Chapter 32
Ch.32 The Market’s Unique Method
“The active heartwood from the Blacklen Mountains.”
Luo Nan stared at the heartwood placed onto the auction stage—a fist-sized, wood-colored core resembling a heart, emitting faint specks of emerald-green light.
“To start off with such a precious material, and unlike the scales, its uses are also very broad—it should be quite sought after.”
Luo Nan glanced briefly, then paid it no further attention.
“I remember there are quite a few of these in the family’s material storage. If I need any, I can just take them directly—no need to bid against them here. It wouldn’t suit this young master’s status.”
Although the active heartwood meant little to Luo Nan, for many attendees, it was precisely the reason they had come to the exchange today.
Instantly, the previously quiet environment filled with low, buzzing discussions.
Auctioneer Leli cleared his throat and began a detailed introduction. “As you can all see, this active heartwood harvested from the Blacklen Mountains is 200 years old and of extremely high quality. Its uses are broad—whether for warriors tempering their bodies, mages crafting magical artifacts, or even made into supernatural ornaments…”
“Enough, no need to explain—we all here know what it’s for. Just start the bidding!”
Before Leli could finish his introduction, an impatient customer below interrupted him.
“Its original price is 50 gold Faras, but according to our promise, the starting bid is 50% of the original price,” auctioneer Leli took a deep breath and announced the number everyone in the room already knew:
“25 gold Faras!”
As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the temporary auction hall instantly heated up.
“26 gold Faras!”
“28 gold Faras!”
Bidding voices rose and fell above the hall, with many attendees determined to win the heartwood raising their numbered plaques one after another, beginning to outbid each other.
“Something available in only one piece should naturally be auctioned at a professional auction house, right?” Luo Nan glanced at those bidding, his interest lacking.
“No need to think about it—this sought-after item’s final price will definitely far exceed the direct-sale price of 50 gold Faras.”
Sure enough, as the price surged past the 50 gold Faras mark, the previously rapidly climbing price suddenly slowed its ascent.
“As expected—people coming to the black market for discounted goods aren’t the type to throw money around recklessly.”
“55 gold Faras!”
“55 gold Faras… 20 Surs!”
The price increments had now dropped from Faras units to Surs units.
“I wonder if these guys will eventually start bidding in Tess.” Luo Nan stretched his limbs comfortably, leaning back in his seat as he quietly watched those hesitantly raising their bids.
“60, 60 gold Faras!”
At this moment, a bidder wearing a pig-head mask directly raised the price from 58 gold Faras 30 Surs to 60 gold Faras.
The instant he announced his bid, the previously scattered bidding voices instantly vanished, and silence returned to the temporary auction hall.
“60 gold Faras, first call.”
“60 gold Faras, second call.”
Auctioneer Leli glanced at the crowd in the hall, inwardly noting that they were indeed all old foxes. The price of 60 gold Faras was still within the normal fluctuation range for the heartwood, yet no one dared to bid further.
Finally, after waiting a long time without seeing anyone else raise the bid, he had no choice but to strike the auction hammer and announce the final result: “60 gold Faras, third call—sold!”
“Interesting… I’ve seen plenty of extravagant auctions, but this is my first time encountering one where everyone is pinching pennies.”
Luo Nan watched the pig-head mask who secured the heartwood for 60 gold Faras, shifted his sitting position again, and prepared to thoroughly enjoy this petty auction.
“Alright, now for the second item…”
The second item’s value was far less precious or sought after than the first ‘active heartwood’.
After all, if everything sold in Hulos Exchange were priced at dozens of Faras as the minimum, they would have gone bankrupt long ago.
If anything, Hulos Exchange achieved its current scale precisely because its main business consisted of supernatural materials priced from dozens of Surs to a few Faras.
“But since this is an auction of non-unique items, how will they conduct it?”
Thinking of this question, Luo Nan’s already sparked interest in watching the spectacle elevated another level.
“Leli, hold on—can you really auction ‘Gray Snowbeast fur’?”
When the second auction item was placed on display, someone in the crowd below immediately couldn’t sit still.
Gray Snowbeast fur was clearly a bulk commodity—everyone bought it by weight according to their own needs!
“Everyone, please calm down and hear me out,” auctioneer Leli naturally had a contingency plan for situations like this. He continued, “Due to the recent closure of supply channels, and in line with our philosophy of delivering goods to those who need them most, we have divided ‘measured goods’ like fur into different weight portions, which will be auctioned multiple times during the auction.”
“In other words, even if you miss this item, there may be new fur supplies later.”
“What do you mean by ‘may’?” Someone clearly caught the emphasis in Leli’s words.
“Regarding this point, it’s actually a rule Hulos Exchange established for this auction. For today’s auction, even I, the auctioneer, don’t know what items will be presented next—only when the auction item is placed on the stage will everyone, including me, learn its name and starting bid.”
“Whoa!? That’s oddly novel.” Hearing the auctioneer’s explanation, Luo Nan instantly understood the underlying scheme.
This exchange had been planning from the start to exploit the prisoner’s dilemma to make a hefty profit.
None of the attendees knew whether the materials they needed would appear again later—meaning every auctioned item could potentially be the last one.
Thus, those urgently needing an item had two choices: either bid recklessly without hesitation, or gamble that similar items would be auctioned later.
“By the way, I’ll give you all an extra piece of information… Within Whisper Market, it’s not just our Hulos Exchange—other large-scale supernatural material exchanges will also use this method to sell today’s newly arrived goods.”
“Most importantly, after tonight, Whisper Market may close for a period of time. As for the reason…” The auctioneer fell silent, pointing a finger toward the ceiling.
“Because… that high-ranking figure?”
“Exactly—because of that person, the market is preparing to lay low for a while. We small merchants have no choice.”
With that, Leli spread his hands, showing a rather helpless expression.
“That high-ranking figure? It must be Serela again. I wonder what she’s targeting this black market in the lower district for—I don’t recall any corresponding plot in The Shining Myriad Trails.”
“Could it be due to my butterfly effect? Did that person find an excuse and is preparing to do something?”
Thinking this, Luo Nan slightly narrowed his eyes.
“Alright, I’ve given you all the detailed information. Let’s save time and continue with the auction.”
“100 grams of ‘Gray Snowbeast fur’, starting bid 1 Faras 50 Surs.”
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