Abnormality

The Fourth Era, known as the Dark Era, has left countless mysteries for modern people. In fact, relics from the Fourth Era are not scarce; one could even say they are abundant.

This is because the Fourth Era was not destroyed instantly. After that eerie darkness descended, the people of that time continued to persevere for a long period before gradually sliding toward extinction.

However, information regarding the Fourth Era is currently the most limited. More precisely, accurate and reliable information is the scarcest among all known eras.

Because, much like the modern definition of it, the Fourth Era was filled with darkness and chaos, to the point where much of the information left behind is simply indecipherable. Most of it holds no meaning at all—it is merely pure, mad raving.

The relics preserved from the Fourth Era inherited this style: absurd, eccentric, and distorted. Looking at them for too long can even cause physical discomfort.

This was exactly why Qi Chuan had remarked that a Fourth Era collector like Boss Yu was quite rare. Compared to other eras, the Fourth Era might not be the most mysterious, but it was undoubtedly the most abstract and twisted. Most normal people simply cannot appreciate this style.

Furthermore, within the antique circles, there have always been ill omens regarding the Fourth Era—rumors of curses and the like. Consequently, Fourth Era antiquities are relatively less popular.

Of course, that is only relative; the value of such antiquities remains beyond doubt.

Su Mian, however, did not care about any of that.

He wandered through the exhibition halls alongside the crowds, witnessing a vast array of bizarre gadgets. Aside from the ubiquitous “little people” made of various materials, there were also vessels used by humans of that time.

There was even a weapon—a strange rod, or perhaps a mace, though it was impossible to tell for sure since more than half of it was shattered, leaving only a small bottom section.

But after a full circuit, it seemed that these antiquities on display were all just ordinary items.

Although the only magical item Su Mian had encountered so far was the Stone of the Lost, he could easily distinguish such relics possessing special power once he was near them. Yet, among all the exhibits in the hall at this moment, not a single one gave him that sensation.

While a few items looked odd and felt “wrong,” he felt the root cause was simply that they belonged to the Fourth Era, which, as mentioned before, was famous for its bizarreness and distortion.

In short, after browsing for quite a while without any gains, and because Qi Chuan didn’t particularly enjoy the Fourth Era style either, the two quickly moved on to other areas.

Until past two in the afternoon, they spent their time wandering through several massive exhibition halls.

Boss Yu truly lived up to being the man backed by the famous Shen family of Yujing; the collection was incredibly diverse and a feast for the eyes.

The only pity was that even in other areas, Su Mian failed to find the special items he longed for. He didn’t know if it was because such things were truly too rare or for some other reason.

Additionally, the event didn’t just feature antiquities. Several halls specifically displayed top-tier jewelry and necklaces. It was said that after Madam Shen learned of Yu Fu’s plan, she wanted to contribute her own part as well.

This jewelry would also be auctioned off later, with every cent of the proceeds being donated. It was a generous gesture, as one could tell just by looking that the value of these pieces was substantial.

“This Boss Yu’s family are actually quite good people.”

Nearing three in the afternoon, seeing as there was only about an hour left before the auction, Su Mian and Qi Chuan—who had been walking for half the day—decided to stop looking and find a place to rest.

Sitting in the lounge, Su Mian leaned back and sipped a bright orange-red drink made by the bartender. Thinking of the dazzling jewelry he had just seen, he couldn’t help but sigh with admiration.

He then saw Qi Chuan, sitting opposite him, choke violently. Qi Chuan set down his similarly colored drink, grabbed a tissue from the table to wipe his mouth, and said speechlessly: “If you only had a hundred bucks, of course you wouldn’t want to donate it all. But if you have a million, donating a hundred bucks is no big deal.”

He paused for a moment. “And the wealth of Boss Yu and the Shen family… tsk tsk, a million to them is no different from a hundred bucks to us.”

“But at least they are willing to donate it.”

“Hmm, fair point.”

The two didn’t dwell on whether Boss Yu’s family was “good” or “bad,” as humans are complex and cannot be judged by simple labels. Only children believe the world is purely black and white.

Thus, their conversation quickly shifted back to the antiquities they had seen. They chatted idly while finishing several glasses of their drinks.

Why drinks?

Because the bartender saw at a glance that they were students. Even though they were of legal age, he was unwilling to mix alcohol for them, eventually serving them two glasses of sweet and sour mixed fruit juice instead.

Su Mian didn’t mind; he wasn’t much of a drinker anyway. He only chose this spot because he was tired of walking and it happened to be nearby.

After finishing the juice and resting for a while, feeling the time was right, they rose and headed toward the auction hall.

The auction hall was located on the fourth floor—the highest level of the building.

When they arrived, quite a few people were already there. Fortunately, there were still many empty seats. Since Su Mian and Qi Chuan were only there to watch the excitement and weren’t participating, they didn’t need to go through the capital verification or collect a bidding paddle.

Finding a seat toward the front, they chatted while discussing what prices today’s auction items might fetch.

Not long after Su Mian sat down, a tall figure stepped into the room.

The man’s gaze swept across the crowd. His eyes paused briefly when they landed on Su Mian, but this time he chose not to disturb the boy. Instead, he found a seat in the very last row.

Jiang Xun pulled out a pair of earphones with a nonchalant expression and put them on, appearing to listen to music while waiting for the auction to start. However, what was coming through were the voices of his two teammates.

“Captain, the first floor is completely checked. Everything is fine except for the restaurant.”

“What’s the situation in the restaurant?” Jiang Xun asked in a low voice.

Old He followed up immediately: “There are more people than this morning, but for now, we haven’t found any traces of contamination.”

The young man frowned slightly. He was about to say something, but someone happened to walk past him, so he could only cough to signal he had heard. Once the person was far enough away, he said softly: “Continue observing.”

“Understood.”

If even Su Mian could sense something wrong with the restaurant, it was impossible for the three from the Bureau to miss it. The strange, gluttonous behavior of many diners made it hard for Jiang Xun not to associate it with the Gluttony Devilman from before.

However, they had confirmed that those diners were indeed just ordinary people with no obvious traces of contamination on them. Of course, it was also possible that the contamination was currently too slight to be detected without professional equipment.

Regardless, the restaurant was worth focused observation.

Once Old He finished, An Ye’s voice followed in Jiang Xun’s earphone: “In the exhibition areas on the second and third floors, except for some Fourth Era exhibits that look a bit strange, no issues were found elsewhere.”

“Understood. I’ve been following Yu Fu; no abnormalities yet.”

After speaking, Jiang Xun pondered for a moment and finally decided to wait and see. Although the situation in the restaurant was highly suspicious, the auction had not yet begun, and it was entirely unclear what Yu Fu was planning. Taking action now seemed premature.

After a brief silence, he spoke into the mic again: “Check one more time and then come up. We’ll reassess the situation once we meet up.”

“…”

“…”

However, this time, a full ten seconds passed in total silence.

The man looked down at the red indicator on his earphone representing a disconnected signal. His expression didn’t change, but his eyes instantly turned cold.