254: Chapter 255 Everyone else was taking their seats, but he was frantically "buying for free"!

Chapter 255: I'm Confiscating This Thing

"Ding."

The elevator reached the bottom, and the doors slid open.

Before them was an absurdly large underground space.

The overall color scheme was black and dark gold, with an extremely high ceiling. Countless beams of light shone down from above, illuminating every seat while keeping people's faces hidden in shadows.

The venue was arranged in a circular tiered layout, with a massive circular stage in the center.

Most people sat in open seats, wearing various masks or concealing their faces with hoods.

On a higher level was a ring of private boxes, blocked off completely by black one-way glass.

No one spoke loudly, only low whispers could be heard.

The moment Lin Qi and Zhang Wei stepped out of the elevator, hundreds of gazes in the venue swept over them simultaneously.

These people were all experts who licked blood from the edges of knives, top-tier predators in the dark world.

They could sense that there was something wrong with these two who had just entered.

Especially the youth.

There were no energy fluctuations on him; he looked no different from an ordinary person, but it was precisely this "ordinariness" that made him the most eye-catching in such an environment.

How did an ordinary person manage to walk in here?

Moreover, he had no seat.

The rules of the Black Gold Auction were one person per seat, with assigned seating.

The appearance of two uninvited guests here was abrupt and conspicuous.

"Hey, look at those two kids, are they new here?"

"Can someone who manages to walk in here really be a rookie?"

"Interesting, it's been a long time since I've seen someone crash the party."

Whispers echoed in the shadows.

A waiter wearing a black suit and white gloves glided over silently and bowed to the two.

"Two gentlemen, may I ask what your seat numbers are?"

The voice was polite, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

Zhang Wei felt a bit nervous and looked at Lin Qi.

Lin Qi's attention was not on the waiter at all; he was scanning the entire venue.

His Martial Intent spread out, quietly covering the entire venue.

There were quite a few powerful individuals; at least seven or eight Third-Turn experts with obscure auras were hiding in the private boxes.

But he was most concerned about something else.

He was searching, looking to see if there were any others like him who were rejected by the "world," or if the mastermind who launched the attack had arrived in person.

After scanning the area, there were none.

Everyone's "existence" was stable, perfectly embedded within the Laws of the world.

The opponent was very cautious and had only sent an agent.

"We don't have seats." Lin Qi withdrew his attention and looked at the waiter.

The waiter wore a professional smile, but his tone grew a bit colder: "Apologies, sir. Without a seat, you cannot participate in the bidding. According to the rules, I must ask you two to leave."

Not far behind him, two burly bodyguards had already moved up without a sound.

The atmosphere tightened instantly.

Zhang Wei's heart was in his throat.

However, Lin Qi didn't even look at the two bodyguards, instead pointing to two empty seats in the corner of the last row.

"There's no one there, we'll sit there."

The tone was not a discussion, but a notification.

The waiter's smile vanished. Just as he was about to speak, a hurried command suddenly came through the miniature communicator in his ear.

"Let them through, activate the 'Observer' protocol, A-level clearance."

The way the waiter looked at Lin Qi changed completely, from vigilance to wariness.

He bowed again, his posture much lower than before.

"It was my lack of manners. Please, esteemed guests, feel free to do as you wish."

After saying this, he quickly retreated with the bodyguards.

Those onlookers who were watching the show were all stunned.

The mad dogs of the Black Gold Auction who recognized no kin actually backed down?

What kind of background did this youth have?

Lin Qi ignored this and brought the still-bewildered Zhang Wei to the back row to sit down.

"Brother Qi, they…"

"Someone put in a word for us." Lin Qi said indifferently.

The report from the guards at the entrance had taken effect. Although the auction management didn't know exactly what he was, they had already raised his threat level to the highest.

As long as he didn't actively wreck the venue, the other party wouldn't come to provoke this "anomaly."

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

Not long after sitting down, the stage in the center of the venue rose, and a female auctioneer wearing a long red dress with a seductive figure walked up.

"Distinguished guests, good evening. Welcome to this month's Black Gold Auction."

The auction officially began.

Rare items were presented on the stage one after another.

"Deep Sea Sinking Silver, fifty kilograms, a rare metal that can perfectly conduct Mental Energy, starting bid 300 million Federation Credits!"

"Three-hundred-year-old Blood Coral brought out from the S-Rank forbidden zone 'Wailing Forest,' the main material for making top-tier life potions, starting bid 500 million!"

"Sixth-Rank Asian Dragon complete tendon, the best material for crafting a divine bow, this is the only one, starting bid 1 billion!"

The atmosphere in the venue was ignited.

Bids rang out one after another, and astronomical figures were called out from the seats and boxes in the shadows.

Zhang Wei was clicking his tongue in amazement from the side.

"My goodness, these people are too rich. One tendon sells for a billion!" The fat man muttered in a low voice, "Our 600 billion or so doesn't seem like much here, does it?"

Lin Qi didn't respond; his attention remained locked on a few specific boxes.

He discovered that there were three boxes that hadn't made a single bid from beginning to end, being excessively quiet.

People who came to a place like this didn't just watch without taking action.

This kind of restraint only indicated one thing: their goal was very specific, and they were determined to get it, saving ammunition for the final item.

That compass.

Time passed second by second.

After another piece of magic equipment worth 2 billion was auctioned off by a certain box, the female auctioneer's expression changed.

"Next, is the third-to-last item of the night."

"Its origin is unknown, and its function cannot be analyzed."

"We only know that it comes from an era even more distant than the 'Old Era,' and the energy contained within exceeds the upper limit of all detection instruments."

A sealed box made of special crystal was pushed onto the stage.

Inside the box, a palm-sized compass was floating, constructed from bronze and unknown crystals, with a primitive design.

The compass needle was spinning wildly without any pattern, as if detecting something that didn't exist.

Earth Fiend Cave core compass.

Lin Qi's eyes narrowed slightly.

That's it.

The moment the compass appeared, he clearly felt that the "repulsive force" from the world covering him suddenly became active and was moving towards this direction.

This thing was the coordinate, the beacon, the "anchor" used by the mastermind to lock onto him and attack him.

"I believe many distinguished guests present are here for this." The female auctioneer spoke.

"Ancient era relic, Earth Fiend Cave core compass, starting bid 5 billion Federation Credits, each increment no less than 500 million!"

As soon as the words fell.

"10 billion."

A low voice came from the quietest box that Lin Qi had been staring at.

Directly doubling it.

Everyone was stunned by this bid, clearly showing determination to win.

"11 billion!" Another box followed up.

"12 billion!"

"15 billion!"

The price soared.

Zhang Wei was sweating in his palms from the side: "Brother Qi, what should we do? They are fighting like crazy, should we bid?"

Bid?

Lin Qi looked at the compass on the stage that made him feel extremely uncomfortable, and his eyes turned cold.

Use my money to buy something someone else is using to kill me?

There is no such logic.

The price soared to 30 billion and was still rising; the first box to bid spoke again.

"50 billion."

The whole venue went quiet.

The other competing boxes stopped speaking.

50 billion, far exceeding the unknown value of the compass itself, became pure capital crushing.

A smile appeared on the female auctioneer's face as she raised her small hammer.

"50 billion, is there any higher price? 50 billion going once!"

"50 billion going twice!"

"50 billion, third…"

The hammer was about to fall.

Lin Qi stood up.

The gazes of the entire venue were once again focused on this youth who had been out of place since he entered.

Under the attention of everyone, Lin Qi stepped forward towards the stage, ignoring everyone's gazes.

His pace was not fast, but his rhythm was steady.

With every step he took, a shallow, distorted mark would be left on the alloy floor.

"Sir! Sir, please stop!" The auctioneer's expression changed.

Several security personnel around the stage immediately surrounded him, energy fluctuations fully unleashed, full of warning.

"This is a restricted area, please return to your seat immediately, otherwise we will take mandatory measures!" The security captain shouted sternly.

Lin Qi turned a deaf ear.

He walked to the front of the stage and stopped.

He raised his hand, pointing through the crystal box at the wildly spinning compass inside.

He said one sentence to everyone.

"I'm confiscating this thing."