Xu An got what she wanted as she wished, and as for the girl who fled in embarrassment, Xu An could only silently apologize in her heart.
The auction continued in an orderly fashion.
The girl in the Lolita dress glanced in Xu An's direction after seeing her rival flee, and then left the auction venue uninterested.
Everyone else thought she was just a brainless, pampered young lady, but no one knew that she was the groomed heir of the family.
The girl didn't know why, but she always felt that Xu An, who had bid for the鴛鴦刀 (yuānyāng dāo - mandarin duck knives), was strange.
But Xu An's performance was too ordinary.
She wondered if she should go and meet her old friend to get a detailed understanding of the situation.
Xu An looked at the mandarin duck knives delivered to her by the waiter, finding them hard to put down.
Seeing Xu An's unseemly infatuation, Ze Yuan was a bit speechless.
Did she love them that much?
He really didn't understand Xu An.
Ze Yuan didn't understand, but for Xu An, knives were her most loyal companions, sometimes even more important than Zhou Haimei or Goudan.
Humans could be careless, let alone animals.
But only the knives in Xu An's own hands were the only weapons that could protect her at all times.
"Next, we will calmly wait for the corpses of those monsters to be auctioned at a good price."
Although the auctioneer was a bit of a scoundrel, it depended on who he was dealing with.
When Xu An was auctioning, she naturally gnashed her teeth at such an auctioneer.
But when her own items were being auctioned, she would smile sweetly.
She wished the auctioneer could fetch higher prices.
The auctioneer also understood the principle of not being too coy.
"I believe all distinguished guests are waiting here for the final item of the auction. This is also the first time our auction house has received so many rare treasures. Today, I am honored alongside all distinguished guests to witness these items."
As the man's words fell, large trolleys covered with red silk cloths were pushed in.
"These are all fierce and monstrous beasts that roam rampant on land, but their bodies are favorites for laboratories and master craftsmen. These monsters are filled with various treasures and can be exchanged for precious materials."
"Now, let us look at the first monster, ranked 45th on the mercenary monster list, the Vine Tree Monster!"
"This monster belongs to the plant family, its cause of formation is temporarily unknown, but this monster is exceptionally agile. Anyone who approaches within three feet will be shot by its vines. One whip down, and a normal person would lose half their life."
Below, a burly man, estimated to be about 1.9 meters tall, stood up and said dismissively, pointing at the trolley behind the man.
"Don't try to bluff us. A single branch of that vine tree is as thick as a child's wrist. I was fortunate enough to have seen that vine; it was enormous, so huge that your entire auction house couldn't contain the vine tree. What could your small trolley behind you possibly hold?"
"Are you auctioning it under the banner of a vine tree just by cutting off a branch?"
After the burly man finished speaking, the venue erupted in commotion, because the man had a point.
Most people here were discerning, and no one was an ignorant junior who could be easily fooled.
Xu An shook her head, looking at the crowd below, "Although they have some insight, they are still ignorant."
Ze Yuan, imitating Xu An, crossed his arms and shook his head, his posture exactly the same.
"Ignorant, ignorant, too ignorant."
Almost the instant the burly man raised his objection, the auctioneer on stage calmly walked to the trolley behind him, a confident smile on his face.
He smiled at the burly man, but that smile seemed to carry a mocking tone, as if he were mocking the burly man for being an unsophisticated bumpkin.
As the auctioneer lifted the red silk, what was revealed inside made everyone present gasp.
"This..."
"This is actually the heart of that tree!"
"Heavens, someone actually managed to extract the tree's heart!"
"Who on earth is it? I haven't heard of any powerful mercenaries descending the tower recently."
"Could it be someone from the land?"
"But the value of the tree heart is immeasurable. If it was indeed done by those natives on land, how could they bring it to the lighthouse to sell?"
The murmuring from the crowd grew louder, even louder than when the burly man had raised his question.
The auctioneer still wore a smile, "Esteemed guest, do you find this satisfactory now?"
The moment the burly man saw the tree heart, he was instantly stunned, seemingly unable to believe that someone in this world could actually extract such a thing.
However, the man always valued his pride above all else. Even though he was publicly proven wrong, the burly man still looked unconvinced.
"How do we know your tree heart is real?"
The crowd covered their mouths and laughed, laughing at the burly man's ignorance and his entire demeanor, which seemed to be all talk and no substance.
"Black Tiger, sit down quickly. This is clearly a tree heart. Even if it's not from that vine tree on land, it could only be from an even more powerful tree monster. What's the difference?"
"Yes, stop embarrassing yourself. The important thing is the tree heart, not which tree it came from."
"Exactly, don't tarnish the reputation of your White Tiger team, how embarrassing, sit down quickly."
The man named Black Tiger wanted to say something more, but he was choked by the words of those beside him, his face instantly turning red.
"You, you don't know anything!"
With that, he angrily sat down.
What, you ask why he didn't just leave the venue?
He was angry, but he wasn't stupid. Black Tiger knew the value of the tree heart and naturally wanted to stay and see if he could snag a bargain.
After the auctioneer finished introducing the tree heart, the auction officially began.
"Starting bid is 8,000, with increments of no less than 500. Please begin bidding!"
"I bid 10,000!"
"I bid 15,000!"
"I bid 20,000!"
"..."
Xu An looked at the crazy scene before her, realizing that the "junk" in her space was actually this valuable.
These were all collected by Xu An when Ze Yuan told her they were good things.
Xu An alone couldn't have dealt with that giant vine tree, but she had her space. She used her space to cheat and gain buffs, safely securing this tree heart.
However, after obtaining it, Ze Yuan had said that the tree heart was too young and was just garbage.
Xu An had put it aside for a long time, thinking it wasn't valuable at all.
She looked suspiciously at Ze Yuan, "Why did you say this thing was garbage before?"