The procedures were strict, so how could there be any room for mistakes? Mythical Companion Eggs were just too rare. Would anyone mistake it for other Companion Eggs after obtaining it?
Zhou Wen definitely wouldn’t be mistaken.
Regardless of the reason for the screw-up, there’s no reason not to get something this good. Zhou Wen pointed at the Companion Egg with the Minotaur label and said to Li Xuan, “I’ll take this.”
“Minotaur? I say, Old Zhou, you sure are a little hardcore! There are so many Companion Eggs to choose from, but you have to choose something this ugly. Even if you want to save me money, that’s not how you do it, right? Let’s do it this way. I’ll decide, and I’ll get you that Nightmare Succubus tonight. I guarantee you that you won’t regret it,” Li Xuan looked at the introduction on the card as he said.
“No, I want this. If you aren’t going to bid for it, I’ll do it myself,” Zhou Wen said.
“You’re really odd. There are so many beautiful Companion Beasts, but you want none of that. Instead, you insist on something so ugly. Forget it, it’s fine as long as you like it,” Li Xuan said helplessly. After all, Zhou Wen had been a weirdo from the beginning. He wasn’t too surprised.
“Zhou Wen, Li Xuan, you two sure came early?” Wang Lu walked over and stood in front of them.
“Wang Lu, do you think Zhou Wen is odd? He doesn’t want all these beautiful Companion Beasts and insists on having an ugly Minotaur,” Li Xuan said with a smile.
“What Minotaur?” Wang Lu asked.
Li Xuan pointed at the display cabinet beside him. Wang Lu looked over and saw that the serial number was 107. She looked at Zhou Wen in surprise and asked, “You wish to buy this Companion Egg?”
“Yes.” Zhou Wen’s heart skipped a beat as he felt something amiss.
“What a coincidence.” Wang Lu took out a note from her pocket and handed it to Zhou Wen.
“What’s this?” Li Xuan craned his head to look at the note with great curiosity. He saw the number, “107,” written on it.
Wang Lu said with a smile, “I originally didn’t want to come, but the organizer of this auction is a good friend of my family’s elders, and I’m the only one in Luoyang, so I had to attend. I never thought of buying any Companion Beasts, and couldn’t be bothered perusing the catalog, so I randomly wrote a number. I planned on bidding for the Companion Beast with that number this evening as a way to please the auction organizer.”
Li Xuan found it rather coincidental when he heard that, but Zhou Wen was alarmed. Wang Lu’s luck was just too good. To be able to randomly select a Mythical Companion Beast made her a humanoid mascot.
“Don’t tell me the two of you plan on bidding for this Minotaur?” Li Xuan looked at the two of them and asked.
Since the two of them had chosen the Minotaur, they would only benefit the seller if they got into a bidding war. Since they were all fellow students with a good relationship, there was no need for that.
Wang Lu looked at Zhou Wen and said, “I don’t plan on giving up. What about you?”
“Same here,” Zhou Wen said.
“I really don’t understand you. There’s no need to fight for a Minotaur. There are plenty of them in the West District. If you really want one, I’ll get someone to get you a few. There’s no need to strain your friendship,” Li Xuan tried to mediate.
“My decision never changes once I’ve made up my mind, but what Li Xuan said is right. There’s no need to strain our friendship for a Companion Egg. How about this, I’ll bid for this Companion Egg, and you’ll bid for another Companion Egg. After the auction is over, we can exchange them as a gift exchange. That way, I wouldn’t have changed my mind, and you will obtain the Companion Egg you want. Isn’t that fair?” Wang Lu said after some thought.
“Fair enough.” Zhou Wen nodded in agreement. He felt that if he really engaged in a bidding war with Wang Lu, there was almost no way he could beat her. Her suggestion would be for the best.
Be it money or luck, Zhou Wen was no match for Wang Lu.
“I’m going to the organizer to say hello. I’ll see you at the auction tonight.” When an attendant came to invite Wang Lu over, she had no choice but to leave.
Zhou Wen continued surveying the Companion Eggs in the exhibition hall. Although Wang Lu had willingly made the exchange, Zhou Wen still felt a little uncomfortable. He couldn’t give up on a Mythical Companion Beast, but he should try his best to find a good Companion Beast for Wang Lu.
In a private room on the top floor of Xiyuan’s shop, a middle-aged man knocked on the door carefully. When the door opened a sliver, he immediately entered the room.
In the private room, an old man sat on the sofa, smoking as he asked, “Have you done what I told you to do?”
“Sir, it’s done. I’ve already switched the Companion Egg. As long as you bid for the Companion Egg at the auction, you can take it away without anyone noticing. The Zhang family definitely won’t be able to notice it in such a short amount of time,” said the middle-aged man nervously.
“Well done. What’s the serial number of the Companion Egg?” The old man put down the cigarette as his eyes shone with a fiery light.
“Sir, you promised me that as long as I settle this matter, you’ll let me regain my freedom and send me back to the sea-my home,” the middle-aged man said to the old man, his tone slightly anxious.
“I’ll naturally do what I promised you,” the old man said with a frown.
“I’ve worked for the Zhang family for so many years and finally managed to achieve my current position today. If what I did was discovered by them, there’s no way I can survive. It’s all because of your order, so you must keep your promise. Please send me home.” The middle-aged man’s eyes were bloodshot, his hands clenched tightly.
“I said that I will definitely fulfill my promise. Don’t worry, what’s the serial number of the Companion Egg?” The old man stared coldly at him and asked again.
“107... 107... That Companion Egg greatly resembles a Minotaur Companion Egg. I did something to the Companion Egg, so even expert appraisers wouldn’t notice any problems ahead of time. Besides, no one will pay attention to a Minotaur Companion Egg...”
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, a shadow that looked like a devil appeared behind the old man. The shadow spewed out smoke at the middle-aged man, engulfing him before he could react.
Very soon, the smoke swirled back. When it landed on the old man’s fingers, it had transformed into a cigarette.
The old man struck a match and lit the cigarette. He sucked it deeply before exhaling a mouthful of smoke. He said calmly, “Don’t worry, I’ll scatter your cigarette ashes into the sea. It can be considered as returning home.”
Zhou Wen walked around the exhibition hall for quite a while, but he couldn’t find a satisfactory Companion Beast. They were either too expensive or too inferior. He couldn’t afford the expensive ones, and he felt a little guilty buying the inferior ones.
He was almost done checking out all the Companion Eggs except for one. Zhou Wen took one final snap. However, he couldn’t help but be taken aback when he saw the results.