Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the giant snake blocking his path and involuntarily flicked his tail, reluctantly speaking, "You're overthinking it. I'm not that bored."

The voice that came out was the young and tender voice of a cub, which everyone recognized.

Bai Qi, however, didn't believe him and continued to block his way, "Don't just say it; show me your bid. That would be more convincing."

Thinking of the hungry tentacle eggs and the dormant youngling, Bai Xiaoyu directly refused, "No way."

Bai Qi sneered, "I see you're deliberately challenging me. Fine, let's see who has the upper hand."

In fact, the bid contained the stakes for the items being contested. This was an electronic bid, not fixed. If one discovered strong competitors for the same item, they could continuously increase their bid during the process.

Apart from the organizers, no one else could see the stakes inside. They could only guess each other's bids based on intuition, competing against each other until the last moment when the organizers revealed the results, determining the winner.

It couldn't be denied that Bai Xiaoyu had a master alchemist backing him, and he had many top-tier potions, putting pressure on Bai Qi.

Now that Bai Xiaoyu's faction had officially become a potion supplier, their positions had shifted. Their businesses were now in direct competition and opposition.

Bai Qi suddenly felt this wasn't just about a single insect crystal. After losing the potion supply rights on several planets, he believed Bai Xiaoyu was declaring war on him.

He added more stakes, offering not only potions but also a medium-sized herb base belonging to the Huang family in exchange for the insect crystal.

This medium-sized herb base was far more valuable than Bai Xiaoyu's yet-to-be-completed herb base.

Even bringing out the herb base showed how much effort he was putting in.

The yellow-and-white striped giant snake looked down at Bai Xiaoyu, "You can't compete with me. Give up."

Seeing Bai Qi's changes, Bai Xiaoyu recalled that he initially thought a batch of over a thousand 2S potions would be enough to exchange for the insect crystal. Seeing Bai Qi's confident demeanor, he reconsidered and adjusted his bid again. This time, he included improved formulas for growth solution and repair solution. Originally requiring over a hundred types of herbs, the improved formulas needed only nineteen for the growth solution and twenty-one for the repair solution.

The improvements not only reduced the number of required herbs but also significantly decreased impurities and enhanced the efficacy of the potions.

However, the royal family needed considerable time to study mechanized production of these two potions. He was currently observing the situation. If the entire galaxy couldn't figure it out, he had the modified equipment to produce them, surpassing current technology. Revealing it would require careful consideration.

As these two were in fierce competition, a third bid quietly increased its stakes.

Bai Qing and the steward looked at the displayed stakes, all three parties showing significant investments!

Initially, they thought Bai Xiaoyu, who had only recently started, would be at a disadvantage. However, they didn't expect him to put the formulas on the line as stakes.

Bai Qi offered a large quantity of potions and an herb base, while the third party offered a mineral planet producing mid-to-high-grade materials for mechs.

If the stakes were of similar value, the organizers' needs would determine the outcome.

The steward beside Bai Qing glanced at Bai Xiaoyu's bid, understanding the situation.

After all, the royal family didn't lack potions or herb bases or mineral planets. However, the improved formulas were unique in the galaxy.

Moreover, Bai Xiaoyu's bid was driven by youthful pride. The Huang family and the invited forces behind Bai Qi had a higher chance of connecting with the insect prince compared to Bai Xiaoyu.

After adjusting his bid, Bai Kan asked, "Do you really need no help? What Bai Qi can offer, I can too."

Bai Xiaoyu shook his head, "I think it's enough. If the royal family isn't interested, there's nothing we can do."

They would have to find another way to bribe that troublesome tentacle.

After changing his bid, Bai Xiaoyu and Bai Kan ignored the snake blocking their path and changed direction to look at other items.

The insect crystal was his main goal, but the various top-tier herbs and raw materials provided by the royal family were also targets. Of course, Tao Limeng had mentioned rare materials as well.

Thus, everyone saw the cub, led by the adult tiger, bidding on the displayed herbs and raw materials. With only two hours left, the venue was vast, stretching beyond sight. Many bidders arrived early to carefully choose their bids. So, Bai Xiaoyu was like a busy little bee, darting around the venue without stopping.

As the two tigers wandered, Bai Chufan in a corner of the venue turned his gaze to the cub.

This minor character, almost forgotten, now seemed to be turning into a variable.

With the dark matter removed from the eggs, the hatched beasts had perfect proportions, and various difficult cases had been resolved...

His eyes narrowed as he watched Bai Xiaoyu's back, lost in thought.

Bai Xiaoyu barely managed to bid on the items he wanted before the deadline. Next came the announcement of the bid results.

The insect crystal was towards the end, so they found a seat.

At this moment, a man sitting opposite them suddenly looked over, revealing a charming face. He picked up his cup and waved it at Bai Xiaoyu.

Recognizing the man, Bai Xiaoyu felt a sense of familiarity. Just as he was about to search his memory for information, Bai Kan surprisingly became respectful, transforming back to human form and raising his cup in return, saying, "Brother Twenty-Five, you're here too."

Bai Xiaoyu then remembered this man: Bai Chufan, ranked twenty-fifth among his siblings. Like Bai Xiaoyu, he was one of the few pure humans among the royal offspring.

Pure humans generally had lower qualifications than beastmen or half-beastmen. Bai Chufan's physical constitution and mental strength were both S-level, better than Bai Xiaoyu's double F but still middle to lower among his siblings.

His maternal clan, the Zhu family, was a second-rate power on Imperial Star, matching his average qualifications.

Overall, he had average talent and background. He appeared uncompetitive and had excellent rapport, getting along well with his siblings despite their rivalries.

Even the original Bai Xiaoyu, known for causing trouble, had been helped by Bai Chufan a few times, leaving a good impression.

Bai Chufan, ranked ahead, had already been studying at the Imperial Military Academy when Bai Xiaoyu was born. Now, through hard work, he had become a popular district governor on Imperial Star, one of the most admired single governors.

Looking at Bai Kan, Bai Chufan said, "Ninety-Two, you did well just now. Your combat skills have improved a lot."

After chatting for a bit, Bai Chufan turned to the cub, "How have you been, Hundred? When you went to D36 Planet, I sent you messages, but you never replied."

The cub's ears twitched. The original Bai Xiaoyu had seen those messages, but he hadn't bothered to review them. Meeting Bai Chufan's caring gaze, he responded, "It was a special time. Sorry."

Bai Chufan smiled, "No worries, I understand. By the way, what did you bid on? Are any of them announced yet?"

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at the newly announced number. "That's a relatively early position. There's no time to bid yet. The items I'm bidding on are concentrated in the middle and back. We'll have to wait a bit longer."

Bai Chufan: "Since that's the case, let's play a little game among the three of us."

Bai Kan: "What kind of game?"

Bai Chufan took out a black box and opened it, revealing various character cards inside.

He laid the cards one by one on the table. Bai Kan looked at these cards, recognizing them as a familiar card game in the star system.

He picked up one of the cards. "Are these characters with new appearances? They look a bit strange, as if different roles were pieced together. Xiaoyu, you used to love playing this game with your cronies. Can you check if they're right?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "..." Could he say he had completely forgotten how to play?

He glanced at them a few times and found that they did indeed differ from his memory. So he replied, "They do seem a bit off."

Bai Chufan observed Bai Xiaoyu's expression, collected the cards, and said, "I grabbed the wrong set. These cards were messed up by my uncle's kid. Here’s the correct set."

In the previous set, several obvious markers of the original world were hidden, but now, seeing no abnormalities in Bai Xiaoyu's reaction.

At this moment, the venue manager began announcing the bidders' numbers. Bai Xiaoyu's optical brain flashed, indicating he had won the first bid.

Bai Chufan and Bai Kan's optical brains also started flashing intermittently.

So the game couldn't continue. Bai Chufan looked a bit disappointed, but Bai Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Xiaoyu soon realized that he had won many bids, mostly for medicinal herbs and minerals. It was almost as if nine out of ten of his bids were successful.

Even the staff tallying the results thought it was no wonder that the prodigal son of Imperial Star, who once spent lavishly, was now exchanging these herbs for 2S-grade potions. The value of the potions far exceeded that of the herbs themselves.

Who else would win if not him?

Thus, Bai Xiaoyu's number was frequently mentioned by the organizers, and his optical brain kept flashing.

Because each time the results were announced, the final bid prices were also revealed.

As a result, the large announcement board was filled with notifications about top-grade potion exchanges.

It should be noted that the royal family also provided high-level exchanges, often trading herbs for potions. Now, the reverse was happening. Many people who received potions looked at their potion grades and then at the 2S-grade potions exchanged by the royal family, suddenly finding their own potions less appealing.

Many eyes in the hall fell on Bai Xiaoyu, who was currently focused on the announcement of the insect crystals.

Meanwhile, Bai Qi was also watching closely, and no one noticed that Bai Chufan, sitting calmly across from Bai Xiaoyu, cast several glances.

Soon, the results were announced, and Bai Qi's face changed dramatically, while Bai Chufan only slightly moved his eyes.

The entire crowd was in an uproar; someone had directly offered a formula in exchange!

Bai Qi turned to Bai Xiaoyu, gritting his teeth as he approached. "Offering a formula in exchange, Bai Xiaoyu, you really don’t mind!"

Bai Chufan also spoke up, "You didn’t consider it, did you? It’s just an insect crystal."

Bai Qi: "To win against me, you went to such lengths. But giving the formula to the royal family means we’ll know soon enough. Are you regretting it now?"

Bai Xiaoyu slightly shook his head at Bai Chufan and then turned to Bai Qi, whose expression was both angry and smug. "I didn’t give it to the royal family, but to all the newborn eggs in the star system. It has nothing to do with you. Not only will you know, but the bidding requirements state that the royal family will announce it on their official website for the entire star system to see. Everyone will know."