Lu Zhi was inwardly shedding tears, "Brother, I've sacrificed so much for you, truly."
Exchanging "husband" for an unlimited credit line. While Lu Zhi technically got the better deal, he now dared not meet Shen Qi's eyes.
With Shen Qi's words, Lu Zhi boldly participated in the bidding. The price jumped from a hundred million to five hundred million, then sharply to six hundred and seventy million.
Lu Zhi's eyes were fixed on the string of zeros on the projection, his hands trembling. Never before, in either his past or present life, had he experienced such a massive auction.
The amount only began to slow down at eight hundred million, but many ordinary people present gasped.
"Heavens, are they all this wealthy?"
"The divine marrow, which is said to save a life, if I had the money, I would definitely throw it in too."
"Won't this price go up anymore?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the price suddenly soared to a billion.
Staring at the astronomical figure, Lu Zhi's hands trembled. He instinctively looked at Shen Qi, never expecting the divine marrow to be priced so outrageously.
"Why did you stop bidding?" Shen Qi was still savoring Lu Zhi's shy yet indignant "husband," feeling incredibly pleased.
The price of the divine marrow had already climbed to twelve billion and was still rising. Lu Zhi frowned, thought for a moment, and resolutely said, "My brother needs the divine marrow. I'll find a way to pay you back."
To have the person you liked treat you with such impunity.
But Lu Zhi was not one to take advantage of others. Even knowing that Shen Qi was a god and money was unimportant to him, he still didn't want to spend so much of Shen Qi's money for free.
Shen Qi's originally smiling eyes suddenly darkened at his words. He abruptly grabbed Lu Zhi's chin, his voice suddenly dropping several degrees: "You just called me husband, and now you want to distance yourself? Darling, I can get angry too."
Lu Zhi's eyelashes fluttered slightly, his dark eyes looking bewildered: "I'm not distancing myself from you. I just feel it's not right to spend so much of your money."
Shen Qi stared at him intently, his gaze calm. The invisible pressure, the invasiveness, made Lu Zhi's scalp tingle, as if he had suddenly angered a sleeping beast that was contemplating how to tear its prey apart.
"You called me husband. We are a married couple, so how can we distinguish between yours and mine?" Shen Qi's fingertip gently caressed Lu Zhi's lips, murmuring, "Don't say such things next time, okay?"
Lu Zhi swallowed hard and nodded: "Okay, I won't say it again."
Shen Qi then leaned down leisurely, kissing the corner of his mouth as if to comfort him, and said, "Good boy."
Having spent so many peaceful days with Shen Qi, Lu Zhi had almost forgotten that he was still a capricious madman.
"If you want the divine marrow, I'll bid for it," Shen Qi glanced at the divine marrow, whose bidding price had already reached three billion, and directly pressed the bid button.
The host, Ni Hong, was excitedly shouting the bidding price: "Three billion, is there anyone who can offer a higher price? If not, the divine marrow will belong to—"
Ni Hong's voice abruptly cut off.
"One, ten billion?"
"Did I count that right? Ten billion, correct?"
"Holy crap!!! Where did this super-rich patron come from?"
Ni Hong took a deep breath and loudly announced, "Ten billion—are there any more guests who wish to continue bidding? This is the divine marrow that can guarantee a life. The countdown starts now, 10, 9, 8..."
Lu Zhi stared at the string of zeros in shock, then suddenly grabbed Shen Qi's hand, "Are you crazy? Ten billion! Couldn't you have added it bit by bit, slowly?"
Shen Qi clasped his hand and stroked it, saying indifferently, "Too slow."
"I can't possibly pay it back!" Lu Zhi cried in despair. His personal limit had been five billion! Although the value of the divine marrow couldn't be measured by money, he would owe Shen Qi ten billion! Did his brother have that much money?!
"Why are you so nervous?" Shen Qi's previously gloomy expression, which had been as changeable as the weather, instantly brightened. He smiled as if bathed in spring breeze, "Consider this a meeting gift for my future brother-in-law."
Lu Zhi: ...My brother might want to kill you.
"Deal!" The host, Ni Hong, hammered down the gavel, and the entire venue erupted in uproar.
As Lu Zhi exhaled in relief, a mountain of ten billion yuan still weighed heavily on his head.
A few minutes later, a staff member carrying a box, followed by two bodyguards, approached Lu Zhi respectfully, "Guest, this is the item you bid for. Please confirm."
The black box was gently opened, and Lu Zhi's dark eyes lit up, a flicker of astonishment flashing through them.
On the golden satin padding lay a cicada worm, about the size of a thumb. It was entirely transparent, emitting a cool and clear icy sensation, yet it felt warm and moist to the touch, like the finest clear jade.
Lu Zhi had never seen divine marrow before. Hearing about the unique abilities of replicas, he couldn't be sure of its authenticity, so he looked to Shen Qi and received an affirmative answer: "It's real."
Only then did Lu Zhi dare to accept the divine marrow. This was ten billion yuan!
"Payment and goods exchanged, thank you for your patronage." The Chichi staff member, after confirming the money had been transferred, smiled and left with the bodyguards.
Lu Zhi asked with some confusion, "They're just handing the item to us in plain sight like this? Doesn't everyone know the divine marrow is with us now?"
What was the point of wearing masks?
"The abilities of extraordinary beings are diverse. Even secret transactions can be discovered, so it's better to complete the exchange openly. Once we leave the Chichi auction house, we will have no further connection with them," Shen Qi said, twirling a ring on his finger. "Those who dare to enter the seventeenth floor are not to be underestimated in terms of strength and background. By the time we obtained the divine marrow, those people had already begun their investigations."
Listening to Shen Qi, Lu Zhi indeed noticed the greed and calculation in the eyes of many people, and he inwardly sighed at the trouble.
The purpose of the masks was merely to temporarily prevent others from discerning their true appearances.
If it weren't for the sudden appearance of this divine marrow, and the fact that his brother, Lu Chengxuan, had been searching for it, he wouldn't have rashly made a move.
Thinking of this, while the second-to-last auction item was being presented, Lu Zhi sent a message to Lu Chengxuan, saying he had found the divine marrow, and then focused his attention on the final auction item.
Host Ni Hong: "The second auction item is an A-grade Nightmare Beast egg. According to the检测, this is a Sky-Ground winged tiger! The starting bid is fifty million!"
Lu Zhi asked in confusion, "Why is an A-grade Nightmare Beast egg starting at a higher price than the divine marrow? Isn't a life worth less than a pet?"
Nightmare Beasts had intelligence. To this day, many extraordinary beings had tamed Nightmare Beasts as combat pets, but they also had to be constantly vigilant against being killed by their pets.
Shen Qi explained, "The president of the Stone Feather Guild has the ability of contract. Adult Nightmare Beasts have high resistance and strong willpower, making them difficult to contract successfully. However, newborn Nightmare Beasts are much easier."
Lu Zhi instinctively asked, "The president of the Stone Feather Guild is also here?"
Shen Qi replied, "The contract ability is not something only the person themselves can perform; it can also be implemented on others."
Lu Zhi understood. If the people from the Stone Feather Guild were not present, outsiders could successfully bid for the Nightmare Beast egg and then find the president of the Stone Feather Guild to help them contract with the Nightmare Beast. They would only need to pay a certain price to have a powerful and loyal combat pet, which was far more valuable than the divine marrow.
*Ding dong~*
A message arrived from a specially noted number.
[Lu Chengxuan]: Where are you!