An Unexpected Auction Price
After two days of leisurely strolling Gu Ding, the Auction House held as scheduled.
Robert has been staying home for the past two days, seemingly engrossed in something, and he's even stopped paying much attention to Sea Emperor. After receiving the materials Gu Ding had purchased, he appears to have become extremely busy.
In these short two days, Sea Emperor also noticed that almost every hour, a spaceship would dock at the port, and the vast majority of them were Interstellar Pirate with high bounties.
After entering the Auction House hall with the three tickets given to him by the old man, Gu Ding discovered that the three of them were seated in the first row. Although it wasn't as good as a private box, it was second only to one. Besides, Gu Ding was a person who enjoyed a lively atmosphere, and he preferred the first row.
"The old man is quite nice, he actually gave us such a good spot." Gu Ding grinned.
Bigge turned his head somewhat awkwardly to look behind him. If he sat in the chair, he would block the view of the people behind him. He scratched his head sheepishly and chose to sit cross-legged on the floor.
"Now it seems that being tall isn't necessarily a good thing; you can't even find a stool to sit on," Liliath said, covering her mouth and laughing.
"Luckily it's the first row. If it were any other seat, there wouldn't even be one on the floor." Gu Ding added. He was also of a slender build. Although he had become stronger and taller after practicing the Limitless Body Technique, he was still only of average build among his peers.
Bigge smiled sheepishly and didn't say anything in rebuttal.
On the semi-circular auction stage, the auctioneer quickly appeared—a woman in a business suit, impeccably dressed with her blonde hair piled high. Her features were exquisitely delicate, her makeup minimal, even her lips were only adorned with a light pink lipstick, and a pair of frameless glasses added a touch of refinement. Only the top button near her neck was undone on her white shirt, yet even so, her chest was still faintly visible.
The moment Liliath saw the auctioneer, she muttered disdainfully, "Tch, you can't use your breasts as a pillow. If you're so capable, go ahead and button them all up."
The auctioneer seemed to hear Liliath's mutterings, glanced down at his chest, and then spoke with a slight smile.
"Hello everyone, I am the auctioneer hosting this Auction House. For this Auction House, we have received more than three thousand qualified items. Due to the large number of items, we will be conducting an 18-hour auction."
"I will host the eight-hour daytime auction, allowing everyone to bid live. The daytime collections are all carefully selected items worth over one billion Star Coin."
"As for the ten hours in the evening, the auction will be conducted in a stall format. Each stall will have a bidding device next to it. All you need to do is connect your Smart Watch to it and you can bid freely. The latest price will be displayed on the bidding device. We will record the buyers' information in the background, but we will not disclose it. After the Auction House ends, the person with the highest bid will get the item at their stall."
"The items on the stalls are all sealed, and no one except our guild leader can take them out, so sellers don't have to worry about their consigned items being stolen."
After the female auctioneer gave a very efficient explanation, she nodded to the staff below the stage, "Now, let's look at the first item for auction."
The first item, which appeared to be small in size, was carried onto the stage by staff, concealed by a red cloth. A platform about half a person's height slowly rose from the ground, and the staff placed the item on it.
"This item is one of the oldest items in this Auction House, dating back to the Middle Ancient Era, 14.6 billion years ago, and crafted by the most powerful race at the time, the Witch Clan." The female auctioneer paused, then pulled back a red cloth, revealing a crystal ball, flawless and translucent. "As everyone knows, crystal balls are extremely fragile, so I was quite surprised to see this one so well-preserved. After all, over 14 billion years have passed, yet time has left no trace on it. Although this item was essentially only used by the Witch Clan and the Saint Speech Clan, from a purely collectible perspective, it is undoubtedly a high-end item. Over 14 billion years, it has remained unchanged; I believe this item is the best symbol of eternity."
The female auctioneer's impassioned speech stirred the hearts of many women in the Auction House. "So, who will ultimately win this item that symbolizes eternity? Starting price: one billion Star Coin. Each bid must be at least ten million Star Coin. You may place your bids now."
"This auctioneer is quite skilled." Liliath had to admit that she was momentarily tempted when she heard the introduction.
"Among the things the Sea Emperor stole, there were two crystal balls. One is the one being auctioned off now, which is also the one the High Priest possessed. The other one was from the Treasure Vault, and it's twice the size of this one. I kept it. If you want it, I'll give it to you when we get back to the spaceship."
"Okay!" Upon hearing that there was one more, Liliath nodded vigorously without hesitation.
"1.48 billion!"
"Fifteen billion!"
In just a few words, the price of the crystal ball skyrocketed by half, and most of the bidders were men with female companions.
The auction price for this item skyrocketed, quickly reaching 2.1 billion Star Coin.
"2.1 billion Star Coin, is there a higher bid?" The female auctioneer felt that this price was still within expectations. As a professional habit, she liked to hear unexpected bids, which meant that she could get more commission.
After a brief silence, a woman's voice came from a private room upstairs, "Fifty billion Star Coin!"
"Fifty billion Star Coin! A VIP upstairs has bid fifty billion Star Coin. Will there be any higher bids?" This price surprised the female auctioneer.
"One hundred billion Star Coin!" came the voice of an old man from another private room. This price surprised even Gu Ding.
The female auctioneer on the auction stage thought she had misheard. She asked in surprise, "Did I just hear wrong? A VIP has already bid 10 billion Star Coin! Will there be even higher bids?"
This price far exceeded her expectations.
In the VIP room where the bid was for 5 billion, a Middle-Aged Man turned to the young woman beside him, took her hand, and said, "Let's keep bidding. This looks pretty good."
"No need, it's just a small trinket, not worth it. The room next door seems to be occupied by the Saint Speech Clan; I reckon they'll bid high prices for all the Witch Clan items this time." The woman shook her head and chose to give up.
The crystal ball was successfully auctioned off to someone in the VIP section for a high price of 10 billion Star Coin. Even Gu Ding couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "There are so many rich people."
The Auction House continued, and the second and third items were displayed one after another, but Gu Ding and his two companions still hadn't found anything that caught their eye.
"This next item should interest many sword masters..." Bigge's eyes lit up as he looked at the long, sheathed sword that the two staff members had struggled to lift up.
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(Thanks to [Beast's Number], [567897], and [Night Bat - 007] for their generous donations~~)
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