Chapter 341: Bribery and an Unexpected Encounter

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"Sigh~ what a pity, it's not for sale."

Sato glanced at the incomplete Arceus stone carving a few more times, feeling a deep sense of regret. However, he didn't leave immediately. 

Instead, he stepped forward, crouched down in front of the stall, and picked up a dagger lying among the displayed items.

The stall, run by a short and skinny vendor, had a variety of ancient artifacts. Besides the Arceus stone carving, which was undoubtedly the most valuable, there were several other ancient relics of lesser worth.

One such relic was the dagger that Sato had just picked up.

This was a sheathed dagger. Though worn by the passage of time, its exterior no longer as radiant as before, when he drew it from its golden sheath—adorned with several embedded gemstones—the blade, covered in intricate patterns, showed not a single trace of rust, still gleaming coldly.

Using his system's identification function, Sato confirmed that this dagger once belonged to Damos. Naturally, this historical significance alone made it an artifact of considerable value, one that could fetch a high price.

If Sato's guess was correct, the vendor before him was most likely a grave robber—one who had been fortunate enough to loot Damos' tomb.

Among the items on the stall, five ancient relics, including the Arceus stone carving and the dagger, were all connected to Damos, a well-known historical figure of the Sinnoh region.

Aside from the Arceus stone carving, which was not for sale, the short and skinny vendor seemed indifferent to the rest of his items.

However, compared to the previous vendor, this one was noticeably shrewder. Sato ended up spending 30 million PokeDollars to acquire the ancient dagger, a wooden ring, and a gold-and-silver necklace.

The wooden ring and necklace also belonged to Damos, having been buried with him as funerary objects. Due to various circumstances, they had now fallen into Sato's hands.

Sato estimated that if he were to auction these three ancient relics, their value could multiply several times—perhaps even tenfold.

As time passed, with only an hour remaining before the auction began, Sato used his invitation to enter the makeshift auction house hastily built by Team Rocket.

He was now seated in a lavish private room, having a conversation with an elderly appraiser with white hair and a beard.

Unfortunately, after purchasing Damos' funerary artifacts, Sato had planned to return for the ancient beast-leather book—the last remaining high-value relic he had his eyes on.

However, upon retracing his steps to the previous stall, he discovered that it had already disappeared.

Relying on his system's identification function, Sato continued scouring the ancient artifact market and managed to acquire three more relics. Now, he was preparing to complete the pre-auction appraisal process for his newly acquired treasures.

In fact, the auction invitation not only granted entry into the venue but also allowed the holder to submit items for auction.

Of course, even in a low-tier auction house, only items of significant value were eligible for bidding.

"Mr. Sato truly has a keen eye! To think you would present so many valuable ancient artifacts at once. Especially this spoon—it qualifies for the high-tier auction, and I believe it will drive the bidders into a frenzy!"

The elderly appraiser, wearing white gloves, admired the mystical spoon in his hands with great fondness. His face was flushed with excitement as he praised the artifact while grinning at Sato.

"Is that so? That's excellent news. This is just a small token of appreciation. I'll be counting on you to ensure these items make it to auction. And after the bidding ends, I'll certainly express my gratitude with another generous gift."

Hearing this, Sato smiled slightly beneath his mask. He took out a gold coin engraved with an unfamiliar pattern, placed it gently on the table, and slid it toward the appraiser.

This was a highly valuable ancient coin, worth at least two to three million PokeDollars on the market.

To ensure his relics made it into the auction, Sato had long planned to bribe the appraiser.

However, appraisers were not particularly interested in raw money—they valued ancient relics far more. So, Sato had prepared accordingly, spending a significant sum in the free-trade zone to acquire a few rare ancient coins.

"My goodness! This is a gold coin from an ancient Sinnoh Kingdom! That kingdom perished over a thousand years ago in the Sinnoh region. Look at these engravings—don't they resemble Garchomp's head? Garchomp was once the guardian Pokémon of that Kingdom!"

Sure enough, upon seeing the coin, the elderly appraiser's cloudy eyes lit up instantly. He eagerly picked up the coin and examined it under a magnifying glass, exclaiming repeatedly in astonishment.

Over the next half-hour, Sato left the room in high spirits. When he stepped out, he had an invitation to the high-tier auction in hand.

After accepting Sato's ancient coin, the appraiser became extremely accommodating—not only guaranteeing that all six of Sato's relics would make it to auction but even granting him a high-tier auction invitation.

In truth, Sato was already entitled to this invitation, as his mystical spoon had been selected as one of the high-tier auction items.

It was even likely to be one of the event's grand finales. As the owner of the spoon, he naturally had the right to attend the high-tier auction.

Standing at the entrance of the low-tier auction house, Sato gazed ahead at the magnificent palace-like high-tier auction venue.

After contemplating briefly, he ultimately decided against using his invitation to enter the high-tier auction.

Instead, he turned and walked toward the mid-tier auction house with the high-tier auction invitation still in hand.

Though he now had six ancient relics officially entered into the auction, giving him more confidence, he still felt unqualified to financially compete with the elites of major factions in the high-tier auction.

"Hmm? Is that Ayako?"

Just as Sato stepped through the entrance of the mid-tier auction house, a woman wearing a red-and-white kimono and an oni mask brushed past him.

He immediately turned to look at her retreating figure, his gaze landing on the familiar-looking jade waist ornament at her hip.

Under his watchful eyes, the black-haired woman he suspected to be Ayako disappeared into the palace-like high-tier auction house.