Dark Moon Era

Chapter 425: Mysterious Zoophyte

A combat arts manual for 10,000 Black Sea coins?!

How could it not hurt Tang Ling? He really wanted to storm up to the second floor and find out who the hell outbid him. Did they do this on purpose?

If he had not been lucky enough to get the combat wrist guard earlier, would this mean that he could not even buy a single combat arts manual?

Setting his heartache aside, Tang Ling did not hesitate and raised his previous offer to 10,100 Black Sea coins. He was also nervous at the same time. What if the guy on the second floor was determined to get this and outbid him again with 15,000 Black Sea coins?

Fortunately, Tang Long did not make an offer anymore.

He sat in his box quietly as if a million thoughts were running through his mind.

In the end, Tang Ling got Lucar’s combat arts manual with a sky-high price of 10,100 Black Sea coins.

It was a ludicrous price, but no one laughed at Tang Ling. Lucar’s combat arts manual was somewhat of a gamble, and based on the luck he displayed, even if it might look like he was throwing his money away, it did not matter.

As for why Tang Ling insisted on getting this translated version of Lucar’s combat arts, it was not because he had some premonition whatsoever since his Precise Instinct could not predict this kind of thing anyway. Otherwise, he could simply become the God of Gamblers.

Of course, Tang Ling did not hope for this manual to have some heaven-defying combat arts or anything similar, but he believed he should spend the money on it. He needed a translated version of Lucar’s combat arts as a comparison for the one he had bought from the black market.

Indeed, he was planning to translate the manual he bought from the black market, but reality soon gave him a slap.

He could not translate it. Being smart could not solve every single problem in the world.

Despite winning Lucar’s combat arts manual, Tang Ling still wanted to stay. He believed he was being high profile after getting something extremely good from the Dori Box and the combat arts manual at a sky-high price, but he still did not leave.

It was his first auction anyway, so he was curious about how the auction would proceed and wanted to stay until the end.

...

“Tsk tsk, another 10K gone. I suddenly lost my confidence in the kid getting that item.” After Tang Ling bought Lucar’s combat arts manual, Jian Fei expressed his disappointment with an extravagant tone, but it was just an act as the expression on his face did not even change.

“I think you are just feeling bad about your intricate plan.” Conversely, the copper-faced man did not seem overly concerned about whether Tang Ling could get that item or not.

“No, no. I always do things according to the flow. It’s not an intricate plan at all. I’m just taking advantage of the flow. Besides, Tang Ling isn’t the only one that I’ve taken advantage of. I believed it’s possible that I might have planted a seed of gratitude as well.”

“If it wasn’t for my wisdom, how do you think the Floating Ice could’ve risen to its current position?” Jian Fei stood up with a smile on his face, feeling truly delighted this time.

The copper-faced man did not voice his opinion on this.

...

What did Jian Fei want Tang Ling to get from the auction?

Perhaps only Jian Fei and the copper-faced man knew the answer.

There were two more sessions left in the auction, the Fully Armed and the Shocking Finale.

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Tang Ling wanted to see if there were other items that could catch his attention in the last two sessions. Since he had already achieved his biggest goal, he stayed behind purely for the show.

Would there be something in the Fully Armed session that could catch Tang Ling’s attention?

He was getting familiar with the black market auction, and based on its name, this session would be the climax of the auction.

What else was more attractive to men than equipment and weapons?

Were there items that attracted Tang Ling’s attention? Of course, there were.

Almost every weapon and gear that was auctioned caught his attention. He even had the urge to spend all his money on the weapons and gear, but he did not have enough money.

It was not exactly torturous for him because, looking on the bright side, Tang Ling could look forward to the inner armor that Boss Huang promised him and the complete version of the Blood Bulrush Sword.

He could even use the asking price of the auction to slightly evaluate the value of his own gear. It was a new hobby that he adapted after stepping into the auction hall. Although the items were not yet in his hand, he could still roughly estimate his overall net value.

While he was drowning in his delightful fantasy, the Fully Armed session came to an end.

The last session would be the Shocking Finale.

The start and the end of an auction were indubitably the most important. According to the normal flow of an auction, a treasured item would be introduced at the start to raise anticipation and keep the event exciting. In order to keep the guests in their seats until the very end, another prized treasure would be introduced in the last part. The last item would be the finale of the whole event.

The black market auction, however, did not want to follow the traditional way. The black market was smart enough to introduce the Heart-throbbing Cliff as the first session to replace the treasured item that would be introduced at the start.

However, ending the whole auction with a grand finale remained necessary.

Maybe because the black market had a wide channel to source every kind of item, the black market auction that was held once every three months usually had more than one prized treasure as the finale. Therefore, the combination of all the treasures was known as the ending session, the Shocking Finale.

This final session basically had nothing to do with the first floor since the price would obviously be extravagant.

As for the VIP guests on the second and the third floors, they were given a catalog of items for the final session, so by now, they should have already known what they wanted. Most of them went to the auction just for the final session.

“Now, as our auction is nearing its end, we will proceed to the final session.

“This time, the final session will have a total of five lots. As the auctioneer, it is my duty to inform everyone beforehand that out of the five items, three are definitely prized treasures with actual value, but the remaining two are mystery items.

“According to the rules, the mystery item should be placed in the first session, but those who are familiar with our unique ways should know that the mystery items that are kept for the final session are unusual. We might not be able to identify what they are, but we will offer assurance based on the potential value that they might bring.

“That’s all for my introduction. We will now start with the first item of the last session.” It was quite rare for the succinct auctioneer to add such a detailed description for the last session.

Nonetheless, because of his introduction style, the people’s interest peaked. After multiple exciting bidding wars, those who were already exhausted were reenergized for one last time.

Under the bright spotlight and the exciting cheers from the crowd, the first item for the last session was placed on the display stand.

In order to make it look even more precious, the auctioneer went up to the display stand and lifted the red cloth himself. The giant screen on the stage immediately revealed the details of the items to everyone in the auction hall.

“The first item is a talent equipment—the Dragon Tooth Saber.”

A talent equipment! A small talent equipment like a dagger or a brass knuckle might not even appear once in ten auctions, yet the first item to show up in the finale was a large talent weapon! Judging from the looks of it, it was certainly a long saber.

The guard at the hilt resembled a dragon’s head, which looked exquisite and artistic, and was around 40 mm long. The blade was forged into the shape of a dragon’s tooth that measured 1.1 meters long. The blade was snowy white and the edge was opaque like the most beautiful jade, screaming of sharp killing intent.

It certainly was a domineering and beautiful talent weapon!

“This saber has a rare double attribute with the wind element as the main and the sub being lightning. The blade’s material is made from the tooth of a Level 7 vicious beast, the large Black-scaled Storm Lizard. On top of that, it was forged out of an entire tooth.” Since it was a final item, the auctioneer ought to add some introduction.

However, Tang Ling’s mind was slowly floating away as he did not even listen to what the auctioneer said. His brows were tightly locked when he saw the saber, and a familiar feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.

Where did he see this Dragon Tooth Saber before? If he had, why could he not remember where despite his amazing memory?

After the auctioneer finished the introduction, the bidding started. Because it was a talent weapon, the asking price started at 80,000 True Capital coins. It was time for the wealthy bosses to show off their money.

In less than a minute, its price was raised to 110,000 True Capital coins.

Was it expensive? Not at all! It was a rare double attribute and both attributes were common, so it was suitable for a lot of people. Compared to the number of Purple Moon Warriors, there were certainly fewer talent weapons. Moreover, it was forged using the material of a Level 7 vicious beast.

Tang Ling was not qualified to participate in the bidding war and he did not have the urge to own the Dragon Tooth Saber either. He was just wondering why the saber felt so familiar.

While he was puzzled by his feelings, the bidding war for the saber reached a frenzy. Even the guests on the second floor were disqualified by the price. Only the guests on the third floor were still competing.

In the end, it was sold to a guest on the third floor at a jaw-dropping price of 250,000 True Capital coins.

Was it expensive or cheap? Evaluating a weapon’s value with money was not exactly accurate. If the weapon’s potential could be utilized to the max, it would be worth the money.

There were no measuring standards for a talent equipment with double attributes. The Dragon Tooth Saber immediately heated up the finale to its boiling point.

The next two lots were also prized items.

The second item was pills made from Level 5 vicious plant materials combined with the most precious parts of Level 2 and 3 vicious plant materials.

There were only three pills in the bottle, each in a different color, thus having different effects.

Tang Ling did not listen carefully. He was still pondering about the Dragon Tooth Saber, but when he heard that, in the right hands, the red pill could poison a Rank 4 Purple Moon Warrior or higher, he gasped in shock.

What a deadly weapon for assassination!

One could imagine how powerful the other two pills were.

Unfortunately, Tang Ling did not pay attention to the rest of the pills. He only knew that when the bidding started, the crowd went mad with bidding fever. Even the guests on the first floor seemed determined to get the pills even if it cost them every single coin they had.

However, it was hopeless for the guests on the first floor because, in the end, the bottle of pills was bought by the guest on the third floor with 80,000 True Capital coins. The one who bought it was the one who had bought the wrist guard for his granddaughter.

Tang Ling was somewhat jealous of the granddaughter.

The combat wrist guard and the pills? What is he trying to do, make his granddaughter invincible when she’s still a baby? Well, I guess it’s impossible for his granddaughter to be a baby now...

As for the third item, it was the pelt of a Level 9 vicious beast with earth attributes. Given the attributes, the defense of the pelt indubitably multiplied.

The pelt also fetched a decent price of 120,000 True Capital Coins.

Money was no longer money in this finale; it was just a number.

After selling three prized treasures at once, only the two mystery items remained. It was strange to place the mystery items last instead of the prized treasures. After all, how mysterious could the items get?

The people’s curiosity crested.

It was then that the auctioneer clapped his hands. The staff then brought the first mystery item on stage.

The mystery item was covered in red cloth, but the crowd saw that something beneath the cloth was moving. Was it alive?

Only the guests on the first floor were not informed of the content beneath the cloth. The VIP guests on the second and third floors had already gotten the catalog, so they knew what it was.

Tang Long became even more serious when he saw the item on stage. He told Draconic Twelve, “I guess these two mystery items are why the auction’s atmosphere is so hyped up. We are short of funds. Take these three items from the office and put them on a temporary mortgage.”

“Remember, it’s temporary.” As he ordered, Tang Long wrote down the names of the three items and passed it to Draconic Twelve.

Draconic Twelve glanced over the names, but he did not ask any questions or respond with an expression. He turned around and walked out of the box to carry out Tang Long’s order.

After Draconic Twelve left, Tang Long fell into slight hesitation. He picked up his communicator and when the call got through, he said, “President, I need a transfer of 300,000 True Capital coins. Yes, immediately.”

300,000 True Capital coins? If Tang Ling heard the number, he would probably be frightened to his core.

However, Tang Ling was only curious about the wriggling item under the red cloth and did not have the urge to own it at all.

Half a minute after the mystery item was taken on stage, the auctioneer sauntered to the display stand and lifted the cloth. When the crowd saw the item underneath the cloth, loud gasps resounded.

It was a plant underneath the cloth, but was it really? Judging from appearances, it was rooted in the soil and had leaves and stems that matched the criteria of a plant, but at the top of the plant, instead of flowers, there was a living thing that resembled a worm.

The worm was what wriggled ceaselessly under the red cloth.

The worm itself was not hideous. It was as white as snow with a tinge of icy blue on its body. Its googly eyes even made it look somewhat cute. However, it was peculiar to look at. How could a worm grow on top of a plant? Or was it the fruit of the plant that resembled a worm?

It was not. Through the big screen on stage, all the detailed descriptions about the item pointed out that the worm was actually a living thing, but somehow it was on top of the plant.

After putting it on display for two full minutes, the auctioneer finally introduced, “This is our first mystery item, a mysterious zoophyte from beyond Iron-Blooded City.”

The crowd did not know how to react to this so-called zoophyte. It was certainly mysterious and somewhat magical, but what was the use of it?

The auctioneer seemed to have read the minds of the crowd as he said flatly, “We can only call it a mysterious zoophyte because even with all our resources, we couldn’t find out what it actually is and what it does. Since we don’t know anything about it, we can’t simply name it.

“However, as the mystery item of the finale, if it really is worthless, it wouldn’t have appeared on stage in the first place.

“Firstly, this mysterious zoophyte seems to have astounding liveliness. We tried to extract its sap for studying and discovered that even its sap is extremely active. Unfortunately, we cannot prove that the active sap is applicable to the human body.

“Other than that, this worm-like fruit has a massive amount of talent attribute energy, the energy of the ice element, to be precise. It can even release a mild ice element attack. Due to my duty as your auctioneer, I will demonstrate that the ice element attack is really mild, similar to the energy level of a Level 1 mutated insect.”

The auctioneer then put a test tube vial on the display stand. The test results on the screen showed that the energy in the vial was very active.

He then tried to provoke the tiny worm on the plant with his finger. It attacked him, but as he said, the strike was mild and only froze a small part of his finger.

“Seems useless.” Several other guests beside Tang Ling started talking about the worm.

It was a magical display, but what was the use?

However, Tang Ling showed interest in the zoophyte. He believed that this zoophyte should be valuable, so he decided to try bidding if no one wanted it.

“Unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got. There is a magical plant in the old civilization called the cordyceps that was sought after by the people of the old civilization because of its magical medicinal values. Even though the cordyceps was analyzed and studied in the most logical way, people of the old civilization still failed to find out which part of it had medicinal values, but not all things are clear anyway.

“I myself sympathize with these symbiotic organisms because, in our era, everything has changed, am I right? So, the reason why we decided to bring it on stage as the mystery item of the final isn’t because of what it can do, but because our best test results show us that it is still in the infant stage. If it can grow matured, the possibilities are endless. Besides, it comes from beyond the walls of Iron-Blooded City.”

After the last part of the introduction, he added, “The bidding starts now, and for the sake of fairness, the asking price of this mysterious zoophyte starts with 0. Every call must be more than 1 Black Sea coin. Bid away.”

An asking price of 0? And a call with the price of 1 Black Sea coin?

Everyone found it unbelievable, but only the most ridiculous bidding price could spark the fiercest bidding war. A lot of people failed to understand this theory.

Therefore, the people on the first floor started to bid on it for the sake of its magical presence as they wanted to buy it for studying. After a short 20 seconds, the asking price of the mysterious zoophyte reached 300 Black Sea coins.

However, no one knew that the fuse of the bomb that would go off in the auction hall had just been ignited.

Did no one really know what it was?