"Sir, how may I assist you?" A girl with a sweet smile approached and cordially greeted Chen Ze.
Although Chen Ze was dressed in bargain-priced clothes and had nothing on him that looked expensive, the girl treated him warmly, which made him feel quite at ease.
"I'd like to auction something," Chen Ze said, trying hard to maintain his composure and not appear as though it was his first visit here.
A first-time customer? The girl could tell by the nervous look on Chen Ze's face.
"All right, please follow me. Items for auction must first pass through security screening and appraisal before we can proceed. Do you require a manual inspection for your item?" Although she doubted that this type of customer would have anything too pricey, the question still needed to be asked.
"Uh, yes, a manual inspection is needed," Chen Ze responded, unsure of whether modern instruments might affect the saliva.
"Okay, please come this way," the girl said with a formulaic smile, leading Chen Ze to a corner where two security personnel were seated.
Chen Ze did not hesitate and immediately took out his wooden bottle.
The security personnel closely inspected the bottle. It appeared to be a plain wooden bottle; they assumed the valuable part must be its contents, though they didn't rule out the possibility of someone causing trouble on purpose.
"May I open it?" the security staff asked out of duty.
"Sure," said Chen Ze, nodding. After all, it was nothing shameful.
As they uncorked the bottle, the fragrance that Chen Ze had smelled the day before wafted out quickly, stunning the girl nearby. She used perfume herself, but this scent was extraordinary.
Even the two security officers were taken aback for a moment, but they swiftly put the lid back on and handed it back to Chen Ze.
Such a scent coming from such a small bottle must be worth a great deal. If even a little evaporated, they doubted their salaries would cover the loss.
"Can it be appraised now?" Chen Ze asked the hostess beside him, somewhat speechlessly. Since a moment ago, she had seemed spellbound.
"Ah! My apologies, sir, I'll take you to our appraisal station right now," the girl quickly recovered and escorted Chen Ze to a room.
"Manager Sun, this gentleman wishes to auction his perfume," the girl whispered to an older man with white hair.
"Perfume? That's quite a rare item," Manager Sun said curiously, looking at Chen Ze. He had seen many items, but it was very rare for someone to auction perfume—sometimes not even once a year.
However, given that the hostess had brought him straight here, it meant the item must be special; some items rarely even caught the hostess's eye.
"Please have a look at this for me," requested Chen Ze, handing over the small bottle. He glanced around; it was the weekend, and the appraisal room was busy, mostly with ceramics or paintings, the usual antiquities.
Manager Sun didn't speak a word. When he took the bottle, he felt a bit disappointed; such a bottle, with that texture, would only belong in the trash at his home.
Manager Sun removed the cap, and that unique, refreshing scent spread again, instantly capturing his full attention.
The scent was like an exquisite orchid in a secluded valley, but with a soul-enticing nuance. More importantly, the fragrance was mild but persistent. Even after he quickly replaced the cap, the aroma continued to linger.
"Sir, we can offer you two options for your item. The first is to auction it at the sale next month. We will promote it in advance, with the advertising cost deducted from your auction proceeds," Manager Sun stated his opinion straightforwardly.
"The second option is that Longxuan Auction House will purchase your bottle of perfume directly, paying you two million RMB in full. Of course, we will also take care of the taxes on your behalf," added Manager Sun before Chen Ze had a chance to think, presenting him with the second proposal.
"I'll choose the second option," Chen Ze did not hesitate at all.
Compared to the uncertain amount of money that would only be available a month later, he preferred to have the two million RMB right now.
After signing the contract, two million RMB was quickly credited into Chen Ze's bank account. In that moment, Chen Ze felt his breathing become a little tight; it was the first time he had seen such a large sum in his account.
"A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Chen," Manager Sun said with a satisfied smile. He was very optimistic about the value of the perfume.
Chen Ze also smiled and shook Manager Sun's hand. Whoever wanted to use that bottle of saliva could; it was worthless to Chen Ze, and he would rather convert it into something else.
Looking at the account balance of 2.01 million RMB, Chen Ze couldn't help but laugh with joy. It was the first time he had made so much money, and he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of pride.
"Thinking about it, I've made enough money to buy a forty-square-meter apartment in the capital city center after just two or three days of running the restaurant. If I told others, they would think I'm bragging, right?" Chen Ze said, touching his bank card and laughing like a fool.
[Energy source detected, absorption in progress]
[Absorption complete, current progress: 2/100000]
Those lines appeared again, which left Chen Ze somewhat perplexed; he didn't understand why the System would activate without him cooking. Yesterday, he had conducted an experiment, and it showed that only when he was in the process of cooking would the System react; it was otherwise in a state of "crash."
While Chen Ze was still confused, his phone vibrated. He took it out and saw a message from the bank, and the content made him even more bewildered.
"On November 7, 20xx, you transferred 2,000,000.00 RMB. Current account balance: 10,514.29," a concise message.
"What the fuck?"
Chen Ze walked back to his restaurant with a look of depression. He had just confirmed something: the two million RMB he had earned from selling his saliva had been absorbed by the System as an energy source, and sadly, it only provided two points of energy.
What was even sadder was that the System didn't need Chen Ze's consent to absorb energy sources, which made him feel extremely insecure about his future. Who knew if the money he earned would also be taken by the System to continue contributing bricks and mortar for "Daddy System."
"Sigh... I need to stay calm, calm... Wealth is just an external possession, one can't bring it into life or take it into death... Calm my ass!" Chen Ze jumped onto the bed in a rage and started pounding the pillow.
A total progress of one hundred thousand; Chen Ze couldn't bear to imagine how much money he would have to make to fill this pit.
"Forget it, I should just make some desserts." Chen Ze took several deep breaths before he finally calmed down a bit.
So, he spent the afternoon in the kitchen, planning to make a summer dessert to beat the heat—Sundae.
The production of Sundae was not difficult. Chen Ze spent just a little over an hour and was quite satisfied with his creation. The rest of the time was spent studying methods of making Sundae and the various kinds of Sundaes.
[You made a barely passable Sundae, dessert making experience increased by 42 points]
The corner of Chen Ze's mouth twitched. He made twenty-one portions of Sundae, but not a single one triggered a special effect, which made Chen Ze wonder if it was guaranteed to trigger an effect the first time one obtained a passive skill.
Chen Ze looked at his phone; it was already seven in the evening. He wondered if any customers from the Otherworld would come today.
Chen Ze took a deep breath. With two desserts on hand, he was finally not so nervous anymore.