At present, although the true appearance of the chest had been revealed, many people were still disinterested. Yawning, they swept a glance inside before shifting their gazes away.
Inside the chest was a greyish white object that was coiled together. If one were to remove its colour, it would resemble dried kelp. Moreover, although its fishy odour was heavy, it didn't attract flies or mosquitoes. It appeared to be the shed skin or tendons of some animal.
Yet when this unremarkable object was revealed, one could observe specks of dark-gold brilliance overflowing from it; causing one's mind to be immersed in it. The quality of this object, was indeed an out-and-out dark-gold grade!
Fortunately, amongst the people present, only Sheyan could see such a magnificent radiance. Sheyan utilized his helmet's ability to probe it, and his heart palpitated with excitement. This was because the probed information only displayed one sentence – Incomparably precious shipbuilding material!!
"This ….." Sheyan couldn't help but be stumped. Even though he was usually relatively calm, his heart couldn't help but thump wildly!
Brother Black had also received Sheyan's shared information, and exclaimed loudly in the party channel.
"Dark-gold shipbuilding material! We definitely can't let it slip by. For an item of this grade, even if I have to go bankrupt, I won't hesitate to do so! "
Sheyan could basically confirm that this object shouldn't be a contestant's equipment, but a precious storyline material. Fortunately, there weren't any contestant captains present in this auction house. Therefore, there were very few who could determine its value!
Only ancient antiques like Jack Sparrow's father or Davy Jones possessed the ability to discern treasures. Sheyan's Hill Maiden had just suffered a heavy blow, and this object had appeared. This was truly a match made in heaven. Compared to this chest of dark-gold materials, Sheyan could directly disregard those items that were auctioned off previously. They were all items that could be casually discarded.
Observing that the crowd wasn't that interested, Sheyan secretly rejoiced. He was prepared to silently strike it rich, and let it pass without bidding. He wouldn't be in a hurry to attract the attention of others. After the auction ended, he could contact them and settle the matter with 500 guineas.
The appearance of this item caused a brief awkward silence, as though no one was interested in it. Sheyan secretly rejoiced in his heart, praying that no one would bid for it.
However, things in this world often go contrary to one's wishes. Just as the auctioneer's saliva ran dry and was about to knock the hammer for the third time, Fernandez suddenly coughed and said.
"Wrap it up for me for 1,000 pounds. I like these strange things. Besides, it wasn't easy for McKinney to open this auction. I can't let him suffer a loss. I'll play with it when I'm free."
After Fernandez opened his mouth, who knew that the old fox Skrtel would reply with a grin.
"Aiya, I've been collecting these strange things recently. Lord Viscount (Fernandez donated the money to become a Viscount), please let me have it. Two thousand pounds.
Sheyan cried out bitterly in his heart. It turned out that these wily old foxes were crafty. They had the same idea as him to let the auction go, but they were actually very interested in it! He immediately let out a deep sigh. He knew that if he wanted to obtain this item, he would have to go through a rather intense and bitter battle. Moreover, he might not be able to obtain it!
"10,000 gold pounds."
While Sheyan's thoughts were in disarray, a woman's gloomy voice suddenly boomed out. It was precisely that old gypsy female representative with a red veil. She surveyed her surroundings, her eyes emitting an icy sensation. Furthermore, she had abruptly raised the price of this item from 2,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds. This clearly displayed her determination to obtain this item!
Witnessing the gypsy representative's appearance, an awkward silence ensued. Evidently, these people weren't too sure of the value of this item, and weren't willing to offend this group of women who were adept at divination. However, after Sheyan had witnessed this item, he was determined to obtain it. How could he easily give up?
"11,000 pounds."
"15,000 pounds! This time, the gypsy representative didn't look over, because she knew Sheyan wouldn't buy her words. Nevertheless, she didn't show any signs of weakness in this auction. Her breathing was tranquil, and she maintained an indifferent countenance as she bid.
Instead, he observed Fernandez and Skrtel. Both of them appeared to be unmoved, as though they were merely making an opening bid. Moreover, the rest didn't appear to be interested in this item, and didn't make any bids.
Nevertheless, Sheyan knew that until the moment the auction gavel dropped, it would be impossible to discern the true number of competitors, and the bottom price they had in mind! Indeed, before Sheyan could bid, the arabian Wahabu started stirring up trouble again.
"17,000 pounds!"
The gypsy impatiently rapped her fingers on the table.
"20,000 pounds!"
"30,000 pounds!" Sheyan threw caution to the wind. Since he was determined to obtain it, then it was time for him to declare his stance.
The gypsy once again glanced at Sheyan, as though she wanted to engrave every single detail of him into her mind. Instead, she turned silent. Instead, Wahabu's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"40,000 pounds!"
Sheyan shot him a disdainful glance, before shutting his mouth. He then started leisurely sipping his coffee, as though he didn't intend to raise the bid at all. Wahabu instantly sensed something amiss, because his previous bid was merely his revenge. Truthfully speaking, this brat was merely an agent. If he were to spend 40,000 pounds to purchase an unknown item, then he wouldn't be able to bear the consequences! This represented a total of four brand new 3-masted battleships!
As time elapsed, beads of perspiration formed on Wahabu's forehead. Just as the gavel was about to drop, Sheyan leisurely announced.
"40,500 pounds."
Wahabu finally wiped off his cold sweat, as though a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He no longer dared to play any tricks. The auctioneer never expected that a supporting character like him would be able to bid for an item with a base price of 1,000 pounds for a sky-high price of 40,000 pounds. The commission was rather generous. It was truly a pleasant surprise! Instantly, she roused her spirits and spittle splashed out as she advertised, hoping for a soaring price. Instead, the only gypsy who wanted to compete with Sheyan was aware that Sheyan had at least obtained several hundred thousand guineas from the gypsies. Thus, after weighing the pros and cons, she decided to give up. In the end, Sheyan still obtained the item.
When the hammer fell, Sheyan heaved a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Instead, the gypsy representative had been intercepted by Sheyan twice in a row. Thus, the auctioneer had no choice but to speak a few words to pacify her. After all, in business, only harmony could bring about wealth. The woman remained silent and waved her hand for them to move aside. She gave off the impression that she was very shrewd.
After receiving the box of dark gold-quality materials, Sheyan carefully studied it again, but all he could see were????. After inspecting it from a close distance, Sheyan could sense an exceedingly vigorous vitality within it. It didn't seem like an inanimate object at all.
Using an inappropriate analogy, a pig's knuckle from a vegetable stall would be utterly lifeless when pinched. However, if one were to pinch one's calf with the slightest movement, one would be able to sense a strength that could erupt at any moment. Sheyan held onto the box of materials and carefully studied it. Finally, he confirmed that he was completely clueless in this aspect, and kept it. Nevertheless, he was brimming with confidence, and didn't need to worry about not being able to discern the goods.
In the following auction, the 20 high-firing cannons mentioned by old McKinney finally appeared. However, the auctioneer's explanation was definitely different.
"... recently, our Port Royal marines have successively triumphed in battle. Hence, our superiors specially gave them a complete makeover, in order to commend the valiance of these young lads. Since it's a makeover, those old and outdated equipment naturally can't be dissolved and scrapped. Hence, we specially offered them in exchange for military supplies."
Yet in the following auction items, every single one of them were brand new and shiny high-firing cannons. These cannons even bore the nameplate of Hamburg and its factory logo. If these cannons were considered as' old and outdated equipment ', then those naval cannons of the current marines would be directly tossed into a pile of scrap metal.
Many people had requested for these 20 high-firing cannons to be auctioned off at once. However, old McKinney stubbornly auctioned them off one by one. Not only was he trying to maximize profits, he was also trying to avoid risks.
If one or two brand new high-firing cannons were to appear on a pirate ship, then the Governor could still find an excuse to say that the pirates had smuggled them out, and that excuse would be barely acceptable. However, if these 20 brand new high-firing cannons were to appear on a ship that wasn't even a ship of the British Royal Navy, then even if Norrington were to use hemorrhoids to consider this problem, he would still know that only Governor Swann had the capability to do so.
Very quickly, the 20 high-firing cannons were divided up. Amidst the fierce competition, they were auctioned off for a high price of several hundred thousand guineas. It wasn't that Sheyan didn't have the opportunity to obtain one or two cannons. However, based on his experience, such cannons would require at least 4 to be effective. The might of one or two cannons was practically negligible. Hence, he might as well give up.
Nevertheless, Sheyan managed to pick up some scraps. He spent 5,000 guineas to purchase several standard marine equipment, which could roughly equip a hundred men. This time, he was truly auctioning off the discarded marine equipment. However, the ones being auctioned off were the discarded marine equipment of the two flagships! The quality was rather decent. (To be continued. If you like this work, I welcome you to donate your recommendation votes or monthly votes to me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
