Chapter 2881: Authority
After browsing, Xu Huo selected one of the exchange centers.
When he arrived, the exchange was holding a public auction—some mass-produced instruments were relatively easy to buy, but items with special effects that were born by chance were hard to come by. So, when such items appeared and there were many buyers, the exchange would hold a public auction.
The auction was already halfway through when Xu Huo arrived. Under the guidance of a staff member, he entered a private booth.
"This is the list of items for this auction. The last three secret items are not recorded on it. If you're interested, sir, you can wait a bit."
The staff member served tea and refreshments, then respectfully withdrew from the room.
The quality of the items put up for auction in this district was indeed good. Some items had exceptionally strong lethality, and of course, those with larger attack ranges attracted more bidders. Xu Huo followed the bidding on two items, but he couldn't match the financial muscle of others and gave up midway.
He didn't want to waste his money on those items either.
Soon, it was time for the secret items.
"Now, the item we are presenting is called 'The Unhearable Melody.' Its shape resembles a whistle, but it can blow a fixed melody. Anyone who hears this melody may instantly go deaf and suffer permanent damage to their hearing."
"It has passed through seventeen holders, and almost every one of them only discovered their hearing was damaged before they passed it on."
"The reason is likely that, besides the music, this item contains some kind of sound wave that is difficult for the human ear to capture. Even if you wear ear protection, prolonged exposure will cause damage to the holder."
"However, when the item was sent for testing, everything appeared normal. Instruments couldn't detect any unusual sound waves, but the fact remains that the holders did suffer damage."
"As a randomly born item, 'The Unhearable Melody' may still have unexplored peculiar effects, making it an attack item with great potential."
"Starting bid: eighty million White Notes!"
Even items that cause harm to their holders attracted many bidders. Among them were probably research institutes specializing in such items. In the end, only two people kept raising the bid until one gave up.
"The second item is a special item obtained by a player from Instance 033 from an instance holder, named 'Authority.'"
"It can fulfill the words spoken by the holder within three minutes."
With that, a video appeared on the display stage, showing the player testing the item.
After the player holding the seal said, "No flying here," all the hovering players and flying instruments at the scene were pressed back to the ground by gravity. The effect lasted a full three minutes, and even when players took turns trying, they couldn't break free from the restraint.
Then came the second demonstration. When the player said, "Seal this place," three layers of blockade barriers with a radius of five kilometers appeared centered on the item.
This was an A-grade item. Normally, such a blockade barrier wouldn't be that hard to break, but its barrier would reappear repeatedly until the three minutes were up.
The effect of same-grade items was average, so they tried a second time, using better items and instruments to attack the barrier simultaneously, attempting to break it in one go.
They succeeded, but then the blockade barrier expanded by a kilometer and formed a new seal.
In other words, as long as the item wasn't destroyed, no matter how many times the barrier was damaged, it would regenerate until the three minutes passed.
Then came the third attempt: "Time freeze!"
All the players at the scene stopped. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear they weren't frozen by time power but were stuck in space. The space rays had changed to achieve the effect of "time freeze."
The auctioneer added in a timely manner, "After multiple tests, we have confirmed that this item has no time attribute."
There were several more demonstrations. The exchange tested the item from various angles—gravity, space, time, and spiritual power—and refined the tests based on changes in environment and targets. The final conclusion was that this was a special item capable of manipulating space power and gravity.
Additionally, it couldn't execute overly complex or precise commands, such as making a specific person perform a certain action or trapping only certain people in a location.
It would self-consistently interpret the holder's commands, usually leaning toward space power and gravity. For example, there were two ways to make people stop: one was to trap them in space, and the other was to forcibly pin players in place with gravity.
Each activation would cover the entire range of the item's effect, with no option to select targets or define a scope.
It seemed a bit like a not-so-bright robot.
"Starting bid: one hundred fifty million White Notes!"
Many items might achieve the effects of "Authority," but lifting the seal and casually giving a command, with the item naturally doing its best to fulfill it—that was just too stylish. To put it bluntly, even when restricting others' actions, holding this item allowed you to shout out grand commands like "Kneel and kowtow!"
The bidding was fierce. Of course, not many likely intended to use it as a combat item, given its effects. Indulging in a momentary verbal thrill might backfire.
The price quickly rose to two hundred million, and in the end, only one booth kept raising the bid against Xu Huo.
Xu Huo finally secured the item for two hundred fifty million White Notes.
The item was delivered quickly. He paid and, while listening to the information about the third item, examined the seal's appearance.
The seal was only half a finger high and two fingers thick, pure white. The body of the seal was shaped like a mountain, with a pattern of some plant's flower carved at the base.
The carved flower was somewhat distorted, making it hard to identify the plant, but next to the flower was a small inscription—Summer Solstice.
The third item was an animal-shaped item with simple thinking ability. It was a palm-sized fox that moved very nimbly, possessed incredible speed, and liked to bite people's necks.
This was also the most expensive item.
Xu Huo wasn't very interested. He put away the "Authority" seal, picked up the two speed-enhancing instruments the staff had delivered in advance, and prepared to leave.
Just as he stepped out of the main door, an alarm sounded inside the exchange. Amid the chaos and noise, someone was reporting a crime—the researcher who had won the bid for "The Unhearable Melody" had died suddenly, bleeding from all seven orifices.
Xu Huo had barely left the exchange when the enforcement team sealed it off, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. Before he could get far, someone chased after him.
Not wanting to waste time with them, Xu Huo went straight through the city and returned to Yongxing Hotel. As he entered the hotel, the players from the Hundred Forest Society appeared again. After a night of consideration, they seemed to have made their decision.