Chapter 85: The Auction
Huai Yu followed Boss Tang curiously and whispered, “This is my first time attending an auction at the police station. It’s so new to me.”
Boss Tang coughed twice. “I haven’t been to many either… all this trouble started with the mutations. But my friend, he really didn’t do anything bad—just resold some meat, eggs, and milk from the Livestock Institute…”
Bad timing—he got caught.
Huai Yu found his words strangely familiar, and a suspicion crept into her heart.
“Then… does he sell chicks?” she asked cautiously.
“Huh? Chicks?” Boss Tang thought for a bit, then shook his head. “Nah. High mutation ones are tough and resilient, no market for those here. The low mutation ones are too fragile, just like regular chicks—they die easily. Selling live ones is a losing business.”
Huai Yu secretly sighed in relief. Boss Tang, curious, asked, “Why? You want to raise chicks? I can ask around for you.”
She already had four chickens at home. Though she’d love more, she only had 1000 points left…
“Forget it,” Huai Yu shook her head. “Just finished renovating the house. I only have a thousand left.”
Boss Tang found that perfectly reasonable.
“Huaicheng is calm now. Everyone’s fixing up their broken-down patchwork homes, and the security systems need upgrading too.”
“Besides, most people weren’t even living in their own houses before. If we’re starting fresh, we have to renovate, right? Haven’t you noticed building materials have gotten more expensive?”
Huai Yu thought: I don’t care about building materials!
Let them get more expensive! It means Wu Yue has to pay more—great!
As they chatted, they were led into a small conference room.
The room was packed. Boss Tang had clearly pulled some strings, and someone in the front row waved him over. When they saw he brought a stranger, they scooted over to make room.
Huai Yu smiled politely and sat down quietly.
On the stage stood a uniformed middle-aged man, stern-faced, speaking in the most serious tone, “Recently, we’ve received citizen reports of extensive reselling activities at the Hongsheng Trading Market…”
“A twelve-hour crackdown began at dawn yesterday, resulting in three arrests and the seizure of 21 items, with a market value of over 8000 points…”
Murmurs rippled through the room.
Everyone here already knew the scoop—and had enough points to try snagging a bargain. As they listened to the report, tension rose.
They didn’t care about reselling. They just wanted a good deal.
In the corner stood three dejected men in handcuffs, heads hung low against the wall.
No one knew which one was Boss Tang’s friend. No one knew if the goose egg had hatched. Could it still be snagged on the cheap?
Huai Yu looked around curiously. On stage, the report ended quickly, and the man gave a crisp command:
“Now, item one will present the high-value goods he resold.”
Someone brought in the item. The man in front—head bowed—took the tray and stepped up.
He hesitated for a long moment, unable to say anything. A police officer beside him prompted, “You’ve got one minute—three, two—”
“I-I-I…” the man stammered.
“I’m Kang Hongliang! I resold new rice seed stock from the Agricultural Research Institute, which caused newly tilled premium farmland to be overtaken and polluted by mutated rice—”
“Ahem!” the guard interrupted. “Be specific. What kind of infestation?”
Kang Hongliang shut his eyes and said loudly, “The land was overtaken by barnyard grass with roots 5 meters deep, causing others significant property loss…”
Huai Yu was stunned.
Wait, your mutated rice is called barnyard grass?! Why not just call it wild chives?! What even is this research?!
“No choice,” Boss Tang leaned over, clearly seeing her confusion. “It’s the cataclysm. Lots of mutated plants. Some evolve stronger, some regress. And some get parasitized by more dominant species…”
Before he finished, the man on stage closed his eyes like a martyr and shouted,
“I! Kang Hongliang! Age 36! Married with kids! A total failure and shameless! For money, I faked goods, disrupted the market, and nearly caused a catastrophe!”
“All profits from this crime are forfeited, mutated seeds will be auctioned, and I’m fined double—must pay within a year.”
“I’m also responsible for clearing 13 acres of mutated barnyard grass roots…”
Hiss!
Huai Yu was genuinely shocked.
The cost of getting caught reselling was really steep.
Boss Tang sighed beside her. “See, Little Yu? That’s why you can’t let the amount get too high.”
“When you’re doing the cleanup work, they make you wear a tag on your chest. One scan of your wristband, and it shows what crime you committed… it’s ultimate social death.”
“Can’t do it. Just can’t.”
“Little Yu, make sure you hold it in later, okay?”
Huai Yu nodded solemnly. “Got it. I definitely will!”
Soon after, the mutated rice seeds went up for auction.
The price…
“Starting bid: 10 points per jin. Total: 15 jin.”
“Mutation value: 41, in the direction of regression.”
“Oversized barnyard grass seeds—visually identical to rice!”
“To prevent market fraud, we’ll spray anti-counterfeit paint…”
No one wanted this stuff. What for? To feed cows? Who would dare feed their prized cow something with a 41 mutation value?!
Not to mention it probably tasted terrible—worse than dog food!
The room fell silent. No one raised a hand. Onstage, Kang Hongliang visibly relaxed.
Then suddenly, Boss Tang raised his hand, “150 points. I’ll take it all.”
Huai Yu’s eyes widened. Everyone stared at him. Kang Hongliang on stage looked utterly stunned.
Even if it was only 150 points, it still counted toward his resale amount!
Who was this wicked person, buying barnyard grass?!
But Boss Tang remained calm under the crowd’s gaze:
“Ruining farmland is serious. As a responsible citizen, I must help ensure this man remembers the consequences of his actions.”
His tone was powerful and righteous. Kang Hongliang looked like he wanted to burn him with his eyes.
Huai Yu stared at Boss Tang, then thought of her own struggles cultivating land. She mustered her courage and raised her hand too, “160 points! I want it!”
Now it was Boss Tang’s turn to look at her in disbelief.
“What are you gonna do with that?!”
Huai Yu hesitated and whispered, “I’ve never seen something with a mutation value of 41 before… I want to study it.”
