The auction

"Huh?" Jason, confused.

"It's alright, just be careful of him," Roland said. He hadn't received the Redemption Value from the Penguin yet, and who knew what kind of mischief the guy was up to.

Jason quickly found a professional construction company and began rebuilding the Church.

"Priest, what do you think of this Gothic-style roof?"

Is it expensive?

"Uh... the cost will be a little higher... what about Rome arch structures?"

Is it expensive?

"... Flat roofs aren't expensive, but this is Church you're building." The Designer was somewhat speechless; this client, though demanding, was really difficult to please.

"Well... you decide what to do," Roland said after thinking for a moment. He was a complete novice in architecture and had absolutely no ability to guide an expert.

"Let's design it like Rome Church, to distinguish it from the Gothic style of Gotham Cathedral. We'll include thick walls, vaulted ceilings, long corridors, and large columns. The only problem is that the walls are so thick that we can't fit large windows, so the interior will be a bit dark."

"This isn't a big problem." Roland thought for a moment. Given Gotham City's weather, it's still dark even with the windows wide open, so this won't have any impact at all.

"No problem, we're ready to go," the Designer said.

Roland nodded. "Then I'll leave this to you, Jason. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Jason was called over.

"Go sell some things to supplement the family income; building Church will cost a lot of money."

"Okay, I know a secondhand shop, let's go."

"What old goods store? Let's go to Wayne Auction House!" Roland hopped on his motorcycle.

"You're taking all that junk to Auction House?" Jason looked at Roland with a strange expression. "Are you kidding me? Do you think the Auction Hall security will let you in?"

"Why not give it a try?" Roland lit a fire and led Jason all the way to Wayne Auction House.

Arriving at a huge, magnificent square building, Roland was unsurprisingly stopped by security guards.

"Priest, it's not that we want to make things difficult for you, it's just... you don't have an invitation, so we really can't let you in." The security guard was a bit of a headache; this was a clergyman, and he couldn't be too forceful. "It would be fine at other times, but there are many VIPs here today. There's a big auction later, even Bruce Wayne will be attending..."

"Oh, that's great." Roland dialed a number. "Hey Bruce, are you coming to Wayne Auction House later? Could you get me in...?"

The security guard stared at Roland with a look of utter disbelief before finally saying, "Priest, I admire your sense of humor, but I really can't let you in..."

"It's alright, I'll just wait here for a bit."

Before long, all sorts of high-end cars pulled up in front of the Auction House, and many gentlemen and ladies stepped out of the cars. The most eye-catching among them was Bruce Wayne, who was wearing a suit tailored by George Armani himself.

"This guy..." Roland watched Bruce walk out of the supercar arm in arm with a stunning blonde woman and couldn't help but remark, "... it doesn't seem like an act."

"What are we acting out?" Jason asked, puzzled.

"Nothing..."

Bruce walked over, casually greeted the security guard, and told him to let Roland and Jason into the Auction House.

The Auction House was lavishly decorated. It was a single-story building with a high ceiling adorned with numerous giant crystal chandeliers. The walls were painted with reproductions of various classic Renaissance paintings, and the floor was covered with thick wool carpets, leaving the two dazzled by the sights.

A waiter in a black tuxedo approached Roland. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I have a few things I'd like to auction off, what do you think...?"

"Alright, I'll take you to the appraiser right away," the waiter said politely, leading Roland to a small room.

"Please present your auction item," the appraiser said with a smile, placing a tray covered with red silk in front of Roland.

"These are all," Roland said, placing several items on the tray.

"Bible, Cross..." The appraiser's lips twitched involuntarily; these were indeed auction items befitting Priest.

"Made of pure gold, the craftsmanship is exquisite..." The appraiser picked up the Pure Gold Cross and examined it. "It's a valuable piece of jewelry, but as an auction item, I think it's a little lacking."

"Alright," Roland nodded, as expected. "Take a look at my Bible."

"It looks quite old..." The appraiser opened the Bible, his expression turning serious as he carefully examined the signature inside with a magnifying glass.

After a few minutes, he looked up. "This Bible has German annotations and is signed by Albert Einstein and his wife Elsa in 1932... It's genuine. Would you like to auction it now? I can have them add it to the auction temporarily."

"No rush, take a look at this too." Roland pointed to the Pearl on the tray.

"Such a large Pearl is quite rare..." The appraiser examined the Pearl carefully, his expression growing increasingly serious. Suddenly, he stood up. "Excuse me, please wait a moment."

He went out and soon came back in with several older appraisers.

"Are you sure it's the Wanderer Pearl? Wasn't that in Elizabeth Taylor's collection?"

"I'm not sure, so I asked you to come and take a look."

"You can't even tell the truth from this? How could it possibly be real?"

Several appraisers walked in, talking as they went, and then gathered around the tray, carefully examining the Pearl Roland had brought, and taking out various instruments to test them.

"...Good heavens, this is the Wanderer Pearl." The appraisers concluded, "One of the world's largest perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped Pearl, weighing 50.56 carats, possessing a unique color and luster, there's absolutely no way to mistake it, this is it."

"If this Pearl is real, then what about the one Elizabeth Taylor had?"

"It seems the predecessors at Sotheby's's made a mistake back then..."

"Are you sure you want to auction this item?" the appraiser asked Roland cautiously.

"Yes." Roland nodded.

"Alright, I'll go inform the auctioneer right away." The appraiser handed the Pure Gold Cross back to Roland and had the waiter leave with the tray. "By the way, would you be interested in attending this auction?"

"Sure," Roland nodded.

"What are you planning to buy?" After walking out the door, Jason picked up a beautifully bound auction catalog and started looking through it. "Qianlong snuff bottle, Cartier jewelry, a 19.55-carat Colombian emerald and diamond Ring, Rembrandt print... I don't think there's anything that matches your style."

"Nonsense." Roland rolled her eyes at him. "Besides, I wasn't planning on buying anything. I just wanted to show you around."

"Oh."

The waiter led the two to two empty seats in the second row, not far from Bruce Wayne, which surprised the surrounding guests.

"Priest, let me introduce myself. My name is Mario Falcone. You look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?" The Italy sitting next to Roland greeted him.

Roland thought to herself, "How could this not look familiar? When you were catching the Holiday Killer at the Gotham City Zoo, the Riddler shone such a huge spotlight on my face."