79: Chapter 79 We're all a burden

A few seconds later, Zhao Wei plopped back into his seat, rubbing his temples, and muttered, "I suddenly feel like my previous understanding of the four words 'strategic awareness' was too shallow."

Sun Hao cursed under his breath, "When she bought it, she just thought it was worth it, but now we're going crazy bidding over a billion... Why do I often feel like an idiot now?"

Zhang Tianjin was silent for a moment, then suddenly said softly, "She isn't a prophet."

"She is just... several steps ahead of all of us."

Zhou Cheng's eyes were complex, and he finally said softly, "That's why we follow her."

"Not because she is always right."

"It's because she never waits for the world to push her—she walks in front."

On stage, the bidding number had long since broken one billion. Ye Nanxing glanced at it, completely unmoved.

Zhao Wei suddenly remembered their earlier discussion about who would lead the procurement route and the doubt they had when saying "she didn't mention buying this"—looking back now, it wasn't that she had overlooked it, but rather: she had already brought it back, it was just that no one knew.

Sun Hao let out a soft sigh.

"Are we really her teammates... or just her dead weight?!"

Zhang Tianjin said in a low voice, "Being able to follow her path must be the luckiest thing in our lives."

"And she..."

Zhang Tianjin paused, looking at the glittering auction item on stage.

"She has already walked too far for us."

On stage, the price broke 1.8 billion, which was far beyond Ye Nanxing's current "capacity." After all, she only had 1.6 billion.

Ye Nanxing just finished the last sip of her coffee and stood up, "Let's see if the next auction item is something we actually need."

She turned back and swept a glance over them, her tone casual, "We already have our lives."

"Next, let's see—if we can add some confidence."

The group nodded in unison.

They understood that at this Apocalypse auction, everyone was gambling with their lives.

The subsequent auction officially entered its climax.

Those who could enter this auction were no ordinary survivors.

They were the aristocrats of the old era, capital fugitives, underground power brokers, and the financiers of ability-user kidnapping gangs.

The Apocalypse destroyed the daily lives of most ordinary people, but it did not shake the extravagant living structure of these people.

Instead, it made them put everything that couldn't be brought to the table before out for sale.

Item No. 25 was a complete, unopened [Realistic AI Companion System], even coming with "personality memory binding."

Item No. 29 was a "living ability test subject," with the auctioneer publicly guaranteeing that its "consciousness remains, and behavior is controllable."

Item No. 34 was a piece of high-purity, unprocessed "energy crystal cores," along with a black market procurement contract.

Zhao Wei whispered, "This isn't an auction; it's an Apocalypse entertainment banquet."

Sun Hao looked at the men and women not far away drinking champagne and wrapped in large furs, discussing "who will bomb the urban mutant zone first," and sneered, "Humanity really is rotten to the core."

Zhang Tianjin didn't speak, his gaze as cold as a blade.

And Ye Nanxing—her eyes landed on the resting area in the far corner of the auction, inside a dark compartment sealed with metal bars, with a clear projection label: [Stored Resources · Category: Pending Adjudication Transfer · ID: X-073, X-074]

It wasn't an auction item. Nor was it a commodity. It was just "storage."

Two people sat in the cage.

Lin Shuang and Lin Qing were wearing the clothes they had on when Ye Nanxing's group brought them back; their hair was dry and messy, their skin pale and bloated, but their eyes still held traces of unwillingness and wildness.

Zhao Wei glanced over and raised an eyebrow, "You're really not going to send them onto the stage?"

"Didn't we agree to just handle them through the black market?"

Zhou Cheng's eyes hardened, "I thought they would be the special finale items tonight; after all, given their criminal record, appearance, and the fact that they carry insider clues... quite a few people would be willing to buy."

Sun Hao looked at her but didn't speak.

Zhou Cheng said in a deep voice, "Putting people like this on stage could mean fewer troublemakers."

Zhang Tianjin also nodded, "Anyway, you aren't doing this for money."

But Ye Nanxing suddenly withdrew her gaze.

Her tone was low, "Cancelled."

Everyone was stunned.

Zhao Wei was surprised, "Didn't you say 'sell them, they're an eyesore anyway'?"

Ye Nanxing didn't explain, just watched the cage, the moment Lin Shuang looked at her, wearing a twisted and numb smile on her face.

She suddenly felt disgusted. Not at them, but at this stage.

"They will die, it's just a matter of time. But it shouldn't be by being listed for auction, being picked and chosen like dogs," Ye Nanxing said indifferently.

"I don't want to become the kind of person I loathe."

Zhao Wei was stunned, his mouth twitching, but he didn't say anything more.

The group fell silent, just staring at that corner of the projection.

—In the image, Lin Qing was trying her best to get close to the front of the iron bars, whispering to a passing VIP.

She used every ounce of her posture to get close to the other person, a smile on her lips, her fingertips slightly raised, her chest half-exposed, and a hint of coquettishness in her eyes.

The VIP looked at her coldly, didn't answer, and left behind one sentence: "Next time, pack it cleaner."

Lin Qing's expression stiffened as she retreated to the corner, her face instantly turning as gloomy as water.

Lin Shuang leaned against the inside of the iron bars, observing the movements.

She wasn't in a rush to act, just waiting for a chance to be "chosen."

At that moment, Ye Nanxing suddenly realized: even when locked in a cage, these two women—were still calculating.

They were not prisoners waiting for fate to deal with them.

They were predators always waiting for an opportunity.

Even if the opportunity was just a "posture," an "expression," or even a "glance of pity."

They could use anyone, even guards, VIPs, waiters, cameras, or themselves.

Ye Nanxing took a deep breath, turned her head, and said calmly, "They don't deserve to die in ease."

Zhao Wei shrugged, "Then what should we do with them?"

Ye Nanxing looked coldly at the two people in the cage, not speaking.

At 00:38 AM, the auction ended.

The D9 hidden venue gradually grew quiet, and only residual light and the scattered footsteps of the crowd remained in the metal corridor.

Ye Nanxing stood at the exit, her cloak hood slightly drooping, the cold wind whipping up the slightly curled long hair on her shoulders, like a blade swaying in the night.

Behind her, a standby transport vehicle slowly drove up, the rear hatch rising to reveal two figures with locked hands and induction collars—Lin Shuang and Lin Qing.

When Zhou Xiao stepped out of the corridor, he happened to see the two being escorted onto the vehicle.

He furrowed his brows, paused his steps, and said in an indifferent tone, "Who are these two...?"

Ye Nanxing didn't turn back, just said indifferently, "I originally wanted to sell them."

Zhou Xiao frowned slightly, his eyes changing a bit, "Since when did you start doing this?"

Ye Nanxing finally turned around, her expression so calm it was almost as if she weren't discussing a matter of life and death, "I wanted to try and see if I could be someone else for once."

Zhou Xiao's expression was unreadable as he looked at Ye Nanxing without speaking.