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...
"He won't be coming today..."
DL-01 sighed and placed the bare rose stems back into the vase.
A glance around revealed that the more than two-hundred-square-meter hall was already carpeted with rose petals. The overpowering fragrance made TB-21, who had just pushed open the door, stumble back in shock.
"My god! DL-01—did you buy all these roses just to ruin them like this?"
DL-01 took out her phone and ordered another 999 roses. She lifted her eyes and cast TB-21 a cool, detached glance.
"Please sweep the floor."
"Do you take me for your maid?!" TB-21 snapped, glaring with wide eyes.
Despite her protest, she still grabbed a broom and started cleaning, muttering under her breath the whole time.
[Ding!]
The phone on the table chimed. DL-01 picked it up and glanced at the screen.
It was the list of bidders attending today's auction.
"Ah..." she sighed softly, holding little hope.
Lately, she had barely paid attention to the outside world. Other than sleeping, playing with her cat, and counting roses, she did almost nothing else.
She could spend an entire day just counting roses.
"DL-01, stop looking. I already checked—the man didn't come," TB-21 said with a pout. "That ace from the Top 300 Club is here again, though. Looks like he won't stop until he gets you."
DL-01 scrolled through her phone, her tone indifferent.
"Then this time I'll just say I don't like people who cling."
TB-21 sighed. She genuinely felt sorry for that ace driver.
Of all people, why did he have to fall for DL-01—this eternal block of ice?
DL-01's finger suddenly stopped. Her gaze fixed on the very last line of the bidder list.
Her eyes widened slightly, her breathing unconsciously slowing.
[Stella Club — Derek Su]
That man...
He came.
...
"There really are a lot of people here!"
Sitting in the bidding area, Derek Su looked around at the nearly full seats and couldn't help but remark.
His position wasn't great. He wasn't a corporate tycoon, and his club wasn't well known, so he was tucked away in a back corner of the bidding section.
From here, he couldn't clearly see the Mecha Girls on stage, nor the detailed introductions on the big screen.
Fortunately, the exhibition auction provided a list of participating Mecha Girls in advance, complete with their models and basic information.
"Tianyuan City is a provincial capital. It's normal for the exhibition auction to be crowded," Mr. Xavier said casually. Clearly not his first time here, he held Lumina's hand with practiced familiarity. "Want to try their milk tea? It's pretty good—and free."
"I want some!" Zane raised his hand immediately.
"I... I'd like to try it too..." Lingwind said timidly.
This time, Stella didn't join the chatter. She was carefully studying the Mecha Girl list, analyzing each profile with the seriousness of a king selecting his royal guards.
"Master, there's a top-tier Mecha Girl here!"
Stella pointed at the very bottom of the list and read aloud:
"DL-01, from the Imperial Family... Hmm, that should be a newly emerging family faction from Mecha Island. And she's the first Mecha Girl of that family! No weaknesses at all—amazing!"
Her gaze slid further down.
"Starting price... one zero, two zeros... eight zeros? How much is that?"
Stella's eyes slowly went blank, a wisp of white smoke almost seeming to rise from her head.
"F-five hundred million?!"
Crabman!
Five hundred million could buy a hundred thousand of her!
What kind of Mecha Girl cost that much?!
"Don't even think about this one. We can't afford her," Derek Su said, feeling intimidated just looking at DL-01's starting price. "Even counting the Silverstone Advancement Tournament rewards, we only have five million we can actually use. Let's look at the ones with more reasonable starting bids..."
"Waaah~ fine..." Stella reluctantly tore her gaze away from DL-01.
Still, she couldn't help thinking how great it would be if she could recruit DL-01 as a pineapple-bearing bodyguard.
...
Ten o'clock in the morning.
The exhibition auction officially began.
"Welcome, all bidders, to this exhibition auction."
A functional Mecha Girl stood on the stage, wearing a sweet smile.
"As per the usual rules, all interactions during the auction must remain peaceful. Threats and malicious interference are prohibited. Starting from the first bidder who offers the starting price, bidders will take turns communicating with the target Mecha Girl to negotiate the final transaction price. Verbal abuse or attacks during communication are strictly forbidden. Anyone who violates these rules will be blacklisted by Mecha Island."
A round of applause rippled through the bidding seats.
Derek Su and Stella clapped along absentmindedly as well.
Just as the functional Mecha Girl was about to announce the first Mecha Girl to take the stage, a cool, detached voice called out from behind the curtain.
She turned and saw DL-01.
Out of respect for a top-tier Mecha Girl, she paused the auction and walked over with courtesy.
"DL-01, is there something you need?"
"Can my auction order be moved up?" DL-01 asked expressionlessly.
"Um... that won't be possible now," the functional Mecha Girl said with some difficulty. "The appearance order was finalized before eight o'clock, and the list has already been printed and distributed. Some bidders in the back can't see you clearly—if the order changes, it'll cause confusion."
DL-01 pressed her lips together.
She didn't want to cause confusion, so she accepted this.
But she immediately followed up with another question.
"Can my starting price be adjusted?"
"That's possible."
"Then set it to fifty million... no, ten million will do..."
DL-01 frowned in frustration, as if even ten million didn't feel right.
That man had only just founded his club. He must have spent all his money already, right?
"...Then how about a zero starting price?"
The functional Mecha Girl was completely stunned.
What was this lady thinking?
Not long ago, she had set her starting price at five hundred million. It wasn't that no one wanted to bid—she had simply used every excuse imaginable to stall.
And now she wanted a zero starting price? What was she planning? Had she finally grown impatient to be auctioned off?
Even so, a zero starting price was absolutely not allowed.
"DL-01, a zero starting price isn't acceptable. The minimum starting price for a top-tier Mecha Girl is fifty million. You're free to negotiate the final transaction price afterward, but I must warn you—the final sale price becomes your market value. Constantly lowering it brings no good. Human nature is like this: the easier something is to obtain, the less it's cherished. You should think carefully."
DL-01 lowered her head in thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Then set the starting price at fifty million."
The functional Mecha Girl felt genuinely relieved.
Selling DL-01 sooner was a good thing. Her value belonged on the racetrack, not in an exhibition hall waiting for bids.
Just as she was thinking that—
"Oh, right." DL-01 turned her head slightly. "Please activate Mecha Island Mecha Girl Auction Regulation No. 177."
With that, DL-01 returned behind the curtain, quietly waiting to appear last alongside the other four high-performance Mecha Girls.
The functional Mecha Girl froze on the spot.
Regulation 177?
What on earth was DL-01 thinking?!
But since this was DL-01's own choice, there was nothing she could say. She could only sigh and walk back to center stage.
"Apologies, bidders, for the brief interruption. We'll now continue the auction."
"Next, let us welcome our first Mecha Girl—DSC-754!"
...
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