My SSS-Rank Skill and System is too OP in Modern Cultivation world-Chapter 162: A gift and a Letters

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Louis rolled her shoulders, amused. "Six-hundred thousand dollars," she said, tone final as a bell.

No paddle lifted. Even the matriarch exhaled defeat. The auctioneer, half stunned, raised the gavel high.

"Going once, going twice, Sold! To the VVIP balcony."

Hammer cracked. Applause broke out; whispers swirled like birds startled from a tree.

Kent slumped, equal parts relief and disappointment. "We never had a chance past 310," he consoled himself but the disk was gone.

The formal closing lasted another hour. Kent and Jade signed consolation paperwork for their lost attempt, collected their bottle of thunder-pumpkin wine back, and stepped into the marbled exit foyer. Kent meant to hurry home, until a familiar voice called him from behind a pillar. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

"Leaving so soon?"

Louis emerged, loosening her high collar. She offered the easy grin Kent remembered from the train carriage.

"Princess Louis," Kent greeted, bowing. He kept it respectful; Louis was still royalty even if dressed like a carefree person. Auri hopped to Kent's other shoulder, curious.

Louis's eyes sparkled. "I noticed you bidding. Thought you might like a closer look at the Sun-Disk…" she gestured, and a servant produced a slim rune-sealed box. Inside lay the crystal disk, resting on crimson silk.

Kent's breath hitched. "You… you want to resell?"

Louis closed the lid and pushed it into Kent's hands. "Gift. I knew you wanted it." she winked. "You show me around the city. It's a gift for that."

Kent's manners short-circuited. "I can't accept it! Six hundred thousand dollars, that's… a huge number."

"You can pay me back," Louis cut in, voice dropping to a teasing hush. "Someday. With something priceless, like sharing a secret of yours, or maybe dinner under the persimmon tree." She tilted her head, mock-pout. "Don't refuse. I'll feel terribly rejected."

Kent's ears burned. Before he could find words, Auri betrayed him, hopping from his coat straight to Louis's chest, nestling like a glowing brooch. Louis chuckled, stroked the sparrow, sparks dancing off silk.

"Even your bird agrees." Then she talked with Auri, "How are you? Did you miss me?" although she was talking to Auri. But she meant it at Kent.

Jade Monroe cleared his throat politely from a few steps away, clearly amused but keeping distance. Kent struggled, then bowed deeper.

"All right. I'll guard it well and repay you." He lifted the box with both hands. "You have my word."

Louis's grin softened. "Good. And tell your little sister Nima I still owe her money from the train ride. She hasn't contacted me yet." She tapped Auri's beak once, then stepped back toward her luxury car. "See you at the next adventure, Hubb… I mean, Kent."

She spun on a heel, cloak swishing, and disappeared among guards.

Kent let out the long breath he had been holding. The marble floor under his boots suddenly felt much firmer. Jade Monroe stood beside him, arms folded, watching Princess Louis's entourage vanish down the gold-lined corridor.

"Your network grows in interesting directions," Jade had said. "I didn't know you become friends with the princess."

Kent could only nod. His mind still spun, six hundred thousand dollars just handed to him like that. The ancient Sun-Disk now in his grip. He would think about that later. For now, he needed to get the fragile relic home find out the mysteries.

Jade tapped the box. "I'll file the auction paperwork. Keep that safe, Kent. Fix your face, you look like a tomato." His tone was half tease, half relief.

"Hey, don't tease me, I am just shocked by the sudden gift." Kent said, still dazed.

Jade's mouth twitched. "No one plans for Louis. Off with you before another shark circles." He turned on a heel, heading toward the finance booth.

Kent tucked the silk-wrapped disk under his arm, motioned for Auri to hop inside his coat, and walked quickly out of the rotunda. Night air met him on the plaza. It was cool, laced with distant fried-noodle scent and lantern smoke. The east wind pressed away heat from marble steps. He crossed to Silver Muse. Attendants unmoored the skimmer, a few stared wide-eyed at the ornate box but said nothing.

Once the craft lifted off, Kent allowed himself a shaky laugh. "That was… insane." Auri poked his head out, squeaked agreement, then curled against the padded seat.

Silver Muse's rune lights guided them back over bright night streets. The city below was a sheet of twinkling yellows and neon blues. At this hour carts still rolled; dumpling stalls hissed. Kent banked toward the quiet of his neighborhood.

When he landed in the yard, seedling rows glimmered pale under the moon, and soft orange lanterns shone on Aunty Zhou's porch. Xian Yu's silhouette moved slowly across the furthest bed, tamping soil even at night. Kent saluted the old man from the cockpit. Xian Yu waved once, approving, then turned back to work.

Inside the house, Nima dozed on the couch, half-eaten noodle bowl tipped against her cheek. Kent chuckled, set the disk box high on a shelf far from curious fingers, and draped a blanket over his sister. Auri fluttered to perch on the lampshade like a red ember night-light.

Kent gazed at the clock, ten to midnight. His tired bones yearned for sleep, he goes to check on the SP farm, the bacteria tank still pulsed in the shed.

Kent wiped sweat, even though the night air felt cool. He looked at the house, lamps off, sister asleep. Xian Yu had finished rows and disappeared inside his own house. All peaceful.

Voot Voot!

His phone vibrated inside his pocket.

Caller ID: Jade Monroe.

Kent's eyebrows shot up. They had parted only an hour ago. "Why does he call me?"

He accepted. "Jade? Everything all right?"

Jade's voice came crisp but low. "Are you home safe? Good. Listen carefully, He Clan did not take the loss well. Their patriarch left the rotunda furious. Reports say he wants to contest the auction results."

Kent's heart skipped. "Contest how? He bid four-thirty, Louis bid six-hundred. Clear win."

"They claim last-minute outside money changed the rules. Ridiculous, but He Clan holds muscle." Jade exhaled through teeth. "More direct: their second son, a level-B sabre cultivator, is already asking about you."

"Me? Why me? I didn't buy the disk."

"They found out about your rune coin and you created a flying boat with its help. They see you as key. If they can't get the disk, they might get a design of a more powerful flying boat."

Kent pinched the bridge of nose. "Great."

"I'll request, but watchers move slowly." Jade's tone hardened. "Stay inside your property. Keep your sister off the streets. And one more matter." A rustle of papers on his end. "Princess Louis gave me a sealed letter, asked me for your address. It will arrive at dawn. Do not open it outside the safe ward. Louis is eccentric; could be harmless, could be trouble."

Kent let out a dry laugh. "Never dull."

"Indeed." Jade dropped voice further. "I trust your creativity, but today proved money alone draws eyes. Prepare. Any hazard, inform me."

"I will." Kent replied.

Call ended. Kent stared at black screen.

He looked over his shoulder at the glowing bacteria cube. "Finally solve one problem, get two new ones."

Auri flitted to his shoulder, soft chirp. Kent scratched the bird's head. "We'll be fine. Just need layers of plans."

He shut the shed door, bolted it. Moon slipped behind clouds; dew glistened on carrot tops. The Sun-Disk rested safe on a high shelf; inside, microbes dreamed tiny dreams; and outside, somewhere, a clan sharpened sabres.

Kent drew a long breath, walked back into the house, locked every latch. Tomorrow he would read Louis's letter, test-fit the disk to his coin, and maybe design defenses, fences, illusions, extra runes along the property line.

But right now, he finally allowed bed to claim him.

He lay on the futon, Auri curling at his feet, and set the system to night mode. One silent bar ticked upward in the corner of his mind, Bacteria Reserve SP counting.

Kent smiled in the dark. "Grow, little bugs, grow."

Sleep took him, and the farm, both vegetable and microbe, hummed on through the night.

Kent woke to the muted patter of rain on roof tiles. Gray light filtered through his window, cool air smelled of wet earth and young carrot tops. Auri still snoozed on the bedpost, feathers puffed into a round ember pillow.

For a few seconds Kent enjoyed the hush, then Jade Monroe's late-night warning rushed back: He Clan sabre cultivator asking about you… Louis's letter at dawn…

He swung out of bed, pulled on work trousers, slipped Soul-Slasher into a concealed waist sheath. Soft steps led him to the sitting room. Nima was curled on the couch, blanket draped over head like a cocoon, gentle breaths fogging a noodle bowl she had fallen asleep guarding. Kent smiled, tucked the bowl aside, and adjusted the blanket.

Knock Knock!