"My name is Ronan. I'm seventeen years old, a Tenth Grade student at Xia City's Zhi Xing Institute."
Behind the auction podium, Ronan solemnly and earnestly revealed his true identity. Precisely because it was real, the resulting sense of dissonance instantly turned the auction into some teenager's speech competition.
Bewilderment and absurdity intertwined beneath the brilliantly lit hall. Even though Ronan had just caught them off guard with a sharp jab, quite a few people still hesitated over whether they should laugh to show their support.
In fact, the atmosphere really was sliding toward that of a "speech competition."
Ronan stood straight, though the auction podium still hid most of his body below the chest. Visually, he hardly looked imposing. Only his diction remained reasonably clear.
"One reason I'm standing here is this current set of Auction Items..."
At that moment, the large screen behind him displayed the equipment relocated from the 70 Format Laboratory, along with relevant annotations. It informed every bidder present that, beyond the equipment on display, the lot also included the original site of the Wilderness Laboratory that housed it.
This was a temporary venue arrangement. The original Exhibition Stage had been on the lower level and was supposed to be hauled up to display the actual items. But because of Ronan's methods, the Exhibition Stage had been shattered into pieces, making it impossible to proceed according to plan. They could only switch over through the cameras.
The on-site staff had it rough as well. Those professionals who specialized in visual effects had somehow used light and shadow amid the wreckage to create a desolate yet orderly feeling on camera.
Well, that made it feel a bit like a stage play again.
Just then, Ronan seemed to grow emotional as well.
"This was built from scratch