Chapter 849: Lukko Auction
The sealed lower-level assembly hall blocked all light from the portholes, with only a few dim beams of light from the ceiling piercing the gloom.
The air was thick with the scent of cigars and a strange, unsettling fragrance that constantly grated on the nerves.
The guests in the hall were impeccably dressed, yet each wore an inscrutable expression and kept their faces hidden. Most of their figures were concealed in shadows where the light could not reach, and even their hushed conversations were cautiously stifled in their throats, for fear that others might discover their identities.
Soon, in the center of the hall, a middle-aged man in a deep red suit raised his hand and tapped the small wooden gavel in his hand.
Accompanied by two crisp "tap-tap" sounds, the fragmented noise instantly dissipated, the scattered whispers completely vanished, and the entire hall suddenly fell silent.
Everyone straightened up, their gazes all converging on the middle-aged man in the center.
"Ahem." The middle-aged man cleared his throat a few times, but he did not introduce himself, nor did he engage in any excessive pleasantries. He struck the gavel again and gestured for the staff member beside him to bring the first tray onto the podium in front of him.
Following the middle-aged man's actions, he abruptly whipped off the red cloth covering the tray.
A mummified corpse, no larger than a palm, appeared on the tray.
—Xiao He had never seen such a bizarre and withered corpse.
Back when he attended biology class, he had once accompanied his teacher and classmates to the biology lab to observe the growth process of embryos over several months.
At that time, the fetuses were soaked in formalin, divided into several stages, from small to large, gradually changing from a tiny nub of flesh on a fingertip to a baby occupying an entire bottle. Although observing them still induced a sense of eeriness, perhaps for the sake of experimental instruction, the fetuses soaking in formalin were very peaceful; they lacked any bloodstains and were not so grotesque, just lying quietly in the liquid as if they were asleep.
But this time, the existence on that tray—or perhaps it was merely a sprout, not even the size of a palm, and perhaps not even qualifying as a life—was curled up, looking like an unevolved, shriveled monkey. Moreover, because it had undergone special treatment and drying, its limbs were even more withered and twisted, and even its skull was incomplete, bearing a bizarre, sunken appearance.
If one looked closely, one would also notice that its body had been polished until it was somewhat shiny, even possessing the smooth luster of a well-handled antique, which, compared to its shriveled and twisted body, appeared all the more eerie and terrifying.
Xiao He's mind went blank on the spot, and he didn't even hear the middle-aged man's introduction of this "auction item" clearly.
He only discreetly noticed that when the middle-aged man tapped the table to begin the bidding, the surrounding crowd gradually began to stir.
It wasn't until the first auction item was sold that he finally snapped out of his daze.
In fact, what Zheng Ji had said to him earlier was indeed a simplified explanation for a layman.
Xiao He, who was already familiar with Feng Shui metaphysics and the Feng Shui culture of various regions, knew that the more accurate term for this thing was "Luk Ge." Abroad, it referred to the fetal remains of any animal or human that died within the womb, and the original translated meaning was "passing through."
What an ironic term.
Truly a journey through the human world, yet before one has even formally emerged from the womb to open their eyes and see the world, in the end, one has merely "passed through."
Xiao He knew that this thing was indeed quite prevalent in those countries. Although the local authorities had been cracking down on it, they could not stop people's greed.
However, compared to the unformed lives, he was more worried about these mothers.
Because this was a scientific world, whether an unformed embryo possessed hatred, resentment, or a soul was still an unknown, but the mothers who carried them had truly been harmed.
And as Xiao He watched the line of servers behind them carrying trays, he dared not imagine how many innocent people this massive industrial chain would implicate.
Perhaps because this auction itself was not particularly formal, the middle-aged man on stage moved through the items quickly without much delay. The bidders in the audience were also aware of this situation, so whenever they encountered something they wanted, they would decisively raise their paddles.
Thus, the auction items on stage went from unformed to formed, then to those with hands, feet, and facial features, and finally, they were simply... people!
To Xiao He's disappointment, they did not bring the people to the scene but instead directly presented photos and relevant documents of the mothers for everyone to choose from.
Those who had already made reservations or had their eyes on someone simply confirmed their number plates and stood up to leave; as for those still choosing or if multiple people were interested in the same one, they would compete on the spot.
And Xiao He glanced hurriedly at the basic information, his heart filled with shock, while a raging fire of anger ignited in his chest.
These mothers were not only marked with detailed blood types, birth dates, and relevant personal information, but even their occupations, personalities, and families were listed—just looking at this data and their families, Xiao He knew that a large portion of them had definitely been deceived or abducted. Many of them had once possessed good professional status and relatively respectable life backgrounds.
They should absolutely not have ended up in such places.
Everyone was like someone selecting pork, flipping through the tablets in their hands and picking and choosing their desired targets—
The guests who had made their selections stood up one after another and followed people to their corresponding room numbers.
Xiao He also stood up abruptly.
"Aren't you going to pick one?" the man behind him continued to ask.
Xiao He pulled at the corner of his mouth, his eyes already carrying a hint of coldness, and he gave Zheng Ji a chilly look over his shoulder.
Zheng Ji was stunned as he met the young man's gaze, which seemed filled with sharp swords, ready to slaughter any prey before him at any moment.
But Xiao He paid him no more mind and turned to walk in the direction the other guests were heading.
"Sir, may I ask you—" someone immediately walked over to ask Xiao He, but Xiao He patted him on the shoulder: "Where is your Eldest Young Master?"
The waiter was stunned for a moment. After realizing that the Eldest Young Master Xiao He was referring to was their Bao Family's Eldest Young Master, Bao Wenyin, he hesitated and pointed in a direction: "That corridor, at the very end, the second room on the left."
"Oh." Xiao He nodded. After looking around brazenly, he continued to ask: "How is the privacy here? How much surveillance is there?"
"Ah, please rest assured regarding that, sir. Our service absolutely guarantees privacy and discretion. We haven't installed much surveillance in our lower-level ship cabins," the waiter said.
"Hmm, very good. No thanks needed." Xiao He patted the waiter's shoulder again, then lifted his leg and walked inside.
The waiter who had been patted on the shoulder stood there for a while, then was called away by others again, turning to continue his work.
At this moment, there were already a few guests in the corridor. Xiao He noticed that these rooms and their corresponding number plates were actually pre-arranged; guests only needed to enter according to their numbers.
The further inside, the quieter it was, which also meant the guests arriving were more distinguished.
The only good thing was that since the entire ship was equivalent to their own territory, there wasn't much security personnel stationed in these areas, making it relatively convenient to enter and exit.
Xiao He strutted around all the corridors in this manner, and after roughly mapping out a layout in his mind, he arrived at the door of a room. He immediately put his old skills to use, picking the lock and opening the door.
His speed in opening the door was even smoother than using a key; even when he walked into the room and closed the door behind him, the people inside hadn't reacted yet.
At this moment, there were several people in the room.
In the very center sat a young man, a cigar in his mouth, puffing out clouds of smoke. A middle-aged man with long hair tied in a bun and a face full of stubble was cutting a rooster in his hand, one knife stroke at a time, then holding the blood-stained knife over a flame to roast it, all while muttering incantations.
And in the very corner, two women were huddled, trembling.
Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, the two men in the room were the first to look up.