“I recall that today was the first day of the super auction. I wonder if there’s anything good?” Xia Fei asked.
Mosquito was just about to answer when he suddenly glanced warily at Monkey, worried that he might get another slap. In this group of young princelings, the pitiful Mosquito, who was the only one among them to have actually read a few books, and was always been this group’s punching bag. He did not dare to resist.
“Big bro Xia Fei, you’ll just need to see yesterday’s catalog of sold items to know. After all, it’s only the first day of the auction, and the truly worthwhile items have yet to appear,” Mosquito cautiously said.
“Nonsense!” Monkey slapped Mosquito on the head. “Big bro Xia Fei can look for himself if he wants. He doesn’t need any of your advice.”
Everyone laughed, but Xia Fei was somewhat displeased. The way this group of rich good-for-nothings worked truly made one unhappy.
“Monkey, Mosquito is right; why did you hit him?”
Monkey casually shrugged. “Do I need a reason to hit Mosquito? I just hit him whenever he starts buzzing around.”
Mosquito had a good temper and was not angered by these random slaps, constantly saying that he was fine.
Xia Fei intentionally coughed. “If this were an enemy, I wouldn’t say anything. You have to beat those people to the ground and keep on punching, but Mosquito is a fellow brother. In that fight against the people from the Monastic Order the other day, Mosquito charged right in. Would anyone else do something like that?
“We’re warriors, and in battle, only when our brothers have our backs can we be at ease. At those truly critical moments of life and death, the hypocritical people always putting on acts won’t be reliable. You can only rely on your brothers to fight together with you. There’s no telling how many enemies you’ll make in a lifetime, but you’ll only have a few brothers. It’s best not to discourage them.”
Xia Fei spoke very earnestly, and everyone was rather moved by his words. Monkey nodded and extended a hand. “Brother Mosquito, I won’t hit you in the future.”
…
Xia Fei did not know if Monkey would continue to bully Mosquito for his amusement in the future, but it was fine as long as he did not bully the youth in front of him. These young princelings, who grew up like this, had long ago made a habit out of it.
Not long after he returned to his room, he heard a knocking at his door. Mosquito stood awkwardly at the door.
“Big bro Xia Fei, didn’t you want to know about the auction? I brought over today’s information.”
Xia Fei invited Mosquito inside to sit. “I was just about to ask a concierge for this! The information on the trade carnival can’t be found on the interplanetary internet, which is rather inconvenient.”
“The trade carnival is a secret gathering, so how could the info be put on the public interplanetary internet? I happen to have a list of items being put up for auction and trading here, already sorted and organized. Big bro Xia Fei, take it,” Mosquito replied.
Xia Fei took a thick file, and upon flipping through a few pages, he discovered that Mosquito had already made detailed notes—all the higher-grade auction items marked with their source, rarity, and even their past auction price to make it easier to determine their true value.
“Did you do all this by yourself?” Xia Fei asked in surprise. “How long did it take for you to make such a detailed catalog?”
Mosquito went red in the face. “It didn’t really take that long, and I didn’t really have anything to do. I just sorted it out in my free time.”
Xia Fei laughed and embraced Mosquito. “Brother, you’ve been a big help to me this time. It would have taken me ages to organize this information by myself, and besides, I’ve never really liked clerical work.”
Suddenly.
Xia Fei felt that something was off. Mosquito’s body became extremely hot, his face turning as red as a ripe apple. He lowered his head and shivered uncomfortably.
All Xia Fei knew about Mosquito, was that he always wore a baseball hat and unsophisticated sportswear. Because he was young, his body was rather small and scrawny, and he had a very timid personality, resulting in his nickname of Mosquito.
Xia Fei took off Mosquito’s glasses and placed a hand on his forehead. “Are you running a fever? Eh? It’s somewhat hot? Why did your body temperature suddenly increase?”
Glancing at Mosquito’s face, he discovered that, behind those big black glasses, Mosquito actually had a rather delicate face, a small nose and mouth, and fair and tender skin.
Mosquito let out a strange yelp and stammered, “Fine! I’m fine! It’s late. I-I-I should get back.”
Xia Fei stood up straight and smiled at him. “Drink some water once you get back. I also have some understanding of medicine, so if you get a fever, come and find me.”
Mosquito nodded at Xia Fei then hastily opened the door and ran out, his face still red.
“How strange! Why did his temperature suddenly rise? Does he have some unique illness?” Xia Fei muttered to himself as he watched Mosquito leave.
“Idiot,” Phantom inexplicably muttered from behind Xia Fei.
Xia Fei was furious. “Who are you calling an idiot?”
“You, of course. You’re so much smarter than everyone normally, but in the end, you’re still an idiot,” Phantom harshly said.
…
Regardless, Mosquito’s information was a huge help to Xia Fei. In this world where information networks were highly developed, Xia Fei was not familiar with this sort of trade fair, where everything was done traditionally. After all, modern people could no longer get away from the internet and were used to searching the interplanetary internet for everything.
Xia Fei got up early in the morning and went to the auction consignment center on Thirteen Pearl Island. This was where participants could hand over items to be auctioned. If someone wanted to put up a possession for auction, they simply needed to present their pass and the item to be auctioned. Of course, for an auction of this level, one needed to present items of a proper level. The trade fair organizers would not accept everyday objects.
Several young women stood in front of the counter, while some people, who were taking part in the auction, sat on the large sofas in the lobby. Each object needed to be appraised by a specialist, so there were also three appraisal rooms next door. Everyone had to take a number and wait here while the staff made the appraisal and auction arrangements.
“Good day, sir. May I ask how I can help you?” A young woman with her hair tied in a ponytail went up to welcome Xia Fei, the words of greeting not having changed in thousands of years.
Xia Fei flashed the pass that Yuchi Dao had given him from his spatial ring. “I have a few items I want to put up for auction in the trade fair.”
The woman took the pass with both hands and glanced at it, and then she carefully handed it back. “Sir is an honored guest of The Brotherhood. Please come with me.”
Though Yuchi Dao was a very unreliable person, he was still a man of some fame and status within The Brotherhood. With his admission pass, Xia Fei naturally received the appropriate treatment. He did not know what this black metal plate meant, but he accepted this special treatment sans a qualm.
However, those people waiting to hand over their auction items softly sighed. Someone who had become an honored guest of The Brotherhood at such a young age inevitably drew the envy and admiration of others.
The woman led Xia Fei down a corridor to a secluded and simple-decorated room. She brought Xia Fei a cup of tea and a freshly printed catalog. “Please wait here a moment. Our head appraiser, Mister Xu, is currently seeing other guests. He will arrive soon.”
Xia Fei was not annoyed. He casually flipped through the catalog. New items for auction would appear in the auction every day, so the catalog also needed to be updated frequently.
It was not long until an old man entered the room. He saw the young Xia Fei sitting there and froze, after which he unpleasantly asked, “Did you make a mistake? He’s an honored guest?”
“Undoubtedly. A black three-star admission pass,” the ponytailed woman nodded and answered.
Though the question and answer were spoken softly, Xia Fei heard everything clearly. He mentally lamented in vexation, ‘Why is it that I always run into people who judge others by looks?’
The old man had the woman close the door, and with a pocket-size detector in hand, he sat across Xia Fei.
“What items does this sir wish to auction? All items put up for auction at The Brotherhood’s event must be of a certain grade in order not to degrade the organization’s reputation.”
Without batting an eye, Xia Fei took out an integrated video system that he had found in the ancient ruins from his spatial ring and placed it on the table.
“Oh! This is a multifunctional information control unit produced in ancient times. This item can be placed on the auction catalog,” the old man very breezily said.
“You don’t need to appraise it?”
“No need. Trust in my professional judgment,” the old man confidently replied.
Xia Fei once more reached into his ring.
Xia Fei placed a fist-sized Purple Heart of Spirit on the table.
The old man was struck dumb. He hastily took out a glove and solemnly picked up this piece of ore so that he could examine it closely.
“A Purple Heart of Spirit! A Purple Heart of Spirit of this size and purity! There’s no doubt that it’s a high-grade item! No doubt!” the old man cried in a slightly hoarse voice.
Things did not end here, though. Xia Fei took out a second Purple Heart of Spirit.
This was more than half as large as the first, and its luster even purer.
The old man was so astonished that his mouth dropped. Purple Hearts of Spirit were incredibly valuable, and the larger they were, the harder they were to find. For Xia Fei to take out two Purple Hearts of Spirit so liberally left the old man shocked, and he began to regret looking down on Xia Fei.
When the third Purple Heart of Spirit was placed on the table, the old man almost went insane.
This was because this ore was almost the size of a soccer ball and devoid of the slightest impurity. It was so pure that it could be used as transparent glass!
The old man swallowed and then said in excitement, “Heavens! A top quality Purple Heart of Spirit! I’ve been in the appraisal business for more than a hundred years, but this is the first time I’ve seen one of this weight and quality!”
