All the way downstairs, Chen Ran didn't seem to have recovered, Xu Yinian stretched out his hand and waved in front of his eyes: "Hey, are you stupid?"
"..."
Chen Ran slowly looked at him, and after a while he said to himself: "You have been up for half an hour, and you are still alive and kicking."
Just having a face-to-face meeting with Yu Huai, he seemed to have walked through the gate of hell.
Xu Yinian couldn't tell whether Chen Ran was praising him or hurting him for a while, and just wanted him to make it clear, Chen Ran let out a breath, and interrupted him first: "I didn't just come up here to get you, it's not convenient to say it just now."
Xu Yinian was taken aback: "What do you mean? No one is making trouble?"
Chen Ran cast a glance at him without saying a word, and finally understood that Xu Yinian's theoretical grades are always at the bottom of the list for no reason.
He whispered: "Two exorcists from our group disappeared. Not long after you went upstairs, their phone calls were disconnected. Contact spells didn't respond either."
As the team leader, Chen Ran is more careful. He drew a contact symbol for each team member so that they can keep in touch when the mobile phone is unavailable.
Xu Yinian's face changed slightly: "Have you contacted the Demon Elimination Bureau here?"
"I've contacted them, but their attitude is a bit strange." Chen Ran hesitated for a moment, "They gave me the feeling that they were perfunctory, saying that they would send special personnel to search, and asked me to focus on my work and wait for the notification."
After arriving in Qihai City, the exorcist from the local demon bureau repeatedly told them about various matters in the auction. In contrast, the attitude of the bureau to deal with emergencies was really perfunctory.
"They may know something, or in other words, disappearing one or two demon exorcisers is their default."
"The bird is quiet, the Qihai sub-bureau is quite awesome." Xu Yinian clicked his tongue, "Do you want to contact the academy?"
The college stipulates that during the assessment process, if a student's life is threatened, he can send a message to the college for help, but at the same time, it will also be regarded as failing the graduation assessment.
"When you were away, I consulted the opinions of other people in the group, and everyone else chose to contact the academy. This situation is too rare."
Xu Yinian had no objection: "Then contact the academy, anyway, we can make up the exam."
"One more thing. Jiang Qiuyue said that she heard the conversation between two monsters when she was standing guard at the small gate to the west."
"It's those two." The girl pointed to the two monsters not far away, one of them was idling with a cigarette in its mouth, and both of them were playing with their phones with their heads down. Judging from the uniforms, these two monsters should be the cleaners of the auction. "I heard from them that the auction during the day is really boring, but it's refreshing at night."
Jiang Qiuyue is not tall, she looks very petite standing next to Xu Yinian and Chen Ran, she looks nervous, as if she is worried that the two monsters will turn around suddenly.
"The auction in the demon world is only held during the daytime." Chen Ran stared at the two monsters, "What will happen after dark?"
"I don't know, you asked the wrong person." Xu Yinian said flatly.
"Team leader," Jiang Qiuyue's voice trembled, "What should we do? Su Tang and the others disappeared at some point, the college is so far away, and the Demon Elimination Bureau doesn't help, will they wait for the teachers to catch up? come over… "
"Don't think too much." Chen Ran comforted her.
Xu Yinian tilted his head: "There is a way, do you want to try it?"
The monster with a cigarette lazily exhaled smoke. He has three eyes, and all three eyes are drooping at the moment, with a very boring expression: "How long will it be over?"
"More than two hours." The monster who answered didn't look up. His appearance didn't belong to humans at first glance. His green skin looked like some kind of moss growing under the damp tree roots. The green skin cursed at the phone, "I Fuck! You order towers, what are you doing with the shooter? I really feel sick, is it hand disabled or brain disabled?"
"Keep your voice down!" Three Eyes yelled, "If the patrol finds you secretly playing games here, it will be enough for you to drink a pot!"
"Oh, oh, my fault, my fault, this is not really too angry..."
As soon as the words fell, the unsmoked cigarette with three eyes fell to the ground.
The two monsters looked at each other, but they didn't dare to move. Their backs were pressed against by someone's hand, and that person's fingertips were extremely hot, like a sharp burning weapon.
"Don't make a sound, and don't look back. Say one more word, and you two will be burned to ashes."
"Keep this posture and retreat," another voice rang out, "Retreat to the warehouse at the corner, and you go in one behind the other."
The two monsters looked at each other, and the three eyes nodded to the green skin first.
After entering the warehouse, Jiang Qiuyue, who had been waiting inside, handed over the hemp rope and tape that had been turned out. Xu Yinian was very nervous at the beginning when he proposed to tie up these two monsters to force her to question her, but when Xu Yinian and the others came back safely and the warehouse doors and windows were closed, Jiang Qiuyue suddenly gained courage: "Team leader, there are many good things here. Found screwdrivers, pliers, tweezers... need a chainsaw?"
Seeing the appearance of the three of them clearly and realizing their identities, the previously honest three eyes suddenly broke out: "What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Are you still caring about the Peaceful Coexistence Regulations?!"
The green skin followed suit and yelled: "Where are you demon extermination masters? What the hell is that? I was tied up without doing anything. What's my job number? I'll complain to you at the demon removal bureau tomorrow!"
Xu Yinian originally wanted to try to question the two of them, but when he heard this, he impatiently slapped the fruit knife in his hand on the container, and the point of the knife pierced three points: "Sure enough, I still have to call before asking."
"Wait!" Seeing him stepping forward, Chen Ran quickly pulled him and whispered softly, "Calm down! We're here to ask questions!"
After speaking, he faced the two monsters with a kind expression: "Don't worry, I just need you to answer a few questions. I hope you will cooperate well, otherwise everyone will be in trouble."
The three-eyed monster glanced at Xu Yinian. The boy's appearance was eye-catching, with white and dark skin, tall and thin. At first glance, he didn't look like a ruthless character. He's going to have a beating."
"Come on, come on, I said brother, do you want to teach you how to beat someone?"
Xu Yinian was too lazy to talk nonsense with them, his knuckles clicked.
"You two are so stupid. He is the young master of the Xu family. According to his status, he doesn't need to report for killing you two unknown pawns." Chen Ran said while holding Xu Yinian tightly. This kid didn't know what he ate to grow up, his arms looked slender, and his strength was so incomparable that Chen Ran almost couldn't hold it down anymore.
The three eyes, who were still full of disdain just now, suddenly changed their expression: "You are Xu, Xu... Yu, Yu Huai's..."
Hearing the name of the evil god, the green skin also had an ugly face: "Ghost, ghost clan..."
Xu Yinian subconsciously denied it: "Huh? I don't—"
Chen Ran pinched Xu Yinian in time, suggesting that he should not speak yet.
He had heard that Yu Huai had a lot of prestige in the Yaozu, but he didn't expect that the two of them would turn their attention to this. Chen Ran simply pushed the boat along: "Since you know what kind of relationship he has with Yu Huai, you'd better be more conscious."
Xu Yinian opened his mouth several times, but when he saw Three Eyes and Green Skin trembled when he heard Yu Huai's name, he resisted the rebuttal.
He obviously has nothing to do with Yu Huai, borrowing the other party's name like this...
Xu Yinian felt a little guilty, and his ears turned slightly red.
It's a pity that Three Eyes didn't notice these details at all: "You, you fart! Yu Huai and him have already broken up!"
The green skin had already lost the ability to use his brain, and now he nodded frantically following the three eyes.
Chen Ran revealed a confusing relationship in a few words: "You should all know that today's high price auction has caused a lot of trouble. This thing was originally not worth the price. Who do you think is being taken advantage of and ignorant of the goods? Wrong, it was Yu Huai's special auction. Come down to please him."
Jiang Qiuyue was almost fascinated by watching their performance from the sidelines, but when she heard this, her cheeks blushed, and she suddenly realized: "So that's the case! Yu Huai is... so infatuated."
Xu Yinian couldn't listen anymore: "Stop spreading rumors, that's not what he meant—"
Chen Ran stomped on him secretly.
Xu Yinian gasped in pain, if it wasn't for the situation, he really wanted to turn against Chen Ran.
"It's true that they broke up, but Yu Huai's attitude towards him..." Chen Ran smiled slightly, everything was kept silent.
These two monsters are the staff of the auction, so they naturally know who took the picture of today's water on fire. The three eyes of the three eyes showed a look of bewilderment, fear, or just trick them.
Chen Ran took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire: "You don't need to believe this, but he has a bad temper and always kills without blinking an eye."
Xu Yinian waited for a long time, and finally heard the signal to do it, he pulled out the fruit knife inserted in the container just now, and walked forward with the knife: "You don't want to say it, do you? Okay, don't say it in this life. "
Three eyes: "..."
Greenskin: "..."
The green skin was the first to be unable to stand it any longer, and he said with a mournful face, "No, brother, even if I am willing to recruit, after making such a big circle, what exactly do you want to ask?"
The corridor was dimly lit, and there was a mildew smell in the air. It was hard to imagine such a dark and damp tunnel in this palace-like villa. Xu Yinian's hands were handcuffed behind his back, and the green skin held the chain that locked him, and the two walked forward one after the other.
A little further away, the three eyes were on Chen Ran, whose hands were locked just like him. The light at the end of the corridor gradually brightened, and the noisy voices in the auction house could be faintly heard. Xu Yinian warned in a low voice: "Don't make small moves, I can kill you at any time."
The bright blue-purple lightning flashed past his fingertips, and Green Skin's hands were numb from the shock, and he said with a bitter face: "Don't dare, absolutely dare not."
According to these two monsters, under this gorgeous building is hidden the once-in-a-decade carnival of the monster clan. The daytime auction is just a show by the organizer to deceive the demon masters. The monsters pretend to live in peace with the demon masters. They share a room with human guests and exchange bloody auction items for treasures that humans can accept until night falls. Only then reveals the true nature. The real demon world auction is only held underground.
After listening to the narration of these two monsters, realizing that the longer the delay, the more ominous the missing team members will be. After discussing with Xu Yinian, Chen Ran and Xu Yinian decided to take the risk of sneaking into the auction.
This year's underground auction is hosted by the Illusory Demon Clan, and the invitees will receive an invitation letter from the organizer to enter the venue. As employees of the auction venue, Three Eyes and Green Skin can only take them along this dark and secret aisle. Because the employees of the underground auction have strict identity checks, after deliberation, Jiang Qiuyue stayed on the ground and waited for the academy. To rescue, Chen Ran and Xu Yinian disguised themselves as captured goods and were brought into the underground auction venue by two monsters.
Once entering the ground, ordinary contact spells will be invalid, so Xu Yinian had no choice but to form a concentric spell with Chen Ran. This charm, usually used by couples to listen to each other, has always been free from outside interference. At the moment when the spell was cast, Xu Yinian and Chen Ran both heard retching in each other's heart.
The wall lamp pulled people out of the slanted shadow, walked around the last corner of the corridor, and Xu Yinian caught a glimpse of a strange and curious corner of the auction venue.
Different from the square auction hall above, the site structure here is circular, like the Colosseum in ancient Rome. Xu Yinian wasn't sure how many monsters he saw, he even felt that the faces he saw by accident belonged to the fugitives on the wanted warrant, hundreds of monsters stared excitedly at the booth, and the sound of quotations came from all around and discussion.
"five million!"
"Five and a half million!"
"Do you want to buy sixty years of life with such a little money? The market is getting worse and worse."
"Isn't it because of the suppression by the Demon Elimination Bureau? What was the final turnover of the auction ten years ago?"
Having said that, the price is still soaring all the way, and some monsters who participated in the auction couldn't help but said to the surroundings: "All of you are young and eager to rejuvenate? What are you grabbing from us old guys—seven million!"
Several children stood on the booth.
The girls wore little dresses, the boys wore little suits, and a row of children were all dressed up like dolls in a window.
[They are buying life. ] Xu Yinian opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
[But this is forbidden. ] Chen Ran was also stunned, and a surprised voice sounded in Xu Yinian's head, [This has already violated the law of the Demon Elimination Bureau, and as a child, this is a capital offense...]
Lifespan cannot be obtained out of thin air, it can only be exchanged for life. Sacrifice human life to monsters, and monsters will have a longer lifespan.
When the two exchanged, the sixty-year lifespan shot a frighteningly high number. After the host announced the price, he invited a hunched monster wrapped in a cloak to come on stage.
Chen Ran said: [changing life teacher. ]
Xu Yinian stared intently at the monster under the cloak: [Didn't it mean that all life-changers are in jail? What's going on with the sponsor of this damn place? ! ]
The host continued: "Please sit on the stage at No. 13, Area C, and the life-changer will exchange your lifespan for you."
The buyer who won the auction was an elderly banshee. Under the watchful eyes of the audience, the banshee went up to the booth with a full face. The changer signals to the buyer to pick a child. After the selection, the life-changer grabbed the selected boy with one hand and the buyer's wrist with the other.
I don't know what the life-changer did, but the boy's figure grew rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. In contrast, the white hair on the banshee's temples faded to black, and the wrinkles around the eyes disappeared. The boy eventually becomes a man, and the old succubus regresses back to middle age.
The banshee showed joy, she kept looking at her hands with tight skin, and kept stroking her face with her hands. Even though the human boy became an adult in his twenties, he still behaved like a child. Because of the severe growth pain and being stuck in ill-fitting clothes, the human boy suddenly burst into wailing.
This show made the monsters in the venue burst into applause, and they happily said: "One more!" "One more girl!"
After being deprived of life, even if they are lucky enough to return to normal human society, it is difficult for children with adult appearance to adapt to life again.
"Brother, don't look at it, don't look at it." Green Skin hastily reminded him in a low voice behind Xu Yinian, "If you look at it any longer, you'll reveal yourself."
Xu Yinian suppressed his emotions, and the green skin pretended to teach him a lesson, and walked to him fiercely: "Hurry up! Do you want to die if you procrastinate?"
Xu Yinian turned his face expressionlessly, and the green skin lowered his voice to his ear: "There is a small room in the front, which is the place for inspection of goods. Normally, the goods will be sent to the backstage. But brother, your picture The face might be a bit dangerous, they should let you go to the second floor."
Before he could explain further, the green skin pushed him forward. The monster inspecting the goods saw them escorting the two exorcists, and whistled: "Hey, there's a new one."
The green skin twisted Xu Yinian's chin: "Look, the goods this time are not ordinary."
Xu Yinian was swept from the beginning to the end by the monster with malicious intentions, his blunt and naked eyes seemed to be glued to him, and he was so angry that he almost leaked electricity.
After a long while, the monster smiled: "It is indeed a valuable beauty. Send him to the second floor, those distinguished guests will definitely like it."