Chapter 268: Secret Location Auction, Life Orb_1

The secret realm auction in Magic City this time was held in the Research Mansion.

Fang Yuan, with his status as an Official Researcher and proof of assets, successfully obtained the qualification to bid.

On the day of the auction, Fang Yuan arrived at the Research Mansion alone.

The auction was to start at 9 a.m., lasting until 6 p.m., with a two-hour break in the middle.

The sequence for each auction item was also set, and as long as the order at the site was not disturbed, the time of entry did not matter.

When Fang Yuan arrived, it was already afternoon. Before coming, he had already registered online and obtained his bidding number.

Based on the registration information, Fang Yuan checked in on-site with the help of the reception staff, and activated a bid paddle with a limit of twenty million.

"Esteemed guest, please follow me," directed the reception staff politely.

Fang Yuan nodded and followed.

The auction took place in the sixth-floor hall of the Research Mansion, which could accommodate a thousand people and was divided into private rooms and ordinary seats.

However, when Fang Yuan arrived, he realized that there actually were not many people at the auction. If you excluded the people in the private rooms, there might be fewer than fifty people.

"As expected... a Relic-type mysterious place doesn't attract much interest."

Fang Yuan chuckled to himself. Fewer people were better; it meant less competition. In fact, there was no one else in the row where he sat, making it very quiet. Soon, Fang Yuan got into the zone and looked towards the stage.

At that moment, a few items that looked like ancient copper coins, dug out from the Relic Mysterious Place, had been auctioned off for nine hundred thousand, leaving Fang Yuan dumbfounded.

No matter how he looked at them, those copper coins seemed like useless junk. Indeed, the introduction specified that these items only had collectible value. The person who bid on such things must really be wealthy.

"I wonder how much the Life Orb will go for," Fang Yuan thought as he looked at the paddle in his hands, along with the twenty-million limit on it, and started to worry. Did he really have a chance to bid for the Life Orb?

"Hope everything goes smoothly..."

Relic-type secret locations hardly produce Rare Tree Fruits, more often yielding ancient items marked by the ravages of time, and such things don't interest Trainers, Breeders, or Researchers much. They're mostly bid on by collectors for their collection, with only certain items stirring the Scholars of the Mysterious Domain into action with their bid paddles.

However, there still are Pokemon present in this Relic Mysterious Place, albeit few. And where there are Pokemon, there are bound to be Elf Tools and Energy items.

The Life Orb is one of them.

It is said that this time, two Life Orbs were found in a secret chamber within the secret realm. One was purchased on the spot by a Professional Trainer from the exploration team, leaving only one to enter the auction.

...

Fang Yuan waited for about half an hour, unswayed by any of the goods, focused solely on waiting for the Life Orb.

Finally, the host began a new round of auctions, and the item up for bidding was the Life Orb that Fang Yuan had been waiting for.

On the stage, under the focused light, a round purple-red Orb about the size of a baby's fist appeared in everyone's view inside the box at the center of the display case.

This Orb was divided into six rings, with colors progressing in layers from the outer transparent color to the innermost purple, giving it an eerie feel.

Fang Yuan, who was playing with his phone, immediately concentrated as the Life Orb made its appearance and looked towards the stage.

"The next item up for auction, you all should know what it is, right?"

"That's right, it's the Life Orb! One of the top Elf Tools! Its effects, I'm sure, are familiar to all, an orb whose power can be leveraged by the Pokemon carrying it. By sacrificing Life Energy, it can enhance the power of Moves!!"

"Before we start bidding, let me explain in detail..."

As he spoke, the host himself seemed to get caught up, touting the Life Orb as a very powerful and rare Elf Tool. However, no one in the room was a fool; everyone knew that while the Life Orb's effects were powerful, its side effects were also quite pronounced.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be known as "an evil tool that burns life in exchange for power." Generally speaking, Trainers who dare to use such tools are either not morally upright, or they really are wealthy.

The former do not care about the depletion of the Origin of Life in their Pokemon, as long as their Elf fighting power is strong, while the latter can buy top-tier nutritional supplements to restore the Life Energy expended by their Pokemon.

The nutritional products that supplement Life Energy aren't healthcare drugs like medical potions; each one carries an exorbitant price tag, even surpassing that of the Life Orb itself.

Therefore, for most people, the Life Orb is considered a pretty useless item.

"The starting bid for this item is five million, and each increase must be no less than half a million,"

"Now, esteemed guests, you may start bidding," the host said with a smile as he looked down.

The starting bid for the Life Orb had already far exceeded that of some decent quality Evolutionary Stones.

Scarcity breeds value.

Despite its obvious side effects, its powerful effect combined with its rarity means that, no matter the cost, there will always be buyers.

After hesitating a moment, Fang Yuan saw someone bid, a man sitting in the front row raised the bid by five hundred thousand.

Following that, two more people joined the bidding.

In no time, the price for this Life Orb had been raised to twelve million.

"Damn..." Fang Yuan's hands started to tremble. Shit, a damn bead could buy several houses in Pingcheng.

Before becoming a Trainer, the most expensive thing Fang Yuan had ever bought with his own money was just a game console for over a thousand.

Now, the expenditure had suddenly added the word 'million' to it—who could withstand that?

Two million was all Fang Yuan could scrape together, and he still needed to keep the change to buy Tree Fruits and nutritional products; he couldn't put everything in, or else his three Pokemon would start starving.

Whew~~

Fang Yuan calmed his emotions and continued to watch.

Soon, only two people were left bidding for the Life Orb, and as one male guest raised the price to 14 million, the other fell silent and stopped bidding.

"Is 14 million their limit?" Fang Yuan took a deep breath, sighed, and thought no pain no gain! He slowly pressed the bidding device and entered the price.

14.5 million.

"Good, 14.5 million, guest number 197 has bid 14.5 million—is there anyone else who would like to increase the bid??"

The host shouted loudly. As soon as his words ended, the one who had bid 14 million slightly furrowed his brows.

"Why are so many people bidding on this damn Life Orb?" He shook his head, showing signs of retreating, but still continued to up the bid.

Fang Yuan naturally wouldn't give up either.

After two rounds of bidding, the price had shot up to 16.5 million.

By then, Fang Yuan's heartbeat had accelerated.

If it went over twenty million, he would have to give up and wait for another opportunity. But who knew when the next time he would come across a Life Orb.

"18 million!"

Fortunately, when Fang Yuan slowly raised the price to 18 million, the other person—for whatever reason—didn't follow suit.

And the other guests in their seats showed no signs of movement either.

The hall went quiet instantly.

"18 million for the second time! Is there anyone else who wishes to continue bidding?" The host's voice rang out again and Fang Yuan couldn't help but sweat profusely.

"18 million for the third time! Sold!"