Chapter 341: The Auction Began
“Young Master Casey, I was wrong. I beg you. Please stop hitting me.”
Glenn’s face was covered in blood when he collapsed. When Casey kicked him, he had no idea how many of his bones were broken. He could only plead for mercy.
He had determined Casey to be a gold-tier elite, and he did not expect his assessment to be incorrect. Initially, he intended to beat up Casey to vent his rage. After all, Casey was already wounded. However, Casey had vanished just as he was about to make a move. Then he experienced intense pain in his lower back.
Casey had already stepped on him by the time he reacted. During that time, he had intended to resist, but an unseen force engulfed him, causing the combat aura in his body to stop circulating. He could not even move.
As a result, he could only accept the beating. Casey had already kicked him for ten minutes since the fight began.
“If you say that you are not going to fight, then don’t fight. Doesn’t that make me look bad? Do you understand why I am beating you? I heard you took the stuff that I had lost. Tell me where Alice is right now. If you tell me, I might leave your family a body for burial.”
Watson stepped on Glenn and acted arrogantly, just like Casey would.
So that was what it was all about.
Glenn realized why Casey had raced into his room. It was not because he was inebriated; he was there for revenge. Only a few people knew that he had captured several mermaids. Where did he get that information? Was one of his subordinates a traitor?
Casey looked at the four men on the ground. They were already awake, but they were crouched at the corner with hands on their heads. When they stared at Watson, it was with terror. They wanted to help Glenn, but they were too afraid.
‘A shitload of garbage.’
While he cursed those subordinates in his heart, Glenn said, “Young Master Casey, it was a mistake. I had no idea the stuff belonged to you. My men saw a few mermaids in the city and mistook them for intruders, so they apprehended them! We would have sent those mermaids to your house if we had known they were your property. I apologize.”
“Do not change the subject now. Where is Alice?”
“I have no idea where she is right now. I gave her to the higher-ups, and they didn’t tell me anything.”
Watson grimaced when he heard Glenn’s words. He could tell Glenn was lying because he noticed his eyes straying as he spoke. It was not difficult for him, who had attained platinum-tier status, to carefully see all of Glan’s micro-expressions.
“Are you certain you don’t know? If you lie to me, the consequences will be disastrous.”
“I truly don’t know, Young Master Casey.”
“Very well.”
Watson nodded and did not ask any more questions. Instead, he turned to face the four other men, who were gathered in the corner of the wall. “What about you?”
“We are not sure either.”
The four men shook their heads in unison, their eyes flashing.
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Watson closed his eyes. “System fusion, activate.”
Following his voice, the four guys huddled in the corner transformed into flowing lights and entwined with one another, transforming into a muscular man nearly three meters tall with distinct muscles.
[Congratulations, Master, for fusing a gold-tier warrior attendant.]
[Gold-tier attendant: unnamed]
[Ability: master water and wind dual-elemental combat aura, as well as gold-tier combat strength.]
[Additional abilities: Muscle Hardening (when released, the muscles are as hard as steel, increasing strength by 100 percent and defense by 300 percent), Fearless (greatly increased immunity to spiritual attacks).]
“What is going on?”
Glenn stood there bewildered as his four subordinates vanished and were replaced with an unfamiliar man.
“I will ask you again. Where is Alice?” Watson asked the recently-fused gigantic man.
“Princess Alice was delivered to the Severed Fingers Gang’s higher-ups. They are planning an auction at the Iris Flower Tavern tomorrow. Princess Alice would most probably be transported to the venue.”
The tenacious man knelt on one knee. As he responded respectfully, the huge power caused the entire room’s floor to vibrate.
“Excellent.”
Watson turned around and stormed out after obtaining what he desired. At that moment, he was startled to hear a fearful voice behind him. “Young Master Casey, are you going to let me go?”
Glenn’s face had already distorted from fear. He could hardly fathom what Watson had done. Magic? Sorcery?
What kind of power could cause four of his gang members to merge and respond to Watson’s words respectfully? Whatever it was, he felt he had seen something he could not see.
“Of course, I will let you go, but at the same time, you will become a good person.”
Watson had grasped what was going on in the tavern just as he arrived. He did not plan to hold back against the scum like Glenn.
“No, Young Master Casey, I was mistaken. I was completely mistaken...”
“System fusion, activate.”
As Watson said that, Glenn’s voice came to an abrupt halt. He fused with the fused bodies of his four subordinates. After that, the attendant’s body had shrunk significantly. His face had also changed into Glenn’s appearance, but the aura from his body had grown stronger. He had reached the peak of gold-tier.
Compared to before, the attendant had an additional skill called the Hand of Theft. He could obtain items from other parties even more easily.
Watson stepped out of the room, carrying Glenn, who had just been fused. Elena and her friends were whispering to each other when he arrived. When they saw him, the two mermaids approached him and apologized to him. “We are sorry. We’ve misunderstood you, Young Master Casey. Thank you for coming to our aid.”
They noticed Glenn, who was standing next to Watson, while they chatted. They looked wary; magic ingredients swelled in their hands as they were ready to release magic, but Watson intervened.
“Don’t be scared. This person is now my subordinate. I have already determined where Alice is. She will be auctioned off later, and Glenn will lead the way for us.”
“Yes, my master. Please stay with me. I will take you right to the auction.” Glenn knelt on one knee and bowed his head to Watson.
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What?
The three mermaids shook their heads in bewilderment. It did not seem like a mental control. How did Watson do it? It was too amazing.
“Did Young Master Casey truly subdue him? Could he be faking it?”
Bella took a step in front of Glenn and extended her hand to test him. Glenn, on the other hand, let Bella choke him by the neck. He only rolled his eyes and did not say anything.
“Okay, Bella. He will die if this continues.”
Elena intervened just in time to stop Bella. “It is much better if he dies. Based on what he did to us, dying a hundred times is not enough for him to alleviate my rage,” Bella growled.
“The most important thing right now is to find Alice. If you want revenge, I can give you Glenn after this,” Watson said.
He fused Glenn to gain information and incite friction between the Severed Fingers Gang and the Ptolemy family. It did not look like the Severed Fingers Gang would go down without a fight.
The Ptolemy family and the Severed Fingers Gang, in Watson’s perspective, were not good people. He had a limited amount of time in the floating city. It would be better to let the two forces fight each other, as both sides would suffer huge losses in the end. With that notion in mind, a daring idea came to him. Later, he would not only save Alice, but he would also work to clean up the city.
....
In the auction hall ten minutes later.
Watson sat in the first row of the auction hall; he was still acting like he was Young Master Casey. Three mermaid ladies stood by him. Elena sat on his lap, her fair arms wrapped around his neck. Bella and Rose sat on the seats on either side of him. They were both leaning against him, and their faces were hot.
The three mermaids wore simple outfits. Their legs were covered with a layer of mist-like gauze, and their upper bodies were only covered by shells on their chests. Most of their beautiful skin was exposed because they were leaning against Watson. Their skin occasionally touched Watson’s body, causing their bodies to heat up gradually, and the air they exhaled was hot air.
“Young Master Watson, this position is very humiliating. Can we please sit further apart?”
Bella lowered her voice and murmured into Watson’s ear, feeling the envious and jealous gazes from all directions.
“I am sorry; please bear with me for the time being. I am not at ease in this role, either, but I am playing Casey. Others will be suspicious of me if I don’t do that.”
He got to hug two women from left and right, and he got Glenn to clear the seats on that floor so no one would sit next to him. It was to expose Casy’s pride and tyranny.
“That’s Young Master Casey, right? He has occupied the entire first row by himself. He’s too overbearing. Does he really think that his family owns the Crystal Palace?”
“Well, they do own the Crystal Palace. After all, the Ptolemy family is the largest force in the floating city! Even though the Crystal Palace has the Ptolemy family, Severed Fingers Gang, and other forces’ strongholds, the Ptolemy family still has the majority.”
A faint voice from the back row entered Watson’s ears and made him sigh in relief. It seemed that his acting skills were quite good. He did not notice that Elena, who was in his arms, had been watching him since the beginning. Her beautiful eyes glistened with tears.
It was highly unpleasant for Elena to be in the arms of a human, especially Casey, who had once kidnapped her. She did not, however, experience any dislike at that moment. Instead, she had wished for more time.
The marine race was not like humans. They had more females than males in their tribe. One could say that the social organization of the sea folks was primarily female. As a result, many of them were unable to find a partner. Some of the sailors had misheard the lyrics and believed they had fallen in love with the mermaid. That was the origin of the mermaid’s fairytale.
However, even though the young man sitting with Elena was a human, he was different from the average human. He clearly had greater power, but he was not arrogant or impatient—he was kind. If she could become a partner with such a human, perhaps it would not be a hateful thing.
Elena shook her head; her face had reddened. Then, she scolded herself in her heart. ‘Elena, you’re still not sure if Alice is safe, but you are actually thinking about nonsense here. You really have no shame.”
Even so, she still looked at Watson’s focused eyes and subconsciously tightened her arms. That young man always appeared at the critical moment when she was in danger. He had helped her so much, but she did not know how to repay him. Perhaps she could only repay him with her body. She thought of that out of gratitude.
She must have felt thankful for him; that was probably what she was feeling.
Elena was still daydreaming when the emcee suddenly spoke, interrupting her thoughts.
“Distinguished Guests, sorry to have kept you waiting. The auction will begin immediately!”
Chapter 342: The Cursed Painting And The Undead Calamity
When Watson turned to face the auctioneer, he saw a man in a black clown mask and a tuxedo standing in front of him. A scarlet curtain draped the stage behind the man. It was unknown what was placed on the stage.
“I am an auctioneer from the Crystal Palace auction house. You can call me Mr. K. There should be quite a number of people here who know me! I know that everyone is impatient about the upcoming auction, so I won’t waste your time. Now, let’s introduce the first item in our auction house.
“This is a product from the Tudor dynasty about 1,200 years ago. It’s called the Undead Calamity!”
As the auctioneer’s voice boomed, everyone’s emotions were quickly roused. Other than Watson, there were also quite a number of wealthy people who were dressed luxuriously. Many of them were wearing masks. They did not want others to know their true identities. Many young and beautiful women stood next to them.
Those women did not look inferior to the high-quality slaves who were easily sold for thousands of gold coins. Most of them were not with the noblemen. Instead, they were the auction house’s handmaidens. They were scantily clothed, and their eyes were flirtatious. They were very good at arousing men’s desires.
Watson was impressed by the design of the auction house. First, the auctioneer would stimulate the audience’s emotions, and then those beautiful women would arouse men’s desire to express themselves. The price of the items would increase by multiple folds.
While he was lamenting, two equally beautiful maids dressed in revealing clothes walked out from the red curtain on the stage because of the auctioneer’s words. The two maids were holding a crystal tray in their hands. On top of the tray was a cage made of anti-magic materials. Inside the cage was a thundercloud the size of a human head that was constantly moving.
On stage, two similarly stunning maids emerged behind the crimson curtain while he was lamenting the auctioneer’s remarks. They held a crystal tray in their hands. A cage built of anti-magic materials sat atop the tray. Inside the cage was a moving thundercloud about the size of a human head.
It was a black thundercloud, and it had black lightning flashed continuously in it. Skull-shaped human heads emerged from the depths of the Thundercloud. Sometimes, they dissipated, and sometimes, they condensed into terrifying monsters.
[Gold-tier special item: Undead Calamity]
[Effect: formed from the undead, it can evolve continuously. The more undead it absorbs, the stronger its effect. Undead Summon (release the souls of the dead to fight the enemy), soul capture (can forcefully absorb the souls of others, weakening the effect on gold-tier elites and above), and Death Curse (cast a curse on a specific group of people, causing them to die within three days).]
[Additional effects: Black Goat’s Egg (allows all the undead within the Undead Calamity to devour each other, leaving only the strongest one. The remaining undead will evolve into the legendary Black Goat, gaining the strength of platinum-tier for a short period).]
“This is a gold-tier item. As the Tudor dynasty was too long ago, its historical records are difficult to verify. The appraiser has not thoroughly researched its effects, but its initial ability is very powerful! This item can devour the undead and release the undead to protect its owner. Possessing this item is equivalent to having an invisible army.
“Distinguished guests, you are all famous people in the bloating city. Nothing is more important than your safety. If your enemies ambush you, or if all of your guards die while you are out hunting, releasing the Undead Calamity will undoubtedly save you from danger! The price of this item starts at 1,000 gold coins. The price of each bid must not be less than 100 gold coins. Everyone, you may begin.”
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The auctioneer’s remarks were certainly provocative. Someone on stage immediately began bidding when he finished speaking.
“1,000 gold coins!”
“I bid 1,200 gold coins.”
“2,000 gold coins!”
The gorgeous waitresses that accompanied those wealthy people began to speak after their bids were accepted.
“Wow, that man bids 3,000 gold coins. He must be extremely well-off,” one said.
“The man over there offered 5,000 gold coins. He is not just wealthy, but he is also a hottie. I would gladly switch places with the girl next to him if I could,” another said.
Those words inadvertently stoked the egos of the wealthy people near them. Those words unintentionally stimulated the pride of the rich people nearby. What did she mean by the boss in the distance was rich and handsome? Were they not all handsome?
Even if their physical appearance were a little lacking, they had no qualms about sharing their money with others. They would be humiliated if they allowed the gorgeous women sitting next to them to switch seats for the sake of convenience.
Under those circumstances, the price of the Undead Calamity quickly climbed to 10,000 gold coins. The cost soared by a factor of ten, and the increase was unabated.
“I bid 50,000 gold coins. I want that undead Calamity.”
At that moment, a voice came from the front row of the auction hall, causing the entire place to fall into silence.
The new bid of 50,000 gold coins was 50 times the starting price. Who had made such a high bid? Everyone else had raised the price by a few hundred gold coins, and some had raised the price by a few thousand gold coins. Yet, that person had raised the price by tens of thousands of gold coins in one go. Was it because his family had too much money, or did that person understand the Undead Calamity’s real purpose and knew that item’s worth?
The entire audience’s attention was drawn to a young man sitting in the first row, where uncertainties abounded. That young man had golden-brown hair and was dressed in a sumptuous royal blue robe, but he had kept to himself. One might not think that he was a nobleman because of the bandages on his arms and the scars on his face.
“Isn’t that the Ptolemy family’s second young master?”
Many folks breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the bidder. It appeared that he was only looking to buy items out of interest and not because he was aware of its effect. The item’s scarcity discouraged many would-be buyers. Plus, the second young master had proposed such an exorbitant sum. They would offend the other party if they kept raising the price. It was not a good idea to irritate the Ptolemys with that kind of behavior.
“We have 50,000 gold coins! The Young Master Casey has offered to bid 50,000 gold coins. Is there anyone else who wants to raise the price? So, 50,000 gold coins going once, 50,000 gold coins going twice.”
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At that point, the masked auctioneer deliberately glanced at the people in the auction hall. He knew that no one would want to raise the price anymore. He picked up a wooden mallet on the table in front of him and knocked it. “Yes, sold for 50,000 gold. This item shall belong to Young Master Casey.”
As soon as his voice fell, the two beauties on the stage carried the crystal tray and cage to the first row below the stage.
“Young Master Casey, the price of this item is 50,000 gold coins. Will you pay by cash or check?”
“Put it on my tab first. I still have many things to buy. I’ll pay after the auction is over.”
Watson pouted and gestured for them to write the check. The two beauties immediately took out the check and signed it as Casey after Watson nodded his agreement. Then, they placed the Undead Calamity at Watson’s feet.
“Watson, Casey merely sent someone to get 20,000 gold coins, and now you are asking for 50,000 gold coins?” Elena questioned worriedly as the two maids walked away with the check. She was in Watson’s arms. “Do you really have that much cash on you? You even bought it right from the start. Would you have enough money to buy Princess Alice later?”
Elena was not worried that Watson would not be able to fork out 50,000 gold coins. Watson must have amassed a sizable fortune to have achieved the platinum-tier at such a young age. She was only concerned about Alice’s safety and thought it was ridiculous for Watson to spend 50 times as much money on a non-essential artifact from the Tudor dynasty.
“Don’t worry. I will have enough money.”
Watson made a wish on his ring while he spoke, but his disguise magic obscured it. He had made a few wishes that day, but it was still not enough. If one had 30 chances to make a wish, one could multiply the 20,000 gold coins an infinite number of times.
“Furthermore, it is not a loss to spend 50,000 gold coins to buy that Undead Calamity because that item can unleash the power of platinum-tier for a short period. Even though there is only one chance, I will be able to change that problem with just a little bit of fusion.”
Watson did not say what was in his heart. He had an advantage over the other people because he could view all of the item’s details in the system and use fusion to boost its quality.
He no longer cared about money. He wished he had some of those enchanted stuff instead. Instead of auctioning off a few things to demonstrate his wealth, he wanted to buy everything at the auction to match Casey’s character. It was a gold-tier item anyway. He had no idea what was in store for him after that.
“Since the first item has already been auctioned off, let’s take a look at the second item. It is also a gold-tier item. It is called Daphne’s Eyes. It’s a painting! This painting was painted by a famous painter in the kingdom a hundred years ago. The painter died not long after he did the painting, and everyone who saw it died too, one after another.”
The auctioneer clapped his hands, and the two maids from before walked out with a tall shelf. There was obviously a painting on the shelf, but it was covered with a black cloth.
The auctioneer looked mysterious as he motioned for the two maids to remove the black cloth. “This painting is also known as the Cursed Painting Scroll. I will now display that painting in front of everyone. You must be extremely careful not to look at the girl’s eyes in the painting.”
It was tense after he made that remark. There was tension in the room, whether or not anyone realized it.
The canvas ripped off with a sound. Many of the attendees tensed up uneasily. However, they were relieved because the canvas was a painting of a young child crying and curled up in a ball. However, a little black cloth covered the young girl’s eyes. The auctioneer was clearly kidding with everyone and did not intend to put them at risk in the first place.
“The price of this painting starts at 2,000 gold coins. Each increment must not be less than 100 gold coins.”
He smiled smugly as he noticed how well the mood had been set by then.
As soon as he finished speaking, no one raised the price. Then, a familiar voice came from the front row of the auction house.
“I bid 100,000 gold coins. I want that painting.”
Chapter 343: I’ll Buy All The Items
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“For 100,000 gold coins, really?”
Everyone followed the voice and saw that the bidder was Casey, who was still sitting in the first row. They were all a little dumbfounded.
A sum of 100,000 gold coins was not a small amount for some of the less influential noblemen in the floating city. In fact, that was all of their wealth. However, Casey did not hesitate to shout out such a sum just to buy a painting—even the Ptolemy family was not so wealthy.
“Is Young Master Casey drunk? Or did he earn a lot of money from somewhere?”
Many people were confused. After hearing Casey’s bid of 100,000 gold coins, they did not dare to raise the price anymore. Spending more than 100,000 gold coins to buy a cursed painting—was not that crazy?
“No more bids? Then, that painting shall belong to Young Master Casey.”
The black-masked man in charge of the auction was also a little surprised. He did not expect the Ptolemy family’s second young master to bid for two consecutive lots. He looked at Casey and realized that three beautiful women surrounded him. He had understood the situation.
Presumably, that young master had just found three beautiful women and wanted to show off in front of them. That was why he was so generous. It was enough to bid for those two lots. He expected that other people would not raise the price under such circumstances, so the auctioneer could not be bothered to ask the third time. He immediately asked his subordinate to put the painting in front of Casey and was prepared to auction the third item.
“The third item is a peak gold-tier weapon forged by the kingdom’s most famous forge master, Master Berlin. The price starts at 5,000 gold coins...”
“There’s no need for that. 250,000 gold coins. I’ll take it.”
The entire venue was stifled again because the person who shouted the price was still Casey.
“Young Master Casey, are you sure you want that item?” The auctioneer’s voice also stopped abruptly, as if he had forgotten what the next line was.
He initially thought that Casey intended to show off his ability in front of the three women, but it seemed that it was not the case at all. In addition, the money that Casey had thrown into the auction had already reached several hundred thousand gold coins. It was enough for Casey to buy hundreds of high-quality maids and enjoy a different kind of enjoyment every day.
“Of course, I like that sword very much. 250,000 gold coins. If it’s not enough, I’ll add more.”
Casey, who was Watson, leaned back on the chair and spoke arrogantly.
The blade on the stage was obviously the work of a master. It was gorgeous, and there were seven gemstones inlaid on the hilt. A lifelike giant dragon coiled around it as if it wanted to swallow the gemstones. The entire sword emitted a sharp aura, even from a distance. One could still see its sharpness.
“He bid 250,000 gold coins! Young Master Casey must be crazy today. Did he bring so much money?”
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Faint discussions could be heard from the seats behind them. Everyone looked at Watson as if they were looking at a madman.
“Young Master Casey, to ensure the orderly conduct of the auction, this auction item does not support checks but only cash payments. We need to verify whether the number of gold coins you have is sufficient for payment. May you cooperate with us, Young Master Casey?”
The auctioneer’s eyes flickered as he said that. He could not help but suspect that Casey had drunk too much and had come to the auction house to act crazily. Perhaps it was all drunken talks.
“If you want to verify it, then hurry up and do it. Don’t waste my time.”
Watson maintained his arrogance as he vented his anger on the ceiling.
“I’m sorry, Young Master Casey, for offending you.”
The two maids went to Watson and put a large box by his feet. The real Casey had brought that money, and after Watson had knocked him unconscious, it was Watson’s turn to carry it with him.
Crash!
They opened the box, and the gold coins rolled out with a loud sound.
The two maids bent forward and checked the gold coins in front of them. Their faces darkened as they continued to inspect the gold coins. One of them said, “Young Master Casey, there are only 20,000 gold coins here. Are you sure this is all there is?”
“So Casey doesn’t have enough money. He was the one who bid on all those items just now. D*mn it! Is he only here to cause trouble? We didn’t even get a single item just now.”
They heard more complaints, and the auctioneer on the platform looked upset. At that moment, Watson smiled and twisted the ring on his finger. “Don’t worry, who said that’s all I have? I just have too much money, so it’s not convenient for me to take it with me.”
As he spoke, the gold coins in the box in front of him suddenly began to split. One became two, two became four. In a short time, the money in the box had increased hundreds of times, turning into a mountain of gold several meters high. The two maids were almost buried in it.
“What’s going on?”
Everyone was dumbfounded. When the two maids finally climbed out of the pile of gold with great difficulty, the crowd snapped back to their senses. They looked at Watson in disbelief. Did Watson steal the Ptolemy family’s money?
“There are five million gold coins here. Is it enough to buy those few items?”
“It’s, it’s enough.”
The two handmaidens did not dare to say anything else.
“Do you still want to continue checking?”
“There’s no need, Young Master Casey. Please wait a moment. We will immediately pack up and send the third item over for you.”
What a joke! It was like a mountain of gold. Why would they still check? It was a little exaggerated to say that those gold coins could buy the entire auction house. However, it would not be a problem to buy most of the items in the auction house.
Even Elena, Bella, and Rose also gasped. It was as if they had just met Watson for the first time. If it were not for the fact that they had to cooperate with Watson to disguise themselves, they really wanted to dive into the mountain of gold and enjoy the taste of rolling in gold. That might be the only chance for them to experience it in their entire lives.
“Ahem, the fourth item is up for sale. That item is a gold-tier advanced magic source potion. After drinking it, one’s magic can be replenished tenfold in a day! The price starts at 10,000 gold coins. Each increment must not be less than 500 gold coins.”
“I bid 500,000 gold coins!”
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Watson spoke almost at the same time as the auctioneer.
“Again?”
“Is there no end to this? Is Casey planning to buy all the items at the auction? What’s the point of us participating in this?”
Many people in the auction hall looked furious. They stood up abruptly, glanced at the pile of gold in front of Watson, and sat back down. In terms of power, they definitely could not compare to the Ptolemy family, and in terms of wealth, they could not compare to Watson, who had brought a pile of gold. They were suffering.
“Everyone, please don’t get excited. I plan to offer 50 times the price of each item. If you want to raise the price, I’ll see if I’ll continue with the bid! As you can see, I have five million gold coins now. Even if it’s an average of 200,000 to 300,000 gold coins per item, I can still buy dozens of items.
“In other words, I will buy all the items here.”
Watson slowly stood up and looked around. He was covered in bruises and looked very comical, but no one dared to laugh. Instead, they felt a sense of pride.
Was he the same Ptolemy family’s second young master?
Many people have that thought in their hearts. At that moment, Casey did not look like a good-for-nothing young master. Instead, he looked like a person who had enjoyed a high status for a while.
“I want to ask everyone—are you not satisfied with how I do things?”
No one responded. Even if they were dissatisfied, they would not say it out loud.
It was as if he could see through their thoughts. Watson said, “Of course, it’s a little too overbearing to buy the entire place by myself. I plan to give everyone some compensation! If you want to sell the slaves you bought in the Crystal Palace or the slaves you already have in the family, you can come to me. I will also pay fifty times the price. I am happy today. I want to buy out the entire place, and I will pay for whatever you spend here in the Crystal Palace. I hope you can consider it.”
Fifty times the price! If those rich people could sell a few handmaidens, the price difference would allow them to earn a lot of gold coins. Not only would it offset their spending there, but it would also allow them to make a lot of money.
For a moment, most of them were tempted.
“Young Master Casey, do you mean what you said?”
“When have I ever lied?”
“If that’s the case, Young Master Casey, the two women beside me are the slaves I just bought from the Iris Flower Tavern. Their original price is 1,000 gold coins. I will sell them to you.”
A well-dressed noble came in front of Watson. He was holding a chain in his hand, which was tied around the necks of the two female elves. It caused a mark to appear on their snow-white necks. The two elves seemed to be sisters; they were about 14 or 15 years old. Their beautiful eyes were stained with tears, and their tiny faces were gray. They were trembling with fear as they approached Watson.
“Very good, I’ll buy these two. These 50,000 gold coins are yours.”
Watson pouted, and a large lump of gold coins immediately floated from the mountain of gold in front of him. It was precisely 50,000 gold coins, and it landed in front of the nobleman.
“Thank you, Young Master Casey. I won’t be staying for the auction. I wish you a pleasant stay here.” The nobleman could not stop smiling when he saw the gold coins. He hurriedly put the gold coins into a leather suitcase and turned around to leave.
Two slaves for 50,000 gold coins! That business was too profitable.
As that person left, everyone was in an uproar.
“Young Master Casey, I have three slaves here. Their original price is 1,500 gold coins.”
“I have many slaves by my side. Take mine first. I have ten slaves in the Crystal Palace. According to the price, Young Master Casey should give me 500,000 gold coins!”
“Young Master Casey, my slaves are not by my side but in my mansion. What should I do?”
For a moment, the auction house was filled with people. The men rushed toward Watson while the women looked at Watson with complicated eyes. They did not expect that Casey would want to buy a large number of slaves or the auction house. As they thought of the rumors about Casey, they were worried about the women. At the same time, they were also very envious. The way Casey was spending his money at that moment was really tempting.. If Casey did not have the bad habit of ravaging women, everyone would like them more.
Chapter 344: The Statue Of The Goddess Of Misfortune
The people in the auction house had undergone a significant transformation within one hour.
The wealthy individuals had sold their female slaves. Even though the chains from the female slaves’ wrists and ankles had been removed, none dared to flee. They only cast a wary eye on Watson, who was sitting in the first row.
At that moment, besides Elena and the other two women, Watson was surrounded by many auction staff. Most of the other wealthy men had left; they knew that they could not buy anything else even though they were eager to spend some money. So, the staff could only accompany Watson.
Consequently, Watson had become the auction firm’s sole luminary. There were a large number of attractive women all around him. Those few remaining noblemen seemed envious after seeing that spectacle.
They were curious about the auction items and what was missing; they would not leave until they had seen them all. Watson only had a small amount of the gold in his hands as he had bought many slaves. He was down to a few hundred thousand gold coins out of the original five million. He might not be able to afford all of the subsequent purchases. They still had a chance.
“Watson, why did you spend so much money to buy those slaves?”
Elena’s face was flushed with confusion as she watched Watson’s bank account balance decline once more. She was not a fool if she could become Alice’s guard. She could guess what was in Watson’s mind. He purchased those slaves to save them and to drive those wealthy men away.
“To save one is to save all, and to save a group is to save all. I intend to do all in my power to free all the slaves in the Crystal Palace.” When Watson finally spoke up, it was in a low, hushed voice.
It was as expected.
Elena’s expression seemed more complicated. She wanted Watson to only focus on Alice and only to save Alice. However, she knew that it was selfish, and Watson would not agree to it. She was safe because Watson was a selfless person. Otherwise, she would have been abused by the Severed Fingers Gang, and she would be living a life worse than death.
While Elena was lamenting, the auctioneer on the stage also began the auction quickly. “The original price of this item is 1,000 gold coins. Young Master Casey has given us a price of 50,000 gold coins. Is there any higher price? If there isn’t, Young Master Casey will get it.”
“And the auction item... well, forget it. I might as well bring the remaining less than ten auction items up here. You guys can look at the bids. If no one is offering more than Young Master Casey, then those items will belong to the Ptolemy family.”
Perhaps that was the fastest auction in the auctioneer’s entire life. Typically, 20 items would last for half a day, but the auction had ended in two hours. One of the hours was because Watson was buying slaves.
The wealthy men did not say anything. There was nothing worth buying in the subsequent items; those few items would simply fall into Watson’s pockets.
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“Young Master Casey has accomplished a great feat this time. He bought all the items and even bought a lot of slaves. I wonder what he’s going to do? If he misappropriated the Ptolemy family’s assets, he’d definitely be miserable when he goes back.”
“I don’t think so. No matter how bold Casey is, he wouldn’t dare to do that unless he wanted to give up the right to inherit the family! I guess the Ptolemy family must have instructed him to do that. I wonder why?”
The few noblemen in the venue knew that the auction was over. They stood up and discussed in low voices.
“Everyone, please wait a moment. The auction isn’t over yet. We still have one last item.”
The auctioneer’s voice attracted the gazes of the men who were about to leave. Immediately after that, the stage with the red curtain suddenly opened. Behind the curtain was a huge glass wall; it was filled with sky-blue seawater. There were corals and schools of fish in the seawater. Under the illumination of the lights, they looked gorgeous. However, those were not the most beautiful things in it.
It was the most beautiful little mermaid they had ever seen. Two bright white shells covered her newly developed chest. Her sky-blue hair floated in the water as the crystal crown on her head appeared. The little mermaid’s face was perfect. Her round eyes seemed sad as she looked outside through the transparent glass.
“This mermaid is a precious species that we caught yesterday. According to the crown on her head, we guessed that she is part of the royal family of the sea folks, and her bloodline is very pure! According to ancient records, every royal family member has an ability that is different from the other sea folks. When they are in love, their tears will turn into pearls. If a mermaid princess falls in love with a man who makes her cry continuously, that person will obtain an endless amount of wealth.”
Then, he continued to say, “It’s not only that, but the body of the mermaid princess is also incomparable to that of an average sea folk. She can bring an incomparable experience to men! As the final item, the price of this mermaid princess will start at 100,000 gold coins. Each increment should not be less than 10,000 gold coins. However, Young Master Casey had offered 50 times the price of each item. Therefore, the current price of this mermaid princess is 5,000,000 gold coins. There shouldn’t be anyone competing with Young Master Casey. Of course, if Young Master Casey doesn’t have enough money, it is also possible to lower the price.”
The auctioneer glanced at the few remaining gold coins in front of Watson.
When they first caught the mermaid princess, someone from the Severed Finger Gang had wanted to keep it as a tool to make money. However, the higher-ups rejected it because the mermaid princess would only cry when she fell in love with someone. It was easier said than done to make the mermaid princess fall in love with a human trafficker. In addition, the sea folks would have their revenge. So, they still decided to sell it.
“Who said that I don’t have enough money?”
Watson smiled and twisted the ring on his finger again. The pile of gold coins in front of him immediately began to glow and multiply, from hundreds of thousands to five million gold coins. The other men’s expression darkened when they saw that. They cursed in their hearts; they had been waiting for Watson to reject that offer due to lack of money.
D*mn, Casey! How could he have so much money?
Watson had already taken out close to ten million gold coins. It was not a tiny amount, even for the Ptolemy family. Everyone thought that the family must have had an ulterior motive. Then, those nobles understood that the Ptolemy family was there for the mermaid princess.
Even though ten million gold coins was a lot, they could earn them back again. However, the mermaid princess’s tears would turn into a pearl as long as she cried. That was an endless amount of wealth. Even if they knew that they would not be able to take out five million to compete with Watson.
“I think no one would be able to compete with my five million gold coins. Then that mermaid will come—”
“Wait a minute; I’ll bid 5,500,000 gold coins!”
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Watson had wanted to say that the mermaid would go to him. At that moment, a hoarse female voice came from the back row of the auction hall and interrupted him.
Frowning, Watson turned his head and found a tall figure in a black robe. A burly man, also in a black robe, was next to her. He deliberately pulled the brim of his hat to cover his face.
“Miss, our auction house has to verify if you have that much money,” the auctioneer asked.
Crash!
As soon as his voice fell, the burly man beside the woman raised his hand. A black hole appeared in the sky, and the azure seawater washed countless pearls forward and fell to the ground—the mountain of pearls piled up higher than the mountain of gold coins in front of Watson.
“Do you still need to verify it?”
“No, no need.”
The auctioneer wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. ‘What’s going on today? Not only did the Ptolemy family’s second young master bring a mountain of gold coins, but those two mysterious people are even more terrifying. They had brought a mountain of pearls. According to the market price, a pearl can be sold for dozens or even hundreds of gold coins.’
The total value of those pearls was estimated to be over a hundred million gold coins.
“What’s going on with those two people?”
Watson observed the two people in the back row. The man glared back at him.
He could see Elena’s body tremble when those two people appeared. However, he did not pay much attention to a plan to save Alice. He turned his head to look at the pile of gold coins in front of him. He was considering whether to double the number of gold coins. He had just created ten million gold coins, but he had only used ten wishes. He still had twenty more chances to make the number of gold coins in front of him reach the trillion level.
However, he was considering whether or not he should do that. A trillion gold coins were enough to blow up the entire auction hall. Furthermore, the Ptolemy family did not have that much money, so it would be hard to explain it when the time came.
Just as he was hesitating, the woman said, “Time is a precious thing. Let’s end this quickly. The total value of our pearls is a million gold coins! That is the limit that we can afford. If Young Master Casey’s bid is not as high as ours, then the mermaid princess will belong to us.”
“Young Master Casey, what do you say?”
The auctioneer looked at Watson. Watson hesitated for a moment but did not multiply the gold coins in front of him. “I really can’t afford 100 million gold coins.”
“In that case, that mermaid princess is...”
“Even though I can’t take out 100 million gold coins, I can give you something more precious.”
Watson stood up and opened his right hand toward the 20 gold or peak gold-tier items that he had just bought. “System fusion, activate.”
[Congratulations, Master, you have fused 20 gold-tier items successfully.]
[You have obtained a peak platinum-tier item—the Goddess of Misfortune Statue.]
Chapter 345: Where Alice Belong
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
[Platinum-tier Peak Special Item: The Goddess of Misfortune Statue.]
[Effect: the Favor of the Goddess (consumes one’s luck in exchange for wealth; the amount of luck consumed is proportional to the amount of wealth exchanged, according to the ratio of one day’s luck to one million gold coins).]
[Additional effect: the Tease of Fate (after luck is consumed, the host will be possessed by bad luck until their death, after which the amount of wealth exchanged will be invalid).]
As the fusion activated, a pitch-black sculpture that was several meters tall immediately appeared in front of Watson. The statue was a half-naked woman. The woman had two heads—one was upside down. The front head had a gentle smile that made people love her, while the other one had fangs; it was abominable. There were twelve pitch-black wings on her back, and they were spread out at an angle that surrounded her entire body. Every feather was lifelike, making people wonder if the wings would flap in the next moment.
The moment he saw that sculpture, Watson understood its specific function. By using his own luck to bless the Goddess of Misfortune Statue, he would be able to exchange it for a million gold coins. If his luck was used up and he died on the first day, he would only receive a million gold coins. If he could live until the second day and still wanted to exchange his luck for wealth, he would receive two million gold coins.
That was a method of risking one’s life to exchange for money. Even though it was a peak platinum-tier item, its two abilities were a little weak. However, Watson could still understand its power. There was no limit to the number of people that could use that method. As long as he could find random homeless people who did not care about their lives, it would be easy to obtain hundreds of millions of gold coins a day if the population was large enough.
“After all, the items bought at that auction are the Undead Calamity and the cursed painting. It’s not strange if I were to fuse them.”
Watson sighed in his heart. If he did not have to save Alice, he would have wanted to leave the statue on Mount Creation. The statue had almost no side effects for him. After all, the angels on the Mount of Creation would not die. At most, they would be a little unlucky. For example, he would choke to death while drinking water or slip and hit his head on a sharp object while walking. Using his luck to exchange for immeasurable wealth was a good deal, no matter how one thought about it.
“Young Master Casey?”
The auctioneer on stage was not the only one at a loss as to the statue Watson had created.
It looked like a statue. According to Watson, that statue was worth more than 100 million gold coins. However, they could not tell what was special about that statue other than the ominous and mysterious aura it exuded.
“That statue is called the Goddess of Misfortune Statue. It is a platinum-tier item. Its function is to exchange one’s luck for wealth. One’s luck can be exchanged for one million gold coins a day! Of course, if the person is not strong enough, they are very likely to die during the period of bad luck.”
Watson’s words caused a massive uproar in the auction hall.
“Using luck to exchange for money, is that true?”
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“Let’s not talk about whether it is true or not. Casey said that the sculpture is a platinum-tier item. Is he lying? If he isn’t lying, how did he do it? Using the 20 items he bought to turn into that sculpture? Did he already know that those 20 items are connected to each other and will turn into stronger items when fused?”
They had seen it just now. Watson had said a few words at the 20 auction items he had bought, and those items had fused and turned into that sculpture. They did not doubt that Watson had cast a spell because it was rumored that Casey was a good-for-nothing young master, so it was impossible for him to master such a magical spell.
Even the greatest mage in the kingdom, Antonio, would not be able to cast such a spell, let alone Casey. They had never even heard of a spell that could fuse items and improve their quality.
They could only speculate that those items were correlated, and Watson happened to have mastered the way to link them, causing them to turn back into their original forms.
The auctioneer on the stage thought the same too. At that moment, his eyes reddened as he looked at Watson; he was regretful.
That auction house was the property of the Severed Fingers Gang, and he was one of the higher-ups. Most of those items were obtained by gang members while excavating ruins around the world, and some were purchased from others. Most of those items had an ominous aura and a dark legend, so the prices they paid were meager. Therefore, it was not impossible that those items were fragments of a platinum-tier item.
‘If the higher-ups knew that those items could be pieced together to become a platinum-tier item, and I had sold it, they would punish me, right?’
The auctioneer stared at the sculpture; his eyes flickered. He could put the statue back into his bag, but before that, he had to test whether Watson had been truthful.
“The auction house does trust Young Master Casey’s reputation, but just to be on the safe side, let me send someone to test it out.”
The auctioneer was polite as he looked at the maids. One of the two maids, who had been in charge of carrying the auction items, immediately walked toward Watson and asked hesitantly, “Young Master Casey, how do I use that sculpture?”
“Just make a wish on the sculpture and say that you want to exchange it for a few days of luck! But are you sure? If you lose your luck, you might die.”
The maid looked back at the auctioneer and nodded firmly. “Yes, I’m willing. I want to use a day of luck to exchange for wealth.”
Swish!
The wings on the statue suddenly flapped. The two arms of the goddess rose and grabbed the maid. As the maid screamed in fear, the beautiful statue, which had looked pleasant, suddenly turned into a sinister face. Then, its mouth opened and spat a cloud of black fog, which went through the maid’s mouth and nose and into her body.
The maid’s skin turned black. She trembled and took two steps backward. She coughed violently. One gold coin after another exploded out of her mouth. It was stained with blood as if her body had become an enormous money jar.
After a few minutes, the maid stopped coughing, and there was a mountain of coins in front of her.
“It does work!” someone whispered from the audience floor.
Everyone’s eyes became fervent, including the auctioneer on the stage. Although it was dangerous to use luck to exchange for gold coins, it was also terrifying to cough out gold coins from one’s body. They could let their subordinates do that for them.
It was a total of one million gold coins. Many noblemen could only accumulate so much wealth in their lifetime, but with the Goddess of Misfortune Statue, they only needed one day to get that much or even more wealth.
While everyone was breathing heavily and staring at the gold coins on the ground, the maid, who had just exchanged her luck for wealth, suddenly screamed. She took two steps backward and was about to return to the stage. However, when she walked up the stairs, she slipped and fell onto the ground. Her right ankle was broken, and the sole of her high-heeled shoe was also damaged. Half of the broken sole had pierced into her calf.
However, that was not the end. When the maid hugged her calf and cried out in pain, the ceiling above her head cracked. A huge stone slab had shattered due to years of neglect, and it smashed down onto her head.
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That was the consequence of trading with the statue. They had just exchanged for wealth, and then bad luck had arrived.
The maid’s face contorted with horror as she watched the stone slab fall on top of her head. Watson jumped to his feet at that exact instant. The bandage covering his chest came undone, showing scabby arms that needed more time to heal.
He grabbed the falling stone slab with his right hand, and it shattered under a powerful force. Watson used his other hand to pick up the maid who had fallen onto the ground.
“Are you okay?”
“Young Master Casey, I’m... I’m fine.”
The maid’s eyes darted around as she stared at the man in front of her in surprise. She did not expect Casey, who was rumored to love torturing women, to save her. Casey had protected her. The maid’s pulse raced as she noticed the concern in his eyes.
Perhaps the rumors were wrong. Maybe Young Master Cassie was not a useless person. He might be powerful, wealthy, mysterious, and considerate as he was that day. Perhaps someone was jealous enough to slander him.
“The price of exchanging bad luck is not something that an ordinary person can bear. You should find a place with many people to rest and avoid getting injured.”
Watson’s right hand caressed the maid’s calf and pulled the sole from the high-heeled shoes. He cast two types of God’s Blessings—one from the God of Healing, and the other, the God of Luck.
The former would help the maid recover quickly, while the latter could resist the back luck effect to a certain extent. Although the maid would still be unlucky, she would not die.
Then, Watson used his teeth to wrap the torn bandage around his arm again and sat back down. The maid looked at her clean calves and thought of the way Watson had touched her just now. She lowered her head and bowed to him with a blush. She walked back quietly.
“The value of the sculpture has been proven. I wonder if this item can be exchanged for the mermaid princess?”
Watson stared at the auctioneer on the stage.
“There is no doubt that that sculpture can be exchanged for the mermaid princess, but don’t worry, Young Master Casey. I want to ask the young lady who offered 100 million gold coins—are you willing to offer a higher price?”
The auctioneer smiled and looked into the distance. He was sure that sculpture would fetch the highest price; one could get gold from the statue indefinitely. It was a priceless treasure, so nothing could surpass it. However, he still looked forward to the two mysteriously cloaked persons to give him a surprise.
“It’s true that that statue can exchange luck for wealth, but it will bring bad luck. Who knows what other side effects it will have? What makes that statue more valuable than our pearls? Think about it carefully. Furthermore, that statue might have a time limit. Perhaps, after using it for a few times, we won’t be able to be used—”
The cloaked man’s voice became anxious as he tried his best to explain.
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the auctioneer. “None of that is important. Can you offer a higher price?”
First of all, Casey was the Ptolemyfamily’s second young master, so the probability of him lying was pretty low.
Secondly, the Casey family was in a floating city. If anything happened to the statue, they could just go and question them. They would not need to panic at all. On the contrary, those two mysterious people were hiding their faces for some unknown reason.
“We’ve lost the auction. Let’s go.”
The woman hiding under the cloak looked at Watson and sighed. She waved her hand and put pearls back into her bag. Then, she turned around and walked out of the hall. Her male companion was reluctant to leave. He stared at Watson for a long time before he snorted coldly, then he left.
The auctioneer opened the water curtain behind him without even looking at the two of them and let the little mermaid out. He took her to Watson and bowed to the young man.
“Congratulations, Young Master Casey. You’ve made a name for yourself today. You have bought all the items here today, even the hidden ones. I think your status in the Ptolemy family will be greatly improved after this! From now on, this mermaid princess will belong to you. I will take that Goddess of Misfortune Statue with me. There will be another auction here three days in three days.. I hope that you will be able to join us then.”