8 Chapter 8: The Auction That Ended Abruptly

In fact, when Parker Clauren entered the private room of the Sade Family previously, Depp Birmingham was immediately notified. Although he did not know what the patriarchs of the two families talked about, he soon understood their intention to join forces and monopolize the dragon fruit. 

The auction process of the first pair of dragon fruits confirmed Depp's guess. The dragon fruits, which were originally estimated to be worth at least 15,000 Dragon Crystals per pair, were finally sold for 9,000 Dragon Crystal. He was certain that the two major families of Lan City had pulled some tricks. 

However, he was not in a hurry because he had targeted the second pair of dragon fruit right from the beginning.

The reason for setting his sights on the second pair was very simple. Had he aimed for the first pair right from the beginning, the Birmingham Family would have to face the two powerhouses—the Sade Family and the Clauren Family. He was not that arrogant and conceited to think that he could take on both families alone. 

Nevertheless, after the auction of the first pair of dragon fruits, the Sade Family might not abide by the rules of their temporary alliance and get into trouble for the sake of protecting their interests. 

Due to the previous act put up by the Sade Family and the Clauren Family, the price of the first pair of dragon fruits stagnated at 9,000 Dragon Crystals. It was a small price that would not do any damage to the foundation of the Sade Family. If the two families were to vie with the Birmingham Family for the third pair of dragon fruit, he would completely have no chance of winning at all.

However, it was different for the second pair. 

If the Birmingham Family were to win the auction for the dragon fruit, the Clauren Family would very likely be the one to get kicked out by the other two families. 

Anyway, the Sade Family wouldn't lose out regardless of which family they cooperated with. 

However, things were different for the Clauren Family. They were currently in a passive position in the situation. 

How could Parker, the elder of the Clauren Family, not understand such a simple problem? 

"That little bastard of the Sade Family actually stabbed me in the back!" Cullis Sade was the one who proposed for the Sade Family to win the auction for the first pair of dragon fruit in the private room just now. 

At that time, he nodded and agreed without thinking in order to show his sincerity in cooperating. Now it seemed that Cullis was waiting for him to show up. 

However, it was useless to say anything now. For the present, he had no choice but to spend a ton of money to buy the second pair of dragon fruit.

"15,000 Dragon Crystals!" Old Parker called his bid while gritting his teeth. The price he offered was almost the same as the value of the dragon fruit that he had initially predicted. 

However, he had obviously underestimated the Birmingham Family's determination to win the auction for the dragon fruit. The Birmingham Family quickly offered a price of 15,500 Dragon Crystals. 

"The Birmingham Family has offered a price of 15,500 Dragon Crystals. Is anyone going to place a higher bid?" 

Old Parker returned to his luxurious seat in the private room and immersed himself in it, staring at the price on the stage, seemingly thinking about something. 

"15,500 Dragon Crystals, calling twice. Is anyone going to place a higher bid?" Ross Bansai asked while looking at the private room of the Clauren Family. 

Old Parker's mind was spinning quickly.

Since the Clauren Family was destined to fall into a passive situation, he felt that they might as well try to regain control once more. 

"18,000 Dragon Crystals!"

Old Parker had made up his mind to increase his bid for the dragon fruits. 

He could either spend a ton of money to win the auction for the second pair of dragon fruit so that the Sade Family would definitely go against the Birmingham Family for the third pair of dragon fruits. 

Or, the Birmingham Family could purchase the dragon fruits at a high price so that he could save some money. That way, he may not lose the third round. 

"Oh my God, 18,000 Dragon Crystals, that's twice the price of the previous pair of dragon fruits. The Clauren Family has gone mad..." 

"Will the Birmingham Family follow suit and place their bid?" 

The price offered by Parker caused an uproar in the audience. They did not understand the reason that the price of the dragon fruits doubled in the blink of an eye.

However, the competition for the dragon fruits was clearly only among the two powerhouses of Lan City and a nouveau-riche of Lan City. The others were at most just watching for fun.

Zhou Kun had no idea about the secret plans between the big families in the auction house.

He simply watched them increase their bids one after another and experienced the passion and enthusiasm of the guests at the auction house for the first time.

Of course, that was not all that made Zhou Kun excited. After all, the bids that they placed enthusiastically would all turn into Dragon Crystals that would enter his pocket. He sipped the tea in his hand unhurriedly, feeling that the tea from the alternative world tasted unexpectedly good. As he watched the tumultuous auction, he felt that he was going to profit greatly from this. 

Suddenly, a severe pain made Zhou Kun's eyes turn dark and by the time he snapped back to reality, it was as if nothing happened. The pain just now seemed to be his own illusion.

The first thought that came to Zhou Kun's mind was the fact that he had been attacked. 

However, he looked at the guards and waiters around and realized that they did not have much of a reaction. He wondered, 'Could this be the legendary mental blow?' 

Before Zhou Kun's conspiracy theory took shape, the second wave of pain immediately hit him.

This time was different from the first time, which had a shorter duration. The severe pain exploded in Zhou Kun's brain, tearing him apart. Waves of pain overwhelmed him, and they took about half a minute to pass.

Damn, why was it not ending? 

In order to conceal his abnormality, Zhou Kun walked to the bathroom outside the private room. 

However, before he could even take a few steps out, he blacked out completely. 

Coldness...

His limbs and bones were all bitingly freezing.

That was the first sensation that Zhou Kun felt when he woke up.

Looking up in a daze, Zhou Kun realized that he had already returned to his cold storage warehouse, though he had no idea when that happened. The biting cold was from the cold storage warehouse. 

He was unsure if it was tinnitus or the buzzing sounds from the compressor, but Zhou Kun's consciousness was a little blurry. 

After moving his limbs, Zhou Kun felt a sudden cramp in his stomach the moment he stood up.

*Retches*

After leaving the cold storage warehouse, Zhou Kun realized that the sky was already bright outside. Sitting on the steps outside the door of the cold storage warehouse, Zhou Kun lit a cigarette to wake himself up while the warm wind blew. 

Recalling the scene before he was in a coma, Zhou Kun felt that almost all the abnormalities that he had experienced were related to the passage in the cold storage warehouse.

At the thought of the fact that he was not around the passage previously, he reckoned that he would be automatically bounced back to the cold storage warehouse once the time was up. 

However, the feeling of a splitting headache that he would experience after rebounding made Zhou Kun a little scared. It would be better for him to regain control. However, he had yet to grasp a clear idea of the laws within the passage. 

Thinking about that, Zhou Kun took out his mobile phone and turned on the camera that he had set up beforehand. He wanted to see the process of his return. 

The scene in front of him had always been normal until a trace of snowflakes appeared on his screen. Soon the screen jittered faster and faster. After a sudden blackout on the screen, the scene shifted to a clip of an extra person lying on the floor of the cold storage warehouse. It was Zhou Kun himself. 

Zhou Kun still felt that something was amiss and hence, he repeated it again. However, he did not discover anything abnormal and finally had no choice but to give up.

At this moment, the mobile phone in Zhou Kun's hand rang, and the caller ID displayed on the screen was "Uncle". This was rather abrupt.