Chapter 1153 - 1019: Interruption

Chapter 1153: Chapter 1019: Interruption

Qu Jianlei, during his time on Blue Star, had heard about the tricks in the antique business.

There were numerous rules, including "if you’re deceived, it’s your own bad luck."

However, he genuinely disliked this rule in his heart, even though "buyers must beware" first appeared in the Hammurabi Code.

But before the seller could speak, the Nutrient Injection shook its head at him, "Let’s go."

Qu Jianlei was really frustrated, and before leaving, he glanced at the stall owner.

Fortunately, the person did not look back, otherwise, he would truly feel that the other party was deliberately provoking him.

After walking a while, the Nutrient Injection explained, "This is just the atmosphere here; it’s lucky you weren’t duped."

Qu Jianlei was still a bit upset, "I just feel he’s targeting me, who’s he underestimating?"

The Nutrient Injection replied indifferently, "No one knows your ability to distinguish, so it’s normal to have wishful thinking."

"Huh," Qu Jianlei sneered, "Aren’t they afraid I’ll come knocking on their doors at midnight?"

This was the thing he cared about most: I just finished off Julia’s gang, and you think I can’t wield a knife anymore?

The Nutrient Injection shook its head, "The closer to the Core Circle, the more common this is; everyone is used to it."

"If you’re nitpicky about this, it might make people realize, you might come from remote areas."

Possibly exposing one’s background... Qu Jianlei was instantly speechless, so even prosperous places pride themselves on this phenomenon?

However, it was indeed undeniable that the bloodthirstiness of people in prosperous areas was slightly lacking compared to remote places.

As long as one steps on the line of "whether it’s worth arguing about," usually there’s no need to worry about causing significant trouble.

Of course, if the interest is sufficiently large, people from prosperous places would act even more ruthlessly.

Thinking of this, he shook his head, "It’s still not as straightforward as the Edge Star Realm."

The Nutrient Injection then questioned back, "Is it possible they’re also evaluating the opponents they might face during auctions?"

"Eh?" Qu Jianlei was taken aback, then slowly nodded, "That’s indeed... living here is mentally exhausting, isn’t it?"

"It’s the side effect brought about by prosperity," the Nutrient Injection stated lightly.

Moreover, he solemnly emphasized one point, "Among this auction’s items, there is absolutely no shortage of heavy-weight treasures, it’s normal for people to value them highly."

Qu Jianlei’s mouth twitched: No matter how much they value them, why come tease me? Do they think I’m easy to bully?

But words about such a prideful dispute really weren’t necessary to say.

In the end, among eight broken weapons, he liked three pieces, but the price of two pieces was way too high, all going up to ten billion.

Qu Jianlei barely had thirty billion on him, and he was thinking of saving some money to possibly check out the auction.

The size of his money meant he could probably only observe the auction, but who knows? People always need a bit of aspiration.

In the end, he just bought a broken dagger, and that was after the Nutrient Injection bargained with the other party for half a day, securing it for two billion.

Upon leaving the market, he couldn’t help but sigh, "If I didn’t come here, I truly wouldn’t know how poor I am!"

The Nutrient Injection replied indifferently, "Here, we’re already close to the Core Circle, and you’ve bought one of the most sought-after Imperial items."

Qu Jianlei heard this and couldn’t help but ask, "Does that mean I have to guard against someone stealing it from me?"

The Nutrient Injection shook its head, "That won’t be necessary, after all, you took down Julia."

After a pause, he added, "But if you do manage to auction something good, it might be hard to say."

Qu Jianlei smiled helplessly, thinking ’my money is barely enough to buy anything.’

The Nutrient Injection also thought of this, "Why not sell some appealing treasures you have? You could make a wave."

Qu Jianlei pondered for a long time, finally he slowly shook his head, "Forget it, the things that are useful, I can’t bear to sell."

Actually, it’s not just about reluctance; some things are especially sensitive and can’t be sold at all.

For example, the ordinary version of the Qi Gathering Array, and the improved Cultivation Techniques.

In remote places like the Hope Star Realm, he wasn’t afraid to sell a couple of them for some spending money.

But on Dream Star, better save it, at present, at least three or four hundred Supreme beings had arrived.

Even the Supremacy appearing in Wanbao Square had long surpassed three digits—there were twenty or thirty stall holders, mostly just wandering leisurely.

The next day, they visited Wanbao Square again, discovering that many independent stalls had newly appeared.

Broken weapons had increased by several pieces, but Qu Jianlei directly ignored them.

Not to mention the authenticity, the key was the dwindling money; he believed the asking prices for these weapons would definitely not be low.

He looked around for half a day, finding nothing particularly desirable, mulling whether to wait a bit longer, and if no new stalls appeared, to leave.

Carelessly, he noticed a Divine Text Document, "This... is interesting."

The appearance of a Divine Text Document at an independent stall wasn’t particularly rare.

The market’s online transactions were on an internal network, with no concern about the government discovering them.

However, this saying is basically self-deception; how could the government not know?

It’s just now that the scale of transactions is too large; many things are rare to see.

As long as everyone is a bit restrained, the government tends to turn a blind eye to it.

The stall Qu Jianlei paid attention to was quite interesting.

Though it was a very large independent store, the opposite party insisted on jumbling the goods together.

But there was indeed a lot of stuff; this Divine Text Document was pressed under other items, exposing only a small half of the cover.

The stall owner was online, so he contacted them and headed over directly.

The shop’s door was wide open, and only after he entered did he realize that he wasn’t the only customer there.

Besides him, there were seven people in four groups, making the small shop quite crowded.

Qu Jianlei disliked such crowded scenes and hesitated for a moment before deciding to retreat to the side and wait.

After all, with so much merchandise, there was not just one Divine Text Document, and he didn’t believe others could really beat him to it.

The vendor was also a supreme, but perhaps due to concerns about being recognized, he straightforwardly wore a space helmet.

A space helmet can moderately prevent cosmic rays, which means it can block a certain level of spiritual perception.

Of course, if one’s spiritual power is exerted strongly, it’s still possible to perceive the other’s situation.

But that would be a blatant provocation.

The vendor was not only cautious but also had a bad temper, rarely spoke, and refused to haggle over prices.

Among one group, there was an A-level who tried to negotiate, to which he simply said, "Get lost!"

There were also two groups who endlessly questioned and belittled the goods to haggle.

But since both groups had supremes, the vendor couldn’t resort to insults.

He firmly insisted on no bargaining, and didn’t forget to remark, "If you’re poor, don’t buy. This isn’t a place for the average person."

Not long after, people came and went, yet these two groups kept looking around.

Qu Jianlei frowned at this: Could they be shills?

Such a thing is not uncommon on Blue Star, especially in the internet era, where paid influencers are even more prevalent.

Given the Imperial advancement and opulence, Qu Jianlei truly wouldn’t believe there was no such phenomenon.

When only three groups remained in the store, Qu Jianlei grew impatient with waiting.

He stepped forward and spoke, "May I handle it?"

The vendor didn’t respond, clearly granting silent consent.

Qu Jianlei didn’t hold back and directly picked up the Divine Text Document.

He estimated that even as he drew others towards damaged weapons, he had surely become known among the vendors.

This was a new vendor, perhaps he hadn’t noticed him yet, but this was no longer important—the vendor refused to haggle!

Just as he picked up the document, the vendor spoke, "Only look at the first two pages!"

This was a fair request, and Qu Jianlei nodded, releasing his spiritual power to carefully perceive.

The document was made with corrosion-resistant Imperial paper, evidently not an original, but it had been around for over six hundred years.

It could be confirmed it wasn’t a recent imitation, and a document over six hundred years old could barely be called an antique.

At least it could outlive two supremes or four generations of ordinary people!

After carefully identifying it, Qu Jianlei opened the document and turned to the first page.

Just then, a supreme beside him spoke, "Oh, there’s this Divine Text too?"

Qu Jianlei continued looking, completely ignoring this fellow—a fire attribute supreme, only fragile.

The vendor and the nutrient injection also ignored him, but another supreme from another group leaned in to take a look, "Oh?"

Oh, you blockhead! Qu Jianlei scoffed inwardly: How long have you two groups been lingering here?

He’d been here for over twenty minutes, with supremes in both groups, how could there still be unnoticed items?

Regardless, the document was in his hands, unless the two supremes resorted to snatching it, there was no need to pay attention.

Upon looking at the first page, Qu Jianlei felt somewhat uneasy—it was damaged!

The damage wasn’t extensive, evidently gnawed away by some insects.

He carefully scrutinized one page, then turned to the second page, where the damage was even greater.

Nonetheless, he examined it thoroughly for some time to ensure the content was sound.

Then he looked at the vendor, asking in a low voice, "How much for this Divine Text Document?"

The vendor didn’t even lift his eyelids, "Ten billion... No bargaining."

With such a succinct style, it seemed there wouldn’t be any further remarks.

However, items worth ten billion weren’t common at his stall.

Qu Jianlei’s mouth twitched slightly, he really didn’t intend to negotiate.

But he had no choice, living a poor life must still be endured, "This document of yours already has significant damage inside."

The vendor gave him a helpless glance, as if to say, "I thought you were quite sophisticated, yet you’re just another poor soul."

He sighed, "If it weren’t damaged, would it be your turn to buy?"

This was truly... Qu Jianlei hesitated.

Ten billion, he could pay, but if he spent this money, would there still be a point in attending the auction?

The nutrient injection watched the scene expressionlessly.

It was evident that he had some connections, but when it came to matters of real money, what role could a mere A-level play?

While he hesitated, the fire attribute supreme spoke, "Are you buying or not? If not... I’ll take it!"

Qu Jianlei already suspected that this fellow was a shill, hearing those words, he furrowed his brow slightly.

"You seem unfamiliar, care to give your name?"