Kyon would gladly continue to explore his new features, but he was late for an important event where he was planning to acquire some valuable things. Some of them would help him to pay his debt to Marina and get positive emotions at the same time.The annual auction would take place at 4 pm. It was organized by the largest and most reputable trading guild the Golden Piggy. It"s hard to overestimate the importance of this event. The richest people in the kingdom were going to try their luck and find something precious that could never be found in the ordinary market, i.e., the transformation, evolution, accelerated cultivation medicine, various elixirs, exceptional ingredients, unusual formations, enchanted things, powerful techniques, magnificent armor and weapons, ancient artifacts, elite slaves, and even some Tokens, the most important currency in the empire.
The guildhall was an architectural masterpiece. There were no ceilings higher or no decorations more expensive except for the royal palace. The gigantic building represented the power of its fabulously wealthy owners. There were statues of pigs made of pure gold standing on marble pedestals at each corner of the building. Large rubies sparkled in their eyes, the guild flags fluttered from their golden hooves.
Hundreds of people in expensive clothes, the elite of the Iron Throne, crowded at the entrance where the guards were thoroughly checking their doc.u.ments authorizing access. Apart from the most important and exceptional people, none of the guests dared to cut in line. The guests with the highest rank were granted priority access. They entered the building with straight, composed faces. The members of the royal family stood out from the crowd. There were n.o.ble elders responsible for the vast territories of the kingdom, the director of Cernos, and other high-ranking royal persons.
Suddenly, everyone heard a high pitch, creaky voice:
«REPENT! THE END OF THE WORLD IS CLOSE!» – A skinny old man in stinky rags howled, drawing everyone"s attention.
«Three messengers of death will mark the end of our history! They are closer than we thought! The first one has already arrived! The day of the dark sky! The day of the green night! And the day of eternal darkness! Death! Death awaits everyone! Get on your knees and pray the G.o.ddess for help! Only she can change the fate of the world! You! Can you hear me? Pray for us sinners!»
The old man grabbed the first person next to him. It happened to be a young man standing nearby.
The servant led the guest to the VIP floor, the highest in the building. Then he pointed to the door of room number 33.
Just at that moment, two ugly red-faced fat men came out of the room. Kyon recognized Balim Milonov and Zhou Weicin, XiaoBai"s best friends (the money bags). He was hanging out with them at the party in Juno"s mansion. The friends were complaining about something, visibly upset.
«It"s unheard of! What happened to bros before hos? Why did he let her drive us away? When did Bai"s grandson become so henpecked?»
«I strongly agree with you! Who"s this bimbo, all dolled up like that and acting like a queen? Her t.i.ts are even smaller than mine!» – Zhou wiped off the saliva from his lips.
«There is nothing to be proud of... You"d better shut up.» – Balim grimaced with disgust.
Kyon pretended not to know the indignant fat fellows. He waited till they left, showed the formation, and entered the room. He saw a s.p.a.cious room with access to the balcony of the auction room. It was furnished with several leather armchairs and a ma.s.sive mahogany table. A no less huge, meatball-like guy was sitting in the large soft armchair. A short, slender, brown-haired lady in an elegant blue dress perched on his lap.
The beauty turned to the newcomer, her thin eyebrows frowned angrily.
«XiaoBai, it"s me.» – Kyon greeted him with his usual, unchanged voice.
«Brother! I didn"t recognize you in this mask! You"re here at last!» – XiaoBai carefully put the girl on the armchair and went to meet the guest with a happy smile. Kyon couldn"t tell what made him more pleased: the arrival of his dear adopted brother or escaping close contact with his girlfriend.
They shook hands.
Kyon approached Cornelia and greeted her politely. However, she coldly snorted and turned his back on him, her nose arrogantly turned up.
Cornelia was annoyed that some guy was going to take her future husband"s precious time. Well, at least this fellow didn"t stink ten different fragrant oils and toad perfume to boot. Nor was he going to chomp down on chips here.
Kyon looked inquiringly at his fat brother, who shrugged and forced a smile.
«Alright… XiaoBai, I have something important to discuss with you. Very important.»
«Yeah, sure…» – XiaoBai mumbled and headed for the free armchair. As soon as he sat down, Cornelia landed on his knee, looking as regal and majestic as ever.
Kyon settled in front of them. – «Let me get straight to the point. XiaoBai, I want you to bet all my money on the Stones" victory in the tournament.»
«What!» – The milk he had just sipped came out of his nose. – «Are you serious!? No kidding?»
«I"m as serious as a heart attack. I am going to take first prize. How about increasing your capital?»
XiaoBai jumped up to his feet without even noticing that he had dropped Cornelia on the floor. He shook Kyon"s shoulders vigorously. – «Are you crazy, Kyon?!» – Xiao Bai exclaimed while Cornelia hissed angrily. – «Do you even that the Stones" defeat is inevitable? I"m planning to bet against them!»
«You don"t believe me, do you?»
XiaoBai led Kyon to the balcony and pointed his finger somewhere down the hall. – «Can you see that arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d looking at everyone like they are insects? His name is Timothy Brown. He is Brown number one. It has come to my attention that he conceals his real strength! Once Timothy rented a training hall downtown. The destruction after his training cost the managers dearly. I am still so sorry for them! Anyway, no one the younger generation can cause so much destruction. Timothy has supernatural power! It doesn"t matter who your master is or how strong you imagine yourself, your defeat is guaranteed!»
Kyon smiled. – «You don"t believe me?»
«Oh no…» – XiaoBai shook his head in disbelief and backed to his chair. – «Not this… I know this expression on your face! Nothing is going to stop you now!»
«Exactly.» – Kyon nodded, pleased with himself. – «Here is a deal: I give you the money, and you will make bets with all the wealthy families in Boston in the remaining three days before the tournament. You bet that the Stones will take first place in the tournament. The higher the odds, the better for both of us. However, don"t mess with the royal family! They are not very good "people."»
«It"s pure nonsense… It"s madness! You"re crazy!» – XiaoBai yelled.
«I know. I will give you a tenth of the total winnings. We are talking about tens of millions, by the way.» – Kyon said impa.s.sively, hitting XiaoBai"s weak point.
Xiao Bai seemed to be in a stupor, completely ignoring Cornelia"s painful pinches from behind. It would rip the whole kingdom off their money! Who else but his brother was capable of this? He remembered the miracles that Kyon was doing at the party. The younger generation still discussed his fight with the princess, adding some ridiculous theories and making up things! Why not doing the impossible again? Especially given the fact that he wouldn"t have to spend any money at all!
«How much are you going to give me?!»
Kyon took 15 million spheres out of the ring. His total capital was 16 million, mainly thanks to Valeera, who now considered him her sworn enemy. She turned out to be quite conscientious and returned him everything she had promised. She didn"t want to have anything to do with him anymore...
Xiao-Bai"s jaw dropped when he saw the fortune of colorful spheres, his eyes glittered with greed. – «Unbelievable! How?! When did you manage to get so much?!»
Kyon laughed at his reaction. – «It"s a secret.»
«You"re freaking monster! Hhha!» – XiaoBai laughed hysterically. He had finally met a genius who could make 15 million in a couple of weeks. It would take him several years! His respect for the younger brother was higher than the sky and deeper than the ocean.
XiaoBai a.s.sessed the potential winnings and stopped laughing. No one in the world, even the Stones themselves, would believe in their victory! It means that he could increase the stakes as much as could be!
«I want thirty percent, not ten.» – XiaoBai said decisively. – «I will have to engage all of my connections. It will take my unique skills to pull thousands of strings and establish the Bostoner"s payment capacity. And there are only three days to succeed! I won"t even have time to sleep! Make it thirty percent!»
Kyon snorted. – «First of all, your family will get first place because of me. Second, it won"t cost you anything. Third, only three days of hard work, and you will get millions! So, ten percent, buddy?»
«Twenty five! Twenty five percent, that"s my final word!»
«Ten. Don"t forget to add the money you will get in the auction.»
«TWENTY!» – XiaoBai yelled desperately. The phoenix figurine was unlikely to bring him too much money. He wanted MORE!
«Ten.»
«Ааgrrr! Alright. Fifteen percent it is then.»
Kyon nodded smugly. A sly grin touched his lips. – «Deal!» – Just as he had planned. Xiao Bai was rather predictable. He would turn the whole world upside down for as much as 15%. Kyon couldn"t dream of a better partner!
They shook hands.
«I swear on my honor as a great financier that I will do everything in the best possible way. The brotherhood of the fat fellows will bleed the whole kingdom dry with great pleasure. Bring us the victory of the Stones. Can you guarantee you will?»
«I can.» – Kyon said confidently.
The deal with XiaoBai would be the brilliant result of all his financial schemes in Boston. Each sphere he had received from Valeera, Charles, XiaoBai, and others was now at stake. He would either increase his treasure in case of his victory or lose it forever in case of defeat.
Kyon was going to win mainly because of his unique body of the Void, to be more precise, the recently completed 1st stage and the acquired boons. Thus, each percent of the emotions, the souls and the elements he had received would play an important role.
Kyon no longer regretted that he hadn"t kill Juno but made a decision to clean her keys instead. This decision had brought him 15 million spheres. His unique body had completed the first stage of evolution. Besides, he had become an investigator of the second rank! The Stones had helped Lovr to realize all his ambitions. How long would it have taken him to achieve all this if he had left on some purposeless journey? He had no idea...
«By the way, XiaoBai! Can you give me a privileged badge of the guild?» – Kyon asked.
«The word "give" doesn"t exist in my vocabulary, but if you really want to have it, I"ll write my price, and you will give me your answer.» – XiaoBai instantly took out a piece of paper and began to write down endless zeros, carefully hiding it from Cornelia"s prying eyes.
XiaoBai"s eyes glimmered in grat.i.tude. Kyon could take her away; he could even marry her if he wished. XiaoBai didn"t want to see this woman again. She made him lose his appet.i.te… – «Swear you will do it!»
Cornelia stared blankly at them.
Kyon rolled his eyes. – «I swear.»
«Great. I trust you, brother. Take this.»
Kyon had become a happy owner of the privileged badge of the guild. It was made of gold, had a detailed image of the pig on the obverse and the formation with the necessary data inside. The badge gave him a discount in the guild (which only the elite of the elite could boast of), an exclusive, most secure deposit box in the bank, a privileged account, and some VIP services like a private room during the auctions and other events, express delivery of goods, and so on.