I am the Clone of a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 187: Chapter 169: Snatching the Spring Water

Su Ze quickly gave up on bidding for the Spirit Root Tree Marrow. He couldn’t compete with the old folks who had one foot in the grave.

He was bidding with points; they were bidding with their lives. There was no comparison.

In the end, that small vial of Tree Marrow was sold for the sky-high price of nearly 1,500,000 points.

These kinds of natural medicines clearly possessed a value that far exceeded their grade due to their special effects.

Su Ze thought back to his time in the Black Rock Mountain Range. That single mouthful he drank back then was probably worth tens of billions, and the thought made his heart ache.

The auction continued, but Su Ze had completely given up on the other items. He was just waiting for the Miracle Spring Water to appear.

After what felt like an eternity, with countless Evolution Items being sold off, it was finally time for the second-to-last item of the auction.

The auctioneer’s voice drew Su Ze’s attention back to the stage.

”Next up is the penultimate treasure of our auction, a single drop of Miracle Spring Water! The uses for this treasure are so great and numerous that I don’t need to go into detail. I’m sure many of our friends here came specifically for it... I can already see the eager looks in many of your eyes, so I won’t waste any more time. Let’s get right to it.”

”The bidding for the Miracle Spring Water starts at 1,500,000 points! Each increment must be no less than 10,000 points!”

A lady in a qipao with a slit up to her thigh walked onto the auction stage carrying a tray. On that tray, enclosed in a crystal vial, was the single drop of Miracle Spring Water.

Su Ze immediately sat up straight. At the same time, he noticed that the Tiger King General in the front row had done the exact same thing.

Many people who had barely bid on anything the entire time also perked up.

”1,500,000!”

”1,600,000!”

”1,800,000!”

”...”

The bidding was fierce, and in the blink of an eye, the price shot up to 2,000,000!

Su Ze felt the pressure mount. Between what he could borrow and what he had on him, he’d probably have to sell everything he owned just to scrape together a little over four million points.

Fortunately, once the price broke 2,500,000, the pace of bidding slowed. The increments were no longer in the hundreds of thousands, but rather twenty or thirty thousand at a time.

Su Ze didn’t rush to make a bid. ’It’s pointless to bid too early if I can’t outbid the competition in the end.’

”2,800,000!” The Tiger King General finally made his move.

”2,850,000!” bid a middle-aged man with a cloth wrapped around his head.

The price climbed steadily. After it surpassed three million, the number of bidders noticeably dwindled.

This indicated that the price was approaching the psychological limit for many people, and also that the market price for Miracle Spring Water was around this level.

Anyone who continued to bid from this point on had a desperate need for the item and was willing to pay a premium.

After the price broke 3,800,000, only four or five people, including the Tiger King General, were still bidding.

It was then that Su Ze finally made his move. ”4,000,000!”

His bid immediately drew the attention of the crowd. Su Ze had been low-key the entire time, sitting in the very back row, so for him to suddenly make such an earth-shattering move—jumping the bid by 200,000—was a shock.

Even the Tiger King General glanced back, but since Su Ze had altered his appearance, the General clearly didn’t recognize him.

After Su Ze called out four million, the room fell into a brief silence.

The auctioneer tapped his small gavel.

”Four million going once!”

”Four million going twice!”

”Is there another bid...?”

”4,100,000!” the Tiger King General shouted, raising his paddle.

”The gentleman bids 4,100,000! Do I hear a higher bid?”

Su Ze raised his paddle. ”4,300,000!”

”4,400,000!” The Tiger King General refused to give an inch.

”4,500,000!” Su Ze took a deep breath. This was his limit. He would have to go into massive debt and sell everything he owned to come up with that much money.

”4,600,000!” The Tiger King General shot a provocative glance over his shoulder.

Su Ze met his gaze without flinching. ’You damn Cat King General! I haven’t even settled the score for you hunting me down last time, and now you’re trying to steal my prize?’

In truth, by this point, Su Ze had already pretty much given up.

Even if the Tiger King General didn’t raise the bid again, buying the Miracle Spring Water at this price would still be a bit of a loss for Su Ze.

And Su Ze was not someone who liked to take a loss.

However, giving up didn’t mean he couldn’t keep bidding.

”4,700,000!” Su Ze continued to raise the price.

”4,800,000!” The Tiger King General was calm and composed, looking every bit the part of a man throwing his money around.

He really had nothing to worry about. It wasn’t his money, after all. The Filth Earth Organization was footing the bill. They were the ones who wanted the Miracle Spring Water; he was just a tool sent to attend the auction.

”4,810,000!” Su Ze didn’t raise it by much this time. If the Tiger King General suddenly backed out, he’d be trapped.

”4,900,000!”

...

Finally, when the Tiger King General bid five million, Su Ze decided that was high enough and promptly withdrew from the auction, making no further bids.

If he had kept bidding and the Tiger King General had pulled out, Su Ze would have had to sell himself to make up the five million.

”Congratulations to this gentleman for his successful bid on the Miracle Spring Water!”

The lady in the qipao brought the Miracle Spring Water to the Tiger King General, who paid on the spot and took possession of the item.

Afterward, he didn’t leave early. Instead, he chose to stay and watch the rest of the auction, quietly waiting for the final item to be sold.

Only when the auction was completely over and everyone was filing out did the Tiger King General leave the auction hall with the crowd.

Su Ze, however, kept his eyes on the Tiger King General the entire time.

Su Ze was definitely not willing to give up on the Miracle Spring Water. If he missed this chance, there was no telling when he’d get another opportunity to obtain a drop.

An old enemy had just snatched a resource he desperately needed. It was inevitable that the thought of killing him for his treasure would cross Su Ze’s mind.

The key was that Mr. Ya was right beside him. With his support, Su Ze felt he had a real chance against the Tiger King General.

Back then, when one of them had just entered the Cocoon Stage and the other the Butterfly Stage, they didn’t even have skills appropriate for their levels, yet they had been able to team up and hunt a Tier 3 Gravity Demon.

Now, Mr. Ya had mastered a Tier 4, A-rank Shadow Clone Skill, and Su Ze’s own power had grown immensely. He had absorbed three more vials of Tier 3, S-rank extracts and gained three powerful new skills. He felt that if they teamed up now, they could definitely try to challenge the Tiger King General, who was a level above them.

”Let’s go. We’ll follow that guy,” Su Ze whispered to Mr. Ya.

Mr. Ya’s eyes narrowed slightly. He immediately understood what Su Ze meant.

The two of them followed the crowd out of the auction hall, maintaining a safe distance from the Tiger King General up ahead.

They saw that the Tiger King General showed no intention of returning to the Oasis Commerce Association’s guest area, instead heading straight for the main gate.

This was normal. Many people had waited until today just to attend the auction, and now that it was over, it was natural for them to prepare to leave.

Quite a few people made the same choice as the Tiger King General, heading straight for the exit to leave the Oasis Commerce Association.

Su Ze and Mr. Ya also walked out of the Oasis Commerce Association.

Everyone went their separate ways, but the Tiger King General’s direction was clearly different. He directly used a Flying Skill to bypass the Oasis Commerce Association and fly toward the area behind it.

That was the direction of the Miracle Oasis!

’Is he going to hunt in the Miracle Oasis?’

Although the Miracle Oasis was controlled by the Oasis Commerce Association, it wasn’t completely closed to outsiders. The Association simply barred large hunting corps from other major powers and any Saint-level powerhouses.

Ordinary individual evolvers and Hunter Squads were still allowed to enter and hunt, but they had to pay a hunting fee to the Oasis Commerce Association, calculated per person.

Su Ze and Mr. Ya didn’t follow him directly.

They noticed several other people also flying in that direction.

’Looks like I’m not the only one with the idea of killing for treasure... In this barren desert, the laws of the Six Nations and even the Sovereign Countries have no binding power. Riches truly stir the hearts of men.’

Su Ze shot a look at Mr. Ya. The two shared a tacit understanding and walked behind a sand dune, out of sight. From there, they used an Escape Technique to pursue the direction the Tiger King General had flown.

Mr. Ya had long since mastered his Escape Technique. He brought Su Ze with him, traveling just beneath a thin layer of sand, which allowed them to peer through the grains and vaguely make out what was happening in the sky.

They saw the Tiger King General flying at the very front, with three or four scattered groups following behind. These groups, consisting of two or three people each, were spread out, maintaining a certain distance from the General—not too close, but not so far that they’d lose sight of him.

The Tiger King General, meanwhile, flew at an unhurried pace, seemingly unaware that he was being followed.

Suddenly, the Tiger King General’s flight speed skyrocketed, and he shot a great distance forward.

”He’s trying to escape!”

The groups behind him all accelerated at once, quickly giving chase.

The Tiger King General abruptly changed direction. Instead of continuing toward the Miracle Oasis, he suddenly veered to the left.

The groups following him were clearly not working together, but they acted with a tacit understanding, spreading out to encircle the Tiger King General.

Mr. Ya quickly followed with Su Ze, and the two dove a little deeper underground. Since others were making a move, there was no need for them to show themselves yet.

It was best to play the patient fisherman and profit from the conflict. For now, the most important thing was to remain hidden.

Among those pursuing the Tiger King General, there was no shortage of Butterfly Stage powerhouses.

While the two of them were confident they could handle the Tiger King General together, they couldn’t possibly take on so many Butterfly Stage experts.

The Tiger King General fled through the desolate desert for a long time before finally being surrounded by his pursuers.

The groups exchanged glances. Someone spoke up, ”Everyone, how about we take him down first, and then our groups can split the spoils?”

”Deal!” several people agreed, but whether their words were genuine was anyone’s guess.

The Tiger King General sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. ”Just the few of you? I’m afraid you’re not enough. Got any more accomplices? Call them all out!”

”Still talking tough when you’re about to die!” No longer wasting words, the group surged forward, unleashing a barrage of skills at the Tiger King General.

But just then, an old man in a white suit suddenly appeared beside the Tiger King General. At the same time, a vile stench emanated from him, causing the faces of all the attackers to change.

”A Defiler!”

Hidden underground, Su Ze, with his superhuman sense of smell, also caught the suffocating, vile stench.

At the same time, he saw the green light of evolution glowing from the old man in the white suit.

An elder of the Filth Earth Organization!