In the old house, there were at least twenty or thirty people, each wearing a mask, sitting quietly in their chairs, utterly silent.
Despite the crowd, the room was eerily quiet, the scene somewhat unnerving.
Fabian Vasquez led Carson Flores to two empty seats and sat down.
"Just wait."
Carson Flores nodded and sat silently, not speaking.
Seven or eight more people arrived intermittently; the black curtain on the wall in front was lifted, and a man also wearing a mask came out, walking straight to the temporarily arranged auction platform at the front.
"It seems that nearly everyone has arrived, so let's begin," the man said, his voice low and authoritative as his eyes swept around, gleaming: "I will briefly describe each item and announce the starting price. Where I can disclose the origins, I will inform you, and I urge everyone to heed my words. Do not ask about those I cannot reveal. If you wish to buy, bid higher; if you do not, simply watch, it's as simple as that."
