After two rounds of auction, the Musk Rat and the second auction item—a set of Dark Jade Rank Dark Skill—were sold at a price of 150 Dark Pills and 400 Dark Pills, respectively.
"The third auction item is the Star Fall Iron Ore from Northern Peak, palm-sized and weighing 130 pounds, capable of easily piercing through the shell of a Fourth-level Dark Turtle, starting bid 700 Dark Pills," the middle-aged man didn't talk much, but whenever he spoke, he perfectly described the features of the exhibition items.
"700 Dark Pills," someone took the lead in raising their card; Yue Jinghua, guided by Xie Yu, was not in a hurry to bid.
After three rounds of bidding, the price was basically fixed at 900 Dark Pills. Most of those who came to the nightclub auction were regular customers with good judgment, and most of them saw the defect in this piece of Star Falling Iron.
The price rose by another twenty Dark Pills, with only one person left bidding. Yue Jinghua felt the time was about right and was about to raise her card when she heard a rough voice shouting from the two-star seats in front, "One thousand Dark Pills."
The one who spoke was a burly man covered in dirt and with a beard, wearing armor riddled with sword marks and boots full of mud, clearly dressed as a mercenary.
Yue Jinghua took a few more glances at the man and noticed the emblem of the "Shadow Rat" on his armor.
As he shouted the price, he leered at the legs and chests of Xiao Ya and her twin sister not far away.
"Tsk, bad luck, to actually run into this brute," Xie Yu recognized the man who had spoken.
His name was Qi Zhi. Despite having the character for wisdom in his name, he was far from being associated with it. Qi Zhi was the leader of the Shadow Rat Mercenary Corps, a lowly thug with only Small Success in the Dark Jade Rank.
Normally, he only engaged in petty thefts. Half a month earlier, Qi Zhi had unexpectedly met a backer, started running errands for him, and learned to join auctions at the nightclub. He had poor judgment yet liked to join in the excitement. Anything he set his eyes on, he would stubbornly buy at all costs.
With Qi Zhi's participation, the price of the Star Falling Stone soared, going from the original 1,000 Dark Pills directly up to 1,900 Dark Pills.
"Give it up, the Star Fall Iron Ore isn't worth that price. It's only a thoughtless fool like Qi Zhi who would drive up the bid senselessly," Xie Yu advised.
"My dictionary doesn't have the words 'give up,'" Yue Jinghua raised her sign and uttered a number: "Three thousand Dark Pills."
Her voice was neither light nor heavy, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
Three thousand Dark Pills, that was all of Yue Jinghua's possessions.
Xie Yu was surprised, turning to look at Yue Jinghua. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could sense a different kind of brilliance emanating from Yue Xiaoqi.
"Damn it, who's this shameless bitch daring to snatch my stuff," Qi Zhi couldn't contain his rage, and without regard for the ongoing auction, he jumped up and cursed loudly towards Yue Jinghua's seat.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt two extremely sharp gazes, coming from the front and the back, assaulting him.
One gaze came from a man in pink clothes, and the other gaze came from a man with purple eyes.
The combined stare from the two men felt like daggers pressed against Qi Rui's chest and back, causing his insides to ache and even making breathing difficult.
Qi Zhi's legs went weak, and he nearly fell back into his seat. Three thousand Dark Pills was not a small sum, and the two men who had acted simultaneously a moment ago were not to be trifled with.
As Qi Zhi was lost in his confused thoughts, the man on the high stage finalized the deal with a gavel, selling the Star Fall Iron Ore to Yue Jinghua for three thousand Dark Pills.
"You really went all out. If three thousand Dark Pills still couldn't get you the Star Falling Iron, what were you planning to do?" Xie Yu returned his gaze and resumed his usual demeanor, jesting.
"To gain it would be fortunate, to lose it would be fate; why bother worrying," Yue Jinghua said indifferently, taking out the One-star Dan Xuan Card that hadn't even been warmed yet, and handed it to Xiao Ya.
Xie Yu smiled cryptically, a meteor-like glimmer flashing through his eyes.
On the high stage, the middle-aged man immediately announced: "The fourth auction item is two sets of True Dark Pills. The True Dark Pill can enhance a Dark Practitioner of Dark Jade Rank or below by one rank within the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea. The starting bid for the first set of True Dark Pills is two thousand Dark Pills."
As soon as he finished speaking, nearly half of the people in the entire auction venue exclaimed in shock. There were those who were surprised, but even more who were incredulous.
The nightclub was also cunning in its calculations; on the auction brochure, there was no mention of the prerequisite that it had absolutely no side effects.