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As everyone stared daggers at him, Viscount Yelu grew flustered and anxious. ‘Break! Break now! Break for me!’ he thought desperately.

At that moment, he resembled a player in real life who had spent money on 400 Gacha Cards without getting the desired reward. He stared at the Black Magic Crystal with bloodshot eyes.

However, no matter how anxious and desperate he was, reality remained unchanged. The future where the Black Magic Crystal would crack or explode simply did not exist.

“Impossible, this must be impossible. If this is the genuine Black Magic Crystal, then what’s in my secret chamber?” Viscount Yelu’s face went pale as he forcefully tossed the crystal onto the ground, shouting in panic.

His voice was filled with panic and fear, as if he was afraid of something. The Black Magic Crystal hit the ground with a crisp noise. Despite cracking the floor tile, its surface remained unblemished.

Hearing his words, the people below the stage were either dazed, confused, or had sensed something. For a moment, the scene fell into deafening silence.

But soon, the silence was broken by a shout. “Impossible, impossible, impossible!” It was Viscount Yelu again.

Looking at the unscathed Black Magic Crystal on the ground, his heart filled with anxiety. His already pale face grew even paler as his pupils shrank to the extreme.

No matter how he looked at it, the Black Magic Crystal on the ground was the same genuine item he had touched before. Since it was genuine, it must have been taken from his home. Someone had robbed him!

By now, even he could easily figure out the perpetrator. ‘The Black-hearted Princess!’ he thought.

An incredibly beautiful but utterly despicable girl instantly emerged in his mind. ‘Oh no, that treasure of mine is still kept in the secret chamber!’ he realized.

Suddenly, he remembered an odd person he had met a few years back while traveling. Back then, that person was close to death. Whether out of pity or on a whim, Viscount Yelu had rescued him.

Just like in the fairytales he had heard as a child, the odd person gave him a gift—an ancient-looking tortoiseshell. The person told him it was a great opportunity. Once the time was right, the tortoiseshell would open and reveal a valuable item.

Viscount Yelu hadn’t been convinced at all. However, as soon as the odd person flew into the air and disappeared in a flash of light, he nearly knelt down in awe. This was a true oddity! What they said must be true!

Since then, Viscount Yelu kept the tortoiseshell by his side. He waited and waited, but several years passed, and the opportunity never appeared. He had tried to open the tortoiseshell by various means, but always failed. Despite this, he believed in the odd person’s words more and more.

To prevent anyone from snatching the opportunity, he kept the tortoiseshell in the secret chamber under his room and inspected it daily.

Now, the Black Magic Crystals that had been placed on the same shelf as the tortoiseshell were here. This meant that his opportunity had probably been snatched by the Black-hearted Princess! How could he not panic?

“Keep an eye on these things!” Viscount Yelu shouted to his underlings and then started sprinting. He seemed incredibly panicked, as if in great trouble. Everyone was confused by this.

In the VVIP guest room, “What’s wrong with him?” Kastina was puzzled. She wanted to keep watching the comedy show.

“He probably realized that a burglar visited his secret chamber,” Yaeger said with a smile.

“So what if he knew? The outcome is decided,” Kastina said, blinking. “Unless he kept something very important in the secret chamber. But wouldn’t he keep the most important things in his treasure vault?” she added.

Hearing that, Yaeger suddenly remembered the tortoiseshell and a small stone tablet.
‘Of all the things I stole from the secret chamber, only the tortoiseshell hiding the small black stone tablet is unique,’ she thought.

“I’m sure all of you have witnessed and understood what just happened!” the auctioneer’s voice rang out.

“This is a premeditated and malicious act! They are trying to destroy the Imperial Auction House’s reputation, which is as pure as snow. How shameless, how immoral!”

“As we all know, our Imperial Auction House is the only officially sanctioned auction house within the Jade Empire. They want to topple us so that those illegal and unregulated underground auctions can continue acting like bloodsuckers to the people!”

“Therefore, these freaks will use all sorts of ways to slander us and tarnish our reputation, just like what happened just now! By the way, after investigation, we discovered that guest number two fifty is confirmed to be the owner of a certain underground auction site. They have both the means and motive to deprive you of your wealth by destroying us.”

“The same thing happened to the previous Imperial Auction House. Now, they’re trying to do it again. But this time, they failed! Their conspiracy was unsuccessful! I believe that everyone here has a keen eye.”

“Compared to those freaks and bloodsuckers who can only operate underground, it is clear that a trading platform like ours is the best choice! We stand in the sunlight, providing a fair and comfortable trading environment for everyone!” The auctioneer paused slightly to let everyone digest these words.

“Tsk tsk tsk, those underground auction people are definitely wicked!” one player mumbled.

“That’s right, I hear they do human trafficking too. How evil!”

“Players like us who don’t know or understand these things will definitely be scammed to our last cent!”

“That’s right, I heard the underground auctions charge commissions up to twenty percent. Absolute bloodsuckers!”

“The Imperial Auction House only charges fifteen percent. Moreover, they are officially licensed and have a long history.”

“It’s lucky their evil schemes didn’t succeed this time. Otherwise, we’d be in trouble in the future.”

“Those bloodsuckers will definitely suck us dry!”

“I knew that number two fifty guy was off. Just as I expected!”

The players started a massive discussion and became emotional. The players in real life also joined in the same discussion.

Soon enough, the Imperial Auction House established a positive reputation. Meanwhile, the underground auctions lost all credibility. The players who initially wanted to try trading on the black market instantly lost motivation.

Safety and security were what the player base valued most. After all, nobody wanted to be scammed or risk their lives while trading. With their positive reputation now established, everyone knew which establishment to choose.

Meanwhile, the nobles were less enthusiastic. Knowing more, they naturally had more choices. Several nobles who had wanted to cause a ruckus like Viscount Yelu exchanged helpless looks. If they stepped up now, it would end negatively no matter what they did.

The rising momentum of the Imperial Auction House had begun and was now unstoppable. Ironically, this shift in reputation was forcefully jumpstarted by their own peer.

Seeing that the timing was right, the auctioneer spoke again,

“To show our gratitude for everyone’s trust and support, after the auction is over, our auction house will host a large top-up event. No matter how much money you top-up, you’ll receive a five percent discount! In addition, you can receive further discounts by becoming our VIP members. The higher the level, the more discounts you get!”

“The Imperial Auction House currently has nine VIP levels. Each level offers additional discounts and benefits. The usual commission is fifteen percent, while the commission for VIP customers can go as low as two percent!”

“Yes, you heard me right, as low as two percent! The more you buy, the more you save! Also, VIP customers not only get free entry into our auctions but also have the right to first purchase. All your desired equipment, materials, and items will be reserved for you!”

The auctioneer took a few deep breaths after speaking. The script was long, and she had spoken quickly. She needed to rest.

All the natives under the stage were stunned. What was that? Could they really do this in an auction? Although there were VIP ranks in the underground auctions, they didn’t have so many levels and benefits! It sounded like they were giving money away. Most natives thought it must be a lie.

However, the players had positive reactions.

“Two percent commission… Hiss! As expected of the Imperial Auction House, they are barely making any money!”

“That’s true. They are fair and impartial and charge low fees. This is perfect!”

“I think a five percent discount on top-ups is great. They are clearly giving us benefits.”

“Yes. I heard that your spending amount is automatically calculated once you become a member. You automatically get upgraded to VIP once you reach the threshold. That’s intuitive.”

“There are so many benefits. It’s so nice.”

In the VVIP guest room, “Lowly slave, we’re getting overwhelmingly positive reviews!” Kastina said excitedly. To her, these outsiders were like geese that laid golden eggs. As long as they stayed at the Imperial Auction House and spent money, she would earn gold coins endlessly.

There was no doubt that Yaeger’s VIP system was successful. “The rest depends on how you operate the business,” Yaeger said calmly, taking a sip of black tea. As someone familiar with modern spending culture, she knew she could always generate money with the right resources.

“Leave it to me!” Kastina said, smacking her chest and creating a massive wave.

“Yes. I’ll be going out for a bit. You keep watch. Kill anyone who dares to cause more trouble,” Yaeger said indifferently as she stood up.

Meanwhile, below, although Viscount Yelu was there to sabotage them, the auction process was legitimate and would be honored regardless. By the time the auctioneer had finished speaking, the Black Magic Crystals had already been handed over.

Viscount Yelu’s underlings and the fat middle-aged man exited from the backstage. “We failed,” said a tall, well-built underling with a scar under his eye, once they were outside.

“That’s right,” the obese middle-aged man said casually, glancing at the case he held.

“We might be punished when we return. What a bother,” the tall man said, facepalming unhappily.

There were five other underlings behind him. Including the obese middle-aged man, there were seven people in total.

“Let’s hope we won’t get scolded,” the obese middle-aged man said calmly, carrying the case containing banknotes.

“Hehe, dream on. You’ll definitely get the worst of it!” the tall man said, putting his hands down and laughing. This was human nature. It was tragic when one person was in misery, but if someone else was in an even worse situation, it made the first person feel better.

“I…” The obese middle-aged man turned to look at him. Suddenly, he shouted as a green light flashed in his eyes.

“Lord Viscount, what are you doing? Lord Viscount!” As he screamed hysterically, everyone couldn’t help but look in that direction. But there was nothing.

“What are you screaming about… Ueeeek!” Just as the tall man looked back to chastise him, he received a punch to the face. Immediately after, the case in his hand was forcefully snatched away!

Official art of Yunuen Lin: