Chapter 319: Grand Gesture
As soon as he entered, Vikram was amazed by the intricate, numerous compartments inside.
Following behind the Survivor who led them, Vikram also clicked his tongue in wonder at the sight.
It was almost like a small city-state inside, with not only many rooms but even dedicated pedestrian paths.
This was Vikram’s first time here, and his eyes were filled with curiosity.
"Nowadays, Zombies can’t be stopped by ordinary stones, or even by metal that isn’t thick enough."
"Your shelter uses only stone materials like this; aren’t you afraid of zombies breaking in?"
The reason Vikram was late for this auction was because he encountered a group of Zombies emerging from underground on the way.
Fortunately, before leaving, he had specifically spent some Plant Essence to equip the front of his off-road vehicle with metal spikes as a means of attack.
He didn’t spend much time dealing with these troubles.
This shows how troublesome it is to deal with Zombies nowadays.
Currently, the Crimson Desire Shelter is indeed large enough, but the materials used to construct the Shelter are clearly lacking.
The Survivor leading the way chuckled upon hearing this, "Mr. Vikram, our Shelter can attract so many guests; you don’t need to worry about safety."
"As for what you said about the Shelter’s insufficient strength, that’s not a problem."
"Our Shelter primarily relies on the powerful strength of the Survivors themselves to resist external enemies."
"After all, it would be asking too much to completely build such a large place into a steel fortress."
Vikram’s heart tensed after hearing this.
"Indeed, this unique business model is basically exclusive to one area."
"With this method, the other party has definitely accumulated a lot of wealth in their pockets."
"Perhaps it’s difficult to build the Shelter entirely out of metal, but it’s enough for them to use the profits from the brothel to cultivate a large number of powerful fighters."
"No wonder most of the men in this Shelter can have a physique of over 30; they are truly inhumanly rich."
Vikram glanced around at the guides with a surprised expression.
As a brothel, the most eye-catching features were the clearly proposed small compartments.
As the group walked along the path, many eager women would emerge from the windows above and beside the road, winking and waving at them.
"Handsome guy downstairs, do you want to come play in big sister’s room after the auction?"
"Big sister guarantees to serve you comfortably, making you feel both alive and dead ~"
Regardless of the performance of Vikram’s team’s equipment, it was at least intimidating, and any discerning girl could tell that these people were well-off.
Naturally, they became the most favored targets of these women of the night.
Vikram himself didn’t react much; he had a slight germophobia, and at least he had no interest in eating seafood of unknown toxicity.
The auction site seemed to have been set up by Lilith deep within the Shelter.
After walking for a long time, the group finally entered an indoor venue.
The auction venue was a metal building similar to a warehouse; after simple renovation, it became a temporary trading place.
Vikram nodded, saying it was an auction, but it was still held in the Wasteland World after all.
It was obviously impossible to replicate the luxury of Earth’s auction houses.
Nevertheless, the interior of the warehouse was relatively clean, with simple wooden boards laid on the floor.
Around the perimeter were simple seats cobbled together from metal and wood.
The room could seat approximately two hundred people.
Calling it an auction, the setup here was more akin to a movie theater.
Such an auction naturally had no private rooms, but Vikram didn’t mind.
Anyway, the group was fully armed, so even if others wanted to recognize them, they couldn’t.
The leading Survivor took them to seats in the back, slightly to the right, of the auction area.
On the other side, to prevent Vikram from clashing with Snape again at the auction, Snape was arranged in the leftmost seats.
"When the auction starts later, remember to be vigilant of your surroundings."
"Notify me immediately if anything happens, and don’t hesitate to shoot if necessary."
"Yes, Boss, mission accomplished!"
Vikram turned around and reminded Ron, Percy, Harry, and Draco in the back row. While also glanced towards Fire Mage and Space Mage.
Assassin and Phantom have already merged into the crowd.
He hadn’t forgotten that they were currently deep in someone else’s territory, and from the looks of it, the other side had many powerful Survivors.
The necessary caution absolutely could not be lacking.
To be honest, his main objective for coming here this time had basically been achieved.
He had already learned most of the strength of these Survivors outside the venue.
The physiques of most Survivors currently fluctuated between thirty and forty points.
A few more powerful ones reached over fifty points, but there were only two or three, and Snape was one of them.
What surprised him was that, despite them not having the gene serum provided by the system, there was one person in the crowd whose overall physique reached 60 points.
It should be known that all current items that increase physique, including Physique Fruit, crimson orb, ordinary crystals, and mutated crystals, together only provide a total of fifty points of physique enhancement.
This means that either the other party’s initial attributes were already maxed out, or, like Vikram, they had also started consuming advanced crystals dropped by Epic-level Zombies.
Vikram’s gaze shifted slightly to the left; there was a team of people in the crowd as conspicuous as them, also in uniform.
The Survivor with a physique over 60 was precisely among them.
[Evan: Strength: 62, Speed: 60, Stamina: 62, Reaction: 61.]
Being stared at by Vikram, Evan also seemed to sense it and quickly turned his head, but found no Survivor staring at him.
"Phew, the Survivors from this Official Shelter are something; they can even detect me peeking through goggles."
Vikram, who had withdrawn his gaze in advance, let out a sigh of relief.
He, of course, recognized that the other party was ’Team Leader Evan’ from the video call at the Savage Wolf Shelter that day.
However, although there was no conflict between the two, they weren’t familiar enough to go up and say hello.
Adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, Vikram didn’t bother to recognize anyone.
His mission for coming here today was mostly complete, and since he was already here, he might as well see what surprises this auction could bring him.
As soon as his thoughts settled, the pitch-black environment in the venue suddenly lit up.
Not only did the display stand for the auction items illuminate with clearly carefully arranged spotlights, but soft white light also fell from above the seats.
The Survivors who had rushed from various places to attend the conference also gave face by applauding and praising the venue’s setup.
Lilith was already standing on the front platform, giving some introductory remarks, and the auction should officially begin.
Vikram raised an eyebrow at the sight, put his arms around the two women, crossed his legs, and quietly waited for the auction items to be presented...
—
On the auction stage, Lilith made a grand appearance in a deep blue evening gown.
This made Vikram look at her with new respect.
He didn’t really care much for clothes; for him, as long as they provided warmth, it was fine.
However, the reality was that Vikram had been in the Wasteland for so long, yet he hadn’t collected any clothing other than cold-weather gear.
This attire, which might have been unremarkable on Earth, was quite rare in the Wasteland.
It had to be said that Lilith was not only exceptionally capable but also equally outstanding in appearance.
Initially, Vikram had thought she must be an older woman.
It wasn’t until their first meeting just now that he discovered through a system scan that she was only twenty-five years old.
She had shed the awkwardness of youth, yet her skin remained delicate.
Her exquisite makeup, combined with her curvaceous figure, made her appear full of charm.
The gown she wore was clearly meticulously crafted, with a high slit extending from her ankle almost to her upper thigh.
As she spoke and moved, a large expanse of bright, smooth skin was revealed and concealed, captivating most of the Survivors present.
Lilith herself seemed oblivious, continuing to speak into a microphone, the origin of which was unknown, on the stage.
"Distinguished guests, welcome to today’s auction!"
"We’ve already exchanged enough pleasantries, and I believe everyone here is eager to begin. So, let’s get straight to the point."
"The items being auctioned today have all been carefully selected, and each possesses its unique value. The starting bid and bidding increment will be announced before each auction. Now, let us begin with the first item."
As soon as she finished speaking, on the side of the stage, two Survivors slowly emerged from behind the curtains, carrying an item covered by a red cloth.
Perhaps to kick off the auction with good fortune, the first item was unusually large.
The two Survivors responsible for carrying it were already sweating profusely by the time they painstakingly brought it onto the stage.
Percy said with a speechless expression, "Tch, why go to all this trouble? They have backpacks, yet they’re carrying it by hand. Isn’t that a waste of time?"
"This is, after all, an auction organized by Lilith to connect with various factions. Regardless of the items, the presentation must be grand."
"Otherwise, if everything were simplified, it would be better not to hold an auction at all and just conduct private transactions."
Vikram didn’t mind the slow pace of their actions too much.
After all, this place was very far from his territory; even with an off-road vehicle, it would take at least five hours to return, making it clearly impossible to get back before dark.
Since that was the case, he might as well slow down and enjoy the experience, treating it as an outing to see the world.
"Take your time, we have plenty of it. Camping here for a night won’t be a big deal."
"I brought a tent for this trip, so staying overnight isn’t a problem."
"Besides, even though this place is a brothel, if we need to stay overnight, Lilith most likely won’t kick us out, so there’s no need to rush."
Originally, he had indeed planned to rush back to the territory as soon as the auction ended.
After all, with Green Wind Shelter constantly lurking, it would be difficult for him not to return.
Now that he knew Snape was also here, he had nothing to worry about.
Staying here a little longer might even give him a chance to deal with that old bastard Snape right here.
While the two were whispering, Lilith had already unveiled the first auction item on the stage.
It revealed an item that reflected dazzling light due to the spotlight’s focus.
A stir went through the crowd, and several Survivors sitting in the lower front rows craned their necks to look around the item.
Ultimately, they all let out exclamations of surprise.
"Such a grand gesture right from the start? I thought I was just coming to exchange some supplies, but they’ve brought out such good stuff?"
"Yes, the first item is so valuable; it seems I won’t be able to afford anything in this auction."
Even sitting in the back, Vikram’s vision allowed him to see clearly.
The first item was indeed a supply that everyone in the outside world would scramble for.
[Large Diesel Generator: Purple. Aside from its massive size, both its power generation efficiency and energy conversion loss are impeccable.]
Vikram secretly used the system to check the detailed parameters; this generator’s performance was quite similar to the one the system had given him at home.
However, it wasn’t a system product, and for the same performance, this one was significantly larger, otherwise, two Survivors with over thirty physical attributes wouldn’t have struggled so much to carry it.
