Gelman didn't stay long at the Opera Hotel. The day after Machi left, he checked out under the reluctant gaze of the receptionist.
He wired Machi the money and received her confirmation that the twenty million Jenny had arrived.
That evening, he boarded an airship and left the city. After several hours in flight, he arrived in the famous Yorknew City in the early hours of the morning.
Every September, Yorknew City hosted the World's Largest Auction. The entire city buzzed with activity, drawing in both the underworld and respectable society.
In particular, the Underground Auction organized by the World Mafia leaders known as the Ten Dons put a large number of rare and precious treasures up for sale every year, attracting underworld leaders and prominent figures from across society.
Human organs, Magic Beast remains, technological products, and all sorts of other items went under the hammer.
This also brought disaster upon the Underground Auction. Despite the Mafia's tight security, nothing could stop the Phantom Troupe from carrying out their bloody slaughter and looting the following year.
Even in the other months, auctions—both public and discreet—continued in Yorknew City, though they were nowhere near as grand as in September.
Gelman arrived in Yorknew City on January 16. After a brief rest, he didn't go to any auction house. Instead, he first sought out the largest church in the city.
The Old Priest watched the young man in a Black Hunter Robe meditate in the cloister, pray in the transept, and then endure a flogging in the Discipline Hall. He couldn't help but be astonished.
"I've never seen anyone repent so many times in one go... He must have been steeped in sin, but turned over a new leaf because of Heavenly Father. Now he's a devout believer!"
The Old Priest hurried over, Bible in hand, and stopped Gelman.
"Sir, could I have a moment of your time? I'd like to tell you about Heavenly Father and the Savior..."
"Ah, no, thank you."
To the Old Priest's great disappointment, Gelman firmly declined his offer and walked straight out of the church.
The Old Priest stared in bewilderment at Gelman's retreating figure until it vanished around the corner of the entrance. He couldn't understand what had gone wrong.
Walking through the streets of Yorknew City, Gelman gently touched the lingering whip marks on his body and sighed with regret.
"Guess that doesn't work? Is it because I don't truly believe in God or pray sincerely? My 'pressure' hasn't gone down at all. If anything, I've just added a few new lash marks to wounds that were almost healed."
This was the first "Pressure Release" method he'd tried, and it had failed completely.
Still, this was only the beginning. Gelman wasn't about to give up.
So Gelman went to try a second "Pressure Release" method.
Not long afterward, the old-fashioned bar in Yorknew City was filled with clinking glasses and loud voices.
Gelman sat at the long counter, downed his drink, then set the glass on the counter and slid it toward the Bald Bartender.
"Sir, would you like another?" the Bald Bartender asked tentatively.
"No." Gelman answered glumly. He'd already had more than enough.
At that moment, a woman who'd been making eyes at him for quite a while couldn't resist coming over. She licked her lips and lightly dragged her long, red-polished fingernails across the back of Gelman's hand.
"Don't be so glum... Whatever's bothering you, you can tell me, big sis... How about this? I'll buy you another drink, but we'll have to go somewhere else. What do you say?"
The woman gazed at Gelman's profile with sultry eyes, waiting to see how he'd react.
Gelman did, in fact, have troubles.
He'd tried gambling at a casino and drinking heavily at the bar, but his "pressure" remained at a whopping sixty points without changing by even a single point.
Gelman turned to look at the fragrant woman who was nearly pressed against him and couldn't help thinking:
Could it be that I have the 'Amorous' and 'Lustful' traits? Do I really have to go that far?
When the woman began groping him, he finally pushed her away at the last moment, resisting the idea with every fiber of his being.
"You..." The woman stared at him in shock.
Gelman stood up and met her gaze calmly.
"Better not. If I catch syphilis or gonorrhea, it'll probably be a real hassle. I still need to keep my body in decent shape."
The Bald Bartender had been mixing drinks, but at that, he couldn't help snorting with laughter.
The woman froze for a moment, then her face darkened.
She immediately pointed at Gelman and began cursing him out.
No matter how handsome Gelman was, she couldn't easily forgive him for saying something like that—unless he humbled himself and begged her with actions.
Gelman had no intention of apologizing. Under the bar patrons' amused and astonished gazes, he left the furious woman behind and walked out.
Not long after stepping outside the bar, Gelman could feel that it was like two different worlds inside and out.
The bar was so noisy it seemed ready to blow the roof off, while outside, things were much quieter.
Gelman began strolling and made his way to a spacious plaza.
He'd tried all the simplest "Pressure Release" methods he could think of, except for the last one, and gotten nowhere.
Since that was the case, Gelman would have to try the third possibility.
He sat on the edge of a fountain in the center of the plaza, took out his phone, found "Little Grandma" in his contacts, and sent her a Text Message.
"Did you get the 'Vermillion Bug's Chameleon Stone'?"
"I need your 'Magical Beautician Miss Cookie.'"
Gelman waited by the fountain for about ten minutes. He'd been staring at the pigeons on the ground for quite a while when Biscuit's reply finally arrived.
"I told you, your greetings and concern are way too perfunctory (angry face)! But I got the 'gem' and I love it (grinning face)."
"You even know my 'Nen ability.' You must have done a lot of digging into my personal information. How scary. You're not planning something bad, are you (scared face)?"
"I told you to get your Hunter License and gave you the Hunter exclusive website. It wasn't so you could go snooping around in girls' secrets (sighing face)."
Biscuit's signature, teasing mischief made Gelman certain that it was her on the other end of the phone.
"I want to try out 'Magical Beautician Miss Cookie.'" Gelman typed, then thought it over and added, "I'll pay you accordingly."
"Is that so? I charge a pretty high price, you know (greedy face)."
"How much?"
"Hmm... Since we know each other, twenty thousand Jenny per session."
Twenty thousand Jenny?
Machi's Nen Thread Stitching had cost twenty million Jenny in total. By comparison, Biscuit's price was cheap.
Gelman didn't complain. There wasn't much Jenny left in his bank account, but he could still afford twenty thousand.
Besides, he'd come to Yorknew City specifically to find one of its Underground Auction houses. He planned to sell the "Lord of Crows' Monocle" to the Mafia and make a fortune.
So Gelman agreed.
"Fine. I'm in Yorknew City. When can you get here?"
Thanks to Anxi Shi for the tip.
Thanks to the reader for the monthly and recommendation tickets.
Before you continue