Chapter 690: Using His Woman

"What exactly happened?" Once he was aboard the flying vessel en route to Wanjie Auction House, Li Xiaofei finally found time to ask.

Huang Dinggou replied, "The boss made a deal with Wushuang City, the leader of the Five Major Gangs, in order to raise funds. He used our Wanjie Auction House as collateral to secure a high-interest loan from them. A few days ago, the Finance Hall repaid the loan in full, including interest. Logically, Wushuang City should have immediately returned the auction house to us. However, not only did they refuse to return it after receiving the money, but they also injured the Hall Master of Finance Hall and outright denied the agreement."

"Damn, that's completely dishonorable in the martial world!" Li Xiaofei exclaimed. "Shouldn't we gather the brothers and go chop them up?"

Huang Dinggou shook his head. "The boss believes that we need to act with intelligence, not brute force. That’s why we are heading there first to assess the situation. We received word that Wushuang City is conducting illegal auctions at Wanjie Auction House. Our goal is to investigate, gather evidence, and take them down in one sweep."

"Illegal auctions?" Li Xiaofei asked curiously, "What exactly are they selling?"

Huang Dinggou lowered his voice and said, "Most likely, smuggled goods from various base planets."

Li Xiaofei’s heart stirred.

Base planets. Isn’t that just another way of referring to Earth? If Wushuang City is smuggling goods from Earth, does that mean they have connections to Eden?

Li Xiaofei had been in Chongque City for some time now. Yet, he had yet to hear any news about Eden. To avoid alerting anyone, he had never actively searched for information about it. But this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Just as he was lost in thought, his light-core phone vibrated slightly.

"Stop the vehicle." Li Xiaofei shouted, "I need to take a leak."

The flying vessel pulled over by the roadside. Standing on an overpass, Li Xiaofei unzipped his pants and let out a long, uninterrupted stream down onto the roadway below. At the same time, he discreetly connected to a private call. It was Hu Shuo, the Director of the Inner Division’s Demon Hunting Bureau.

"There's a mission tonight."

"Speak."

"Show some respect to your superior. I received intelligence that Wanjie Auction House is holding a major auction tonight. There are suspicions of contraband making its way in, and even rumors that certain Inner Division officials are colluding with them. Official investigations would be inconvenient. So I need you, under your gang affiliation, to look into it and gather evidence. Get solid proof if that’s possible."

"Oh? That works. What's in it for me?"

"How dare you ask for a reward while working for the Grand Lord? Young man, your ideological consciousness needs improvement."

"Oh, come on. You want the horse to run, but you don’t want to feed it? Where in the world does that work?"

"You brat... Finish the job first. Then, I’ll owe you one."

"Alright, deal."

He hung up the call. Li Xiaofei zipped up his pants and returned to the flying vessel.

A short while later, the vessel arrived outside Wanjie Auction House, located in Zone Bing-8. Li Xiaofei jumped down, followed by Huang Dinggou and Ah Qing.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The sword-wielding girl held Black Emperor in her arms. At this point, the bond between the girl and the dog was unbreakable. Black Emperor really liked Ah Qing and Ah Qing took such good care of Black Emperor that its fur gleamed with a glossy shine.

Huang Dinggou couldn't help but feel a little bitter. He was the original owner of Black Emperor, so how had he ended up as nothing more than a side character?

"Stop right there." At the entrance of the auction house, a fully armed guard extended his hand to block their way and asked, "Invitation?"

Huang Dinggou tossed a pre-prepared invite at him. After a quick scan confirmed its authenticity, three people and one dog were granted entry.

Wanjie Auction House’s architecture and decor followed a sleek, modern metallic-glass aesthetic, with a distinct futuristic sci-fi vibe. Li Xiaofei still felt this way even though he was already living in the future.

Elegant hostesses moved gracefully through the halls. A parade of young beauties, all fair-skinned and strikingly attractive, were dressed in cat-girl, dog-girl, and fox-girl cosplay outfits. A single glance could probably improve one’s eyesight by at least 0.2.

The night’s auction was being held on the third floor. Since Chongque City itself was built atop a massive rocky asteroid, the concept of upper and lower floors wasn’t as clearly defined.

Li Xiaofei wandered around Wanjie Auction House. Beyond the high-value treasures reserved for premium auctions, the first and second floors were lined with equally extravagant goods that he was greatly interested in. All of the goods had a price. As long as one had the money, anything could be purchased instantly.

Each floor housed twenty light-core indexing machines with voice, text, and other search functions. Buyers could browse the prices of over five hundred different goods and services before making a selection with a single tap.

Much like Jiuyang Tower, Wanjie Auction House was not merely an auction venue. It also offered gambling, combat tournaments, and other entertainment services of a more intimate nature.

Li Xiaofei had barely browsed for a few minutes before a middle-aged man with a welcoming smile approached him and said, "Ah, so that explains why I heard the call of a Nebula Finch early this morning, it was a sign that our casino was about to welcome an esteemed guest."

The middle-aged man beamed warmly, as if they were lifelong friends. He extended his hand and said, "I am Zhou Chenguang, Vice General Manager of Wanjie Auction House and Vice Hall Master of Wushuang City's Liangjian Hall. Welcome, Hall Master Li. It is a pleasure to have you here as our guest."

"Pleasure?" Li Xiaofei glanced coldly at him. "It’s too early for pleasure."

The corner of Zhou Chenguang’s mouth twitched as he said, "Hall Master Li’s visit is an honor to our humble establishment. What would you like to enjoy tonight? I’ll give you a ten percent discount on everything."

His face remained all smiles. Yet, his gaze instinctively swept past Li Xiaofei, lingering a moment longer on Ah Qing.

She was a rare beauty. She was in no way inferior to the merchandise being processed tonight. In fact, the pure, spiritual aura between her brows gave her an edge over the others.

Zhou Chenguang didn’t spare Huang Dinggou and the dog much thought. A stray mutt and a lackey even more worthless than the mutt itself was not worth mentioning.

"Ten percent off? Are you trying to bribe a beggar?" Li Xiaofei sneered, "Go home and drink some milk. Hah! Do I look like I need your lousy discount? Spit!"

The goal was to act arrogantly. That was exactly how Li Qingchen’s persona would be. A few Wushuang City underlings couldn't hold back any longer as Li Xiaofei and his group walked away.

One of them asked, "Hall Master, are we just letting that bastard run his mouth like that? Acting so arrogant on our turf?"

Zhou Chenguang smiled faintly as a cold glint flashed in his eyes. "Let him be arrogant for now. He’s here with an invitation to the auction, isn’t he? That means he’s from the Exploding Star Gang. They must be trying to stir up trouble. Hah, perfect timing. Chief Cao Shaoang from the Internal Affairs Bureau will also be attending tonight. I hope he causes a scene. Heh, we just need to provoke him a little."

"Hall Master, how do we provoke him?"

"Did you see the woman beside him? Li Qingchen is a notorious lecher. If there’s anything that can set him off, it’s a woman. He’d happily die in one’s embrace. So, we’ll use her to push him over the edge. That should anger him."

"Brilliant move, Hall Master! Understood."