Chapter 200: Chapter 198

Chapter 200: Chapter 198
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The location was inconspicuous, and the store was quiet. A cashier wearing a red vest leaned on the counter, dozing off.
Lu Miao entered the store and casually grabbed a bottle of cola. She lightly tapped the counter with her finger.
“Give me a serving of Coca -Cola Chicken Wings.”
To distinguish regular customers from special ones, the store updated its secret code every day, and this was the code for today.
The cashier, who had just been napping, instantly opened her eyes. “First floor or second floor?”
The first floor referred to the regular seating area, while the second floor consisted of private rooms.
Only those with special status or those who spent a certain amount at the auction house could access the second floor.
“Second floor,” Lu Miao replied directly.
The cashier sized her up and down. “Please show your payment code.”
Lu Miao took out her phone and displayed the QR code.
The cashier picked up the scanning gun, scanned the code, and after seeing the entry ticket information displayed on the screen, she handed Lu Miao an elevator card and pointed to the small door at the far end. “206.”
Lu Miao nodded, swiped the card in the elevator, and descended to the minus third floor.
Upon exiting the elevator, she was greeted by a sight vastly different from the crowded convenience store. A thousand-square-meter underground hall appeared before her eyes.
The spacious hall on the lower level was divided into several areas based on different colors, and many people had already gathered there.
As Lu Miao walked out of the elevator, a service staff member approached her, accepted the Yin-Yang Grass enclosed in a box, and directed her to room 206.
The auction hadn’t started yet, so Lu Miao boredly took out her phone and started playing games.
She had been busy lately and hadn’t played games for a while. Unexpectedly, she happened to come across Lu Yinan, who was playing under a different username.
As soon as he noticed her online, he excitedly invited her to join his team.
They had only been playing for a few minutes when Lu Miao observed Lu Yinan’s character movements on the screen and furrowed her brow. She immediately sent him a private message.
“What’s wrong with your hand?”
Lu Yinan was a professional esports player, and currently one of the top players in the field. His gaming skills were unquestionable. However, his gameplay and tactics today were clearly off.
He appeared unfamiliar, with clunky and disjointed moves, as if he were a novice playing the game for the first time and struggling with the controls.
Although she wasn’t a professional esports player, she had played with Lu Yinan many times before. With his normal skill level, it would be impossible for him to perform like this, even if he closed his eyes.
Moreover, it was a game that he was extremely familiar with and had won international competitions in.
Therefore, the only possible explanation was that something was wrong with his hand.
The dialogue box displayed “typing” for a long time before finally receiving a response.
“Heh, it’s nothing. Just a minor injury from accidentally knocking it.”
Lu Miao responded directly, “Take a photo and send it to me.”
If it was just a minor injury, she had ointments for that. She could help him recover quickly within a day or two.
“I’m at the dormitory today, and the lighting isn’t good. I’ll send it tomorrow. Really, it’s nothing to worry about. Even if I’m injured, brother can still lead you to conquer all the big bosses.”
Lu Yinan giggled and laughed with Lu Miao for a few more rounds before logging off.
Lu Miao furrowed her brows slightly and immediately opened Weibo to search for information about Lu Yinan.
He was a top player in the esports world, so the news wasn’t hard to find.
Quickly, Lu Miao came across news about his injury, accompanied by a few scattered images. His right hand was tigh tly wrapped in bandages, and it looked quite serious.
The comments section was filled with fans expressing concern and offering their well wishes.
There were also discussions among fans about the cause of his injury, but no one knew for certain. Even the news of his injury was captured by fans by chance.
Furthermore, since his injury, he hadn’t appeared in public.
Lu Miao then searched for Lu Yinan’s official club account, and the last post was about a competition scheduled for a week later.
Lu Yinan wasn’t included in the starting lineup.
Aside from that, the official account didn’t mention anything about his injury either.
Based on the photos captured by fans, his injury occurred at least a week ago.
It couldn’t be a minor injury if it had remained severe for this long.
With a furrowed brow, Lu Miao couldn’t help but wonder what had happened.
As an esports player, Lu Yinan valued his hand more than anything else. He had even taken out a substantial insurance policy for it. It was definitely not something he could have done to himself.
Just as she was thinking about this, the sound system in the private room signaled the start of the auction.
Temporarily setting aside her doubts, Lu Miao looked up at the screen.
The first items to be presented were several bronze wares, most of which originated from underground and couldn’t be traded through normal channels.
Lu Miao wasn’t interested in these.
After a series of items were auctioned off, her Yin-Yang Grass was finally brought to the auction stage.
“The Yin-Yang Grass is inherently highly toxic. When combined with the Yin-Yang Curse, it can infiltrate the human body through the skin and eventually spread throughout the organs. There is no known antidote. However, when refined into medicine, it can neutralize the toxicity.”
After a brief and straightforward introduction by the host, the atmosphere in the room immediately became lively.
After all, this item was extremely rare and had delicate applications.
Anyone who could come to the underground auction house had a net worth starting from at least nine digits.
These people included not only the wealthy businessmen from the market, but also those involved in less reputable activities. If they had made it this far, they certainly had their fair share of enemies and rivals.
Having the Yin-Yang Grass in their possession would not only allow them to seek revenge or intimidate their adversaries, but it could also serve as a life-saving deterrent in critical situations.
“The starting bid is one million.” As soon as the host’s words fell, people immediately started raising their paddles.
As the bidding price increased, the number of participants decreased.
Only the bidder with number 9 persisted until the end, ultimately winning the auction with a bid of ten million.
The price was twice as high as Lu Miao had anticipated.
Satisfied, Lu Miao was about to leave.
However, she noticed the next item being brought up to the stage.
Dragon’s Blood Resin, capable of promoting blood circulation, dissolving blockages, relieving pain, treating coughs and wheezing, reversing qi stagnation, and even enhancing mental clarity and prolonging life when used as incense in a room.
It was an incredibly rare and valuable item.
Lu Miao had recently been studying the art of making incense, so when she saw this, she sat back down. When there was only one bidder left, Lu Miao tapped the bidding device.
With a single tap, she increased the bid by one hundred thousand.
“Box 6 bids twenty million and ten thousand.”
As soon as the host’s voice fell, the other party immediately raised the bid by one million.
Lu Miao raised an eyebrow and once again tapped the device.
Just as she made her bid, the other party followed suit, exuding an air of confidence.
Back and forth they went, raising the price until it reached 25 million, and then Lu Miao decisively withdrew from the bidding.
Well, she couldn’t compete with someone who had so much money!
However, the person who won the auction for the Dragon’s Blood Resin was the same person who won the bid for her Yin-Yang Grass.
Moreover, this person seemed to have been bidding on precious medicinal materials throughout the entire auction.
Lu Miao couldn’t help but feel curious..