Chapter 306: Auction

"Can you take me to see it?" Yan Jing smiled.

"If you have time tomorrow."

"As for tonight, I probably have plans, so it won't work out."

"I'll have time tomorrow," Tianwei nodded repeatedly.

"But are you sure you want to go, sir? You can only look; you can't try it..."

"Don't worry. I just want to see what this illicit Happy Water looks like," Yan Jing said.

"All right then!" Tianwei said. "Let's add each other's contact info on our Information Components and set up a time."

"No problem."

They exchanged contact information. Yan Jing pulled a rose from his pocket and handed it to Tianwei.

"A small gift for our meeting, beautiful miss."

"Thank you!"

Tianwei stared at the Pitch-Black Rose, her eyes full of delight.

"Is this... a preserved flower? It can't be real, right?"

"Neither."

Yan Jing shook his head and smiled.

"It's a flower with a seed inside."

"They say that if you run into danger and inject weird energy into it, it will ward off disaster and protect you from harm."

Ward off disaster...

This was the first time Tianwei had heard such a phrase.

The Peace Heavenly Kingdom had no concept of disaster and fortune, nor did it entertain mysticism, but she had heard rumors that such things existed in other Domains.

How romantic.

That was the first thought to pop into the head of this girl, whose mind was entirely preoccupied with romance and flirtation. She took the flower and tucked it directly into the blue strap of her bikini bottom at her waist.

"Thank you, sir! I'm really looking forward to our date tomorrow."

"Of course."

Yan Jing smiled.

"If you run into any trouble you can't solve, give me a call."

He gave the Information Component on his right wrist a little shake.

"I should probably get going now. I have some business to attend to."

"Mhm," Tianwei smiled. "I hope you have a great day."

"Thanks, you too."

Yan Jing left the street.

He needed to find a place to stay.

Now that the system had unlocked the ability to have two identities online simultaneously, there was no need for his Luo Sheng identity to go offline. It could handle simple daily tasks, and at critical moments, he could operate both at once.

...

That night.

Yan Jing dressed up for his outing in his Mao Si identity.

His white suit jacket had a row of dark gold buttons sewn onto the cuffs that gleamed hotly under the light. A pale blue silk handkerchief sat in his breast pocket, and his cheap leather shoes had been swapped out for a high-end pair—allegedly costing close to 2,000 eerie points, roughly equivalent to over 100,000 in Surface World currency.

The cologne he wore was also supposedly nothing simple, but Fei Yu hadn't memorized the details. All she remembered was the price, which made the frugal maid frown the entire time.

The whole outfit came out to around six or seven thousand eerie points. Factoring in the points transferred to his Luo Sheng identity and Xiao Yu's pocket money, the 10,000 eerie points Boss Rat had given him yesterday were completely gone, leaving him three or four thousand in the hole.

When he went downstairs, Boss Rat's car was already parked outside the hotel.

Yan Jing got into the car and saw his Pops being embraced by a radiant, attractive woman.

"Pops, who is..."

Before Yan Jing could finish, Boss Rat, sitting across from him, gave him a quick once-over and said mildly, "Not bad."

"But why didn't you bring your female companion?"

"A female companion?"

Yan Jing blinked.

Did he mention this yesterday?

"Didn't I tell you that for this auction, regardless of whether you're a man or a woman, it's best to bring a partner?"

Boss Rat muttered suspiciously.

"I might have forgotten yesterday."

"But either way, the 10,000 eerie points I gave you naturally included the budget for one."

"It's not a big problem, though. Let's go."

The car slowly pulled away, and it wasn't long before they arrived in front of a Tower.

It was one of the few high-rises in Muke District.

The auction venue was on the seventeenth floor.

When they arrived, they saw Xiong Er and Hu San waiting at the entrance.

The two greeted Boss Rat, then looked at Yan Jing in confusion.

"Why didn't you bring a female companion?"

"Is that really so important?" Yan Jing's eyes went wide.

He hadn't expected his two "brothers" to focus on that as well.

"Forget it. It's the kid's first time attending a private auction like this, he doesn't know the ropes,"

Xiong Er laughed heartily.

"A partner—whether you choose a man, a woman, an animal species, or a Smart Seed—is the most obvious outward display of your status. The only people who don't need to bring a partner are typically renowned big shots. For an unknown nobody like you, having a beautiful female companion on your arm is the best way to elevate your image."

Hu San pushed up his glasses and said,

"Otherwise, people will take one look at you and know you're just a naive brat."

"Besides, this auction is far from ordinary. You'll find out soon enough."

What kind of twisted rule is that...

Yan Jing blinked and said, "Got it. I'll keep it in mind for next time."

"Let's go."

Hu San tossed him a mask. "Put this on."

Their seats weren't close to the front. Yan Jing sat right next to Boss Rat, with Hu Laosan on his other side.

After sitting down, Yan Jing gauged the width of his chair. It was true—it could easily fit two people with room to spare.

With his current build, there was still plenty of space left over after he sat down, making the seat feel a bit empty.

He could certainly find a secluded spot to let Xiao Yu out from inside him, but there was no need.

Looking around, he saw all sorts of pairings: animal species and humans, bionic species and Smart Seeds, Smart Seeds and Smart Seeds...

Some were even putting on indecent displays right in their seats, but judging by the expressions of the people around them, this was a common occurrence.

Soon, an androgynous animal species took the stage. She was a fox with golden fur that shimmered softly under the lights, sporting three tails and wearing very little clothing.

Yan Jing searched his memories and realized she was likely a very famous movie star.

She appealed to both male and female audiences.

He hadn't expected her to walk onto the stage looking practically naked.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is about to begin. If anyone is unclear on the rules, you may ask me now,"

the fox said with a light laugh.

"Are you also part of the auction lots, Miss Mingmou?"

A voice called out from behind Yan Jing.

Beside him, Hu San's expression shifted.

Then, staring straight ahead, Hu San murmured, "Just watch. That guy is about to run into some terrible luck."

The auctioneer quickly delivered a clever response, and the auction officially began. However, after hearing Hu San's words, Yan Jing kept his attention fixed on the man behind him who had spoken up.

Not long after, he saw the man being forcibly dragged away by several people.

He never came back.

"He'll lose a leg at the very least, and he'll have to get down on his knees to apologize to Council Member Li,"

Hu San said.

"The auctioneer on stage is Council Member Li's personal plaything."

As for why a private plaything was out here acting as an auctioneer, Hu San didn't explain.

But following Hu San's gaze, Yan Jing spotted an elderly figure sitting in the very first row.

"Between Councilor Liu, whom we support, and Council Member Li, whose faction is stronger?"

Yan Jing asked.

"Council Member Li."

Hu San replied, "Word is that Council Member Li is preparing to run for a seat on the Heavenly Kingdom Council in the upcoming election."

"The difference between a faction councilor and a Heavenly Kingdom Council member is massive."

"Look in front of those council members. There are a few other people sitting ahead of them—they are the true main characters of this event."

"I see."

Yan Jing said, "Who are they?"

Before Hu San could answer, a rolled-up newspaper fell from above, whacking Yan Jing on the head.

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't be asking."

"So stingy," Yan Jing grumbled, rubbing his head. He settled down and quietly watched the auction continue.

The items being auctioned were a chaotic mishmash, mostly consisting of artworks and bizarrely shaped antiques. So far, he hadn't spotted anything interesting.

This was also a distinct characteristic of this Domain.

The people here seemed to be the exact opposite of those in Minhu. Living under a relatively robust social system, very few went out of their way to relentlessly pursue power.

Of course, this excluded the few at the very top who made the rules—they undoubtedly controlled absolute strength. For everyone else, their rank and position weren't strictly tied to their personal power.

The higher-ups weren't necessarily strong themselves; it was more likely that they could simply command people who were.

And if a strong individual refused to listen, someone even stronger would naturally step in to teach them a lesson.

This structure had once prompted the strength-revering Fourth Young Master Cat to ask Boss Rat why things had turned out this way.

"Some places promote peace because peace is good, but other places promote peace because they fear violence."

"Our Peace Heavenly Kingdom is the latter."

That had been Boss Rat's answer at the time.

"To businessmen, violence is something that damages profits."

"Therefore, promoting peace becomes exceedingly important."

"In these situations, the safety of those at the bottom is probably not what they're considering."

The auction soon reached its final item, which was supposedly the highlight of the day.

"Our final lot for today, and also our most important piece, is a painting by a mysterious individual,"

the auctioneer announced.

But the moment those words fell, the sharp, crisp sound of a slap echoed throughout the entire auction hall.

The sound had come from the very front row.

Everyone shifted their gaze and saw the man in that seat hurl the male Smart Seed he had been holding in his arms heavily to the floor. The man then lunged forward and began frantically slapping the Smart Seed across the face.

A flurry of sharp smacks rang out as the masked man slapped him, yelling, "Fuck! I told you not to move! I told you not to move around!!!"

The male Smart Seed's clothes were visibly disheveled. He had likely shown some slight resistance while being handled by the man just now, never expecting to be met with such violent treatment.

It didn't take long for the downed male Smart Seed's entire face to swell up from the slapping. Blood trickled from his mouth as he wailed continuously. Still unsatisfied, the man began kicking him viciously.

Not far away, Council Member Li seemed to sense that things were getting out of hand and stepped forward to intervene. Instead, the man suddenly whipped his head around and glared furiously at Council Member Li.

"Are you trying to stop me?!"

"N-no... nephew... it's..."

"Are you trying to stop me or not!!!"

The man was clearly completely consumed by rage.

"You don't want to sell that final lot of yours, do you?"

"Li Chunliang, let me warn you—don't think you're hot shit just because you managed to serve a term as an internal councilor. I can put you in that seat, and I can pull you right back down."

"Fuck, I only came to this event to give you face. Who the hell do you think you are?"

The amount of information revealed in the man's outburst was massive.

First, he exposed that the final lot actually belonged to Council Member Li. Second, he made it clear that the reason this Council Member Li had gotten his seat in the first place was due to his backing.

And that very Council Member Li, who always looked so glorious and powerful on television, was now cowering meekly in front of this man, too terrified to utter a single word.

Even as the man ruthlessly cursed him out, all he could do was continuously smile in apology.

Eventually, a woman in the seat next to the man stood up and managed to calm him down, allowing the auction to resume.

As for the male Smart Seed on the floor, who had been kicked until he vomited blood, a group of men in black simply dragged him away. Just like the person before, he never returned.

"Didn't you say you wanted to get a taste of our nation's politics?"

Rat said, a cryptic smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Now you've seen it."

"What do you think?"

Xiong Er, sitting on the other side of Rat, instinctively turned his head when he heard the question.

Rat had asked him and Hu San this exact same question in the past.

He still remembered his own answer—that strength was king and class divisions were absolute. Hu San's answer had been that the waters were incredibly deep and one had to tread carefully at every step.

Now, hearing Rat ask Mao Si, he couldn't help but want to see what kind of answer this good-for-nothing brother of his would come up with.

"It's awful,"

Yan Jing said softly, "Absolutely terrible."

"Are you talking about the nation or the politics?"

Rat asked with a smile.

"Both the nation and its politics."

After Yan Jing spoke, the smile on Rat's face grew into a full-blown laugh, though he didn't make a sound.

He simply laughed in complete silence.