The room fell into stunned silence. The fourth bidder, a man with an aura of calm confidence, had remained silent until this climactic moment, his bid shattering the previous record and causing ripples of shock and intrigue throughout the audience. The auctioneer, momentarily taken aback, quickly regained composure.
"Four million S Coins," the auctioneer's voice rang out, echoing through the grand hall. "Do we have any further bids?"
The tension in the room was palpable. The cloaked figure, the man in the golden suit, and the woman stared at the figure, their expressions a mixture of surprise and frustration. They had all expended significant resources on the previous items and were now faced with a formidable competitor.
The man in the golden suit raised his hand slightly, indicating his intention to bid higher. But after a moment's hesitation, he withdrew. The cloaked figure and the woman followed suit, their resolve clearly shaken by the unexpected bid.
The auctioneer, seeing no further bids, raised the gavel. "Going once... going twice... sold! To the gentleman in the fourth row."
As the gavel came down, the grand hall erupted in applause and murmurs of excitement. The man in the fourth row remained composed, nodding slightly as he accepted the winning bid. Reign and his team watched him intently, intrigued by his sudden and decisive entry into the auction.
The auctioneer, now visibly pleased with the evening's success, addressed the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation in tonight's auction."
"We hope you have enjoyed the event and wish you all a pleasant evening."
With that, the auction officially concluded. The attendees began to disperse, some making their way to settle their payments while others congregated in small groups, discussing the evening's events and speculating about the identity and motives of the bidders.
Reign turned to his team, his expression thoughtful. "We need to keep an eye on that fourth bidder, he's a wildcard, and we don't know his intentions."
Wolf nodded in agreement. "Agreed, he stayed under the radar the entire auction, only to make a move at the very end, that kind of strategy suggests he's not to be underestimated."
The team subtly followed the man as he made his way through the crowd, careful not to draw attention to themselves. They watched as he exchanged a few words with the auction staff, finalizing the payment for the saber. The man then turned and headed towards the exit, his movements deliberate and unhurried.
As he walked toward the exit and got near it, he suddenly stopped and glanced to the side before showing a slight smile.
"Might I know why the leader of the Heaven's Hooligans is waiting for me near the exit?"
"I would like to get acquainted with you, a person with your strength and the decisiveness to wait until the very end to buy an item is definitely not a person to be underestimated." Reign stated with a smile as he approached the man who chuckled.
"Are you not angry at me?"
"Did you learn anything?" Wolf asked Reign who nodded his head.
He started telling them of how the man, Richard, acted, the way he spoke, the way he moved, the way he was calm and collected and how his face was hidden, what people saw was not his real face but a disguise.
The more Reign spoke, the more Jin's face started changing, a confused expression present on it. Reign noticed it, but continued speaking as he thought that maybe Jin knew Richard. After all, he was one of the leaders of an Order, and it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary if 'Richard' was a member of an order in the past, just like how Carlos and Marco were in the past.
"Reign, how were you able to notice that his face was not his true face?" Jin asked Reign before staring at him with a serious expression.
"Were there any forms of disruptions that you could see around his hair, sometimes a bit around the ears maybe?"
"His eyes could have also looked a bit weird, as if they were a bit bleak, not really all there, right?"
"Yeah, that's right ... how ... how do you know that, Uncle Jin?" Reign asked as Jin's face turned serious, as well as angry.
"Tell me, what name did he give you, how did he call himself?"
"Richard."
In that instant, Jin's aura exploded around him, the air distorting while the guards who were employed by Reign and the others quickly appeared, as did one of the two head guards who was a Tier VII combatant.
"Sir, please refrain from allowing your aura to-"
"Shut up," Jin said coldly, causing even the Tier VII combatant to feel a cold chill go down his back before Reign glanced at him and shook his head.
"It's alright, we'll deal with it, thank you for your quick appearance."
"Uncle ... who was that?" Reign asked, but deep inside, he believed he already knew the answer.
For his uncle to have such a reaction, and for him to know about the reason why Reign noticed that Richard's face was a disguise, it all pointed to one answer.
He would not lose his cool and explode with his aura if the person that Reign had met was just a random person he might have known.
"He ... is the one we have hunted ever since your father died, the one we all believed was the culprit behind the death of your parents."