Chapter 4128 — Goods from the Mortal Realm
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Yet at that very moment, as he looked upon the next lot to be presented, Wei Zhao's gaze abruptly froze.
"The next lot is supplied by the Central Nexus Chamber of Commerce—a high-tech product from the mortal realm that has lately become all the rage here on Cloud Stair Island: a digital single-lens reflex camera, together with a matching solar power bank. Starting bid: twenty thousand spirit jade!" the female auctioneer introduced it in a voice steeped in honeyed allure.
Looking at the digital SLR camera upon the silver tray, the eyes of everyone in the hall plainly took on a measure of fervor.
And Wei Zhao, at the very first glance, felt as though he had been struck by lightning. He sat frozen in his seat for a long while, unable to collect himself, one question repeating endlessly in his mind: how had such a thing been brought up here?
Normally, for anyone seeking to set foot on Cloud Stair Island through the teleportation array, every last piece of high-tech precision equipment would be destroyed by its formidable natural pressure. This was a hurdle no one could evade.
The only reason Wei Zhao had been able to bring his phone up was thanks to the jade pendant's space. No one else had a cheat of such heaven-defying power—surely there could not be some other jade pendant space in this world as well?
The others present, however, were not nearly so shocked as Wei Zhao. Lately a fever for technology had swept across Central Island; high-tech goods from the mortal realm had taken the entire island by storm. Each piece sold for a sky-high price, yet was still eagerly sought after, supply falling far short of demand.
"The Central Nexus Chamber of Commerce?" A jolt ran through Wei Zhao's heart. Why this chamber of commerce again? That Si Haitao fellow had undergone a sudden transformation and turned into the Central Nexus Chamber of Commerce's North Island manager, and now this same chamber had somehow produced high-tech goods from the mortal realm. Something about it felt a little sinister and strange.
"Has Young Hero Lin not heard of it? It is a chamber of commerce that has risen only recently. No one can uncover who stands behind it, yet overnight it sprouted up everywhere like bamboo shoots after rain. By our calculations, its scale should by now be pressing hard upon our own Five Elements Chamber of Commerce," Cai Zhongxuan explained upon seeing his reaction.
"As exaggerated as that? That is a little frightening, is it not?" Wei Zhao was startled to hear it.
The Five Elements Chamber of Commerce had the Pill Hall as its powerful backing and had for all these years been the undisputed first chamber of commerce. Had it been some other top-tier chamber with deep foundations—the Hong family's, say—closing the gap, that would have been easier to understand. But this Central Nexus Chamber of Commerce was a newly risen chamber that had appeared out of nowhere.
"It is not only you, Young Hero Lin—we in the trade are shocked no less than you, and perhaps more. Yet however hard it is to believe, they have done it. It may not be long before this Central Nexus Chamber of Commerce seizes the leading position outright and becomes a legend of the business world," Cai Zhongxuan sighed with no small emotion.
Even as the two of them spoke, bids were rising all around them, one after another. In mere moments the price had already reached fifty thousand spirit jade, and from the look of things, the crowd had no intention of giving up yet.
"This is simply absurd!" Wei Zhao could not help clicking his tongue in speechless amazement. "In the mortal realm this thing is everywhere on the streets—nothing rare at all, and worth hardly anything. That it can fetch such a sky-high price here—a whole day's sales at my Heaven Pill Pavilion would not match one of these digital cameras! What kind of world is this…"