Intelligence on the Ruins

It wasn't that Canossa lacked charm. On the contrary, in Rein's eyes, both her figure and her half-veiled face made her a knockout capable of strongly stimulating testosterone production.

The reason Rein had immediately imagined so many conspiracies upon meeting her was partly because of the Mind Core's utterly unromantic real-time bodily status alerts.

More importantly, the attitudes toward relationships between men and women were vastly different between the two worlds.

Canossa's seemingly proactive teasing just now wasn't because she was naturally promiscuous. It was simply because most people in this world held far more uninhibited views.

The wealthy upper class might be somewhat more reserved and conservative. But the wasteland hunters scraping out a living in the Ice Ridge Wasteland couldn't guarantee they would live to see tomorrow. Whenever they had the chance to indulge themselves, they absolutely wouldn't deny themselves.

Whether male or female, when they encountered someone they fancied, they would not hesitate to make an invitation and spend a night together.

But Rein had only recently "regained his freedom." Having just come into contact with this world's customs, he still retained the relatively conservative views on relationships between men and women that he had brought from his previous life.

So, while Canossa felt her perfectly ordinary teasing had no flaws whatsoever—and any normal man would probably have taken the bait—it seemed far too forward in Rein's eyes, making her appear as though she had ulterior motives.

"You like corpses?"

Canossa blinked.

Rather than becoming angry at those words, a teasing glint appeared in her beautiful eyes.

Canossa had originally thought that a man who could stay in the same room as the Princess would be somewhat special.

Now it seemed he truly was special!

As the Black Gold Merchant Guild's president, she had always been surrounded by admirers wherever she went. When had she ever received such treatment?

She had only come over out of curiosity, but this little test had turned out to be rather entertaining.

Canossa suddenly felt that compared with this cheeky little doctor, the servants and subordinates around her were unbearably dull.

How could a clever woman like her fail to see that Rein was deliberately avoiding the subject?

Though he tried his best to conceal it, his gaze still carried the evasiveness of someone who dared not meet her eyes.

Besides, the scent of restless hormones could not lie.

Men. Their mouths said no, but their bodies said yes!

At that moment, her confidence in her own charm returned.

Rein felt that he had already acted cold enough.

But the more he acted that way, the more interested this vice president of the Black Gold Merchant Guild, who had never been thwarted by a man, became.

She suddenly felt that nothing on this tedious journey could be more interesting than teasing the little doctor before her.

"Doctor, you're truly too amusing."

Canossa laughed so hard she trembled, and she knew perfectly well how to deal with this sort of young man.

Feeling that she should take the initiative, she leaned forward, intending to get closer.

To maintain his cold persona, Rein remained perfectly still.

Yet he hadn't expected the woman to draw so close that she was nearly whispering in his ear, then boldly say in a seductive voice, "I hear doctors sometimes need living specimens to study Human Anatomy. Doctor Jesbang, do you think I could be of any help?"

Her meaning could not have been more obvious, and the air became thick with ambiguity.

If you wanted to retreat, then I wouldn't leave you any room to do so.

"..."

Rein was immediately speechless.

Even though he had guessed that the woman in the qipao had ulterior motives, looking at those luscious red lips and breathing in her fragrance made him feel as though his mouth was about to agree for him, beyond the control of his mind.

He tried hard to remain calm and said, "Oh, what a pity. That's for other doctors. I'm a veterinarian. Usually, I prefer studying monkeys."

"Oh my, I've never dealt with a veterinarian before. That must be very interesting~"

Catching the trace of awkwardness in his eyes, Canossa immediately pressed her advantage and teased, "Then after the auction, could you invite me to your room and let me watch you dissect a monkey?"

Rein: "..."

Ambiguity?

No, ulterior motives were more like it.

Rein chose silence and ignored the woman.

He truly could not understand why such a distinguished-looking beautiful woman would take an interest in him.

He felt that the only thing about him worth such a woman's curiosity was "Baron Morin's relics."

But clearly, that was not her purpose.

Rein said nothing more. Since he could not outtalk a woman like this, he had no intention of opening his mouth again.

Besides, several of the auction items he cared most about were about to be sold.

On the auction stage, a bunny girl carried out a tray and lifted the red silk cloth, revealing ten black crystals the size of pigeon eggs.

They looked as pure as diamonds, gleaming with black radiance beneath the lights.

"Next is one of the finale items of this auction: ten pieces of High-Combustion Coal, each with an average purity exceeding 20. The starting bid is three hundred thousand Lisuo!"

As soon as the auctioneer spoke, the guests in their seats immediately looked doubtful.

Although High-Combustion Coal was a strategic resource controlled by the Empire, people of status like those present were not without ways to purchase it.

Besides, there were too few of them to stir any interest at all.

"Hey, hey, hey, has the Thornbird Merchant Guild run out of auction items? You're putting something like this up as a finale lot?"

"Exactly. This isn't a bulk auction. Only ten pieces? Even if the purity is decent, it isn't suitable for an auction like this."

"..."

Unable to hold back, some of the guests questioned them bluntly.

But clearly, the Thornbird Merchant Guild had not brought out these items for such a simple reason.

"Distinguished guests, please remain calm."

At that moment, the auctioneer smiled mysteriously and explained, "We are not auctioning these ores as lots. We wish to show everyone that these are not carefully selected pieces of high-purity High-Combustion Coal. Rather, they represent the average quality of a batch of ore randomly extracted from the shallow layers of a newly discovered large coal mine."

"What! High-Combustion Coal of this purity from a shallow coal seam?"

At that moment, a noble well versed in mining cried out in shock.

His face was full of disbelief as he said, "As far as I know, even the High-Combustion Coal in the Empire's finest mine, the Daklos Mountain Coal Mine, has an average purity of no more than 15! Which mine are you talking about? What are its reserves?"

(Note: The maximum purity limit for ore is 30. Purity 1–10 is ordinary, 11–20 is excellent, and 21–30 is premium.)

"The total reserves of this deposit have not yet been fully surveyed. However, according to information obtained by our guild, the coal reserves already confirmed are richer than those of any mine within Oma Domestic!"

The auctioneer's tone was certain, and his words stirred inexplicable excitement in the crowd.

After a pause, he added, "Of course, as I just said, this is a newly discovered mine and has not yet been named."

"This..."

Upon hearing that, nearly everyone present was moved.

Iron and coal were the world's two most important mineral resources. Whoever possessed a rich deposit could join the ranks of the wealthiest magnates.

If what the auctioneer said was true—if there truly was such a super-sized mine, and if such High-Combustion Coal could be produced from shallow deposits—

Then whoever obtained the mining rights would surely gain an unimaginable fortune!

At that moment, the steward of a major mining family stood again and said impatiently, "What does your guild mean by releasing this news? Are you looking for partners to mine it, or what? The Lafayette Family is very interested in this information!"

"No, this deposit does not belong to the Thornbird Merchant Guild. And I can tell everyone clearly: this deposit is currently ownerless!"

The auctioneer no longer kept the crowd in suspense. He directly clapped his hands and had the women bring out the final few auction items.

Pointing at the animal hides discovered in ancient ruins, he said to the crowd, "Distinguished guests, you should have seen in the auction catalog that the final few items in this auction are all artifacts discovered in the same ancient ruin. To be frank, that mineral deposit and the ruins of that ancient civilization are located in the same region!"

"What? An ownerless mine?!"

"We haven't heard of any major ancient civilization ruins being excavated recently."

"If such a huge deposit existed within the Empire, it should have been discovered long ago. Could it be a newly explored Mist Zone?"

"..."

As soon as the news emerged, everyone began discussing it heatedly.

It wasn't only the coal merchants. Even the wasteland hunter teams were stirred.

In everyone's eyes, it was as though a mountain of gold were beckoning to them.

Clearly, if the Thornbird Merchant Guild was sharing this information, the mine might contain some deadly danger.

But no one cared!

After all, most of the people present were wasteland hunters. They were the sort who gambled their lives for wealth and status.

At last, they had reached the main point.

The auctioneer finally brought out the last auction item: sealed intelligence scrolls.

He said, "Detailed intelligence on the ruins and mineral deposit: one hundred Gold Kron per copy, limited to one hundred copies! Moreover, the Thornbird Merchant Guild can guarantee that you will be the first to obtain this information, and that this is currently the most detailed intelligence available!"