When the meteorite appeared in the auction hall, many people began to discuss it. Finally, someone made a bid, using the financial strength of one kilogram of gold to purchase the meteorite.
Although they were hoping to get a bargain, the faction that bought the meteorite also managed to get some inside information. It was rumored that Lord Fengshen of Yuzhou had found a meteorite on his way back to the country, and this meteorite contained extraterrestrial elements. Moreover, the meteorite had fallen in New Guinea, which was also in Southeast Asia.
With this in mind, the faction that believed it had obtained insider information purchased the meteorite. After the auction dispersed, the transaction was completed.
Following this, the auction continued as usual, with various items appearing in the hall. Some items caught the eye of these individuals, while others were directly withdrawn from sale. In this situation, the highlight of the auction finally arrived: the auction of ability potions.
Nowadays, to become an ability user, one must consume an ability potion. The production of ability potions requires the head of a corpse king. However, corpse kings in China have been virtually wiped out, making the possession of ability potions monopolized. Major factions still had unused ability potions, but these were inaccessible to ordinary people, and minor factions didn't even have the qualification to look at them.
Thus, when the ability potions appeared in the hall, they immediately excited everyone.
Pale green liquid appeared on five trays, each with its own information. Some potions were for strengthening muscles, others for strengthening hair. In general, the ability potions that appeared here were mostly for strengthening the body. Material-type potions were impossible to find here, let alone nature-type potions.
However, even such potions, at the moment of their appearance, still inevitably caused excitement, with eyes eagerly fixed on the hall. The host felt it most directly. Standing in the center, he was stunned by the scene in the surrounding fan-shaped private boxes, as if pairs of green eyes had suddenly appeared in the darkness.
The host couldn't help but swallow, his mouth becoming dry and parched. He then said, "Finally, the auction items are five ability potions, to be auctioned in five separate lots, one potion at a time. The starting bid is one thousand tons of grain. Due to the seller's special request, this auction only accepts grain, not hard cash."
Upon hearing the host's words, someone in a private box couldn't help but blurt out, "Why didn't you say so earlier? We didn't bring any grain. And a thousand tons of grain, are you trying to rob us?"
A thousand tons of grain might not have been much before the apocalypse. Any large granary would have tens of thousands of tons of grain. But now it was the apocalypse, and grain was already scarce. A thousand tons of grain could feed sixty-six thousand people for a month, calculated at 500 grams per person per day.
Such a high price could directly purchase an entire city, and this was only the starting bid. It was no wonder someone called it robbery. An ability potion alone cost a thousand tons of grain, which was simply too expensive.
The host heard the words coming from the private box and knew that the other party was getting agitated. However, he remained calm, his composure showing at this moment. He said lightly, "Guest in room eighteen, please do not get agitated. These are the rules of the auction. If you are interested, please use the bidding device. I can see it here. Of course, if you feel the pricing for this item is too high, we cannot do anything about it. These are the seller's requirements."
After the host said this, some mocking laughter immediately erupted in the hall, clearly indicating that the person who spoke had made a fool of themselves. They obviously had no money, and if they had no money, they should leave early and not embarrass themselves here.
The person who had been so surprised just now could only shut up. Fortunately, the place was separated by private boxes, so they couldn't see what the participants looked like. Otherwise, the person who spoke earlier would have become a laughingstock.
However, after hearing the host's bid, everyone's expression became solemn. It had long been rumored on the black market that an ability potion could be bought for a ton of gold, but it was always available in name only. Now, it seemed that the price of ability potions was about to rise, as it now required a thousand tons of grain to purchase an ability potion, and this was just the starting bid.
The host then announced, "The first ability potion is now open for auction. This is a muscle-strengthening ability potion. You may not know what this means, so I will put it plainly: after using this ability potion, you can freely control the muscles all over your body, and your strength will increase to a terrifying level. You can tear apart a water buffalo with your bare hands, and even an African elephant cannot match the strength of an ability user!"
After the host finished speaking, someone immediately bid, "One thousand one hundred tons of grain!"
"One thousand one hundred and fifty tons of grain."
"One thousand three!"
...
The host watched the prices on the board continuously rise, sweat trickling down his forehead. At this moment, he also felt the pressure. He never expected to host such a grand auction in his lifetime. If it were before, bids would be in hundreds of millions, and only a few people could host such an auction.
Finally, the price stopped at eighteen hundred tons. Xu Xing, hidden in the shadows, almost had a heart attack upon hearing this bid. She couldn't help but say, "I've always heard that the southeast coast is wealthy. Now I've finally witnessed it. They can bid such high prices with a straight face. Impressive."
Luo Qing leaned against the wall and said calmly, "You didn't see their expressions, how do you know they are bidding with a straight face? Perhaps these people are already feeling the pinch. Anyway, since they are hiding in the private boxes, we can't see them."
Xu Xing looked at Luo Qing curiously and asked, "Sister Luo, why don't you seem surprised at all? Don't you think this scene is crazy?"
Luo Qing shrugged and said, "A thousand tons of grain is nothing. Back then, I followed the Deputy City Lord to collect grain outside the city. Every time, at least tens of tons of grain were transported into the city. If you had seen that, you would know that a thousand tons of grain is not much."
In short, Luo Qing had seen grand occasions and was no longer shocked by the small scene before her. When the autumn harvest came this year, Yuzhou would also have a good harvest, and Xu Xing would understand what a grand occasion was when she saw it with her own eyes.
Even so, any faction that could truly afford a thousand tons of grain was definitely not simple. If they tightened their belts, they might be able to do it, but for the next month, they would essentially be starving.
As the auction progressed, all five ability potions were sold. Yuzhou harvested over eight thousand tons of grain. With this grain, Shen Feng's most serious problem in clearing out the mutated birds was resolved.
Perhaps before the apocalypse, eight thousand tons of grain was nothing. A slightly larger grain enterprise could produce hundreds of thousands of tons of grain. But now, the preciousness of grain was unimaginable. Eight thousand tons of grain was enough to feed the entire population of Yuzhou for a month, and during this month, they could achieve the autumn harvest.
What troubled Xu Xing and Luo Qing next was how to transport the grain from Meizhou to Yuzhou. The two places were thousands of miles apart, and transporting grain from Meizhou to Yuzhou would definitely not be easy, especially in the saying "poor mountains and treacherous waters breed wicked people," where wicked people were those who, when encountering merchants passing by while farming, would turn into bandits.
The Qinghong Gang guaranteed that they could transport the grain all the way to Dongting Lake. Traveling by water during this period would be fast and difficult to ambush. However, the journey from Dongting Lake to Wuling Mountain would be very difficult.
There was no other way, so Luo Qing sent a radio signal to Yuzhou, hoping that the City Lord could send reinforcements.
Shen Feng was very satisfied with this transaction and quickly agreed to Luo Qing and Xu Xing's request, stating that he would send soldiers and mercenaries to meet them.
Shen Feng also did not want to wait until a month later to deal with the mutated birds. Although a month was not a long time, any problem that arose could lead to disaster for Yuzhou.
Fortunately, the transportation in the southeast coastal area was developed. Two days later, all the grain was delivered to Meizhou. Wang Aoye personally handed over the ability potions, and then it was time to transport the grain.
Wang Aoye did not personally lead the escort, but he dispatched three ability users: Shi Weitian, Yi Xingzhong, and Xin Ze. Xin Ze's ability was to control stones, and his combat power was also guaranteed. Along with Luo Qing and Xu Xing from Yuzhou, there were a total of five ability users escorting the grain. With such a lineup, unless ability users intervened, the grain could not be stolen.
Finally, the grain was transported by water. Eight thousand tons of grain required a large fleet to carry. More than a dozen ships first sailed into the sea, then entered the Yangtze River, and traveled upstream to Dongting Lake. There were no dangers along the way.
Xu Xing had expected to encounter a group of river bandits during the voyage. She walked up and asked, "Do you want to eat wontons or knife-cut noodles?"
If such a situation had occurred, Xu Xing would have been overjoyed. She had long wanted to act as a righteous hero, but she hadn't had the chance because she couldn't find any bad guys. Life in Yuzhou City was very safe. She had finally escaped her mother's control and came out into the world for experience. If she returned to Yuzhou uneventfully, wouldn't it be too easy?
Unfortunately, the river surface was indeed calm. There were quite a few small boats traveling on the Yangtze River. After the apocalypse, the number of fish schools in the Yangtze River had exploded. It was unknown how many zombies or humans these fish schools had eaten to reach such a scale. As long as they fished, they would return with a full catch. It was a pity that the Chinese sturgeon had gone extinct, otherwise, they might have been able to catch colossal creatures in the Yangtze River.
In the end, Xu Xing could only lean on the railing and look at the scenery, finding the trip boring. She hadn't encountered any bandits or river bandits, which prevented her abilities from being fully utilized.
"Alas, life is always so uninteresting," Xu Xing muttered to herself.
Luo Qing also walked over and said, "That's because you don't discover the interesting things around you. Do you see the Yangtze River? The City Lord and Ke Yiming once chased a wicked dragon on this river and finally killed it near Chaohu Lake. This battle took place on the Yangtze River."
Xu Xing had indeed heard about the City Lord and his group slaying the wicked dragon of the Yangtze River. She immediately became interested and couldn't help but ask Luo Qing, "Sister Luo, do you think wicked dragons might still appear in the Yangtze River? Like giant pythons or something?"
Xu Xing also wanted to imitate her idol now. If she could personally kill a wicked dragon in the Yangtze River, she would surely become a heroine spoken of by others.
Luo Qing shrugged and said, "I don't know about that. Maybe there will be, maybe there won't be. Anyway, according to the news, there are no wicked dragons appearing. However, I heard that there are water monsters appearing in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. I'm not sure about the specifics."
Hearing this, Xu Xing's eyes lit up. "There are water monsters in the upper reaches of the Yellow River? Both the Yangtze River and the Yellow River are mother rivers. The City Lord killed the wicked dragon of the Yangtze River before, and now it's my turn to kill the water monster of the Yellow River."
"Then let's talk about it when you can leave Yuzhou. Yuzhou is currently under lockdown. If you go out, you might be arrested. I heard that Cao Fuli and Lin Yue were almost caught in Yanjing, but luckily they escaped," Luo Qing replied afterward.