Extra's Revenge: Reincarnated As A Slave-Chapter 137: Auction (Part 1)

The Grand Auction Hall of the Dark Commerce District was a marvel of mystical engineering and criminal opulence.

Located in the heart of the Deep Market, the structure existed partially in normal space and partially in a pocket dimension, allowing it to accommodate far more attendees than its external appearance suggested. Mystical wards lined every surface, creating privacy barriers around individual bidding booths while allowing the auctioneer to be seen and heard by everyone simultaneously.

Rey sat in a discrete observation booth on the third tier, his appearance altered beyond recognition through a combination of Artifacts and careful disguise work. He appeared as a nondescript mid-level criminal operator—someone with enough resources to justify attendance but not enough prominence to attract attention.

From his vantage point, he could observe the entire auction floor below. Hundreds of attendees filled the various bidding positions—House representatives in their designated areas, independent operators scattered throughout the general seating, even a few Nobles and their affiliates who’d come under heavy disguise to acquire items they couldn’t obtain through legitimate channels.

That or simply to enjoy the thrill of the Black Market Auction.

And somewhere in the crowd, carefully hidden, the Category S Guards were watching.

Rey couldn’t identify their exact positions—they’d be too skilled for that—but he knew they were present. Watching every transaction, analyzing every purchase, searching for patterns that would reveal the Desgarron perpetrator they’d been hunting.

’Let them watch,’ Rey thought with cold satisfaction. ’They’ll see exactly what I want them to see—chaos, and no clear thread connecting any of it.’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The auctioneer—a distinguished older woman with decades of experience managing high-value illegal sales—stepped onto the central platform.

Her voice, magically amplified, reached every corner of the vast hall.

"Welcome to the Grand Auction, sanctioned by the Dark Commerce District Supervisors and conducted under their authority. Today’s event features items from the dissolved Golden Sunflower House, the eliminated Fanged Serpent Club, and various Houses and independent sellers participating in this historic redistribution of resources."

A murmur of excitement rippled through the crowd.

The auctioneer continued her opening remarks, explaining the rules, the payment protocols, the dispute resolution procedures. Standard formalities, but Rey noted how carefully she emphasized the legitimacy of the proceedings—this was sanctioned, regulated, official within the criminal economy’s established framework.

’Providing cover for the Category S Guards’ observation,’ Rey recognized with his keen insight and excellent observation. ’This makes it all appear legitimate so they can watch without revealing their presence.’

Then the auction began.

The first items were relatively mundane—low-grade Artifacts, common mystical materials, standard inventory from the dissolved organizations. But even these drew active bidding, establishing the competitive atmosphere that would drive prices higher throughout the day.

Rey watched as his first planted item came up for auction—a Grade 4 defensive Artifact that the White Tulip House was offering through one of their shell buyer identities.

"Next item: Barrier Sphere of Adamant Protection, Grade 4 defensive Artifact capable of withstanding Category B level attacks. Starting bid: fifty thousand Nether currency."

The bidding was brisk. Three different Houses competed for it, driving the price up to seventy-eight thousand before a Purple Orchid representative secured it.

Rey noted the transaction with satisfaction. The item had sold for slightly above his estimated value, which meant the White Tulip would pocket a healthy profit on top of what they’d paid him. Good for maintaining their motivation to continue the arrangement.

More items followed in rapid succession.

Some were Rey’s planted merchandise, others were legitimate auction pieces from the dissolved Houses. The variety was deliberate—creating a complex tapestry of transactions that would be extremely difficult to analyze in real-time.

Meanwhile...

In a concealed observation post separate from the auction hall, Selene, Marcus, and Thane monitored the proceedings through mystical surveillance.

Multiple projection screens showed different angles of the hall, tracking interfaces displayed real-time transaction data, and specialized analysis Artifacts were already flagging items that matched potential Desgarron signatures.

Marcus stared at the data flow with growing frustration.

"This is impossible," he muttered. "Look at this—we’ve flagged over three thousand items that show characteristics potentially consistent with Desgarron property. Three thousand! And they’re being sold by dozens of different entities through hundreds of shell identities."

Thane pulled up transaction patterns, trying to find common threads. "The mystical signatures have been thoroughly scrubbed with Null Art. Professional-grade signature removal, consistent across all flagged items. But that just tells us someone with resources prepared them—it doesn’t tell us who."

"And the sellers are completely diverse," Selene observed, studying the analysis. "White Tulip House, Purple Orchid House, seven different independent operators, even some one-time sellers who’ve never participated in auctions before. There is no obvious pattern connecting them."

She manipulated the display, bringing up purchase patterns as well.

"The buying side is equally scattered. Multiple Houses bidding on different item categories, independent buyers with varying interests, no coherent pattern suggesting a single entity coordinating acquisitions."

Marcus slammed his fist on the console.

"He’s distributed everything so thoroughly that we can’t trace it back to a source. Even if we interrogate every seller and buyer after the auction, they’ll all have plausible stories about how they acquired their merchandise or why they wanted specific items."

"Which was exactly his plan," Thane said grimly. "Overwhelm our analysis with volume and complexity, thus making it impossible to identify the common thread in real-time."

Selene remained calm despite her colleagues’ frustration, her analytical mind working through the problem methodically.

"This guy is smart," she acknowledged. "But he’s also operating under constraints we can exploit. The sellers don’t know they’re part of a larger scheme—they believe they’re conducting independent transactions. Which means after the auction, when they receive payment or deliver goods to their supposed clients, they’ll have to make contact."

She pulled up a different interface, showing the Houses and independent operators they’d flagged as suspicious.

"We wait until after the auction concludes. Then we approach these sellers directly. We present evidence of their involvement in moving Desgarron’s property, threaten them with Category S Guard investigation and potential prosecution. Most of them will cooperate rather than face those consequences."

"And they’ll reveal who hired them," Marcus understood. "Who paid them to sell specific items through the auction."

"Exactly. Our perpetrator had to establish those relationships somehow—meetings, negotiations, payment transfers. Those interactions create trails we can follow once the sellers cooperate."

Thane nodded slowly. "It’s slower than identifying him during the auction itself, but it should work. We intercept the payment collection, trace it back to the source."

"Precisely," Selene confirmed. "He can’t collect his profits without exposing himself to the sellers. And once we control those sellers, we control his access to the resources he worked so hard to sell."

The three investigators settled in to watch the auction continue, now focused on identifying which sellers to target for interrogation rather than trying to identify the perpetrator directly.

The auction progressed through the afternoon, item after item moving through the accelerated bidding process.

Rey watched his merchandise sell with consistent success.

The White Tulip’s offerings were attracting strong competition, driving prices above estimated values. The Purple Orchid’s combat items were commanding premium rates from buyers seeking military-grade equipment. The independent operators’ smaller pieces were moving smoothly through the general bidding.

Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.

Then came the afternoon’s highlight items—the truly rare pieces that drew the most serious attention.

—A Seed of Origin!