novelraw Chapter 642: Auction and New Strange
Chapter 642: Auction and New Strange
Chapter 642: Auction and New Strange
About a quarter of an hour later, a middle-aged woman in a dark blue uniform walked onto the platform.
Her uniform was very similar to Victor Raine’s, but she had four golden bars on her collar—one more than Victor.
Her hair was combed meticulously, she wore no makeup, and her expression was serious but not stern.
“Everyone,” her voice was not loud, yet it could be heard clearly throughout the entire hall. “Welcome to this internal exchange meeting. I am Elena Walker, head of auction affairs for the Association’s Mist Capital branch.”
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the hall.
“The auction will begin shortly. The rules are the same as always: highest bidder wins, cash transactions only, no returns or exchanges after the lots leave the premises. Please keep your numbered paddles safe. Raise them when bidding.”
Jie Ming lowered his head and glanced at the wooden numbered paddle a waiter had handed him upon entry.
The number 37 was written on it in ink.
“The auction begins now.” Elena Walker clapped her hands. A side door opened, and two waiters carried up a tray covered with red cloth. Jie Ming looked at the tray, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
This was the main purpose of his attendance at this internal exchange meeting.
The information about this auction was one of the pieces of intelligence he had gathered during the day by spreading his spiritual power across the entire city.
Every so often, the Spirit Medium Association would hold a small internal auction after the lecture. Participants were mainly Association members, well-connected merchants, and “insiders” like him who had learned of it through various channels.
The items auctioned were primarily various gene drugs, as well as information, materials, and even finished products related to Stranges.
Jie Ming leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.
After cooperating with those brokers, he had accumulated quite a bit of money.
That money actually held little meaning for him. It was better to spend it.
To him, money in this world existed to be exchanged for research materials.
He did not need money to prove anything, nor did he need to save for retirement.
Besides, if he really ran short…
He glanced at the pile of coins he had taken from the black-market brokers and bandits stored in his inner world, then at the others in the hall, feeling no pressure at all.
The auction proceeded smoothly.
The first batch of lots consisted of various gene drugs—official ones, common ones, and rare ones.
Bidding was quite fierce. For many people, acquiring these items was one of their main goals for attending.
Jie Ming had little interest in these official gene drugs. They were processed too thoroughly, leaving too little residual Strange power.
For him, their research value was actually lower than that of the prohibited drugs.
His interest lay elsewhere.
The fourth lot was a palm-sized black stone slab with complex runes carved on its surface.
Elena introduced it as a one-time-use material capable of sealing Stranges. It came from a mine in the north with extremely low annual output. Starting bid: fifty silver coins.
Jie Ming raised his numbered paddle.
“Number 37, fifty silver coins.”
Someone in another direction raised their paddle. “Sixty-five silver coins.”
Jie Ming raised his paddle again. “Eighty silver coins.”
“Number 37 bids eighty silver coins. Any higher?”
No one else raised their paddle.
Jie Ming acquired the black stone slab for eighty silver coins.
A waiter delivered the slab to him. He paid on the spot and stored it away.
The seventh lot consisted of three Strange fragments sealed in resin, Hazard Grade.
Starting bid: 120 silver coins.
Jie Ming bid again and ultimately won them for two hundred and thirty silver coins.
The eleventh lot was a research manuscript about a certain Threat Grade Strange, written by a senior investigator of the Association.
The manuscript detailed the Strange’s birth process, activity patterns, and the process of its eventual sealing.
Starting bid: three hundred silver coins.
Competition was somewhat fiercer.
Three buyers competed with him, but Jie Ming ultimately won it for five hundred and fifty silver coins.
He continued bidding and buying piece by piece.
He decisively bid on every material and piece of data related to Stranges. Price was merely a number in his eyes.
People around him began to notice him.
After all, Jie Ming’s spending was excessively bold.
Others would hesitate when bidding, weighing their options, waiting for others to bid first before deciding whether to follow.
But this person was different.
Whenever he wanted something, he would raise his paddle directly without any hesitation, as if money meant nothing to him.
Whispers began spreading throughout the hall.
“Who is Number 37? I’ve never seen him before.”
“I don’t know him. He’s dressed very plainly, but his bidding is very steady.”
“Maybe someone from a family? Dressing low-key on purpose?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. His aura… doesn’t feel like someone from those families.”
Jie Ming paid no attention to these discussions.
His gaze remained fixed on the lots on the platform, waiting for the next one.
Then, the final lot was brought up.
Waiters carried up a silver-white metal box about the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
The box had no decorations on its surface, but Jie Ming’s gaze locked onto it the instant he saw it.
There was an extremely faint energy fluctuation on the metal box’s surface—so weak that even ordinary Spirit Mediums might not detect it. However, Jie Ming’s spiritual perception precision far surpassed any existence in this world. He could clearly “see” that fluctuation.
The box itself was a sealing vessel.
And a very high-level one at that.
Elena Walker walked to the box and placed her hand on the lid.
She did not open it immediately. Instead, she first looked around the hall, confirming that everyone’s attention was focused on her.
“The final lot,” her voice was slightly lower than before, as if emphasizing its special nature. “A completely sealed Strange. Grade… Hazard Grade.”
A low commotion rippled through the hall.
Jie Ming’s eyes brightened.
A complete Strange.
Up until now, he only had two complete Stranges on him.
More importantly, the Strange before him… had been sealed by the Spirit Medium Association.
This meant that not only did the sealed Strange itself hold research value.
The sealing technology was also valuable for research.
One could even say that, considering Jie Ming already possessed several complete Stranges of the same grade, the research value of this sealing technology might even surpass that of the complete Strange itself!
The material of the sealing container, the structure of the various patterns, the method of energy locking, the principle of suppressing the Strange’s activity…
All of these together represented the accumulated research essence of thousands of years of humanity in this world confronting Stranges!
It was no exaggeration to say that this was the true core technology of this world’s civilization.
“Starting bid,” Elena Walker’s voice pulled Jie Ming’s thoughts back. “One thousand gold coins.”
The hall fell silent for a moment.
One thousand gold coins.
This was a number that could bankrupt the vast majority of the middle class.
Even among those present, many could not produce that much cash.
But bidding still began.
“One thousand one hundred gold coins.” A middle-aged man in the front row raised his paddle.
“One thousand two hundred gold coins.” A woman in the back row immediately followed.
“One thousand three hundred gold coins.”
“One thousand five hundred gold coins.”
The price climbed rapidly.
Although the people present came from different backgrounds, most had come to this auction for the same purpose—to obtain greater power!
So what did a completely sealed Strange mean?
To the people of this world, it naturally meant the possibility of using some kind of ritual to seal it into one’s own body and become a Spirit Medium! It was a path to transcendent power.
Although the process carried a significant mortality rate, this was genuine transcendent power, not something obtained through gene drugs!
For those who craved power but had no connections, such an opportunity was more precious than anything.
“Two thousand gold coins.” The middle-aged man in the front row bid again, this time with a large increase, as if declaring his determination to win.
“Two thousand two hundred gold coins.” The woman in the back row did not retreat.
“Two thousand five hundred gold coins.” A hoarse voice sounded from another corner.
Jie Ming did not bid hastily.
He sat quietly in his seat, listening to the price rise step by step while observing the expressions and postures of the bidders. The middle-aged man in the front row had a flushed face and sweat beading on his forehead.
The woman in the back row maintained a calm expression, but her fingers were trembling slightly.
The owner of the hoarse voice sat in the darkest corner of the hall. One could sense a cold, yin aura from him.
When the bidding reached three thousand gold coins, only three people remained.
The middle-aged man, the woman, and the shadow in the corner.
At three thousand five hundred gold coins, the middle-aged man withdrew.
His face turned pale, his lips tightly pressed together. The numbered paddle in his hand creaked from how hard he gripped it, but he ultimately did not raise it again.
At four thousand gold coins, the woman also withdrew.
She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as if trying to calm some intense emotion.
The shadow in the corner raised his paddle.
“Four thousand one hundred gold coins.”
Elena Walker’s gaze swept across the hall. “Four thousand one hundred gold coins. Any higher?”
The hall was very quiet.
“Four thousand one hundred gold coins, first time.”
Jie Ming raised his numbered paddle.
“Number 37 bids four thousand two hundred gold coins.”
All eyes turned toward him.
The shadow in the corner also turned his head. Jie Ming could feel two sharp gazes piercing into him, as if trying to burn two holes in his face.
“Four thousand three hundred gold coins.” The shadow’s voice became even hoarser.
“Number 37, four thousand four hundred gold coins.”
“Four thousand five hundred gold coins.”
“Number 37, four thousand six hundred gold coins.”
The two bid back and forth, the price climbing steadily like steps.
Everyone else quieted down, watching the contest between the two.
Jie Ming’s expression showed no change.
His numbered paddle rose steadily every time—neither hurried nor slow, neither anxious nor impatient.
The shadow began to hesitate.
His bidding speed slowed. There was a longer pause before each raise of his paddle.
“Seven thousand gold coins.” Jie Ming announced a new number.
Gasps sounded throughout the hall.
Seven thousand gold coins.
This number had already exceeded the lifetime wealth most people present could accumulate.
The shadow remained silent for a long time.
Jie Ming could feel that gaze fixed on him, as if weighing something or calculating something.
In the end, the shadow lowered his paddle.
“Seven thousand gold coins, first time.”
Elena Walker’s voice echoed in the hall, carrying a hint of excitement.
She had not expected this item to fetch such a high price, far exceeding the conventional four-thousand-gold-coin baseline for Hazard Grade Stranges.
“Second time.”
“Third time.”
The gavel fell with a dull thud.
“Sold. To Number 37.”
The corners of Jie Ming’s mouth curved upward slightly.
A waiter delivered the silver-white metal box to his seat.
The box was heavier than it looked, probably fifty or sixty pounds.
In addition, various items he had previously purchased were now piled beside his seat.
Using his suitcase as cover, Jie Ming took out cash from his inner world.
Gold and silver coins were neatly stacked on the tray, the exact amount.
Some of these gold and silver coins came from the black-market brokers and bandits.
Another portion…
had been “freshly created” by him inside his inner world.
Thanks to alchemy.
By taking some scrap metal and rearranging its molecular structure within his inner world, he could produce coins identical to genuine ones.
Jie Ming was not worried that anyone would see through the authenticity of the coins, because the metal he produced through alchemy had higher purity than that of this plane’s official mint.
Moreover, alchemy could also be used to age them. Mixed with genuine coins, no one could tell the difference.
Jie Ming stored the silver-white metal box and the other purchased items into his suitcase, stood up, and headed toward the exit.
The others in the hall were still bidding on subsequent lots.
There were a few more ordinary items afterward, but Jie Ming had lost interest.
He had already achieved all his goals for today.
He walked out of the oak doors and followed the corridor back the way he had come.
The light from the gas lamps cast mottled shadows on the red brick walls. His footsteps echoed in the narrow corridor.
Suddenly, Jie Ming’s eyes moved slightly.
He sensed it.
Behind him, several gazes.
Although many curious gazes were also focused on him, Jie Ming easily identified a few special ones among them.
The emotions contained in those gazes were quite dangerous.
Undoubtedly, faced with a fat sheep like Jie Ming, someone had already developed crooked thoughts.
Jie Ming showed no reaction to this at all.
His pace did not change. As if completely unaware of those gazes, he calmly and unhurriedly walked out of the exhibition center’s main doors.
Elsewhere, people from the Spirit Medium Association had also noticed the situation.
In a secret room beside the auction hall, Harding patted Dirk, causing his colleague who was focused on the surveillance footage to snap back to attention.
“Let’s go.”
“What for?”
“After all, the guy spent so much money buying our stuff. We should at least provide after-sales service, right?”
Dirk shook his head helplessly and lazily stood up, following beside Harding.
“Fine, consider it a way to pass the time…”