After making his selection, Xu Huo chose one of the exchanges.
When he arrived, the exchange was holding a public auction. Instruments that could be mass-produced were relatively easy to buy, but items with special effects that had appeared by chance were hard to come by. So when one of these items became available, the exchange held a public auction, since many buyers were interested.
The auction was already halfway through when Xu Huo arrived. A staff member led him to a private booth.
"Here's the list of items up for auction. The last three secret lots aren't listed, but if you're interested, you can stay and wait for them."
The staff member served tea and refreshments, then respectfully left the room.
The items being auctioned in this sub-district were indeed of good quality. Some had exceptionally powerful destructive effects, though their range was also quite large, so they attracted plenty of bidders. Xu Huo placed bids on two of them, but the other bidders had deeper pockets, and he gave up partway through.
He didn't want to waste money on those items anyway.
Soon, it was time for the secret lots.
"The item we're presenting now is called 'Unhearable Melody.' It looks like a whistle, but it can play a fixed melody. Anyone who hears it may go deaf on the spot, and suffer some permanent hearing damage as well."
"It has passed through the hands of seventeen owners. Almost every one of them only sold it after discovering that their hearing had been damaged."
"The likely reason is that, besides the music, the item also emits some kind of sound wave that human ears can barely detect. Even with hearing-protection items, prolonged exposure can damage the owner."
"However, when the item was sent for testing, everything appeared normal.