The Mech Touch

s to the real professionals! ”

Ves shook his head underneath his helmet, quickly shaking off the illusion conjured by his overactive imagination.

Though he felt a bit petulant about being rebuked by his own imagination, the mini-Calabast had a point.
Ves really shouldn ’t be conducting shady deals like this on a regular basis.

Someone like Calabast who was much more adept at interacting with dangerous partners ought to be able to do a lot better!

The separation between Ves and Calabast troubled him more and more.
Though the separation helped prevent anyone from figuring out the depth of their partnership, it also hindered him from taking ready advantage of her assistance.

This had to change once he returned home.
Ves intended to have a very lengthy talk with Calabast about their future cooperation.
His tour already illuminated him how vital it was for him to have a shadow force and a network of agents and informants at his disposal.

The auction already ran for several hours.
As Ves carefully studied each item brought to the stage, he also began to anticipate the appearance of the second spiritually-reactive object.

However, other items kept appearing first.
Ves began to suspect that his worst fears might be coming true.
The object he wanted to acquire must be part of the last batch of goods which the auction hall reserved at the very end of the auction session!

”The finale of our auction is drawing to a close. ” The old auctioneer stated with a lot more excitement than before! ”As always, our last ten items are our most prized by our appraisers! Let us begin with the introduction of Item #1255, which we call the Ancient Sarcophagus! ”

Ves felt a strong spiritual disturbance as a large, red object the size of a coffin emerged onto the stage!

Everyone immediately studied the strange object.
Consisting of red crystals, the coffin-shaped object appeared both natural and artificial.
In addition to that, the crystal was partially transparent, giving observers a vague glimpse of a gray presence underneath!

The wear and tear on the crystal surface gave the Ancient Sarcophagus the impression that it endured over several eons.

Now that the Ancient Sarcophagus was in sight, Ves conclusively confirmed that it was the second spiritually-reactive object he sensed! He didn ’t even need to activate his spiritual senses to distinguish the strange sensation he came under as he observed the red crystal object!

The auctioneer began to describe the background of Item #1255.

”The Nyxian Gap is a place full of asteroids, but that does not mean that we have never encountered the remnants of intelligent life in this region.
Ancient ruins, many of them buried inside sunless moons and planets, occasionally get discovered.
This Ancient Sarcophagus is but one of the many prizes retrieved from a newly-unearthed ruin.
The treasure hunters sacrificed much to worm their way into the ruins and smuggle out the Ancient Sarcophagus.
Now, it is here before you, having incurred only a minimal amount of damage during its retrieval. ”

Despite the rough and worn appearance of the Ancient Sarcophagus, it still exuded a strong and undeniable alien charm! Even if it did not actively radiate a spiritual aura, the indescribable pressure it emanated nonetheless made the other guests feel different in its presence!

It was much like how the Devil Tiger exuded a subtle but hard-to-ignore presence after Ves obscured its overpowering aura with a spiritual barrier!

A couple of ideas about the Ancient Sarcophagus began to emerge in his mind.
What did the solid red crystal coffin contain?

”We have studied this unique relic of alien origin extensively and have confirmed the presence of an alien body locked inside.
The body is intact, though we have not been able to glean any further methods due to the red crystal in the way.
What we can tell is that the alien inside is a humanoid creature and is likely part of the race that built and occupied the ruins! ”

A number of guests lost interest.
The Ancient Sarcophagus may look impressive, but it did not appear to be useful in a direct fashion.
A powerful mech or a resilient suit of armor would have been a lot more useful in improving someone ’s battle capabilities.

Its main use seemed to be ornamental, which meant that only the collectors and those who wanted to acquire more prestige remained interested.
This was good news to Ves because it cut down the competition drastically.

However, competing against collectors wasn ’t always a good thing.
Ves knew their type well.
Some were very fanatic about acquiring unique and interesting pieces to their collections.

They were sometimes willing to spend an insane amount of money to indulge in their obsession!

Ves raised his hand.
”I want this. ”

”You sure? ” Finlay couldn ’t hide the surprise and skepticism in his distorted tone.
”I wouldn ’t think a mech designer like you would be interested.
Just look at it! It ’s an ancient coffin! ”

”Regardless, I have made my choice.
Please secure the Ancient Sarcophagus.
I am willing to begin working on your commission as soon as possible. ”

This caused Finlay to pause for a time.
He was probably considering the difficulty of acquiring the Ancient Sarcophagus.
Since it was left as one of the last ten items put up for auction, the amount of firthals required to outbid the other auction goers would definitely be considerable!

Nonetheless, Ves had been right about the amount of leverage he possessed.
Despite Finlay ’s obvious reluctance to compete over the Ancient Sarcophagus, he gave a decisive answer.

”I ’ll do what you want.
I hope you won ’t renege on your promises. ”

”I won ’t.
You can trust me.
I never break a promise. ”

In the meantime, the auctioneer finished describing the embellish background of the Ancient Sarcophagus.

As soon as the round of bidding opened up, Finlay immediately inputted an astonishing sum in his bidding tool!

”750 million firthals! ”

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