Chapter 174 - 164: Wanna Fight?
Chapter 174: Chapter 164: Wanna Fight?
Even though this Space Treasure could only be purchased with Crystal Coins, people were still constantly raising the price.
It seemed everyone was even richer than she had imagined.
A sudden thought struck Tang Mo.
It was true, after all. While Tang Mo was very wealthy, her fortune was recently acquired.
The base was full of powerful people with immense backing and established enterprises. Their capital was built on the exploitation of others’ labor—a method far more stable and rapid than Tang Mo’s own reliance on opportune moments.
As the price climbed higher, the number of bidders dwindled.
Tang Mo glanced at the remaining bidders; they were all seated on the main floor.
They were clearly members of squads that regularly went out on missions.
Meanwhile, no one in the private rooms above had made a bid, which was understandable.
After all, the type of people who could afford a private room would have already acquired a Space Treasure long ago—likely one with even more Space. There was no need for them to overpay for one at an auction.
"Fifty Basic-level Crystal Coins."
It was Song Feng who raised the paddle.
He actually already had a Space Treasure, thanks to his connections with the Li Family. But seeing how desperately An Yang wanted this one annoyed him.
Song Feng had learned a few things about An Yang from his younger sister and held him in very low regard.
"Sixty Basic-level Crystal Coins." An Yang raised his paddle again.
He’d heard that a treasure with a spatial attribute would be up for auction today.
His team had already lost Wenqing, their spatial attribute superpower user. He had to get this Space Treasure, no matter the cost!
"Seventy!" Song Feng seemed determined to outbid An Yang.
An Yang, of course, recognized Song Feng, but there was nothing he could do about it. Backing down now was absolutely out of the question.
Who knew when he’d get another chance at a treasure with a spatial attribute? He had brought all of his savings with him just for this ring.
"Ten Intermediate Crystal Coins!"
An Yang gritted his teeth and shouted out a high price, one that was dangerously close to his limit.
Crystal Cores and Crystal Coins were not interchangeable. One High-level Crystal Coin could be exchanged for ten Intermediate Crystal Coins, and an Intermediate Crystal Coin for ten Basic-level Crystal Coins.
However, just as with Crystal Cores, almost no one would trade down from a higher-tier coin to a lower-tier one.
Therefore, once An Yang shouted a price of ten Intermediate Crystal Coins, it meant that any subsequent bids also had to be in Intermediate Crystal Coins.
Sure enough, just as An Yang had expected, Song Feng stopped bidding after hearing the offer of ten Intermediate Crystal Coins.
Song Feng hadn’t really wanted the ring anyway; he just wanted to make things difficult for An Yang. Satisfied, he put his paddle away.
Although the high price stung, An Yang was still satisfied with the outcome when he thought about the benefits the ring would bring him.
"How big is a Crystal Coin?" Tang Mo asked Hu Laosan.
She recalled that there hadn’t been many of those pale blue and crimson Crystal Stones left after Qin Ling had dug them up. How could even An Yang manage to produce ten coins at once?
"About this big."
Hu Laosan took out a few Crystal Coins, and when Tang Mo saw them, she immediately understood.
The Crystal Coins were about the size of a quarter from her past life. A single palm-sized Crystal Stone could be cut into at least two or three hundred coins. No wonder even An Yang could afford ten.
What Tang Mo didn’t realize, however, was that An Yang only possessed twelve Intermediate Crystal Coins in total. He was betting nearly his entire net worth on this ring.
Unfortunately for him, he had run into Tang Mo today. Even if An Yang’s fortune were ten or even a hundred times greater, he was destined to lose this ring.
"Ten Intermediate Crystal Coins, going once!"
Seeing no other bids, the auctioneer began the final countdown with his gavel.
A price of ten Intermediate Crystal Coins for a ten-cubic-meter ring was already a premium; bidding any higher really wasn’t worth it.
"Thirty Intermediate Crystal Coins."
Tang Mo raised her paddle once again and had Hu Laosan call out the bid.
The first time, for the River Drake Tendon, they had won it at the opening price, so she hadn’t needed to call out a bid.
"Thirty Intermediate Crystal Coins! Anyone higher?"
"Thirty Intermediate Crystal Coins, going once."
"Thirty Intermediate Crystal Coins, going twice."
"Thirty Intermediate Crystal Coins, third time."
"Sold!"
An Yang stared intently at the auctioneer, biting his lip so hard it bled.
He was seething.
He knew that was Qin Ling’s private room, but he couldn’t understand why Qin Ling would fight him over this ring.
But he could only swallow his hatred. He didn’t even dare to glare in the direction of the Sky Number Private Room.
He was keenly aware of how weak he was; he couldn’t afford to provoke such a behemoth.
From the moment they left school, he and Qin Ling were no longer on the same level.
In truth, what An Yang failed to understand was that he and Qin Ling had never been equals.
Not at school, not at the base, not before the apocalypse, and not after.
How could a common pheasant compare to a phoenix?
The ring was quickly delivered to Tang Mo’s room. Just like last time, Tang Mo placed the thirty Intermediate Crystal Coins on the small tray to complete the exchange.
She picked up the drab, unremarkable ring and toyed with it like a trinket.
"Thirty Intermediate Crystal Coins... I wonder how many High-level Crystal Cores that would be worth."
Xiao Tao’s heart ached. She knew how precious a Space Treasure was, but she couldn’t understand. ’Momo already has a Space, so why spend all this money? Think of all the other things we could do with it!’
The fact that a Space Treasure could be upgraded was clearly beyond Xiao Tao’s understanding.
"Tch, country bumpkin."
Now Hu Laosan finally had his chance for revenge, and he mercilessly mocked Xiao Tao.
Their Boss Lady hadn’t even batted an eye when she saw all those Crystal Stones last time.
According to the private analysis of his squadmates, the Boss Lady was quite possibly the wealthiest person in all of Huaxia Country.
After all, everyone knew Tang Mo had a Space, and she was the first one to discover that place...
Besides, the Boss Lady also had a healing Spiritual Ability. If she were to start charging the powerful elites for treatment, couldn’t she name any price she wanted?
In the Boss Lady’s eyes, this ring was nothing more than a toy.
Seeing Hu Laosan get his revenge, Xiao Tao grew annoyed.
"Let’s have a match when we get out of here."
"A match of what?" Hu Laosan had no idea what Xiao Tao could possibly compete with him in.
"Fighting!"
"What a joke. I don’t hit girls." Hu Laosan froze for a second, then laughed. It was the first time a woman had ever challenged him.
"Are you scared?"
With both hands, Xiao Tao grabbed a nearby wire-mesh trash can and slowly crumpled it into a ball.
Her Strength Attribute Value was incredibly high, and with a bit of practice, her control over it had improved.
Power Attribute Superpower Users generally had high Life Attributes as well, making them the most suitable group for combat.
With Xiao Tao’s current power, most people wouldn’t stand a chance against her.