Iya Continent: Card God

The auction continued, the initial tedium gradually dissipating, and the bidding for the finest items was about to begin. These high-quality, top-tier goods were the real draw for distinguished guests of all kinds.

At this moment, the elder host on the stage changed his demeanor slightly and said with a slight smile, "Next, the item to be auctioned is one that is not on the list."

These words aroused curiosity and excitement among the audience and guests present.

The auction house's list only includes 90% of the items up for auction; some items are deliberately hidden and can only be seen by those who participate in the auction.

Now that the first hidden item for auction is finally about to be revealed, it has inevitably aroused everyone's curiosity.

Linta yawned, no longer caring about the upcoming auction.

I'm broke now and don't qualify to bid on the remaining auction items. As for borrowing money from the goblin stone merchant, forget it. He can only lend me 100 silver coins at most, and 100 silver coins can't buy much at this auction.

Suddenly, I perked up from my listless state.

His eyes widened as he stared at the auction item the elder had taken out.

"Please take a look, everyone. This is a fragment of a map. Based on our years of experience as appraisers, we believe this fragment is ancient and is a treasure map!"

The "treasure map," a treasure map from the distant past, this simple information sparked a lot of imagination among the guests present.

What treasures are hidden there? The treasures of a dragon? The legacy of a great mage? Or perhaps an extraordinary, epic weapon or magical artifact?

But soon, everyone came to their senses. So what? It was just a fragment of a map. Where on the continent of Iya were the remaining incomplete parts? Finding them was one thing, but perhaps they were already destroyed.

The Vázquez family chuckled and scoffed, "Useless things."

Brandon Vázquez agreed with his clansmen, saying he had no interest in investigating the truth behind the treasure map; continuing to inherit his dukedom was the choice he would follow throughout his life.

President Paul Quinn smiled faintly and said, "If it were me back then, I would definitely have obtained this map and searched the entire continent. Now, I can't..."

Gary the elephant's face twitched, and he chuckled as he muttered, "An interesting thing."

The elder presiding on the stage said, "Our Greene Auction House operates with strict rules and would never deceive you for a little money. This treasure map contains unknown items, which we also cannot understand. Consider it a prize, auctioned for 1 silver coin. Anyone interested can bid."

The guests and spectators present whispered and mocked, seemingly too lazy to even utter a single silver coin.

Only one person yearned for this incomplete and precious map with the utmost desire.

This person is Lin Ta!

The reason for this was not that Linta knew what the treasure hidden in the incomplete map was. Linta didn't care about the treasure itself; what he truly cared about was the symbolic drawing on the map.

The fragment of the map was stamped with the pattern of the Jack of Diamonds!

Cards! The symbol of playing cards, no doubt about it!

This symbol does not exist in the native world of the continent of Iya. In other words, this is one of the scattered cards that Lilith mentioned.

"Two silver coins!" Linta called out.

Miss Daisy Greene glanced at Linta and chuckled. "You're interested in something like this?"

"Two silver coins per time, is there anything higher?" the elder presiding over the meeting inquired.

"Ten silver coins!" Gary the elephant called out again.

Lin Ta's face turned cold, and he looked utterly dejected.

Is this guy trying to compete with himself? He probably doesn't understand what cards are. He's just trying to annoy me.

How to do?

"Hehe." Gary the elephant chuckled, seemingly finding it quite amusing.

There was no other way; given the situation, Linta could only continue bidding. "20!"

If I can't get it directly from the auction, then I'll have even less chance of obtaining the card later. And there's an even worse possibility: what if the other party discovers the card's ability—its power to acquire it?

Linta's eyes were resolute, her back lip clenched tightly; she had to win the bid.

"30!"

"40!"

"50!"

……

Linta only had about 20 silver coins left. The reason he kept bidding was because the goblin Stone had agreed to lend him 100 silver coins. In other words, the maximum he could bid was 120 silver coins.

As for what happens next, if the other party continues to shout...

Linta looked at the goblin stone and asked earnestly, "Could you lend me more?"

The goblin stone looked down at Lin Tower and said, puzzled, "Just a fragment of a map? You want it that badly? What, do you know what treasure is hidden inside?"

“I don’t know, but I want it,” Linta told her.

"Huh?" The goblin stone was even more bewildered. "You...you want...yourself..."

"Sigh!" Goblin Stone said helplessly, "500, I can only lend you 500 silver coins at most."

Linta smiled and said, "Thank you."

"100 silver coins!"

"150!"

A tattered drawing of unknown origin, drawn in a messy manner, was bid up to 150 silver coins, eventually reaching the price of gold coins, which truly caused a stir and shock among the auctioneers.

"Are you crazy? It's just a broken map."

"They dare to shout like that, could it be that they possess other fragments of the map?"

"possible……"

Gary the elephant's eyes narrowed, his earlier amused mindset returning. "Interesting. The more you act like this with this incomplete map, the less I can give it to you. I refuse to believe you can be as rich as I am."

"200!"

Gary the elephant raised the price again.

Linta's expression turned serious, and he began to hesitate.

No, this time he's determined to fight me to the bitter end. 500 silver coins isn't enough to compete. Even if I bet all of Goblin Stone's fortune, it wouldn't be enough to keep up with his bid.

What should I do? Maybe I should just give up. The more desperately I want it, the more I tell the other person how important it is. The harder it will be for me to obtain it.

"500 silver coins."

Suddenly, someone in the front row of the audience shouted out this price.

Linta and Gary the elephant both looked at the person who had made the bid with shock and astonishment.

Who is it? Who offered this price? And who else is interested in this?

Brandon Vázquez looked at his clansman Ted Vázquez with a puzzled expression. It was he who had bid on the item.

"Ted, what do you need this for?" a tribesman asked, puzzled.

Ted smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just bought it to study it. Since everyone's scrambling for it, it must be a good thing."

"Hmph!" The tribesmen scoffed. So what if it's a good thing? Do you think you can definitely find out the truth? Even if you do, will you be able to get the other fragments of the map? Ridiculous.

Linta gave up; the other party had already set a rock-bottom price. Besides, it was better for the item to be in this person's hands than in Gary's.

Gary the elephant also stopped bidding.

It's unclear whether he shared the same thought as Linta, or whether he simply wanted to give face to the Vasquez family.

"500 silver coins once, 500 silver coins twice, 500 silver coins three times!" *Thump!*

"Sigh..." Linta sighed and got up from his seat.

The goblin stone asked doubtfully, "Are you leaving? The real auction is just beginning."

Linta laughed and said, "The rest is none of my business. I'm going back now."