Chapter 123 : Opening
Opening
Five minutes later, in a small room decorated as a temporary waiting lounge, Cecilia and Gu Yanxi slowly took their seats.
"This is the list of items to be auctioned today. There's still some time before the start; you can take a look first,"
Little Persimmon Puppy said as she sat down, picking up two sheets of tissue from the table and handing them to Cecilia.
"Why are there so many? Can we really sell them all in just an hour and a half?"
Cecilia asked in a low voice, furrowing her brow as she flipped through the list that Little Persimmon Puppy had prepared.
Apart from the few purple pieces of equipment and pet eggs provided by Cecilia, the densely written list contained all sorts of different auction items. There were not only equipment blueprints, but also extremely rare materials on the market, and even several unidentified quest items. By a rough estimate, there were close to 100 items in total, making it difficult to imagine how Little Persimmon Puppy had collected all these goods.
And all these items needed to be auctioned off within an hour and a half—one could well imagine how tight the schedule was.
"Don't worry, when it comes to market research, I'm the best. Just take a look at those bumpkins outside, looking so inexperienced—as long as that's the case, we'll definitely sell everything,"
Little Persimmon Puppy leaned back on the sofa, a confident smile curving her lips.
Seeing this expression, for some reason, Cecilia suddenly felt a wave of foreboding and couldn't help but tense her expression, putting down the list as she spoke in an extremely cold tone:
"I'll state this in advance: I've never been involved with auctions, nor am I interested in experiencing or learning about them. When the time comes, you'll host by yourself—I absolutely won't show up."
Although Cecilia hadn't known Little Persimmon Puppy for long, after spending some time together, she already understood very well that, whether in real life or in-game, little Persimmon Puppy's class was Merchant. This class, to put it bluntly, would do anything for money as long as it was legal.
Cecilia was never fond of talking, and even had a bit of mild social anxiety; ever since she was young, standing in front of a crowd always made her uncomfortable—let alone now, in this female body. Usually, she was happy enough to hunt wild monsters and boss enemies alone, but to make her stand on an auction platform in front of dozens or even hundreds of people and sell trinkets—Cecilia thought she'd rather die.
"Eh? Why? I've even prepared outfits for you, just like mine," as expected, just as Cecilia finished speaking, little Persimmon Puppy's face fell in disappointment, watching her with a woeful look.
Perhaps to make her case more persuasive, little Persimmon Puppy even took a brand-new black suit skirt from her backpack, along with a matching white shirt, black stockings, and high heels, displaying everything on the wooden table.
Staring blankly at the entire set of clothing laid out on the table, Cecilia was momentarily dumbfounded. It took her several seconds before she came back to her senses and, stunned, asked, "Where did you get these clothes from?"
"I bought them from the Merchant Alliance when handling the auction registration. They're top-end goods—one set costs 400 gold coins. Don't you want to reconsider?"
Little Persimmon Puppy looked at Cecilia expectantly, completely undeterred.
At the current in-game exchange rate, 400 gold coins was equivalent to around 78,000 RMB, which was no small sum. That such an expensive price was spent on a set of outfits with no stat bonuses showed just how much of a money pit Legend of Kaloran really was.
"Keep it for yourself," closing the identification panel for the equipment, Cecilia turned away and let out a long sigh, then said, "You really are hopeless."
Even with Cecilia's rejection so obvious, little Persimmon Puppy would not give up. Thinking of the huge traffic behind the name "Cecilia," she gritted her teeth and tried again:
"Lia, trust me—you're so cute, and so famous. You're practically a walking ad! If you just show your face and say a few words, this time we'll definitely make a fortune!"
"Didn't you say someone might try to cause trouble today and wanted me as a bodyguard? If I get on stage with you, who'll watch the venue?"
Seeing that Little Persimmon Puppy was a bit out of sorts, Cecilia shook her head and patiently explained.
"But, don't you think... that maid outfit you're wearing is just way too conspicuous?"
Little Persimmon Puppy hesitated for a moment, but eventually voiced her true thoughts.
Cecilia looked down at her maid outfit and was finally at a loss for words.
Truth be told, the maid outfit she wore did feel a bit out of place in an auction house, looking more like a maid from a Western mansion.
"I'd like to see you wear this, too."
At this moment, gu Yanxi, who had been silently watching, spoke up.
Ever since Little Persimmon Puppy brought out the clothes, gu Yanxi's gaze rarely left them. In her mind, she imagined what Cecilia would look like in them: a crisp white shirt, a black pencil skirt and stockings, the beautiful face of a silver-haired girl, and that ever-present chilly demeanor—the combination just seemed perfect.
"See, yanxi agrees! Just go put it on,"
Little Persimmon Puppy's eyes brightened and she quickly seized the opportunity.
"If she's just causing trouble, why are you joining her?"
Cecilia threw a glare at Gu Yanxi, crossed her arms, and retorted, "There's absolutely no stat bonus to these clothes. I'm not some non-combatant—what am I supposed to do if a fight breaks out?"
Her concern wasn't baseless. The reason her panel stats were so ridiculously high was entirely due to her current Rose Maid set and maxed-out Maid Outfit Mastery. Yet, once she changed into the flashy but impractical suit skirt, all her equipment stats and bonuses would drop to zero. With just her main and side weapons, there was no way she could deliver the same overwhelming performance as before.
"If a fight actually breaks out, just switch back to your current outfit then, can't you?"
Gu Yanxi moved a little closer, eyes fixated, staring at the silver-haired girl at an even closer distance. Her warm breath brushed against Cecilia's cheek and earlobe, making Cecilia's heart itch and her body feel slightly warm.
Cecilia's entire body stiffened. She pursed her lips nervously, and two faint blushes rose on her cheeks.
Though it had been a while since she'd turned into a girl, her mentality hadn't fully adjusted. When other girls got close, she still had a big reaction.
"Alright, I... I'll give it a try..."
Her tongue felt a little tied up, and afraid Little Persimmon Puppy would notice something was off, Cecilia finally agreed awkwardly to Gu Yanxi's request.
7:50 PM. The final countdown before the official start of the auction.
The lobby, decorated like a bar, was about 200 square meters, filled with wooden chairs. Every seat was occupied by a player, most of whom were guild leaders with power and fame, or renowned big-spending players.
Many of them knew each other; they were chatting in small groups while occasionally glancing at the center of the lobby. What used to be the bar counter had been remodeled into the auction stage.
Since this wasn't an official auction house, but a temporary venue chosen by Little Persimmon Puppy, both the space and equipment couldn't compare to a professional site. It also couldn't accommodate too many players.
Just as Little Persimmon Puppy predicted, there were about 50 to 60 people in the lobby. Ordinary players had no qualifications to participate at such a high-level auction—at most, they could crowd around the door, or gather at the narrow windows to spectate the biggest assembly of big spenders since the server opened.
Inside the lobby, many bigwigs of the online gaming sphere discussed business and gaming with each other. Outside, the random players listened in with relish. Even though a thick door separated them, they could still fantasize that they, too, might one day afford equipment worth millions.
In the adjacent waiting room, Cecilia listened with interest as well.
Even separated by a wall of wood and a distance of dozens of meters, her Vampire hearing—far sharper than a normal human's—let her catch the faint conversations from the adjacent lobby.
She also heard voices in languages other than Mandarin—English, japanese, and Korean among them. Clearly, the guests Little Persimmon Puppy invited weren't only national server players.
As for how these foreign players came to the national server, it wasn't hard to guess by thinking about those three jerks from before: they must have used temporary server transfer.
Cecilia had considered transferring servers to get things she wanted, or to kill world-class bosses elsewhere, then return to the national server. But, as Little Persimmon Puppy explained, temporary transfers not only required a hefty fee to the system but also a mandatory one-month stay on the new server.
Given that a month seemed far too long, she gave up on this unrealistic idea.
Glancing at the time, there were fewer than five minutes left until the auction began. Cecilia took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and walked out to the lobby.
At the same time, little Persimmon Puppy's voice could be heard from the lobby outside:
"Welcome, dear guests. Thank you for gracing us with your presence at our first auction."
As soon as she finished speaking, the lobby erupted with warm applause—crackling loudly, like firecrackers going off.
Cecilia gripped the doorknob, steadying herself against the door, tapping the floor lightly with her slender heels. Her expression was conflicted and hesitant—the sound seemed to make her ears ring painfully.
..........