Ganwu Auction

Virtual Universe.

Han Han held an invitation to the Ganwu Auction, held once every three years in the Ganwu Universe Kingdom.

"True," Han Han said.

During this simulated year, Nalan had sought him out many times, but he had been extremely careful to stay hidden, so she hadn't reported his terrifying talent.

But in the simulation, he hadn't done that. By this point, he had already been cultivating in seclusion in the Ganwu Secret Realm and basically lacked for nothing.

"Should I use this identity?"

Han Han considered it. With 20,000 Hunyuan Units in savings, he was a four-star user of the Universe Galaxy Bank. Every bank card he had obtained in the simulation, however, belonged to a five-star user.

"Forget it."

"It's only a junior Ganwu Auction. 20,000 Hunyuan Units will be enough. If anything valuable comes up, I can always use the money in those bank cards."

Cuilang Island.

He had been in seclusion when the Ganwu Auction sent him its notice, and afterward he had immediately run a simulation. In reality, preparations for the auction were already underway.

He was lucky he hadn't missed it.

"Teleport." Holding the invitation, Han Han silently issued the command.

"Whoosh!"

His figure vanished, then appeared in an instant before an island suspended above Ganwu Continent.

Cloud Mist shrouded the island, lending it an imposing air. After passing through the entrance, he saw the dazzling building within: Ganwu Auction Hall. Every previous auction had been held there.

"It really is lively."

Han Han walked toward a passage into the auction hall, reserved for four-star users and above.

At that moment, Han Han was clad head to toe in Silver Battle Armor. Not a trace of his aura leaked out. It was one of the pieces of equipment he had selected from the simulation, called Silver-Net Armor.

Made entirely of F9-grade Silver-Net Mother Metal and crafted with the Virtual Universe Company's most advanced technology, it was F9-class, yet that posed no problem for him as a Star Rank warrior. It could also conceal his aura and fend off certain probes.

Of course, some powerful experts could judge his strength from a glance, but those were all mighty Immortal Gods.

And the more powerful they were, the more wary they were of Han Han's background!

"Sir, welcome to this year's Ganwu Auction. Here is your seat number."

At the entrance, a beautiful woman handed him a token.

Han Han took it and saw a half-transparent screen on the black token. The number displayed was "CEG61374."

Holding the token, Han Han walked inside.

Behind him, a man wreathed in flames glanced at Han Han. "Silver-Net Armor? I can't sense his aura, but he's no stronger than a Domain Lord. And he's a four-star user?!"

"Could he be a newly accepted disciple of one of those ancient beings?"

"Sir, hello..."

The flame-wreathed man took his token and entered the auction hall, thinking that he'd better avoid competing with Han Han unless necessary.

He didn't have Silver-Net Armor, and many people at the auction knew him.

"What a grand place."

Han Han took his seat. It was in the upper-middle section, and below him countless figures were filing into their seats.

Before long, the entrance closed, signaling the official start of the auction.

"Vmmmm..."

At the center of the auction hall stood a bald old man with a black tortoiseshell on his back. A virtual, three-dimensional image of him, nearly a thousand meters tall, took shape high above.

"Everyone."

The old man's booming voice rang throughout the auction hall.

"Welcome to this year's Ganwu Auction. I'd like to thank the Virtual Universe Company, the Universe First Bank, the Universe Galaxy Bank, the Giant Axe Coliseum, the Universe Mercenary Alliance, and the Ganwu Universe Kingdom for their generous support." The old man smiled. "I'm sure many of you know me. You can call me Old Barto."

"Let's skip the pleasantries."

"We'll follow tradition before the auction begins." Barto pointed toward a huge screen beside him. A planet, entirely ocher-yellow, appeared on it.

"This is a mineral planet discovered in an unknown star system in Huayun by an Immortal Expert."

"After an appraisal by the Ganwu Auction House, we determined that the planet contains abundant Ink Cloud Iron, with reserves sufficient for Ink Cloud Iron Mother to form."

"Whether you mine it or let it produce Ink Cloud Iron Mother, buying it would be a fine choice." Barto's passionate voice stirred the crowd.

"Ink Cloud Iron." Han Han studied the planet.

Ink Cloud Iron was E9-class metal, while Ink Cloud Iron Mother was F2-class. A planet like this was indeed valuable.

"That's all for the introduction. The starting price for Ink Cloud Mining Planet is 500 Hunyuan Units. Bids must increase by a whole number of Hunyuan Units." Barto continued.

"600 Hunyuan Units."

"660 Hunyuan Units."

Han Han merely watched. He had no interest in buying a mineral planet like this. Independent adventurers generally didn't, either; the bidders were mostly powerful factions, families, or imperial leaders.

"I remember Luo Feng's auction featured the Tana Star Sector."

Han Han considered it. "Maybe I could get a star sector as my territory too. No, I don't need an entire star sector. A reasonably sized star system would be enough."

He had too many treasures to keep them all in his World Ring.

For example, the Wood Spirits couldn't grow naturally inside his World Ring. Besides, Han Han had thirteen of them. It was essential to buy a star system and make it his territory.

Of course, he wouldn't buy it himself.

In his last simulation, he had chosen the secret technique Soul Capture. He could easily enslave a powerful expert and have him travel around in his place.

As for Han Han, he could simply control everything from behind the scenes.

"I'll figure it out after the auction." Han Han turned his attention back to the auction hall.

In the end, an Immortal God bought Ink Cloud Mining Planet. He had a vast family and only needed to make the purchase; his family would handle the mining afterward.

"1,200 Hunyuan Units! Going once—three seconds: 3, 2, 1... Let's congratulate customer CEG1251976 on purchasing Ink Cloud Mining Planet."

Barto raised a hand, and the screen changed to show ten sets of complex, precision instruments.

"The auction officially begins."

"These are the first items up for auction. You can view their details directly on your tokens. If you're interested, get ready to bid." Barto announced, "The first item is the Star System Detection System."

"Oh?"

Han Han's interest was piqued. He picked up his black token and checked the listing.

The YE-1 Small Star System Detection System could scan a maximum range of 200 light-years. It had a precision anti-detection system, and the smaller the area it covered, the more precise its scans.

"Ten YE-1 Small Star System Detection Systems are available. The starting price is 100 billion Cosmic Coins. The ten highest bidders will each win one." Barto called out.

Numbers on the black tokens began to jump. There was strong demand for a detection system like this.

The Immortal who had just bought Ink Cloud Mining Planet, for instance, might well want to buy a detection system too. Or perhaps the auction house had arranged it deliberately.

Han Han first searched the Virtual Universe to see if there were any better detection systems for sale.

In the end, the others were either out of stock or inferior.

Besides, the YE-1 model was indeed one of the more advanced star system detection systems. It also had an adjustable range; narrowed to just a few light-years, its performance was still excellent.

"I'll buy three."

Han Han looked at his black token. The highest bid was 524.3 billion Cosmic Coins. He rounded it up to 600 billion and placed three consecutive bids.