Ze Yuan watched Xu An with an unchanged expression. "It's trash, of course. Who knew you humans would treat this thing as a treasure?"
Xu An was instantly speechless.
"Then do you have any better tree hearts?"
Ze Yuan, caught off guard, blurted out before even thinking, "Of course. I have plenty of tree hearts, and they're all older than this one."
Before he could finish speaking, Xu An grabbed him out of the air with her bare hands. Xu An held Ze Yuan entirely in her palm, a cunning glint in her eyes.
"If you had them, why didn't you say so earlier? You made me fight that Teng tree! Are you rebelling, Ze Yuan? Are you plotting for me to be killed by the Teng tree one day so you can inherit my fortune?!"
Xu An lowered her voice, gritting her teeth as she looked at the little figure before her.
Her hands continued to squeeze Ze Yuan's cheeks.
Ze Yuan's fair little face turned red from the squeezing, and his big, round eyes welled up with tears.
He pushed against Xu An's fingers with all his might, but under the immense disparity in strength, he could only struggle powerlessly.
He wore a wronged expression.
"Even a tree heart from over ten years is a good thing. Otherwise, why would so many people down there be fighting over it?"
As Xu An was rubbing Ze Yuan's cheeks, the bidding below had already reached thirty-eight thousand.
This was a price Xu An had never anticipated.
After all, they had spent half a day looking for precious metals below and had only exchanged them for less than twenty thousand contribution points.
Yet now, a mere tree heart of average age was so valuable. Xu An curiously stopped her actions, and in that brief respite, Ze Yuan flew out of Xu An's grasp. He wore a miserable expression, feigning punches and kicks at Xu An's back in the air.
He decided he would keep a greater distance from Xu An next time and would never get close to this damned woman again.
When Xu An realized Ze Yuan had slipped away, she intended to catch him again, but seeing so many people around, she could only give up.
After all, outsiders couldn't see Ze Yuan, and her hands flailed wildly in the air, making her look like a lunatic.
"What is that tree heart used for? Why are so many people fighting over it?"
Ze Yuan's eyes widened as he looked at Xu An. "You mean after all this time, you still don't know the use of a tree heart?"
Xu An nodded blankly. "Should I know?"
"Idiot, moron!"
"This tree heart can calm the mind and spirit. It can also help maintain consciousness in environments like fog and mist, preventing one from becoming dazed. Simply put, it's a potent mint, keeping one alert at all times."
"But that's its current effect. Because you humans haven't awakened your powers yet, you can't absorb the energy contained within the tree heart. However, if you awaken your powers."
"The energy in the tree heart will be like the crystal cores in zombie brains; it can be absorbed by humans."
Xu An was stunned after hearing this, her regret soaring.
"Aaaahhhhhhh, stupid Ze Yuan, why didn't you say so earlier? I sold all these important things away!!"
Seeing Xu An's outburst, Ze Yuan put on a smug little expression. "I told you, that thing of yours is trash. It's only good for selling."
As soon as Xu An heard Ze Yuan's words, she understood. Ze Yuan must have something better in his possession.
Her eyes instantly lit up.
"Then do you have better quality tree hearts? Can you give me some? I'll trade with you."
Xu An tried to entice Ze Yuan.
Indeed, upon hearing Xu An's words, Ze Yuan, without even knowing what to trade for, happily scurried over to Xu An.
"Then I want to trade with food. You have to make me something I've never eaten before, and I'll give you tree hearts with longer lifespans."
Xu An grinned. "No problem, deal!"
As Xu An and Ze Yuan finalized their trade, the auction below reached its conclusion.
Xu An's tree heart was eventually auctioned off for a high price of forty-two thousand points.
Xu An smacked her lips, sighing, "There are so many rich people on this lighthouse. I wonder if I can find some leeks to harvest."
Xu An, who had accidentally spoken her mind, didn't realize that a group of people had been staring at her the entire time.
"If I had known this piece of trash tree heart could sell for so much money, I wouldn't have brought out the corpses of those monsters."
Even though Xu An knew these things were valuable, she hadn't expected them to be this valuable.
Ze Yuan, however, seemed indifferent. "Those useless things are no good to you anyway. It's better to exchange them for good ingredients. Maybe I can even reward you with something you've never seen before."
Upon hearing this, Xu An immediately scurried to Ze Yuan's side like a sycophant. "Great Ze Yuan, what other good things do you have? Show them to me, let me have a look."
Ze Yuan wore a proud expression, clearly very pleased with Xu An's fawning and flattery.
"We'll talk about it later. Can you show some ambition?"
Xu An thought to herself, "Tch, what's ambition?"
"Who needs ambition when there are treasures?"
Soon, the tree heart was bought by a man wearing a silver mask and a white suit.
And Xu An's remaining auction items were each more astonishing than the last.
It could be said that the auction house tonight was the grandest in the two years since the lighthouse was established.
The little mermaid monster that Xu An brought back even sold for a sky-high price of eighty thousand.
However, something that made Xu An confused was that until the very end, she never saw the rabbit-headed monster put up for auction.
But when settling the remaining payment afterward, an additional hundred thousand contribution points were added.
The auction house explained that someone had taken a liking to the item beforehand and had directly offered a buyout price.
At first, Xu An didn't understand the meaning of a buyout.
She thought that if this thing could sell for a hundred thousand privately, wouldn't it fetch even more at auction?
However, the owner of the auction house explained.
A buyout meant that regardless of how much the people below bid, this mysterious VIP would purchase it at ten thousand more than the highest bid.
And in a place Xu An wasn't privy to, a secret transaction had already taken place.
The highest price for this item was also ninety thousand contribution points.
And the unknown mysterious person had purchased this rabbit-headed monster for one hundred thousand contribution points.
After the explanation, Xu An's dissatisfaction finally subsided.
However, she remained very curious about the identity of this big spender, or rather, this benefactor behind the scenes.
Although Xu An knew that most people here used fake names, including herself, auction houses typically conducted background checks on some of their mysterious VIP clients.
Even if they didn't know the specific identities of these people, they would have a general understanding of their backgrounds and assets.
Xu An went to inquire with the auction house staff about the person who bought the rabbit-headed monster.
The manager, however, looked mysterious, wearing a proper smile. "I apologize, Miss Xu. Just as we don't disclose your identity, we also won't disclose the buyer's identity."