Westminster Bank

’This situation has nothing to do with me. It’s not my fault, so I shouldn’t let myself be guilt-tripped. Besides, for someone worth sixty million British pounds—or maybe even more—the treatment Vivian will receive might not be that bad. After all, everything I have right now is just a fraction of her price. I shouldn’t guilt-trip myself.’

’I have to remember that I’m no saint. I’m the kid who put chili sauce in his cousin’s underwear and shoved a freshly laid egg back into a hen. I’ve done plenty of stuff like that since I was little. This is no time to start playing the hero.’

Baron tried to convince himself of this, but his conscience told him otherwise:

’You have to save her. If she’d never met you, her story might have ended on that Magic Train. The pain would have been fleeting.’

’But because you saved her, you officially rewrote her Destiny. What was once a moment of pain could now become an eternity of it for her. Do you not know what it means to create a new race? Or did you not hear those Demon Hunters behind you? She’ll become a breeding machine, and she’s only a little over ten years old! In your past life, she’d be in junior high at most!’

Then, the other voice spoke up: ’Give me a break, Zhou Yike. Think about what you went through to be sitting here. Why are you even here? If that girl on the stage had nothing to do with you, if she wasn’t so cute, if she were standing with those "rejects" from before, would you still feel this burdened?’

’Let’s be honest, how are you any different from those people in your past life who fed cute stray cats but never bothered to adopt them? You’re a hypocrite!’

His conscience immediately shot back: ’Don’t compare a person to a cat. It’s precisely because this has something to do with me that I want to help her. Stray cats are a matter for animal welfare and the city. Can’t I just save someone because I can’t stand to see something wrong?’

’In the Inner Side, as long as you have the power, you can do whatever you want!’

It was like a tiny angel and devil chirping in his ears, "Hey, buddy, Heaven or Hell? Your choice. We’re just waiting for an answer so we can report back."

Baron was puzzled. His deepest instinct, hidden away in his heart, wasn’t to just lie down and give up, but was instead a strange, indescribable sense of responsibility.

He’d always thought that, when it came to his instincts, they would be to eat, be lazy, and lie flat even if the world was ending.

He looked at Vivian, her tear-streaked face like a pear blossom in the rain, and sighed internally. ’It has come to this. I can only look for an opportunity and do my best. At least then, I’ll have a clear conscience.’

Even if his original intention was just to eat his fill, lie flat, and play games—the grand narrative of social responsibility had nothing to do with him.

In the auction hall, the price for the "Angel" continued to skyrocket. The hall was dead silent, with only round after round of heart-stopping bids echoing through the magnificent, gilded space.

The bidding reached a new peak at sixty-five million before the calls were abruptly cut short.

The bid came from the Dragon Summoner Clan, the clan of the Dragon Demon Hunter, Andy. After a member of their family called out the number sixty-five million, no other buyers followed suit.

As mentioned before, the auction house only accepted cash flow payments and operated on a "bid first, deliver later" model.

All VIPs were required to have their funds verified by official auction staff shortly after winning a bid. If it was confirmed that you had sufficient cash to pay, you could choose to pay in full on the spot or make a fifty-percent deposit, with the final payment due upon delivery.

If you didn’t have enough cash but still tried to bid just to show off, the auction—jointly held by a coalition of top Old Blood Clans and the Law Enforcement Organization—would show you what it really meant to have your face beaten swollen.

This was why, after the Dragon Summoner Clan shouted their bid, no one else followed up for some time.

By this point, they no longer had the funds to keep up with the race. They could only watch helplessly as the female auctioneer took her gavel and began to strike it on the auction block:

"Sixty-five million, going once..."

"Looks like the Angel will belong to Mr. Andy’s family this time," Kesha said. "I heard he’s close to concocting the Magic Potion for promotion to the Silver Tier. He’ll probably become a Silver within a year. The Demon Hunter Association will have another strong contender for the next presidency."

Gold and Dewey nodded. Although they were absolutely confident that after the Dragon Spear Baptism, they would one day be promoted to Silver and compete for the Demon Hunter Association presidency, the indisputable fact remained that they were still at the Cyan Phoenix Tier.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Demon Hunter Andy was already a step ahead of them in refining the Magic Potion for promotion to Silver. In that respect, he was indeed ahead of them both.

"Sixty-five million, going twice..."

The guests below began to whisper amongst themselves. Clearly, they all believed the "Angel" was already in the bag for the Dragon Summoner Clan.

Just as the gavel was about to fall for the third time.

"Seventy million."

Someone raised their bidding paddle. The voice was deep and powerful.

Baron followed everyone’s gaze. It was the crimson-haired, powerfully built man he had noticed earlier, still in his Knight’s attire despite the occasion.

It was Jiang Ge, a Faith Knight of the Holy Cross Association.

’He finally made his move,’ Baron thought. ’Just as Freya said. The Holy Cross Association’s reason for sending someone to this auction wasn’t just to help capture the Dragon Witch. Their real goal was clearly Vivian, who could create an entirely new clan.’

A new clan that could expand their faith was what they truly needed.

But to raise the bid by five million pounds—the price of a common A Level Taboo Object—in a single go... Baron sucked in a sharp breath. ’Is this the power of the Law Enforcement Organization?’

He immediately thought of the Black Card he had as an SS Level specialist. According to Secretary Stella’s introduction, the card had an overdraft limit of five million pounds, but it was for mission expenses only and had to be reimbursed—and according to Jack, getting a reimbursement from Westminster Bank was harder than finding a virgin in a brothel.

However, Baron didn’t think Jack’s reimbursement history was a reliable benchmark. After all, mission expenses for the Inner Side’s legendary thief, Jack Tang, probably involved making Westminster Bank pay to bail people out of the major Old Blood Clans, the Law Enforcement Organization, and even prisons.

Jack’s rebuttal to this was: "Aren’t I just promoting cooperation and exchange between Westminster Bank and the other Old Blood Clans, not to mention the Law Enforcement Organization? You can’t misunderstand my intentions, my Constantine Brother."

Baron figured Jack had the makings of a politician; when it came to the art of the bald-faced lie, no one Baron knew could top him.

Although Jack’s words made Baron a bit skeptical about the five-million-pound reimbursement for SS Level specialists, the salary was at least real.

It was a significant raise compared to his salary in his past life, and even to the one the original owner of this body had earned as an insurance salesman at Sheffield Industrial Bank.

————————————————

[Yelena Constantin’s Secret Notes]

March 5, 1975 / Plains / Weather: Overcast

Cousin Edward was deemed by the family to have lost his right to inherit the title of Patriarch. Poor Cousin Edward. I hope everything goes well for him.

Baron got into a fight with the other boys in the family for me and Cousin Edward today. I hope Mother watches over him and helps his wounds heal quickly.

The family has decided to honor the old marriage pact between the Constantine Family and Lancelot’s Family. Since Cousin Edward is a Bloodless, Baron was chosen for the marriage alliance instead.

Baron is very reluctant. He told me, "I don’t want to be with a strange girl. Cousin Edward gets out of the marriage because he’s a Bloodless, so I want to be a Bloodless, too."

I said, "But Baron, if you do that, the family will see you as worthless. And if you’re worthless, you’ll be abandoned by the family, just like you told me before."

"Then I can be with Yelena forever," he told me. "I promised Mom I would always protect my little sister."

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