Chapter 32: The Price of An Object of Immorality
Li Mo Shang furrowed his brows before restoring his calm expression. <A Record of Immortal Medicines>, isn't that the introductory book all medicinal practitioners were required to study before attempting to qualify as an Imperial-ranked Doctor?
That tome was very rare and limited in existence, being a treasured antique in the medicinal world. Nobody had managed to discover a method of replicating <A Record of Immortal Medicines>, hence doctors and medicinal practitioners would fight tooth or nail to obtain such a tome.
Even Li Mo Shang was only given three opportunities to memorize the contents when he was traveling with Tai Zi Hua, and that was under extremely close supervision!
However minimal the initial price of the tome was, Li Mo Shang could immediately estimate the price soaring beyond the millions. <A Record of Immortal Medicines>, the lifeblood of ancient medicine at its peak, who would dare give that up!? As expected, the first who dared to bid conformed to Li Mo Shang's anticipations.
"Five hundred thousand RMB!"
"Five hundred fifty thousand!"
"Seven hundred thousand!"
Within the first three bids, the price of the tome had risen by more than forty times, causing Wan Xue sitting beside Li Mo Shang to gape in shock. She had only assumed that the tome was somewhat aged and rare but possessing little use.
Who would have guessed that such a descript-looking tome was a treasure coveted by many? The bids refused to cease, and within a minute, the price had already exceeded ten million. Suddenly, an arrogant voice resounded throughout the auditorium, and a middle-aged man dressed in a luxurious suit stood, coldly surveying the others.
"This Liu bids fifteen million RMB for this tome! Who dares compete with me, Liu Tian Meng?"
"Mr. Liu, you mustn't snatch such a treasure from us doctors, we must have compassion for the weak and sickly. This Guan bids thirty million!"
An elderly man stood up in the right side of the auditorium, as he looked at Liu Tian Meng with a warm smile. All around them, the audience could not help but suck a deep breath and break into fierce discussion.
<A Record of Immortal Medicines> was something they cared less about, but the two offering exorbitant prices were Liu Tian Meng and Guan Zhan! Both were famous miracle doctors from the southern lands, with Liu Tian Meng reputed for restoring the nearby emperor a significant portion of his originally dwindling lifespan. Guan Zhan had even resurrected the dead, with hundreds of witnesses from all over the world, and with scientific evidence of true death!
"Holy Doctor Liu, Divine Doctor Guan, you mustn't allow us doctors to fall behind every time! The Bei Zhong Medicine Association bids thirty-five million!"
"Apologies to Holy Doctor Liu and Divine Doctor Guan, the Tian Fang Medicine Hall refuses to back down. We bid forty million!"
"Fifty million!"
"Fifty-five million!"
"Fifty-eight million!"
"…"
"Seventy million! This Guan truly wishes to see who dares compete anymore!"
On the side, Guan Zhan could be seen fuming as medicinal practitioners, doctors, and medicine associations pooled resources to contend against him and Liu Tian Meng. With an angry snort, he raised the price directly to seventy million, which caused silence to sweep across the entire hall.
Liu Tian Meng also had an unsightly expression, for these measly doctors and their unions were very lacking in individual wealth, but when pooled together, the unions could only triumph. As someone dared to raise the price to seventy-three million RMB, Guan Zhan's countenance became ashen with rage, before he unwillingly and reluctantly sat down.
With nobody else bidding, <A Record of Immortal Medicines> was sold to a young man in his twenties, as Su Zhen Zhen handed the glass case containing the tome to the furiously blushing man. Wan Xue sat listlessly as she stared beyond the glass cover, eyes dull in thought. If a tome priced at 15,000 RMB was sold for seventy-three million, what about her Yin Restoration Pill!?
Su Zhen Zhen spoke up once more, having not gotten the chance to speak during the fierce bidding contest among the medicine practitioners. With a sincere, cheerful smile, she exploited her feminine charm as she introduced the next item, winking towards the audience and moving her hips suggestively to rouse their excitement.
The second object of the auction was a golden scepter encrusted with rubies, sapphires, and diamonds. Reflecting light and displaying its twinkling gems, the scepter displayed the full effects of a lavish, unrestrained, and luxurious life.
"The second object of tonight's auction is the Midas Scepter. Obtained in the remnants of an ancient battlefield near the Western nation Primrose, the Midas Scepter has never gone through any cleaning service by the excavator or our Treasure Pavilion! Furthermore, our researchers have verified that a cloth polished by the Midas Scepter will have its threads changed to golden silk! Priced at an initial value of 150,000 RMB, with 1,000 RMB increments!"
"Ms. Su, may we get a public demonstration with the scepter's function?"
Hearing Su Zhen Zhen's claim, a dubious member among the audience called out. Assisted by the increasing murmurs of assent within the audience, Su Zhen Zhen lightly bowed, before waving for a maid to bring a cloth over.
Bringing it directly underneath the crystalline projector, she turned the cloth to allow the audience members to examine it from every angle to prevent any claim of tampering by the auctioneer, and to display that it was untouched. Holding the scepter, Su Zhen Zhen lightly polished the handle with the cloth before displaying the cloth once more.
Successive gasps within the audience could be heard as the cloth had individual threads of gold near the center!
"Three hundred thousand RMB!"
"Five hundred thousand!"
"Seven hundred thousand!"
Immediately, agitated bidding calls echoed throughout the auditorium. Within five minutes, a middle-aged woman proudly collected the golden scepter, having bid a price of thirteen million RMB. Without much pause, the next object was presented underneath the crystalline projector.
For the first hour and a half since the auction had started, nothing had caught Li Mo Shang's interest, nor had his steel sword or Wan Xue's desired Yin Restoration Pill appeared on stage. An assortment of objects had been sold, ranging from antique jewelry, archived books, herbs, to even a customized terminal for commercial use.
Not a single bid went beyond eighty million RMB for any single object, the most expensive being a masterpiece bottle of wine aged over seven hundred years. With each successive item auctioned, Wan Xue became further depressed, her head drooping as she lost her courage from the continued and excessive displays of wealth. Even when Li Mo Shang poked her shoulder thinking that she had fallen asleep, the only response given was a light sigh.
However, the tide of the auction was never predictable. All of a sudden, Su Zhen Zhen had paused mid-description of a precious jade ruyi's history, raising her hand to her right ear. After a short-muted conversation, she had regained her usual smile, although the audience could clearly tell it was faked, as she was paling each minute. Gritting her teeth, Su Zhen Zhen waved her hand for the maids to take the ruyi off stage, before giving a bow to the audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Zhen Zhen apologizes for the setup. Empress Huang's jade ruyi will not be auctioned tonight, and will have to be postponed. Just now, Prince Zithrael of the Western Holy Nation Alucia had sent something to be auctioned, hence replacing the Empress Huang's jade ruyi's placement card. Zhen Zhen and the Treasure Pavilion sincerely apologizes for the disturbance!"
As the product sent by Prince Zithrael appeared on stage, the audience could see a large box being wheeled in by footmen, each straining to move the heavy container. Li Mo Shang stirred, before suddenly standing with a cold expression, startling Wan Xue out of her mental turmoil as she curiously stared at him before following his gaze onto the stage.
Under the audience's watchful and scrutinizing eyes, the footmen removed the container, sending the auditorium into an uproar. Su Zhen Zhen's voice could be heard once more, but her voice was tinged with a little apprehension and even a little horror. Her face was bloodless, and she had lost a significant portion of her charming demeanor and charisma.
"For this product, the Treasure Pavilion will not endorse, hence all proceeds will be directed towards the Western Holy Nation Alucia. Provided and sponsored by the Third Prince Zithrael, Western Holy Nation Alucia presents two tamed and trained winged mutants of fifteen years of maturity. The winged mutants are capable of reaching a maximum elevation of a thousand meters in the sky, and their maximum flying speed is recorded as fifty meters per second. Their vitality and strength far surpass a human, and Alucia's research and development experts have succeeded in domesticating these mutants via genetic manipulation. These two presented on the stage are the first released for sale. As for the initial price for the mutants' ownership deeds, P-Prince Zithrael has s-stated…there to be a completely free bid."
Revealed within the wooden container was a large steel, circular cage. Spanning about three meters high and two meters in diameter, the iron cage had razor-sharp blades installed on either side of the bars, resulting in a menacing appearance.
Within the cage were two malnourished young girls dressed in a grey straitjacket, their expressions wan, and their eyes were even devoid of intellect. Upon their exposed forearms, calves, and neck were multitudes of bruises, welts, and red whip marks, some still bleeding. What attracted and riveted the audience's attention were the pair of snowy white dove wings extending from their back.
Ever since technology had introduced the concept of physical enhancements, humans have spent countless years attempting to create modified humans, to no avail. Records and tomes from ancient times depicted medicinal methods of enhancing the human body to unreasonable extents, with improved muscular strength and sensory ability.
However, research on genetic splicing and manipulation was an uncharted field, with many nations racing to become the first to create an externally mutated human. The fact that a nation had obtained such an accomplishment meant a rise in overall influence, as people began to regard the Western Holy Nation with trepidation.
When Li Mo Shang peered at the audience in the public seating, he could see avarice baring its head. Everyone related to the scientific research, medical, political, or military domains all had a strange light within their eyes as they glared at each other with intense fervor. Wan Xue simply paled with disgust and horror while staring at the steel cage, her hands clenching the armrests of the recliner, devoid of blood.
As Li Mo Shang continued to observe the audience, someone from the private rooms finally made their first bid, a mechanical voice emitted from within the enclosed room.
"One billion."
Immediately after the first bid was made, the entire audience jumped into a fervor as they stared towards the private room that made the bid, attempting to determine the bidder's identity. Before Su Zhen Zhen even began to move her hand towards the auctioneer's hammer, the audience burst into chaos as even more private rooms declared their bids, even more exorbitant than before.
"Three billion!"
"Five billion!"
"Nine billion!"
Faced with the extremely high bids placing in the billions, Wan Xue could not help but tremble. Not only was she crushed by the immorality behind the wing mutant humans' creation and their associated experiments, she could also sense the greed and twisted hearts within the bidders.
As a researcher herself in human psychology and economics, she intrinsically understood the value of militarized mutant humans with their enhanced physical performance, but could not extricate herself from the mental turmoil created by her moral beliefs. Just then, someone stood up to speak, instantly quelling the ferocity of the audience.
"I am Steward Zhao Fei Yuan, third-ranked steward of the Nan Qing Imperial Family. To see such pleasant windfall in a small auction as this, is truly an impressing matter. The Nan Qing Imperial Family offers a bid of a hundred billion, and thanks everyone for their cooperation!"
Just what else could the bidders and audience do? Even the royal family of Nan Qing got involved. Even in a modernized society with liberal values, disobeying the written and spoken directives of the royal family wasn't a very intelligent thing to do, no?
However, a bid of a hundred billion RMB, was it truly worth buying an object of immorality?
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