Kane Hughes watched them with a look of surprise.
A group of galodon rcenaries and seven or eight n in the casino’s security uniforms were lined up like docile little lambs, tossing their guns aside.
Two n in black, wearing masks, were searching them.
Not far away, a blond, masked girl sat on a table, and next to her stood a man with an extraordinary air about him.
Kane Hughes understood imdiately. Terry must have tried to scam soone into signing a "life and death waiver," only to get taught a lesson himself.
In Aurumport, Terry had scamd many wealthy rchants with this thod. He never expected to hit a steel plate today.
anwhile.
Aurora Sinclair suddenly hopped off the table. With a lollipop in her mouth, she appeared before Kane Hughes with incredible speed.
She reached out, grabbed his wrist, and stared intently at the design on it.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Kane Hughes felt a sense of foreboding.
His apprentice imdiately stepped forward to shove her away. "How dare you! This is our Master Hughes."
Before the apprentice’s hand could even touch her, she had already turned and moved away.
The apprentice froze, his brow gradually furrowing.
’This person is so rude.’
"You..."
Kane Hughes raised a hand to stop him and started walking forward. "Are our distinguished guests looking to select raw stones or finished pieces?" he asked as he walked.
He was speaking the international common tongue, which Aurora Sinclair understood. She replied directly, "Raw stones."
Alvin Morgan spoke calmly, "Either is fine."
"This way, please!"
***
Kane Hughes led them to his workshop.
A large crowd had gathered there, each person holding a stone, waiting for Kane Hughes to appraise it.
"Master Hughes, quick, take a look at this for . Is this an glutinous-ice type...?"
"Master Hughes, look at mine first... Mine is definitely a high-ice type."
"Master Hughes..."
Kane Hughes greeted them with a smile on his face, while his apprentices acted like bodyguards, holding back the enthusiastic crowd.
"Consultation fees first..." the apprentice who had tried to push Aurora Sinclair shouted loudly. Then, holding a paynt terminal, he went down the line, collecting fees from each person.
Aurora Sinclair glanced at the price list posted outside, a flicker in her eyes.
Consultation: 20,000 International Coins
Stone Selection: 5% of the stone’s price
Stone Cutting: 10% of the stone’s price
Carving/Finishing: Price to be negotiated
All paynts are voluntary and non-refundable. All increases in value depend on your own fortune.
***
"Direct disciple of the Phantom Trove, the number one Stone Gambling Master of the Western Continent..."
Beta Morgan read the signs hanging on both sides of the door and suddenly felt like he was watching a TV comrcial for snake oil.
To ensure everyone could understand, the signs were written in Veridian script, the international common tongue, and the Masovian language.
Silas Morgan muttered under his breath, "This Stone Gambling Master really knows how to make money."
Aurora Sinclair looked at the pair of yin-yang eyes drawn above the signs, her expression filled with doubt.
The workshop was vast. Inside were nurous display cases. One side held fully-cut stones, another held semi-cut stones, and a third displayed various jadeite handicrafts. All were clearly marked with hefty price tags.
It instantly felt like walking into a high-end jadeite market storefront.
When one of Master Hughes’s apprentices saw them looking at the items in the display cases, he imdiately approached to give them an introduction, speaking with the polished eloquence of a standard departnt store clerk.
But after looking around, they showed no intention of buying anything.
The apprentice assud they looked down on the pieces on display, so he had soone fetch a stone that his master had recently half-cut from the storeroom.
"This piece is a top-quality ice-type. It took my master three months to cut just this one half, which shows how precious it is. The average price for a stone like this at the Phantom Trove is around 80 million, but we’re selling it for only 78 million..."
Alvin Morgan finally showed so interest. He took out a penlight and shone it on the stone to examine the texture inside.
He asked Aurora Sinclair, "Do you like it?"
But she glanced at the price, then at the stone, and shook her head. "It’s no good."
The apprentice’s face darkened. ’How dare she look down on the masterpiece his master had cut.’
’Whenever his master revealed a masterpiece, wasn’t there always a crowd of people fighting to buy it?’
"I’ll take it..." Terry shouted imdiately when he saw they didn’t want it.
Several other bosses crowded around as well, expressing their desire to buy.
A smug look appeared on the apprentice’s face. He asked Alvin Morgan again, "Sir, are you sure you don’t want to join the bidding?"
Alvin Morgan glanced at Aurora Sinclair and said, "No, she doesn’t like it."
"Henry, what are you dawdling for? Start the bidding!" Terry’s goal this ti was to win back his losses. He hadn’t expected this group to be such a tough nut to crack; he’d almost been taken down himself just now.
Based on that blonde girl’s uncanny speed alone, this group was definitely a major power from so big country. They weren’t people he could afford to offend.
Seeing a big fish get away, the apprentice felt a pang of regret but had no choice but to deal with his usual custors.
"This one of yours is just brick-grade material. It’s worthless."
"How can it be brick-grade when it’s in the premium section? Look, there’s even a white mist here."
"Next."
"Master, please, take another look. I spent 300,000 on this! I mortgaged my house! My wife and kids are at ho waiting..."
Suddenly, an agitated man’s voice echoed from a room to the side.
"Just because it’s in the premium section doesn’t an you’re guaranteed a good cut. You made a bad judgnt call, you can’t bla anyone else. Get out of here, there are still a lot of people waiting..."
Several burly n grabbed a man and threw him out of the workshop.
A short apprentice standing between the burly n spat. "If you don’t have money, what are you doing playing with stones? Such bad luck—"
The man lay on the ground, clutching his stone and wailing.
Aurora Sinclair glanced at the stone in his hands, then walked over with her hands in her pockets.
"Selling the stone?"
Her words made the apprentice at the door sneer in contempt. "These days, you really see people lining up to be suckers."
The man’s crying subsided a little. He sat up and asked, "Are you serious? You want to buy it?"
Aurora Sinclair nodded, then looked back at Alvin Morgan. "Can I buy this?"
"Of course."
Behind them, Silas Morgan glanced at the perfectly composed Mr. Beta and secretly nudged him.
Beta Morgan pointed to his phone and skillfully started typing.
[Beta: Stay calm! The Boss has never had any limits when it cos to Aurora.]
[Silas: Is Aurora going to beco the only spendthrift matriarch in the Morgan Family’s history?]
[Beta: Probably not.]
[Silas: ???]
[Beta: Aurora’s status doesn’t allow her to marry. Whether the Boss can actually marry her is the real question.]
[Silas: ...What kind of drama is this?]
[Beta: I’ll give you the gossip when we get back.]
The two n put away their phones with calm expressions, silently watching the man and woman before them, acting as background characters with zero presence.
"Is one million okay?" Aurora Sinclair held up one finger.
The onlookers: ...
’There’s sothing wrong with this girl’s head.’
Beta Morgan and Silas Morgan could already hear people nearby whispering that Aurora Sinclair was a fool with too much money.
The man froze in disbelief until the apprentice’s sarcastic voice rang out, "Hey, idiot! So moron wants to buy your stone. Aren’t you going to sell it quickly?"
"Watch your mouth." Silas Morgan partially drew his gun, glaring at him seriously.
’Even though he and Mr. Beta were too embarrassed to watch, the future matriarch of the Morgan Family wasn’t soone just anyone could insult.’
The apprentice’s face went pale and he imdiately shut his mouth, but his eyes were still full of ridicule for them.
The man on the ground pushed himself up in a flash, his face filled with eagerness. He nodded repeatedly, afraid she would change her mind.
"Selling, selling, selling... Let’s make the deal right now."
Alvin Morgan had Beta Morgan transfer one million to the man.
Aurora Sinclair took the stone, examined it closely for a few more monts, and then calmly stuffed it into her pocket.
Under the gazes of everyone who thought she was an idiot, Aurora Sinclair sauntered over to the raw stone area, crouched down, and started picking through them, looking like she knew what she was doing.
The crowd was inwardly scornful. ’What does a little blonde girl know?’
’Hope you lose all your money!’
anwhile, Aurora Sinclair was having a grand ti picking, selecting more than a dozen unremarkable stones from several different piles of raw material.
She even lined them up in front of her, shone a penlight on them, then casually tossed a few back and continued to pick through the rest, exactly like soone choosing radishes at the market.
Kane Hughes, sitting inside his workshop, glanced at where Aurora Sinclair was squatting and shook his head in disdain.
’Picking stones from the low-price area? What kind of good stuff could she possibly find?’
’Utterly foolish!’
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