Chapter 767 - 641: The Auction and a New Anomaly

About fifteen minutes later, a middle-aged woman in a dark blue uniform stepped onto the platform.

Her uniform looked similar to Vito Rain's, but there was an extra gold stripe on the collar, making it four in total.

Her hair was meticulously combed, her face bare of makeup, and her expression was serious but not harsh.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Her voice was not loud, yet it was clear throughout the hall, "Welcome to this internal exchange meeting. I am the auction affairs manager of the association's Wudu branch, Alina Walker."

She paused for a moment and her gaze swept through the hall.

"The auction is about to begin. The rules are the same as before: highest bidder wins, cash transactions, no returns or exchanges after items leave. Please keep your number plates safe, raise them when bidding."

Jeming lowered his head and glanced at the wooden number plate the attendant had handed him when he entered.

The number was inked onto the plate: Thirty-seven.

"Now, let the auction begin." Alina Walker clapped her hands, a side door opened, and two attendants carried a tray covered with a red cloth up onto the stage.

Jeming gazed at the tray, his eyes glittering with anticipation.

This was his main reason for attending this internal exchange meeting.

The information about this auction was one of the intelligence pieces he had gathered during the day by spreading his Spiritual Power across the city.

The Spirit Communicator Association occasionally hosts a small internal auction after lectures, with participants mainly consisting of association members, well-connected merchants, and "insiders" who learn of the event through various channels, like him.

The items up for auction are primarily various Genetic Potions, along with papers, materials, and even finished products related to the occult.

Jeming leaned back against the chair, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingers.

After working with those intermediaries, he had accumulated a considerable amount of money.

The money didn't hold much meaning for him, it was better spent.

For him, money in this world only serves the purpose of purchasing research materials.

After all, he didn't need money to prove anything, nor did he need to save it for retirement.

Moreover, if it ever became insufficient...

He glanced at the pile of coins in his Inner Grotto Heaven, obtained from shady brokers and bandits, then at the others in the hall, feeling no pressure at all.

The auction progressed smoothly.

The first batch included various Genetic Potions, both official and unofficial, common and rare.

The bidding was quite fierce, as many attendees aimed to acquire these items.

Jeming wasn't interested in the official Genetic Potions, as they were processed too thoroughly, leaving too little occult power.

For Jeming, the research value was higher for the banned potions.

His interests lay elsewhere.

The fourth item was a palm-sized black stone slab, engraved with complex Runes.

Alina explained that it was a one-time material capable of sealing occult forces, originating from a northern vein, with an extremely low annual yield.

Starting bid was fifty Silver Coins.

Jeming raised his number plate.

"Number thirty-seven, fifty Silver Coins."

Someone from another direction raised their plate. "Sixty-five Silver Coins."

Jeming raised his plate again. "Eighty Silver Coins."

"Number thirty-seven, eighty Silver Coins. Any higher bids?"

No one raised their plate again.

Jeming acquired the black stone slab for eighty Silver Coins.

The attendant handed the slab to him, he paid on the spot, and then stored the slab safely.

The seventh item was three pieces of occult fragments, sealed in resin, categorized as Dangerous Level.

Starting bid was one hundred twenty Silver Coins.

Jeming made his move again, ultimately acquiring it for two hundred thirty Silver Coins.

The eleventh item was a manuscript on a Hazard Level occult entity's research, authored by a senior investigator from the association.

The manuscript detailed the entity's birth process, activity patterns, and the eventual sealing of it.

Starting bid was three hundred Silver Coins.

The competition was more intense.

Three buyers bid against him, but Jeming succeeded in securing it for five hundred fifty Silver Coins.

He continued bidding and purchasing one item after another.

He acted decisively for all occult materials and records, regarding the prices as mere numbers.

People around him started to notice him.

After all, Jeming exhibited remarkable flair.

Others hesitated before bidding, pondered, waited for others to bid first before considering whether to follow.

But he was different.

He wanted it, he raised the plate immediately, without any hesitation, as if money was not an issue.

Whispers began circulating in the hall.

"Who's number thirty-seven? Haven't seen him before."

"Don't know him. Dressed quite plainly, yet acting confidently."

"Could he be from some family? Wearing it this way on purpose to stay discrete?"

"Doesn't seem likely. His demeanor... doesn't match those from prominent families."

Jeming ignored the gossip completely.

His eyes remained fixed on the items on the platform, waiting for the next one.

Then, the finale item appeared on stage.

An attendant carried a metal box the size of an A4 paper up onto the stage.

The box was silvery-white, with no embellishments on the surface, but Jeming's gaze froze the moment he saw it.

The surface of the metal box emitted extremely subtle Energy fluctuations, so faint that even most Spiritualists might not perceive them.

However, Jeming's Spiritual Power detection precision far exceeded anything in this world, allowing him to "see" the fluctuations clearly.

This box itself was a sealing apparatus.