Super Card System

Chapter 611: An Unexpected Encounter

Most of the businesses in the Golden City are owned by Tezoro, but if you think Tezoro is too grand to use such petty tricks, you’d be gravely mistaken. This guy has never been one to conduct lawful business.

To say the least, if Ian didn’t have enough strength to rely on it, do you think Tezoro would obediently pay for the gold he bought?

This time, Ian managed to extort a hefty sum from Tezoro, so he has been on guard against Tezoro and his subordinates. Now, in Tezoro’s domain, he has countless ways to earn back that money.

Even though Ian’s visit to the auction was a spur-of-the-moment decision, who can guarantee that Baccarat hadn’t already set a trap on the way here?

This Devil Fruit had clearly exceeded its value. Even if the guy bidding against him was really a king with money to burn, Ian had neither seen him before nor had any prior conflicts with him. They were complete strangers, and Ian didn’t believe for a second that this guy would compete with him over such an unremarkable Devil Fruit.

That’s right, Ian suspected that the king-like figure was actually a plant by the auction house!

Although he had no evidence, did Ian really need any?

Don’t forget, despite having a pirate crew that required significant expenses and needing to frequently shell out money for his subordinates, at heart, Ian was still the same money-grubber as before, just like Nami!

Carrying around a pay-to-win game system, anyone would turn into such a miser…

He’s willing to spend money on things, but if the price exceeds his expectations, Ian starts to feel like he’s being scammed.

So, sorry, but in these situations, Ian doesn’t play by the rules!

He’s not some elegant aristocrat; he’s a pirate! If they won’t let him buy it with money, then they better be prepared to have it taken by force!

With Ian’s foot planted on the chair in front of him, fiercely threatening everyone with “Don’t even think about leaving after school,” anyone who didn’t understand Ian’s intentions by now would have truly wasted all their years of life!

Baccarat was dumbfounded, sitting next to Ian with a bewildered expression, staring at his back, while the king who had been bidding against Ian for the Devil Fruit had no idea how to react.

However, remembering his role, the man stole a glance at Baccarat beside Ian and then put on an indignant expression, pointing angrily at Ian. “You… you… how can a barbaric person like you be here? Security! Security! How did you let such a person into the auction!?”

His words resonated with the so-called refined upper-class individuals around them, prompting them to murmur among themselves. They guessed that Ian must be a pirate and cast disdainful and disgusted looks at him.

Ian couldn’t care less about these people. He pointed at the king and said, “Go ahead, keep shouting! If you can leave this auction with that Devil Fruit after it ends, I’ll take your surname!”

Ian didn’t bother exposing the man’s true identity, opting instead to threaten him with brute force, just like that!

The king trembled with anger, flailing his arms as he shouted, “Security! Security! Get this troublemaker out of here! Is this how you treat your auction guests!?”

As he yelled, several burly men in black suits appeared. These security personnel were, of course, under Tesoro’s command, ensuring the auction’s safety. They marched toward Ian’s position with an intimidating presence.

However, Ian didn’t even glance at them. Instead, he gave Baccarat a sly look, then placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, his thumb hooked on the guard, ready to draw at any moment.

This action sent a shiver down Baccarat’s spine, bringing her back to her senses. She quickly shouted at the security personnel, “Stop! What do you think you’re doing!?”

Recognizing Baccarat, the security guards halted but looked at her in confusion, not knowing Ian’s identity.

“Get lost!” Baccarat scolded them angrily, “Do you want to cause trouble for the boss!?”

From her intelligence analysis on Ian, Baccarat knew he wasn’t someone who followed conventional rules. However, she hadn’t anticipated that Ian would be so unpredictable.

If it were any other pirate causing trouble on Tesoro’s ship, they would have been dealt with swiftly. But Ian was an exception; now, it was Baccarat and her team who dared not act rashly.

However, with so many eyes on them, Baccarat couldn’t afford to tarnish Tesoro’s reputation. She looked at Ian with a reproachful expression and said, “Lord Ian, this behavior isn’t quite appropriate, don’t you think?”

Ian leaned in close to her, lifting her chin, and coldly smirked, “Miss, I’d be willing to follow the rules, but the problem is that some people aren’t playing fair with me. What do you think I should do?”

Baccarat, being sharp, immediately caught the underlying meaning in Ian’s words. Realizing he might have seen through their plans, she felt a tremor of fear and reluctantly whispered, “What do you want to do?”

Ian thought for a moment and said, “Let’s do it this way. Honestly, I’m here for a vacation and I don’t want to fall out with you. But some people need to be taught a lesson. I can pay 500 million. You make sure that guy obediently hands over that Devil Fruit, and I won’t have to resort to violence.”

In other words, he intended to buy the Devil Fruit at its starting price.

This made Baccarat heave a sigh of relief. It was the best outcome that Ian was willing to resolve things peacefully. What surprised her even more was that Ian was still willing to pay.

Although selling the Devil Fruit for five billion wouldn’t make them any profit—the difference between 500 million and 1.3 billion was a whopping 800 million Beli—the person bidding against Ian, that so-called king, was actually one of their own. So, in reality, they weren’t losing out. Compared to the prospect of Ian causing trouble on Tesoro’s ship, this was indeed a good resolution.

Baccarat realized that Ian probably wanted to secure the other two Devil Fruits in the upcoming auctions over the next two weeks, which was why he opted for a peaceful resolution. After this incident, she decided not to arrange any more secret bids against Ian in the future auctions.

So, Baccarat gestured to a security guard and whispered a few instructions in his ear. The guard quickly returned to the auctioneer, whispered something to him, and the auctioneer hurriedly banged the gavel, announcing the end of the auction.

Under the guidance of the security guards, the auction participants were dismissed, including the so-called king, who left without daring to look at Ian again. He understood that this was someone even the hosts couldn’t afford to offend.

Ian then sat back down, crossing his legs, and waited.

Sure enough, after a while, a server approached Ian with a tray covered by a white cloth. Unveiling the cloth, the previously auctioned Devil Fruit was presented in the tray.

Ian took the Devil Fruit and examined it, hearing the system in his mind confirm that it was indeed a genuine Devil Fruit. He then opened his briefcase, counted out 500 million Beli worth of chips, and placed them on the server’s tray.

Seeing that Ian had indeed paid, Baccarat finally let out a long sigh of relief. She even felt that perhaps dealing with a customer like Ian wasn’t as difficult as she initially thought.

As Ian had mentioned, he was actually willing to follow the rules. Since he wanted to buy the Devil Fruit, he was prepared to pay for it—as long as he wasn’t being treated like a fool.

He planned to stay here for a while, waiting for Admiral Aokiji and Kuina to arrive, so he didn’t really want to resort to violence and risk damaging the ship. By pretending to lose his temper and thereby dispelling any unrealistic expectations some people might have had, Ian felt he had achieved his purpose.

After this incident, Baccarat didn’t dare to act recklessly. She had to temporarily set aside the tasks Tesoro had assigned her, as they didn’t want to risk a real confrontation with Ian.

After leaving the auction house, Baccarat dutifully served as Ian’s guide, taking him to watch a theatrical performance and then showing him around the various gourmet food shops in Golden City.

At this point, Ian also calmed down and began to enjoy his vacation time in Golden City.

One had to admit, Golden City indeed had its unique charms. It was no wonder that people from all over the world were attracted to this city. Here, you could buy anything you wanted!

Baccarat even subtly mentioned that if Ian wanted to buy female slaves, he could do so here, with various races available. The human trafficking in Golden City was no less prevalent than in Sabaody Archipelago…

However, seeing Ian frown, Baccarat quickly realized her mistake, recalling the nature of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, and immediately stopped talking, not daring to bring up the subject again.

Ian remained calm and didn’t say anything. He knew well that the slave trade was one of the ugliest and most difficult things to eradicate in this world. As long as those privileged classes existed, such things would never disappear.

Baccarat was now very careful in entertaining Ian, avoiding any topics that might upset him. However, just as they were walking down the street, something unexpected happened. A voice suddenly sounded from behind them.

“Mommy! Are you going to the casino again? But I don’t want to go, I want to eat roast pork!”

The voice was loud and had a silly tone to it. Ian curiously turned his head and was stunned by what he saw.

Walking behind him were two people. One was a very tall and fat man. Not only was he tall and fat, but he also had an outrageous upward-curving crescent mustache under his nose, just like Whitebeard’s!

What the hell! Edward Weevil!?