Chapter 42: The Auction Hall, Testing the Waters
From dusk until deep night in the game world, a group of mysterious visitors gathered in Han Crown City, awaiting tomorrow’s opening ceremony.
...
In the sky, the pale white of fish clouds gradually faded in, and the players who logged in left the main city—nearly seventy percent of them now arrived in Han Crown City.
At eight o’clock, Han Crown City was bustling. Considering some players might cause trouble, only the route from the single city gate to the auction house was open. Any idle players discovered elsewhere were fined gold coins.
Afterward, Hua Tian secretly invited the powerhouse known as the Wandering Zombie to a hidden spot. Upon learning this, Han Qianyun merely said, “Take care, great one!”
Standing at the entrance of the crowded auction house, Han Qianyun gazed at the throng, watching the flow of players passing by—some were from large teams, others were ordinary or lifestyle players.
Players who knew her stepped forward to greet her: “Boss Han… Han beauty, sell us something cheap later, will you?”
Han Qianyun responded with a smile and turned to head backstage, leaving those greeting her in awkward silence.
Players who stood further away or didn’t know her began to chuckle for unknown reasons; those who knew her felt the difference in status—greeting her wouldn’t earn a response.
Those unfamiliar with her found it amusing; they recognized the players making greetings, saw how they acted so important in their own teams, boasting that when they asked for a discount, she would surely chat with them… but the result was obvious.
Inside the auction hall, an NPC—a human woman in red—stood with a fiery figure and alluring attire that made one want to rush forward and protect her or pursue wild ambitions. She kept swaying and arching her captivating form.
A player, nearly overwhelmed, wanted to vent his frustration. Raising his eyes, he saw an NPC guard glance at him, and he didn’t dare take another step, resolving his agitation from afar.
More and more players flooded into the venue, emotions running high. Some were excited to witness a player-hosted auction for the first time in the game; others were disappointed that a female player was running it.
Yet, as they caught sight of the central woman, the noisy crowd fell silent, eyes fixed upon her, minds indulging in fantasies... A few reckless players, “dogs,” kept spouting foul language to anger her, but three NPC guards appeared before them, forcibly silencing them. Those who complied watched their three teammates lose the chance to ever enter the auction house again—such was the penalty for speaking irrelevant words or causing trouble.
The NPC guards instructed others to strengthen security, not only outside but inside and even covertly.
In the auction house, the alluring woman at the center broke the seal... All attending players could see:
Name: Honghong [NPC]
Level: Eight [General Rank]
Class: Human [Main City Auction House Exclusive]
Attributes: 500, 500, 500
Life: Players cannot inflict damage
“Hello, everyone, and welcome to the auction hosted by Han Crown City. I am Honghong, and I will preside over this player auction. Let’s begin! Ten Starshine Stones... The first three are awarded to the three top players who published the most notices: Lu Yu, Lu Jun, and Han Nineteen—who declined, so the fourth, Wang Xuehe, will take his place. The next five will be drawn at random, and the final two, please come forward and draw them yourself. Collect your batch numbers onstage... All right, the complimentary segment is over. Now! Presenting the first auction item!”
“Personal Skill: Challenge!”
“Please look at the big screen; the skill level and effect will be displayed!”
Personal Skill: Challenge
Class-exclusive: Berserk Shieldbearer, Purple-grade skill
Effect: Forces a single entity (player, zombie, or wild creature) to duel you for 6 seconds. During the first 3 seconds, you gain 20% damage reduction (both sides cannot use any active skills); afterward, you gain an additional 20 lifesteal and reflect damage until the skill ends. No outside player can interfere; only death or time expiration ends the duel.
“Starting bid: 150,000 gold coins. Minimum increase: 1,000 gold coins.”
“Wow! Though it’s single-target control for Berserk Shieldbearers, as long as they don’t die, it’s unlimited boss control! I bid 160,000 gold coins!”
“Captain, calm down! We don’t have a Berserk Shieldbearer, remember?”
“Move aside! We’re not playing professional matches—if I like it, I want it!”
“I bid 200,000 gold coins!”
“I bid 210,000 gold coins!” The captain who offered 160,000 shouted desperately.
‘I bid...’
...
“Ahem, I bid 250,000 gold coins!” a confident Berserk Shieldbearer declared.
“This...”
“Forget it, captain. It’s not worth it; who knows if we’ll ever have a Berserk Shieldbearer in the team. Spending nearly 300,000 on something irrelevant is a waste!”
...
“Any more bidders? Three, two, one—congratulations to this player for winning the Challenge skill! Please prepare your gold coins for exchange at the end, or exchange now if you wish.”
“Next! Second auction item!”
“Purple set equipment: Will Set, plus a purple-grade battle sword.”
“Please look at the big screen; equipment level and effects are displayed.”
Equipment: Will Set, Will Battle Sword (combo)
Grade: Purple
Class: Warrior
Attributes: Strength +6, Speed +6, Defense +6, plus extra skills
Skills: Heavy Strike, Will
Equipment Skill, Heavy Strike: Will Battle Sword active skill—Base power 100%, frontal attack power +100%
Equipment Skill, Will: Full Will set plus Will weapon, power +100%, passive attack speed +10%
“Starting bid: 1 million gold coins, minimum increase: 10,000 gold coins!”
“What? Isn’t purple gear usually 100,000 gold coins?”
“You know nothing! 100,000 is for a single piece, this is a set! And the skills have no cooldown!”
“I bid 1.1 million!”
“I bid 1.5 million!”
...
In Blood Ocean’s private box, Liu Tao was napping, having told his teammates to wake him for good items.
“Captain, trouble! Warrior equipment, purple set, way stronger than my green gear!”
“Hm? What? Purple gear, a whole set? Snatch it for me!”
Just as he lay down, he heard, “Blood Ocean team bids 3 million gold coins. Any higher?”
The bidder only had 500 million gold coins on hand, whispering to the captain, “How much did we bring?”
“No need to bring; you can recharge gold coins. One currency unit equals ten gold coins, a thousand units is ten thousand coins. How much do you want?”
“Uh~ no need.”
...
“Three, two, one, congratulations! Blood Ocean team player...”
“Good! Next, third auction item!”
“Pet: Wood Boa”
“Please look at the big screen; pet level and skill effects are displayed!”
“Starting bid: 10 million gold coins, unlimited increments.”
Pet: Wood Boa Egg
Name: Unnamed
Grade: Orange
Skill: Devour Master
Pet Skill, Devour Master: Swallows the owner whole; all damage hits the boa, not the owner. The owner can see outside through the boa’s eyes. The owner’s fierce attacks won’t harm their own pet. Note: A unique form of possession, recommended for ranged players.
“Damn! Orange-grade pet, at least 10 million gold coins. Perfect for ranged players.”
“10 million gold coins!”
...
“Three, two, one, congratulations! Bamboo Clear team bids 20 million gold coins.”
“Next, items submitted by free players!”
‘Fourth auction item: Experience Card Recipe.’
“Please look at the big screen; recipe data, grade, and required materials are shown.”
Recipe: Experience Card Recipe (+50%)
Quality: Green grade
Materials: One Ascension Stone, 10 gold coins
Skill required: Beginner Crafter
“Starting bid: 15 gold coins, minimum increment: 5 gold coins.”
“I bid 20 gold coins!”
“I bid 50 gold coins!”
“Captain, should we buy this?”
“Buy!”
“Oh! Got it!”
“Blood Ocean team, 100 gold coins!”
“Bamboo Clear team, 200 gold coins!”
“Damn, you jumped straight to 100—little brat! Dare to compete with me, I’ll kill you! 500 gold coins!”
“Damn you! You just upped it by 300 for no reason. Vice-captain, take him away,” Liu Tao cursed, heart aching—500 gold coins could buy a yellow-grade recipe.
“No more bids? Three, two, one—congratulations to Blood Ocean team!”
“Fifth auction item: The System!”
“Please look at the big screen; the item’s introduction, grade, and skill effects are displayed.”
Item: System (Replica)
Grade: None
Description: Compress power, decompose power, redo decomposition, restart, begin compression
Skills: Return to Origin, Struggle Like a Trapped Beast
Item Skill: Return to Origin
Note: Mirror-type item, system-exclusive skill
Effect: Reflects ranged attacks (melee ineffective), sends power back. After reflection, the system disappears and begins a new cycle, growing stronger each time, but never disappears permanently.
Item Skill: Struggle Like a Trapped Beast
Note: Mirror-type item, system-exclusive skill
Effect: Uses all its power to compress and unleash a blast over an area.
“Although I don’t know the limit of reflected power, my attack can be reflected back. Starting bid: 10 million gold coins, no limit to increments.”
After hearing this, the players fell silent. They didn’t know whether the reflection would return her full attack or just a portion. If full power, it’s worth it—could take down monsters under level eight. If not, it’s a waste.
“Bamboo Clear team, 11 million gold coins!”
“Captain, buy or not?”
“Watch the players. Just reading these words, we can’t tell if it’s real or if the item can be brought into the professional matches.”
At that moment, a player nearby couldn’t sit still—his family urgently needed money. If the bid reached 20 million, next time the gold coin to cash event opens, he could get 2.2 million cash, solving his family’s crisis.
He hurried backstage and spoke to the staff.
Soon after, someone went onstage to speak with Honghong, who announced again:
“The item’s seller says two players may come up—one uses all their power to attack it, the other uses the item…”
Two eager level 30 mages stepped forward: “We’ll try. Are you sure you’ll use full power, and it won’t break?”
“If you break it, I won’t charge a penny and will prove it’s a fake,” Honghong joked.
“All right, here we go—Rain of Fire!” Without hesitation, the mage wanted to show off his skill [Rain of Fire].
“Wait, don’t attack yet—how do you use this? Damn!” The mage who held the item didn’t know how to use it, but saw his friend attack, all the damage hitting the mirror and reflecting back.
The Rain of Fire caster saw an even more powerful Rain of Fire reflected—this wasn’t Rain of Fire, but Firestorm.
Honghong intervened, casually deflecting and crushing the reflected attack, which lasted three or four seconds.
In the end, Honghong’s strength overcame the reflected attack.
Instantly, the whole venue cheered—such a masterful display, even the top expert didn’t stop it immediately.
“I bid 13 million!”
“I bid 20 million!”
The Bamboo Clear team captain gnashed his teeth—he could have saved money, but now had to spend big.
“Bamboo Clear team, 25 million!”
“Haha, Bamboo Clear girl, I won’t let you have it, I bid 30 million!”
“Hmph, Brother Tao, I just let you have something earlier—now you want to snatch my item? Shameless!”
“No worries—Brother Tao can give you back the experience recipe, just let me have this, I bid 40 million!”
“Hmph, you stinky man—I bid 50 million!”
“I bid—” Instantly, the vice-captain covered his mouth.
“We, Blood Ocean team, are out!” Quietly, he told Liu Tao, “Captain, wait for the next round. We need Starshine Stones and Warrior purple gear—we’re melee, this item is useless in their hands.”
“Oh! Right, absolutely right. Bamboo Clear girl, I’m out—I give it to you!”
“Hmph, I won it fair and square. How can you say you gave it to me? Shameless!”
“I...” “Captain, don’t shout! Calm down!”
...
“Congratulations...”