Task 4
Shi Youchen put the candy back into his pocket and leaned back lazily, looking completely uninterested in what was happening below.
Xiaowei looked at his actions and guessed something.
"Perhaps Mr. Shi didn't intend to snatch a particular auction item from the beginning."
"It's about resolving the 'auction' itself."
The auctioneer in the cage confirmed with the terminal again, then announced, "There are only thirty seconds left for the first lot."
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the transformed experimental subjects standing outside the cage, who was in his blind spot, suddenly raised his hand. The branches at his wrist quickly forked and grew, attacking the top of the cage.
In Xiaowei's opinion, the half-cage had no roof and was of no use in blocking the flow. If the branches were to get in through the top of the opening, the auctioneer inside would undoubtedly be tied up or torn to pieces.
This happened so suddenly that even the other experimental subjects didn't react.
Xiaoyue seemed to be frightened by these murderous branches and vines, and retreated a little further to the periphery.
However, the scene they expected did not occur, because the branches were "swallowed" by an invisible mass when they pierced down from above the cage.
The tip of the poisoned branch did not appear on the auctioneer's body.
Instead, it appeared on the subject that launched the attack.
The auctioneer's voice didn't waver at all because of this little incident. "Due to a temporary reason, the first lot has been changed from 8 modified experimental subjects to 7 living modified experimental subjects and 1 corpse."
The "tree-like" experimental body that was fused with the poisonous wood began to show tiny cracks all over its body. Those cracks quickly expanded and body fragments were scattered all over the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Xiaowei saw one less person on the stage and a pool of gray ashes.
The auctioneer glanced at the pile of stuff and said with a soft "tsk." "The auction is limited in duration. There will be no re-bidding for the first lot. Any objections will be handled centrally after the auction."
Shi Youchen seemed to close his eyes and take a nap for a while. After hearing the whispers of conversation around him, he stretched his neck a few times and stood up.
In order to see the whole situation clearly, the auctioneer began to turn around in the cage: "Countdown to the end of the first lot... 3... 2... 1"
After the last three numbers were counted down, everything on the central concave platform except the cage suddenly disappeared, along with the seven experimental subjects including Xiaoyue and the pool of ashes on the ground, all disappeared in an instant.
Xiaowei panicked for a moment, and then heard a noise coming from the right front.
"I won the bid. Where's the item? I'm leaving now!" A short man wearing a toad mask shouted at the auctioneer.
Shi Youchen stretched his arms, left his seat under Xiaowei's surprised and confused gaze, and walked towards the man.
The auctioneer was used to newcomers who didn't understand the rules, so he explained expertly, "Sir, the rules of the Nigella Auction are that no one, regardless of whether they're bidding or not, can leave until all processes are completed."
Unexpectedly, the man was too lazy to listen to all this and cursed: "Get out! What a crappy rule! I've never heard of it!" Then he took a step forward and his body grew to nearly three times its original size.
The seats around him were squeezed by the massive body, deforming visibly. Clearly, this wasn't just a simple enlargement of the body, but more like some kind of enhanced ability.
The man smashed the seat in front of him with one palm and said angrily, "If you don't want to end up like this, then be smart and bring that snake girl and the other things up here!"
The auctioneer paused, then reached out his hand helplessly, touching the inner wall of the cage and said, "Sir, there's another rule here: you can't use supernatural powers in the venue. Haven't you heard of this?"
"Ha, what a joke! I used it, so what?"
The auctioneer shook his head and said softly, "The other rules are easy to deal with, and there's nothing wrong with breaking them, but this one is different."
"Damn it, what are you mumbling about? Hurry up and give it to me..." As the man spoke, he noticed something unusual and his arrogance weakened.
Because he saw that almost everyone in the seats stood up, especially the ones closest to him, some of whom were even unbuttoning their cufflinks and ties.
"What does this mean?" He had indeed never heard of these rules, because he had no idea what this "Nigra Auction" meant.
He was just teaching a kid who accidentally bumped into him a lesson on the road, then took something from the kid's pocket. Bored, he followed the kid into an old shopping mall, and ended up replacing the kid who was stopped outside and accidentally stumbled into the venue.
He originally wanted to return the same way he came, but he couldn't find the "door" he came in from, so he simply found a spacious place to lie down and sleep.
Until he was awakened by the smell of blood, and then saw the naked Xiaoyue.
The shameless man actually had no idea what "transformed experimental subjects" meant. He just found out that the data terminal participating in the auction at the seat did not need to verify the assets, so he offered a vulgar bargaining chip such as "my lifelong slavery rights".
Unexpectedly, after the auctioneer finished the countdown, the data terminal on the seat prompted - Congratulations on successfully winning item number one.
That's why he wanted to run away halfway, and even had a physical reaction when he thought of Xiaoyue's slim figure.
But at this moment, the reactions of the auctioneer and the people around him finally made him realize that something was wrong.
The skin on the man's neck was blood red. He looked around through the toad mask, and decided to give up his number one item and run away first.
At worst, I can find a way to get it back later, he thought.
But the moment this thought came to his mind, before he even moved his body, he was disrupted by a sudden sharp pain.
The severe pain came from inside his body, spreading from nerve endings to his limbs and bones.
It’s hard to describe what kind of pain it was, but the man knew vaguely that he couldn’t escape.
Shi Youchen was the first to stand up, and he was also the closest to the man among everyone, so as soon as he found that the man's ability was forcibly removed, he took action.
Among the broken pieces of the seat just now, several fell right at Shi Youchen's feet, and he had already picked out the thinnest and longest piece.
At this time, insert it into the back of the man's neck, then twist it hard and lift it upwards.
The man's body, which had been strengthened by his ability, had quickly shrunk back to its short size as soon as he felt the severe pain.
So after Shi Youchen found the right position, he didn't have to spend much effort to stab the long and thin fragment into the back of his head.
"Ugh" He only had time to let out a cry of pain that no one could hear before he fell down limply.
It took no more than five minutes from the time the man suddenly jumped up to his death.
The auctioneer took in everything that had just happened. He waited another half minute, confirming that the man was unable to rise again, and then announced to everyone in the room, "According to the punishment rules, the person who killed the disobedient will replace him as the winner of lot number one, free of charge."
After these words were spoken, the people around could only return to their seats one after another, and there were many sighs of regret among them.
Shi Youchen moved his feet and avoided the blood that was spreading over him.
"Sir..." the auctioneer's gaze shifted as Shi Youchen moved. "The data center indicates that you haven't bid. Please submit your information before the auction ends."
Shi Youchen did not react, but walked straight back to his seat, sat down, and leaned back.
"..." Xiaowei wanted to ask, but then she remembered Shi Youchen's previous instructions, so she took her words back, stood up and waved towards the auctioneer's position.
That means "I know."
The auctioneer saw Xiao Wei's obvious body curves and understood what she meant. As he prepared for the second lot, he thought to himself, "Why are you pretending? It's probably all for that snake girl."
——
Shi Youchen really fell asleep.
When he opened his eyes again, the auctioneer was announcing, "Next is the last lot. I'm sure most of you here came for it."
Shi Youchen turned his head and found that Xiaowei had actually sat in another seat. More importantly, a data display screen for participating in the auction was floating in front of her.
The noise of standing up didn't interrupt the auctioneer's rhythm, but instead startled Xiaowei. She looked up and met Shi Youchen's stern eyes through the hideous mask.
"First..." Xiaowei started to speak, but suddenly remembered where she was and quickly shut her mouth.
Shi Youchen reached out to turn the screen. Xiaowei did not stop him because she had no intention of hiding it.
The data showed that Xiaowei was the final winner of the fifth lot, but the content of the lot and the winning price were not written.
"What are the chips?" Shi Youchen's tone had not been so serious for a long time.
He knew that Xiaowei was not the kind of person who would do anything reckless, and he believed that she would not ignore his warnings in a fit of rage.
She must have seen something very important, important enough to take a huge risk to "bid" for it.
What Shi Youchen was worried about was not that she had filmed something useless, but the price she had to pay.
After all, no one knows better than him what the Nigra Auction is.
Xiaowei's expression under the mask changed again and again, and she quickly gestured to indicate that she was fine.
Shi Youchen's voice became a little higher: "What is it?" Xiaowei reached out to pull his sleeve, fearing that the noise here would attract the attention of other people in the venue.
Shi Youchen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, without shaking off his wrist that was being held.
But the scratches on his hands healed in the blink of an eye.
"Sir?!" Xiaowei called out softly, she knew exactly what that meant.
That means Shi Youchen no longer deliberately suppresses the energy in his body.
Regardless of which faction this auction venue belongs to, the energy attributes emerging from Shi Youchen can be easily captured.
Xiaowei is not stupid. She knows that the Maintenance Bureau and external supernatural organizations do not have a friendly relationship.
"I'm sorry, I..." She realized that she had affected Shi Youchen's plan, and she wanted to apologize.
At this time, the auctioneer began to introduce the last item with great excitement - a black coffin with gold patterns engraved on it.
"The highlight of this auction is the intact body of the previous leader of the Kalangka clan who died tragically!"
The coffin lid slid to the side, revealing the true face of the person lying inside in front of everyone's gaze.
It was Christopher Karanka.
The auctioneer's voice was visibly trembling. "This body was preserved using a special method. The energy mark on its body was sealed at the moment of death!"
"Everyone, I don't need to introduce myself!"
"The Karanka clan's secret technique, 'Life Reshaping,' was originally the final champion prize in the Orb Trials."
"Now it's engraved in this body!"
The whole audience was boiling.
Xiaowei was interrupted by the cheers from the crowd before she could finish her words.
Shi Youchen's hand reached for the back of her head, pulling her closer, and said helplessly, "It's my fault. I thought you didn't understand anything, so I didn't tell you anything."
"I'm sorry, but I can't let this auction end. I'll find a way to get what you want later."
Xiaowei lost consciousness in the still space and time.
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