The man in gray noticed that someone was watching him, so he changed his posture and lowered his head again, remaining silent.
He was sent by the superintendent of the Clifford Military Academy to help with the auction.
The main task is to successfully acquire the Five Skandhas Spirit Fruit and the Cinnabar Blood Grass.
"Look at the front row, there are quite a few big shots here."
"Isn't that the vice president of the K967 Star Sector Association? Even he came to participate in the auction in person."
"Later, quite a few new items were added to the auction; I guess they were all after those high-level inscriptions."
"There are five minutes left before the start of this auction. Please take your seats and wait for the auction to begin," said the host, Xiao Hui, calmly from the stage.
The previously noisy venue gradually quieted down.
Everyone ended their conversation and took their seats.
At the same time, the lights in the auction hall slowly dimmed.
Auction countdown begins.
A giant light screen slowly appeared at the front of the venue, displaying images and information of all the auction items in a loop.
Wow, this auction is really high-end.
"More than seventy items for auction; this is probably the biggest sale Myriad Treasures Pavilion has ever held."
A few minutes later, the information on all the auction items finished playing.
The host walked to the center of the stage. "I hereby declare the Myriad Treasures Pavilion Auction officially open. Without further ado, let's bring out the first item: a thousand-year-old Red Mountain Pearl Fruit. This is a fire-elemental spiritual herb, a rare herb that can enhance and nourish the meridians of fire-elemental ability users. The starting bid is one million star coins."
Compared to other more precious spiritual herbs, this Red Mountain Pearl Fruit is nothing special.
The crowd wasn't too shocked; only a few people who really needed the item raised their hands to start bidding.
Inside the VIP box.
"It's mine! It's mine!" Song Tianqi stood up excitedly, eager to try his luck. "What do you think? Should I raise the price?"
Yan Yuting hesitated for a moment, "Why don't we give it a try?"
Song Tianqi rubbed his hands together, then immediately pressed the bidding button in the private room and called out, "Two million."
Although this Red Mountain Pearl Fruit is very old, it is only effective on fire-type ability users, which is quite limiting. Its market price is usually around 1.8 million.
Secondly, those who can enter the VIP boxes are basically distinguished guests with high status and astonishing wealth.
Trying to compete with them for a bid is a complete waste of money.
Therefore, Song Tianqi's bid resulted in an awkward silence.
"Two million once, two million twice." The host looked around, "Two million three times. Congratulations to the guest in the VIP box for winning this thousand-year-old Red Mountain Pearl Fruit!"
Chapter 195
Song Tianqi was completely stunned.
"Wait, what does that mean? Why isn't anyone trying to take my picture?"
Yan Yuting glanced at him speechlessly, "With your price increase so drastic, who would dare to compete with you?"
Song Tianqi: "..."
After this ordeal, Song Tianqi became completely obedient.
He slumped down on the sofa and started to slack off.
After the first item was auctioned off, murmurs arose from the guests below, "This is truly a rare sight; even the VIPs from the upstairs boxes have come."
Why is he auctioning off the Red Mountain Pearl Fruit? This kind of spiritual herb shouldn't be considered particularly rare.
"I don't know, maybe it was given to someone else?"
Those who can enter the VIP box of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion Auction are all big shots at the top of the pyramid, and for such big shots, the Red Mountain Pearl Fruit is basically useless.
When the second item was brought to the auction, the room fell silent again.
This item comes from Xu Jintang. It consists of five high-level inscriptions with calming effects. When used during cultivation, they can improve concentration and efficiency. They are particularly effective for ability users between the Fifth Tier and Eighth Tier.
"Starting bid: 600,000 Star Coins. Minimum bid increment: 20,000 Star Coins. Auction now begins."
As soon as the host finished speaking, bidding erupted from the audience. "One million!"
The person raising the bidding paddle was a VIP sitting in the second row.
Many people who knew the identity of this VIP turned their attention to him.
"He actually came too. This auction by the Myriad Treasures Pavilion is truly unprecedented."
"Then I won't join the fun. I'll save my money for the things I really need later."
The host glanced around the room. "One million per time."
"One million twice."
The auction was called a second time, but there were still no bids.
Just as the host was about to ring the bell to announce the end of the auction, Xu Jintang's voice came from the upper box. "One million one hundred thousand."
The host, Xiao Hui, froze for a moment, then quickly added, "The guests in the private rooms pay 1.1 million per session."
The other guests around looked up.
Why are the people in this private room bidding again?
"This inscription function is quite useful, especially for high-level ability users cultivating; the effect should be even stronger."
The guest sitting in the second row frowned slightly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the private room above.
This inscription is of great use to him, and he must acquire it no matter what.
After thinking for a moment, he still held up the sign, "One and a half million."
The host rang the bell, "One and a half million per time."
After speaking, he casually glanced up at the private room above.
Although this inscription is valuable, it is not rare enough. If the competition continues, the price will be significantly inflated.
This time, there was no sound from inside the private room.
After the host rang the bell three times, he announced, "This item belongs to VIP number 18 in the second row."
After the auction ended, many people glanced at the private rooms, their faces full of doubt.
"Strange, why does everyone in the private room want to buy everything today?"
"But the price wasn't raised to the maximum. It feels like they're deliberately inflating the price?"
"Ah?"
While the audience below the stage was filled with doubt, several people in the private box began to shout.
"I told you I should learn from the class monitor!" Song Tianqi rolled up his sleeves, looking like he'd "learned it all." "Next time it's my turn to bid, I'll do it the same way!"
Soon, the third item came up for auction, this time belonging to Xue Zhongqi.
He stood with his arms crossed in front of him, observing the situation below through the floor-to-ceiling glass.
He had originally intended to raise the price, but his item was so popular that he didn't even have a chance to do so before the guests below started bidding.
The final transaction price was much higher than the market price.
As the auction ended, Xue Zhongqi raised both hands in a victory pose, saying, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it; my stuff is just that sought after."
Yan Yuting: "..."
Time flew by, and several items were successfully sold.
Xu Jintang and his friends, having nothing better to do, would occasionally raise the price, and the private room was filled with laughter and chatter.
It wasn't until halftime that the guests finally realized something was wrong.
"Have you noticed? There might be more than one person in the private room today, because the bidding sounds have been different several times—sometimes it's a man, sometimes a woman."
"That's strange. Who's in this private room? They keep making photos of random things today."
"It's fine if you get the bid, but the problem is that you always stop halfway through. That strongly suggests you're deliberately driving up the price."
Despite their doubts, none of them were qualified to go into the private room to investigate the truth. They could only make a few comments before continuing to examine the items in the second half of the auction.
The first half was just an appetizer; the main event was yet to come.
At this time, new guests began to enter the venue.
"Holy crap, isn't that someone from the Administration Bureau?"
Some people noticed that the newcomer was wearing Administration Bureau uniform.
The officials from the Administration Bureau are known for their domineering attitude and never conceal their identities when they go out. As a result, it is common to see groups of them openly wearing uniforms and entering and leaving various places.
Upon seeing this group, the auction staff immediately approached them, their voices tinged with nervousness, "Who are you all?"
Song Yuanlang, who was in charge of leading the team, glanced at him and said, "We're here to attend the auction."
"Oh, please come in, everyone." The staff member secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been startled, thinking something had happened that had attracted the attention of the Administration Bureau.
Song Yuanlang surveyed the entire room, then looked up at the private room above.
Noticing the lights were on in the private room, he raised an eyebrow slightly. "Is someone in the private room today?"
The team members behind them all looked up, wondering, "I wonder which leader from the Federation Bureau has come over."
Even the people from their Administration Bureau could only sit in the lower seats.
Those who can sit in the private rooms must be of a much higher status than them.
Song Yuanlang withdrew his gaze and quickly found a seat.
The two teammates behind him stood on either side, their hands behind their backs, their faces serious.
Immediately afterwards, another group of people walked in through the entrance.
This time it's the Armament Bureau.
The team leader in charge of the auction walked in, toying with a jade gourd pendant in his hand and wearing a relaxed smile.
"Hey, that's strange, Captain Song is here too."
As soon as he entered, he noticed Song Yuanlang sitting in the first row, smiled, walked over to Song Yuanlang, and patted him on the shoulder.
Song Yuanlang raised his eyes with a cold expression, "What is it?"
The head of the Armament Bureau smiled, his eyes narrowing slightly. " Captain Song, you've come all this way specifically to bid for the Five Skandhas Spirit Fruit?"
"Is it even necessary to ask such nonsense?" Song Yuanlang replied speechlessly.
The head of the Armament Bureau chuckled twice, "Very well, it seems we're enemies again today."
After saying that, he turned around and sat down next to him.
The teammates behind him stood on either side, assuming defensive stances.
The appearance of these two bigwigs, Song Yuanlang, quieted down the scene considerably.
The guests behind them lowered their voices and observed the two of them.
"They only came in the second half; they're probably after the Five Skandhas Spirit Fruit."