Val, the adventurer

Liu Wei and Sophia were surprised by Richard's question, although for different reasons. But, luckily, both of them are on the same page about not continuing this conversation.

As Liu Wei cleverly used sign language to secretly pass the message to his assistant, the latter playfully slapped Richard's arm and said that they could talk at another time when she wasn't there. She reminded him about how they were getting late.

Richard agrees and soon, Liu Wei finds himself sitting in the back seat of the former's car while Sophia sits beside her supposed friend, who was driving on his own.

All the way, Liu Wei felt like a third wheel on Sophia's road trip with her boyfriend. He was nowhere comfortable even striking up any sort of conversation with them and just listened to music, closing his eyes until the destination arrived.

Surprisingly, it's a state-owned auction house. 

There are two types of auction houses in every country. One is owned by the adventurer guild and the other is owned by the Divinian council but managed by the government officials. The former type is found one is every city while the latter is found only in the capital city.

Liu Wei planned to visit the former type on a later date but didn't expect to come here and too, so soon. He quickly took out his smartphone and sent a text to Sophia.

Just like her boss, she was also puzzled about why they arrived at the Auction House. As far as she knows, the underground mLiu Weiet is located in the outer sector of the city.

Richard replied that he had small work at the Auction House and they would leave once he was done with it. He further invited them to come with him.

 Liu Wei and Sophia followed him to the Auction House. The latter swiped some sort of VIP Pass to enter the highest floor, which contains artifacts of extremely high value and is restricted for visitors.

Liu Wei wondered whether this guy was really that rich. After all, the car they drove is only worth 50,000 dollars and is mostly considered a premium range vehicle, not an ultra premium or luxury range.

As they entered the place, Liu Wei's eyes fell on various artifacts displayed openly but protected by some sort of glass chamber. There are also CCTVs everywhere and the guards around are also high-tier Divinians. The weakest of them was found to be at 4-Tier and the strongest of them is a 6-Tier.

However, Liu Wei didn't look like he was impressed by the collections. He merely glanced at them as they followed the other two. Sophia, on the other hand, looked like she had stars in her eyes. She couldn't remove her attention from the displayed items.

The manager there greeted Richard with all smiles and said that the item is ready. As he added that only he could follow him, Richard nodded and then turned around to say, "Uhh, Babe, please wait here for a couple of minutes. I'll be right back. Mr. Liu Wei, you can also take a look around until then."

"Sure, take your own time," Sophia became excited and started scurrying around to take a closer look at each artifact. On the other hand, Liu Wei took the opportunity to clarify his doubts.

"Oh, my god, this Sword of Rain is a Semi-divine grade weapon from the 3rd century. Can't believe they still preserved it for more than 700 yea… Hmm…" Her concentration was disturbed by the touch on her shoulder.

As she turned around to see Liu Wei, the latter took out his smartphone and typed a text message instead of using sign language due to the presence of cameras around. He asked about the nature of her relationship with Richard.

Upon mentioning his name, Sophia calmed down a little bit and replied directly as he failed to mention to reply to him through texts only, "He's not exactly my boyfriend, Liu Wei. Our relationship is complicated to define. Let's just say he loves my company and buys me anything I want."

Seeing the look of embarrassment mixed with guilt on her face, Liu Wei didn't drag the matter further and asked about Richard's job.

Sophia answered, "He is in the City council, working as Public works Director."

"A public official means he isn't wealthy." Liu Wei sent the message as a comment.

Sophia shrugged her shoulders and defended her choice, "Well, he still earns 130K per year and didn't have anything to spend it on. Everything is free." After a brief pause, she added, "He also owns an ancestral mansion in the Royal Ridge Estates neighborhood by the way."

Liu Wei retorted quickly with a message: "But, your previous boyfriend is a billionaire."

Sophia's face dLiu Weiened as soon as she read it. "Well, money isn't everything, Liu Wei. If you love someone, you also have to respect their opinions too, not just impose your thoughts on them. And because of him, I decided not to have any commitments with my heart."

Liu Wei silently stared at her for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. If he counters with any statement, he knows that there is going to be a fight. Hence, he chose to close their conversation with an "I support your decision whatever it might be" message and shifted his attention elsewhere.

Sophia didn't understand the hidden meaning behind it and just thanked him with a smile. As she went back on observing the items, Liu Wei walked away from her with a bit of disappointment in his heart and started roaming around to pass the time.

There weren't too many artifacts. So, it didn't take long for him to scan everything. Liu Wei could only take out his smartphone and start browsing the internet.

Roughly a minute later, a rough-looking man entered while wearing a full set of heavy armor. 

No need to guess his identity. 

He is an adventurer, but judging by his current attire and how his face was smeared with mud and blood, he seemed like he came here directly from a battle, possibly a dungeon.

How come? This building was located right in the middle of the city. Did he teleport here or something?

In an instant, the guards became alert. Everyone gripped the handles of their respective energy cannons tighter. Their arms and legs started shivering involuntarily.

Liu Wei's attention was also piqued due to the smell of the blood on his dual swords hanging behind his back. The blood looked quite fresh and the floor was getting spoiled by the drops. However, no one dared to oppose the humans.

Furrowing his brows, Liu Wei scanned him and then thought, "An 8-tier expert like Dad? He is dangerous indeed. No wonder everyone looks afraid."

Very soon, the assistant manager of the VIP section came out as if he was in a hurry and greeted him with a deep bow, "Mr. Val. It's been a while. I see that you are injured. Do you need medical assistance?"

The adventurer answered while maintaining a severe look in his deep voice, "Don't bother. I'm here to sell an item and leave."

"Certainly, please follow me to the…" As the Assistant manager was trying to escort him to the door that leads to private chambers, the adventurer interrupted him, "No need. Let's do it here."

"Here?" The assistant manager was taken aback. He looked around. There are cameras and eyewitnesses around. It was never recommended to do transactions in such a place.

Before he tries to convince the adventurer, the latter pours mana into the ring around his index finger and takes out an item that looks like a sword with a shiny black-colored crystal as the blade. However, it looked quite blunt at one glance.

The assistant manager's attention was caught by the blade. "I have never seen a blade like this."

He grabbed the hilt. The adventurer let out a mysterious and handed the sword. However, it was just then, the sword slipped from the assistant manager's hand and the sword fell on the floor.

The marble floor was cracked at once and the assistant manager fell on his butt due to the vibrations generated by the sword's collision with the floor.

It was then the adventurer named Val let out a chuckle of amusement, "I forgot to tell you. It's over 500 kg. I believe it is made of Adamantite crystal instead of metal. What's the price you are willing to offer if I want to sell you instead of auctioning it?"

"Adamantium?" The shocked assistant manager took another look at the sword and said, "I need to bring our appraisal expert. If it is true as what you said, you can get around 10 million dollars."

"10 million? That's fuc*ing Adamantium," The adventurer got mad over the price.

"Eek…" The assistant manager was terrified a bit and quickly said that it is above his pay grade and only their chief appraiser could give him the price.

Just as Val was about to give a nod, he sensed something wrong in his 5 o'clock direction and turned his head. He saw a blazing fireball coming at him. At the same time, he also saw the caster of the attack.

"You dare…" While he was angered, he didn't move from the spot and let it strike him as he sensed weak power from the fireball.

Once the attack landed, he planned to teach a lesson to Liu Wei, but as the fireball transformed into words, his anger subsided and was replaced with astonishment, "It's not Adamantium crystal but Elerium, which is worth billions? What is Elerium? Who are you?" He looked at Liu Wei. Sophia and the others were also shocked at his absurd claim as they stared at Liu Wei.