Chapter 421: Chapter 359: These little... players with a good life are quite rich!
"I hope everyone remembers one thing."
Li Zheng looked at the "camera," speaking with a tone full of menace: "For this auction, I am the one in control. The things I sell, you bid on. For the things I don’t sell, you’d better not ask!"
The things I don’t sell, you’d better not ask!
This statement was somewhat dictatorial, and many people felt uneasy upon hearing it.
Especially those from the Western Realm, who uphold so-called "freedom."
Li Zheng had essentially deprived them of some of their freedom during this auction.
The freedom of speech, to be precise.
But this dissatisfaction, they would not express at this moment.
After all, Li Zheng did offer a lot of good things they urgently needed in this auction, and whether a long-term cooperation could be achieved afterwards depended on whether this auction could end pleasantly.
"Now announcing the starting price for the auction items." Li Zheng suppressed the surging hostility within, feeling the coolness spreading from his wrist throughout his body, having triggered the Balance Bracelet’s critical point in the process.
"As required by the medical bed provider, this auction only accepts Power Cores, with a starting price of thirty Platinum Level Power Cores, and each bid must not be less than three cores."
"Start bidding now!"
With this command, numbers began to honestly float up in the bullet screen, soaring from thirty to sixty.
Li Zheng remained calm, with his expected price for three uses of the medical bed being ninety Platinum Level Active Cores.
Judging from the reactions earlier, the final transaction price would only be higher!
After the price exceeded sixty, the number of bidders decreased, and the bidding frequency slowed significantly, with about thirteen or fourteen seconds passing before someone bid again.
After the previous rounds of auctions, everyone noticed that Li Zheng habitually closed the round of bidding if no new bids came in after fifteen seconds, so they started timing their bids to put psychological pressure on other bidders.
Li Zheng appeared to be leisurely waiting, but he was secretly communicating with others through private messages.
Liu Qi Shao: "Are you really not going to put that medical bed up for auction?"
This message made Li Zheng frown. He had already stated this clearly many times, so why was Liu Qi Shao still asking?
"I don’t mind kicking you out of the auction right now!"
Li Zheng replied impatiently, directly using expulsion from the auction as a threat.
"No, no, no!" Liu Qi Shao hurriedly said: "I’m not looking to buy the medical bed, I’m advising you that regardless of who wants to purchase it, you mustn’t sell it! Even the owner of the medical bed should preferably not reveal their identity!"
This came as a surprise to Li Zheng; that Liu Qi Shao would be so kind-hearted?
He seemed to remember they were competitors in this activity’s competition.
Why was he reminding him?
"I know you must have doubts, but I want to say not everyone in this world prioritizes their life and benefits above all else; many choose to give their all for their beliefs." Liu Qi Shao explained in the private message.
Belief, after some superficial understanding, seems mysterious, and even considered stupid to sacrifice everything for so-called beliefs.
It’s like the medieval church burning witches—stupid and cruel.
"In short, that medical bed is too precious; you must protect it and its owner well!"
"You don’t need to tell me that; I would do it anyway." Li Zheng replied: "But I’m curious, it’s just a medical bed, why are you all so nervous?"
Even if the medical bed is at Diamond Tier and can be further upgraded, it shouldn’t attract such covetous attention from them.
Li Zheng felt there was some key point he was overlooking.
"Nervous? How could I not be?!" Liu Qi Shao expressed surprise: "Surely you haven’t noticed the true value of this medical bed?"
Right to the point!
Indeed, Li Zheng hadn’t noticed.
"I’d like to hear more."
"..."
Liu Qi Shao felt helpless; the seemingly shrewd Li Zheng actually had his moments of foolishness.
"The true value of the medical bed lies not in its medical function, but in its ability to perform human modification surgery for players!"
"Although the genetic potion you sold could enhance one’s physique to be no worse than mechanical limbs of the same tier, and even better in some aspects,"
"But you must know, there are plenty of people in this world who love shortcuts. Compared with potions that require long-term material collection to gradually enhance, how many people do you think would choose human modification surgery for instant success?"
"Moreover, even if one’s physique improves, it’s not flawless. There are many players who lose limbs due to missteps or injuries while fighting strong enemies."
"If any major organization could own a human modification device, they could immediately leverage it to have those players sign contracts to serve them!"
"With this explained, you should understand how important this medical bed is, right?"
Understood!
Truly understood.
In essence, Li Zheng had experienced so much that he normalized many things or features that others would covet, leading him to overlook the medical bed’s "human modification" function.
The reasoning is akin to "Why not eat cake?"
"Are there currently no individuals or organizations in the market that own a human modification device?" Li Zheng inquired.
"Not for the time being." Liu Qi Shao replied: "If someone did, it would have been exposed in the world channel long ago; it wouldn’t still be a secret."
Li Zheng thought about it and agreed!
He had simply seen too many high-tier items and viewed human modification technology with some disdain.
But it was precisely these kinds of things that were most attractive to ordinary players.
If someone else owned such a device, it would have been publicized on the world channel, becoming a lucrative business by modifying others’ limbs.
Eventually, they’d either be silenced by an organization’s pursuit, or join one, becoming its exclusive equipment.
"To be honest with you, Kunlun attempted to bring the modification table discovered during exploration into our housing." Liu Qi Shao continued: "Unfortunately, the doorway of the capsule housing was too small; no matter how it was manipulated, the modification table couldn’t fit inside; otherwise, Kunlun would have had at least a hundred by now."
A hundred tables.
Li Zheng sharply caught the key in this sentence, indicating Kunlun had at least a hundred modified members!
If each player wielded power like Yan Guang, such a hundred-strong battalion could be said to be unstoppable, like gods who slay gods!
Even if he encountered them, he’d need to activate his shield and hastily say goodbye!
However, speaking of human modification tables...
Li Zheng raised his hand, holding a tiny USB drive in his palm.
It was a blueprint for a human modification table!
A blueprint obtained from a Treasure Chest, lying idle simply because Li Zheng did not require it!
"Should I collect materials to craft it and sell modification slots in the next auction?"
After pondering for a while, Li Zheng decided to leave it for later.
Truth be told, Li Zheng always felt that turning normal humans into machines was quite inhumane.
If it were simply to serve victims like Yan Guang, it might be considered.
Just then, another private message came through, from Tang Qianzang.
"Old Li, that highest bid came from that little devil again. Want me to intervene once more?"
Li Zheng snapped back to reality, noticing an isolated "135" number floating on the bidding bullet screen, sent twenty seconds ago by Tanaka Junichiro.
One hundred and thirty-five Platinum Level Power Cores, far exceeding Li Zheng’s expectations.
It seemed the little devils had at least two Diamond Level human modification blueprints, or they wouldn’t dare spend so much to secure these three usages.
"These little devils are quite wealthy." Li Zheng muttered softly.
As a large organization, obtaining Diamond level items or blueprints at this stage isn’t surprising.
What’s surprising is the quantity the little devils managed to acquire.
Li Zheng speculated that High Celestial Plain might have access to a specific merchant’s room coordinates, with dedicated guards at the entrance.
After a brief contemplation, Li Zheng replied to Tang Qianzang, telling him not to interfere, then contacted another person, publicly declaring: "Mr. Tanaka Junichiro has bid one hundred thirty-five; is there any higher bid? If no one bids higher, this item will go to..."
"Alright! We see another bid has been placed! Mr. Wu Hao has offered one hundred forty Power Cores!"
"Mr. Tanaka, would you like to continue bidding?"
Wu Hao was, of course, the player whom Li Zheng secretly contacted.
This person was very mysterious; besides knowing his appearance and name, Li Zheng’s only impression of him was that he was extremely greedy!