Close Combat Mage

Chapter 330 - Flash Freezing Ability Part 1

“Wait a minute!” Just as the mallet was about to strike the table, an angry roar rang out.

If it were any other auctioneer, it would’ve been too late for them to retract the mallet, and it would’ve heavily fallen. Once it struck the surface, the transaction couldn’t be changed again. Fortunately…this auctioneer was experienced enough to stabilize the mallet in the last instant…at the moment, it was less than a centimeter away from the platform.

The auctioneer raised his head in bewilderment, unable to comprehend. It was already such a high price, yet someone still wanted to raise? The auctioneer wasn’t the only one puzzled, all the spectators also turned their heads to look at Box #6.

From within the box, Suo Jia swiftly counted the large pile of coins on his table and loudly shouted, “I bid 40000126 Trade Route coins!”

In response to Suo Jia’s words, the entire auction house fell silent for a moment before it suddenly became filled with loud laughter. Some people groaned, “Heavens! Where does this young brother think he is? An item up for auction in this place can never be sold based on just a few hundred Trade Route coins!”

As expected, as soon as Suo Jia finished speaking, the earlier voice rang out once more. “Hahaha…this gentleman over here is really interesting, to even take out 126 coins. Are you trying to look down on me? In that case, I’ll bet 40000127!”

“Plop…” Suo Jia fell back into his seat in despair. There was nothing else he could, he really didn’t have any more money. He’d searched through all his interspatial rings just now, but had been unable to find any significant amount.

At the platform, the auctioneer loudly declared, “Are there any other bets? Any at all? None? Then…”

“Dong!” With a loud sound, the auctioneer’s mallet heavily fell onto the platform. At the same time, he shouted, “Congratulations to the friend in Box #4. This Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Box is yours!”

“Hahahaha…” A sudden burst of wild laughter came from inside Box #4. At the same time, one of the staff members walked over towards VIP Box #4 with the auction house’s card. According to auction rules, any business transactions had to be completed on site.

Suo Jia sat in his seat in despair. Although he was very disappointed, he no longer had any regrets. He’d used up the last of his efforts already; if the matter still ended up as such, he couldn’t do anything about it.

Suo Jia couldn’t help but faintly smile as he shook his head and stood up. Just as he was prepared to turn around and leave, a cold voice suddenly called out from within Box #4, “This VIP customer, your card only has 4000126 coins remaining, you’re still missing 1. Please immediately settle this!”

Heating the auctioneer’s words, the bold voice from within the box cried out in shock, “What? How could I be missing 1 coin? Ok, ok, ok…wait a minute, I’ll look for it.” As he spoke, one could hear the sounds of things being flipped through in search.

Soon after, the bold voice returned in an increasingly more anxious tone, “Look at me, I only brought the card when I came out, and didn’t bring money. Isn’t it just one coin? I’ll immediately call someone to bring the money over!”

“That’s…” The staff member said in a low voice, “Mister, this isn’t your first time attending an auction, right? If you cannot pull out all the money here on site, then not only have you lost the right to possess the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Box, but you will also suffer a fine worth a hundredfold of the item’s price. This is the punishment for your evil intentions while bidding!”

“Gasp!” All the people present couldn’t help but inhale sharply. Indeed…the auction house did have such a rule. You could call out whatever bids you wanted, but if you dared to raise with evil intent and were unable to actually pay up then and there, you had to pay the penalty fine of hundredfold the item’s price!

This penalty may seem too strict, but the reason this rule existed was to completely put an end to those betters with malicious intent. An unfortunate consequence awaited those that dared to try. The auction house had clear arrangements; even a deficiency of 1 coin resulted in the punishment fine!

Hearing this, the fellow in VIP Box #4 finally panicked, and he nervously stated, “Wait you guys, wait just a moment. Let me look a bit more. Isn’t it just 1 coin? I can definitely find it!”

Faced with this request, the staff member didn’t force the customer to do anything, and simply stood there to wait. It didn’t matter how long it took; as long as the customer could pay over the money there, he was qualified. But if he couldn’t bring the money out…

Everyone waited as that rich and powerful person anxiously flipped through his things in search, going through all his possessions dozens of times. However…to someone that never carried around cash, how was it possible to suddenly find something like that? He hadn’t ever had such things on his person before…

Finally, the rich and powerful person sat down paralysed on his chair. Seeing this, the staff member excitedly turned around. They were always waiting for good chances like this every auction. Once someone betting with malicious intentions was discovered, the auction house would gain the profit from the hundredfold penalty!

If it were anyone else, they might not have been able to even afford this penalty. However, this fellow was one that everyone recognised; although he wasn’t the wealthiest in Icebound City, his social status was worth over 3 billion. Even if he couldn’t compensate for the 4 billion penalty, 3 billion was already decent. This time, the auction house had hit the jackpot!

Back at the stage, the staff member and the auctioneer exchanged a few words. The auctioneer then cooly said, “Everyone has witnessed it; someone in today’s auction made a bad with evil intent. Thus…I represent the Global Auction Alliance to formally announce that VIP Box #4’s auction rights are revoked. At the same time, he must pay the hundredfold fine!”

The auctioneer paused for a bit, before turning around to look towards the box that Suo Jia was residing in. “Because VIP Box #6 suffered from the malice…according to the Global Auction Alliance regulations, he will obtain this good according to the starting price!”

“Holy crap!” Suo Jia was at loss for words. No matter what, he hadn’t ever imagined that he’d be able to fight with a single coin for something in this auction. Neither Suo Jia nor the person in VIP Box #4 had imagined that beyond coincidence, they both had only 40000126 coins. Whoever bid it first would get it first. If the other party dared to continue bidding, they’d be fined to death! A hundredfold penalty was an astronomical value!

After the roller coaster of events, Suo Jia blankly settled the auctioned good’s costs, and obtained the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Box. Only then did he dare to believe that everything was real. How could something like this happen!

Suo Jia dazedly left the auction house, and slowly strolled along the main street. After a long while…Suo Jia finally came to his senses. Seeing the constant flow of people along the road, Suo Jia had a sudden realization; no matter how dangerous a situation was, one still had to continue struggling for victory with all their effort. Only after offering up one’s very last remnant of strength would God requite them!

The object was something worth 40 million, yet its final owner had depended on just a single coin. That minor of a difference had allowed Suo Jia to gain the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Box for almost free of charge. At the same time, that difference of a single coin was enough for the rich merchant to lose his family fortune. There was, after all, a thin line between heaven and hell.

Suo Jia shook his head and sighed in admiration. Although this was just one auction, the lesson that he’d learned from it was priceless. After what had happened today, Suo Jia would never concede easily, unless he’d really tried all he could.

Suo Jia abruptly stopped in his tracks, his head covered with cold sweat that swiftly dripped downwards. When he thought back, he seemed to also have made a malicious bid. He’d indeed had 40000216 coins, but one couldn’t forget that Suo Jia had spent nearly 500,000 to buy the four rank one Freezing Fruits. In that case…where had the money come from?

The sweat on Suo Jia’s forehead continued to flow down like rain as he pulled out a Freezing Fruit. If that fellow hadn’t been missing a coin and been fined hundredfold, allowing Suo Jia to obtain it at its starting price, he definitely would’ve been the one fined in the end. The line splitting Heaven and Hell really was so minor!