Chapter 124: You Grow Stronger By Strengthening Yourself.

Chapter 124: Chapter 124: You Grow Stronger By Strengthening Yourself.

Derrick raised an eyebrow and looked over at the floating hologram.

"What invitation?" Derrick asked, wiping his hands on a towel.

"I thought I told you to only report the most important emails."

"Sir, I believe this could be important to you," Silly Bot replied professionally.

Derrick had been working on the Pseudo-AI’s code over the past few weeks, refining its speech patterns whenever he had spare time.

Thanks to those continuous tweaks, the bot’s voice was slowly sounding more natural and humane rather than cold and metallic.

Derrick tapped his custom phone, extending the screen with a quick flick of his fingers to open the incoming message.

"Alright," Derrick said, looking down at the broad display. "Let’s see who’s writing to us."

"I believe it is an invitation to an underground auction house," Silly Bot explained, its voice carrying a smooth, subtle cadence.

"The invitation came directly from their official portal, along with a catalog of items that will be up for bidding."

Derrick swiped through the rest of the catalog, his eyes passing over the fire manipulation technique without much interest.

"I can buy a much better fire technique directly from the system store for a fraction of that price," Derrick muttered, shaking his head.

The auction’s technique scroll wasn’t worth the hassle or inflated bidding price.

He was about to close the email, but then his eyes landed on one of the items and a sudden thought crossed his mind.

BloodVein Lotus.

Tier 1 Medicinal Herb.

A smirk formed on his face as he remembered something else.

After the recent refresh, a new side mission had been sitting in his panel, waiting to be completed.

The mission was...

[Side Mission: The Deceptive Herb]

Details: A luxury auction house in the inner district is holding an off-the-books sale containing rare, unrefined Tier 1 alchemical herbs. Secure the item before dark forces can claim the sinister treasure.

Objective: Secure the Blood-Vein Lotus root from the auction without revealing your identity.

Derrick knew this was no simple mission because of two things.

Up until now, he had not found the traces of the herb anywhere in any of the underground auction he had asked silly bot to find.

As for the other reason...

Rewards:

• Learn about the real effects and name of the herb.

• Your reputation In the underworld will rise.

• Your company will come in the eyes of many leading forces of the world.

• Energy Manipulation Technique: Once mastered, you gain complete control over your enhanced energy and transform it into any form or element based on your affinity.

The day he had seen the mission. Derrick specifically asked the system if it was sure that this was a reward?

But the last one was genuinely a reward and the most alluring one.

"An underground auction..." Derrick said, leaning back against the steel work table. "Could the two be related."

"This is perfect."

"I can finally complete that side mission that appeared after the refresh."

He looked back at the floating hologram of Silly Bot.

"When is this auction taking place, and where is it being held?" Derrick asked.

"The event is scheduled in 10 days at midnight, Sir," Silly Bot answered smoothly.

"It will take place in the subterranean district beneath the old trade sector. Entry requires a verified invitation code and a minimum liquidity check of one million Social Credits."

Derrick chuckled quietly, tapping his phone.

"Liquidity definitely won’t be an issue for us," Derrick said, retracting the screen back into a compact phone with a light click.

"Silly Bot, confirm our RSVP and set up a clean, untraceable alias for the entry registration."

"Consider it done, Boss. I have already locked in your entry pass and scrubbed any direct digital trail back to this warehouse," Silly Bot replied cheerfully.

"The auction is scheduled ten days from now, Sir," Silly Bot added, tilting its holographic head slightly.

"Would you like me to prepare any specific arrangements or gear for the trip?"

Derrick shook his head, leaning back against the edge of his workstation.

"Just prepare the car and nothing else," Derrick replied.

He knew taking his new luxury sedan to an underground auction was out of the question.

The car was far too recognizable, and bringing it into the subterranean district would easily connect the visit right back to his real identity.

"Book a suite at one of the grandest hotels in the city for the day before the auction," Derrick instructed.

"We’ll stay there first and take a chauffeured luxury limo directly from the hotel to the venue."

"That way, if anyone tries to track the vehicle coming into the subterranean sector, it will only lead back to a standard VIP hotel transport."

"Understood, Boss," Silly Bot said, its voice carrying a smooth, humanlike cadence as it processed the command.

"I will secure a top-floor suite at the Grand Zenith Hotel and schedule a black-line executive limo for your departure."

Derrick nodded, satisfied with the arrangement.

"Good," Derrick said, slipping his custom phone back into his pocket.

"That gives me ten days to prepare."

He turned back toward his alchemy workstation, glancing at the refining equipment and his traditional cauldron sitting nearby.

Ten days.

He had to prepare as much as he could for these days.

Derrick as sure there would be many powerful representatives of all sorts of companies.

If he was going to make enemies there, he might as well prepare before hand.

"Hey system, show me some artifacts and pills that I can use in a fight."

A faint smirk appeared on Derrick’s face as he read the names and details of each treasure.

"These are great. And if push comes to shove. I have this..." His eyes moved to the Superpower realms experience card sitting in his inventory that he had not used up until now.

It took him less than an hour to finish his purchase and spend close to a million social credits.

But Derrick did not care.

"Strength comes from money." Stretching his arms, he walked up to the ancient cauldron sitting on one of the benches. "Now, shall we merge the trash pills I have."