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Fei said with a slightly troubled expression that he was really poor, as if he was possessed by the god of bad luck. The money he got would disappear after a while, and it wasn't even because he spent it. In short, he lost it in all sorts of ways.
Ugh, why am I so poor?!
"Same here, I'm just here to broaden my horizons, and I'm also very poor. Of course, I might have a chance if it's something like bartering."
Chang Yan took a sip of his soda and decided to continue watching.
I feel like burping.
"Alright, although many people have left, the auction will continue. Let's welcome the next item for auction."
Although the host appeared cheerful, he was inwardly cursing.
The wages and commissions... With so many people leaving, the price will definitely drop significantly!
What's wrong with the boss? Why would he agree to such a request?
Waaaaah, my precious money QAQ!
"This auction item is somewhat special. It is entangled with the soul curse of one of the seller's relatives. If it were taken directly to the church, it would be treated as a vengeful spirit and purified. The seller's request is to have this soul curse lifted so that his relative can release his resentment. The reward is a very magical item, a toothbrush that can erase any dead or inorganic matter."
Even at the very end, the host maintained a very serious expression, which made people want to laugh.
It looks very powerful and impressive, but why is it a toothbrush?
"I know some of you won't believe it, but please trust the results of our auction's appraisal. Here is the test video; please watch it."
On the floor of the display stand, there were many screens displaying various tests of the toothbrush.
From wood to magical ore, from corpses to living people, from ordinary tools to enchanted weapons—
Without exception, all inanimate and inorganic matter was erased. The so-called magical barrier was a joke; it vanished with a single wipe.
"Of course, this item has a minor side effect: it must be used at least once every 24 hours, otherwise it will emit an unknown special ray that can slowly distort objects or materials within a radius of 0.6m and eventually turn them to ashes. The effects of this ray on living organisms have not yet been monitored in experiments. Now, let me state in advance that you should carefully examine your own abilities. Once you are cursed and suffer a backlash, our auction house will not be held responsible."
The host carefully took out a box and placed it on a counter, while simultaneously deploying a protective barrier large enough to accommodate one person.
"Everyone, please~".
Seeing one person after another try it, Fei looked somewhat eager and said:
"How about we go too—Wow, Mr. Yan, something seems off about you."
As soon as Fei turned her head, she saw that Chang Yan was exuding a strong aura, and he was obviously excited.
"Calm down, Mr. Yan. This is not a place where you can cause trouble."
"...Sorry, I got a little excited."
Chang Yan withdrew his imposing manner, much to the relief of the auction staff.
It's best if nothing happens; if something does happen, you'll be the one who suffers no matter what.
Especially that one from before; you could tell he was tough to deal with just by looking at his imposing aura.
What excited Chang Yan so much was the reward that the person had mentioned earlier—that toothbrush.
The description of that toothbrush reminded him of an SCP.
SCP-063, the best toothbrush.
SCP-063 appears as an ordinary light blue toothbrush. The bristles bear the inscription "The World's Best TothBrush." Clearly, the word "toothbrush" is misspelled; whether this was unintentional or deliberate is unknown. SCP-063 possesses the ability to effortlessly penetrate any dead or inorganic matter; this ability is concentrated in its bristles. Objects touching the bristles are not sliced like those cut by a knife, but rather vanish completely without a trace.
Test subjects who have used SCP-063 have reported that their teeth became noticeably whiter. Despite these extraordinary abilities, experimental analysis has revealed that SCP-063 is made of ordinary plastic.
And its side effects are the same as what the host mentioned, that is to say—
That's an SCP!
(System, what's going on?!)
It is often said that there is a feeling of being offended.
Because, currently, only he possesses SCP.
How would you feel if you suddenly discovered that someone else also had something that only you possessed?
It should be mine!
It's all mine!
mine!
Although he knew these things should belong to the SCP Foundation, he was still somewhat excited.
(...System calculation in progress...)
(Side quest triggered - They're all mine!)
(You'll receive a reward each time you collect an item related to a rare object; capturing its source will grant you an even larger reward.)
Upon seeing this, Chang Yan decisively stood up and walked towards the display stand.
"Hey, Mr. Yan, why did you leave so suddenly? I was just joking!"
Chang Yan waved his hand, indicating that he had no problem.
"Wow, Mr. 3999, Mr. Yan wouldn't really want to take advantage of the chaos, would he? The backlash of the curse is no joke."
Fei was a little worried and said to 3999 next to her.
"Well, since Mr. Yan caught up, he must be confident in himself. Don't forget the aura he exuded earlier. Based on my observation, he only got excited when he heard about the reward. I guess that toothbrush is related to him."
3999 seemed quite calm and drank another cup of coffee.
Are you a coffee fanatic?
Fei thought to herself.
Chang Yan went up, signed the waiver, and went straight inside.
I think I'm about to stir things up.
For example, turning a cursed soul into my follower seems like a good idea, doesn't it?
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
A burst of inspiration led to an extra 4k chapter!
Chapter 219 The Coffin That Contains Hell
(Some students were playing cards during self-study period and got caught by the department head. As a result, our whole class had to have an extra class every day from then on. It's really outrageous! We already don't have enough time, and having to come to class is so annoying!)
------
Chang Yan went inside, distorted the barrier, and opened the box.
As soon as the box was opened, Chang Yan felt the desperate resentment and hatred.
What is this?!
That is absolutely not a resentment that should exist in the human world.
The people who were scared to death at the auction were probably all quite capable, but none of them expected the resentment to be so terrifying.
This is insane, terrifying, a madness akin to wanting to drag all living people into hell.
No, this is hell, a vast expanse of resentment that has transformed into hell itself.
This resentment hates everything in the world, wanting to tear apart all the beautiful things in front of it, then sew them back together with a poisoned needle, and then tear them to pieces again. It makes one wonder what this soul has gone through to have such a terrifying resentment.
Endless ghostly hands reached out from the darkness of the box, trying to drag Chang Yan down to hell, so that he too could experience what hell was like.
"Wow, that's really terrifying. No wonder several weaklings were killed before... Wait, something's not right... This—this soul curse, is it cursing this box? Preventing it from being opened? Sealing the box while absorbing the curse within it, no wonder it's so terrifying. I'm really curious what's hidden inside this box... Looks like I need to go and meet this seller."
"But before that, let me use you to find that seller! Come, accept God's mercy!"
The light began to writhe, gnawing at the curse deep within his soul, while simultaneously devouring his thoughts, brutally ravaging the soul of this great man with an unruly and unreasonable manner.
He would allow his soul to absorb that unknown, terrifying curse to seal the contents of the box from being released, but the price would be that his soul would gradually be assimilated into a terrifying curse, losing all intelligence and never being able to be reborn.
"You should feel fortunate, for you have met me, and I will be your Savior. You should feel unfortunate, for I have seen you, and you will become my believer—"
"—"
The soul let out a silent yet unwilling roar, completely unable to resist this strange power.
He struggled desperately, but in the end, his soul knelt down in reverence, chanting the holy name—
—It is both a beginning and an end;
—It is darkness, and it is light;
—It is nothingness, and also chaos;
—It is that indescribable unknown,
—It was that unspeakable terror,
—It is that which permits everything, the divine.
—When the brilliance of those stars is terrified, when the sun in the universe decays.
Greatness will surely come!
Looking at the soul reciting a bunch of strange prayers, Chang Yan felt a little embarrassed.
Oh dear, I'm a little embarrassed by what you're saying.
Honestly, people should be more humble. I'm afraid if I told anyone about such an arrogant prayer, I'd get a lecture from the big shots.
"You understand the task I've given you. Now tell me about your situation."
"Your will. In those long years of curse, I had lost many memories. If it were not for Your divine grace, my Lord, I would never have awakened. Oh, praise be to you, my Lord!"
"Alright, alright, let's continue."
Chang Yan has some black lines on his head.
“Yes, sir! According to the rest of my memory, my so-called relative is my eldest nephew, and I used to be a Taoist priest. One day I went to visit him, but I never expected that the place had been transformed into the legendary hell, which was constantly eroding this world, with countless vengeful spirits and evil ghosts wandering here. At that time, I saw him lying unconscious on the ground, with a coffin next to him. The hellish aura was spreading wildly outward from there. I realized then that the coffin was the root of everything.”
A coffin? But isn't this a box? Has it shrunk? But Chang Yan didn't interrupt him and continued listening.
"I don't remember the specifics, but it seems that I used a treasured artifact from my sect, burned my own life force to save my nephew, and then used my soul as a sealing array to seal it on top of it."
"I see. Now you should understand what I've told you."
"Yes, my lord, I will surely deliver a perfect result to you."
"It's good to know."
Picking up the box, Chang Yan stepped out of the barrier and handed it to the host amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.
"The problem is solved, but his soul has been damaged by the long-term corruption of the curse. There's nothing I can do about that, but I guess that should be enough to get by."
"Um...please go downstairs and rest for a moment. I need to have this item appraised before handing it over to the seller. Please understand."
The host took the box with a slightly alarmed look. He knew how terrifying this little box was. He said it couldn't be given to the church, but in reality, if the church found such a thing, the box would definitely be forcibly sealed by the church and sent back to headquarters for destruction.
Who could have done such a heinous thing to this poor soul? Even if he had been tortured by all ten of the most cruel tortures of the Qing Dynasty in his lifetime, it wouldn't have been this bad.
"no problem."
Chang Yan nodded and walked down without showing any signs of fatigue.
As the saying goes, as soon as you sit down and pick up your cup to have a drink, you find that you've already finished it, so you have to ask the waiter for another cup.
"..."
"..."
Two piercing eyes were fixed on Chang Yan, as if trying to find something out about him.
Left with no other choice, Chang Yan turned his head to look at 3999 on the left and then at Fei on the right.
"I said, do you two really have to keep staring at me like that?"
"As for!" x2
3999 and Fei said in unison.
"I saw several people go in before, and they either got completely wrecked or were killed. But you solved it all in one go. Now I'm starting to suspect that you're a pro disguised as a newbie."
Fei looked at Chang Yan with a very subtle gaze, and 3999's analysis made Chang Yan feel both amused and exasperated.