The auction continued, with one rare Pokémon after another being sold off in succession. Although many were not as precious as the first Charmander, some were still rare items that ordinary people rarely got to see. Wen Qi found them interesting but did not place any bids. He knew well that his financial resources were limited, and he couldn't blindly bid on impulse. Besides, for him, these items were neither essential nor a loss to pass up.
Thus, the auction proceeded in a heated and tense atmosphere for a full hour. Then, Wu Li on the stage announced: "The first half of the auction has concluded. Everyone, take a break. We'll begin the second half in half an hour." With that, the first half came to an end. After the intense and thrilling hour, everyone felt somewhat exhausted. Some people stepped out to stretch their legs or chatted with neighbors about the items just sold. Others left in a hurry, clearly up to no good.
In the upstairs private booth, Li Xiang and Wen Qi were leisurely sipping tea. During the auction, Li Xiang had also purchased some items. He spent 1.5 million on a high-grade Fire Stone and bought a hundred high-grade perfect Fire-type Energy Blocks, costing him 400,000. Wen Qi, upon hearing these prices, realized he was still too inexperienced. The Energy Blocks he had sold earlier were indeed priced a bit low, but fortunately, he hadn't lost too much. He had also forgotten to ask Li Xiang earlier if items could be submitted for auction on-site before the event began. But now that the auction was halfway through, asking would be pointless.
As Wen Qi was pondering, Li Xiang said: "The first half is over. The authenticity of the items sold so far was mostly verified by the auction house, so they're basically genuine. If you bought a fake, you could demand compensation. However, in the second half, some items the auction house itself can't verify as real or fake. You might get a bargain, or you might take a loss. Wen Qi, if you're not sure later, don't bid."
Hearing this, Wen Qi finally understood why some people had left earlier. He had assumed they had urgent matters. It turned out that some, aware of their own uncertainty and lack of self-control, simply left to avoid being scammed. Now, Wen Qi was genuinely intrigued by the second half. With his system, nothing could escape his discerning eye.
Li Xiang, noticing that Wen Qi hadn't bid on anything earlier, assumed he was short on funds. So he said: "Wen Qi, are you a bit tight on money? Want me to lend you some?" "No need. I just haven't seen anything I really want. Some things caught my interest, but the prices were too high and not worth it." Li Xiang wasn't sure if Wen Qi was genuinely uninterested or just broke, but since Wen Qi said so, he dropped the matter.
Thus, half an hour quickly passed. The hall, which had been brightly lit, dimmed once more, leaving only the auction stage bathed in light. Then, auctioneer Wu Li stepped out and announced: "The black market auction, second half, begins now. I believe everyone knows the rules of the black market's second half, so I won't elaborate further. Alright, let's welcome the first item: an Imperial-era gemstone necklace, starting bid at 500,000."
However, when an ordinary-looking Imperial-era gemstone necklace appeared on the display stand, the crowd's interest seemed lukewarm. The gem on the necklace shimmered faintly. Despite its historical background, in the Pokémon world, such gems weren't particularly valuable. After all, in this world, strength and rarity were the key measures of value, while items like gems often served merely as decorations or souvenirs.
Yet, to Wen Qi, this seemingly mundane gemstone necklace caught his special attention. Through his system's prompt, Wen Qi was astonished to discover that this gem was actually a Scizor Mega Stone! For some reason, in this world, Mega Stones had been discovered but were treated as ordinary gems. People had no idea of their miraculous effects—but Wen Qi did. His Scizor was already quite powerful, and the Mega Stone was a rare item that could trigger Mega Evolution in Pokémon. Once used, it could unleash the latent power within a Pokémon, making Scizor even stronger.
Wen Qi's heart raced with excitement. He knew the true value of this Mega Stone far exceeded 500,000. He glanced around and saw that no one else seemed to recognize its real worth, so he decided to seize this rare opportunity. Raising his bidding paddle, Wen Qi called out without hesitation: "600,000!"
This price immediately sparked surprise and murmurs among the crowd, but Wen Qi paid them no mind. He understood that for a gem capable of enabling Scizor's Mega Evolution, this price was actually quite low. Although for a gem, this wasn't a small sum, the Imperial-era gem still held appeal for some researchers, who began bidding as well. After a fierce round of bidding, Wen Qi ultimately secured the gemstone necklace for one million. He felt a surge of excitement and satisfaction, as if he could already envision his Scizor's powerful form after Mega Evolution.
Li Xiang found Wen Qi's purchase of this gem a bit odd and asked: "Wen Qi, what's so special about this gem? You didn't buy all those other things, so why this one?" Wen Qi replied: "I have a younger sister at home. She's not blood-related, but we've always been close. I haven't seen her in a long time, so I wanted to give her this gem as a birthday gift." Li Xiang sensed that Wen Qi's excuse was somewhat evasive, but he had only asked out of casual curiosity and wasn't particularly concerned about the real reason behind Wen Qi's purchase.
Seeing that Li Xiang didn't press further, Wen Qi breathed a sigh of relief. He honestly couldn't think of a better excuse for why he bought it, so he had to settle for that one. Wen Qi hadn't expected such a big haul from this black market trip. He had found a Key Stone at the flea market above and now a Scizor Mega Stone at the black market auction below. Was this fate? Thinking about it, Wen Qi couldn't help but smile happily.
Li Xiang, puzzled by Wen Qi's expression, figured it must have something to do with the gem. Though he didn't know its secret, the fact that Wen Qi valued it so much—even grinning from ear to ear—meant it was definitely something important and precious. It seemed that if he ever came across similar items at a reasonable price, he might consider buying them. Even if he had no use for them, he could give them to Wen Qi to build a connection.