NOVEL WEB Chapter 30: Played for Malicious Fun
In the time it took for Kent to be distracted, the bid for the white-gray stone had already reached 200,000. By now, the bidding pace had finally slowed, with each new bid only increasing by 10,000 credit points.
"210,000," someone called out.
Kent gritted his teeth, realizing that if he kept bidding, it might backfire. This was the first time he raised his card, his voice hoarse as he said, "250,000."
This was a substantial increase, and the people who had originally been interested in the stone, treating it as an antique, had already lost interest after it reached 210,000. With this sudden sharp increase, many gave up immediately.
"250,000 once," Ye Yan announced loudly.
"Wait, I'll bid 260,000," came the same voice from before, hoarse and raspy.
Kent looked over, and thanks to Garfield's night vision ability, he saw a person wearing a blue raccoon mask. Their eyes were unusually bright in the dark.
"I'll go with 270,000," Kent said, unwilling to give up.
"280,000," the person responded, calm and unhurried.
"Could he have noticed something special about this stone?" Kent's expression darkened. This was unexpected.
However, Kent still had the means to raise the bid.
"290,000," Kent raised the price.
The back-and-forth bidding between them was quite amusing, drawing curious gazes from most of the audience, who began whispering amongst themselves.
Some people, with plenty of wealth and treating the auction as a game, chimed in lazily, "300,000."
Kent's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, why was it so difficult to auction something? In other novels, the protagonist usually picks up a bargain, getting something with an opening bid of 100,000 or so, and by 170,000, it's already theirs. But why was it so hard for him?
Was he not the protagonist?
The thought sent a chill down his spine, and he felt an inexplicable coldness.
"310,000," the blue raccoon mask bidder raised the price again.
"320,000," Kent replied without hesitation.
"350,000," came the lazy voice again, filled with a touch of malicious amusement.
This person must be a rich second-generation, a spendthrift, Kent thought angrily.
But to Kent's surprise, the person wearing the blue raccoon mask hesitated for a moment and decided not to raise the bid. It seemed they didn't think the stone was worth it.
Kent was momentarily stunned—so it turned out that the person didn't recognize the stone's value, and he had been worrying for nothing.
In fact, the person with the blue raccoon mask was a young and capable Level 3 Beast Master, purely curious and hoping for a bit of luck to see if he could bring the life hidden in the stone to fruition. Even if the stone's quality wasn't great, it would still be valuable for him as a form of cultivation and sharpening of his skills.
Kent gritted his teeth. His total savings amounted to just over 360,000, but he was determined not to give up on the stone.
"360,000," he said again.
The lazy voice fell silent for a moment before glancing at Kent with some interest. The person was wearing a white tiger mask, exuding an air of authority—clearly someone who wielded power.
"400,000," the white tiger mask bidder announced, seemingly trying to tease Kent, knowing full well that he was wealthy and could afford it.
"410,000," Kent's lips twitched, cursing internally, vowing to get even with this person one day.
"450,000," the lazy voice came again.
"460,000," Kent's voice trembled with growing resentment.
"500,000," the lazy voice called out once more.
"600,000," Kent, cornered, raised his bid drastically. He figured he could take on a few more tasks; after all, as a guest of the Black Market's Beast Master division, it would be easy to get some leeway.
The person in the white tiger mask seemed taken aback, not expecting Kent to be so desperate, but he quickly recovered.
" Master," a person wearing a white shark mask said beside him, "There's no need to tease him any further. There are still many valuable items left."
The white tiger mask bidder hesitated, then nodded and murmured, "Check out this kid later."
"Heh, it's rare to see Young Master from Dragon City get stumped. Quite interesting. I want to see this kid in action," a melodic, wind-chime-like voice of a woman echoed. She was wearing a red rose mask and had a seductive figure.
"Shut up!" The person in the white tiger mask snapped, clearly irked.
"600,000 once."
"600,000 twice."
"600,000 three times."
"Sold," Ye Yan announced decisively.
Kent let out a sigh of relief. That was exhausting. He swore he would find out the identities of these two, especially the person in the white tiger mask.
He couldn't stand the malicious teasing.
It was truly frustrating—just because someone had money, they thought they could do whatever they pleased. But there were limits to everything.
Soon, a mask-wearing female attendant, dressed in uniform and wearing night vision goggles, appeared by his side, whispering, "Sir, your auctioned item has been prepared. Please come backstage to settle the payment once the auction concludes."
Kent nodded and replied, "I can go now."
He had no more money left, and while the upcoming items were great, he could only watch. It was better to secure the stone with life force first.
Following the attendant backstage, an elderly man was handling the registration and payment.
"Elder Jia, this is the guest who won item No. 68 and has come to settle the payment," the attendant said with a smile.
Kent nodded, taking out his guest token and saying, "Hello, I'm the Beast Master guest, Mr. Eight God."
"Mr. Eight God? So it's you," Elder Jia's voice was low and calm. "Ye Yan and I are old friends. He mentioned you, saying you're even more skilled than he is, but unfortunately, you have no intention of joining the Black Market."
"Yeah, it's not convenient for me," Kent smiled. "I intend to pay 300,000 credit points now. Please, Elder Jia, if it's possible, could you extend a little leniency and let me pay the remaining amount tomorrow?"
"Ah, no problem," Elder Jia waved his hand. "To be honest, item No. 68 would have only gone for 20-something million at most. How did it end up at such a sky-high price?"
The attendant immediately explained what had transpired.
"By the way, Elder Jia, could you tell me who the person with the white tiger mask is?" Kent asked.
"I… I'm afraid I can't say. While I could look up the information backstage, this concerns the reputation of the Black Market, and I'd rather not get involved," Elder Jia shook his head.
Kent's eyes darkened as he felt a surge of frustration.
"Well, it's not entirely impossible," Elder Jia pondered. "Unless you help me with a task. Then I might share some vague details, like what his last name is?"
Kent's eyes brightened. Although it wasn't direct information, at least it gave him a general direction. With a little research, he could figure it out. "Please tell me about the task. I'm willing to give it a try, as long as it's within my capabilities."
Elder Jia said, "Of course, if you can't do it, I won't force you. In fact, if even you can't handle this task, no one else in the Black Market will be able to."
"Do you remember the first task in the Beast Master task area?"