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"He Guangda, think this through carefully. That rough stone is massive—it must be incredibly valuable," He Guangwei said slowly, placing his empty teacup on the table.
"If our He family decides to buy it, we'd have to pull out half of our working capital. If it turns out to be worthless, we'll be in a very difficult position. In business, the worst thing that can happen is a break in the capital chain."
To be honest, he wasn't optimistic about this venture. But the old family head had entered seclusion and temporarily handed over the authority to He Guangda, making him the acting family head. Now, He Guangda had the final say, and He Guangwei suspected his opinion wouldn't matter much—worse, he might even offend Guangda by offering advice.
He Guangda was headstrong and willful. If he hadn't been physically impaired, this role wouldn't have fallen to him. As expected, after hearing He Guangwei's warning, He Guangda showed signs of impatience. His fists clenched, veins bulging, and he snapped:
"Brother, I'm the acting head of the family now. I don't need your approval to make decisions."
Remaining calm, He Guangwei rolled his wheelchair forward and replied, "If you've already made up your mind, why call me here? I'll be going. I won't stick around for the drama."
Annoyed by He Guangwei's refusal to support him, He Guangda turned his attention to the appraiser, who stepped forward and reassured him.
"Master, I've examined this rough stone. It's rich in material—definitely not a loss. It won't collapse; it's just a matter of whether we profit a little or a lot."
Encouraged by the appraiser's words, He Guangda resolved to go through with the purchase, unaware of the faint smirk forming on the appraiser's lips.
"Alright, everyone's been waiting long enough," the auctioneer announced. "I'm sure you've all formed your judgments after observing the stone. The bidding for the rough stone begins now!"
The paddles shot up one after another.
At that moment, Ye Bai discovered a new function of the Eye of Insight. His Eye could detect first-level items clearly. Anything above that was hidden behind a thick gray fog. When he activated it now, he noticed that the fog only clung to a few parts of the rough stone. This meant there was only a small amount of material inside, and whoever bought the stone would likely suffer a huge loss.
The fog swirled in isolated pockets—clear evidence that this stone was a trap. Yet the crowd was still feverishly bidding, blind to the truth.
Ye Bai smirked. "This Eye of Insight is more useful than I thought," he mused. "Valuable items are shrouded in fog. If there's no fog at all, it's guaranteed to be fake. And better yet, it uses very little energy in this state."
"Eleven million Alliance coins!" someone shouted.
"I'll raise it by two million! Thirteen million!" another bid followed.
"Add three million more!"
The bidding frenzy escalated quickly. The price soon surpassed one hundred million Alliance coins. Faces reddened, voices rose—no one was backing down.
Eventually, the He family secured the stone for 300 million Alliance coins.
"Congratulations, Master He," someone praised. "With this, you'll be able to leave Jiaying City and expand into Yandong Province!"
"Yes, and when the He family rises to wealth, don't forget those of us who supported you!"
"Someone once offended the He family. The family head overturned everything with a wave of his hand. Amazing power."
Surrounded by flattering voices, He Guangda basked in pride, seemingly forgetting his own limits.
Ye Bai glanced at his smug expression and thought, Enjoy your moment while it lasts. You're about to go from heaven to hell.
After paying with an anonymous black card, He Guangda, escorted by bodyguards, approached the rough stone.
The host smiled, "Master He, would you like to open the stone here?"
He Guangda boasted, "Open it now! I want to see what treasure I've bought."
"Of course." The host clapped his hands.
A ripple appeared in the air, and out emerged a ferocious four-armed mantis. Its blade-like limbs glinted coldly, each about a meter long, its mouthparts resembling sickles. Two sets of thin wings buzzed faintly, and its barbed body exuded a faint bloody aura.
"This is my Four-Armed Mantis. Its attack power is top-tier—cutting through rough stones is child's play."
"Mr. He, just draw the cutting lines. My mantis will follow them precisely."
He Guangda gestured at the appraiser, who casually marked a white line across the stone.
The mantis raised its blade arm, its sharp edge gleaming, and struck.
A flash of cold light—slice!—the rough stone split in two with an incredibly clean cut, showcasing the mantis's terrifying power.
"This must be a level-three or higher pet beast," Ye Bai observed with his Eye of Insight.
As the dust settled, everyone saw... white marble.
Not a trace of ore.
"Continue cutting," someone instructed.
Bit by bit, the stone was reduced to chunks—pure marble. It was a complete bust.
"How is this possible?!" He Guangda's eyes widened in disbelief.
He seized the appraiser by the collar. "Didn't you say there was good material in this?! I spent nearly my entire fortune because I trusted you!"
"You lied to me!"
His bloodshot eyes and trembling body radiated fury.
The appraiser dodged his gaze. "I only said there might be a good yield. If there isn't—well, that's out of my hands."
He shrugged nonchalantly.
Appraisers weren't infallible. They made mistakes too.
But the consequences were brutal: half the He family's capital was wiped out. Just like He Guangwei warned.
"Three hundred million... gone... just like that," He Guangda muttered, unable to accept the reality.
With a roar, he swung his fist at the appraiser's face.
As chaos erupted between the two, Ye Bai quietly slipped away, heading to a spot he had marked earlier, planning to collect the few fragments of the rough stone that were still wrapped in gray mist.