— — — — — —
Each bubble room contained a concealed teleportation gate.
Passing through it, Ryo was randomly transported to a city in the 7757 Outer Gate. After spending some time making his way back to Elm City, he reappeared in front of Ori Tower.
The moment he arrived, his appearance shifted.
His black hair turned into golden wavy locks. A winged helmet appeared on his head, and his build became that of a sturdy young man— Hermes.
The attendant's eyes lit up as soon as she saw him. "Welcome, Lord Hermes."
Ryo nodded and casually gave her big butt a playful slap. "Has the auction started yet?"
"Yes. Please follow me. Your private room has already been prepared." The attendant shot him a flirtatious smile. "Would you like me to accompany you today? Or perhaps the little cutie? Oh, and the daughters of Lord Poseidon that you specifically requested arrived a few months ago."
Ryo paused.
He had known Hermes frequented this black market. He just hadn't expected him to play this wildly.
Enjoying Poseidon's daughters... in a venue owned by Poseidon himself.
Very Hermes.
Wearing Hermes' face, Ryo smiled naturally, "Poseidon's daughters, huh? Excellent. Send me a mermaid. I'm planning to have some fun today."
The attendant led him to the teleportation gate and bowed with another sweet smile. "I'll make the arrangements immediately."
As soon as she left, Ryo's expression went blank. Then he stepped into the portal.
As space twisted around him, his body abruptly split into two.
One was Ryo himself. The other was wearing Hermes' appearance.
"A simple clone probably won't fool them..." After considering it, Ryo took out a Gift Card and flicked it forward.
The card landed on Hermes' forehead before slowly fading away.
As it disappeared, a familiar divine aura began taking shape.
After examining it carefully and finding no obvious flaws, Ryo nodded. "Borrowing the Machine Hermes' Divinity gets me about this far."
Smiling to himself, he turned around and returned to Room 12.
...
Meanwhile, his Hermes impersonation headed toward the familiar Bubble Room 120.
Inside, a pink-haired mermaid wearing a shell-like outfit sat timidly on the sofa, her expression filled with fear.
The fake Hermes laughed heartily, strode over, and sat beside her.
One hand idly stroked her powerful fish tail while he narrowed his eyes at the bidding onstage, a faint smile slowly spreading across his lips.
...
Back in Room 12—
As soon as Ryo returned, he was met with Shiroyasha's teasing smile.
He shrugged, "I wanted to try something. So, what's Zeus at now?"
"Thirty thousand Ori Points." Shiroyasha gestured toward the stage with her chin.
"So low?" Ryo blinked.
Indra had shot past five hundred thousand in mere seconds.
He'd only spent about two minutes setting up his fake identity, yet Zeus had only reached thirty thousand.
'Was Zeus really that disgusting?'
Shiroyasha rolled her eyes. "What did you expect? This counterpart is only a weak five-digit. The only reason he's even worth this much is because people want to humiliate Zeus."
Her expression became rather strange. "And the people who are actually capable of humiliating Zeus have all gone to blockade Greek Headquarters already. The ones left here are the people who want to humiliate him but can't afford to offend him. How high do you think they'd bid?"
"...Fair point."
Ryo was left speechless.
It was like the difference between someone with an actual girlfriend and a lonely guy buying a sex toy.
The comparison was ridiculous but the logic checked out.
Ryo sighed heavily, "So I'm not making much money after all."
"Give it up." Shiroyasha waved him off. "Besides Indra, Brahma, and Vishnu, don't expect anyone else to fetch a high price. They're only five-digits. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't even be worth a hundred Ori Points. What kind of astronomical price are you hoping for?"
She snorted, "And Brahma won't sell for much either. He's well-liked in upper layers, so there won't be much competition. The only ones worth real money are Indra and Vishnu."
"...Vishnu."
Ryo's mood instantly became complicated.
When Vishnu's turn came, he fully intended to disappear.
Because the bidders would undoubtedly be those terrifying two-digit existences.
If the guy who had tricked them with a mere five-digit counterpart stayed around to watch those monsters spend mountains of money... he'd be asking to get beaten to death.
"Whatever." Ryo shook his head. "I've already made a killing. That's good enough for me."
With that, he shifted his attention back to fake Hermes.
...
Inside Bubble Room 120—
Still wearing Hermes' face, Ryo watched Zeus' price continue to crawl upward.
His expression darkened.
Then he suddenly shouted, "You fools! How dare you insult Greece!"
The instant the words left his mouth, countless concealed gazes turned toward him.
Ignoring them, "Hermes" calmly entered a bid on the table.
114514... Enter.
Turtle's passionate voice immediately rang throughout the hall. "My goodness! Guest Number 120 bids 114,514 Ori Points! Could it be he also wants to see whether Zeus can really father new races?!"
"Legend says the Jötunn descended from the Titans! If a male Jötunn fathers children with Zeus, could they restore the Titans' ancient glory? Just imagining that scene is enough to make this turtle excited!"
Hearing that bizarre commentary, all the morally questionable voyeurs wore strange expressions.
As expected of Poseidon's subordinate, he could roast Zeus without missing a beat.
But more importantly... Every one of them focused their attention on Room 120.
Hermes bidding on Zeus? Now that was interesting.
Was it an impostor? Or the real Hermes? After all, Zeus' own incarnation was present at the auction.
The hidden observers watched with growing amusement.
...
Inside Bubble Room 1—
Zeus frowned as he stared toward Room 120.
"Hermes' incarnation? No... something's off. It's close, but not quite. Almost as if someone is deliberately trying to look fake."
Hermes' true body had committed suicide. But many of his incarnations still existed throughout Little Garden.
So seeing one here wasn't surprising.
Although the Divinity surrounding this Hermes had been altered, almost as if someone had intentionally disguised it, Zeus easily recognized his son's essence.
'So... you're pretending to be an impostor just to scam your own father?'
Zeus's expression immediately darkened.
He hadn't even managed to retrieve Hermes yet, and this brat was already taking advantage of him.
"Hmph." Zeus let out a cold snort. And the sound traveled directly into Hermes' ears.
Then he made no further bids.
He knew his son would understand exactly what that snort meant.
Hearing it, Ryo narrowed his eyes.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he watched Turtle bring down the hammer one final time.
"114,514 Ori Points! Congratulations to Guest Number 120 for purchasing this Zeus!"
.
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