Anyone who has taken the train in One Han City would know that the transfer route between Line 1 and Line 9 is one of the three "subway legends." Even though it is only 600 meters on foot, it usually takes more than ten minutes by foot because you need to get through everyone in your way, which means I'll need to put in some real effort to get to Line 9 within six minutes and thirty seconds.
For your safety and the safety of others, please don't run inside the subway station.
Please be careful and avoid looking down at your mobile phone while using the escalator.
[player]It's okay, I still have time. Based on my experience of lining up for anime conventions, the best option isn't to start lining up the night before but to enter without lining up at noon when almost everyone has already gone inside.
I comfort myself in my heart as I walk to Line 9 and arrive just in time to see the doors of the train of Line 9 close. The train starts, and the electronic screen on the platform tells me that the next train will arrive at the station in five minutes...
After sighing, I look through the photos of the pool party shared by the members of Asaha High School on CatChat while I wait patiently for the time to pass.
It isn't long before another text message notification pops up on my mobile phone. After opening it, I see another route map, but it is mostly the same since I am already two-thirds of the way there. The arrival time on the new route map is now 7:54, and there are some words highlighted in red at the bottom: "Be prepared to be hungry."
Why should I be prepared to be hungry if I'm late? Did I miss some important clues along the way? Since the train hasn't arrived yet, I send a reply with my questions.
[Unknown Number](Text message) It's because you need to order one month in advance for lunch at Countless Springs today, but obviously you didn't do so.
It's sobering to see something so realistic early in the morning.
But I checked the new route map. Even if I'm a few minutes late at each step, I shouldn't be half an hour late, right?
This question is solved soon after I leave the subway station.
The exit closest to Countless Springs has been cordoned off, and a group of children wearing yellow hats pass by in front of me one after another.
According to the conversations of passers-by, a nearby elementary school has organized a spring outing today, so this area will be blocked off for fifteen minutes for their safety when they pass through the area.
I look at the other exits of the subway station and realize that they are either very far away from my destination, or I will need to go through an intersection with a set of traffic lights that take ages to change. After comparing the options repeatedly, I find that the fastest option is to stay here and wait.
It's almost 8:00 by the time I approach my destination. I rush to the entrance of Countless Springs, and before I can express my shock at how long the line in front of me is, I am pushed to the front of the line by a person who looks a little familiar. Noah is standing next to him with an unhappy expression on her face.
The mood is a bit low. After I greet her awkwardly, I am guided to the ticket office. Suddenly, my stomach starts rumbling loudly, which makes everyone fall silent around me for a while. Noah and everyone else look at me in unison... What I'm afraid of the most is that everyone will become silent because of this embarrassing situation.
Although it isn't long before everyone does their own thing again like nothing happened, I can't pretend that nothing happened. After waking so early in the morning and experiencing such strenuous exercise, I can feel myself getting hungrier. I hope I don't make any strange noises during the auction later...
I look back at the person who changed places with me just now. The reason I find him familiar is that he was one of the "statues" in Kutsuji's office yesterday. I watch as he takes a sandwich out of a bag he is carrying in his hands, shows it to me, and then puts it in his mouth...
If I'm not mistaken, that should be my breakfast. I look up at the warning sign at the entrance: "No food is allowed inside during the auction."
At this moment, I have a deeper understanding of the message: "Be prepared to be hungry."
Because I arrived late, I wouldn't need to line up for very long, and Strix prepared a ticket for me in advance. Noah gave me one, which let me know that today's task had started officially.
After our tickets are checked, we follow the stream of people through the entrance of Countless Springs. Those who will take part in the auction will be separated from the other visitors at the first fork and go to a special venue for the auction.
After walking through a labyrinth of winding corridors, we finally arrive at a hall filled with flowers. Some vine-like flowers have climbed all over the vermilion-colored pillars here, infusing the venue with a spring aura.
However, the flowers used for decoration are all common varieties. According to information that Noah, who is like a walking encyclopedia, sends to me via text messages, the cut flowers that will be sold in the auction are extremely rare varieties that Countless Springs has grown with meticulous care. For example, the flowers that will be auctioned in the auction we'll take part in are flowing gold camellia, coral red skimmia, and snow tower peony.
When I pick up the auction guide on the seat and browse through it, I learn that the auction format adopted by Countless Springs is unlike the format used by other common auctions. It is a "sellers' call auction," which is also known more simply as a Dutch auction.
In this type of auction, the auctioneer starts by quoting the highest price, and then buyers start bidding. If there are no bids, the auctioneer will lower the price until someone buys the item or the item isn't sold because it falls below the minimum price set by the client in advance.
If two or more buyers place bids during this time, the auctioneer will state a new price in increasing order, and the auction becomes the more common ascending auction, in which the price keeps increasing until no one increases the price further.
We sit in our designated seats and wait for the auction to start. Since Noah is still sending text messages to me next to me, my mobile phone keeps vibrating, which makes the people around me look at my pocket with strange eyes.
I sigh, then I take out my phone and continue to read the messages she has sent to me.
[Unknown Number](Text message) Although many people come every time, most of them are hoping to get lucky and take this opportunity to have afternoon tea with Kurone Toujou.
[Unknown Number](Text message) According to the intelligence, Kurone Toujou hasn't performed any dances or shamisen music for many years now, but she is one of the Four Greats after all, and her admirers will try to see her in person no matter what.
[Unknown Number](Text message) So you need to get the timing right after the auction starts.
This information makes me uneasy.
[player](Text message) Is there enough money in this black card? Is it possible that I won't have enough money to pay after I make a bid?
Noah looks up and glances at me. The look of surprise and contempt makes me very certain that I'm worrying about nothing as Kutsuji should be very rich.
[Unknown Number](Text message) You'll be able to spend up to 10 million Coppers with this card, which is an estimate of the cost based on the final price paid for the cut flowers in previous auctions. There are no records of any cut flowers being sold for more than this amount.
As I expected, I was worrying about nothing. I just know that Kutsuji is much better at making money than me because I would at least blush when I'm not in the right.
When did I start sending text messages too instead of talking in person? I can only say that social anxiety disorder is a transmittable phenomenon.
[Unknown Number](Text message) Of course, I can't guarantee that no accidents will happen today, so please be vigilant.
At the same time Noah sends me that text message reminder, she also hands me a number plate with the number 17 on it.
[Unknown Number]This is your auction number. Hold onto it and raise it when you need to make a bid later.
[player](Text message) Okay.
[player](Text message) I have a question to ask you.
[Unknown Number](Text message) What is it? The auction is starting soon.
[player](Text message) Why do you end every sentence in your text messages with a punctuation mark? You're making me check whether I have a punctuation mark at the end of my messages too before I send them.
[Unknown Number](Text message) That has nothing to do with you.
[player](Text message) Oh
System notification: PLAYER recalled a message.
[player](Text message) Oh.
The seats around me start to fill up, and the sound of a gong announces the start of the auction. I look at where the sound is coming from and see a golden gong on one side of the auction stand. The whole auction hall falls silent immediately after the gong is sounded, kind of like how high school students in self-study class fall silent when they see their head teacher's face in the window of the back door.
The auctioneer of Countless Springs, a woman with a charming figure and a pipe hanging from her waist, sways gently as she walks slowly onto the stage. Judging from the respectful attitude of the people around her, she should be the one in charge here. After taking to the stage, she claps her hands, summoning three flower-bearing girls to the front of the stage.
[Auctioneer]This time, we will be auctioning three arrangements of cut flowers, namely flowing gold camellia, coral red skimmia, and snow tower peony. Countless Springs carefully cultivated these varieties, and you can admire their beauty first.
As she speaks, the three flower-bearing girls walk past us slowly one by one from the stand in the middle. Their pace is measured, giving us just enough time to see the cut flowers in their hands clearly.
The first arrangement is the flowing gold camellia, which features several globe-shaped golden camellia flowers the size of a baby's fist surrounded by silver-white baby's breath flowers that are like stars around the moon. When the girl takes the flowers to the window, I see flowing light passing by after the sun shines on the petals, I instantly understand why it is named flowing gold camellia.
The second arrangement is the coral red skimmia. Skimmia isn't an easy plant to cultivate, and this arrangement is like a precious gem that is even more translucent than ordinary skimmia flowers. Instead of being decorated with unnecessary flowers, this arrangement features a large number of monstera deliciosa leaves laid out on all sides with snow-colored dusty miller flowers in the middle. On top of the dusty miller flowers, coral red skimmia blossoms that look like bright red corals are scattered everywhere like red agate on the snow.
The third arrangement features two huge snowy peonies, which seem to be grown as a pair. According to my rough estimate, these two flowers have a diameter of about 17 centimeters and a height of nearly 10 centimeters, making them true kings among flowers. Their petals are silvery-white like snow, and you can see bright yellow stamens at the bottom of the slightly pale pink petals in the middle. Set with eucalyptus leaves as their backdrop, this arrangement has an unworldly air of elegance.
After showing everyone the cut flowers, the three girls return to the stage and stand next to each other.
[Auctioneer]We will now start, and you will have fifteen minutes of thinking time. After that, we'll start the auction for the flowing gold camellia.
[Unknown Number](Text message) I want to remind you that although everyone can bid on all three cut flower arrangements, each person can only win the bid for one of them.
[player](Text message) Does this mean that it's pointless for me to bid on the two other arrangements if I manage to win the auction for the first arrangement?
[Unknown Number](Text message) Yes.
[Unknown Number](Text message) By the way, why is my number still appearing as an unknown number on your phone?
[player](Text message) ?
[Unknown Number](Text message) I can see your screen...
I pause for a moment. Under her silent gaze, I add her contact and input her name.
[player](Text message) I have an idea. Why don't we each bid on one arrangement to increase our chances of success?
[Noah](Text message) No. It isn't easy to become eligible to participate in the auction, and we only managed to get the number plate you're holding after putting in a lot of effort over a long time.
[player](Text message) Give me a hint then. For example, can you tell me which flower arrangement to bid on?
[Noah](Text message) Didn't the boss tell you yesterday? It's a mystery draw, and there are no observable rules. Just do what you usually do when you bet your chance on an Ura Dora.
In that case, I'll choose...
