That Jiang Cong was nearby?
Che Quan's crimson eyes abruptly darkened.
Just then, the woman teleported back and told him with a beaming smile, "Found it, found it! There's a really nice house here. Brand-new, fully furnished, and ready to move into!"
Che Quan gave a brief hum of acknowledgment, motioning for her to lead the way.
But the woman didn't set off immediately. Instead, she watched him cautiously and added, "It's just that the price is... a tiny bit higher. It's 890 points a night..."
That was an astronomical price.
Never mind penniless new players-even seasoned veterans with considerable savings would balk at splurging on this place.
The woman didn't know whether this inscrutable little beauty would back away upon hearing the price.
But as it turned out, her worries were entirely unnecessary.
The little vampire beauty didn't even blink at the price, merely urging her to lead the way with a hint of impatience.
At that, the woman's astonishment only grew, and she hurried to guide him with the utmost deference.
Th-this was a big shot keeping a low profile!
With a flick of his hand, Che Quan gave the person handling the rental 900 points, then walked straight into the vast, magnificent, secluded residence before their dumbfounded eyes.
At some point, Jiang Cong's presence had disappeared again.
Che Quan thought that was just as well. Out of sight, out of mind.
He put it all behind him.
After eating in a dining room stocked with every kind of food imaginable, he found the bathroom and master bedroom. He used everything available to block out the light, creating an environment of absolute darkness and deathly silence, before raising his brows in satisfaction.
After bathing, Che Quan went to sleep.
Having only recently awakened, he needed more sleep than ordinary people to recover his energy.
After sleeping for an unknown length of time, Che Quan woke in the silent darkness.
He suddenly realized that his one-night rental was about to expire.
Less than a minute remained.
Che Quan couldn't help frowning.
His current balance was three hundred points, clearly not enough for a second night.
There was no way he would stay in some other shabby place.
As Che Quan pondered this, a merciless mechanical voice suddenly sounded in the room. "Hello, Player 002. Your one-night rental has expired. Please vacate the premises immediately. Thank you for your cooperation."
Che Quan froze, then raised his brows. That certainly was a brisk, decisive eviction notice.
But rather than leave, Che Quan coldly asked the mechanical voice, "How do I buy this place?"
The mechanical voice fell silent for a moment. After a beep, it switched from an emotionless machine to an enthusiastic customer service representative.
"Hello, honored guest! Our Ravine North Courtyard boasts an excellent location and first-class service. We welcome your purchase. The residence you're currently renting is priced at 53,460,000 points. If you pay in full, we can offer a thirty-one-percent discount and round down the remainder, bringing your final price to 36,800,000."
Che Quan's fangs itched slightly at that. Expressionless, he asked, "How do I reserve it?"
The voice replied, "Making a reservation is very simple! Just pay one million points here to reserve it."
Che Quan said nothing more.
He opened the instance forum, logged into his player account, and listed the [Boss's Diary] item from his Inventory on the auction marketplace.
The beginner's handbook said there were three main ways to earn points.
The most common was clearing instances, followed by working or starting a business in the various instance cities. The last was trading and auctioning items.
Following the procedure, Che Quan entered the functions of [Boss's Diary], and the system immediately appraised its value-a starting bid of one million.
After all, it was a treasure that could save a life in a critical moment.
Che Quan clicked [Start auction now].
The system interface automatically redirected him to a newly created auction livestream.
It effectively registered him automatically.
From then on, this livestream room would be Che Quan's exclusive auction room.
A popularity count appeared in the upper left corner, with each online viewer counting as one popularity point.
Below the popularity count was the number of likes.
Once the auction ended, these figures would be converted proportionally into points and deposited in Che Quan's account.
The moment Che Quan listed his treasure, it drew the attention of quite a few veteran bidders.
[Oh my god, a lifesaving treasure like this is almost impossible to find.]
[It's been ages since anything this rare appeared on the auction marketplace. Secretly looking forward to this. It's definitely making the auction headlines.]
[Of course it is. The auction's barely started and it already has thirty thousand popularity points. That's the draw of a one-of-a-kind treasure.]
Watching the endless stream of scrolling comments, Che Quan raised his brows. Impatience flashed in his eyes, and he once again chose to block them all.
He glanced at the soaring popularity count, then at the bidders who had already started making offers.
[One million.]
[1.2 million.]
[1.5 million.]
[...1.7 million!]
Che Quan had little interest in such paltry increases and was about to leave the transaction to the automated assistant.
But just as he was about to log off, a dazzlingly ornate welcome banner appeared in the auction room, shimmering with brilliant colors.
[A warm welcome to Player 001, Jiang Cong, entering Che Quan's auction room!]
The banner's appearance prompted a chorus of astonishment from everyone in Che Quan's auction room. Even people browsing other sections of the forum rushed over at the news, all seemingly unable to believe it.
[The big shot Jiang Cong showed up?]
[Wait, he never shows his face on the forum. Why now...?]
[You guys probably don't know, but the big shot and the little beauty already hugged in the [Haunting] instance! So this is-a long-awaited reunion!]
[Please don't believe or spread rumors, thanks.]
[Is he here to bid too? No way, right?]
[To answer the person above, obviously not. The big shot has more items than you could possibly imagine, and points too! You can't even begin to imagine. And I'd stake my life on this: whenever he joins an auction, the treasure always ends up his...]
That comment had barely appeared when, in the very next second, something happened that no one had anticipated.
A notification appeared in the public chat-
[Notice: Seller Che Quan has blacklisted user Jiang Cong. User Jiang Cong can no longer make purchases, place bids, or perform related actions.]
For the first time ever, every bidder reacted in perfect unison: [???!!!]
[Is the little beauty p-p-publicly burning bridges with the big shot?]
[Slurp, slurp. I smell gossip. Is this the legendary struggle of a big shot trying to win his wife over?]
[Please stop with the unrealistic fantasies, thanks.]
Meanwhile, after successfully blacklisting Jiang Cong and seeing confirmation that he could no longer bid or buy, Che Quan finally smiled for the first time in a while.
But Che Quan's smile didn't last three seconds.
Because just then, the auction system issued another notification-
[Player Jiang Cong has offered an astronomical forty million points in Che Quan's livestream! This exceeds the starting price by 4000%, so transaction restrictions will be lifted immediately! If no other player places a higher bid within three seconds, the transaction will be completed automatically!] [3-] [2-] [1-] [Congratulations to Player 001, Jiang Cong, and Player 002, Che Quan, on completing their transaction!]
Che Quan's lips twitched, his eyes icy. "?"
Every viewer in Che Quan's auction room reacted with: [?!!!?]
After several seconds of collective shock, the viewers began to realize what had happened, one after another. In an instant, the entire room erupted.
[Forty million points?! Oh my god, I've never seen that many points in my entire life!]
[Is he serious? I mean, sure, it's a lifesaving item, but if he can casually shell out forty million points, would he really be short of an item or two?!]
[What do you know? You think he's doing this to buy an item? You seriously can't take a hint. Unbelievable.]
Before you continue