The van flew over the sea for nearly half an hour and penetrated the heavy naval blockade.
I don’t know how many kilometers away from the Shampoo Islands, but I finally saw an inhabited island.
Not long after, the vehicle drove directly onto the island.
Dokwei Town is the most prosperous town in the Marla Empire. Even the imperial capital is not as prosperous as Dokwei Town.
It was a town established based on the port of Dokwe, the first port of the Marla Empire.
To be precise, the port of Dockway is the town of Dockway.
All supplies, commerce, passengers, etc. in the entire empire come in and out through this port, so it is extremely prosperous.
In order not to cause trouble, Zhou He landed directly in the woods on the shore.
After getting off the bus, he put away the van and walked outside with Hicks.
…
There is a huge gatehouse in the port of Dockwey. Above the gatehouse, there are three characters "Dockwey" written on it.
Moreover, these words seem to have been written by the founder of the Saint Elma Empire, the first king.
At the port, a large number of merchant ships and cargo ships docked, with large amounts of goods and people flowing up and down.
On the streets far away from the port, people come and go, but there are many shops on the streets.
Whether it is a snack bar, a weapon shop, a navigation chart shop, a tavern cake shop, etc., there are many customers inside.
The traffic on the streets near the port is very dense.
Needless to say, this port is indeed prosperous.
At this time, Zhou He had already led Hicks out of the woods and entered the small town of Dockway.
"Huh?" Zhou He suddenly frowned and his eyes fell on the notice board next to the gatehouse in the distance.
I saw two brand new wanted posters posted on the notice board.
The portraits on these two wanted posters are actually 90% similar to those of Zhou He and Hicks.
"Six billion? The Navy really looks up to me. Hicks has two billion?" Zhou He clicked his tongue in surprise.
"Sir, what six billion? I don't have two billion Baileys." Hicks didn't know why.
"The two of us are wanted by the navy. My bounty is 6 billion, and you also have 2 billion beli." Zhou He said with a faint smile.
When Hicks heard this, a look of shock suddenly appeared on his face.
"Two billion, why do I also have a reward of two billion?" Hicks looked in disbelief.
"Haha, you killed that Celestial Dragon with your own hands, and it was seen by so many people, and since you were protected by me, you naturally got a bonus of two billion." Zhou He explained with a smile.
Just when Hicks was about to speak, Zhou He waved his hand gently and said: "Our faces cannot be exposed anymore. I have changed our faces, so there is no need to worry."
"Yes, sir!" Hicks replied immediately.
"Let's go to that shop." As he said that, Zhou He took Hicks to a shop that sold compasses and recording pointers from nearby sea areas.
After Zhou He entered, he asked directly without any nonsense.
When the shop owner heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Guest, do you need a permanent pointer to the Holy Land Marie Gioia?"
"Yes, do you sell them here?" Zhou He said calmly.
"Yes, but why are you going to the Holy Land?" The shop owner nodded and said.
"How much?" Zhou He was too lazy to answer the shop owner.
Seeing Zhou He's appearance, the latter didn't say anything. He looked under the counter for a while and then took out a permanent pointer.
"Sir, this is the permanent pointer to the Holy Land of Marie Gioia, the price."
Before the shop owner even told the price, Zhou He threw out an ingot of gold and interrupted: "This ingot of gold should be enough."
As he said that, Zhou He reached out and grabbed the permanent pointer in his hand.
At the same time, he also grabbed a Devil Fruit illustrated book from the shelf nearby.
After getting the things, Zhou He immediately took Hicks and walked outside.
At this time, the shop owner realized and quickly grabbed the gold on the counter. After checking it, he found that it was actually gold.
"Haha, this guy is so rich, he seems to be a fat sheep. How stupid, he only gave me a piece of gold for only ten thousand beli, haha!"
The shop owner immediately laughed proudly.
…
"Sir, are we leaving the island now and going to the Holy Land of Mariejoia?" Walking on the street, Hicks asked Zhou He.
"Don't worry, you can go anytime. There should be a food court on this small island. Let's eat something delicious first." Zhou He said with a smile.
"Okay, sir." Hicks didn't say anything. Zhou He's order was everything, and she wouldn't refute it, she would only obey it.
Zhou He asked a local resident and found out where the food court was.
It took some time to reach the destination.
At this moment, it is almost dinner time, so the food street is a bit busier than the previous commercial street.
The aroma of various foods coming from inside aroused the greed in Zhou He's stomach.
"Gurgling" At this moment, Hicks's stomach suddenly growled.
As if he noticed that Zhou He was looking over, Hicks said with a slightly red smile: "Sir, I'm a little hungry."
"Eat when you're hungry and eat freely." Zhou He said with a smile.
…
An hour later, Zhou He and Hicks were sitting in a burger restaurant in the food court.
After Zhou He ate his fiftieth shark burger, he drank a large glass of ice-cold Coke, then leaned back in his chair and let out a long burp.
Across from her, Hicks' belly was already bulging. She was eating her tenth octopus burger.
"The Vajra Indestructible Magic Skill I taught you can be used to help digestion and absorption." Zhou He suddenly reminded him.
"Yes, sir, these burgers are so delicious, I can't help it." Hicks smiled, grabbed the next burger, and ate it.
Suddenly, Zhou He's ears moved and he heard all the conversation at the next table.
"Eat quickly, the auction will start in fifteen minutes."
"Don't rush me, I'll finish it soon."
"You are such a pig. You have eaten so much and it is not enough. If we are late, we won't be able to get in. I have saved two million beli to buy a beautiful slave girl."
"Don't worry, you won't be late. But if you buy a female slave, aren't you afraid that your wife will beat you up, haha!"
"Tch, if that woman dares to say anything, I'll beat her to death!"
"However, I heard that there was a Devil Fruit auction this time, and people from many nearby countries came. Even some navies who failed to get to the Chambord Islands in time and some powerful pirates came."
"..."
"Auction? Devil Fruit?"
Zhou He touched his chin and began to think deeply.
Devil Fruits are known as the secret treasures of the sea. On the black market, even the most rubbish and useless Devil Fruits are worth 100 million Baileys. If there are some powerful Devil Fruits, the value will increase exponentially.
Nowadays, the most expensive thing is the surgical fruit, which is worth 5 billion beli. This is still priceless but not marketable.
If the results of the surgery really come true, Zhou He believes that the price will be high rather than low.
For no other reason than that the fruit of the operation has the ability to make people immortal.
…
According to rumors, Devil Fruit is the incarnation of the devil of the sea. After eating it, you will gain different abilities, but as a price, those who eat it will be rejected by the sea and become landlubbers.
Devil Fruit abilities are divided into three categories: superhuman, animal (including two rare species of phantom beasts and ancient species), and natural.
Devil Fruit abilities will not be repeated. All Devil Fruits are single. There are no fruits with the same abilities in the "same period", only fruits with similar abilities (such as "Burning Fruit" and "Reheat Fruit").
However, Devil Fruits have a superior-subordinate relationship, for example, the superior Frozen Fruit and the subordinate Snow Fruit.
There are also upper-level tons of fruits and lower-level kilogram fruits.
Unless the person with the ability dies, the Devil Fruit that he or she has eaten will reappear. When the person with the ability uses their abilities, their body, clothing, and accessories will all change accordingly.
Zhou He glanced at Hicks and decided to go to the auction to have a look.
Not long after, the two people at the table next to them finished eating and left.
Zhou He also quickly pulled Hicks after him.
About five minutes later, Zhou He followed the two of them to the entrance of a venue.
The two people took out their tickets and were checked by the guards. Then they received two number plates from the man in a suit and entered the auction.
Immediately, Zhou He and Hicks stepped forward, but were stopped by the guards.
"Sir, please show your admission ticket." the guard said politely.
"I don't have a ticket. How can I get one?" Zhou He asked.
"Uh" the guard was stunned for a moment.
He has seen many people who want to break into the ban, but he has never met anyone who came to ask.
The guard didn't show any sign of boredom and replied directly: "Sir, the tickets have been sold out three days ago."
"Sold out?" Zhou He frowned.
At this moment, a slightly chubby middle-aged man ran over from a distance, panting.
"Huh, okay, okay, I'm not late, I almost missed it." As he said that, the middle-aged man reached out and handed the ticket to the guard.
Just as the guard was about to take it, suddenly, a hand stretched out and took the ticket.
"Hey, what are you doing?" The middle-aged man roared angrily when he saw Zhou He's actions.
Even the expression of the guard on the side changed. He put his right hand on his sword and looked at Zhou He with an evil expression: "Sir, what are you doing?"
However, Zhou He took out a gold bar from his pocket, handed it to the middle-aged man, and said, "I bought the admission ticket, how about it?"
When the middle-aged man heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and his eyes immediately looked straight at the gold bar in Zhou He's hand.
"Okay, okay, I sold it, I sold it." The middle-aged man took the gold bar, checked it, and ran away quickly.
"Uh" The guard was stunned when he saw this.
"It's useless if you buy a ticket. We still need to verify the capital. This verification will definitely be too late..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou He handed the admission ticket to the guard, and at the same time stuffed a gold bar into the guard's hand, and whispered: "This gold bar will buy you some wine, and with this admission ticket I will take someone in."
It should be fine."
The guard reacted, looked at the guard and the man in suit and nodded immediately, "Of course, sir, please come in."
"Sir, this is your number plate. Take it, and if you want to bid, just hold up the sign and call out the price." The man in a suit quickly took a number plate and handed it to Zhou He attentively.
Zhou He nodded slightly and then led Hicks into the auction house.
The auction is not a small one, with a typical stage and fan-shaped stepped seats.
Moreover, on the second floor, there are some private rooms, presumably filled with some so-called big shots.
There were hundreds of people in the venue. Zhou He looked at his number plate, which was No. 350.
Come to think of it, there are already more than 300 guests entering the auction.
With a quick sweep of his mind, he immediately found his position.
He is the last person on the right side of the top row and the last guest to enter the venue.
Soon, the auction officially began.
The noisy venue suddenly became quiet.
A blond man in a white suit stood on the stage holding a microphone.
"Welcome everyone to this auction. In order not to waste everyone's time, I will go directly to the first lot!"
The blond man did not write any ink and just made a gesture.
Then I saw a scantily clad woman on the side of the stage, pushing a trolley to the center of the stage.
On the small cart, there is also this fist-sized piece of crystal blood-colored ore.
"Everyone, this is the specialty of our Marla Empire, blood mine."
"Everyone must know that grinding blood ore into powder and adding it to blood can attract many sea beasts, even sea kings."
"If you want to hunt sea beasts and sea kings, blood ore is indispensable. This time, one hundred pieces of blood ore are packaged and auctioned. The starting price is one million beli! Each increase in price must not be less than one hundred thousand beli!"
After the host finished speaking, chatter began below.
"Good guy, the first lot is actually a blood mine. A lot of money was spent on this auction."
"This blood ore is indeed very effective in attracting sea beasts and sea kings, but it's a pity that the dosage is relatively large."
"Yes, this fist-sized blood ore can only attract sea beasts no more than ten meters away."
"If you want to attract the Neptune type, you can barely attract them with a hundred dollars."
When Zhou He heard the host say that this blood ore could attract Neptunes, his eyes suddenly lit up.
When I heard the people around me talking about how one hundred blood ores could attract Neptunes, I immediately made up my mind.
"One million!" Zhou He held up the sign and was the first to bid.
"1.2 million, I'll offer 1.2 million!" Within a second or two, a guest also raised his sign.
"One hundred and three, I'll give you one hundred and three!"
"One and a half million Baileys."
Soon, the voices of raising placards and bidding began one after another.
Blood ore is very rare in the Marla Empire. It is tightly controlled by the empire and can rarely be revealed.
Although some are auctioned off every year, only ten pieces are sold at most.
Most of the Marla Empire's source of money comes from blood ore attracting sea beasts or sea kings to kill or capture.
Being able to come up with 100 pills this time is really a stroke of luck.
"Five million!" At this time, a voice sounded from a private room on the second floor.
As soon as the five million came out, the whole place fell silent.
However, the next second, Zhou He directly raised his sign and said: "I will offer 10 million beli!"
It was so quiet that you could hear a needle drop in the field.
The next moment, the host shouted excitedly: "Ten million. Guest No. 350 bids ten million. Is there anyone who wants to increase the price?"
"Once in ten million!"
"Is there anyone who wants to increase the price?"
"..."
"Pop! Ten million times, deal done! These one hundred blood ores belong to guest No. 350."
The host banged the hammer and immediately shouted.
Those people sitting next to Zhou He all looked at Zhou He as if they were looking at a fool.
The market price is only 30,000 beli per piece, and the highest price is no more than 50,000 beli per piece. Good guy, now he has directly raised it to 100,000 beli per piece. You really are stupid and have too much money.
Immediately afterwards, the second product was put on the shelves, then the third, the fourth...
Except for the first piece of blood ore, Zhou He had no interest in the rest.
They are all weapons, gunpowder, some raw materials and some miscellaneous things. Moreover, there are actually antiques, famous paintings and other objects.
Of course, there were many slaves, including strong men, enchanting and beautiful women, and even a female singer, all of whom were sold at high prices.
As time goes by, finally, it is the turn of the final items to be put on the shelves.
A gorgeous trolley was pushed to the center of the stage by two sexy bunny girls, and then stood beside it, waiting quietly.
"Everyone, this is the last item we are auctioning today, and it is the item you are looking forward to."
"Devil Fruit!"
The host lifted off the bulging piece of cloth on the trolley.
Suddenly, a square glass box was revealed. Inside the box, there was an extremely weird-looking fruit.
Once you look at this fruit, you will know that it is a devil fruit.
"What kind of devil fruit is this?" Zhou He looked into the glass box and recalled the fruits in the devil fruit illustrated book.
After thinking about it for a while, I found that it didn't appear in the Devil's National Master's Illustrated Book. In other words, it was a brand new fruit.
It didn't appear in the illustrated book, and Zhou He didn't know what kind of fruit it was.
However, as long as Zhou He buys it and uses the exploration hand, he will know.
As for whether to buy it or not? Haha, Zhou He has a storage bag, which is filled with gold.
Calculated in proportion, one gram of gold is equal to approximately six thousand beli.
One hundred kilograms can be exchanged for 600 million beli, and Zhou He has no less than 10,000 kilograms of gold in stock.
Not to mention one Devil Fruit, he can afford even ten or a hundred Devil Fruits.
"This Devil Fruit is not in the Devil's Encyclopedia. In other words, this Devil Fruit is a brand new Devil Fruit that has never appeared before."
"Whether it is a powerful fruit or a useless fruit, it all depends on your luck. The starting price of this devil fruit is 100 million beli, and each increase in price must not be less than 10 million!"
The host immediately loudly announced the starting price.
One hundred million beli is neither too high nor too low. After all, that’s the price of some junk Devil Fruits.
However, this is a brand new Devil Fruit. It may be a super powerful Devil Fruit, or it may be a very rubbish and useless fruit. It’s a bet.
However, there are also some rich people who want to get it.
"One hundred and fifty million, I will offer one hundred and fifty million Baileys!" A voice sounded from the VIP room.
"One hundred and sixty million!"
"One hundred and seventy million..."
In the private room, there were shouts and shouts, and the price was rising steadily.
None of the people sitting on the steps below made a bid.
It’s not that they don’t want to buy it, it’s that they don’t have that much money.
Only the big shots in the private rooms on the second floor can have so much money.
"One billion!"
Zhou He raised the number plate in his hand and said slowly.
The price was announced, and everyone's eyes immediately fell on Zhou He.
"One billion, this customer bids one billion, does anyone increase the price, does anyone increase the price?"
When the host heard the price of one billion, he was extremely excited.
One billion, this price is really high, very high.
"Hmph! I doubt that guy has that much money." At this time, a cold snort came from one of the private rooms on the second floor.
As soon as these words were spoken, the venue that had just been discussing fell silent again. They all looked at Zhou He, including the host.
"Oh, sensationalizing." Zhou He said calmly.
Later, Zhou He took out a box from his feet that was more than one meter long, wide and high.
Zhou He gently tossed the box and threw it directly on the stage.
"The gold here should be worth a billion." Zhou He said calmly.
Upon hearing this, the host immediately stepped forward, stood up the box with great difficulty, and then opened the box.
Suddenly, a piece of pure gold appeared in front of him and in front of everyone.
"It's gold, it's real. Come on, get the scale!" After the host checked it, he immediately shouted to the girl on one side.
Not long after, a scale was brought up, and the host immediately picked up the gold and put it on the scale with difficulty.
"Two hundred kilograms, two hundred kilograms, the gold here is worth about 1.2 billion beli!" The host's face turned red and he immediately shouted loudly.
Suddenly, the people in the private room fell silent and stopped talking.
"One billion for the second time, third time, deal done!" The host immediately took a small hammer to confirm that the transaction was completed.
"Congratulations, Mr. No. 350, this Devil Fruit belongs to you."
Hearing this, Zhou He smiled slightly and immediately stretched out his hand to take a picture, and saw that the devil fruit in the glass box directly smashed through the glass box and flew into Zhou He's hand.
"ah"
This scene immediately made the host exclaim.
However, when he saw that the Devil Fruit fell into Zhou He's hands, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you all for coming. Today's auction has ended perfectly. Those who have purchased items are invited to come to the backstage to trade and collect the items." The host said.
…
"Sir, what's wrong with you?" Hicks asked quickly when he saw Zhou He who was in a daze.
"It's nothing, Hicks, you are so lucky, you actually came across a good devil fruit." Zhou He looked at Hicks with a smile.
"Sir, do you think you bought this for me?" Hicks was stunned.
"Of course I bought it for you, otherwise, why would I spend a billion to buy it?" Zhou He said with a smile.
At this moment, Hicks' heart trembled, and then a feeling of great joy emerged in his heart.
She really didn't expect that this Devil Fruit was actually bought for her.
"Thank you so much, sir!" Hicks immediately thanked Zhou He excitedly.
"Okay, let's go get the blood ore first, and then find a clean place to eat the fruit for you." Zhou He immediately walked towards the backstage.
Although her sense of sight is very strong and she can distinguish some buildings, animals, plants, humans, etc., she cannot detect obstacles such as stairs, ditches, etc.
Therefore, when she and Zhou He left, they always held Zhou He's clothes.
As for Zhou He, he walked slower because of this and always reminded Hicks to be careful about the steps under his feet.
"Sir, you just said I was lucky. Does that mean you know what Devil Fruit this is?" Hicks asked Zhou He curiously.
"Well, it's a very powerful fruit." Zhou He gave it a try.