Chapter 611: Unexpected Encounter
Most of the industries in the Golden City belonged to Tesoro, but if you thought that Tesoro, with his vast wealth, would disdain using such petty tricks, you would be sorely mistaken. That guy had never been one to operate within the bounds of the law.
For one thing, if Ian didn't have enough strength to back himself up, did you really think Tesoro would have paid for that gold so obediently?
Ian had essentially extorted Tesoro this time, so he had been on guard against Tesoro and his men the whole time. Now that he was on Tesoro's turf, in his domain, Tesoro had countless ways to win that money back.
Even though Ian had decided to come to the auction on a whim, who could guarantee that Baccarat hadn't already set a trap on the way here?
This Devil Fruit had clearly exceeded its value. Even if the guy bidding against him really was a king with too much money to spend, Ian had never met him before, had no conflict with him, and they were complete strangers. He didn't believe for a second that this guy would waste his breath competing over such a mediocre Devil Fruit.
That's right. Ian suspected that the guy who looked like a king was actually an auction house shill!
Even though he had no evidence, did Ian need any?
Don't forget, although having a crew meant Ian's expenses were a bit high, and he occasionally gave money to his subordinates, deep down, Ian was still the same miser he used to be, just like Nami!
Carrying a pay-to-win game system, anyone would become such a miser...
He was willing to spend money on things, but if it exceeded his psychological expectations, it gave Ian a feeling of "Damn, I've been ripped off."
So, sorry, but at times like this, Ian would stop playing by the rules!
He wasn't some refined noble or high-society type; his current identity was a pirate! Since they wouldn't let him buy it with money, then they'd better be prepared for him to just take it!
Watching Ian put one foot on the back of the chair in front of him, viciously spitting out threats like "Don't leave after this is over," anyone present who didn't understand what Ian meant would have wasted their years living!
Baccarat was stunned. Sitting next to Ian, she stared blankly at his profile. As for the king who had been bidding against Ian for the Devil Fruit, he had no idea what to do.
But at least he remembered his role. He secretly glanced at Baccarat beside Ian, then put on an indignant expression, pointing at Ian and angrily saying, "You... you... how can there be such a barbaric guy like you? Security! Security! How did you let this kind of person sneak into the auction!?"
His words actually resonated a bit with the refined high-society types around them. They began whispering among themselves, speculating that Ian was probably a pirate from somewhere, and cast disdainful and disgusted looks at him.
But Ian couldn't be bothered with these guys. He pointed at the king and said, "It's fine, go ahead and curse! Wait until the auction is over. If you can leave the auction hall with that Devil Fruit, I'll take your last name!"
Ian didn't expose the guy's hidden identity; he just threatened him with force. That's how willful he was!
The king was so angry his whole body trembled. He waved his arms and shouted loudly, "Security! Security! Come quickly and throw this troublemaker out! Is this how you treat guests who come to bid!?"
With his shouts, several burly men in black suits appeared. These security guards were naturally Tesoro's men, responsible for the auction hall's safety. They strode aggressively toward Ian's location.
However, Ian didn't even look at these guys. He just glanced at Baccarat beside him with a half-smile, then placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, his thumb pressing against the guard, ready to push it open at any moment.
This action made Baccarat shiver. She snapped back to reality and quickly shouted at the security guards, "Stop! What do you think you're doing!?"
The security guards recognized Baccarat and immediately stopped, but they didn't know Ian's identity, so they looked at her helplessly.
"Get lost!" Baccarat scolded them. "Do you want to cause trouble for the boss!?"
From the intelligence analysis on Ian, Baccarat had long known he wasn't someone who could be reasoned with by common sense, but she really hadn't expected Ian to be so unpredictable.
If it were any other pirate who dared to cause trouble on Tesoro's ship, they would probably have been dealt with long ago. But Ian was an exception. Now, it was Baccarat and her people who didn't dare to act.
But with so many people watching, Baccarat couldn't afford to damage Tesoro's reputation. So she complained to Ian, "Sir Ian, isn't this a bit against the rules?"
Ian leaned close to her, lifted her chin, and whispered with a cold smile, "Miss, I'm willing to follow the rules, but the problem is, some people aren't playing by them with me! What do you think I should do?"
Baccarat was smart. She immediately caught Ian's meaning and realized he had seen through their scheme. Her heart trembled, and she lowered her voice, asking, "Then what do you want?"
Ian thought for a moment and said, "How about this? To be honest, I'm here on vacation, and I don't want to fall out with you. But some people need to learn a lesson. I can pay five billion, and if that guy obediently hands over the Devil Fruit, then I won't make a move."
In other words, he intended to buy the Devil Fruit at the auction's starting price.
This made Baccarat breathe a sigh of relief. Ian's willingness to resolve things peacefully was the best outcome. What surprised her even more was that Ian was still willing to pay.
Selling the Devil Fruit for five billion meant Baccarat and her people couldn't make a profit. Five billion versus thirteen billion seemed like a difference of eight billion Berries, but since the king bidding against Ian was one of their own, they hadn't actually lost anything. Compared to letting Ian cause trouble on the Tesoro, this was already a good ending.
This made Baccarat realize that Ian probably still wanted to bid on the other two Devil Fruits in the upcoming auctions over the next two weeks, which was why he chose this compromise. After this incident, Baccarat decided not to arrange any more underhanded schemes to bid against Ian in future auctions...
So, Baccarat waved over a security guard and whispered a few instructions in his ear. The guard quickly returned and spoke briefly with the auctioneer. The auctioneer immediately banged his gavel and announced the end of the auction.
Under the security guards' guidance, the participants were dismissed, including the king. But as he left, he didn't dare look at Ian again. He understood that even the organizers couldn't afford to provoke this man...
Ian sat back down, crossed his legs, and waited.
Sure enough, after a while, a waiter came to Ian with a tray covered in white cloth. When the cloth was lifted, the Devil Fruit that had just been auctioned was sitting on the tray.
Ian picked up the Devil Fruit and examined it. After hearing the system confirm it was a genuine Devil Fruit, he opened his briefcase, counted out five billion Berries' worth of chips, and tossed them onto the waiter's tray.
Seeing Ian actually pay, Baccarat let out a long sigh of relief. At that moment, she felt that a guest like Ian wasn't so hard to deal with after all...
As Ian had said, he was willing to follow the rules. Since he wanted to buy Devil Fruits, he was prepared to pay. But the prerequisite was that he didn't want to be treated like a fool!
He planned to stay here for a while, waiting for Admiral Aokiji, Kuina, and the others to arrive. So he didn't want to actually start a fight and destroy the ship. Pretending to lose his temper once to dispel certain people's unrealistic fantasies was enough for Ian's purposes.
After this incident, Baccarat didn't dare to act recklessly anymore. She had to set aside the task Tesoro had given her for now, because they didn't want to truly fall out with Ian.
After leaving the auction hall, Baccarat obediently acted as Ian's guide. She took him to watch a theatrical performance and then led him to find some of the Golden City's famous food stalls.
At this point, Ian calmed down and enjoyed his vacation time in the Golden City.
He had to admit, the Golden City had its unique charm. It was no wonder it attracted people from all over the world to this city. Here, you could buy anything you wanted!
Baccarat even hinted to Ian that if he wanted to buy female slaves here, it was possible, and they came from all races. The human trafficking here was no less rampant than on Sabaody Archipelago...
But when she saw Ian frown, Baccarat suddenly remembered the nature of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. She quickly shut up and didn't dare bring up the topic again.
Ian stayed calm and didn't say anything. He knew very well that the slave trade was one of the ugliest and hardest things to eradicate in this world. As long as those high-and-mighty privileged classes existed, this kind of thing would never disappear.
Baccarat was now carefully entertaining Ian, not daring to bring up anything that might upset him. But as the saying goes, fear comes knocking. Just as the two were walking down the street, a voice suddenly sounded from behind.
"Mama! Are you going to the casino again? But I don't want to go! I want to eat roast pork!"
The voice was loud, but the tone carried a hint of foolishness. Ian turned around curiously and was immediately stunned!
Behind him were two people. One was a man of considerable height, not only tall but also looking very fat. The most outrageous thing was that Ian immediately noticed the upward-curving crescent mustache under his nose, identical to Whitebeard Old Man's!
Holy crap! Edward Weevil!?