Chapter 1317 - 1312: The Auction
"Ladies and gentlemen, you must already know about the two items being auctioned today. I won't waste words here, let's start the auction directly." An old man walked onto the stage in the middle, holding an auction hammer.
"The first auction item is a Qin Dynasty dagger. It doesn't have much practical value but can be collected due to its age. Friends who like to collect can bid freely, as there's no reserve price." The old man said with a smile.
By saying this, he actually knows that everyone present has status, power, and money, so there's no need to be stingy. In fact, the item isn't worth much; it's just an appetizer.
After a long silence, a bid finally came from Room 49, offering two hundred thousand.
"Room 49, two hundred thousand, is there a higher offer?"
"Three hundred thousand!" The person in Room 38 raised the bid.
"Five hundred thousand!" Room 49 continued to bid.
"One million!" The person in Room 38 added fiercely.
The two seem to be locked in a battle, continuously raising the price.
In the end, the person from Room 49 took the dagger, which isn't worth that much, for a high price of two million.
The old man presiding over the auction chuckled quietly; he naturally loves when situations like this occur. He knows the dagger's value couldn't possibly exceed five hundred thousand, but due to the competition between two fools, he can earn two million, which pleases him. And this two million is entirely his; only the second item is the main attraction.
"Alright, congratulations to the friend from Room 49 for obtaining the dagger. We will deliver it later." After a pause, the old man continued, "Now we move onto the auction of the next item, which is today's main event. As you all know, it's the Golden Compass once used by the Song Dynasty feng shui master Lai Buyi."
"Since you came to participate in this auction, you naturally know the value of the Golden Compass, right? However, I'll set a starting price of one hundred twenty thousand, just to ensure we at least break even if no one bids higher."
The old man said with a grin, knowing these people are calculating now, "Each bid increase must be no less than ten thousand. You may begin."
It turns out this Golden Compass was used by Lai Xiaole's ancestor, no wonder Lai Xiaole is so invested.
Actually, that's not the main reason; the more crucial reason is that the Golden Compass is also connected to the Book of Destiny. Lai Xiaole has always wanted to unravel the secrets within it, so he naturally wants to acquire this compass.
"Two million!" Lai Xiaole raised his bidding paddle without hesitation.
"Very well, Room 48, two million!" Room 48 is where Lai Xiaole and Lin Zhihu are seated.
"Two million five hundred thousand!" Room 1 directly added five hundred thousand.
"..."
Almost every room bid once, each using increments of fifty thousand initially, but later everyone started feeling the pinch, raising only by ten thousand.
As the numbers continuously increased, now reaching four million five hundred thousand, many are still bidding, causing Lai Xiaole to become anxious.
Unable to hold back, he had a total of five million, wrote down a bid for five million on a tag, and placed it on the glass window.
Meanwhile, in Room 49, someone was also writing a tag with a price of ten million.
"Five million!" Lai Xiaole directly put it up.
"Room 48 has bid five million, is there a higher offer? Room 48 has directly raised the price to five million!" The old man was almost jumping for joy, thinking the price wouldn't soar with everyone adding fifty thousand each time, but now Lai Xiaole unexpectedly made such a move.
"Damn, who the hell is so cheap, gone crazy?" Such voices of complaint echoed in every room.
But Lai Xiaole didn't care because the whole venue has been silent for three seconds.
"Five million once!" The old man sighed, not too disappointed, as six billion is still acceptable.
"Five million twice!"
"Five million..."
The old man deliberately stalled, wanting to see if any more lights would come on, if anyone would offer a higher bid.
"Five million one hundred thousand!" Someone from Room 49 reported a price.
Initially, he wrote ten million, but seeing no one continuing to bid, he certainly didn't want to spend that extra five million, so he changed ten million to five million one hundred thousand.
"Damn, who the hell is that bastard?" Lai Xiaole slammed the table in anger, originally thinking he could win it directly with five million, but now another disruptor appeared, leaving him in a dilemma.
"Room 48, that bastard from Room 49, damn it did he overeat? He's already won one item, and now he wants premium lingzhi, simply greedy!" Lai Xiaole finally understood that money rules this world.
"Five million one hundred thousand once!" The old man felt quite unhappy, seeing the light turn on for someone bid, he got excited. Unexpectedly, it was only an increase of ten thousand, meaning he wouldn't earn much commission.
"Five million one hundred thousand twice!" Although upset, since no one was continuing to bid, he had to accept it.
"Five million one hundred thousand three times! Sold, congratulations to the friend from Room 49, the Golden Compass now belongs to you. We will deliver it to your room later. Now please exit starting from Room 1."
Lai Xiaole anxiously waited in the room, knowing that even this exiting process would be very slow, ensuring everyone leaves here safely.
By the time it's their turn, only three families will be left, making it very suitable for action then.
"Sir, please come with us!" An hour later, their door was finally opened by the same two people from before.
"Damn, finally!" Lai Xiaole dashed out and with just one face-to-face encounter, knocked them down. Then he rushed into Room 49, only to find a man sitting inside.
This man looked about thirty years old, smiling at Lai Xiaole, saying, "You're here, I've been waiting for you a long time."
Lai Xiaole was taken aback, looking at the man and said, "Do I know you?"
The man still smiled at Lai Xiaole, shook his head, but didn't speak.
Lai Xiaole was somewhat puzzled, saying, "Since I don't know you, why were you waiting for me?"
The man said, "I was waiting to give you this compass." As he finished speaking, the man flipped his right hand, and the Golden Compass appeared right before Lai Xiaole.
Lai Xiaole was astonished.
The man continued, "I know you are a descendant of Lai Buyi, and this compass is important to you. But if you want this compass, you must agree to do one thing for me."
There's no free lunch in the world, Lai Xiaole frowned looking at the man in front of him, saying, "What is it?"
The man smiled and said, "The condition is quite simple. I want to borrow your Book of Destiny to save someone."
The Book of Destiny, how does this man know he has the Book of Destiny, Lai Xiaole couldn't help but gasp, looking at the man in shock, saying, "Who are you, how do you know about the Book of Destiny?"
The man's face still had a smile, but his tone was slightly muted as he said, "My name is Fu Xi, and I need your Book of Destiny to save my wife."
…
At the municipal bureau, Song Xiaojia didn't go back; she stayed in the office.
In the quiet night, looking at the stars like bright eyes analyzing her heart, she couldn't help but think, Lin Chuan, where are you?
Is it night or day where you are? Have you forgotten me?
Will there be a day when you call and ask me to find you?
Song Xiaojia sighed, looking at the gradually darkening sky outside, glancing at the small clock on the desk, already past working hours, she picked up her car keys and slowly walked out of the office.
Many rooms in the office building had already turned off their lights, only those departments that needed to be on duty were still lit, and the corridor lights were somewhat dim.
The light cast her shadow longer and thinner, and she looked at her shadow, let out a bitter smile, even the shadow seemed so lonely.
Suddenly, she saw a blot on the wall seemed to dart past quickly, as if avoiding her gaze.
Song Xiaojia didn't turn back, just curled her lips and continued walking forward.
The street lights outside had already come on, she slowed her steps, but her ears listened closely to movements behind her, light, faint footsteps drifted into her ears, another silhouette flashed again in the building, Song Xiaojia had determined that the person was following her, she couldn't help but snort coldly in her heart, wanting to see the true face of the pursuer.
Continuing forward, Song Xiaojia pretended to be unaware, but secretly had already activated her inner qi.
A small, almost inaudible sound of footsteps echoed behind her, Song Xiaojia suddenly turned around, and a dark figure rushed towards her.
Song Xiaojia now is not the same as before, her graceful body a blur, quickly retreating back, followed by a swift strike as her right hand swung up, sending a fierce energy at the pursuer.
The pursuer's skills were evidently impressive as they leapt into the air, evading Song Xiaojia's strike, and while airborne, kicked a series of attacks at Song Xiaojia.