"You gave the most money, so take this knife handle. In the future, you can ask for my help once—not just for medical treatment, but for anything." Joe Di looked at the last woman remaining, pointed at the only knife handle left, and said.
"Thank you, Senior, for saving my life," Wu Jin Hai quickly bowed in gratitude. She knew all too well how miserable her fate would have been after Quentin Jia's death. Joe Di had protected her from these powerful figures—even though danger still lingered, she was much safer than before. As long as she could make good use of the resources available to her, surviving this ordeal was not impossible.
"That's a good name," Joe Di remarked casually, then sent a fireball onto Quentin Jia's body before shouldering his large pack and leaving. The compliment was only because Wu Jin Hai had helped him acquire billions from Quentin Jia.
Watching Joe Di leave, Wu Jin Hai instinctively wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had thought she was doomed today, but unexpectedly, she had survived.
As Joe Di reached the doorway, he suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, "You know about the upcoming auction on Celestia, right?"
"Yes, yes," Wu Jin Hai hurriedly replied with a bow.
Joe Di felt a surge of joy—just as he'd suspected, Wu Jin Hai knew about the auction. "Then do you know where it's going to be held?" he asked.
"It's on the auction ticket. I have Quentin Jia's auction ticket here..."
The ticket has the location? Joe Di thought to himself—he had a ticket, but hadn't noticed any such detail.
"Let me see the ticket," Joe Di stopped and said, frowning.
"Y-yes..." Wu Jin Hai actually lifted the hem of her lower garment, revealing a delicate little blue-green coin pouch fastened at her waist.
Wu Jin Hai opened the blue-green pouch and took out a ticket. No, Joe Di realized—it wasn't a ticket, but rather a key card.
Joe Di reached out and took the key card from Wu Jin Hai. It was even smaller than an ID card. On it, the auction date, location, and box number were clearly printed...
He even had a private box. The hard paper ticket Violet Zane had given him earlier only listed the auction date—no location at all.
"Why didn't the ticket I got have a location?" Joe Di asked offhandedly.
Wu Jin Hai clearly knew more about the auction than Joe Di. "Senior, there are three types of auction tickets. The first is a box ticket, the second is a regular ticket—both of these have the location printed. The third is an add-on ticket, which must be used together with a box or regular ticket to enter. You can't enter alone with it, so there's no address on those."
So that woman had played him. Joe Di felt a bit annoyed. In other words, if he hadn't taught Violet Zane the Second Blade, she would still have had to take him to the auction, since his ticket was only an add-on. He couldn't enter the auction alone.
It was clear that even with his ticket, he'd have to sit beside Violet Zane or whoever held the main ticket.
This kind of auction ticket was not what he wanted at all.
"Senior, anyone can use these auction tickets. You can fly to the Celestia auction transfer station on Renhai Isle from Switzerland, where someone will pick you up. Or you can take the Celestia VII from Hong Kong North Bay Pier directly, though the boat takes some time and you'd need to leave now." Wu Jin Hai noticed Joe Di's sour mood and understood he needed the auction ticket.
"Alright, thank you again. I owe you a favor. In the future, bring me that knife handle—no matter how big the matter, I'll help you." With that, Joe Di quickly left the conference room.
If he hadn't asked about attending the auction, his fate would have still been in someone else's hands. All the money he'd gained would have been useless.
Joe Di was born into a wealthy family and never cared much about money. If not for this auction, he wouldn't have bothered to register at all.
Though his registration felt somewhat forced, he was a man of his word. If someone who'd registered with him sought his help in the future, he'd definitely step in.
Getting to Hong Kong was easy—just a flight away. Two days later, Joe Di arrived at Hong Kong North Bay Pier. As soon as he reached the pier, he saw the massive Celestia VII.
The auction key card clearly stated that to attend the Celestia auction, he needed to board the Celestia VII.
Joe Di cast a Purify Spell on himself and walked toward the Celestia VII.
Even though Joe Di's pack looked a bit worn, he himself appeared neat and refreshed. When he presented his auction ticket, he was immediately and respectfully ushered to a seaview suite on Celestia VII.
The bedroom was spacious, which pleased Joe Di greatly. After sending the attendant away, the first thing he did was check the room for cameras.
After a thorough inspection, he found no surveillance devices. It seemed this ship could be trusted.
Only now did Joe Di set down his large pack and take out four boxes from inside—two larger ones and two smaller ones.
He hadn't paid much attention when he hastily stuffed these boxes into his bag. Now, taking them all out, he realized they were made of jade. How rich did that bastard have to be? Never mind what was inside—the boxes alone were worth a fortune.
Joe Di opened the smallest box first. As he lifted the lid, a gentle, faint red glow shimmered out. In the center lay a stone, slightly larger than a quail egg.
"This is a pink diamond..." Joe Di exclaimed in awe, picking up the gem. He wasn't a novice—this diamond would be a treasure fought over by countless people in Jiguo.
It symbolized status, wealth, and luxury...
Even though Joe Di didn't care much about diamonds, he knew this was an exceptional one. Its value alone probably exceeded a billion alliance coins.
After returning the diamond to its box, Joe Di opened the second box.
A dazzling blue light shone forth. Thanks to the first diamond, Joe Di instantly recognized this as another diamond—this time, a blue diamond.
This diamond was even larger than the pink one—about the size of a small egg. Joe Di held it in his hand and estimated it weighed over a hundred grams.
No wonder Quentin Jia had holed up in Daicheng City—with these two diamonds in his collection, the returns were limitless.
With two diamonds this large in Quentin Jia's hands, Joe Di could almost see the trail of blood behind them.
Unless Quentin Jia had mined these himself, there must have been bloodshed involved. After Daicheng City discovered its diamond mine, countless merchants came to extract gems. Joe Di didn't believe both diamonds came solely from Quentin Jia's mine.
However they were acquired, to Joe Di, these two diamonds were simply money.
After stowing the blue diamond, Joe Di opened the third, slightly larger jade box. A soft, milky white glow spread out, and inside were at least ten egg-sized objects.
Ten white diamonds? Joe Di was overjoyed—so many large white diamonds, how much could they fetch? How did that guy even collect them all...
But Joe Di quickly realized he was mistaken—these weren't diamonds. Not only did these white stones emit a gentle glow, they also radiated a soothing spiritual energy. Yes, spiritual energy...
Joe Di hurriedly grabbed one and placed it in his palm. A wave of pleasure-inducing energy seeped into his body. With a slight circulation of the Grandwalk Codex, he immediately sensed a complete meridian cycle forming.
This was dozens of times faster than his usual cultivation!
Spirit stones? Joe Di quickly realized it. The Grandwalk Codex hadn't mentioned spirit stones, but his Secrets of the Martial King did. Even for Ethan Di, the Di family ancestor, spirit stones were rare treasures. Yet Joe Di had managed to obtain ten at once.
Coming to Daicheng City had truly been the right decision. To Joe Di, spirit stones were worth far more than diamonds.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends.)