Beta Morgan took a sip. The potent aroma of alcohol flooded his mouth. "It’s real liquor!"

Alvin Morgan looked at the bartender before him, only to hear the man say emotionlessly, "We’re out of alcohol..."

The others looked at Alvin Morgan sympathetically, and Dees even patted his shoulder.

Alvin Morgan watched him for a moment before a smirk played on his lips. "Then I’ll have a pot of tea."

Darius Lynch scoffed, "This is a bar. Where would they... Wait, they actually have it?"

To everyone’s astonishment, the bartender miraculously produced a canister of tea leaves from under the counter and proceeded to mix a colorful fruit tea for Alvin Morgan right in a cocktail shaker.

Alvin Morgan took a sip of the fruit tea, then rested his chin on his hand. "A little too sweet."

To his surprise, the bartender simply mixed another one and set it before him.

Alvin Morgan tried it again, smiling. "Still too sweet."

The bartender, ever patient, made another seven or eight drinks before finally concocting a fruit tea to Alvin’s satisfaction.

The onlookers were stunned. ’Alvin Morgan really has some nerve!’

’This is The Phantom Trove’s territory, after all.’

Only Beta Morgan frowned, his gaze shifting between the bartender and his master for a long while. ’I have a feeling His Lordship is deliberately teasing that bartender.’

After finishing their drinks, Elias Lennox and Darius Lynch decided to head downstairs and browse the shops in The Phantom Trove.

Alvin Morgan gestured at his unfinished fruit tea, showing no intention of joining them. Just then, however, the bartender’s shift ended, and he began handing his station over to a replacement.

He immediately called out to the bartender.

"When’s your next shift?"

The bartender seemed to stiffen for a second. He glanced back and said calmly, "Eight p.m."

***

The bartender walked down an employee corridor to an elevator. Once inside, she removed her mask, revealing a young, beautiful face.

"Yara, you can go out now."

"Yes, Young Master."

Yara put on an outfit and mask identical to Aurora Sinclair’s and walked out.

Soon enough, she had a "chance" encounter with Alvin Morgan in one of the shops.

"Left the bar to moonlight here?" Alvin asked. Yara nodded.

Alvin Morgan asked her to help him pick out some jewelry for a girl.

Yara picked out a few pieces she liked and presented them to Alvin Morgan.

To her surprise, after paying for the jewelry, he didn’t take it with him. He simply said, "They’re for you."

Both Yara and Beta Morgan were completely dumbfounded.

Yara’s expression turned serious. "I’m sorry, but even if you try to bribe me, I won’t tell you where the auction items are ahead of time."

She then reported Alvin Morgan’s behavior to her superior.

To Beta Morgan’s astonishment, Alvin Morgan was led away by two members of The Phantom Trove’s staff.

By the time he returned, Alvin Morgan’s expression was as dark as a thundercloud.

Eight p.m. —

Alvin Morgan was perched on a barstool right on time, staring so intently at the bartender that the man began to feel unnerved.

"When do you get off work?"

The bartender glanced over his shoulder. After confirming Alvin was speaking to him, he checked the clock on the wall. "Ten p.m."

"What about the bartender whose shift you took over earlier?"

"Not here."

"Where did she go?"

The bartender glanced at him but didn’t reply.

Alvin Morgan pressed his lips into a thin line and left the bar, his expression grim.

Meanwhile.

Aurora Sinclair sat cross-legged atop the cruise ship. She appeared to be in a meditative trance, but she was actually using her Power Domain to carefully envelop the entire vessel, keeping everyone’s movements within her perception.

When her senses landed on Alvin Morgan, Aurora Sinclair sighed.

She rose and flitted toward his room.

Alvin Morgan stood on his balcony in just a thin shirt, letting the sea breeze wash over him.

Suddenly, a jacket fell from the sky, landing on his shoulders.

Alvin Morgan froze. He looked up, but there was no one there.

"Ahem..." A familiar voice sounded from behind him.

Alvin Morgan spun around, strode forward, and pulled her tightly into his embrace.

Without a word needing to be said, Aurora Sinclair could feel the emotions rolling off him.

The relief of reunion after loss, an overwhelming sense of longing.

"Go back to Veridia after we dock," the familiar voice said from within his embrace.

Alvin Morgan stiffened. He slowly released her, his gaze dimming as he asked, "You don’t need me anymore?"

"Guard Veridia for me."

"You..."

The warmth in Alvin Morgan’s hands vanished. The figure had already leaped from the balcony, her voice seeming to drift back on the wind: "I will be back."

The next day, Alvin Morgan sat at the bar all day, but the familiar figure never appeared.

***

The auction on the third day was a grand affair.

The auction hall was surrounded by a group of people in the distinctive uniforms of The Phantom Trove. Every one of them emanated the Power fluctuations of a Grandmaster, making anyone who entered feel an involuntary sense of tension.

No one dared to make a sound, as if this were not an auction hall, but a solemn courtroom.

The silence held until the auctioneer walked into the hall and began to build up the atmosphere.

"Ladies and gentlemen, The Phantom Trove auction has officially begun! And now, let’s bring out our first item: the Blue and White Glaze Bowl..."

Wearing white gloves, he carefully took the Blue and White Glaze Bowl from an assistant beside him and presented it to the crowd.

A magnified projection of the Blue and White Glaze Bowl appeared on the large screen behind him.

"This bowl is five hundred years old—not ancient, but a genuine piece from an imperial kiln of its era. The starting price is 300,000, with minimum bid increments of 10,000..."

The words had barely left his mouth when a bidding light flashed.

"Three hundred thousand—" Dick Oak stared obsessively at the bowl, as if it were the rarest treasure in the world.

Dees, sitting beside him, looked utterly exasperated.

Perhaps because it was the first item, it didn’t arouse much interest from the crowd.

Only one or two others placed bids, and in the end, Dick won the Blue and White Glaze Bowl for 500,000.

The second item was a woman’s Jade Hairpin of exquisite craftsmanship. An early work by a renowned master, it immediately captured the interest of many of the women present.

The bidding grew more frequent, and the atmosphere in the room began to heat up.

Before they knew it, the auction was nearly halfway over.

"And now for our fifteenth auction item, a recently completed painting. The artist is a rising star in the world of painting and calligraphy, as well as the apprentice of the celebrated Master Flora Guthrie..."

As the auctioneer spoke, a portrait that stunned the entire room was magnified on the large screen.

The connoisseurs in the hall drew a sharp breath. The level of technical skill in this painting was truly rare. From the layered rendering to the sketched lines, every single stroke was perfect, having deeply captured the essence of Master Flora Guthrie’s style.

The bidding paddle in Beta Morgan’s hand clattered to the floor in his shock.

He turned and stared blankly at his master.

’Aurora definitely painted this. She’s really alive.’

But his master showed no major reaction. His posture remained unchanged, his gaze fixed straight ahead, his attitude so indifferent one might think the portrait was nothing special.

"My lord... isn’t that..."

"It’s a decent painting. Buy it. We’ll hang it in the bedroom."

"..."

Certain people hidden in the crowd moved their fingers slightly, as if texting someone. They only put their phones away when the auctioneer began the bidding.

"This work is titled ’White.’ The artist spent a week creating it. There is no reserve price, bidding is open, and there is no upper limit..."

Elias Lennox was the first to raise his paddle. "One million."

With one move, he pushed the price of the painting into the millions.

Alvin Morgan glanced at him, then raised his own paddle. "Two million," he said coolly.

Elias Lennox immediately raised his again. "Three million."

"Five million."

The price shot past ten million as the two battled it out.

In the end, Alvin Morgan won the painting "White" for sixty million.

Darius Lynch glanced at Elias Lennox beside him, then over at Alvin Morgan. He asked with a sigh of resignation, "Do you have some kind of feud with him?"

Elias Lennox glanced at Alvin Morgan and said flatly, "No. I just don’t like the guy."