The secret manual was obtained.
As the Crocodile was still congratulating himself on his victory, he saw the undisguised amusement on Chen Yu's face.
A moment of stunned silence.
His expression instantly turned icy.
He knew he had been played.
"Chen Yu, Young Master Chen, I'll remember you!" The Crocodile's eyes were filled with resentment, and everyone at the auction saw it clearly.
Yet, everyone could understand.
The bidding, which should have ended at 250,000, was driven by Chen Yu to a staggering 600,000, causing the Crocodile to lose a straight 350,000 gold coins for no reason.
Anyone would be furious.
"Congratulations, Your Excellency, on acquiring the sword technique. Your family's strength will surely reach new heights," Chen Yu said, cupping his fists and smiling. "Alas, I am short of funds, or I would have certainly vied for it further. What a shame, what a shame."
"Heh..."
The Crocodile sneered.
Feeling the intense hostility emanating from the Crocodile, Chen Yu acted as if he were completely oblivious, his gaze falling upon Dai Bi, whose expression still held a hint of surprise.
"Miss Dai Bi, it is time for you to make the announcement. The ownership of the sword technique."
Dai Bi then came back to her senses.
She glanced up at Chen Yu, a natural smile appearing in her eyes. Her fair fingers rested on the secret manual.
"The Dawn Sword Technique belongs to Private Room 013."
Upon hearing Dai Bi's announcement.
Many at the auction began to prepare to leave. They had received advance notice of the auction items.
The Dawn Sword Technique was also the last item up for bidding this time.
However—
As everyone was getting up, several more trays were brought into the auction hall. Seeing this, those who were ready to leave instinctively sat back down.
"Everyone."
"The auction is not over yet. Please do not be so hasty."
Dai Bi's alluring voice echoed.
The crowd took their seats, only to see Dai Bi pull off the red cloth covering the items.
In his private room, Chen Yu's expression tensed.
Finally, it was his turn!
The exquisite canned food.
This was the moment he had been waiting for. He hadn't expected his canned food to be treated as the grand finale.
Frankly speaking.
Chen Yu knew his canned food was quite good, but he didn't think it was enough to be the grand finale. With a light chuckle, Chen Yu considered a possibility.
It appeared to be the finale, but it wasn't truly the grand finale.
Before an auction begins, the auction house would publicize the grand finale items to attract participants with substantial funds to bid.
Chen Yu's fruit preserves did not have this.
Logically, they should have appeared in the middle of the auction. However, the elderly fox had arranged for them to be auctioned last, which implied one possibility: to drive the price down as much as possible.
The auction items had been mostly bid on.
The participants had obtained their desired items and had mostly spent their money. At this point, if Chen Yu's canned fruit appeared, they would not have much capital left.
The bidding price would be lowered!
As Chen Yu and the elderly fox had discussed, ten cans would be auctioned to determine an average price. The lower the bidding price, the lower the average, and thus the less money the Ailton Chamber of Commerce would spend on purchasing them.
"Old fox, old fox, you've really got it figured out!"
Chen Yu muttered.
Unfortunately, even though he knew the old fox's plan, he could do nothing to stop it. The latter indeed had the advantage of being the organizer, and the order of the items was their prerogative. Chen Yu had no right to interfere.
Seeing more items being brought out, many participants were confused.
"This item is also the final grand finale of our auction today, the exquisite canned food." Dai Bi reached out and held a can in her palm.
Canned food?
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
"Miss Dai Bi, our grand finale is canned food?"
"Canned food as the finale, sigh..."
"Is this some kind of entertainment show?"
Many customers at the auction burst into laughter. While fruit preserves were rare, those who attended auctions were not without experience in consuming them.
To use canned food as the final grand finale was simply laughable!
"No!"
The participants downstairs suddenly froze.
"This... is this canned food made from Fire Fruit?"
"That's right, it is indeed Fire Fruit," Dai Bi said with a smile. "This canned food is made from Fire Fruit, and it contains two whole Fire Fruits preserved within. Furthermore, consuming this canned food can provide 4 points of Flame Strength, and it only requires 100 Fire Resistance to consume."
Dai Bi held the can and introduced it softly.
"This canned food has been appraised by our Ailton Chamber of Commerce's chief appraiser. All attributes are in perfect condition, and its taste is extremely delicious."
"Exquisite Canned Food, starting bid 5,000 gold coins."
The auction hall fell silent.
Everyone was stunned.
They doubted if their ears were deceiving them.
Using Fire Fruit to make canned food was clearly a waste of precious resources. Many wanted to shout this out when Dai Bi confirmed it.
Who would have thought—
Upon hearing Dai Bi's subsequent words, they were speechless.
4 points of Flame Strength.
Only 100 Fire Resistance required for consumption.
What?
Could this small can of food elevate the attributes of the Fire Fruit?
"Miss Dai Bi, is what you said true?" someone asked, still incredulous, swallowing hard and with suspicion. "4 points of Flame Strength, and only 100 Fire Resistance required to consume?"
"Yes!"
Gulp.
The sound of swallowing saliva became more frequent.
This canned food was a treasure for fire mages.
The reason why Fire Fruit had never been bid extraordinarily high was due to its stringent consumption requirements, needing a full 200 Fire Resistance.
200 Fire Resistance.
This would require surviving in high-temperature environments for over a decade, or consuming hundreds of Lava Fruits. It's important to note that with increased consumption, the attributes provided by Lava Fruits would also decrease.
It wasn't that 200 Lava Fruits provided 200 Fire Resistance.
The same applied to Fire Fruit.
In later stages of consumption, one Fire Fruit might only provide 0.1 Flame Strength.
This canned food enhanced the attributes of the Fire Fruit.
And it lowered the consumption requirements.
"Miss Dai Bi, are ten bottles being auctioned together this time?" someone inquired. Dai Bi smiled and replied, "No, the Fire Fruit canned food is auctioned on a per-bottle basis. If you are a fire mage, or if there is a fire mage in your family who needs a breakthrough, you can buy a bottle to try."
"10,000!"
Almost the moment Dai Bi finished speaking, someone at the auction immediately shouted.
"12,000."
Another person raised the bid.
"15,000."
"Don't anyone try to snatch it from me, I bid 30,000!"
"31,000!"
"Heh, you think 30,000 will get it? I bid 50,000!" the Minotaur bellowed gruffly. "I'm the one who hasn't bought anything at this auction. I have plenty of funds, let's see who dares to compete with me!"
"I'm truly sorry, I bid 55,000!"
"60,000!"
Chen Yu, standing by the window, stared intently below, a single sentence replaying in his mind.
"I'm rich!"