Chapter 365
: Artworks!
After strolling around for a while, Lin Xia and her group arrived at the auction's private room.
The private room is made of one-way guided glass, with a spacious and luxurious interior. It is covered with thick carpets and furnished with comfortable sofas and low tables, on which delicate snacks and drinks have already been prepared.
From inside the private box, one can have a clear view of the entire auction hall, while outsiders cannot see anything inside the box.
Once everyone was seated, the atmosphere became much more relaxed and casual compared to the tense atmosphere at the training ground.
Dugu Yan picked up an auction catalog with practiced ease and flipped through it, occasionally whispering a few words to Ye Lingling.
Ning Rongrong sat next to Zhu Zhuqing, but her eyes still held a hint of curiosity about the furnishings of the private room and the auction process.
After all, this was her first time in a place like this!
Zhu Zhuqing remained as quiet as ever, her gaze fixed on the auction stage below, like an ice sculpture.
Meng Yiran seemed a little awkward and sat down next to Ning Rongrong.
Yu Tianheng, Yu Feng, and the others relaxed and chatted quietly about the auction items they had seen along the way.
Lin Xia leaned back on the sofa in the main seat, her posture languid yet exuding an invisible aura.
He didn't look at the catalog; his gaze calmly swept over the bustling bidders below. His powerful mental energy, like an invisible spider web, subtly sensed the various energies and emotional fluctuations flowing within the room.
His target for this trip—that ancient whale glue—had already been noted down by its number; he was just waiting for his turn to sell it.
As for the rest, they're just for entertainment.
Just then, the well-dressed and eloquent host on the auction stage, with a smile that was both mysterious and ambiguous, spoke clearly through the amplified soul guide device throughout the entire auction hall, penetrating the soundproof barriers of the private rooms and reaching everyone's ears.
"Distinguished guests, please focus your attention here!"
The host raised his voice, his tone filled with inflammatory enthusiasm.
"The next item we are about to present is not a cold object, nor an ordinary treasure, but a... unique work of art!"
"A rare treasure that would amaze any seasoned collector and excite any distinguished male guest!"
His words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples.
The previously somewhat scattered attention of the audience was instantly focused, and whispers began to hum. Countless eyes, filled with curiosity, inquiry, and even undisguised greed and desire, were fixed on the center of the auction stage.
The host looked on with satisfaction at the emotions stirred up in the audience, a professional yet meaningful smile playing on his lips.
He raised his hand to signal, and three burly, muscular, shirtless men pushed a huge cart covered with a thick red cloth onto the stage.
The object on the cart had a square outline and was quite large. It was completely covered by a red cloth, which added to its mystery.
"Please allow me to reveal the starting price of this rare treasure,"
The host paused deliberately, building up the anticipation, before announcing in a loud voice:
"100,000 Gold Soul Coins! Each bid must be at least 10,000 Gold Soul Coins higher!"
"One hundred thousand?!"
Inside the private room, Yu Feng couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation and smacked his lips.
"What kind of living creature is so valuable? A top-tier soul beast cub? Or..."
Oslo narrowed his eyes, a playful look on his face. "The host's tone, and the way he specifically emphasized the male VIPs... hehe, that's interesting."
Yu Tianheng frowned slightly. As the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family, he was not completely ignorant of such dark aspects. However, his family education made him instinctively feel a little uncomfortable about such transactions.
The graphite and stone mill brothers looked bewildered, clearly not quite understanding.
Dugu Yan put down the picture book in her hand, a hint of understanding flashing in her emerald eyes, followed by a faint, habitual indifference.
Ye Lingling's cool gaze narrowed slightly, as if she had a premonition of something, and her brows furrowed imperceptibly.
Ning Rongrong was initially surprised by the price, but then, seeing the host's ambiguous expression and the gleam in the eyes of some of the male bidders in the audience, her face flushed instantly, a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and disdain in her eyes. She muttered under her breath:
"Disgusting! It must be...something filthy!"
Meng Yiran also realized what was happening, her face turned slightly pale, and she nervously clenched the hem of her clothes.
Zhu Zhuqing's cold, cat-like eyes suddenly narrowed, and her body tensed instantly, like a cheetah poised to pounce.
Her gaze was fixed on the red cloth. A faint yet exceptionally clear sense of sorrow and fear, originating from the same source as her martial spirit, pierced through the space and the noise, directly into her heart.
Her fingernails dug deep into her palms unconsciously.
Lin Xia's originally calm and composed gaze turned completely cold when the host spoke in that ambiguous tone.
His posture remained unchanged, but the gentle aloofness around him vanished instantly, replaced by an indescribable chill, like the icy cold of the deep sea.
He stopped looking at the audience and turned his gaze to his companions in the private room, whose expressions varied. He lingered on Zhu Zhuqing for a moment and saw the anger and murderous intent that was about to burst forth from her eyes.
Ning Rongrong's shame and indignation, Meng Yiran's unease, Yu Tianheng's frown, Dugu Yan's indifference, Ye Lingling's worry... all were taken in.
Just then, the host's inflammatory voice rang out again.
"Have you distinguished guests already pictured its appearance in your minds? Is it a ferocious beast? Or...?"
He deliberately dragged out his words, his smile widening.
"Perhaps it is somewhat different from what you imagine. But please believe me, its value far exceeds your imagination! It is the grace of the Creator, the embodiment of desire, a unique treasure! Now, please, distinguished guests—look carefully!"
Before he could finish speaking, the host suddenly grabbed a corner of the red cloth and ripped it hard!
"Crack-!"
The red cloth slid down like a wave of blood, revealing the true appearance of what had been covered.
It was not a box, but a huge cage made of fine iron as thick as a child's arm!
Inside the cage, a figure was huddled up.
It was a young girl.
Most of her body was naked, and under the bright, even somewhat dazzling, auction lights, her skin was so white it was almost transparent, like the finest white jade, delicate and smooth, yet exuding a sickly fragility.
Only the most sensitive areas were barely covered by a few white seashells of varying sizes, exuding a marine feel, the sharp edges of which left faint red marks on her delicate skin.
She curled up like a frightened little animal, her arms tightly wrapped around her knees, her face buried deep in her arms, revealing only a rare head of short, light green hair, as soft as a tender spring bud, messily plastered to her sweaty forehead and neck.
The girl's figure was slender and well-proportioned, and her curves, even when curled up, still revealed an amazing sense of youthful beauty. However, this beauty appeared only glaring and desolate in the cold iron cage and naked situation.
"hiss……"
A collective gasp rippled through the audience, followed by even more intense and unabashed stares. (End of Chapter)