A Noble Identity

Volume Two

Title: Chapter 77: A Noble Identity

“Number Eighty-Eight!”

At the sound of that voice, the entire auction hall fell silent once more.

Though he had only made one bid, purchasing a completely useless gem, the sheer audacity and dominance he displayed in his initial appearance had left an indelible mark on many.

Thus, when he bid again, the audience couldn’t help but speculate that he would once more announce an astonishing price.

Miss Fairy’s beautiful eyes sparkled with renewed brilliance. ‘Could handing out flyers truly reel in such a big fish?’ she mused inwardly.

And so, she too began to anticipate.

“Number Eighty-Eight bids…”

The voice was unhurried, imbued with the casual ease and nonchalance of someone in a high position. Yet, as his words settled, it was as if thunder itself sparked forth!

“Ten million… and one thousand!”

“Number Eighty-Eight bids ten million and… wait? And one thousand?”

Miss Fairy, who had been poised to reignite the atmosphere with Number Eighty-Eight’s supposedly impressive bid, suddenly froze. She wondered if she had hosted too many auctions, if fatigue was making her hallucinate.

It seemed Number Eighty-Eight had, in a rather audacious tone, announced a contemptibly low price.

“One thousand?”

“It really does sound like one thousand.”

“Number Eighty-Eight only added one thousand?”

“Unbelievable! Is this some kind of market clearance sale today?”

The audience snapped back to reality, realizing that the Number Eighty-Eight they had been anticipating for so long had only timidly added a mere thousand. A chorus of boos immediately erupted.

Meanwhile, in Private Room Number One, Lorenzo was laughing so hard his back was bent double.

“One thousand? Hahaha, he only added one thousand?”

“Damn it, I thought he was some big shot, but he’s just an uncultured bumpkin who’s never seen the world, isn’t he?”

“No wonder he spent a fortune on a useless piece of junk!”

“Quick, bid! Add a full million, humiliate him thoroughly!”

“Number One bids, eleven million!”

“Wow!”

As the new bid emerged from Private Room Number One, the entire auction audience gasped in astonishment.

Now *that* was impressive.

Adding a million at once—that was something a weakling who only added a thousand couldn’t possibly compare to!

Yet, before anyone could fully recover from the shock, Number Eighty-Eight calmly announced a new price: “Eleven million… and one thousand.”

“Still at it?”

Lorenzo scoffed disdainfully, instructing his confidant, “Keep adding, just keep adding a million. I want to see how long this bumpkin can endure this humiliation!”

“Twelve million!”

“Twelve million… and one thousand.”

“Thirteen million!”

“Thirteen million… and one thousand.”

“…”

“Twenty million!”

“Twenty million… and one thousand.”

“…”

“Damn it!”

As the auction price steadily climbed, everyone finally began to sense that something was amiss.

Why did Number Eighty-Eight’s voice remain so calm as the bids increased, while Number One began to grow increasingly agitated?

Who, exactly, was humiliating whom?

“Number Eighty-Eight is deliberately driving up the price!”

Someone finally realized!

In his private room, the not-so-foolish Lorenzo also understood. He furiously slammed his palm onto the coffee table, shattering it, and roared at Miss Fairy, “Are you not going to do anything about this malicious price manipulation?”

“Please calm yourself, esteemed guest. Guest Number Eighty-Eight has not violated any rules,” Miss Fairy explained respectfully.

While the act of deliberately raising the price by only a thousand at a time was indeed rather unethical, no auction house would be foolish enough to prohibit such behavior. Moreover, she hadn’t set a minimum bid increment before the auction. So, let alone a thousand, even if he only added a single coin, it would still conform to the rules.

“Then aren’t you afraid he’ll actually win the bid but have no money?” Lorenzo sneered, his voice laced with contempt.

If he truly had enough money, why would he play such games?

He was clearly an upstart bumpkin with little money, deliberately trying to annoy him!

Did spending a million on a broken rock suddenly make him someone important?

“This…”

Miss Fairy hesitated. Indeed, what auction houses feared most was encountering such defaulters—those who deliberately drove up prices, accidentally won a bid, and then couldn’t pay. Reputable auction houses typically verified qualifications, so this wasn’t usually an issue.

But this was a black market, after all.

“Please wait, esteemed guest. The auction will be paused for three minutes.”

After a moment’s thought, Miss Fairy paused the auction and subtly gestured to someone below the stage.

Before long, Ewan’s door was knocked.

“Come in.”

“Esteemed guest.”

The attendant entered the room and respectfully said, “We kindly request that you present proof of sufficient assets to participate in the auction.”

“Oh? Aren’t you a secret auction house? Why, are you now prying into guests’ privacy?”

Ewan didn’t even lift an eyelid, casually swirling the red wine in his glass.

“We deeply apologize, but given the substantial funds involved in this auction, we must implement necessary risk management.”

The attendant bowed deeply. “There is no need for you to reveal your identity, esteemed guest. Simply proving you possess sufficient assets will suffice.”

“Assets, you say? I believe I only have about a million in cash on me.”

“Then we can only ask you to temporarily leave, esteemed guest.” A cold glint flashed in the attendant’s eyes. A million, and he thought he could act like a big shot? Did he think I was a pushover…

“Then, is this enough?”

Ewan casually tossed a crystal card with two fingers.

The attendant caught it steadily.

However, the moment he recognized the crystal card, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

It was a black crystal card, adorned with golden tulips, appearing understated yet undeniably luxurious.

As a professionally trained attendant, he recognized the card’s origin at first glance.

This was… a Black Crystal Card issued by the Imperial Bank!

This card was exclusively for the empire’s most elite individuals, allowing virtually unlimited overdrafts through an anonymous Imperial Bank account!

To date, the Imperial Bank had issued only one hundred such cards!

This meant that anyone holding such a card was unequivocally among the tiny fraction of people at the very apex of the empire—individuals whose mere stomp could make the entire empire quake.

Moreover, the Black Crystal Card boasted the most stringent security measures, making it almost impossible to trace the cardholder. Let alone this auction house, even their ultimate boss would…

With this card in hand, let alone a mere few tens of millions for ancient dragon’s blood, one could easily purchase the entire auction house itself!

At that point, forget being a pushover, he’d gladly eat…

“Do I have the qualifications now?” Ewan asked airily, each word striking like a hammer against the attendant’s inner composure.

“Yes, of course you do!”

The attendant’s back was instantly drenched in cold sweat. The composure he had cultivated through long training had been flung ten thousand miles away. Trembling, he held the Black Crystal Card before Ewan, forcing a professional smile. “We apologize for the disturbance, esteemed guest. As compensation, all items you purchase here will receive a twenty percent discount.”

Twenty percent off was no small discount in an auction setting. For instance, if Ewan were to bid one hundred million for a rare treasure, he would only need to pay eighty million, saving a full twenty million.

This was the maximum discount the attendant was authorized to offer.

“Hmph, quite sincere, aren’t you?”

Ewan retrieved his crystal card. “Though I don’t particularly care about that. I just want the auction to resume quickly.”

“The auction will continue immediately, immediately!”

The attendant wiped his brow, preparing to swiftly make his exit.

He had to leave quickly and inform everyone that a top-tier VIP was seated here. Otherwise, if he were to somehow offend him, it would be utterly disastrous.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

But just then, Ewan turned back.

He brought a finger to his masked lips, a benevolent smile curving his mouth. “I wouldn’t want this matter to be known by a fourth person.”

Ewan pointed to himself, then to the attendant, and finally to the area behind the attendant.

“So, keep it a secret, understood?”