As night fell, the temperature dropped a lot too. City B was a little colder than City Z. The evening sky had just turned dark, and the entire city was engulfed in the cold drafts.

Mu Yuchen and Zhou Zimo reached City B past 5 p.m. in the evening. As Zhou Zimo suggested, the two buddies made a trip to the hot springs, changed their clothes, and had a simple dinner before it was already 8 p.m. The auction was scheduled for 9 p.m. that night.

The De Bao Auction was held at the lower ground hall of Hua Tian Hotel in City B. It was a large-scale auction that involved not just this city but several larger cities around as well. A myriad of items was put up for bidding, yet the people that could enter the auction venue were also people of considerable status. Those from the lower levels to the higher ranks could enter, but of course, they needed an invitation from the auction. These invitations did not have names written. As long as you fit that social status and you had the invitation, you could enter.

The auction was also a place for people to spend their money recklessly. It was essentially a recreational center that saw many nouveau riche gathering together.

At that moment, the parking lot outside the hotel was already filled with cars. In front of the staircase before the hotel, luxurious cars passed through from time to time whilst people in vibrant and neat clothes entered the hotel in an endless stream. Of course, you could also see many fashionably dressed women beaming as they walked in hand-in-hand with their male partners. Many of those women were familiar faces on TV screens.

The Bentley drove through the night, draped in cold winds, as it slowly stopped in front of Hua Tian Hotel.

The car had just stopped when the valet quickly walked up to help open the door.

"Looks like this place is bustling." Zhou Zimo fixed his tie a little and straightened his blazer before leisurely getting down from the car.

Mu Yuchen locked his phone and simply took a windbreaker from the side to put on. He got down from the car too. Dressed in a low-profile black suit with a huge pair of shades to cover his face, the crowd could not see his features clearly. Zhou Zimo was in a similar get-up.

"Master, Master Mo! You're here!"

The two buddies had just gotten down the car when Ah Bao swiftly came out to meet them. Clearly, he had been waiting on them for quite a while.

Mu Yuchen nodded as he pulled at the windbreaker on his shoulders before walking into the hotel in huge strides. Zhou Zimo followed after him.

"Master, I've already booked the private room, and I've already gotten in contact with the people. Once the suspect appears, we can definitely find out more about them. It's less than five minutes to the auction, and most of the people are already here too. I've also told the buddies to watch out. All's normal, so don't worry, Master."

Mu Yuchen took over the cigarette box that Zhou Zimo handed him. He slid a stick out to light up. Taking a puff, he then said calmly, "Good. Later on, remember to watch out for everyone who competes for the bid. Don't let anyone out of your sight."

"Yes, Master! Master, Master Mo, please use this VIP path. It goes straight to the private room upstairs."

They followed Ah Mo through the authentication area, and the two of them reached the private room very quickly. The room that Ah Mo reserved had very good visibility, so they could see the situation below through the window upstairs. The auction took place right in the middle of the hall which was in a circular shape. Above the auction stage was a super huge screen with eight facets that enlarged the auctioned items much more to be displayed very clearly.

Inside the luxurious and comfortable room, two beautiful and enchanting female attendants in sexy and tight bodycon dresses were steeping tea for Mu Yuchen and Zhou Zimo.

Mu Yuchen took off his windbreaker and sat down as he glanced indifferently at the girls who were bent over with their fair bosoms ready to spill anytime. Their heavy perfume filled the air. He immediately frowned and did not feel anything for the members of the fairer sex, so he immediately chased them out.

"You two, go down."

"Mister, I'm Meng Lu. Are you not happy with my service?"

The attractive woman's face flashed with an extremely charming smile. She exuded a wild aura all over her while her beautiful eyes released a provoking light. She draped one hand over his shoulder and was about to sit on Mu Yuchen's lap.

Unexpectedly, Mu Yuchen was swift enough. He took the menu from the table and put it on the woman's face as he slowly pushed her away. His flat and deep voice sounded bone-chilling cold as he said, "The two of you, go down. We don't need your service here."

"Mister!" A sweet voice piped up.

"Ah Bao, clean this up!"

"Yes, Master!" Ah Bao responded and quickly called for the bodyguards outside to escort the two women out.

Zhou Zimo could not help but lift a hand to massage the space between his brows as he teased, "You're so serious even when we're out to play. This is City B. You don't have to worry about your commanding officer back home checking up on you. No wonder Su Chen said that you're becoming less and less fun." Then, he started to steep some tea.

Mu Yuchen accepted the tea with a plain expression. With a sip, he said before looking downwards again, "Just based on what you said, if I told the two elders back home about this, they would punish the two of you too."

"I suddenly feel like that we're both still single right now mostly because of you."

"If you like these uncultured women, I'll get them to prepare ten of them for you tomorrow."

"No, thanks... Unfortunately, I cannot enjoy it! I also like those hipsters. I can't handle these types. Mmm, looks like many people have come tonight. Just look at those people across us. If I remember correctly, they all seem to be well-known families in City B. I just wonder if the legendary Gu family would send anyone over. I did hear that Madam Roris is also an antique-collecting hobbyist. Do you remember? She almost became your mother-in-law. She was quite a famous beauty back then too."

Zhou Zimo's chuckle contained a hint of anticipation as he continued, "Look at Gu Lingsha. I don't want to say anything, but in terms of appearance, I really can't find that many more women who are better-looking than her. You must know that her foreign mother is quite a beauty with a unique charm."

"I don't know when you became such a shallow person that you'd nit-pick about these unrelated women." Mu Yuchen took a light sip of tea and responded, "Aren't they all just with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth?"

"Fine, fine, fine, I got it. Only your woman has womanly features of gentleness and beauty. Everyone else is the same. There aren't even any differences between male and female, okay?" Zhou Zimo shrugged.

"Otherwise? Even if they could be called beautiful, could they be yours?"

"No, they can't!"

"So, what I have is the best. Alright, look over there."

When Zhou Zimo turned towards the direction Mu Yuchen was facing, he noticed that there was a fuss at the entrance. With raised eyebrows, he saw several bodyguards rush in. Two slender figures appeared behind them.

Two women walked in. More specifically, they were a mother-daughter pair.

The one on the left was a blonde woman wearing a plunging long black dress. She had a ruby red shawl over her shoulders, and her blonde hair was tied into a bun. Blessed with an angelic face and a great voluptuous figure, she appeared elegant and beautiful, and seemed to only be around 30 years old. Many people were impressed by her beauty!

She was City B's well-known Mrs. Gu, Gu Qiwu's wife, Doris!

Beside her was another woman in a dark purple dress. She had a warm smile on her face while she exuded a noble elegance and was an overwhelming beauty. It was Gu Lingsha!

"Gu Lingsha?" Zhou Zimo was surprised. Doubt niggled in his mind as he looked at the two figures. "When did she return to City B? She was still in City Z just a while ago, wasn't she?" He looked at Mu Yuchen who was calmly drinking his tea while his eyes were filled with surprise.

Compared to him, Mu Yuchen was very calm about it. He glanced over at the two women below. Due to their exceptional beauty and uniqueness, many people were impressed by them, and were even charmed, especially when Doris glanced at the crowd. The beatific smiles on their faces were unbelievable.

They could not react otherwise.

"This is insane! The two of them are experts at seducing people! Look at that! Look! What an embarrassment to men!"

Mu Yuchen looked over in the direction Zhou Zimo was pointing at. A man was staring at Doris and Gu Lingsha intently as his hands were covering a part below his belly.

Mu Yuchen's eyes froze over. He did not seem to care at all as he ignored Gu Lingsha and Doris and started playing with his teacup.

"That woman is Doris, isn't she? What a well-known beauty! As expected of her, I finally know where Gu Lingsha inherited her beauty from! Gu Qiwu is pretty good-looking himself. It's no wonder they have such a beautiful daughter with their genes combined. However, Gu Lingsha is still a level below her mother. After all, Doris is a true noble. What do you think?"

Zhou Zimo took a sip of his tea and enjoyed the view of the two women walking by.

"I noticed that you really like to comment on women lately. So, are their standards enough for you?" Mu Yuchen gave him a mysterious grin while his eyes looked a little creepy as well.

"I'm just saying what I feel. Their beauty is obvious, but they aren't as simple inside as their appearance on the outside." Doris and Gu Lingsha arrived at their room just as Zhou Zimo spoke.

"To be honest, if you actually married a wily person like Gu Lingsha back then, I wonder if the Mu family would get better or if she would've ruined them. Look at the Qi family now. Qi Qiming and Wang Qin are at war every day. You should know about this better than me." Zhou Zimo gave Mu Yuchen a meaningful glance as he laughed nervously.

Mu Yuchen leaned his back against the chair and said, "Do you think she's worthy? Do I look like a man who needs a woman to help him?" His voice sounded stiff as he took another sip of his tea before he continued, "I'm not interested in her. Moreover, I don't like women like her that assume she's smarter than everyone. Even if we really got married, I'd just leave her aside and keep her under control."

Zhou Zimo nodded. "That does sound like what you'd do, but you're lucky. Xi Xiaye is so much better than her."

Mu Yuchen understood Zhou Zimo's hint, so he smiled.

"Don't compare her to Xiaye. They're not on the same level. I wouldn't be so worried about Xiaye if her mental fortitude was half as strong as hers."

Zhou Zimo seemed interested as he grinned. "It's a good sign that you're liking your woman more and more. I'm sure the two of you will stay together forever."

Mu Yuchen just smiled and did not reply. Meanwhile, his gaze was fixed on the auction stand at the bottom.

The auctioneer was prepared when they were talking, and the auction officially started when the bell rang!

"Be alert," Ah Bao gave his orders as he buckled himself up. He was staring at the auction stand intently.

The auctioneer was a middle-aged man wearing a suit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening! Thank you for attending our auction tonight. As usual, there will be 15 items up for bidding this time. The rules are the same as before. With that, I hereby announce that the auction has officially begun!"

The crowd gave a round of applause following the auctioneer's opening speech. The applause died down after several seconds.

"Thank you! Please be quiet now. Let's take a look at our first item tonight."

The lights in the hall suddenly dimmed, leaving only the wall lights and the spotlights on the auction stand. The lady presenter pressed a button in the middle of the stage, and an exhibition case slowly rose from the floor. Inside the transparent glass was a Buddhist bead bracelet that was magnified on the huge screen in the back.

Roughly 80 exquisitely-crafted light-colored beads were threaded into a refined bracelet.

The auctioneer started introducing the bracelet while Mu Yuchen and Zhou Zimo traded glances at each other.

"Is this bracelet that rare? It's not like it's diamond or anything." Zhou Zimo was in doubt.

"Would you think that it was rare if I told you it's a Chen Xiang Buddhist bracelet?"

A Chen Xiang Buddhist bracelet?

Zhou Zimo's eyes widened as he heard the term from Mu Yuchen.

"From the looks of the color, it should be worth at least $2 million," Mu Yuchen spoke again as he looked at the photos on the screen.

"Seriously? Which idiot is selling this? Shouldn't this be kept as a collection?" Zhou Zimo felt heartbroken for it.

As expected, there was a huge reaction from the crowd when the auctioneer introduced this bracelet.

Most of the middle-aged population were Buddhists. As their positions got higher and their salaries started to grow, they were more inclined to believe in religion and fengshui .

The same applied to Wang Hui as well. She would light up some incense every morning and pray for the family's safety.

"The starting price for this bracelet is $2 million. Each bid must be no less than $30,000. The bidding starts now!"

Just as Mu Yuchen predicted.

"$2.1 million!"

"$2.3 million!"

"$2.5 million!"

...

The value of an item that was auctioned could go up several times of its original price, and it could go up even further for rare items like this.

After a round of bidding, the bid reached $4 million. The bids were getting fewer. Since this was only the first item and more were coming out later, the crowd planned to wait for the other items.

"$4.5 million! This sir over here is offering $4.5 million. Is there anyone else? $4.5 million, once!"

"$4.5 million, twice!"

"$4.5 million..."

"$5 million."

Right before the auctioneer made the final call, Mu Yuchen glanced at Ah Bao and he quickly took action.

The auctioneer was overjoyed. No one else made a higher bid, so Mu Yuchen won the Buddhist bracelet.

"That's some good stuff, but I remember that you're not a believer, and I don't think you're a collector, are you?" Zhou Zimo gave Mu Yuchen an odd glance.

Mu Yuchen did not reply and just returned the glance. Then, Zhou Zimo shrugged.

The second item up for auction was a golden plate embedded with many different jewels. It was a very valuable collector's item. A collector bought it at the price of $7 million.

After some cheering, the auctioneer smiled. "It seems like the auction this time is getting more fired up than the last one. Next up, let's have our third item of the day!"

Under a blue spotlight, an exquisite pen was presented on stage.

Zhou Zimo was shocked because he had seen this pen before!

He stared at the pen for a few moments before looking at Mu Yuchen. "This is what you mean by something interesting? It's a huge risk! Wouldn't you have wasted it if that person didn't come? How are you going to explain it to Lingshi?"

"This is why I wanted you to come."

Mu Yuchen had a creepy and wicked smile on his face!

Zhou Zimo finally understood his plan, and he almost punched him as he started yelling at him, "What the hell!? You cunning fox! No wonder you were so nice to go for a sauna and massage with me. This is what you planned! How sinister! I'm ashamed as a fellow businessman! You bastard!"

Mu Yuchen smiled elegantly and took a sip of tea. "There's nothing to worry about. I had someone appraise this pen. The sapphire embedded on it is worth more than the Buddhist bracelet just now."

Zhou Zimo thought to himself before concluding, "So, what you're saying is that the man who gave this to Aunty Zixi must be a rich person! A small gift like this costs several million. We'll be able to find out who is it if we can confirm that he's in City B!"

"I didn't put in so much effort and benefits for the De Bao Trading auction for nothing. Hopefully, we can limit the scope to City B. After trying to find that man for so many years without any clue, that man is purposely making it difficult to sniff him out."

"Let's hope that we can get to him this time. It's starting soon! Look!" Zhou Zimo patted his shoulder before sitting back down. "I'm going to say this upfront. This is nearly a whole year's worth of my expenses at Imperial Sky Entertainment City. You'd better give me a gold card for free!"

"Since when have you and Su Chen ever paid when you guys were there?" Mu Yuchen replied calmly.

Zhou Zimo shrugged. "Fine, whatever!"

The auctioneer finished the introduction, announcing the starting bid at $2 million as well. Ah Bao was watching everyone who placed their bids carefully.

"$3.7 million! Anyone offering higher than this?"

"$4 million!" It was a woman's voice. Mu Yuchen looked over at the voice source, and saw that it was Gu Lingsha!

There was a short silence afterward as someone else then yelled, "$4.1 million!"

"$4.5 million!" Gu Lingsha sounded determined.

Mu Yuchen's gaze turned sharp as he glanced over at each and every corner from where the voices placing the bids came from.

"$4.6 million!" The man who placed the earlier bid before continued.

"$5 million!" Gu Lingsha seemed determined to get this pen as she was gunning her bids aggressively.

"What is Gu Lingsha doing? Could she know that this pen was Lingtian's? Or is she a collector herself? This is insane!"

Zhou Zimo frowned as he looked at the booth where Gu Lingsha was at in confusion.

In contrast, Mu Yuchen did not seem very affected. He looked like he was deep in thought as his grip on the teacup tightened.

"Chen, it's $5 million now. Should we do something?" Zhou Zimo looked at Mu Yuchen anxiously.

"Wait just a little bit more." Mu Yuchen came back to his senses and looked down. "The person who gave her this pen must know the true origins of it. I'm sure he's wondering how the pen appeared here."

Zhou Zimo nodded in agreement.