TK finished speaking and hung up the communication without hesitation, not even leaving the other party any time to ask questions. He simply wasn't willing to waste time on a matter that had no significance to him.

After all, if he initially had confidence in defeating Feng Yi, his certainty had waned after Feng Yi had killed the Faceless Power King. He realized that he had underestimated Feng Yi; the strength of the Faceless Power King was not inferior to his own. At the very least, he would never dare to claim he could take down such a person in a mere 30 seconds, yet Feng Yi was capable of doing so, which sufficiently proved the terror of his strength. Seeing that the time of their scheduled duel was drawing near, however, he decided that now was the time to...

The St. Marlo Auction House was located on a bustling street in the Northern Village. 'Bustling' is relative to the economy of Mardis, of course. Crossing the ancient and nostalgic Walda Road, one could clearly see the white buildings atop the tower. Every day, numerous bodyguards were seen patrolling the area... But today, not only were the bodyguards nowhere to be found, but even the nearby city wall guards had been assembled and were on standby.

Bella inside the room was already regretting her choices deeply. The Northern Village had always seldom mingled with external forces, and now she had provoked such a devil. When she learned through the words of a young servant that the man's identity was none other than Feng Yi, her body shook involuntarily...

Who was Feng Yi? The brigade commander of the God's Thorn, a Special Envoy tasked with combat operations in Mardis for the Federal Army, leveling this place would be a matter of just a few words for him. She had certainly heard of Feng Yi but had never met him in person. Learning that she faced such a terrifying existence, Bella almost collapsed to the ground. She hurriedly explained that the previous incident was a total misunderstanding, insisting that she would never cause difficulties for the Federal Army, let alone someone of such an esteemed status.

Feng Yi himself also didn't want to make things difficult for her. After all, every place had its rules, and if he put himself in her shoes, it actually made sense. He was merely an unknown man dressed in black, whereas the other party was indeed the person in charge of managing the Northern Village. Necessary discussions were had, and things that weren't supposed to be discussed were also addressed.

What angered Feng Yi was that, upon realizing that they couldn't get what they wanted, they actually chose to resort to force. He wasn't sure if they had used their killing moves at first, but after three seconds, it was clear they had murderous intent towards him. Since they harbored such intent, of course, he couldn't go soft. It was better to just knock them down.

Feng Yi said, "The misunderstanding is true, but now we must find a way to resolve this issue."

"What does the gentleman suggest...?" Bella decided to seek Feng Yi's opinion.

"Right now, I need some money."

Upon hearing this, a little weight was lifted off her heart. An issue that could be solved with money wasn't really an issue for Bella—wait a moment, it seemed something was wrong in the equation. The other party attacked her people, and yet she was the one to pay compensation? This, of course, wasn't the main point. In a region where strength reigned supreme, power was the real currency. But with Feng Yi, it was different. While money could solve most problems, it wouldn't be a small sum, given his status.

Bella was conflicted for a moment, but she still decided it was best to get rid of this devil as quickly as possible—the farther away, the better, and preferably never to meet again in her lifetime. She almost guaranteed, with a hard face, that she would fulfill his demands to the best of her ability, which could also be seen as compensation for the offense and punishment for her impulsiveness.

Feng Yi's thinking was quite simple: the auction's starting price for the levitation artifact was 100,000,000 in his heart. The other party wanted to buy it for just 10,000,000, clearly missing a zero. So, Feng Yi simply added another zero to his internal auction price, making it 1,000,000,000 G coins. This seemed fair—after all, if you are missing a zero, why shouldn't I add one more?

When Feng Yi stated his price for compensation, Bella was inwardly relieved, for the price was not high for someone of Feng Yi's status. However, she frowned and said the price was a bit too high.

In truth, Bella spoke without thinking. It was a bargaining habit she had developed over a long career as a merchant. Her mind was preoccupied with what Feng Yi might do to her or her family. While pondering this, she inadvertently let the words slip out. After speaking, she was filled with regret.

Feng Yi shrugged and smiled innocently, looking both guiltless and helpless. That smile made Bella breathe a slight sigh of relief, for perhaps he was not so difficult to negotiate with after all. The very next second, Feng Yi decided he no longer wanted the money. "Let's do it this way, I'll give you three seconds to decide. If you exceed the time, I consider it a loss for me."

"Wait, sir, I misspoke just now. I will compensate you double the amount," Bella said.

"But I've already changed my mind. Let's say 100; if we double that, it's 200. Of course, you have the right to choose."

"Okay, okay, I agree," she said.

As she spoke, Bella almost fainted from regret. Why did she, with nothing better to do, offer double the compensation out of misery? The other party was practically the devil. She didn't doubt that if she kept haggling, she might really not live through the day.

As for why she wouldn't survive, the reason was quite simple. If she tried to bargain a second time and then hoped to use money to save her life, he would probably increase the price tenfold based on the original amount. That's 100,000,000,000 * 10 * 2 = 2 trillion G coins!

Even though she controlled half the underground resources, it would be tough to gather 200 in a short period, let alone 2,000. Bear in mind, Mardis was not a commercial star, but a war-torn semi-Colonial Planet, where making such an amount of money was impossible.

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