"The second item is the Comprehension Pill. Thieves, please place your bids."

Pharmacist’s Wish immediately said, "I bid 25 points."

Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei’s faces turned gloomy at once because they couldn’t tell if Pharmacist’s Wish truly wanted to compete or just wanted to deplete their points.

Pharmacist’s Wish currently had a total of 80 points. If she won the bid for 25 points, she would have 55 points left and the priority to bid for the next item. Because each round requires a 5-point increase, even Yan Qing, with 59 Thief Points, couldn’t compete with her. This way, Pharmacist’s Wish could secure two rewards.

But if they bid up to 30 points to compete for the Comprehension Pill, Pharmacist’s Wish might choose not to follow. The person who acquired the Comprehension Pill would also be disqualified from participating in the next bids, allowing Pharmacist’s Wish a high chance of securing two rewards anyway.

"25 points once, 25 points twice, 25 points three times."

"Black Wolf wins the Comprehension Pill."

Until the Thief’s House called for bids three times, Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei did not raise their bids, watching as Pharmacist’s Wish secured the seven Comprehension Pills at an incredibly low price. Facing the gaze of everyone, Pharmacist’s Wish casually said, "Thanks to the previous Comprehension Pills, I was able to change jobs three times so quickly. Thank you all for letting me have them again this time."

Though she spoke such words, not everyone believed her. From her bidding alone, it was clear that Pharmacist’s Wish was not just an impulsive and reckless brute; she also had a shrewd side. Her unstable emotions didn’t hinder her; on the contrary, she got angry when needed and calmed down when necessary, without any internal struggle. Among the four, she might be the most mentally healthy.

Regardless, securing seven Comprehension Pills for just 25 Thief Points was indeed a great deal. However, it required high-intensity battles to maximize their value. That’s why Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei so easily conceded—the former had never entered a Secret Realm, and the latter had no plans for Secret Realm training anytime soon. Competing for the Comprehension Pills would yield minimal short-term benefits for them, rendering them a waste.

Pharmacist’s Wish was also very content. She wasn’t lying; only through taking the Comprehension Pill could she comprehend and master a new Secret Technique with incredible speed and switch occupations before the second mission. However, on the eighth day after taking the Comprehension Pill, she woke up feeling almost ill as the entire world became extraordinarily strange, making it difficult to concentrate her thoughts.

Pharmacist’s Wish took several hours to accept the harsh reality: she wasn’t sick; she had simply reverted to her old self.

She made up her mind to acquire every bottle of Comprehension Pill in the future, determined not to let them discover how enjoyable it was to be smart.

"The third item is the Red Furnace Fire Essence. Thieves, please place your bids."

"I bid 50 points!" Pharmacist’s Wish bid again, fully utilizing the advantage of priority bidding, offering a price that made both the Red Snake and Yellow Dog extremely uncomfortable. Both were eligible to bid, and doing so would secure the item, but at the cost of nearly depleting their Thief Points.

She was clearly not bidding to win but to exhaust their Thief Points!

Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei couldn’t help but look at Pharmacist’s Wish. She didn’t avoid their gaze at all, facing them directly—cooperation allowed for unity, but when it came to dividing spoils, every inch had to be contended. Pharmacist’s Wish had no moral qualms and no sentimentality; she had been educated this way from a young age.

The Zhou Kingdom was founded as a military merit group, essentially a pack of wolves following a wolf king to feast. Retreating and showing leniency wouldn’t earn kindness from others; it would only make them see you as prey.

Moreover, among the three of them, the Thief’s House also recognized Pharmacist’s Wish as the greatest contributor, so she should rightfully excel in this auction. A leader is to bear the greatest responsibility and seize the most benefits, thus being a true Emperor for all to follow!

Yan Qing pondered for a moment and finally spoke up when the Thief’s House was about to conclude the bidding, "I—"

But before he could act, Shang Xinlei quickly bid, "I bid 55 points." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"55 points once, 55 points twice, 55 points three times."

"Red Snake wins the Red Furnace Fire Essence."

Not winning the Red Furnace Fire Essence left Yan Qing a bit disappointed, but it also firmed his resolve. Now, the upcoming Random Secret Technique Manual was something he was determined to obtain. But the question was, did Pharmacist’s Wish want the Random Secret Technique Manual or the Life-Saving Pill?

If Pharmacist’s Wish wanted the Random Secret Technique Manual, Yan Qing would have to bid at least 51 points to stop her from competing. However, doing so would allow Pharmacist’s Wish to acquire the Life-Saving Pill at a very low price and still have over forty Thief Points left.

Damn it, winning two rewards and still having so many points, locking in the Legendary Token for the next mission in advance, Yan Qing felt like they were working for Pharmacist’s Wish—there couldn’t be such a powerful person in the Thief’s House!

She took the first step, so Yan Qing wasn’t about to let her take everything; he was going to make her pay at least.

"The fourth item is the Random Secret Technique Manual. Thieves, please place your bids."

As soon as the Thief’s House finished speaking, Yan Qing immediately bid, "I bid 29 points!"

Pharmacist’s Wish slightly furrowed her brows.

The bid was ambiguous, seemingly genuine yet also a lure for her to raise. According to her estimation, Yan Qing probably hadn’t even switched jobs twice (not even once, actually), and the Random Secret Technique Manual was something he must obtain.

However, the final Life-Saving Pill was no less valuable than the Random Secret Technique Manual, maybe even more so. After all, Secret Technique Books could be obtained through other means, but Pharmacist’s Wish had never even heard of the Life-Saving Pill, which might only appear in Secret Realms above the fourth turn.

To Pharmacist’s Wish, the Life-Saving Pill was undoubtedly more important. She had no reason to risk it just to take a piece from Yan Qing.

"29 points once, 29 points twice, 29 points three times."

"Yellow Dog wins the Random Secret Technique Manual."

Receiving the Random Secret Technique Manual, Yan Qing breathed a sigh of relief. The Advanced Footwork Secret Manual was already on its way to him; he could find a way to obtain the Advanced Dual Blade Secret Manual, then use the Random Secret Technique Manual and the Left Curve Right Return Secret Technique Manual to switch jobs three times as quickly as possible.

Before Foundation Establishment, the path was smooth.

"The fifth item is the Life-Saving Pill. Thieves, please place your bids."

Yan Qing immediately put all his points down, "I bid 30 points."

Obviously, this was to get back at Pharmacist’s Wish for her maliciously raising the bids earlier. Pharmacist’s Wish wasn’t angry, calmly saying, "I bid 35 points."

Everyone watched the Life-Saving Pill fall into Pharmacist’s Wish’s hands. Even Yan Qing himself couldn’t help but covet it. Being able to survive a fatal attack couldn’t be overestimated. After all, in realistic mode, death meant truly dying.

If the Life-Saving Pill had been the first item to be auctioned, Pharmacist’s Wish wouldn’t have acquired it for such a low price.

Even after being cut once by Yan Qing, Pharmacist’s Wish still emerged as the big winner. She won two Elixirs and still had 20 Thief Points remaining, the second-highest in the scene.

Yan Qing had 30 points, the highest in the scene.

Ying Rushi had 1 point left, while Shang Xinlei had 0 points, which essentially meant starting from scratch.

"Have you noticed," after dividing the spoils, Ying Rushi suddenly said, "this time, the starting bid was not 5 points but 10 Thief Points."

"Is it because the rewards have become richer, so the starting bid has to be higher?" Shang Xinlei speculated.

"If the starting bid keeps increasing, there might come a time when we have rewards but no points to bid," Pharmacist’s Wish said.

Yan Qing thought it wasn’t that complicated; it was just to drain your Thief Points dry.

Since the design of the Thief’s House, Yan Qing had realized one problem: players randomly assigned to the Thief’s House might become friends.

It’s not necessarily a problem; MMORPGs like Messenger place great importance on social interaction. By making players friends through instances and encouraging them to play for their friends’ sake, it’s also the ultimate goal of official operations.

But if Thief’s House players become friends, they could completely agree on within, only bidding the lowest price, with everyone else refraining from raising the bid. That would render Thief Points meaningless. By raising the minimum starting bid, it’s meant to encourage players to actively participate in thieving actions. Otherwise, the Thief Points earned from a single mission might not even cover the minimum starting bid.