Chapter 60 Eating melons and ending up eating your own gossip

The young man with a high ponytail had high, arched eyebrows.

In fact, Zhou Zhiheng's initial goal was not this "disaster and epidemic module".

He came for tonight's grand finale auction item—the "Void Nail," an ancient weapon capable of forcibly fixing the parameters of spacetime.

His private museum's ancient civilizations section had too many war-damaged weapons and artifacts, and he had to make some additions.

But his plans were disrupted when he saw the "Plague Module" suddenly appear on the auction list.

The explosion at Alice Space Station clearly gave those with malicious intent an opportunity to exploit the situation.

The plague module in the collection was stolen, so he had to use a plastic model to make do for now.

Now, a perfect replacement has appeared, even better than his original one.

Both logically and emotionally, he had to take it over and fill the vacancy in the exhibition booth.

His magnificent voice came through the auction house's communication system: "Hello, seller, I am Zhou Zhiheng, Chairman of the Global United Chamber of Commerce."

"In addition to the billion-dollar price, I can add double the technical consultation fee for this item. Furthermore, I can provide you with a year of Zhou's legal team services to handle all kinds of disputes within and outside the Interstellar Alliance, so that you can live without any worries."

"snort!"

Caesar smiled dismissively.

He crossed his arms, his bright blue eyes shining exceptionally.

He calmly began, “Seller, I am Caesar, the master of the Court of Usurpation. If you sell this item to me, you will gain my friendship. In the outer star system, this friendship will make things much easier for you, far more effective than a legal team, and far more valuable than money.”

Zhou Zhiheng's face revealed a mocking expression, and his tone became sarcastic.

“Seller, choosing me is the most rational and safest option. Contract terms are far more reliable than any vague friendship. After all, who knows if the friendship of some big shots outside the industry might include some impolite service?”

“What’s impolite? Explain yourself,” Caesar said, his voice tinged with displeasure.

"You have the nerve to ask me? Caesar, just yesterday, you forcibly entered my private territory and took my date away. Only you could do something so rude."

The entire virtual venue suddenly fell into an eerie atmosphere.

The message in his words was too obvious—

These two big shots are not only vying for an item at auction, but it seems... they are also rivals in love?

In the meeting room, everyone was in a private, confidential space.

Absolute privacy has become the greatest torment at this moment—the fire of gossip is burning fiercely, but there is no one to discuss it with.

Caesar's blue eyes narrowed.

He looked at Zhou Zhiheng and said in a mocking tone, "The heir of the Zhou family can't even keep his own date, and you still have so much resentment?"

“However, you can’t be blamed for that,” Caesar continued. “After all, exploring the mysteries of the universe with me is far more interesting than doing business with boring capitalists. Don’t you agree, sir?”

"Interesting my foot!" Ning Shuyin thought to herself.

Neither of them is any good.

At this moment, the entire venue fell silent.

The auctioneer's long silhouette remained fixed on Ning Shuyin's direction, awaiting her conclusion.

Everyone wanted to know whether this mysterious seller would choose the king from outside the realm or the tycoon from the alliance.

Ning Shuyin gritted her teeth as she looked at the two men in front of her who were about to fight.

You want to rob me?

Nowadays, people are more polite and considerate than anyone else when it comes to buying things.

Have you forgotten how awful you were on our date before?

Indeed, the seller whose identity is unknown is the real god.

Ning Shuyin snorted inwardly and announced her decision using a private synthesized voice.

"Both of you have very attractive offers."

"but……"

She paused deliberately: "I choose to withdraw this auction."

The moment the words were spoken, the virtual meeting room erupted in uproar.

Both top buyers offered a maximum price and additional conditions, but this seller actually chose... not to sell?

Both Caesar and Zhou Zhiheng showed surprise at the same time.

However, Ning Shuyin's decision did indeed comply with the auction rules.

Crow's Nest stipulates that sellers can withdraw their bids at any time if they are not satisfied.

However, this situation is common when the transaction price is relatively low.

It is extremely rare for a seller to withdraw their bid when the price reaches the cap.

Caesar's smile had vanished.

Zhou Zhiheng's handsome face was as gloomy as the eve of a storm.

Ning Shuyin didn't bother to appreciate the two men's embarrassed expressions.

She had already planned her retreat route in her mind.

Currently, both Caesar and Zhou Zhiheng are in a state of displeasure at having "publicly lost face".

This was the perfect "window of opportunity" for her to slip away!

She brought up the auction interface and pressed the "Cancel Auction" confirmation button without hesitation.

The virtual venue in front of them vanished instantly.

As her consciousness returned to her body, Ning Shuyin immediately stepped out of the suspended black crystal box.

Without pausing, she walked at top speed toward the pickup point for the unsold items at "Crow's Nest".

The corridor was quiet.

She stood at the retrieval point and placed her anonymous auction receipt into the retrieval slot.

According to the procedure, her "disaster module" will appear in front of her through the teleportation channel within three seconds.

Three seconds passed.

The portal remained completely still.

Ten seconds passed.

It remained deathly silent.

An ominous premonition welled up in Ning Shuyin's heart.

Just then, a line of large red text popped up on the screen of the extraction window:

[Extraction failed. Error code 777: Item status is abnormal, temporarily frozen.]

freeze?

Ning Shuyin was taken aback.

What happened?

Her gaze swept over the extraction point.

A young staff member was leaning back in his chair, tapping the screen with his nimble animal tail to play a game.

After all, everything in Raven's Nest is fully automated, and they don't usually have much to do.

Ning Shuyin called out to him, "Sir, could you take a look at this for me?"

The staff member came over, did a few things, and checked her credentials, also looking confused.

"I've never seen this code before since I joined the company..."

He tried several more times, even attempting to extract the data using his own staff privileges.

The error code "777" is still stubbornly displayed on the screen.

"What exactly happened?" Ning Shuyin pressed for an answer.

The staff member scratched his head and said, "Logically speaking, items withdrawn from the auction should be able to be retrieved immediately. Unless... unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you've offended some big shot?" the young staff member asked mysteriously.

Upon hearing this, Ning Shuyin's expression changed slightly.

Just as the staff member was about to say something, an invisible pressure suddenly swept over them from around the corner of the corridor. The staff member was so frightened by this oppressive aura that the fur on their beast tail stood on end.

"Miss Ning, I knew the seller would be you."

A deep male voice came from behind.

It was Caesar.

He crossed his arms, his blond hair gleaming in the corridor lights.

"No wonder you insisted on coming to the Trading Star; it turns out you wanted to get rid of this treasure."

Ning Shuyin frowned.

Could he have been responsible for freezing the auction items? Caesar is a local bigwig, and it's highly likely he used this tactic out of anger and embarrassment.

Just as she was about to ask a question, another figure appeared from around the corner.

With pale purple eyes and long, jet-black hair tied up high, it was Zhou Zhiheng.

Ning Shuyin's heart skipped a beat.

These two men arrived way too fast.

They didn't even bother picking fights with each other; they all chose to confront her first.