Chapter 161 Safe House

The auction venue is on the underground floor of the shell, right below the black market.

It's not time yet.

Looking at the players in different clothes in the black market, walking back and forth from stall to stall, Xu Zhiyan held the list of items in his hand and did not rush to find the way downstairs. Instead, he found a secluded place and called up the game panel.

"Is the auction held by the main system?"

It was strange, how come he didn't know before that there was an auction inside the shell.

If he hadn't just seen the list of items being sold at a certain stall, he would have almost missed it, and for this he even spent ten points to buy a piece of torn paper.

[The main system does not participate in transactions between players. ]

[Most of the space in the shell is sold or leased.]

[The scene auction you are currently consulting has been sold. If you need it, as long as you pay enough points, the shell can open the negative second floor to the outside. 】

[But before that, you need to show proof of assets. ]

The system's answers are official and comprehensive.

After reading the explanation, Xu Zhiyan asked in confusion: "Proof of assets? What is the minimum amount of assets required?"

[To purchase a large scene, you need proof of assets of at least 80,000,000 points. The specific purchase price will be customized according to the area required by the player.]

"...80 million, that's not a low threshold."

Xu Zhiyan repeated the price that players admired, and his tone was full of eagerness. He was not scared at all by the series of numbers.

But then he sighed and turned off the panel.

Although it was very profitable to do long-term business with players in the shell, thinking of the technology tree plan that had not yet been fully launched, he could only give up the idea of purchasing new land in the short term.

What’s more, the auction on the underground first floor has already been bought by someone. Even if you buy the space on the underground second floor now, you can’t do the same business.

Glancing at the time on the auction list.

There are still two hours before the auction officially starts, and there are two lines of reminders on the auction list.

[The venue will be open to the public two hours in advance.]

[The prices of the matching products can be checked in advance.]

Xu Zhiyan understood that it was open to the public two hours in advance, but checking the prices of the goods in advance was a bit confusing.

He turned the thin paper over again and realized something was wrong.

This auction list is surprisingly simple.

It was just a piece of black paper with a few lines of text written on it in the form of pictures and annotations, marking the name and level of the item, and nothing else.

And the types of items are weird.

They are basically some high-end and useless props.

【Name: Wanhua Chair】

[Level: S]

[Type: Special]

[Introduction: It drops when you kill a BOSS with a unique shape. It has no offensive or defensive bonuses, but when different people sit on it, the chair will change to a shape that suits your temperament. ]

【Notes: No consumable items. 】

[Mental Threshold Limit: None]

[Name: Blood-stained Dried Flowers (Bouquet)]

[Level: A]

[Type: Special]

[Introduction: This is the last item that the deceased singer received before his death. As long as it is placed on the table, you can hear the singer crying and singing sad songs before his death every night. Listening to the sad songs has no side effects.]

[Notes: Simply insert the bouquet into the vase to activate the Elegy.]

[Mental Threshold Limit: None]

…

At first, he just glanced at the high-end useless chair and planned to buy it back for the client to sit on, but after looking at it carefully, Xu Zhiyan discovered the blind spot.

I have to say that although the props collected when the safe house collected tolls were mostly useless and not very useful, the items on this auction list can be called the king of useless items.

Whether it's a chair that matches your temperament, or dried flowers that play sad songs at night, or a human head prop that can be hung on the curtains and swing back and forth after use...

Compared with these props, the safe house's inventory is inferior.

“Interesting.”

Xu Zhiyan touched his chin, folded the auction list in half several times, and stuffed it into his pocket.

It's easy to find one of these rubbish props, but it's impossible for one person to find more than ten of them at once.

He didn't think that someone who had the money to buy the auction hall on the underground floor would sell such ridiculous items at the auction, and the list of items was also extremely simple.

Looking at the word "matching", some bad thoughts popped up in Xu Zhiyan's mind.

But in the end, he decided to go and take a look first.

The passage leading to the basement level is at the edge of the black market.

When passing by the black market's bounty panel area, Xu Zhiyan had clearly walked past it, but still turned back.

He saw a message about himself.

[Reward: 10500 (500)]

【Asked by: ***】

[Question: Has anyone watched the live broadcast of the Mermaid Cruise? What is Xu Baiwan's cheating method in the Sea Snake Casino without using props? ]

There are many additional comments below the question.

[I'll add 500 points. If you have an answer, tell me. If you don't use it in the dungeon, you can use it in the real world! ]

[Someone actually asked in advance, I'll give you an extra point, mainly out of curiosity! Many casinos in the TMD dungeon are scams, if you know, you can probably avoid a lot of scams. ]

[I have a friend who is dying, and he wants to know this cheating method before he dies! ]

[+1, I want the answer too...]

The anonymous person offered 500 points for this bounty question and enabled the option to add to the bounty.

If many people want to know, then subsequent people can continue to add points, 500 per person, and the increase will accumulate, and the price of the reward will continue to rise.

Standing in front of the reward board, Xu Zhiyan was flattered: "Twenty-one people are willing to spend money on this question?"

Vaguely, a few immature money-making plans emerged in his mind.

But the price of 10,000 points is not much.

Moreover, once the reward for a question is opened, it cannot be canceled. As long as no one guesses Xu Zhiyan's cheating method, the reward amount for this question will continue to increase as the number of additional participants increases.

Instead of answering rashly, Xu Zhiyan decided to wait until the price of the bounty question increased several times before answering it.

Pass the question reward area and go forward to the elevator to the basement floor.

There is still some time before the auction starts, and the area around the elevator is empty. It seems that not many people have entered in advance.

The elevator door opened.

It was much more spacious inside than expected. The rectangular space surrounded by glass could easily accommodate twenty people.

The light strip at the top emitted an inorganic cold light. Xu Zhiyan was stunned for a moment, then he regained his composure and walked up.

He found that there was only a button for the basement level.

How come there isn't even a button for the first layer?

Perhaps because he had just asked about it and had the intention to buy it, the game panel took the initiative to jump out and explain when it noticed his confusion.

[In order not to disturb the guests, the auctioneer specially invested in building a one-way elevator. No matter how many people use this passage at the same time, they will only see themselves.]

Xu Zhiyan didn't say anything, but the strange feeling in his heart became stronger and stronger.

Is the owner of this auction so rich?

Just by looking at the elevator, he understood what the owner of the auction was thinking. It was nothing more than making this place look like a high-end club to improve the quality of the guests.

He frowned and suppressed the discomfort in his heart, always feeling like he was a newbie who had strayed into this place by mistake.

"bite--"

After a crisp sound, the elevator opened.

Outside the door is a large elevator room. Unlike the cold and hard decoration in the black market, the decoration level here is obviously much higher, and there are other guests around.

Seeing other people leaving from the exits on both sides, Xu Zhiyan pulled his hood down, followed them out of the elevator and walked towards the side door.

The auction hall is within easy reach.

However, a few minutes later, Xu Zhiyan ran into trouble.

"Sir, we have detected that you do not have a pass." Several NPCs in well-tailored attire blocked his way.

"A pass?"

Xu Zhiyan was stunned.

He walked forward with several other players, but when the others passed the door, they walked in without any obstruction and did not show anything. Only he was stopped.

It seems that this pass should be some kind of accessory for the player.

No wonder the elevator has to be configured separately.

Xu Zhiyan immediately figured out the reason.

If the pass is really an accessory, it is easiest to be stolen in a narrow and crowded space like an elevator, and entering the underground floor is equivalent to entering an auction site.

It feels like entering an extraordinary place.

But as someone who just wanted to buy a chair for Mr. Party A, after experiencing many twists and turns and this riddle-like entry process, Xu Zhiyan's desire to buy dropped sharply.

After taking a glance at the gentle-looking NPC, he didn't argue any further.

"Sorry, we went the wrong way."

Isn’t it just a chair? He thought that a broken chair would be very elegant for a ghost to sit on, and it wasn’t something complicated… Who knows how much the prices of things sold in such a luxuriously decorated place would be!

After saying that, Xu Zhiyan turned around and walked towards the elevator he came from, intending to leave the same way he came.

Just as I turned around, I ran into an acquaintance.

"Xu Zhiyan? Why are you here?"

Gan Mi, who arrived at the auction early, did not expect to meet the other party here.

Seeing the baby-faced young man in front of him with a suspicious look, Xu Zhiyan first looked around and didn't see the figure of the number one on the list, then he set his gaze on the other person's face.

"I saw a flyer at the black market and thought there might be something fun here."

He did not hide the fact that he had strayed in. He took out a crumpled and simple flyer from his pocket and threw it into the trash can nearby.

Without waiting for Gan Mi to speak, Xu Zhiyan shook his head and whispered with disgust on his face.

"The items on that order are all garbage. This boss spent a lot of money on so many complicated processes, and spent money to find a system to install the elevator like a big fool? Just think about it, how much water is there in this!"

He refused to admit that he couldn't help but think of his own small, shabby shop after seeing the luxuriously decorated auction.

Gan Mi was silent for a long time before explaining: "Perhaps the auction list circulating on the black market is just a time reminder and a hint of the price range?"

He originally wanted to say that he was the owner of the auction.

But when he met Xu Zhiyan's contemptuous look, he couldn't say it.

After hearing the explanation, the hooded young man shook his head and said, "He spent so much effort to find so much garbage just to complicate the auction. In the final analysis, he still wants to charge more money. This boss must be a profiteer."

Gan Mi was choked and decided not to explain any further.

"Together? I can tell you the rules. I'm an old customer here... so it's okay to bring one more person." He changed the subject quickly and invited Xu Zhiyan.

After listening to this, Xu Zhiyan, who was already looking for a exit, raised his eyebrows and glanced at Gan Mi, his mind racing.

Not to mention that Gan Mi has a close relationship with the number one on the list, just the way he was rude when killing NPCs and other players made Xu Zhiyan feel that he was not the same kind of person.

But this guy is rich, and he looks extremely rich.

It seems a bit unreasonable not to make a fortune at this time?

After a little thought, he readily accepted the invitation.

There was still more than an hour before the auction started, and Gan Mi still had things to do, so after handing a diamond cufflink to Xu Zhiyan, she left first.

Under the gaze of the NPCs, Xu Zhiyan put the sparkling diamond cufflinks into his pocket and successfully entered the auction hall.

There are not many seats in the hall, even pitifully few.

But at the back of the entire hall there are hundreds of rectangular private rooms. The floor-to-ceiling glass mirrors appear black when viewed from the outside. They should be single-sided glass, so one can only see outside from the inside, but not inside from the outside.

The rest of the content was pretty much what he thought.

The decoration style is cold yet luxurious, and the well-trained waiters NPCs were purchased in batches...

"It's quite a lot of fun."

The sourness in Xu Zhiyan’s tone was about to come out.

At this time, among the players walking back and forth in the hall, very few showed their true faces, and most of those who stayed here were wearing masks.

After observing for a while, he felt several eyes were fixed on him.

There were masked players in the hall, and also those coming from the box behind. Most of them were looking at him with curiosity, but there was also some malicious intent.

Xu Zhiyan didn't wait any longer, called the NPC, and came to the private room booked by Gan Mi.

Similar to the high-end lounge area, an exquisite fruit plate and a plate of washed apples had already been placed on the table in the private room, and the wine cabinet next to it was full for people to enjoy.

Seeing that there were still a few decks of cards on the table, Xu Zhiyan sat down and picked up the cards to take a look.

"Is this the entertainment activity before the show starts?" He asked the NPC standing nearby with some amusement.

"This is what Mr. Gan Mi ordered." The NPC was neither humble nor arrogant and was well-trained.

Xu Zhiyan raised his eyebrows and asked, "He likes playing cards?"

"I'm sorry sir, I don't know that either."

After hearing the NPC's boring answer, he stopped talking about the topic and asked about the real business instead.

"What does it mean that the prices of the allocated goods can be checked in advance?"

Once we were in a familiar area, the NPCs finally spoke more.

"Sir, you can take a look at the prices above." He took out a beautifully bound booklet and handed it over respectfully.

After taking the booklet, Xu Zhiyan flipped through the first page and his expression froze.

"Fifty thousand? Fifty thousand for this piece of junk?"

Seeing that the NPC didn't answer, he flipped through the pages again and was almost shocked by the prices.

There are only a dozen or so lots in the entire booklet, all of which are junk props.

Some things are clearly S-level and their contents seem very cool, but their actual use is not as useful as a C-level item.

When he turned to the last Wanhua Chair, Xu Zhiyan almost froze in place.

[Price: 20W points]

He held the booklet and stared at the numbers on it for a long time before he slowly spoke.

“Awesome.”

"You are really philanthropists. You could have snatched 200,000 points for free, but you were willing to give a chair to the person who was robbed! It's so touching!"

Xu Zhiyan couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks.

When Gan Mi pushed the door open, she just happened to hear Xu Zhiyan's sarcasm.

He glanced at the shocked young man who was pointing at the detailed item list, waved his hand and asked the NPC to leave first, and he would handle it himself.

"It's only two hundred thousand. Are you making such a fuss?"

Instead of sitting down immediately, Gan Mi walked to the wine cabinet while speaking, took out two wine glasses, turned his head and asked.

"What to drink? We have everything here."

This is the private room of the auctioneer's boss, not open to the public. Gan Mi is familiar with everything here, and he is confident that he can serve whatever the other party wants to drink.

But Xu Zhiyan’s answer was not part of Gan Mi’s plan.

"Drink milk."

The young man holding the booklet made the request bluntly.

Gan Mi's breath was caught in her throat, and she stared at the half-hairy back of the head that was exposed on the sofa with a frown.

"…Are you an elementary school student?"

"I just want to know if Boss Gan really has everything here." Xu Zhiyan answered indifferently.

Anyway, he had no plans to have a close relationship with Gan Mi, so he was not worried that the other party would dislike him.

After seeing the price of the chair just now, Xu Zhiyan felt that the cost-effectiveness of this thing was simply too low, and no one would buy it!

By the time Gan Mi called the NPC over and returned with a glass of milk, the young man on the sofa had already thrown the list aside and started to draw joker cards by himself out of boredom.

"Bang!"

The glass made a crisp sound when it hit the table.

"The milk you asked for." Gan Mi's voice revealed a hint of despair.

He felt a little regretful.

Why did he follow Xu Zhiyan like a possessed person when he saw him in the elevator just now, and even invited him to the auction?

"Thank you."

Xu Zhiyan picked up the cup, took two sips, and licked his lips.

Seeing that Gan Mi actually brought him milk, he put the cards away and looked at the other party with a strange expression.

"You're here to buy something? Did your brother kick you in the head?"

"...Are you scolding me or calling Enli a donkey? Are you insulting the donkey?" Gan Mi asked back.

When Xu Zhiyan heard this answer, he couldn't help laughing.

"I just think it's amazing that you come here to buy things. Although you look rich, you don't look like a sucker." He concluded that the owner here should be one of the top players on the leaderboard.

After all, except for the big guys who frequently go in and out of five-star copies, it is difficult for others to accumulate massive wealth in a short period of time.

Hearing this, Gan Mi paused, reached out for the glass, and poured himself half a glass of wine.

"…Is there something wrong here?"

He asked casually.

"Of course." Xu Zhiyan threw the auction list on the table with a look of disgust.

“Are they selling any prohibited items here?”

After looking at the price, Xu Zhiyan figured out the auction process here thoroughly.

"These matching items above are not real goods, right? Let me guess, are they selling something that the system doesn't allow trading?"

These junk props are just a cover after all.

What kind of rubbish would dare to set a starting price of 200,000? Players are not really stupid.

"You guessed it right."

Gan Mi nodded and took a sip of wine.

He had been in contact with Xu Zhiyan for a period of time, especially after leaving the Nightmare Community. He not only reviewed Xu Zhiyan's video, but also watched other subsequent live broadcasts.

It is quite normal for the other party to guess that contraband is being sold here. It would be weird if they couldn't guess it.

Thinking of this, Gan Mi curled the corners of his mouth.

If he wasn't always dealing with contraband, how could he be put in the punishment dungeon?

Xu Zhiyan also thought of this, picked up an apple and started to eat it.

"You did something illegal the last time you entered the punishment dungeon, didn't you? Do you still dare to do that now?"

"Fortunately, it was an accident last time."

Gan Mi didn't care about it.

Reaching out and picking up the freshly shuffled cards, he asked, "How do you cheat in the casino? I don't believe you really know how to play those cards."

Xu Zhiyan was stunned, and then he realized that the other party prepared the cards because he was also curious about this.

"Want to know? There's a bounty on the black market for this question. How much are you willing to pay? One hundred thousand points? Never mind, I'll give you a discount. How about fifty thousand?"

Since he intends to make money from this issue, he will definitely not say it so easily.

"Really? Xu Zhiyan? You want to make such a small amount of money?" Gan Mi was shocked when he saw the greedy young man who had already started to offer a price.

Xu Zhiyan didn't think there was anything wrong with him.

"You want to get it for free? You're so rich and you still want to get it for free? Can you please have some shame?"

“…Okay, okay, okay.”

Gan Mi laughed at the popularity that was justified.

Taking the auction list, he asked, "Since you came here following the list, you must want to buy something on it. I'll buy the item you want and give it to you."

When he heard that it was given away for free, Xu Zhiyan looked at Gan Mi more favorably and his mind became more active.

"Are you going to just give me the junk props, or are you going to give me the stuff behind the junk as well?" If there's a chance to take a piece of flesh from the other person, he will never show mercy.

Seeing the curiosity and greed in the eyes of the young man chewing the apple, Gan Mi restrained his smile.

He hesitated for a few minutes, as if he was evaluating something. Finally, he took the auction booklet and clicked at the footer of the first page.

“Pah—”

The single-page booklet split open along the seam, splitting in two.

A new page appeared.

"Here are the things that correspond to the goods."

"If I give it to you, will you take it?"

As he said this, he handed the booklet back.

The atmosphere in the room grew colder. Xu Zhiyan took the booklet and looked at the real auction item.

It is no longer a crude illustration, but a photograph.

In the center of the photo is a young man.

The following is filled with details.

[Features: Steel]

[Skills: Hardening, Material Ironization...]

【Transplantation success rate: 50%】

【Additional costs...】

Xu Zhiyan stood there in a daze.

All the oddities were explained.

Why is the owner of the auction venue so rich? Why is the entry process so complicated and secretive when it is clearly a place for selling items...

Because the real items here are the players.

The main business of the auction is to strip away the characteristics and skills of these players and then sell them.