Chapter 00019: A Heist
# A Heist
Chapter 19
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 19: A Heist
"Because this set of medicinal formulas is from ancient times, we cannot guarantee their effectiveness at this auction. Additionally, this set of formulas is hard to come by, so the starting price is fifty million, and each bid must increase by no less than one million. The bidding begins now..."
What puzzled Lan Xiaobu was that, according to previous experiences, after the woman in the cheongsam finished speaking, there should have been a fierce bidding scene. However, after she finished, no one made a bid.
But soon, Lan Xiaobu realized that this set of formulas was extremely precious to him, worth even more than five billion. Yet to others, it might not hold the same value. Moreover, in this end of the Dharma era, there was no guarantee that the formulas would be effective, as stated by the host of the Thousand Sounds Auction.
The Thousand Sounds Auction was reputed to be very credible, so what the host said was generally true. Since the host had mentioned that the effectiveness of the formulas was not guaranteed, their value must indeed be quite limited.
This was indeed the case; the Earth was now severely polluted, and there was hardly any spiritual qi left. Very few could cultivate internal qi. Furthermore, even if one managed to cultivate internal qi, purchasing this set of formulas would only deepen their internal qi a little. The prerequisite was that the formulas had to have some effect.
Currently, cultivation was possible on Earth, at least in places close to Kunlun Mountain, where heaven and earth spiritual qi could be found. But others were unaware of this. This made Lan Xiaobu regret even more that he had not sold the sheep fat white jade to buy this set of formulas.
At that moment, Lan Xiaobu saw the bearded man who had come with Shang Wei raise the bidding card.
Lan Xiaobu clenched his fists. His suspicions were confirmed; this set of formulas was indeed being bought by Shang Wei's family, which should guarantee Shang Wei's advancement into the Innate Realm.
Like a chain reaction, after the bearded man placed his bid, others quickly followed suit, and not just one.
When the woman in the cheongsam called the price to eighty-four million, Lan Xiaobu felt a pang of worry. Although he knew that the chances of this set of formulas being acquired by a merchant were high, he still felt anxious. If Shang Wei got it, he would have a chance to obtain it later. But if someone else got it, he wouldn't even know who they were, let alone how to acquire it.
Soon, Lan Xiaobu made up his mind; no matter who got it, he had to have that set of formulas. Without it, he couldn't enter the depths of Kunlun Mountain, and without entering Kunlun Mountain, how could he prevent a nuclear war on Earth? Nothing was more important than this.
"Uncle Xiong, it's already close to a hundred million. Should we raise the bid?" Shang Wei whispered to the bearded man.
Lan Xiaobu thought to himself, raise the bid, hurry and raise the bid.
Uncle Xiong snorted, ignoring Shang Wei, and wrote down another price to raise it.
"Someone has bid one hundred million. Is there anyone willing to raise the bid? The current price is one hundred million..." The woman in the cheongsam called out several times, but there were no further bids.
"One hundred million once... one hundred million twice... one hundred million three times, sold!" The woman in the cheongsam brought down the gavel.
Uncle Xiong clearly let out a sigh of relief and said softly, "You won't understand, you'll know once we get back."
Know once we get back? Lan Xiaobu was puzzled. Did this merchant also know that there was spiritual qi in the world that could be cultivated?
He paid no attention to the items being auctioned afterward; his focus was entirely on Shang Wei and the bearded Uncle Xiong beside him.
By the time the auction ended, it was already past midnight. Lan Xiaobu closely followed Uncle Xiong and Shang Wei out of the auction hall.
The entrance to the auction hall was a private garage, but the exit led to a second-floor entertainment venue.
Shang Wei and the bearded Uncle Xiong had obviously driven there, and their car was parked right outside the entertainment venue, a common Volkswagen.
Just as Uncle Xiong's hand rested on the door handle and the car door had yet to open, he suddenly turned around. Years of living in darkness had made him sense that someone was following them. Just as he turned back, Lan Xiaobu's fist came crashing in, and he heard Lan Xiaobu's voice, "Sorry, just a little heist."
Robbing him of his belongings? Shang Feixiong was furious, nearly laughing in anger. How dare they try to rob him, Shang Feixiong? It was simply courting death. Who in the circle didn't know that Shang Feixiong was an inner strength martial artist? Moreover, his strength had recently surged, and he was on the verge of breaking through to the next level of inner strength.
Shang Feixiong twisted his body, and just as Lan Xiaobu's fist was about to miss, he suddenly bent his arm and reached directly for Shang Feixiong's waist pouch.
Shang Feixiong thought to himself that it was bad; the opponent was not trying to strike him hard and then rob him but was aiming to snatch the item directly. That punch just now was merely a feint. He had made such a low-level mistake, and Shang Feixiong felt a surge of regret.
However, at that moment, Shang Feixiong's body was too old to turn back quickly, and he could only watch helplessly as Lan Xiaobu's hand grasped his waist pouch and yanked it hard.
"Riiip!" With a tearing sound, Shang Feixiong's waist pouch was snatched away by Lan Xiaobu.
Only then did Shang Wei react, rushing forward to grab Lan Xiaobu, but Lan Xiaobu didn't even turn his head; he simply kicked Shang Wei's knee, causing Shang Wei to scream in pain and kneel on the ground. Right now, Shang Wei was nothing more than a small dish before Lan Xiaobu.
Shang Feixiong had already turned around, but he could only watch as Lan Xiaobu dashed away. From Lan Xiaobu's speed, Shang Feixiong knew he would not be able to catch up. This person must also be an inner strength practitioner. It was precisely because the opponent was an inner strength martial artist that he had made a mistake. That punch just now had truly carried murderous intent; had he not dodged, that feint might have turned real.
But were his family's belongings that easy to steal?
"Uncle Xiong, has the item been stolen?" Shang Wei sat on the ground, covering his knee, still thinking about the items bought at the auction.
"Your kneecap should be fractured; we need to go to the hospital first," Shang Feixiong immediately took out his phone and dialed several numbers in quick succession.
Shang Wei was the young master of the Shang family and their future; he absolutely couldn't afford to have any mishaps.
...
Lan Xiaobu ran hurriedly, knowing he had made the right judgment.
That bearded man dared to come out like this with the items, even driving himself; he was definitely not an ordinary person and was likely not weaker than Cheng Jianjie. Even if he could defeat the other party, he couldn't afford to engage in a prolonged fight in that place.
Thus, Lan Xiaobu had never considered suppressing the other party with strength and then stealing the formulas; he was solely focused on the formulas. As for kicking Shang Wei on the way out, that was purely out of frustration.
Shang Wei was a scum, bringing alien strongmen to Earth, allowing Earth to be enslaved and people to live in a nuclear-polluted environment. Even if he died a hundred times, it wouldn't be excessive.
After returning, Lan Xiaobu immediately checked out of his room and planned to leave Jin City as quickly as possible. However, he soon discovered it was too late; the city was filled with police. While entering Jin City was fine, leaving required strict checks. This showed how powerful the Shang family was in Jin City, mobilizing such a large force to search for one person.
Lan Xiaobu hid in a shopping mall, pretending to browse samples at a mobile phone counter, but inside, he was extremely anxious.
"She relies on her status, thinking no one can touch her. Heh, now let's see what tricks she has left. No matter how high Su Cen's status is, she's just a woman like me. The women of the Su family are all bargaining chips. I'm no exception, and neither is Su Cen."
"That's how it is. In a year, she'll graduate. I want to know how my uncle will protect her. That Lou Ruyu from the Lou family, heh, what a nice name, but she's worse than trash..."
"Stop talking here; let's discuss it when we get back."
The conversation not far away caught Lan Xiaobu's attention. To be precise, it was not the content of the conversation that drew his attention, but the name Su Cen.
Lan Xiaobu even forgot that he was in a perilous situation; his focus was entirely on the two women conversing.
Soon, Lan Xiaobu analyzed some clues from their conversation.
The two were in a relationship of aunt and niece, and the younger woman seemed to be Su Cen's cousin. She referred to the older woman as aunt, suggesting that the older woman was a generation above Su Cen. The older woman appeared to have married into Jin City, while her younger niece was there for a visit.
From their words, it seemed that Su Cen would be married off to Lou Ruyu from the Lou family after graduation.
Unfortunately, the content of their conversation was too limited, and Lan Xiaobu couldn't obtain more information.
However, this information was enough for Lan Xiaobu. He began to suspect that Su Cen's sudden arrival in that small county to find him and marry him was related to this matter.
The Lou family? Is it the Lou family of Dongqing?
If it is the Lou family of Dongqing, then no matter how high the Su family's status in Haiyang is, they probably cannot contend with them. No wonder the Su family is willing to sacrifice Su Cen to curry favor with the Lou family. However, Lan Xiaobu had a gut feeling that this matter was not that simple.
It was said that Su Cen was the most cherished direct granddaughter of Su Shanhe, the head of the Su family in Haiyang. However, after marrying him, Su Cen had never mentioned the Su family again, indicating that there must have been a significant problem between her and the Su family.
Lan Xiaobu let out a slow breath. In his previous life, he was powerless; in this life, before leaving Earth, he must help Su Cen resolve this issue. Regardless of how things unfolded, he would take responsibility for it.
Su Cen still had nearly a year until graduation, and he would need about seven to eight months to enter Kunlun Mountain. After seven to eight months, others would have noticed Kunlun Mountain, and it would be difficult for him to enter again. During these seven to eight months, he just needed to make good use of the resources at hand to elevate himself to a certain realm. Then, before he entered Kunlun Mountain, he would help Su Cen resolve the issue with the Lou family.
(Today's update ends here. Good night, friends!)
(End of Chapter)