Who left their last words here?

Chapter 71 Major, when did you arrive? (3.5k words, second update)
The venue was silent.

The auction officially begins.

The first item to be auctioned was a dark, black stick.

The front end is upturned, and black mist swirls around it.

In terms of appearance alone, it's not much better than Bai Zhou's fire poker, but it has a more restless and ominous feel.

Its name is "Argumentation"!

The plush penguin maintained its unchanging expression, narrating in a cheerful, hoarse voice:

"A high-level enchanted weapon, a masterpiece from a magic rune master from a hundred years ago."

"Auction low price, 500 dust."

"—Each price increase must be no less than 100 dust."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhou silently gasped, secretly admiring the magic pattern master's talent for naming things.

This is the true role model for us magic rune masters.

Years later, though the person may be dead, the name they came up with on a whim or in a moment of inspiration for their work can be passed down through generations.

No matter how ridiculous or perfunctory the name may be, even if it's just "Have you eaten yet?", future generations must remember it honestly.

Just imagining the strange yet forced acceptance on the faces of future generations when they hear the name...

The corpses seemed to have become cleaner.

The cloaked figures began bidding, each more composed and elegant than the last, and in the blink of an eye, the price soared.

This is probably what a big shot is like.

No matter how much blood is shed or how much money is lost, they must maintain an air of mystery, as if money is nothing and they're just playing around, so that no one can ever figure out their true intentions.

Next.

As each item was brought to the auction, the VIPs continuously raised their paddles and bid.

The Fair Contract Scroll

Those who sign the contract must abide by it, or they will suffer misfortune. However, the price is that their luck will be bound together from then on, truly sharing both honor and disgrace.

Popular funhouse mirrors

She sacrifices all her future romantic luck, becoming incredibly popular at the cost of being destined to remain single for life.

[People face sunflowers]

A unique product of the Reflection Ruins, it sometimes smiles and sometimes ponders. It is said to be able to produce sunlight indoors, but be careful not to let it eat your brain.

"..."

After each fierce battle, the audience would give a polite round of applause to the last rich victim.

That's how auctions work.

Whether it's the shills at the auction itself or various other factors, it's impossible to find bargains at an auction; in fact, quite the opposite is true.

Auction items often command premiums, and sometimes the premiums are quite exaggerated.

The problem is... true treasures only appear at auctions, and it's good enough if you can even buy one.

"Boom! Boom!"

In the penguin's hand, a scarlet hammer pounded incessantly on the auction table.

Bai Zhou quickly grew bored.

The imagined scene of tense confrontations, bidding wars, and even physical fights did not exist at all.

It was neither exciting nor scary; everything went too smoothly, just like a normal auction.

Of course, this could have been a normal auction, and Bai Zhou was overthinking it.

No buyer would draw their sword and behead their competitor in order to win an item at auction;

Nor will any penguin suddenly transform itself, manipulating the towering trees outside the hall to suck all the guests into jerky, completing some kind of ritual while simultaneously capturing all of Tinghai's top management.

Bai Zhou was initially excited to buy something, but after seeing all the items up for auction, he realized...

The mysterious, black-box-like item that supposedly carried a last message simply didn't exist.

Perhaps we'll have a chance to see it at the very end?
But at least for now, those highly sought-after enchanted equipment pieces are practically the grand finale of the series—extraordinary weapons…

For Bai Zhou, they were all somewhat interesting but unnecessary.

He wore all the enchanted gear left behind by the crow.

There are more than one extraordinary weapon, and each one has a special and remarkable origin.

Unbeknownst to him, he had already obtained many of the things that these "big shots" could only dream of.

Despite, as a price—

His excessively exciting life in exile is something these comfortable folks can't even imagine.

No wonder even a Level 4 Extraordinary being like Van Gogh couldn't produce a decent Extraordinary weapon.

The enchanted walking stick and Van Gogh mask were blown to bits.

Bai Zhou even suspected that if he were to auction off all his equipment, along with himself who was on a massive wanted list, it would be a huge loss.
There might be many people here who can't even afford the price!

This also served as a reminder to Bai Zhou—

Carrying so many valuable treasures, he had to be even more careful and cautious!
Like Cinderella, what if she wore the glass slipper away on the night of the ball and everyone else found out...

Those who reunite with the prince should be the other white and green maidens.

"Next up is the first and final item of the evening—"

The penguin raised his voice:

"Potion, [Tears of the Moon Goddess]!"

The moment the words left his mouth, someone came up carrying a small box.

The moment the box was opened, the entire exhibition hall seemed to dim for a moment, as if the light had been absorbed by the contents of the box.

A bottle of deep blue magic potion came into view, with a silvery light silently swirling and flowing within it.

"The masterpiece of a potions master's life."

"Drawing upon the endless essence of moonlight, this masterpiece of potion-making possesses incredible and miraculous effects in nourishing one's destiny."

The penguin-man on the platform bobbed its head and swayed, looking adorably clumsy, yet its voice carried a seductive, provocative quality.

"Such items don't need my lengthy descriptions."

"Starting price for auction: 2 Ashes."

"Each price increase must be no less than 500 dust!"

—It's finally here!
Bai Zhou immediately perked up.

He was even somewhat surprised.

Is the first and final item the "Tears of the Moon Goddess"?
What will be the final few items?

"10 Ashes".

Suddenly, someone spoke up.

The aggressive offer instantly drew everyone's attention.

Sitting in the first row, the cloaked man with auction number 3 stood upright, his calm tone carrying an air of unwavering determination.

This impressive display certainly intimidated many people, who began to wonder if a larger, enhanced version of Moon Water was worth the money.

In particular, this man's bidding was clearly only just beginning...

"20 Ashes".

But immediately someone else raised a sign.

There was no pressure of being determined to win, nor was there sufficient confidence, but the casual tone of the price call was like haggling with an old man selling popsicles.

— It was Bai Zhou who raised his auction paddle number 22.

Everyone's gaze immediately turned to the inconspicuous corner where Bai Zhou was.

The scrutinizing gazes turned to surprise when they saw the strange "real estate cloak" on Bai Zhou.

Who is this extraordinary person? Such eccentricity makes them unfathomable.

"..."

Bai Zhou tugged at the edge of his cloak, concealing a perfectly calm expression.

He didn't know what the [Tears of the Moon Goddess] could do besides healing, so he didn't know what the person wanted the [Tears of the Moon Goddess] for.

But he also had no concept of "ashes".

What is money?
Flowers are all you need.

This is all he has left. "...Okay, 30 Ashes!"

The person who made the initial bid raised the auction paddle again, his voice, though calm and confident, exuding an air of authority and pride, which instilled a sense of awe in everyone.

—It's obvious to everyone that he's getting serious.

Like White Boat, it costs an extra 10 Ashes in one go.

It was an air of heroic grandeur and absolute confidence, an aura of absolute superiority emanating from him.

Bai Zhou remained silent in response.

Just raise the sign again:

"50 Ashes!"

"—50 Ashes! Number 22 bid 50 Ashes! That's a 20 Ashes increase in one go!"

Upon hearing this, the plush penguin immediately cheered joyfully from the stands:
"Number 22 is even more spirited, his momentum is unstoppable!"

"This is already the highest price tonight!"

The penguin's eyes scanned the exhibition hall, finally settling on the person in the first row:

"—Will there be even higher prices?"

"……interesting."

The man shook his head and slowly raised his sign.

He cast a glance at the enemy in response to their provocation.

Then, he raised a finger and spoke:

"I'll voluntarily give up the final item... but I'll take this one!"

"Anyone who offers any price, as long as they are genuinely bidding, I will have 10 more ashes than them!"

As soon as these words came out.

The whole place was in an uproar.

Light the sky lantern!
This person has gone mad.

In ancient times, auction houses would light a sky lantern as a signal to begin the auction when night fell.

Later, this gesture of raising one's hand as if lighting a lamp symbolized that the person was determined to win a certain item and would offer a price that would always be higher than anyone else's!
All eyes were focused on that person, and people were making all sorts of guesses about him.

This person is definitely not an unknown figure in Tinghai.

awesomeness!

who is it?

Some people have even begun to vaguely speculate based on the person's undisguised physical features...

In response to this action, Bai Zhou's reaction was—

Continue raising the sign.

"Always have 10 more ashes than me? Really?"

Good at pretending.

Bai Zhou shook his head.

The question is, what makes you so good at putting on airs?
Did you push in a cart full of ashes?
Bai Zhou was genuinely confused.

Then he replied:

"Then, I'll offer 200 Ashes."

"...Never mind, just use 500 ash."

"If it's not enough, we can add more."

It's a matter of one handful of ash versus two handfuls of ash.

Bai Zhou didn't care much.

Although here, ashes are counted by the grain.

But in his area... this stuff is dug up by the pound or by the pile.

You'd better not compete with a nouveau riche who's so poor he's practically nothing but "gray" to see who has more "gray".

otherwise……

The sound of the white boat echoed throughout the venue.

Everyone fell silent.

From 50 Ashes to 500 Ashes? That's a tenfold increase?
Can we even add more?

This is ashes! Not dust! And certainly not that worthless paper called Federal Currency!

—Five hundred thousand dust particles!

What concept?
The threshold for verifying funds at the auction is only 500 dust!

Do all the items that were just auctioned have this value combined?
Everyone was stunned.

Even the toy penguin started speaking haltingly.

But its eyes were unusually bright at this moment, almost blindingly so:
"Number 22 bids 500 Ashes!"

"How's Number 3?"

Are you sure you want to bid 510 Ashes?

The pressure fell on number 3 in the first row.

No. 3: "..."

He hatched an egg!

I had less than 400 ash on me!

The original plan was to buy the "Tears of the Moon Goddess" and then bid on the remaining final items depending on the situation.

It doesn't matter if we can't get the shot; even if we have to spend all our resources, we must get the [Tears of the Moon Goddess].

He was indeed determined to obtain the [Tears of the Moon Goddess].

—Because it's related to whether he can perfectly advance to Level 5 Extraordinary!
Everything was fine before.

but……

What kind of nouveau riche is this, suddenly appearing out of nowhere?

So wealthy, do they own mines in the Reflection Ruins or something?

Even someone of his stature was somewhat intimidated by such a offer.

But the person's tone was so calm, like drinking water or eating... it was impossible to tell what was real or fake!
money--

In this place where he was usually most proud, he was defeated in such a way...

Proud as he was, he was momentarily at a loss.

It's just a [Tear of the Moon Goddess]. Most people wouldn't know its true purpose, so how could it be priced so high?

Does the other party have a grudge against me?
Why does it feel like they're specifically targeting me...?
Thinking this, he took off the sunglasses under his cloak and rubbed his throbbing temples.

He was reflecting on his recent string of bad luck...

The matter of the white boat has not yet been resolved, and now new troubles have arisen in the Reflection Ruins Realm.

Where has that once glorious and protagonist-like life gone?

Suddenly, I had a run of bad luck, as if I'd been cursed.

Damn it!

At that moment, a sharp, piercing sensation, like a thorn in his back, assaulted his entire body.

"..."

He suddenly realized that everyone in the exhibition hall was watching him, waiting for his answer after he had been silent.

Thinking about his confident act of "lighting the sky lantern" just now, his face inexplicably stung with pain.

……what to do?
How should I follow up?
Adjusting his posture, the man raised his hand and tugged at his cloak, wrapping it around his crisp military uniform and concealing it completely.

……Yes.

This man was furious, wondering why that kid was targeting him...

He is the talented third young master of the Bauhinia Company.

A noble young master from a prestigious family.

Major in charge of Division 36 of the Special Administration.

—Bai Zhou's number one enemy.

(End of this chapter)