Chapter Ninety-Nine: Golden Radiance in the Night

“Then let me offer you my advance congratulations on your triumph, Dragon Soaring.”

Ye Chen raised a cup to Dragon Soaring Wanderer, and the others, including the sly one who never left empty-handed, all broke into delighted smiles. No wonder they were willing to give up exclusive rights to his special-effect pills and instead put them up for auction, hitching themselves to the thick, powerful lifeline of Night Radiance Gold. Even with only a ten percent share of the profits, Dragon Soaring could still recruit troops and build its strength on a grand scale. In the future, taking control of the five city districts was by no means impossible.

“Brother Ye Chen, we’ll still need your support,” Dragon Soaring Wanderer said. “Night Radiance Gold may be a huge enterprise, but it has no real foundation in the Fourth District. This is the auction house’s first opening, and we’re still short on truly show-stopping goods. Your special-effect pills have already been designated as one of the centerpiece auction items by the person in charge, and Miss Lingtong is very eager to meet you.”

“Who is Lingtong?” Ye Chen asked in confusion. From Dragon Soaring Wanderer’s odd expression, it seemed this Lingtong must be someone with an impressive background.

“Brother Ye Chen, you know about Night Radiance Gold’s auction house and yet you don’t know Miss Lingtong?” Before Dragon Soaring Wanderer could explain, Dragon Soaring Starbreaker jumped in with a cry.

Ye Chen shook his head. He truly had never heard of her. His understanding of the nine major auction houses came only from a few passing remarks by the girls, so not knowing was perfectly normal.

“Miss Lingtong is the chief auctioneer of Night Radiance Gold, and one of the top ten goddesses of the Second District. Countless heroes and bold adventurers have fallen beneath her charms. If Fire Mountain Auction House weren’t Night Radiance Gold’s first pilot project in the Fourth District, Miss Lingtong wouldn’t have come in person at all.” Dragon Soaring Starbreaker looked utterly admiring, as if he were only one step away from shouting that he loved Lingtong.

Ye Chen nodded in understanding. No wonder he had never heard of her. Birds of a feather did not always flock together; if that woman were truly as beautiful as they said, then it was only natural that the girls never brought her up. Still, a goddess of the Second District? Good heavens, the Second District had been open for ten years already. Could she still really be called a goddess?

Seemingly noticing what Ye Chen was thinking, Dragon Soaring Starbreaker immediately cried out, “That’s not what you think at all! Miss Lingtong just turned twenty-six today. She’s in the bloom of youth, and she’s only grown more beautiful. She has far more admirers than before. Take Brother Thief, for example—he only recently started liking her, and he often sneaks off to watch her videos and photos.”

At that, everyone’s gaze instantly turned to the cool-faced sly one who never left empty-handed, making the usually icy fellow blush bright red on the spot. Embarrassed and furious, he pointed at Dragon Soaring Starbreaker and snapped, “You’d better watch yourself later.”

Ye Chen laughed loudly too, though in his heart he had grown somewhat interested in this woman called Lingtong. “Since she wants to meet me, why didn’t she come with Brother Wanderer today?”

Dragon Soaring Wanderer shook his head. “Brother Ye Chen, you may not know this, but Night Radiance Gold’s auction house is officially opening this afternoon. Miss Lingtong is busy inspecting and verifying all the auction goods. She simply can’t spare the time. But in a little while, we’ll still have to trouble Brother Ye Chen to send over the White Tiger Pill. By then, I’m sure Miss Lingtong will definitely want to meet you.”

“This afternoon is the opening?” Ye Chen blinked. “Aren’t you going to do some publicity?”

“It seems Brother Ye Chen hasn’t been paying attention to the forums,” Dragon Soaring Wanderer said with a smile. “The forum section for Fire Mountain City has already been promoting it for ages, and all the major families have received invitations. As for ordinary players, the auction house will make city-wide announcements shortly. There’s no better advertising than that.”

Less than two minutes after his words fell, the auction house’s city-wide announcement sounded in his ears.

“Players of Fire Mountain City, I am Lingtong, chief auctioneer of Night Radiance Gold. At two o’clock this afternoon, Night Radiance Gold’s Fire Mountain Auction House will officially open. We have prepared the most complete selection of auction items for all of you. All players are warmly welcome to visit us then.”

The crisp female voice echoed across the entire Fire Mountain City region. It repeated three times in succession, and tens of thousands of online players heard it loud and clear.

“This kind of announcement will be made once every hour and continue until two this afternoon. Add to that word of mouth between players, and by then there probably won’t be many people who don’t know about it. Those who aren’t online will be dragged here by their friends to watch the excitement,” Dragon Soaring Wanderer said with an unsurprised smile.

Damn. Once every hour? That’s all money. It was only nine in the morning now, and if they kept this up until two in the afternoon, wouldn’t it cost them well over one hundred thousand? They really had deep pockets.

Ye Chen’s pained expression naturally did not escape the others’ eyes. The sly one who never left empty-handed gave a soft laugh. “That little bit of money doesn’t even count as a speck of dust to Night Radiance Gold. Right now, the auction house isn’t counting on making a profit. The main goal is to open up the market. Profit comes later in the game. By then, Fire Mountain City, with its hundred thousand players, will surely fill the auction house’s coffers to overflowing.”

Drinking in the game would not make anyone drunk, but the taste was real enough. They ate and drank their way until eleven o’clock, and even then Dragon Soaring and the others still felt unsatisfied. If Ye Chen hadn’t still needed to deliver the White Tiger Pill, they would not have let him go so easily.

After leaving Drunken Fragrance Tower and parting ways with Dragon Soaring Wanderer and the others, Ye Chen did not rush straight to Night Radiance Gold’s auction house. Instead, he first went to the warehouse and took out a large pile of bronze-grade equipment.

Earlier at the table, Ye Chen had mentioned the bronze set, and although Dragon Soaring’s people were reluctant, they still asked him to take the equipment to the auction house. After all, Dragon Soaring was now tied to Night Radiance Gold. Whether the auction house’s first strike succeeded or failed would directly affect Dragon Soaring’s future earnings. Dragon Soaring Starbreaker had blurted out the whole arrangement: Dragon Soaring had already reached an agreement with the auction house that everything Ye Chen sold to them would count toward Dragon Soaring’s performance, because Ye Chen had been “given up” by Dragon Soaring...

Carrying ten pieces of bronze equipment and forty-five White Tiger Pills, Ye Chen made his way to the Night Radiance Gold auction house in the western part of the city. The place had absolutely been built overnight, because it hadn’t existed yesterday.

The auction hall was enormous. A row of NPC soldiers stood guard at the entrance, clearly hired from the city lord’s mansion, and no one knew how many gold coins that had cost. At this moment, with nearly three hours still left before the auction house’s opening, a huge crowd had already gathered at the entrance. Ye Chen squeezed through the tide of people for quite a while before reaching the main gate, only to be stopped by a swordsman dressed in a rare set.

Ye Chen was not the only one blocked. The players who had managed to reach the entrance clearly all wanted to go in. Before Ye Chen could even speak, someone had already protested, “What’s going on with Night Radiance Gold? If you’re opening for business, why won’t you let us in?”

As soon as those words were spoken, the surrounding players chimed in one after another, clearly implying that if no explanation was given, they had to be allowed in.

The swordsman smiled and apologized repeatedly, saying, “I’m truly sorry. Please let me explain. Our house is indeed opening today, but the official opening time is two in the afternoon. Before then, the venue is not open to the public.”

As he spoke, he changed tack and pointed to a row of giant crystal screens on the right side of the hall. “However, everyone may first take a look at the items to be auctioned today. Those interested can go to the registration room to register, prove that they have the assets to participate in the auction, and receive a token. At two in the afternoon, you may enter by presenting your token.”

Ignoring the players’ uproar, he continued to gesture toward more than a hundred players on the left, all dressed in identical uniforms. “If any friends wish to sell items, you may present your goods to the junior appraisers over here on my left. Let me state in advance that if you are selling equipment, the quality must at least be superior grade. We do not accept white-grade equipment. Once your items pass inspection, our appraisers will pay you a certain deposit in advance, and after the auction we will settle the difference.”

The players immediately erupted into commotion. Many of them quickly took pieces of equipment from their bags and rushed toward the appraisers. Some, eyes gleaming with greed, simply stripped off the gear they were wearing and prepared to see whether they could sell it for a high price. After all, the auction house was offering a tax-free opening-day promotion, so they couldn’t lose either way.

Ye Chen watched the lively scene with interest, then walked a few steps to a blue-robed appraiser, casually took out a bronze ring, and tossed it over.