From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword-Chapter 121 - 108: A Piece of News Worth Three Hundred Million

"The final item of tonight's auction, a team contract, starting bid of 100 million, with each bid increment no less than 10 million. Let the auction begin."

The auctioneer finished introducing the various data of the "team contract" and formally started the auction.

The starting bid was set directly at 100 million, causing many who were interested in the contract but lacked financial power to give up.

This starting price also meant that superpower users invited on the basis of their abilities almost stood no chance of competing.

Now in the fourth month of the Abyss Descent, even superpower users endowed with exceptional talents would not have amassed such incredible wealth at this point.

Hence, only those families and consortia with profound resources could participate in the auction.

As the auction began, the frequency of bids was very high.

Especially on the second floor in the private booths, bids were made frequently.

More than half of these twelve booths, which had not participated in the bidding for previous items, were now eagerly placing bids.

It was evident that these financially powerful entities were all targeting this contract.

After a round of intense bidding, there were a total of 12 bids, and the price soared to 250 million.

Then, from the third booth on the second floor, a direct bid of 300 million was placed, bringing a brief pause to the flurry of bids.

However, it didn't take long before another bid was made, increasing the price to 310 million.

Subsequently, the two parties began to outbid each other, raising the price six times, reaching 400 million.

This price, already four times the starting bid, caused many in the audience to gasp in astonishment.

Before coming, many were aware that the contract's price would be high, but no one anticipated competition this fierce.

And the situation of yet further escalating bids showed no signs of stopping.

Lin Zeyu, watching the price climb higher, nervously jittered his leg: "This won't do, at this rate, who knows how high it will go."

Yu Heping pondered, "Let's place a high bid. Incremental increases won't stop the momentum."

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Lin Zeyu pressed the bidding button in the booth and spoke into the microphone, "500 million!"

The auctioneer, exhilarated by the bid, announced, "500 million, guest in booth number seven on the second floor bids 500 million. Any higher offers?

"Team contract, 500 million, for the first time.

"Team contract, 500 million, for the second time..."

The auctioneer was ready to grab the gavel.

At this moment, a bid came again from the third booth, 550 million.

The price jumped by 50 million.

Lin Zeyu smacked his forehead, frustrated: "We were so close."

Yu Heping, having contended on many a business battleground, remarked, "This might go up to a billion."

"That's beyond our capacity," Lin Zeyu responded with a frown.

He turned to look at Lu Heng and asked, "Is there any way?"

Lu Heng spread his hands, "At an auction, what can you do?"

"That's true," Lin Zeyu felt powerless.

Moreover, it wasn't just one entity bidding; two or three others were driving up the price, clearly unwilling to give up.

Another round of bids was made, pushing the price directly to 600 million.

At this price, most of the audience had withdrawn from the bidding war, leaving only those few still competing to determine the final price.

And if it was about protecting someone, it was a matter of life or death.

For protecting heirs of those consortia, 600 million truly wasn't much.

Although there was indeed no way to prevent others from bidding at the auction, things weren't absolute.

Suddenly, Lu Heng had an idea, "If we must talk about a solution, it's not entirely impossible."

"What's the solution?" Everyone in the booth turned to look at Lu Heng.

"Superpower users drafted into the Abyss Battlefield have a danger level proportional to their combat power, a fact that's commonly accepted," Lu Heng shared his thought about the summoning rules of the Abyss Battlefield.

"Right, that's a well-established consensus, everyone knows it," Lin Zeyu nodded.

"Can this rule affect the contract price?" Yu Heping asked.

"If a team is summoned, the overall combat power rating will be enhanced based on the team contract, and the danger level will be determined by the highest-level superpower user in the team. That means if someone with weak abilities seeks protection from very strong superpower users, they're cannon fodder and might die even quicker," Lu Heng analytically explained this summoning rule of the Abyss Battlefield.

This rule, a hidden catch of the "team contract", wasn't reflected in the data but indeed existed.

Superpower users with team contracts, when summoned, would receive a combat power rating bonus, and the entire team's power would be assessed by the most powerful member.

This implied that if the person needing protection had a low level, they too would be transported to a high-level Abyss Battlefield, with predictable consequences.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zeyu understood immediately, "Right, I'll spread this information right now."

This summoning rule for the Abyss Battlefield circulated among the circles involved in the bidding.

It made those entities initially wanting to use the "team contract" for protection start to hesitate.

If the person to be protected had a high level, it was still manageable; if their level was lower, then seeking the protection of four powerful high-level superpower users was indeed akin to marching to one's doom.

After the news spread, the bidding for the "Team Contract" finally slowed down and stopped.

Lin Zeyu made one last bid, "650 million."

The auctioneer called out the price three times, and after no further bids, he knocked down the auctioneer's hammer.

Although the price was halted by a piece of news, 650 million was no small sum, and it shocked the guests present.

Thus, after the deal was made, the venue erupted in a cacophony of noise.

The auctioneer was also thrilled, as selling an item for 650 million was the highest price he had achieved in his career.

However, those present were unaware that in a past life, the price of this "Team Contract" had reached the billions.

Because, at the time, superpower users did not understand the conscription rules of the Abyss Battlefield and had not considered the impact of the team contract on the conscription rules.

Lu Heng had released this rule in advance, which directly caused the price of the contract to be one-third lower than in his previous life.

The auction concluded.

Lin Zeyu and Yu Heping went backstage to sign the contract and finalize the method of payment for the auction.

A price of 650 million could not possibly be paid on the spot; funds had to be mobilized.

Therefore, they naturally could not take the "Team Contract" away immediately.

...

Half an hour later.

At the top floor of the Coastal Century Building, Kenji Ono called his assistant in and asked,

"Did you find out? Where did that message about the Abyss Battlefield conscription rules come from?"

Pu Lizhi bowed and replied, "The information we found seems to indicate it came from the Lin Family."

"The Lin Family," Kenji Ono repeated the words, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The message coming from the Lin Family was not an issue in itself, but the "Team Contract" had been auctioned off by Lin Zeyu in the end.

Connecting these two pieces of information, something seemed amiss.

"Is there a chance the message could be false?" Kenji Ono raised this possibility.

Pu Lizhi bowed lower, responding, "Our people have also studied it; there's a high chance the message is true, and it aligns well with the previously summarized rules of the Abyss Battlefield."

Kenji Ono hummed, "The message might be true, but it's also true that the Lin Family bought the contract."

Pu Lizhi lowered his head even more, "The price of 650 million was already too high; the Lin Family hasn't really profited from this."

Dismissing this matter, Kenji Ono then asked, "Did you find a way to enter the Quenching Castle, as I instructed?"

Pu Lizhi carefully chose his words to reply, "According to the intelligence we've gathered, only three people have entered the Quenching Castle through the tunnel under the Century Bridge: Lu Heng, Su Muyu, and Lin Zeyu. Moreover, I speculate that the other two were brought in by Lu Heng, so it's possible that Lu Heng is the only one who has the privilege to enter the Quenching Castle."

Kenji Ono pondered for a moment then asked, "Didn't you say you found others who had been to the Quenching Castle? Can't they get in either?"

"We're trying, there's still hope to get in," Pu Lizhi replied.

"As long as you can get into the Quenching Castle, bring He Shangyong with you; he's also a Quenching Master. If he can perform weapon quenching there, we won't be completely outmatched by the Lin Family," Kenji Ono instructed.

"Yes! I'll arrange it immediately."

During this period, Chunshang Group had been trying to break into the quenching business.

Although they promoted "Quenching Master" He Shangyong, a quenching master who needed to go to the Abyss World to perform quenching had no practical significance.

Chunshang Group kept trying to win over Lu Heng, but they weren't putting all their eggs in one basket.

While trying to win over Lu Heng, Chunshang Group was also searching for ways to enter the Quenching Castle.

...

Quenching Castle.

Gulu had pondered for several days over Lu Heng's words: "Let the Quenching Castle be livelier."

He thought making it livelier was a good idea, especially since the worker named Hu Biao had been waiting outside for several days.

After all, Hu Biao had helped the Quenching Castle to break free from the Abyss, and even if his contributions were minimal, he shouldn't be left out in the cold for too long.

Therefore, that evening, the Quenching Castle formally opened its doors to Hu Biao.

Seeing the doors open, Hu Biao, overwhelmed with emotion, stepped into the castle gate and then saw Gulu holding a bowl of something at the entrance.

"Welcome, my friend. Please taste the dish I have prepared."

Hu Biao looked down at the bowl in Gulu's hands, his eyes widening.

Because in that bowl, shockingly, were some crispy-fried... cockroaches!

"You want me to eat this?" Hu Biao pointed at the bowl of cockroaches, his cheeks twitching.

"Yes," Gulu nodded.

Hu Biao, unsure if refusing would result in his expulsion and, having finally been let in, reasoned that eating a bug was no big deal and wouldn't be fatal.

He awkwardly reached out, picked up a fried cockroach, placed it in his mouth without chewing, swallowed it down with tears (held back), and swallowed it forcefully.

Seeing Hu Biao devouring the dish with apparent relish, Gulu's face instantly lit up with delight and said, "Eat more; if this isn't enough, there's more in the kitchen."

Hu Biao was utterly numb to the core.