Chapter 1218: Chapter 966: The Nouveau Riche, Simply Thrilling!
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"It’s alright, the Flying Serpent Mercenary Corps was hired precisely for situations like this. I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle it on your own, which is why I prepared the Flying Serpent Mercenary Corps for you well in advance. However, this time you cannot make any mistakes, you must get that tetrahedron for me, or you know the consequences!" the elder said.
"Yes, I understand!" The middle-aged man nodded vigorously in agreement.
Five hundred thousand, the tetrahedron in hand. When Ai Lin placed the tetrahedron into her private space, she finally felt at ease, and all her worries completely vanished.
Long Yi hadn’t returned, and Ai Lin wasn’t in a hurry to leave either; she didn’t want to seem as if she was there solely for the tetrahedron.
In the subsequent auctions, Ai Lin also called out a few bids, but in most cases, once others realized that Ai Lin truly wanted an item, they generally stopped bidding. This made the auctioneer anxious, because although two exorbitant bids had been made earlier, those were not the final sale prices. The first time, Long Yi simply paid a penalty fee, and the item’s owner was counter-killed by the Elves. The second time a sky-high bid was made, it was by someone who left after agreeing to pay all the deposits. You see, the final sale price of an item essentially determines the status of an auction house. These two failed auctions were almost certainly going to be blamed on him; as an auctioneer, he failed to intervene in time when disputes arose, allowing the situation to deteriorate instead, which was a complete dereliction of duty on his part.
Anyway, he was extremely annoyed.
So he made a silent resolve: for the next item, he had to drive the price up. He subtly signaled to a few insiders seated among the crowd, who were specifically there to plant bids. They immediately understood, and it was finally their time to enter the fray.
And at that moment, Long Yi returned.
He came back alone.
Outside the auction house, Long Yi coincidentally ran into the middle-aged man who had just been expelled. When they met, the middle-aged man only saw Long Yi on his own.
"What, your Elf beauty has run off?" the middle-aged man taunted.
"Yes, with her strength, if she wanted to leave, could I have stopped her?" Long Yi retorted with a smile.
"Hmph, garbage." The middle-aged man’s lips curled with a hint of pleasure, clearly delighted at the prospect of the Elf beauty having run off. After all, Long Yi’s twenty million had just gone down the drain, which he considered a form of revenge.
"So, you’re out here breathing fresh air?" Long Yi taunted back, while secretly inquiring Ai Lin about what had happened. Ai Lin immediately informed Long Yi through their contract that the man had just been kicked out for breaching the agreement.
"None of your business!" The man’s complexion turned sour again. As a matter of fact, he had just contacted the Flying Serpent Mercenary Corps, and the mercenaries were currently converging in this direction. As soon as Long Yi and Ai Lin left the auction house, the mercenaries would rush up and forcefully take the tetrahedron.
All of this was within his calculations.
Long Yi pursed his lips and entered the auction house, where the auction was still continuing.
As Long Yi walked in, another precious item appeared at today’s auction.
"The next item up for auction is something beyond everyone’s imagination!" the auctioneer proclaimed confidently.
"Stop the hype, let us be the judge of that!" a young man shouted, which instantly prompted laughter from the surrounding crowd.
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"Haha, I know words alone aren’t enough! Since you all want to see, I must fulfill your request!"
As the black cloth was unveiled, Long Yi couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
This thing...
God Chasers!?
It was a rock, with a large crystal embedded within it, and inside the crystal, a red energy wave twisted and turned continuously.
God Chasers are parasites born deep within the consciousness of gods, pure energy beings, always chasing the traces of gods. When a god dies, they split into countless Divine Envoys, and it seemed that God Chasers also shattered, turning into fragments, and the piece inside this Crystal Stone must be one of them. Although this segment of energy was slightly weaker compared to the God Chaser hidden within the consciousness of Elder Solis, Long Yi couldn’t let such a dangerous thing rove around freely.
"This is a mysterious Crystal Stone found by an adventurer in a mystic zone, constantly emitting fragments of consciousness. These fragments contain some powerful energies, and if you’re lucky enough to decipher them, you can potentially become one of the Powerhouses. In fact, the owner of this lot became a Sanctuary-level powerhouse precisely because he cracked one of these consciousness fragments, transforming himself from a Nameless individual into a mighty figure."
The auctioneer started to stir up the crowd’s emotions.
As expected, hearing that cracking just one segment of the consciousness could make someone a Sanctuary-level powerhouse got some young people restless.
But some of the old hands weren’t so impressed, "Ordinary soldiers from the two great Empires are already of Sanctuary strength, so the Sanctuary level isn’t worth much anymore, is it?"
The auctioneer smiled, "But who would complain about being too high-level?"
It was just a single sentence, but it was a truth that everyone understood. How many people are there in the entire Plane? How many are soldiers of the two great Empires? It’s questionable whether one will even encounter a soldier from the Empires in their lifetime!
"Enough talk! What’s the starting bid?" a young man asked impatiently.
"Hehe, please be patient, there are some cautions left by the owner of the lot, and I’d like you to hear them before deciding whether or not to bid on this item. First, these consciousness fragments always contain some negative information, which can make people aggressive, radical, and even self-destructive if absorbed frequently. Second, some consciousness fragments can control the recipient, and if one’s will is not strong enough, it’s highly possible to be controlled and become a Puppet. Third, and this is the most important point, the Crystal Stone is currently unstable, and the energy wave inside may leave within a year, so please think carefully about the consequences."
These three cautions were very lethal, immediately deterring some people from bidding. Money is not important; life is paramount.
But there were still some who were full of confidence.
"Then, as usual, we will not set a reserve price for this time."
"One hundred million," Long Yi was the first to raise his bidding sign.
Starting with a direct bid of one hundred million, it was clear that Long Yi was determined to win.
As Long Yi spoke, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. The auctioneer knew that Long Yi and Ai Lin’s performance had already scared many people; the couple seemed to treat money like it was nothing, bidding casually, without a second thought. But you couldn’t really kick them out, could you? After all, they were bidding lawfully.
The auctioneer quickly gestured to a few shill bidders, and some people immediately started raising their signs, with the price quickly breaking the three hundred million mark.
By now, those shill bidders no longer dared to raise their paddles. Because if Long Yi suddenly stopped bidding, then they would have to pay out of their own pockets, and they did not have that much money! Even selling themselves would not cover the sum!
The auctioneer felt he had taken a fall today. Could it be that no astounding price would emerge? However, he soon realized that those tycoons, who had been silent until now, were gathering together and seemed to be exchanging some information. They quickly reached an agreement.
"Mr. Auctioneer, we have decided to make a joint bid. That’s within the rules, right?" said a tycoon who appeared to have been nominated as a trustworthy spokesperson.
"We are an auction house, responsible for transactions. We do not concern ourselves with where the money comes from," the auctioneer’s mind calmed down.
"Five hundred million," the tycoon stated outright.
Long Yi smiled. In fact, he had noticed the earlier secret discussions where they planned to combine their bids, proposing a price Long Yi simply couldn’t match, then share the Crystal Stone amongst themselves.
A nice thought, but they had failed to realize just how wealthy Long Yi was.
Long Yi’s wealth was enough to cause economic fluctuations in a nation.
"One billion," Long Yi declared the previous astonishing price.
"1.2 billion," the tycoon said without changing his expression.
"1.5 billion," Long Yi said.
"2 billion," said the tycoon.
"2.2 billion," Long Yi said.
"2.5 billion," said the tycoon.
The auctioneer was nearly going insane. In his career of hosting auctions, he had only heard of such a price being reached at the auctions of two great empires, and now, the same figure was happening in his auction house!
The craziness also affected the owner of the item, who was hiding in a secret chamber and had been keeping an eye on the proceedings. When the price hit 2.5 billion, he felt his heartbeat might stop.
But soon, the price reached 3 billion.
And Long Yi was still raising the bid!
"Five billion," Long Yi said.
At this price, the tycoon finally hesitated. They had indeed reached an agreement; ten of them, each contributing 300 million, which gave them about 3 billion in funds. A little fluctuation was not an issue, but in the blink of an eye, Long Yi had declared a bid of 5 billion.
This was simply...
Madness.
The tycoon looked around at his companions, all of whom frowned in silence.
"So, out of professional habit, I still have to ask if there’s anyone willing to raise the price, my lords?"
At that moment, the auctioneer felt his voice trembling.
No! Don’t be so weak! You’ve handled a 5 billion auction before!
"First call!"
"Second call!"
"Third call!"
The coalition of wealthy individuals showed no reaction.
The Crystal Stone was indeed valuable, but asking each of them to fork over 500 million for such a risky item, without knowing if they could reap any benefits, was too much—especially since they couldn’t even enjoy it by themselves.
What a joke!
Being rich didn’t mean spending money like this!
However, in Long Yi’s view, this was exactly how money should be spent!
Long Yi usually didn’t have any expensive habits; his money was primarily used to buy essentials, expenses that were practically negligible.
When the money was transferred and the Crystal Stone was stuffed into his personal space, Long Yi’s overwhelming feeling was exhilaration.
Back on Earth, countless people despised those labeled as nouveau riche, but they continued their ways undeterred. Back then, a poor Long Yi couldn’t understand it. However, once he became a nouveau riche himself, he immediately understood how thrilling the feeling was!
He had never spent so much money in either of his two lives! He had flown expensive fighter jets before, costing far more, but those weren’t paid for by himself!
The tycoons around him now looked at Long Yi and Ai Lin with entirely different eyes; they began suspecting they were super-rich individuals from a major star or empire, who had received some information and came specially to bid for these items. Some started to covertly investigate their origins, hoping to curry favor, but Long Yi had no intention of giving them the chance.
Having completed the auction, they immediately left the auction house. Some tried to approach them, and there were also those with ill intentions attempting to squeeze some information out of them. However, the two kept tight-lipped and had no intention of interacting with anyone.
After handling various procedures backstage at the auction house, they left the place at once. But just as they hadn’t gone far from the auction house, and hadn’t even found a secluded spot to cast their magic and leave, they were surrounded by a group of people. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
