The murmuring crowd inside the grand auction hall gradually settled as the attendants finished clearing the stage from the previous demonstration. The faint hum of anticipation returned, thicker than before. Word had already spread through the room that the remaining divisions were **far more practical**—and far more dangerous.
A pair of assistants wheeled forward a reinforced steel cart.
Ian stood calmly beside it, adjusting the round lenses of his spectacles as the stage lights reflected brightly across them.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said with quiet amusement, "we now proceed to the third division."
The cloth covering the crate was drawn away.
Inside rested a sleek black case, its interior lined with velvet. Nestled within it were several weapons of which were long, slender rifles unlike anything commonly seen. Their bodies were compact and polished with a metallic sheen that caught the stage lighting like liquid steel.
Ian lifted one gently.
The weapon looked almost too elegant to be lethal.
The barrel was unusually thin, tapering forward into a narrow muzzle no wider than a pencil body. The stock had been redesigned to balance weight perfectly against the shoulder, while the upper frame housed a multi-layered scope system that shimmered faintly with embedded lenses.
"This," Ian began, rotating the weapon for the audience to observe, "is a prototype assault system designed for precision elimination."
A quiet murmur spread through the room.
"The scope contains adaptive targeting optics capable of reading atmospheric density and wind resistance in real time."
He clicked a small switch.
The rifle produced a faint mechanical whir.
"Manual trigger is available for traditional shooters, but we have also incorporated an auto-uncorking mechanism in which is a system allowing the weapon to fire the moment a confirmed lock is achieved."
Several heads lifted.
Across the hall, even members of Klaus's security team shifted slightly, their professional eyes sharpening with interest.
Ian continued calmly.
"And finally… the muzzle."
He tapped the thin barrel.
"Compressed kinetic discharge. Under testing conditions, the projectile has successfully pierced industrial diamond plating even though the bullet used this time was a plastic bullet showing how lethal it was."
The room went silent.
Then the murmuring began again, louder this time.
Stephenson leaned forward in his seat, eyebrows raised.
Alois whispered under his breath, half amused, half impressed.
Mahito merely watched.
Ian carefully placed the rifle back inside its case.
"And so we move to the fourth division."
Another crate was wheeled onto the stage.
This one was much smaller.
When the lid opened, the audience leaned forward instinctively.
Inside the box rested a dark metallic sphere roughly the size of an adult human fist.
Ian pressed a button.
The sphere suddenly separated.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Tiny mechanical drones unfolded like a swarm of metallic insects, their wings humming softly as they hovered above the crate in tight formation.
Gasps rippled through the hall.
"Five hundred units," Ian announced calmly.
The drones rotated together in perfect synchronization.
"Each drone is equipped with three core functions: surveillance, electronic interference, and focused laser discharge."
A small beam of red light flashed briefly from one drone, striking a metal plate on the stage with a faint sizzling sound.
Ian clasped his hands behind his back.
"Individually they are tools. Together they are… a system, can be used to keep rats away from snooping around can be used in homes to swat flies and well business lines."
The drones smoothly folded back together into the sphere and returned to the crate.
The atmosphere in the hall had completely changed.
This was no longer about experimental medicine.
This was real deal in warfare.
Ian smiled faintly.
"For these final divisions, the starting conditions are slightly different."
He paused.
"The minimum bid will be fifty million."
Several investors immediately exchanged glances.
Unlike the earlier items, which had begun without a base price, these weapons were already entering the auction floor at an enormous value.
But judging from the hungry looks around the room, no one seemed discouraged.
At a nearby table, Raphael remained relaxed in his seat, though his eyes briefly shifted downward toward the sleek tech watch on his wrist.
A faint blinking signal appeared across its screen.
His brow furrowed slightly.
Another frequency had entered the area.
Not one of theirs.
Not one belonging to the auction's internal network.
Slowly, Raphael tapped the side of the watch, enlarging the signal pattern.
His gaze sharpened.
Without drawing attention, he gently nudged Tess, who stood near him.
"Another frequency line, seems to have appeared not long" he murmured quietly. "Find the direction."
Tess gave the slightest nod and began scanning the room with subtle movements, adjusting a tiny device concealed beneath her sleeve.
Across the hall, Yunli, seated among the serving girls with her dyed red hair falling over one shoulder, happened to catch the brief interaction.
Her eyes narrowed.
She understood immediately that something had been detected.
Without hesitation, she subtly snapped the recording pen in her hand with great force as it wasn't an ordinary device made to be fragile.
Back inside the hotel room across the city, Sonia suddenly winced.
A violent spike burst through her headset.
"—ah!"
She yanked the headphones off instinctively as a shrill burst of feedback rang through the transmitter.
"She could have given a warning you fuck..." She cussed
The signal had been deliberately cut.
Back inside the auction hall, Yunli calmly lowered her hand, the broken pen pieces slipping quietly beneath the tablecloth.
Before she could steady herself, a shadow moved slightly in front of her.
Mahito.
He had turned his head just enough for his voice to reach her.
His tone was quiet.
"Now."
Yunli blinked.
Mahito's hand casually lifted the glass in front of him.
Without looking back at her, he continued.
"Drop it in."
Yunli froze.
Her eyes widened slightly, she had thought her actions weren't noticed or obvious but it seems she was wrong.
In the sleeve of her coat rested the small vial she had been given earlier.
The instruction had come suddenly and unexpectedly.
For the first time that night, genuine surprise flickered across her expression.
Mahito slowly swirled the drink in his glass.
Still facing forward Waiting for her response.