The Auction Feast: All He Had Left Was Money

Miss Witch wasn't going to die from an explosion. The smoke gradually thinned and drifted apart. Though her mask had shattered, her cloak was blown to tatters, and her face was blasted into a pitch-black mess that made it impossible to tell whether she was a man or a woman... ...the black-faced young witch still stood amidst the smoke, maintaining the elegance of a high-ranking Extraordinary. In the face of the sudden blast, at the cost of a shattered "gem," the witch had tanked the vast brunt of the shockwave. Zero casualties—truly cause for celebration. Miss Witch deserved top credit! *Burp...* When she parted her mouth, a puff of sulfurous smoke billowed out. Her head spinning from the explosion, the young witch shook her head. Yet she wasn't angry in the least... In fact, she was thrilled. Had anyone else blown her into this state... ...no matter who it was—be it some Expert Li or Professor Wang, or even the Director-General of the Special Control Bureau himself—there would be no talking it out. She would have fought to the death to pummel their face into a bloody mess, making them see all the colors of heaven and earth and hear ringing bells and crashing cymbals inside their skull. —But Bai Zhou was different! Who could have guessed that a kid with spirituality so dreadfully meager would actually possess real skill! Her strange intuition about him hadn't been wrong after all. He wasn't some clueless rookie, but a genius who had hyper-specialized, pouring every ounce of his energy into magic runes! Miss Witch's heart burned hot, far hotter than the heat wave from the wand's detonation. Because, to say it once more— The wand itself didn't matter! ...All right, it did matter. Miss Witch was sworn to defend every single inch of her hard-earned property with her life. —Yet the wand was definitely not as important as Bai Zhou! A single ancient enchanted weapon wasn't enough to make a Grade 5 Extraordinary like her run a street stall in the ghost market for an entire year. Unless repairing this enchanted weapon was tied to something far more important! For instance, in her possession was another item that couldn't possibly be displayed in the ghost market, which likewise required a specialist to repair. Furthermore, it shared the exact same origin as this wand. That was the real reason Miss Witch had searched so desperately for someone to restore it. A gleam sparkled in Miss Witch's eyes. —She had to kidnap that kid right this instant! "..." As the smoke gradually dispersed, the crowd lying flat on the ground scrambled to their feet as though waking from a nightmare. Clamor erupted everywhere. Curses, complaints, and questions rang out without pause. The witch looked around, only for her expression to turn into stunned disbelief. —Where did that kid go? Don't tell me he ran off? When? She hadn't even noticed! Just then, Expert Li, flanked by his two attendants, stepped through the choking smoke and coughed as he walked over to the witch. "Cough! *Cough, cough*..." Expert Li held out a tightly wrapped cloth bundle to her, his voice stammering as if the words were hard to get out: "The gentleman from just now... said he had urgent business and had to leave." "Before he left, he said he was terribly sorry and asked me to hand this to you." "He really slipped away?!" The witch's eyes widened, her voice pitching upward. "Yes..." Expert Li said, looking somewhat sheepish. Anyone could see that Bai Zhou had fled at the first opportunity out of fear that the witch would come after him to settle the score. A remarkably wise choice. —What else could he do? After blowing his employer sky-high, it wasn't as if he could still ask her for payment, could he? And staying put? Was he supposed to wait around to get bombarded by the Gem Witch's rays? "How did he leave? In which direction?" The witch sounded anxious. "About that..." Expert Li stammered evasively, knowing next to nothing. Gritting her teeth in frustration, the witch immediately clutched the cloth bundle and began searching all around. Yet after scouring the entire ghost market, she found no trace of Bai Zhou. ...He was remarkably slippery. Where on earth did he go? "..." Only then, her face dark with gloom, did Miss Witch finally remember the cloth bundle Bai Zhou had left behind. Compensation? What kind of compensation could someone like you possibly offer! Taking a look at this so-called "cloth bundle," the witch recognized at a glance that the black fabric had been torn straight off Bai Zhou's own person! In other words, a corner of that advertising banner... The wrapping itself was so slipshod and unreliable, let alone what was inside! Finding a secluded corner, Miss Witch cursed him in her mind as she casually unwrapped the cloth bundle. A small pile of unremarkable gray granules lay on the black fabric. At a glance, there were about eight or nine pieces. It looked as if Bai Zhou had simply scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground and dumped it inside. However... The witch gave the contents in her hands a closer look and froze. This was...? "Du—no, wait!" A sudden shudder ran through Miss Witch. With a flick of her hand, she wrapped the black cloth back over the granules, making sure no passerby could catch a glimpse. Beneath her dark cloak, her expression was quite a spectacle, her eyes blown wide with sheer disbelief: "C-c-c-c-c-c-c... cinders?!" ... "I hope that compensation is enough..." Blending into the crowd as he headed straight for the auction, Bai Zhou still felt a lingering chill of dread. He'd almost been chopped into mincemeat. To him, cinders were nothing special, no different from mud by the side of the road. If he could quell the wrath of a Grade 5 Extraordinary with them, it was naturally well worth it. Yet Bai Zhou also knew that many things could not be measured in wealth. Judging by how deeply the witch valued that wand, it might very well have been an heirloom passed down through generations. Bai Zhou could only hope the artifact hadn't carried her family's honor, or served as a keepsake in mourning for some departed elder... Bai Zhou let out a long sigh. What a shame. The clue regarding Zhuluoji he had just uncovered had been forced to a halt. That dud of a wand was truly treacherous. And the witch who clutched a live dud like a treasure was an unfortunate soul who didn't know what she had. Would they ever meet again, Gem Witch...? —Assuming it was a calm and peaceful reunion, of course. "..." In the blink of an eye, Bai Zhou reached the end of the ghost market. There were no longer any fellow pedestrians beside him, and the mist here was unusually thick. Bai Zhou almost suspected he had strayed into some untraversable, unexplored zone; the absolute dead silence was spine-chilling. A large, jarring patch of shadow squirmed unnaturally across the ground not far ahead. "Where is... the auction?" Taking in his surroundings, ever-cautious, he refrained from making any reckless moves. Right then. *Tap, tap, tap...* The strangely familiar sound of a walking stick tapping against the ground echoed from behind. Bai Zhou turned his head and saw the cloaked figure with the walking stick walking over, accompanied by two attendants. Was that... Expert Li? The other man spotted Bai Zhou as well. "You are here too... As expected." "That person from earlier is searching all over for you." For some reason, he warned Bai Zhou, his tone tinged with seeming goodwill. "Ah..." At the mention of the Gem Witch, Bai Zhou felt a wave of awkwardness. "Well then, we shall head in first?" "After you, sir." Then, under Bai Zhou's watchful gaze, Expert Li stepped into the patch of shadow with his two attendants. *Hummm...* As if riding a descending elevator, the three slowly sank into the shadow until they vanished completely. That worked too? Bai Zhou blinked. So just like the wall that connected to the ghost market, this was also an "entrance." He had thought the ghost market was underworldly enough, but who knew that at its far end lay an even more underworldly deeper layer... Once again, Bai Zhou followed suit. Stepping onto the shadow, he felt the exact sensation of riding an elevator downward. There was a whole different world down below. A chilling cold washed over his body, and the world before his eyes was entirely different from the ancient antiquity of the ghost market. A cold high-rise with an all-glass curtain wall stood tall ahead—the sole building in this strange space. The arched skyscraper resembled a pair of gigantic trousers. Its comical silhouette, however, exuded a cold, oppressive presence in the dark space. Faint, bizarre patterns of light flickered across the dim glass wall, grotesque and deeply unsettling. Based on Bai Zhou's current understanding of the Reflected Ruin Realm... ...if he were to encounter a skyscraper like this on the outside, its interior shadows would inevitably harbor a swarm of anomalies. Yet from a distance, Bai Zhou saw Expert Li leading his people inside, where gray-robed figures were greeting guests at the entrance. —It seemed this was indeed the venue for the auction. *Tap...* Led by a gray-robed attendant, Bai Zhou stepped into the building. Footsteps on the polished floor echoed across the vast expanse. The abrupt flare of glaring light stood in sharp contrast to the gloom outside, momentarily blinding him. Caught completely unprepared, Bai Zhou found himself exposed to an extraordinarily vast hall, golden radiance washing over him from every direction. Giant golden crystal chandeliers dazzled the eye, illuminating ancient murals and lifelike reliefs across the domed ceiling. Towering pillars stretching to the heights were adorned with exquisite brass ornaments, and right in the center stood a lush, leafy tree standing tall. A bright-red carpet rolled all the way to the end of the aisle. Beneath the gentle golden glow, beautiful, smiling women warmly and courteously welcomed each arriving guest. A tide of lively clamor swept over him, leaving the caught-off-guard Bai Zhou thoroughly astonished. Having just strolled through a ghostly market that looked frozen hundreds of years in the past, Bai Zhou had naturally formed certain expectations for an "auction" tucked deep within it. —Perhaps it would be a dilapidated temple, or an altar. A gathering of robed figures encircling the altar, their shadows stretched long by torchlight. A gruesome gargoyle presiding over the auction from the altar's center, steeped in an unspeakable atmosphere as if conducting some esoteric ritual. Or perhaps amidst roiling sickly-green mist, an idol seated atop the dais would conduct the bidding, like souls queueing for registration in the underworld. ...That was the kind of auction Bai Zhou had envisioned. At least that aesthetic would share the same roots as the ghost market, and feel remarkably fitting for a place like the Reflected Ruin Realm. Yet Bai Zhou had never imagined it would be so... ...decadent. Magnificent and resplendent, luxurious to the utmost—as if a celestial palace lay hidden at the very edge of the underworld. The spectacle was so striking it seemed unreal. Only by first experiencing the decay and antiquity of the ghost market could one appreciate the stark contrast before him. It felt like traversing time itself—stepping straight from the blue bricks and cracked tiles of a common marketplace centuries ago into a gilded hall teeming with nobility from a century past. Here, tall and enigmatic figures draped in cloaks came and went. Polite and gentlemanly, graceful in conduct, and shrouded in secrecy, they were not only wealthy elites and dignitaries in the worldly sense, but also "prominent figures" beyond ordinary imagination—individuals who controlled unconventional resources and walked the hidden side of the world. The puppet masters behind the veil of reality, the mysterious figures atop Tinghai's hierarchy, had gathered here in pursuit of rare "resources." By a stroke of fortune, Bai Zhou had arrived here as well. During the asset verification at the door, he had presented a single speck of "cinders," allowing him to slip inside. He sat down on a chair draped in red velvet, an inconspicuous spot overlooked by the crowd. Not a single one of the hundreds of seats was empty. The auction was about to begin. Everyone attending the auction waited for the auctioneer to take the stage. Bai Zhou found himself wondering what kind of figure would preside over the event. In such an exorbitantly lavish setting, the auctioneer ought to be an intensely alluring, consummate woman of the world, adept at whipping up excitement to drive even the most mundane merchandise to astronomical prices. However... *Thud.* A heavy footstep sounded— And what appeared before Bai Zhou's eyes was a creature with a flat beak, flippers, a bipedal waddle, and black-and-white coloring... A giant penguin mascot. Bai Zhou: "...?" Plump, round, and adorably goofy, the enormous mascot waddled onto the high auction stage under the gaze of hundreds of eyes. Draped around the giant penguin's neck was an exaggeratedly large, gleaming gold necklace. One couldn't help but marvel: what a jewel-bedecked fat bird! Though it looked like a costume, it didn't seem as though anyone was inside... It was more like some grotesque penguin-man had stepped out of a comic book. Sleek, glossy, and vividly colored, its eyes were remarkably lively and alert. The cuter and more human-like it appeared, the creepier its presence became. Considering the bizarre nature of the Reflected Ruin Realm, one had every reason to suspect it was an urban legend in the flesh—an anomaly itself! Its eyeballs darted about with vivid life, yet its facial features remained utterly rigid— Like a penguin with facial paralysis. Then, it gave the crowd a thumbs-up and split its flat beak into a grin: "Welcome, esteemed guests, for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend tonight's auction." "As we all know, our motto is—" "'Cinders spark joy.'" "'Wealth unlocks infinite possibilities!'" "Here, as long as you have wealth, there is nothing you cannot accomplish, nothing you cannot buy!" Coming from such a cute penguin, the voice was a grating, genderless drake-like rasp. Its lively eyes rolled in their sockets, scanning every cloaked figure present. Though expressionless, it spoke with cheerful cadence, carrying in its words a strange power that bordered on hypnotic, yet was finely tuned just enough to stoke the room's excitement. "Enough idle chatter; there is no need to dwell on why you are here." "So let us waste no time and begin—" The penguin mascot declared: "Tonight's feast." "..." Bai Zhou stared in mild bewilderment at this giant, cute yet terrifying penguin that felt so entirely out of place with the surroundings. This was the auctioneer? A penguin? Not the glamorous female auctioneer he had envisioned, and apparently not even human... His first thought had been that it was the first "lot." Watching such a creature take the auction stage gave Bai Zhou the same sense of absurdity as watching the Frog Prince running a street stall or the Little Mermaid peddling steamed buns. Yet in this Reflected Ruin Realm, on this bizarre backside of the earth— ...its presence seemed surprisingly plausible. On second thought, one might even feel a sense of relief that this was exactly how things should be. Perhaps others had felt similarly bewildered when they caught sight of Bai Zhou's custom cloak. The only thing that secretly alarmed Bai Zhou was that behind this penguin mascot had to be a colossal syndicate running the auction. Could they even tame an "anomaly" like this? Or was this a "special form" transformed into by an Extraordinary? Something similar to Bai Zhou's Cursebound Colossus and Life-Stealing Spirit Cat? —Yet none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was: what did it just say? *Cinders spark joy, wealth unlocks infinite possibilities?* *As long as you have wealth, there's nothing you can't buy, right?* Beneath his cloak, Bai Zhou blinked twice. —Just how joyful could it get? He genuinely wanted to see for himself. Because right now, though he was lacking in just about everything else... ...the one thing he didn't lack at all— —was "cinders"!