The VIP room was filled with a quiet fragrance.
A contract made from tanned magical beast hide was gently pushed in front of Su Chen by a flawless, fair-skinned hand.
"This is the standard consignment contract of the Miteer Auction House."
Ya Fei's voice had regained the professionalism and composure befitting a chief auctioneer. The deliberately cultivated sultriness receded like the tide.
She leaned against the soft sofa. Her fiery red qipao still outlined her breathtaking curves, but now she exuded the shrewd, sharp aura of a businesswoman.
"The starting price is fifty gold coins. We'll take a ten percent commission from the proceeds. Also, considering the special nature of this 'Rock Fire Seed,' I can arrange for it to be one of the featured lots at a small auction three days from now."
She laid out the terms clearly. For a first-time deal with a stranger, they were already extremely generous.
"All you need to do is sign here. After that, you won't have to worry about a thing."
She gestured invitingly, her peach-blossom eyes resting on Su Chen with a faint smile.
As far as she was concerned, the deal was already settled.
Su Chen didn't move.
His gaze didn't even pause for a moment on the valuable contract.
He merely picked up the cup of fragrant tea before him, long since gone cold, and took a small sip, letting the slightly bitter liquid slide down his throat.
A brief silence fell over the room.
Ya Fei's smile didn't change, but her slender fingers, which had been tapping the sofa's armrest, paused almost imperceptibly.
What was he waiting for?
At last, Su Chen set down his teacup.
The cup's base touched the precious rosewood tabletop with a crisp, light click.
In the quiet room, the sound rang out especially clearly.
"Miss Ya Fei."
Su Chen raised his head and calmly met her inquisitive gaze.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead."
Ya Fei's red lips curved slightly upward.
"If this bottle of fire is merely a rare treasure I came across by chance, then it's a valuable curiosity."
Su Chen's voice was unhurried, as though he were stating the simplest of facts.
"But what if..."
He paused. Each word seemed to have been calculated with precision.
"What if it wasn't a coincidence?"
Ya Fei's peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly.
"What if I told you that I could provide 'Rock Fire Seeds' over the long term, consistently, with quality, energy, and stability identical to this one?"
"Then what would it be?"
Boom!
That final question struck Ya Fei's heart like an invisible sledgehammer.
Her smile froze completely.
Long term!
Consistently!
Identical!
To an outsider, those three words might not mean much.
But to Ya Fei, and to a behemoth like the Miteer Auction House, which made its living selling rare resources, what those words represented was enough to trigger an earthquake!
What did this mean?
It meant that the bottle of fire before her would no longer be a "valuable curiosity" dependent on luck.
It would become a "commodity" that could be appraised, mass-produced, and supplied reliably...
A standardized, perfect strategic commodity capable of transforming the landscape for low-tier alchemists across Wutan City and even the surrounding cities!
Alchemists would no longer need to spend enormous effort suppressing the violent, impure flames of inferior magical beasts.
Their pill success rates would soar!
And blacksmiths would have access to the steadiest source of fire, allowing them to forge weapons that demanded extremely precise temperature control!
The profits this represented were so immense that even a chief auctioneer like her, accustomed to handling gold coins, felt her heart seize.
It was as though the air had been sucked out of the VIP room.
Ya Fei stopped leaning against the sofa and slowly sat upright. Her peach-blossom eyes, once languid and alluring, were now sharp as knives.
She stared hard at Su Chen, as if trying to find the slightest trace of boasting or deceit on his far-too-young face.
But she was disappointed.
His face held nothing but calm.
A strange, almost frightening calm.
After a long while,
Ya Fei finally found her voice. It sounded dry, with a rasp she hadn't even noticed herself.
"Do you know what you're saying?"
"I do."
Su Chen nodded.
"Do you know how many wolves this kind of 'standardized' business you're talking about will attract the moment it appears?"
Ya Fei's voice suddenly turned cold.
"The Jialie Clan, the Aoba Clan, even the City Lord's Mansion... No faction in Wutan City will allow something capable of upsetting the balance to fall into the hands of a nobody with no backing."
"They'll swarm you like sharks scenting blood and devour you, skin, bones, and all!"
"They'll do whatever it takes to pry open your mouth and dig out the secret behind your 'reliable supply'!"
Her words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head.
Every word was soaked in bloody reality.
That was the keen insight of a chief auctioneer.
In an instant, she had seen through the deadly peril hidden beneath this windfall of wealth.
Su Chen's heart contracted involuntarily.
What Ya Fei described was the very nightmare he had just experienced firsthand.
But he showed no trace of fear.
Because this was exactly what he wanted.
He wanted Ya Fei to see the value—and the deadly risks lurking behind that value.
"So..."
Meeting her icy gaze, Su Chen spoke each word deliberately.
"I need a partner."
"A partner powerful enough to shield me from all those wolves."
"A partner... who can let me earn money in peace, on my own two feet."
Ya Fei's breath caught.
At last, she understood.
From the very beginning, this young man hadn't come simply to consign an item.
He was using a future capable of overturning the market to secure a... shield for himself!
A shield from the Miteer Family!
What a bold move!
What a calculated plan!
What a remarkable boy of fifteen or sixteen!
As Ya Fei looked at Su Chen, genuine shock appeared for the first time in the depths of her knife-sharp eyes.
She had met countless geniuses and ambitious schemers.
But never had she seen anyone at this age possess such courage and foresight.
He hadn't come merely to sell something.
He was gambling with himself and the secret he possessed!
The stake was his life.
And the table he'd chosen was her—Ya Fei—and the Miteer Auction House behind her.
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Ya Fei's fingertips traced absentminded paths across the rosewood tabletop.
She was weighing her options.
On one side was the enormous risk of partnering with a mysterious young man. The Miteer Auction House wielded considerable influence, but was it worth going to war with Wutan City's local powers for the sake of an outsider?
On the other was the immeasurable profit from monopolizing an entirely new strategic resource.
That profit was enough to elevate the Miteer Auction House's standing in Wutan City and squeeze the markets of the Xiao Clan and the Aoba Clan to the point where they could no longer survive.
After a long while,
Ya Fei suddenly smiled.
There was no trace of flirtation or coldness in her smile now.
It held relief, along with the excitement and appreciation of finding a worthy opponent.
She reached out and picked up the standard contract from the table.
Then, under Su Chen's gaze,
she gripped it in both hands and pulled.
"Riiip—"
Without the slightest hesitation, she tore the contract—which would have sent an ordinary person into raptures—in half.
She casually tossed the scraps into a nearby wastebasket. Her movements were graceful, yet her decision was unmistakable.
"A standard contract isn't good enough for our future partner."
Ya Fei stood up, her graceful figure casting a faint shadow over Su Chen.
She extended a hand toward him, white as jade.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"Ya Fei, chief auctioneer of the Miteer Auction House in Wutan City."
"From this moment on, you'll be the Miteer Family's highest-level secret partner."
"We'll provide you with the most comprehensive protection and ensure your personal safety within Wutan City. In exchange, every 'Rock Fire Seed' you produce must be sold exclusively through the Miteer Auction House."
Her voice was decisive and strong.
Su Chen looked at the slender hand before him, cool to the touch yet seemingly filled with boundless strength. At last, the enormous stone that had hung over his heart all night came crashing down.
He had won the gamble.
He reached out and gently clasped her cool, delicate hand.
Their hands parted almost immediately.
"Su Chen."
For the first time in this world, he gave his name to someone with real influence.
Ya Fei nodded in satisfaction.
She took an exquisite badge from her storage ring, forged entirely from purple gold and engraved with the Miteer Family crest.
She handed it to Su Chen.
"This is the Purple Gold VIP Badge of our auction house. There are no more than five in all of Wutan City. With it, you can enter any part of the auction house freely and call on a team of guards to protect you."
"And with it, you can tell those short-sighted flies..."
Ya Fei's peach-blossom eyes turned toward the brightly lit nightscape of Wutan City outside the window.
"That you belong to me, Ya Fei."
Before you continue