Lu Xia watched the camel-drawn cart pass by, listening to the voices coming from all around—

"What’s going on? Did they capture another male from the Rafaelde family?"

"Judging by the white hair, it must be. In the entire Empire, the Rafaelde family is known for producing white-haired Beastmen; it’s a rare coincidence in any other family. Plus, they have beautiful golden eyes, which the nobles adore. Every time one appears, they fetch a high price at auction!"

"Isn’t that the truth? It’s just a shame the Rafaelde family lacks Gene Fusion Experts. I wonder if they’ve been forsaken by the Beast God!"

"Today’s auction is going to be lively! Come on, let’s go! Stop selling, pack up your stuff, and let’s go watch the show!"

...

Lu Xia watched the crowd abandon their stalls and follow the camel-drawn cart to see the spectacle. She couldn’t help but ask softly, "Is the Rafaelde family very famous?"

Graces pulled his gaze away from the cart and nodded upon hearing her question. "They are renowned for their beauty. Their Beastmen all have white hair and golden eyes, and they inherit the Feather Clan Gene. However, the activation rate for this gene is very low, so there are very few Gene Fusion Experts among the Rafaelde family’s Beastmen."

’It’s true. The weak and backward are always the ones who get beaten down.’

’When a family isn’t powerful enough, their beauty becomes a disaster coveted by others.’

After saying this, Graces glanced covertly at the young woman. He was a little worried that the appearance of someone from the Rafaelde family would make Lu Xia soft-hearted.

However, after hearing him out, Lu Xia didn’t ask any more questions, seeming as if she was merely curious about the Rafaelde family.

In truth, Lu Xia had no intention of getting involved in others’ business. Her purpose for coming here today was the Raccoon Gene Fusion Agent, and she didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

There was still half an hour until the auction began at the Toya Auction House, so Lu Xia went over to the auction house with Graces.

An attendant led them to a private box.

The private box was dimly lit and scented with incense. As soon as they entered, they saw a massive floor-to-ceiling window directly facing the auction stage. To make viewing the auction items easier, a separate viewing screen was also set up to the side.

The attendant left only after serving a platter of fruit, pastries, and tea.

Lu Xia took off her mask and stood before the glass window, looking down at the massive crowd of auction-goers below.

Graces handed Lu Xia the list of items for tonight’s auction. "This is tonight’s catalog."

Lu Xia took it and glanced over it, discovering that the Raccoon Gene Fusion Potion she wanted was ranked quite early, at number five.

The Beastman from the Rafaelde family they had just encountered wasn’t on the catalog. However, at the very bottom of the catalog, there was a line of small text: "Mysterious Item."

Lu Xia figured that was most likely him.

There was a wide variety of items in the catalog. Aside from the gene fusion agent Lu Xia was looking forward to, there was also a Fire Spirit Gene that piqued her curiosity.

Her recent research into gene fusion technology had taught her that fantastical species existed in this world.

For example, Graces’s Black Dragon Gene. Based on Lu Xia’s understanding and analysis, the Dragon Clan Gene in Graces belonged to the Western Dragon Clan.

If the gene fusion were perfect, he could even grow wings.

This made Lu Xia look forward to seeing what Graces would look like after a perfect fusion all the more.

As she thought this, Lu Xia couldn’t help but raise her eyes to the man beside her who was brewing her tea.

Sensing Lu Xia’s gaze, Graces looked up and asked doubtfully, "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking about what you would look like after a perfect gene fusion, given your condition."

Hearing this sudden remark, Graces’s heart tightened. "You think... I’ll see that day?"

"Why wouldn’t you? Your gene fusion rate has already reached 65%. You’re no longer a so-called ’defective product’. Since the Beastification Gene in your body has been activated, a perfect fusion is only a matter of time." Lu Xia’s tone was incredibly certain as she spoke, as if she had never doubted it for a moment, always firmly believing that Graces would one day undergo a perfect transformation.

Graces didn’t know how to express what he was feeling at that moment.

None of these changes were what he had expected, yet Lu Xia’s attitude toward him had never changed. Whether he was a ’defective product’ or a Gene Fusion Expert, Lu Xia always treated him the same.

"Lu Xia, thank you." His sudden sincerity left Lu Xia a bit puzzled. She stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "What are you thanking me for? I haven’t done anything. To have such a great opportunity, the one you should thank the most is yourself. It’s because you didn’t give up that you have this chance."

’Aside from providing Graces with the Spiritual Spring Water, I don’t feel like I’ve done anything else for him.’

’And I didn’t provide the Spiritual Spring Water for no reason; I wanted to see if it would be effective for Graces.’

’To me, Graces has high research value.’

’So I don’t need Graces’s thanks, because I’ve already gotten what I wanted.’

As they spoke, the auction began.

The first few auction items held no appeal for Lu Xia. She was just waiting for the gene fusion agent to appear.

The gene fusion agent, listed as the fifth item, didn’t keep her waiting long. It was soon brought to the auction stage by a staff member.

The auctioneer lifted the red cloth and announced loudly, "I’m sure this next item needs no further introduction! One Raccoon Gene Fusion Agent! The starting price is 15 million, let the bidding begin!"

However, as the auctioneer’s voice faded, no one below made a bid.

A price of 15 million for a single gene fusion agent wasn’t considered high; after all, this kind of gene agent would start in the tens of millions on the open market.

But for a gene fusion agent with only a 25% success rate, you’d need at least two vials for it to be effective.

And today at the Toya Auction House, there was only this one. A 25% chance was simply too low. No one was willing to shell out that kind of money to gamble on an uncertain future.

But for Lu Xia, this was a great opportunity. She just wanted it for research and didn’t care about the success rate.

So, in the dead-silent auction hall, Lu Xia pressed the bidding button.

Hearing the bid, the auctioneer, who had been in an awkward position on stage, immediately called out, "Our guest in the second-floor private box has bid 15.5 million! Are there any other bids...? Alright, 15.5 million going once, 15.5 million going twice, 15.5 million going three times! Congratulations to our guest in the second-floor private box on your successful bid!"

Seeing that someone had actually bid on this gene fusion agent, many people looked up curiously toward the second-floor private boxes, wanting to see who this rich person was.

Lu Xia knew full well that she was probably being seen as a sucker with more money than sense.

But no one knew that she wanted this gene fusion agent for research.

And she couldn’t be bothered to explain.

Now that the gene fusion agent was secured, the only thing left that she was looking forward to was the Fire Spirit Gene. She hoped that when the time came, no one would compete with her for it either.