box seat obtained this Snake Crate, even before the crate was opened, he just bought it for ten times the starting price. No one knew what was inside.
That did cause some ripples through the auction.
The few items after that were all bought away by the VIPs in the box seats, and the prices grew higher and higher as well. A completely average vase was even raised to a terrifying price of one point six billion.
“Maybe some higher-up from some family is here, otherwise they would not have such buying ability,” said Celine with a laugh.
“I hear that some of the family leaders of the smaller families will even come here in person, using all their assets to bid for some things. I never thought that it might very well be true.” Garen shook his head. “The next one is the Ring Light Silver I want.”
“I hope everything goes well, our highest budget is two and a half billion, if we can’t buy it with that much, then we’ll have no chance.” Celine nodded, Ring Light Silver usually would not exceed a hundred million per ton, but now Garen was desperately in need of a large amount of the stuff. If someone interfered with the bidding, it was very likely that the price would increase to a troublesome amount.
“The next Snake Crate is something everyone is familiar with, the one everyone knows as a rare and precious material – Ring Light Silver!!! Ten tons!!”
The host started yelling loudly.
The crate beside him spewed white smoke slowly, and opened up, revealing a clean white bank storage receipt for the Ring Light Silver.
“These ten tons of Ring Light Silver are the greatest essence that we at the auction discovered in some mountains deep with the dangerous radiation zone. They have not been cut, or modified by radiation in any way! Completely original, with no trace of any preservatives guaranteed~! Bidding starts at, five hundred million!!”
“It’s half that of market price, if no one offers for it, the auction would have lost big,” said Celine with a laugh, when she heard the price from below.
“No way, this thing was shipped here especially for customers like us, it’d be weird if there were no offers for it,” Garen laughed, and pressed the panel in front of him lightly.
“One billion.”
A calm voice appeared on the site.
“One billion! Box Number Five offers one billion, is anyone willing to go higher! This is a complete piece of ten-ton Ring Light Silver, once in a hundred years. If it was diluted and used according to standard measurements, it could increase a hundred standard issue Mechs by 0.2 levels!!” roared the host.
“One point one billion!” Someone made an offer.
“One point five billion!” Garen said directly, raising to price to a terrifying extent. It was instantly approaching the highest bidding price yet, of one point six billion.
The place was also starting to grow rowdy, countless gazes focusing on Box Number Five, as though guessing who the person inside could possibly be.
In another box seat opposite them.
Fila and that thin, weak young man were sitting side by side, both of them accompanied by a half-naked beauty, and currently they were looking down at the auction beneath them.
“Remington, that’s Ring Light Silver, if you want to create a powerful, high-quality luxury private battleship for yourself, then Ring Light Silver is more suitable than Dream Gold. They’re both memory metals, but the silver’s memory regeneration abilities are superior to Dream Gold’s. Although it may not be hard enough, you can use it for a long time without having to repair or maintain it too often, so it can save you a lot of effort. Of course, the price is just as high,” suggested Fila with a smile.
“It’s just as high? That’s okay, my principle has always been to buy expensive things, rather than the right things,” said the thin man proudly, his chin raised. “It won’t do if it’s too cheap, that will damage my status and reputation.”
He tapped the panel in front of him.
“Two billion!”
The reporting of the price instant destroyed the previous highest price of one point five billion.
“Box Number Two offers two billion! Two billion!!” The host was getting even more excited, evidently even he had never seen a price as high as twenty billion. It just went up by five hundred million just like that, evidently that person had cash to spare.
Garen’s expression went cold and he stared at Box Number Two opposite him. If he remembered correctly, that was the place Fila had gone in.
“Someone’s playing games.” Beside him, Celine’s expression grew cold as well, and she smiled coldly. “It is Fila, as I thought.”
“It might not be just playing around,” Garen shook his head slightly. “Two point five billion!”
He put down his bid immediately, raising the price to the highest he could take.
There was no way he could gather so much Ring Light Silver on the market, several dozens of kilograms would already be fortunate, so he needed these ten tons of Ring Light Silver!
Rather than increasing the price slowly, he would rather increase it by five hundred million at once, letting the opponent think he still had plenty left in his budget so that they would retreat rather than risk both sides losing out.
But unfortunately, and contrary to Garen’s expectations, the other party raised the bid.
“Three billion!” a calm voice said.
The whole place erupted, and the noise grew louder. Three billion, that price was already far beyond what these ten tons of Right Light Silver should cost. The discussions grew louder and louder, anyone who attended the auction here was definitely rich, but three billion was already more than half of some people’s entire fortunes, so it was completely normal that this would incite a frenzy of discussion.
Inside the box seat, Garen’s expression was dark.
“I can still use five million that my family gave in advance…” Celine said quietly beside him.
Garen raised his hand, telling her that she should stop talking. Then he tapped the panel lightly.
“Three billion… Fila, are you trying to pick a fight?”
“What do you mean, picking a fight? It’s an auction, I’m just bidding like usual, if you don’t have money then scram, don’t embarrass yourself here!” Fila cold laugh came from the other side.
Garen narrowed his eyes. “You must know, that no matter how good something is, you better make sure you’re alive to enjoy it…”
“Are you threatening me?!” Fila’s voice was icy.
The two of them were in direct conflict, their voices clashing through the bidding equipment, as though sparks were actually flying.
The others in the auction hall were all interested as well, it was rare to see a butting of heads like this.
“Nonosiva, you think you’re so f*cking great, don’t you?” Suddenly, a rather feeble voice was broadcasted across the area as well. “No matter how mad you are, you’re still a dog belonging to our Black Flood! What right do you have to be so cocky!”
“And who the hell are you! How dare you speak to me like that?” Garen’s expression was approaching sub-zero.
“The hell are you! Why don’t you run on back and ask your teacher who the hell I am! How dare a dog bark crazily in front of their master, I’ll break your legs, all three of them!” The voice on the other side was growing more and more furious.
“Even your teacher doesn’t dare to talk like that in front of me, who the f*ck do you think you are! Son of a bitch! If we weren’t at this place, you watch out, I’ll squash you as soon as you leave!”
Garen’s expression grew stormier and stormier. These past few years, he kept climbing the ranks, but his abilities did not improve as much. That was already reason for him to be in a bad mood, but now there was such an arrogant piece of trash blocking his way forward.
“I found it!” said Celine suddenly beside him. “The one talking is one of the higher-ups from your Black Flood Party!”
Garen turned off the panel and heard the other side cursing loudly again.
“Who is he?”
“The son of the Black Flood Party’s seventh Divine Wind General, Remington!”
Bam!!
Garen smashed his fist into the armrest, and the armrest made of alloy actually bent under the force.
“Nono!” Celine frowned deeply, shaking her head at him. “Control yourself, there’s a Resonance pilot on the other side! And more than just one! Your senior brother won’t stand out for you either. The Divine Wind Generals are too powerful!”
Garen took a deep breath, right now it was true that he did not have the right to fight this person. Divine Wind Generals, only fighter pilots above Level Six in the Black Flood Party had the right to claim the title of Divine Wind General. It was not just merely a title, you needed extreme power to be able to shoulder it. Even among the Inherited Level pilots, only the ones at the very top had the right to that title.
“The Seventh Divine Wind General, if I’m not mistaken, he should be from the faction opposing ours.” Garen took a deep breath.
“I forfeit this bid,” Garen said softly, pressing the panel.
“Atta boy, a dog should act like a dog! A disobedient dog will be beaten to death by their master,” Remington’s cocky voice came from the opposite box.
“I hope the Seventh Divine Wind General can protect you all forever…” Garen said coldly, and then got up and walked away.
“What a joke, you’re just trash who can’t even reach Resonance Level!”
Garen did not reply to that. If he stayed for any longer, he would just be humiliating himself. He could not bother them, and they stood in the way of what he needed most, so there was no point in staying any longer.
Celine got up as well, and their leaving made the lights in the box go off.
The two of them followed the path and reached the leaping point room. And at the same time, Remington successfully obtained the item he was bidding for.
“The Seventh Divine Wind General has made a move as well, he’s obviously preparing to suppress you.”
“Not necessarily, consider his position, there’s no point to him suppressing a junior like me. He has his own descendants too, wouldn’t he be worried about my teacher’s faction opposing him as well? That will just lead to losses on both sides.” Garen shook his head slightly.
“That’s not for sure either, the Seventh Divine Wind General was always an arrogant one, he never did care about preserving face or the like,” said Celine softly, according to the information she had found.
“What do you plan to do now that you didn’t get the Ring Light Silver you were looking for?”
“Are there any other channels?” asked Garen.
“No, there’s no more Ring Light Silver, you can only a lower level metal to replace it.”
“If I don’t use Ring Light Silver, the Mech will be weaker in functionality, and later I’ll need to upgrade it with different materials. That’s too bad, if I had Ring Light Silver, I wouldn’t need to change materials even after I reach Inherited Level,” sighed Garen.
“What do you plan to do?” asked Celine softly. “Do you want to get someone to intercept and rob them?”
