I Spy With My Secret Eyes

Chapter 6

Oliver stared at the piece of old mine material for a few seconds, and information quickly flashed through his mind.

As soon as he saw the identification message, he felt relieved. His newfound special ability seemed to be effective even on raw jadeite!

The message read: [This old mine material from Morrowton Pit has formed approximately 92 million years ago. It was excavated on September 18, 2020. The total weight is 90.6 pounds, with the jade core weighing 17 pounds. The core is mixed with impurities and contains numerous cracks. The transparency index is 0.12.]

Oliver then saw a 360-degree high-definition image of the jade core.

[Craftsmanship level: Unprocessed.]

[Value assessment: 200 dollars.]

As Oliver absorbed the information, a wave of disappointment washed over him as he realized that the finest-grade old mine material was valued at a mere 200 dollars. It seemed that those who took the risk of gambling were going to face devastating losses.

What’s more, Oliver’s identify skill even showed him a 360-degree high-definition image of the jade core!

With a mix of astonishment and excitement, Oliver examined the mental image further. In his mind, a complete, shell-less jade core appeared. He could even rotate and view it from any angle.

The shape, size, texture, and every other aspect of this jade core were clearly and vividly displayed.

Oliver could even mentally dissect the jade core from any position and observe its inner composition.

Unfortunately, a large part of the jade core was riddled with cracks, filled with impurities, and, in technical terms, utterly worthless.

Oliver then turned his attention to the second piece of old mine material. It turned out to be worse than the previous one, valued at a mere 180 dollars.

The third piece of the old mine material was slightly better, but still, it was only worth 600 dollars. It was safe to say that the three blocks of finest-quality old mine material were nothing short of disappointments.

There were 14 pieces of raw stone on the display counter, but starting from the fourth piece, they were no longer high-quality old mine material. It was just that their external appearance still seemed somewhat presentable.

At the end of the display counter, there was a pile of stones without any accompanying information. The external appearance of these stones was poor, and they were the kind that Willie purchased in bulk at scrap prices. They were effectively of no value and served as practice materials for novices to sharpen their skills.

Oliver meticulously examined each stone, but raw stones number four to fix were all filled with impurities and deemed worthless.

As Oliver came across the stone number seven, his heart skipped a beat.

The information said: [Rough jade stone from Ossory in Manchernius. Formed 100 million years ago and was excavated on August 27, 2020. The total weight is 35 pounds, with the jade core weighing four pounds. Jade core’s purity is at grade three, and the transparency index is 3.7.]

A 360-degree high-definition image of the jade core was shown next.

[Craftsmanship: Unprocessed.]

[Value assessment: Equivalent to 110 thousand dollars.]

“This one is valuable!” Oliver exclaimed in his heart.

Seeing its estimated value of 110 thousand dollars, Oliver’s interest was piqued.

However, as Oliver continued to inspect the remaining pieces from stone number eight to fourteen, they were all worthless junk materials worth only 200 or so dollars.

Out of the fourteen pieces, only stone number seven, worth 110 thousand dollars, held value.

Oliver felt a tinge of disappointment. Since only one piece was valuable, he wondered how much it would cost in the auction and how much profit he could make if he obtained the stone.

Even if he acquired it at a bargain price, Oliver needed to split half of the 110 thousand dollars with Hailey. 55,000 dollars would only be a fraction of his father’s medical expenses, which were estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Glancing at the pile of unmarked raw stones at the end of the display counter, there were at least a hundred pieces of stones ranging in different sizes.

Since he had nothing better to do, Oliver decided to take a look at them one by one. Who knew, maybe he could stumble

upon something valuable.

Examining each piece was only going to take three seconds for him.

With this idea in mind, Oliver started inspecting the stones one by one.

However, they were all worthless scrap pieces. After examining dozens of stones, they turned out to be even worse than the previous ones.

Just as Oliver was feeling disheartened, one of the larger stones caught his attention. The displayed information read: [Rough jade stone from Ossory in Manchernius. Formed 100 million years ago and was excavated on August 27, 2020. The total weight is 23 pounds, with the jade core weighing nine pounds. Jade core’s purity is at grade four, and the transparency index is 4.9.]

A 360-degree high-definition image of the jade core was shown next.

[Craftsmanship: Unprocessed.]

[Value assessment: Equivalent to 960 thousand dollars.]

“Goodness!” Oliver thought. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Oliver nearly jumped in excitement. Finally, he had found a high-value piece!

It was a whopping 960 thousand dollars! If he managed to acquire it, it could surely solve his current difficulties.

Oliver glanced around to ensure nobody noticed him. Fortunately, nobody had paid attention to the pile of scrap.

“Don’t arouse any suspicions,” Oliver reminded himself.

Oliver calmed and suppressed his excitement before continuing to examine the remaining raw stones. However, there was not a single valuable piece left when he was done.

Soon, it was 10 o’clock.

Willie personally came and greeted the guests. He then made his way to the display counter and his assistant handed him a microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my old friends, and my loyal customers. Thank you for coming, and welcome to my humble abode.”

Willie continued with a cheerful smile, “This time, I’ve spent a fortune on three top-quality old mine materials from the Morrowton Pit in the official auction of Manchernius. I believe you have all observed them. Additionally, although stones number four to fourteen were not old mine materials, they are still good pieces with decent appearance. Alright, an old friend is complaining already. I’ll stop talking now, and let’s get straight to the event. We’ll start the auction with the stone number fourteen at the end. This stone has a good appearance, and the starting bid is 600 dollars, with a minimum increment of 200 dollars. Let the auction begin.”

As the auction began, Hailey asked Oliver quietly, “Did you find any promising stones?”

“Yes, there are two.” Oliver nodded and answered quietly as well.

Hailey pointed to the three old mine materials that attracted everyone’s attention and asked, “Are they among those three stones? I guess we’ll have to spend some money!”

Everyone had their eyes on those three old mine materials. Hailey couldn’t help but wonder whether the 1 million dollars she had promised Oliver would be enough..

Oliver smiled and shook his head, choosing not to go into details. It wasn’t convenient with so many people around.

Most people aimed to get the three old mine materials, so the auction for other stones was not as enthusiastic.

Raw stone number 14 was eventually sold for 1,200 dollars.

Raw stone number 13 has a final price of 1,400 dollars.

Raw stone number 12 went for a bit less, at only 1,000 dollars.

Raw stone number 11 was sold for 1,200 dollars too.

Everyone showed little interest in these ordinary stones. Their minds were set on the high-stakes gamble.

The bidding for the next three raw stones remained under 2,000 dollars, with only a few people placing bids or raising the prices.

Soon after came stone number seven, where the starting price was 600 dollars.

Someone raised the bid to 800 dollars.

After a brief pause, Oliver extended his hand and called out 1,000 dolla

No one else bid higher, but the previous bidder raised the bid to 1,200 dollars.

But after Oliver called for 1,400 dollars, the other bidder didn’t compete further. Oliver won the bid easily.

Oliver was overjoyed. He only spent 1,400 dollars to get the jadeite stone worth 110 thousand dollars. It was truly a great bargain!

The bidding for raw stone number six broke the 2,000 dollar mark, with a customer winning the bid for 2,000 dollars.

Raw stone number five reached a final price of 5,600 dollars, and the bidding for raw stone number four also surged to 15,400 dollars!

When it came to raw stone number three, things started to get different. The starting bid was 40,000 dollars, with a minimum increment of 2,000 dollars.

At least a dozen people were bidding for the third stone, and the bidding quickly reached 90,000 dollars with intense competition.

Hailey watched with envy and whispered to Oliver, “Aren’t you going to bid?”

Oliver smiled and shook his head again.

Raw stone number three was eventually sold for 752 thousand dollars.

Then came the raw stone number two, and the competition intensified. Within a few minutes of bidding, it surpassed hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The final transaction price of raw stone number two was 834 thousand dollars.

Lastly, it was time for raw stone number one, the grand finale and the best-looking piece.

The starting price was 100 thousand dollars, with increments of 4,000 dollars for each bid.

Hailey eagerly raised her hand and added an additional 200 thousand dollars.

Oliver had mentioned that he had his eye on two stones. He had already won the bidding for raw stone number seven, and there was only one raw stone left, which was also the best one. Hailey assumed that Oliver must want this number one old mine material. As her excitement surged, she couldn’t resist adding an extra 200 thousand dollars.

Oliver was taken aback. He quickly grabbed her hand tightly to prevent her from bidding any higher.

Fortunately, there were plenty of other bidders vying for raw stone number one. Within five minutes, the bidding price had surpassed 400 thousand dollars. By the eighth minute, it reached 600 thousand dollars, and by the twelfth minute, it hit 800 thousand dollars.

Only then did Oliver finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Hailey shook her hand slightly and hissed with a mix of coquetry and annoyance, “What are you doing?”

Oliver blushed. He let go of her hand quickly, whispering, “Ms. Fox… I don’t think this raw stone is worth it.”

Hailey frowned and retorted, “Didn’t you say you had your eye on two stones? Once this is sold, it’s gone!”

Oliver shook his head again and looked at Hailey’s charming face. He suddenly wondered about how it felt like when he was holding Hailey’s hand just now.

He had no recollection of it.

After surpassing 800 thousand dollars, the bidding slowed down. Only four of the strongest contenders remained.

The final selling price for raw stone number one was 1.04 million dollars. Oliver happened to recognize him as the owner of Blissful Goldsmith, Manuel Camden. He once bought a precious jade ornament from Hailey’s shop.