Chapter 284 I Don't Want It
"Holy Grail War?" Lello asked with confusion in his tone.
"It's a battle for this universal wish-granting machine," Yan An explained. "There are literary works on this theme on our planet, and some Homo sapiens teenagers are the audience for this kind of story."
"Indeed, whether in literary works or in reality, once such an omnipotent thing beyond imagination appears, it will become the target of competition among all parties." Lello said with an inclusive expression.
"Two lots!! The current bid for this copy of 'Song of Forgetfulness' is two lots!" the auctioneer shouted loudly on the stage.
The number of bidders for "Song of Forgetfulness" was even smaller than that for the previous book "The Past of Lothal", and so far the price had only been raised to two lots. Just when Yan An and Principal Wu thought that they were about to get this ancient book, a voice suddenly echoed in the venue.
"Six plates!"
His voice was quite loud, attracting the attention of many guests. This price far exceeded Principal Wu's latest bid, and it soared three times. Principal Wu and Yan An turned their heads and looked in the direction of the voice. The one who was bidding was a high-ranking scholar.
This rival bidder had an indigo complexion and, although he looked similar to Homo sapiens, he had four arms. Yan An recognized him at a glance. His name was Hornby, and he was the owner of an import and trading company in this galaxy and Yan An's biggest business competitor. One of his recent projects had just been snatched away by Yan An, and Yan An knew that he had long harbored resentment. This bid was obviously meant to provoke him.
Whether it is earthlings or aliens, this kind of negative emotion of fighting for a sense of pride is really similar.
The price was tripled, causing the guests to murmur. Principal Wu frowned, and Yan An knew how his friend felt.
When the auctioneer asked again, Yan An called out his price, "Seven plates."
"Twelve plates." Hornby added the price.
"Thirteen plates."
"Fourteen plates."
Now the bored guests looked at Yan An and Hornby bidding against each other with curiosity. Most of the guests came for Bartlett's secret collection and had no interest in these old books. Now they saw Yan An and Hornby competing with each other over these obviously not very precious items, and their faces showed expressions of relish.
"Twenty!" shouted Hornby.
The buzz at the scene became louder. This price was far more than the value of the ancient book itself. It was obvious that Hornby was raising the price out of pure malice. Many guests looked at Yan An, waiting for his response.
Yan An fell silent. Principal Wu beside him looked depressed. In any case, this price was a bit too outrageous. But just as the timer was about to end, Yan An spoke. His voice was firm and clear.
"Thirty plates."
Hornby said nothing more.
Yan An became the final winner of the bidding. Under the operation of mechanical gears, the new owner of this work by the poet of the old times in Wetzlar was settled.
There was a buzz in the venue. In the eyes of most guests, this was just a good show before competing for Bartlett's secret collection. Hornby's face was obviously happy that his conspiracy had succeeded, as Yan An spent ten times more money to buy the auction item. Some guests were laughing at Yan An's ridiculous behavior of spending money.
Yan An and Principal Wu talked in low voices, their faces were calm, and they didn't care about the noise of the guests around them. Then the staff asked Yan An how to pack and transport the ancient books and cultural relics they had photographed. Yan An asked them to donate all the results of the photography to Tengxi's higher education institution.
This behavior attracted discussion from the guests at the auction venue. Although the alien guests disdained this behavior, the Weizra people present looked at Yan An and Principal Wu with a little more respect.
Lai Luo, who was beside Yan An, said, "To be honest, I'm very curious."
"What are you curious about?"
"Why would you do this? Spend so much money on antiques and then donate them," Lello asked. "Is it to gain a good reputation?"
"These ancient books are records of the Tengxi civilization and are historical relics of the Weizra people. If they were bought by others, they might end up on other planets," Yan An said. "Our current property comes from Tengxi. My friend used to be an educator , and he thinks we should use the money to do something to give back to Tengxi. I agree with him that these books should stay in Tengxi's institutions of higher learning, not on the bookshelf of some wealthy alien."
Leilo waved to the waiter, and a gearman waiter quickly brought a tray with several small glass bottles of different colors, which contained sweet drinks of different flavors. The guests would not know the types of drinks in the glass bottles, and randomly tasting different drinks is a tradition of the Weizlan people at such occasions. Leilo picked up one of the glass bottles and gestured to Yan An, who shook his head.
"I have already told you what the most valuable item in this auction is."
"Yes, I understand it very well."
Lei Luo drank the wine in the small glass bottle in one gulp. He smiled at Yan An and said, "I'm very curious. Don't you want to save some money to bid for the treasure that Barlitt said was legendary?"
"Because I'm not crazy." Yan An replied calmly, "I don't think I can afford to buy that secret collection amidst the competition among these distinguished guests."
"You are quite clear-headed." Lello's amber eyes narrowed slightly, but his gaze was still as sharp as a knife. "But do you know? Many people sitting here think they may own that priceless treasure."
“That’s normal.”
"The one six places away from us." Lei Luo glanced slightly to the left, "He is Gold Finger Kadolo, or a copy of Kadolo."
"A replica?"
"Kadoro is a famous thief in the galaxy. His nickname is Golden Finger. The only thief who can be compared with him is Yin Ran, the 'Octopus Spider'. He used illegal means to copy multiple copies of himself to carry out some theft activities that he called art."
"You mean, he copies himself to steal?"
"Yes. There was a time when the Security Committee was unable to arrest Kadolo because he had an alibi, but later the Eye of Supervision found out that this thief was constantly using 'himself' to create illusions in order to achieve his theft purpose. No one knows whether the current golden finger is himself or his clone."
"Then his goal today is..."
"Of course." Lello looked away. "By the way, Cadoro has never failed to steal anything he wants to steal."
"I now feel that treasure is a little dangerous."
“Do you see that lady in the second row?”
"May I ask who she is?"
"Commander Lan Xin of the Galactic Fleet." Lei Luo looked at the confused expression on Yan An's face and added, "She is also known as Predator Lan Xin. The number of pirates killed by her could probably circle this planet three times. No matter how daring the heretic traitor is, he would tremble in fear when he hears her name."
"Is she targeting that collection as well?"
"What do you think?"
"Then how many industry leaders like these two are sitting in this auction hall?"
Leilo gave a meaningful smile, "What do you think?"
"..." Yan An scratched his head and replied, "You see, this is why I don't want to participate in the auction of that collection."
"What if you have a chance?"
"What?"
"What if you have a chance to get this secret collection?"
"That is impossible."
" Think about it . If you had a chance to get it." Lei Luo stared at Yan An with interest, "Wouldn't you desire a treasure that could fulfill any of your wishes?"
Yan An raised his head. The deputy leader of the Sons of Storm, a strange alien he had just met, was staring at him. At this moment, Lei Luo's amber eyes were like twinkling stars in the night, extremely bright but also extremely dazzling. His sharp gaze seemed to pierce directly into Yan An's soul, examining him and measuring everything about him. The overwhelming pressure made him feel dazed at that moment.
A treasure that can fulfill any of your wishes, don't you desire it? His voice lingered in his ears, gentle and seductive.
My wish.
My most desired wish at this moment.
I wanted to go back to her, I wanted to go back to my children.
And my parents...
I want to go home, back to Earth.
If I could get that treasure...
…
…
After a moment of trance , he heard the auctioneer announcing the next lot and the timer clicked again. He was still on an alien planet far away from Earth. Lello was beside him, and he saw something cold and ruthless in his sharp amber eyes.
He said, “No, I don’t want it.”
Lei Luo's pupils shrank at that moment, and then a smile formed on his lips, "That is a treasure that can fulfill any wish of yours, why don't you want it?"
"If the unfilled cup you mentioned can really fulfill any wish, then why did that ancient civilization suddenly collapse?" Yan An replied, "It's obviously not a perfect and omnipotent thing."
Leilo chuckled. “Perhaps the destruction was based on a certain wish of that civilization.”
"Then this unfilled cup should not be touched. The result of being able to fulfill any wish is itself a very terrifying thing." Yan An returned his gaze to the auction table, "If you want to achieve a goal, it is more reliable to do it yourself down to earth."
"Are you afraid of this power?"
"We have a saying here: there is no such thing as a free lunch."
"Don't you want to make this exception?"
"I don't believe in exceptions."
Lei Luo stared at Yan An and said slowly: "I think I'm beginning to like you."
"ah?"
"I can probably understand that guy now."
Principal Wu patted Yan An lightly, signaling him that a Weizsla man suddenly appeared in front of the auction table, as if he was going to announce something.
A Weizsla man in a gray robe, Barlett's personal lawyer, announced that the auction would be temporarily suspended and Barlett Driver's will would be read out.
There was a murmur of discussion among the guests.
"Hasn't Bartlett's will been made public?"
"This is an extra secret will."
The Weizla lawyer read out: "...If someone donates all the ancient books he bought with a large sum of money to Tengxi's higher education institution on the spot during the auction, I don't know if such a person will appear, but if he does, then this person may have the kind of character I expect. This person will receive my respectful gift, and he will be the only heir to the secret collection passed down from generation to generation in the Driving family. - Barrit Driving"
The auction venue fell into deathly silence.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Yan An like knives.
Leno laughed wildly.
At this moment, Yan An only felt a numbness on his head.
