Zero took a sip of hot tea.
He didn't plan on letting other factions find out about his existence.
All he could do was try to think from the company executive's point of view and help him find the most profitable solution.
Very soon, he looked up and asked, "Then what about Baiheng's and your commissions?"
Just one sentence, and it directly hit the point, the thing that matters most to anyone working for a living.
The bearded man froze. He hadn't even thought about that. Zero… was actually thinking about their commissions? He was really trying to help them earn more credits?
Zero continued, "Just follow the normal process. No need to make an exception for me."
The bearded man opened his mouth, dazed for quite a while before he came back to his senses.
It all felt so contradictory.
'Is this part of the former marshal's grand plan? …No way, right?'
Surely he wouldn't care about the feelings of some random salaryman like him.
Between a free order and a commission, the bearded man still couldn't resist the lure of credits.
Fine, he'd just go along with this man's way of doing things.
Give and take, he'd do his best to get the former marshal the biggest discount possible.
His tone grew much warmer as he took out his communicator and eagerly exchanged contact information with Zero.
"This time, the auction has quite a few antique jewels..."
The bearded man suddenly remembered the rules of the Xianzhou Alliance and hesitated for a moment.
'This man… didn't need to follow the rules, did he?'
'But if he actually showed up at the company's auction… wouldn't that be lowering the whole level of prestige?'
'It'd be like the almighty, universe-conquering protagonist personally piloting a giant mech to squash bugs himself…'
He quickly added, "If you don't have the time, I can bid on your behalf."
Zero didn't feel like making a fuss. "Got pictures?" he asked.
The bearded man nodded quickly.
The company had hosted many auctions before, and the higher-ups knew their rich clients well.
Some wealthy people kept a very low profile and only sent trusted agents to attend on their behalf.
To accommodate those clients, Interstellar Peace Corporation always photographed and filmed the auction items in advance, making it easier for them to choose.
The bearded man tapped his communicator, pulled up the information for the items, and handed it over to Zero.
Normally, when facing clients, he would always explain the stories behind each piece, just like how small restaurants always give their signature dishes a special backstory to make them sound unique.
Whether the stories were good or bad didn't matter, what mattered was leaving an impression on the customer.
If even a street stall did that, then it went double for items with starting bids in the hundreds of millions.
But if this client was the former marshal himself… well, there was no need for any of that.
Whether it was a royal crown or a noble family's heirloom jewel weighing dozens, even hundreds of carats, none of that was anything special to Zero.
After all, he himself was living history. The items at this auction probably weren't even as old as he was.
The bearded man didn't say much else and quietly waited for him to make his selections.
Zero didn't know much about gemstones.
He didn't understand why gems that looked the same color could have different names and prices, nor could he tell which ones were higher quality.
As for all the little design details from jewelers… he understood even less.
'What color did women like?'
He wasn't sure, so he just went with his instincts and picked out rings in pink, light blue, and violet-blue. Then he asked the company executive for his opinion.
The bearded man was deeply moved.
'So the former marshal was this easy to talk to? He even asked for the opinion of a regular working stiff.'
Completely different from the company higher-ups.
He immediately drew on his professional training as a senior executive at Interstellar Peace Corp and began explaining the gemstones used in those rings.
When he realized Zero really didn't know anything about gemstones, he patiently clarified, "This gem has been heat-treated, it's 'burned.' After treatment, the color becomes more even and attractive."
"Among gems of the same quality, untreated stones, 'unburned' ones, are rarer and more valuable. My personal advice would be to choose a natural, untreated gem."
Zero nodded, taking the expert's advice, and switched to a ring with an unheated gemstone.
Seeing Zero choose the pink diamond ring, the bearded man immediately started praising his taste, "You truly have an exceptional eye! You went straight for the pink diamond!"
The bearded man was overwhelmed with emotion.
'What an incredible client! How much commission could he make from this?!'
His fear of Zero instantly vanished. He quickly recalled past auction results in his mind.
"This one's the centerpiece of the entire event. Last time, a pink diamond of the same carat weight sold for five hundred million credits, it broke the all-time interstellar record for diamonds, no, for any gemstone!"
"The buyer ended up paying six hundred million in total. Oh, and that was just the hammer price, there's also a service fee and planetary tax afterward."
Zero let the words go in one ear and out the other. He didn't really care how many credits he was spending. He just wanted to finish choosing a confession gift quickly and then sneak off to the library to slack off.
He nodded and kept picking.
While browsing, his gaze landed on a blue-green pendant that caught his eye.
The bearded man, ever alert to his VIP client's interests, immediately launched into another round of flattery, "As expected of you! This is the largest Paraiba tourmaline ever discovered. The color, the craftsmanship, miss this one and you won't see another for centuries! You've chosen a ring and a necklace, would you like a bracelet to go with them?"
Zero thought about it and decided that made sense, so he asked the executive to recommend one.
As he browsed, he started picking earrings too.
After that, the bearded man suddenly came across a photo of a blue-green ring and eagerly explained, "This ring's gemstone is quite special, it's an alexandrite. Under sunlight and candlelight, it shows different colors."
He opened a video and showed it to Zero.
The deep-blue gem gradually turned red as the light shifted to candlelight.
The red glow under the flame looked just like Jingliu's eyes.
Zero didn't hesitate, he added that ring to his purchase list right away.
Seeing how straightforward he was, the bearded man was thrilled.
It was an auction, after all. Every item was worth hundreds of millions.
And this man had picked more than a dozen pieces like he was ordering lunch, how much commission was that going to be?
Oh, and Baiheng, she'd probably never be in debt again after this.
Watching Zero choose all the top antique jewels from the event, the bearded man asked politely, "May I ask what ring size you'd like? I'll arrange for our top craftsmen to adjust it for you."
He thought for a moment. Since Zero had picked so many different rings, they were probably for different people. So he asked tactfully,
"Would all the rings be the same size?"
Zero, "…"
'What? Ring size?'
'Oh. Right. Rings have sizes.'
He froze.
He had spent all that time choosing, listening to the executive explain everything in detail…
And he completely forgot to think about that.
'What size was Jingliu's again?'
Zero… had no idea.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/XenosX
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰