Chapter 977: A Step Ahead, Preparing to Break Out
“Three million!”
“Three million two hundred thousand!”
“Three million five hundred thousand!”
The bids from the two private rooms kept alternating and climbing. Even the assembled dignitaries and celebrities couldn’t help but feel secretly astonished by the high prices.
Even the mermaids had gone from indignation to confusion and anger. Why did someone want their people’s tears so badly?
None of the guests present could explain what was happening. They could afford to spend several million, but this markup was simply too high.
The richer someone was, the more carefully they tended to handle money.
They might spend ten million on something worth ten million, but they would never pay several million for something worth only a few hundred thousand, unless they had been swindled or had some intention of evading taxes.
“When did the Mermaid’s Tears become so valuable?”
“It would make sense if one party desperately needed them, but why are two parties fighting over them? Could this thing have some new use lately?”
“Damn it, could that Sea Eye Sovereign fellow be driving up the price?”
“They’re acting like they aren’t spending their own money!”
Amid this near spiteful display of spending, the price soon broke five million.
“Five million two hundred thousand!”
Crazy Blade called out the bid.
Just as April was about to bid again, Lin Yu stopped her.
“That’s enough.”
April was puzzled. “Huh? Why? Couldn’t they be members of Order...?”
“Because these two will be enough to leave them without sufficient credit to compete for the Lost Treasure,” Lin Yu said calmly. “Don’t forget, we still have more Mermaid’s Tears coming up. If we can use this chance to trap them in the venue, forcing them to split their attention between collecting the Lost Treasure and mistakenly believing they’ve already ‘beaten’ us, we can leave smoothly with a much larger number of Mermaid’s Tears.”
As Lin Yu explained, April was convinced.
“You can even do that!”
What happened next unfolded just as Lin Yu had told April it would.
Several boxes containing unsealed, unidentified “Lost Treasures” were put up for auction like blind boxes.
Since many Lost Treasures were one-use consumables, most were auctioned off in the form of blind boxes.
Lin Yu and April easily used the delicacies they had just sold to win two Lost Treasures.
Meanwhile, Crazy Blade and Mountain Sparrow tried to bid on some, but were told their credit limit was insufficient and that they would need to prove their assets. They could only give up on securing these “clear conditions” at the auction for the time being.
Crazy Blade didn’t seem too bothered. “Looks like we’ll have to find another way to get some Lost Treasures after we leave.”
He wasn’t worried about it. Although Lost Treasures were rare, they weren’t unique items of which only a few existed in the entire world. A rich, prosperous city like the Sea Demon capital always had a few around, and with the Tide Summoning Festival underway, they were even easier to find than usual.
There was always a way. At worst, they could pawn or trade some of their own items. If all else failed, they could rob a corrupt, wealthy Sea Demon and call it robbing the rich to help the poor.
So Crazy Blade remained optimistic. “Anyway, we’ve already got the Mermaid’s Tears... and we’ve set the bombs. All we need to do is set off an explosion, and then we can make our exit!”
Mountain Sparrow, however, wasn’t so optimistic.
“No... I have a feeling they deliberately let us have them. There were only ‘two’ here, after all, and the other side’s bidding just happened to stop at the credit limit of this ‘Ancient Fang Sovereign’ identity,” Mountain Sparrow said with a frown. “The Marauders may not have sent anyone particularly powerful, but they’ve already managed to manipulate the situation so well that the Sea Demon Kingdom thinks they’re guests from the Central Sea. I don’t think we should treat them like fools.”
“Now they’ve got the Lost Treasure... I think they may have already seen through our identities. They’re probably planning to get more Mermaid’s Tears somewhere else and then leave quickly.”
The more Mountain Sparrow thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. “Honestly, we’d better be careful, Crazy Blade.”
Crazy Blade grew serious too, though he remained relatively optimistic. “All right, you have a point, Mountain Sparrow... Maybe they have another way to get Mermaid’s Tears. We still can’t let our guard down. They might even be planning to steal ours...”
“But they can’t have seen through our disguises, right? Your painting and my acting are both flawless,” Crazy Blade said, stroking his chin. “Besides, if they’d already seen through our disguises, why wouldn’t they expose us?”
Mountain Sparrow shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe they haven’t made their exit either... If I were them, I’d wait until the auction was over before reporting us. That way, they could keep the two of us trapped in the venue as long as possible.”
At that, Mountain Sparrow’s expression changed. “Wait. We’d better leave now.”
He was just about to head out when a knock came from the private room’s door.
“Knock, knock!”
“Excuse me, Your Excellency Ancient Fang. We need to interrupt you for a moment. We’ve received an anonymous tip that someone has planted a bomb in your private room and intends to assassinate you. For your safety, I’ve brought members of the Guard to protect you.”
“We’ve also been told that the person who planted the bomb is inside your private room... We’ll be breaking down the door shortly to protect you. Please look after yourself and be careful not to let anyone take you hostage!”
The voice of the auction house’s Sea Demon Department Head came from outside.
“Damn it, I underestimated those two Marauders,” Mountain Sparrow cursed under his breath. “Crazy Blade, the plan’s changed.”
He knew very well that this cardboard cutout, which had taken advantage of the Blind Spot Danger, couldn’t withstand extended activity without giving itself away. The moment the auction house staff grew suspicious and went to Ancient Fang Sovereign’s trashed private room, the “crime scene,” they would discover that the two of them were impostors.
And what’s more... the other side’s method of reporting them was brilliant!
If they had merely reported that “Ancient Fang Sovereign” was an impostor, they could have used Ancient Fang Sovereign’s authority to drive off the investigators, then detonated the bomb to cause chaos.
But they had reported that there was a bomb in the room. The Guard would certainly be “prepared” for an explosion, and would at least have some kind of bomb-disposal measures ready!
The only thing Mountain Sparrow couldn’t understand was how the Marauders had found out so soon after Crazy Blade planted the bomb.
A coincidence? No... They couldn’t afford to be that optimistic!
Did the other side know Crazy Blade’s methods well?
Or... did they have some kind of precognitive ability?
Whatever the case, they had no choice but to act now!
“Crazy Blade, detonate the bomb early. Get ready to break out!”