Chapter 166: The Auction [6]

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: The Auction [6]

Suddenly a special effect of Golden Light filled the stage.

Woosh!

When the light settled, a sleek, hovering glass casing materialized.

Floating inside was a single, vibrant crimson pill, swirling with dense, visible energy bumps that wrapped around its surface like beautiful little dunes.

The moment the image locked into place, several alchemy experts in the lower rows gasped, leaning forward in their seats.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Vanya’s alluring voice smiled, her hips swaying subtly as she took a step toward the edge of the stage, "our second item tonight is a rare treasure for those who venture into high-risk territories."

"Manufactured by an upcoming master alchemist of the federation ... a Tier 2 Super Enhanced Recovery Pill!"

The entire hall stirred with muted excitement.

"Look at those energy dunes! They are close to forming energy veins. It’s practically touching the threshold of Tier 3!"

"A pill like that can yank a Enhanced Being stage fighter right off death’s door back to peak condition in seconds!"

"What’s the side effect? A pill that potent has to have a downside."

Vanya smiled knowingly, her plump red lips curving into a suggestive arc as she addressed the crowd’s unspoken question.

"While its life-saving capabilities are extraordinary," Vanya continued softly, tapping her control ring, "such power comes with a strict limit."

"Due to the raw potency of the underlying catalyst, it can only be ingested once a month."

Their Auction house was famous because their were upfront and transparent about such things.

"A second attempt within thirty days will cause severe energy overload. Still, for any top-tier explorer, this is quite literally a second life."

Down at the main front-row table, Derrick stared at the swirling crimson pill floating in the air.

A Tier 2 Super Recovery Pill... with a thirty-day cooldown?’Derrick snorted mentally, a faint, amused smirk hiding beneath his trickster mask. I can get a similar pill without any side effects, and they recover stamina on top of closing mortal wounds. To think they’re presenting this garbage as a prized auction lot.

Instead of showing any interest, Derrick casually reached into his inner suit jacket and pulled out his smartphone.

He leaned back in his leather chair, crossing his legs, and began tapping rapidly on the screen.

His sudden, nonchalant action didn’t go unnoticed.

Surrounding executives and guild representatives stared at him in utter bewilderment.

"Hey, look. What is the representative of the Myriad Pill Palace doing."

"Is he short on money or something already? He had not even bid on anything yet. Kek!"

"Look at his expressions. He’s messaging someone!"

A few tables over, the Vice Chairman of the Stormborn Guild whispered fiercely to his aide, "He must be contacting the true master behind Myriad Pill Palace!"

"Should we outbid them if they jump in, sir?" the aide asked nervously, sweat dripping down his temple.

"Wait and see. If Myriad Pill Palace wants it, there will be naturally others who will hinder them to please the real owner of the Pill World."

His eyes involuntarily moved towards the upper floor, the booth where the people from the Jade Pharmaceuticals sat.

In reality, Derrick was simply scrolling through a gaming forum and replying to the comments on his recent Chapters of the book.

After a few seconds of idle tapping, he slipped the phone back into his pocket, picked up his glass of champagne, and turned his eyes back to the stage with the same calm, completely unbothered smile.

Vanya leaned over the podium and announced.

"The opening bid for this life-saving miracle begins at 300,000 social credits, with minimum raises of 20,000! Do I have 300,000?"

"300,000!" the leader of the Iron Vanguard Guild immediately called out, raising his digital paddle.

"320,000!"

"350,000 from row two!"

"400,000!"

"420,000!"

The price for the Super Recovery Pill quickly capped out at 520,000 credits, eventually claimed by a mid-tier guild master practically sweating through his suit like a pig.

The auction continued on.

The third item was an A-Rank longsword forged from meteor steel.

It was a fine piece of craftsmanship, though useless to Derrick.

It went to a frontline guild for 800,000 credits after a brief bidding war. The one who got it was none other than Gideon.

Then came the fourth item.

BZZZZT!

A glowing, ancient parchment scroll materialized inside the holographic display, floating gracefully above the stage.

"For our fourth item," Vanya purred, her seductive gaze sweeping across the floor, "we have an ancient, legacy-grade pill formula—the [Raging Fire Pill Formula]. When refined, this pill temporarily ignites an Enhanced Being’s internal energy core, boosting physical speed and attack power by forty percent for ten minutes!"

Excitement flared up instantly through the crowd.

An ancient formula!

Although it was a mere Tier 1 Pill formula...

For alchemy houses and guilds with their own internal refining teams, a reusable formula was infinitely more valuable than a single finished product.

"Starting bid is 500,000 social credits!" Vanya announced.

"550,000!" a regional alchemy house leader shouted immediately.

"600,000!" chimed in the Vice Chairman of the Stormborn Guild.

Derrick’s eyes glinted beneath his trickster mask.

A forty percent boost formula? While his System products easily outperformed it, possessing a physical, high-tier combat formula in the public eye was the perfect cover for Myriad Pill Palace to justify expanding its product lineup.

Derrick reached out and calmly tapped his interface. "700,000."

Whispers broke out instantly across the hall.

"Myriad Pill Palace is making a move!"

"He wants the formula!"

A smug smirk crossed the face of the Stormborn Guild’s Vice Chairman.

Seeing Derrick finally enter the fray, he immediately raised his paddle with a sneer. "800,000! Let’s see how deep your pockets really are, Mr. Representative!"

"850,000!" another rival corporate house chimed in, deliberately driving the price up to test Derrick’s limits.

Derrick didn’t even flinch.

He leaned back in his leather chair, swirling his champagne with one hand while effortlessly tapping the screen with the other.

"900,000," Derrick said, his voice as smooth as silk, showing not a shred of pressure.

"950,000!" the Vice Chairman slammed his paddle down, his brow dripping with sweat as he tried to force Derrick into an outrageous overbid. "Do you dare go higher?!"

Derrick let out a soft, amused chuckle that echoed through the surrounding front rows. "1,100,000."