Chapter 565: Chapter 549: The Only Buyer

Allen felt a distinct sensation of being observed from a higher existential plane. It felt as though a three-dimensional being were examining a two-dimensional painting; beneath such a gaze, all the struggles and schemes within the picture appeared flat and uninteresting.

No wonder this group of untamable "monsters" had obediently retracted their fangs.

"Gentlemen."

Four voices and four distinct timbres—the weathered croak of an old man, the cold indifference of a young man, the playful banter of a child, and an indistinguishable, chaotic murmur from the shadows—strangely overlapped, forming a reverberation that struck straight to the soul.

"This meeting has eight topics on the agenda."

Augustus’s four faces and eight eyes swept over every Minister present.

"First, a briefing on the battle situation in the Gray Channel.

"Second, the approval of the special research budget concerning the ’Void Whispers’ anomaly submitted by the Observation and Prophecy Department.

"Third, the relay of the resolutions from the Round Table Council of Truth’s Gate.

"Fourth...

"Eighth, the allocation of the newly discovered medium-sized resource plane, G-771."

The president’s voice was grand and resounding, while the Ministers in attendance largely remained in silent thought. The initial agenda items proceeded at a rapid pace. The battle briefing was merely routine, and the budget request from the Minister named Mephistopheles was approved without any suspense. After all, no one was foolish enough to make things difficult for a colleague who mastered the Law of Prophecy over such a trivial matter.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the final item.

The corners of the president’s childlike face curled up slightly, as if he found the upcoming segment highly amusing. He materialized a finger and gently tapped the edge of the Star Map. The Star Map rotated, with countless starlights flashing by, until a single plane was magnified in the center.

"G-771, a medium-sized resource plane. The exploration report has been sent to everyone."

Allen immediately received a document.

[Plane Designation: G-771]

[Plane Type: Medium-Sized Material Plane]

[Area: Approximately 87 million square kilometers. Environmental Assessment: Mild climate, 81% of the region suitable for sustaining life, abundant water resources.]

[Resource Assessment: Confirmed presence of over five native intelligent species; highest supernatural tier is at the Official Wizard level; no Dawn Star Level entities discovered thus far. Wide variety of flora and fauna. Relatively rich mineral resources. Preliminary surveys indicate one high-purity Secret Silver Ore Vein, seven Magic Stone Ore Veins, and over twenty types of metal ores... Comprehensive Value Assessment: Upper-medium.]

Seeing this, Allen’s heartbeat—if he still had one—would definitely have skipped a beat. A habitable plane, intelligent life, and mineral resources. With this setup, it was undeniably a top-tier base of operations!

Though it wasn’t bursting with mineral resources like the Molten Iron Mountain Range, it made up for it with an intact ecosystem and incredibly high developmental diversity. Back in the day, Dawn Star Level Magical Beasts roamed everywhere in the Molten Iron Mountain Range. Even a ruthless figure like his mentor had taken forty to fifty years to completely suppress and develop it. In comparison, this plane, whose highest combat power was merely an Official Wizard, was practically on tutorial difficulty.

However, the latter half of the report quickly poured a bucket of ice water on his burning excitement.

[Risk Assessment: High]

[Risk Item 1: Coordinates deviate from the core territory of the Wizard Civilization, situated on the edge of the Gray Channel. If the Star Gate is destroyed, the reinforcement cycle will be extremely long.]

[Risk Item 2: Plane coordinates have been exposed. During the establishment of a temporary Star Gate, the exploration team faced three attacks from a Black Wizard Organization called the ’Crimson Hand.’ The team lost one Second-level Wizard and seventeen apprentices.]

[Risk Item 3: Unknown ’anomalies’ exist within the plane. The report describes ’mild memetic contamination among the natives.’ Specific phenomena are pending investigation.]

As these three risk assessments were clearly displayed, the undercurrent of excitement that had just stirred in the meeting room instantly cooled.

"The Crimson Hand?" The cluster of fungal aggregates emitted a mental fluctuation laced with obvious disgust. "Is that a subordinate organization of those lunatics from the Flesh and Blood Evangelical Association? Haven’t they been swallowed up by the Eternal Secret Sect yet?"

"Troublesome." An electric arc danced across the metal tentacles of the brain-in-a-jar, conveying a succinct judgment.

These old monsters, who had lived for countless years, were astoundingly shrewd. No matter how good a plane was, if it was tainted by Black Wizards, the returns would be heavily discounted.

In the Wizarding World, White Wizards held absolute dominance. However, Black Wizards had their own ways of survival; those that formed organizations were especially troublesome to deal with. They were like rats in a sewer—fleeing when outmatched, hiding in the shadows just to disgust you. They might blow up one of your mines today and poison your water supply tomorrow; they were impossible to defend against completely.

Furthermore, their own territories were relatively far from this plane, making the investment required for development too steep. Not to mention, there was also the unknown memetic contamination anomaly. For a Morning Star Wizard, the unknown represented the greatest risk of all.

Allen glanced at Hercules beside him. The latter sat up straight, looking as if none of this had anything to do with him. Allen remained similarly impassive on the surface, but his mind was calculating madly.

"In that case," the president’s elderly face spoke slowly, his voice as placid as a stagnant well, "the auction for the ownership of the G-771 Plane begins now. The starting bid is twenty billion Low-Level Magic Stones. Each increment must be no less than five hundred million."

As his voice fell, the entire meeting room plunged into a dead silence that lasted for half a minute. Out of twenty-eight seats and eighteen Morning Star Wizards present, not a single person spoke up. This scene made Allen feel somewhat surreal. To think that a resource-rich, medium-sized plane would attract no interest whatsoever.

"Twenty-one billion."

Finally, a voice broke the silence. By the looks of it, it was another wizard from the Alchemy School. He seemed somewhat conflicted; after all, that Secret Silver Ore Vein was extremely tempting to him. However, the moment he finished speaking, a colleague beside him—a wizard with a body like a crystal sculpture—sent a mental transmission, seemingly persuading him otherwise.

A moment later, that Minister spoke up again. "I withdraw my bid."

Allen was speechless. Good heavens, the only potential competitor had been talked out of it right on the spot.

His gaze swept across the room. His various colleagues were either resting with their eyes closed, examining their nails—if those could even be called nails—or simply handling their own official duties, treating the auction entirely as background noise. Their attitude was clear: whoever wanted this piece of cake could have it.

Allen had envisioned many scenarios, but this development was not one of them. According to a normal plotline, there should have been threats, face-slapping, and a frenzied bidding war. But on second thought, this made logical sense. These big shots, who had lived for countless years, were not short on high-quality planes. Who would be willing to spend twenty billion on a remote, Black Wizard-infested, memetically contaminated piece of dead weight?

They might disdain it, but Allen didn’t!

Others might fear memetic contamination, but his Golem Legion didn’t. As for Black Wizards? He had never been afraid of them! Since that was the case, he would gladly take it off their hands. His financial resources were limited; he could only afford this one in front of him anyway.

He stood up and gave a slight bow. "Anomaly Threat Response Department, Allen Wesren," he announced. "I bid twenty-one billion and five hundred million."

Instantly, at least a dozen gazes—some subtle, some direct—fell upon him. There was surprise, scrutiny, and confusion. Mostly, however, it was the amused look of people watching a sucker take the bait.

"A newcomer?"

"The recently promoted one? Anomaly Threat Response Department... Heh, quite a fitting specialty."

"It’s good for a young man to have drive. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get dragged down by that plane."

Subtle mental fluctuations brushed past Allen’s perception, but he paid them no mind.

The president’s childlike face looked at Allen with great interest, seemingly waiting for a higher bid to appear.

Ten seconds passed. Then twenty seconds. Not a second voice rang out in the entire meeting room.

"Twenty-one billion and five hundred million going once.

"Twenty-one billion and five hundred million going twice."

The president’s indifferent young face took over, his voice completely flat. "Twenty-one billion and five hundred million going three times."

Finally, the face shrouded in shadow let out a chaotic hiss, ringing out like a falling gavel. "Sold. The development rights to the G-771 Plane belong to you, Deputy Minister Allen Wesren."

A streak of light shot out from the central Star Map and sank into the space between Allen’s eyebrows. It was a Magic Contract containing the detailed coordinates of the G-771 Plane, the ownership of the Star Gate, and the legal property rights.

On Allen’s terminal, a massive sum of money was instantly deducted.

[Account Expenditure: 21.5 billion Low-Level Magic Stones.]

[Current Total Available Liquid Funds: 2.91 billion Low-Level Magic Stones.]

Allen sat down slowly, calm on the surface, but as he looked at his instantly shrunken account balance, his heart couldn’t help but twitch. After half a year of hard work, drawing up grand plans and borrowing money, he was wiped out in a single day.

He glanced at Hercules, whose Rune Eye flashed with a hint of approval. A thought was transmitted into his mind:

"Nicely done, kid. The money you saved is your capital for dealing with the impending troubles."

Allen gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

He had won. There were no thrilling bidding wars, no melodramatic on-the-spot provocations. From today onwards, he, Allen Wesren, finally had a true base of operations to call his own in this cruel and vast Wizard Universe!

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