Zheng Dong was startled, his first feeling was that it was fake.
After all, the rarity of Mimic Crystal Stones was second only to mythical-grade resources.
But he also hoped it was true.
If someone were to auction it, he might be able to buy some and awaken his mechanical pet.
"Not bad! You've even found this out, kid. Thanks. What's the specific time? And where did you get the news?" Zheng Dong asked.
Ning Wei was very happy to be praised by Zheng Dong.
"Brother Dong, why are you being so polite to me?
The auction should be next Saturday, at 8 PM. The auction requires an invitation to enter, and I've already gotten three invitations.
As for who told me? Hehe, it's the person I'm dating. Her dad is a famous rich man in Modu."
This reminded Zheng Dong of his last encounter. Ning Wei had leaked information about him, Bei Wen, and others to Xin Yu'er, which resulted in all of them being captured.
He didn't know if the person Ning Wei was dating this time was reliable.
But he couldn't ask too much.
So, he asked for Ning Wei's girlfriend's name, intending to check for himself.
After hanging up the phone, Zheng Dong opened the Special Operations Bureau's internal network and entered Ning Wei's girlfriend's name, Yan Han.
There were many people with the same name, but only one whose father was a rich man in Modu.
Her father was Yan Hongsheng, who was mainly in the business of pet cubs.
Xinwei Pet Company had shares in Yan Hongsheng.
Zheng Dong took out Ren Fei's business card, glanced at it, and then put it away.
What was the relationship between these two?
There was no more information for now.
On the surface, neither of them had any problems.
Zheng Dong then checked the location of the auction.
It was still quite far from Modu University, held at a five-star hotel in Modu's Yinshan District.
Yinshan District was considered the suburbs of Modu, and the environment was relatively worse.
However, Zheng Dong still planned to go and see.
He just didn't know if his more than one billion dragon yuan could afford the Mimic Crystal Stone.
To return to Modu as quickly as possible, Zheng Dong spent the next few days diligently deducing the evolution route of the Silkworm.
Fortunately, his efforts paid off, and Zheng Dong finally completed the deduction.
He deduced the evolution route of the Silkworm evolving into the Dream Butterfly, then into the Dream Butterfly, and finally into the Dream Female Demon.
The entire evolution route was relatively stable, with no errors, and the consumption of resources was also relatively low, making it affordable for most low-level beast tamers.
The only drawback was that the Dream Female Demon's racial level was only low-level Monarch.
But this was enough to improve the overall strength of the Yanhuang beast tamers.
Professor Xue Yin was overjoyed to learn the results of Zheng Dong's deduction.
She immediately asked the person in charge of the experimental base to try evolving according to the deduced route.
As expected, everything went smoothly, and it evolved step by step into the Dream Female Demon.
"Zheng Dong, after you finish compiling the evolution data, I can report it to you to apply for a cultivation spot in the Di Yuan Ruins. Don't worry, I'll do my best to get you that spot," Professor Xue Yin said.
Zheng Dong expressed his gratitude. He believed that Professor Xue Yin could get the spot, as she was also the head of the Breeding Bureau, and others would give her some face.
Moreover, with the contribution he had made this time, he was qualified to obtain a cultivation spot in the Di Yuan Ruins.
After that, Zheng Dong bid farewell to Professor Xue Yin and returned to Modu.
As for the remaining projects, they could wait until Zheng Dong was done with his current affairs.
Upon returning to Modu University, Zheng Dong found the chubby Ning Wei and learned the specific details of the auction.
He also took the opportunity to meet Ning Wei's girlfriend, Yan Han.
Yan Han didn't seem like Xin Yu'er, trying to trick Ning Wei. She was also in the mechanical department, and she and Ning Wei had many common topics. In fact, she was very similar to Ning Wei, sometimes lacking a screw in her head.
Therefore, Zheng Dong couldn't get any more information from her.
Next, they just had to wait for the auction to begin.
Meanwhile, Bai Wenxuan also returned to Modu from Wudu.
He also brought a few helpers, all of whom were beast tamers recruited by the Bai family.
Therefore, Bai Wenxuan was more confident in dealing with Zheng Dong.
After obtaining the super intelligent chip, he planned to set a trap and release the news.
But he soon learned that Zheng Dong was going to the auction in Yinshan, so he abandoned this idea.
He felt this was an opportunity.
It was as if heaven was helping him.
He could eliminate Zheng Dong on the way without anyone knowing.
However, he heard that there would be Mimic Crystal Stones at the auction, so he also planned to go and see.
Thus, he managed to obtain a few invitations and prepared to head to the auction.
The auction proceeded as scheduled.
In the parking lot of the five-star hotel hosting the auction, luxury cars were parked everywhere.
Zheng Dong, Ning Wei, and Yan Han flew over together in Ning Wei's mechanical pet, Jing Kong, which had transformed into its battleship form.
They did not encounter any accidents on the way.
After presenting their invitations, they were guided by the staff into the auction venue.
There weren't many people, but they were all influential figures in Modu.
Ordinary people had no idea about such an auction.
Not long after Zheng Dong and the others were seated, Bai Wenxuan also arrived with his entourage.
He glanced at Zheng Dong and casually found a place to sit down.
He had originally intended to deal with Zheng Dong on the way.
However, in order to attend the auction, he decided to deal with Zheng Dong on the way back. If Zheng Dong managed to bid for anything good at the auction, he could seize it for himself.
As the auction began, a host with a good temperament walked onto the stage.
She was a pillar of a Modu television station, named Ma Tiantian. Not only was she beautiful, but her voice was also very pleasant.
"Friends, welcome to the auction. A total of fifteen resources will be auctioned today, each of them extremely rare and guaranteed to catch your eye and surprise you!
Now, let's take a look at the first item."
Then, two tall and graceful etiquette ladies carried a basketball-sized heart, like a red gem, onto the stage.
The heart seemed to be still beating, emitting a thumping sound.
As this sound echoed, the surrounding lights flickered, creating a very eerie atmosphere.
Many people recognized the origin of the heart and showed surprised expressions.
Zheng Dong did not recognize it.
He could only feel that this heart was left behind by at least a overlord-level extraordinary creature.
At this moment, Ma Tiantian spoke:
"I believe many friends recognize this heart. It was left behind by the overlord-level extraordinary creature, the Bloodthirsty Vine Monster.
The Bloodthirsty Vine Monster was originally a mutated abyssal bloodthirsty worm that slowly evolved into a vine, but it still retained its heart.
This heart can help pet beasts below the overlord level that are on the verge of death to quickly recover to normal, equivalent to giving your pet beast a second life.
It can also be used as an evolutionary material for some pet beasts, increasing the success rate of their evolution.
The starting bid is 80 million, with a minimum increment of 5 million!"
Suddenly, Zheng Dong was tempted.
It would be very good to buy it for the Dragon Vine Grass to evolve.
Perhaps the Dragon Vine Grass could also acquire some skills from the Bloodthirsty Vine Monster.
However, after thinking about the Mimic Crystal Stone, Zheng Dong gave up.
He wanted to save the money to bid for the Mimic Crystal Stone.
Zheng Dong did not raise his hand, but Bai Wenxuan did.
Bai Wenxuan had never worried about money his entire life.
Therefore, when he saw something suitable, he would not hesitate to act.
Of course, he bought the Bloodthirsty Vine Monster not for himself, but to give to someone else.
This also caught Zheng Dong's attention towards Bai Wenxuan.
Zheng Dong did not expect Bai Wenxuan to appear at the auction.
This guy was from Imperial Capital University, so why was he still in Modu?
Was he here for him?
Zheng Dong frowned.
When he saw Bai Wenxuan, the advanced skill Precognitive Sense, imprinted on Xiao Qing, alerted him. In a daze, he saw some bad scenes.
Precognitive Sense was a time and mental dual-attribute skill. It could passively predict impending danger, or it could be actively used to predict the outcome of future events.
Xiao Qing had previously relied on Precognitive Sense to escape from the pursuit of many deep-sea extraordinary creatures.
Then, Zheng Dong looked at the people around Bai Wenxuan: two master-level beast tamers and three senior-level beast tamers. Judging by their appearance, they were well-prepared.
Zheng Dong was not afraid. If he couldn't win, he should be able to escape. After all, he still had a death spirit puppet, the Nine-tailed Ghost Fox.
If pushed, it wouldn't be difficult to eliminate Bai Wenxuan and the others.
As Zheng Dong was observing Bai Wenxuan and his group in secret, someone else was also observing him.
In a luxurious suite in this hotel, a woman wearing a skull mask, dressed in a black evening gown, had a perfect figure and an extraordinary aura, like a queen on high.
She stared at the projection screen in front of her, which displayed Zheng Dong's every move.
Beside her, the lecherous Uncle Ren Fei stood respectfully, not daring to show any disrespect, and his eyes dared not wander.
"This kid is quite handsome, making me reluctant to make a move!" said the masked woman with a smile.
Her voice was as melodious and crisp as that of a hundred orioles, very pleasant to hear.
However, saying such a thing seemed a bit out of sync with her aura.
Ren Fei did not dare to interject.
The masked woman did not care about Ren Fei's opinion and continued:
"This kid killed many of our people and stole the Origin Fruits that I worked so hard to obtain. He must die.
But before he dies, I also want to recoup my losses. Didn't he obtain the Qin Emperor's inheritance? No matter what, I must seize the Infinite Evolution beast-taming talent.
Also, his own talent should be very good, and we can't let it go either.
So, do you have confidence in this operation?"
The masked woman said as she looked at Ren Fei.
Ren Fei dared not be negligent and quickly replied:
"Don't worry, the entire hotel has been set up by us. Zheng Dong won't be able to escape even with wings. Afterward, this hotel will be destroyed, leaving no evidence or clues."
Ever since learning that Zheng Dong had entered Modu University, the Ling Shen Cult had been looking for opportunities to retaliate against Zheng Dong.
For this purpose, the Ling Shen Cult activated Ren Fei, who had been hidden for many years.
Ren Fei's own beast-taming talent was not strong, and he was not outstanding among Professor Xue Yin's many students, so he was not able to stay in the Breeding Bureau. His growth to his current position was entirely due to the Ling Shen Cult's investment of resources.
Therefore, he was also very loyal to the Ling Shen Cult.
After all, disloyalty would result in a very miserable death!
Ren Fei learned that Zheng Dong was looking for Mimic Crystal Stones and planned this operation.
He found the organizers of this auction and offered the Mimic Crystal Stone for auction as bait to lure Zheng Dong into the trap.
The organizers had no connection with the Ling Shen Cult. They were jointly organized by several businessmen in Modu who had laundered their money, including Yan Han's father, Yan Hongsheng.
Ren Fei had a good relationship with Yan Hongsheng, so the organizers did not suspect much when he offered the Mimic Crystal Stone for auction.
As long as Ren Fei dealt with everyone involved in the auction afterward, no one would suspect him.
The masked woman said calmly after hearing Ren Fei's explanation:
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's begin!"
Ren Fei nodded slightly, used the communication device in his hand, and issued the order.
Instantly, the Ling Shen Cult members who had infiltrated the hotel in advance began to act.
They all put on masks, quickly took control of the hotel's central control room, and sealed off the entire hotel.
Immediately after, a team of Ling Shen Cult members wearing cat-face masks summoned their pet beasts, dozens of Nether Ghost Face Cats.
The Nether Ghost Face Cats were entirely black, without a single stray hair. Even their teeth, eyes, and tongues were black.
They did not have many attack skills, but they mastered a sealing barrier skill, the Nether Ghost Barrier.
Compared to ordinary defensive barriers, the Nether Ghost Barrier allowed entry but not exit. From the outside, one could not see any changes within the barrier, making it extremely difficult to detect.
As this team of Ling Shen Cult members was setting up the Nether Ghost Barrier, another team wearing wolf-head masks was also carrying out killings within the hotel.
Whether it was hotel staff or irrelevant travelers, anyone they encountered would not survive.
Many room service attendants who delivered food and drinks were the first to suffer.
A beautiful waitress pushed a cart of food and several bottles of red wine, and knocked on the door of a luxurious suite.
When the door opened, she was greeted by a man wearing a wolf-head mask, with a lot of bloodstains on his body.
The man did not speak. His pet beast, a giant python, directly swallowed the waitress.
From beginning to end, the terrified waitress didn't even have time to let out a scream.
Of course, many hotel security guards also discovered the anomaly.
However, they could not contact the central control room, nor could they contact the outside world. Their communication devices were jammed. They attempted to fight back, but they were no match for their opponents, so they had to hide first.
Unfortunately, their hiding places were exposed soon after.
Soon, a master-level beast tamer wearing a lion-head mask arrived outside the room where they were hiding. He summoned a Monarch-level Dark Mantis.
The Dark Mantis had strong attack power and was a famous assassin in the pet beast world. It easily transformed into a shadow and infiltrated the room.
Inside the room, although these security guards had summoned their respective pet beasts, they did not detect the Dark Mantis.
The Dark Mantis came behind a female security guard, hidden in her shadow. With a gentle swing of its scythe-like mantis arm, it severed her head.
Instantly, blood spurted out like a fountain, splashing onto the surrounding security guards.
By the time they reacted from their terror, the Dark Mantis had already disappeared from its original position and was targeting the next security guard.
Meanwhile, at the auction venue, no one noticed anything unusual.
Many people were still bidding enthusiastically for the items they fancied.
As for the Mimic Crystal Stone, it was the last item to be auctioned, and it was not yet its turn, so Zheng Dong had not bid yet.
He frowned again, feeling increasingly uneasy.
The Precognitive Sense skill alerted him again.
What was going on?
Could there be others targeting me?
If it were just Bai Wenxuan, it wouldn't have caused such a strong reaction from Precognitive Sense.
This was because the threat posed by Bai Wenxuan to him was not very significant.
At the same time, the Dragon Girl in his beast-taming space also felt uneasy and communicated with Zheng Dong.
"Master, why do I feel like I'm being surrounded again? Although the active precognitive ability of Precognitive Sense isn't strong, its passive danger prediction is very accurate!"
Zheng Dong thought for a moment and decided to find out the reason.
He greeted Ning Wei and then got up and walked towards the restroom.