Chapter 31
Ch.31 50% Discount
Although Hulos Exchange is considered the largest supernatural material market in Whisper Market, they are not a specialized auction house. After receiving the sudden news of impending goods shortages, they couldn’t quickly construct a proper auction venue.
Therefore, this last-minute change auction was held in the exchange’s largest reception room.
“Why does it feel like a classroom? There’s a faint sense of absurdity.”
Walking into the temporarily arranged auction site, Luo Nan randomly found a seat in a corner.
Aside from ‘scales from the corner of a mermaid’s eye’, Luo Nan actually had no other needs.
Thus, unlike other customers with multiple demands who desperately wanted to sit closest to the auction table to observe the material’s appearance and quality up close, Luo Nan had no such urgency.
Scanning his surroundings, Luo Nan observed the various people inside the reception room.
“Hmm, although aside from that bandage-face, quite a few others also expressed dissatisfaction with the exchange’s sudden change, most of them still came—probably because they genuinely have urgent needs.”
“That bandage-face came too. Naturally—given how anxious he looked earlier, it was obvious he had an urgent need for some material but didn’t anticipate the change in sales method.”
Luo Nan watched the bandage-faced person sitting in the corner on the opposite side of the reception room—those exposed golden eyes were carefully observing the surroundings, seemingly on guard against something.
Perhaps sensing Luo Nan’s gaze, the bandage-face’s golden eyes met Luo Nan’s black eyes behind the golden crow-beak mask.
“Heh, quite perceptive. Back in the tavern, this guy could sense my observation—he must be a formidable supernatural practitioner, right?”
Luo Nan didn’t want unnecessary complications. After the bandage-face noticed him, Luo Nan gave a slight nod as a friendly gesture.
“This golden crow-beak mask… I remember now—this guy is the one I met in the tavern before, the one with the black-gold credit card!”
“Although I’m not entirely sure how precious a black-gold credit card is, judging from the guards’ respectful attitude toward him, this guy must be very wealthy.”
“Would such a rich person really come to Whisper Market to buy discounted materials?”
Seeing that the golden crow-beak mask had once again shown friendliness, Anya also nodded back at him.
“He’s probably here to buy those few precious materials. After all, this Hulos Exchange always has special channels and can obtain prohibited goods that legitimate material merchants can’t get.”
“Although many of those prohibited goods would be useful to me, none are my most urgent need right now—so I only need to buy the scales.”
After reaffirming her purpose for this trip in her heart, Anya shifted her gaze to the auction table, quietly waiting for the auction to begin.
Of course, she definitely wouldn’t admit it was because she didn’t bring enough money—after buying the ‘scales from the corner of a mermaid’s eye’, she certainly couldn’t afford any other materials.
“Judging from his attire and his earlier argumentative attitude with the staff outside, this guy probably didn’t bring much money, right?”
Luo Nan crossed his arms, redirecting his attention to the center of the stage, waiting for the auction to begin while pondering the bandage-face’s situation.
“I’m guessing this guy only brought enough money for the direct-sale price of the material, or slightly more than that—hence why he got so worked up arguing with people.”
“But it’s not his fault—anyone buying ‘discounted goods’ is obviously short on cash. People like me, who truly face a bad ending if we can’t buy it, should be extremely rare.”
“Hmm, I hope no unlucky guy competes with me later—after all, the one thing this young master has in abundance is money.”
Just then, a male auctioneer dressed in formal attire walked onto the auction stage from the back.
Luo Nan focused his gaze and instantly recognized the man’s identity.
Wasn’t he the exchange staff member who had just been arguing with the bandage-face outside?
“It seems this Hulos Exchange really did make a last-minute change to the sales method. Not to mention a proper auction venue—even the auctioneer wasn’t arranged in time, forcing them to have their own employee take on the role part-time.”
“Sure enough, the world is just one giant shoddy troupe. When leadership comes up with a plan on a whim, the people below can only scramble to execute it. If it succeeds, it’s all leadership’s credit; if it fails, it’s the underlings’ fault.”
After lightly mocking this in his heart, Luo Nan couldn’t help glancing once more at the bandage-face on the other side of the room, curious about what expression that guy was wearing.
Sure enough, the bandage-face looked visibly irritated, arms crossed, legs crossed, and his heel tapping the ground incessantly.
“Then, esteemed guests, thank you all for attending Hulos Exchange’s first supernatural auction. I am your familiar auctioneer, Leli…”
“We’re certainly familiar with you, Leli—but how did you end up becoming the auctioneer? Can’t Hulos afford to hire a professional?”
“Yeah, your Hulos family is big and prosperous—not to mention making a last-minute change, even if you’re holding an auction, at least hire a professional, right? We’re consumers, after all—can’t you show us a bit more respect?”
Luo Nan noticed that aside from the bandage-face, many who had previously been dissatisfied with the direct-sale-to-auction switch were now directing their frustrations at Leli, whether intentionally or unintentionally disrupting this temporary auction.
“Of course not, esteemed ladies and gentlemen. Hulos always prioritizes respecting customers above all else—even this auction was held for that very purpose…”
“As for why we didn’t hire a professional auctioneer and instead have me serve you,” Leli, dressed in formal attire, showed no sign of nervousness and calmly explained:
“First, I’m an old acquaintance of everyone here—we know each other well, which can save us a lot of trouble in communication.”
“Hmm, meaning I know exactly what level you’re all at—don’t even think about making absurd bids to disrupt the auction order,” Luo Nan translated the subtext in his mind as he listened.
“Second, as I previously explained to everyone, because a certain high-ranking figure has set their sights on Whisper Market, every establishment within the market has tightened its operations. Under these circumstances, it’s very difficult to temporarily hire an auctioneer whom everyone trusts.”
“Of course, all that is secondary. Most importantly, to demonstrate our sincerity, aside from a very few exceptions, all supernatural materials in this auction will have a starting bid of 50% of their direct-sale price!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the previously slightly noisy environment instantly fell silent.
No particular reason—everyone coming to the black market to buy supernatural materials, except for Luo Nan, was here to save some money.
Since Hulos Exchange was now voluntarily offering them a discount, there was naturally no need to keep harping on the last-minute change.
Seeing that order had finally been restored in the reception room, auctioneer Leli smiled and said, “Then… since none of you have further questions, let us officially begin.”
“The first item up for auction is the active heartwood from the Blacklen Mountains…”
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