BXBX NOVEL Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Sucker
Charles nodded and chose a seat by the window, offering a perfect view of the entire auction house.
The auction house in Lsengard wasn\'t large, sparsely filled with dozens of people, all elites and wealthy merchants from various sectors of Lsengard.
Charles recognized two of them—his classmates Robert and Daniel—who probably wanted to acquire some treasures to prepare for their journey out of the city in six days.
Absorbed in his surroundings, Charles was interrupted by the light sound of dress shoes as the tailcoat-clad man returned, accompanied by a middle-aged man with tone reproduction white hair:
"Sir, this is our auction house appraiser, Master Brown."
---
Meanwhile, Robert was sitting at the auction bench, his mood sour. Running into Charles at the entrance had greatly irritated him.
"What\'s Charles\'s class doing at the same auction house as me? Can he, a poor man, afford anything?"
Brooding over these thoughts, Robert suddenly saw a middle-aged man rush onto the auction stage with a jade box:
"Ladies and gentlemen, our auction house has just received a new treasure, personally appraised by our chief appraiser, Master Brown. I believe it will interest many of you..." The man carefully opened the lid of the jade box: "Tone reproduction class miracle drug, Hemostatic Powder, starting bid—1 silver coin!"
Upon seeing the tone reproduction miracle drug shimmering with an unusual luster on the projection screen, the previously quiet auction hall erupted into lively discussions.
"A tone reproduction class miracle drug? It must be the work of some skilled alchemist. Such treasures are indeed rare!"
"I was once attacked by a ferocious beast on a business trip outside the city, losing so much blood I nearly passed out. A passing alchemist fed me a Hemostatic Powder, and my wound scabbed over in seconds, literally pulling me back from the brink of death!"
"It\'s so miraculous, it\'s like having an extra life! Forget one silver coin, I would pay a hundred for it!"
"I\'ll bid 2 silver coins!"
"2 silver coins and 500 copper coins!"
"I\'ll go 5 silver coins!"
"..."
In the VIP reception room, hearing the successive bids echoing through the auction house, Charles couldn\'t help but smile: "This place truly lives up to the name Misubi; the bidding techniques here are truly professional!"
He knew a bit about the ways of the auction house. Among the dozens of bidders, many were shills for the auction house, yelling bids but not buying, their acting quite persuasive.
However, he was more than happy to see the bidding price climbing.
After several rounds of bidding, the price of the Hemostatic Powder soared to 10 silver coins.
At that moment, Charles spotted a somewhat familiar figure in the auction house raising a bidding sign:
"I bid 20 silver coins!"
Charles\'s face involuntarily twitched: "No way, Daniel is here too, didn\'t mean to trap a good brother..."
Back in high school, when Robert bullied him and even the class teacher wouldn\'t intervene, only Daniel dared to stand up for him.
The bidder was none other than Daniel\'s father, David. Charles sighed softly:
"I can\'t do this to my friend. If you really end up winning it for 20 silver coins, I owe you a barbecue dinner tonight!"
As David\'s bid was called, the room fell silent. Although the Hemostatic Powder was enticing, no one dared to compete with a bid that doubled the previous one.
"Heh, Mr. David, I didn\'t expect you to be interested in this miracle drug as well. However, my son recently advanced to Beast Master and will be leaving the city for training next week. I need this Hemostatic Powder," a bald man behind Robert raised his bidding sign:
"I bid 25 silver coins!"
"Sly, no offense, but with your son\'s lack of skills, that money might be better spent on a coffin.
Maybe he should just stay in the city, to avoid losing his life." David, standing beside Daniel, raised his bidding sign again, unwilling to back down:
"I bid 30 silver coins!"
This intense bidding left the crowd at the auction house speechless.
The Smith family and the Taylor family, one is in the jewelry business, and the other is in the jade business, and they have always been competitors.
Their bidding was no longer just about a miracle drug; it was about the prestige of their families.
The atmosphere quickly heated up.
Sitting in the VIP section, Charles choked on his water as he saw the price skyrocket: "Cough, cough! I didn\'t know my Hemostatic Powder was worth this much..."
"50 silver coins!" Sly shouted, his hand trembling as he raised his bid. Determined to deflate David\'s pride, he was going all in today!
Just when everyone thought David would continue bidding, he adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and chuckled at Sly: "Mr. Sly, Mr. Sly, truly wealthy and lavish with your spending—a bid of 50 silver coins for a Hemostatic Powder! I am genuinely impressed!"
After speaking, David stood up, laughed heartily, and left the auction house with Daniel.
Watching their departing figures, Sly\'s face was a mix of shock and sudden realization that he had been played. His face turned from red to ashen: "David, you... you dare play me! You just wait!"
As if worried Sly might retract his bid, the auctioneer quickly hammered down:
"Tone reproduction quality miracle drug, Hemostatic Powder, successfully auctioned to Mr. Sly!"
...
In the VIP room.
The tailcoat-clad man bowed slightly and handed Charles a check: "Mr. Charles, good day to you. Your item sold for 50 silver coins."
Tucking away the check, Charles sighed in admiration. "As expected of a renowned family from all of Genosha, they really know how to do business!"
"It\'s a mere 2.5 silver coins to them, but they\'ve gained a major customer."
As Charles stepped out of the appraisal room, he ran into a visibly annoyed Robert and his father.
"Why is it you again?" Robert, still fuming, rolled his eyes at Charles.
But then, glancing at Charles\'s modest appearance, Robert shook the jade box in his hand with a smirk: "Lucky day today, managed to score something great! A tone reproduction class miracle drug, bet you\'ve never seen one of these?"
As Robert approached, Max bared his teeth fiercely. If not for Charles holding him back, he would have bitten Robert.
"Sorry about that, Robert. My pet usually doesn\'t act this way unless it sees a dog!" Charles quipped with a smile.
Robert waved his hand dismissively, "It\'s just a pet, better train it well... Wait, what did you say?!"
"I said, a good dog doesn\'t block the path!" Charles flipped Robert the bird and walked away with his head held high.
Watching Charles\'s retreating figure, Robert\'s expression turned ugly.
Being played by Daniel and his father was one thing, since the Smith family had some influence and their businesses were rivals. But Charles, whose parents ran a freight business—a loser in his eyes—daring to challenge him?
Throughout high school, if it weren\'t for Daniel\'s support and Lily\'s favoritism, he would have had Charles hospitalized long ago!
"Hmph! Just six days until we leave the city for our training, and you dare to provoke me? You won\'t even know how you died!" Robert snorted coldly and climbed into his luxury car with a dark look on his face.
In the passenger seat.
Suddenly recalling something, Robert looked puzzled.
He had seen Charles entering the Misubi Auction House\'s appraisal room earlier, and now, just as he was leaving, he saw him coming out. How could it be such a coincidence?
Robert glanced aside: "Dad, you don\'t think that miracle drug was sold by that kid Charles, do you?"
"How could that be possible! Do you think a high school student knows alchemy?" Sly took a puff of his cigar, frowning slightly: "But it is indeed strange. I know all the alchemists in Lsengard. I\'ll ask around later, make sure we didn\'t buy something stolen by that kid."
...
Lsengard Commercial Bank.
Recalling the scene at the auction house, Charles was almost in pain from laughing: "Hahaha! Seeing that kid Robert bleed money was just damn satisfying!"
Originally, by market rates, his miracle drug would have sold for at most 10 silver coins. But Robert and his father, playing the suckers, had spent 50 silver coins!
After cashing the check, Charles checked his bank account, and his phone quickly received a message.
[Dear customer, the current balance of your bank account ending in 9527 is: 0 gold coins, 58 silver coins, 20 copper coins.]
For some reason, perhaps because he had been poor, just seeing those numbers in his bank account made Charles feel incredibly secure.
"With this money, I can craft a suitable set of equipment!" Charles could hardly hide the excitement on his face as he rubbed Max\'s head: "And tonight, I\'ll cook you a feast of ferocious beast meat!"
As Charles was playing with Max, a message suddenly floated across his phone.
[#Shocking News! Genosha\'s largest auction house Misubi is openly auctioning stolen goods#]
"Misubi? Isn\'t that the auction house I just visited?"