Selection Committee

Chen Miemie had originally assumed that the items in this selection event would be numerous—items from every street, various guilds, some collector families, lucky individuals who had stumbled upon treasures, and so on.

In reality, everyone present was a major figure; they didn’t have time to review all the items. There had already been a strict screening process beforehand.

Chen Miemie hadn’t realized that Fairy Tale Street wasn’t an ordinary street. It was packed with treasures, but that didn’t mean other streets were at the same level.

The host was an old man with a goatee.

“Hello everyone, welcome to the once-every-four-years selection event for the Wondrous Treasury of the Sealed Archive Pavilion.

I am the Final Taste Master, known simply as Final, from the Academy of Scholars. My main focus is analyzing the aesthetics of decay. Today, I will be presiding over this entire selection event.

Let me explain the rules:

A total of twelve items will participate in today’s selection. Each item will be presented in turn, and I will give a brief introduction.

Three judges will cast votes of approval or rejection. If all three approve, the item passes directly and will be recorded in the treasury. If two approve, it enters the candidate list.

Finally, the three judges will discuss and select the top three among all approved items.

Distinguished guests, you may note down the items that interest you. After the event, staff will record your preferences. If the item’s owner is willing to sell, we will contact those who have registered interest.

Please note: each guest can only register interest in one item; you may not select two or more at once.

For the protection of the owners, I will not disclose the origin of any item. Some items may be dangerous. Any transactions and subsequent use are at your own risk.

Now, let the selection begin.

Please welcome the first item.”

Two muscular men in work uniforms carefully carried a coffin-shaped box onto the stage.

Chen Miemie recognized this type of black coffin. He had seen one before during his time with the Jiang family in Sixiang City. It was used to seal mysterious items.

The two men lifted the lid and tilted the coffin box so the judges and audience could see inside.

Inside was an abacus.

It had a black frame and dark brown beads with a few scratches on the surface. It looked completely ordinary.

Final began his introduction:

“The first item is a mysterious object called the Existence Tax Abacus.

When used, it can levy a ‘tax on existence’ on a single target with flesh and blood. If too much ‘existence tax’ is collected, the target will be temporarily ‘frozen’ in existence, becoming so lacking in presence that no one can perceive them.

Side effect: at the moment of use, there is no drawback. But after use, the abacus must be returned to its place, and the user must pay double the existence tax. To maintain their own ‘existence’, the owner must constantly sacrifice parts of themselves.”

Chen Miemie found this fascinating.

Chen Miemie sat on the left aisle. To his right was Gongshu Key, also known as Bridge Princess, and on her other side was Du Jun, the vice president of Molting Clinic. The three had come together today.

Du Jun was clearly very interested in this mysterious item. His eyes were practically glowing.

He kept muttering softly, “What a treasure, basically a murder weapon. Point at someone, and they vanish. I have to have this one!”

Gongshu Key also nodded repeatedly. “I didn’t expect something like a divine artifact to appear right off the bat. I hope the owner is willing to sell.”

Though Chen Miemie found the abacus novel, he wasn’t overly interested. For him, he didn’t lack offensive means. If he could kill an enemy directly, he wouldn’t bother with reducing their presence—it was too inefficient.

“Do you two know how to use an abacus?” Chen Miemie joined the discussion.

“No.”

“No, but we can learn.”

Gongshu Key seemed to guess Chen Miemie’s unspoken question and directly explained: “This abacus is powerful. It can ambush people. And for us at Molting Clinic, by molting, we can avoid the delayed side effects. It fits us perfectly.”

Hearing that, Chen Miemie instantly understood. For Molting Clinic, this abacus had no side effects. It was indeed a perfect divine artifact.

Soon, the three judges gave their verdicts.

The Existence Tax Abacus received two votes and entered the candidate list.

Chenpi did not vote. As small as she was—even her seat was a custom elevated chair—she sat with her arms crossed, a disdainful look on her face.

Chen Miemie quietly asked, “Is Chenpi always this arrogant?”

Gongshu Key lowered her voice to answer, “As far as I remember, yes. Lady Chenpi has lived a very long time. Her standards are very high, and she’s extremely strict. Once, in a selection, she didn’t give a single approval. Usually, if she approves something, it ends up in the top three.”

The first item getting two votes and entering the candidate list was a good start.

Soon, the second item was brought up.

This time, the coffin box was smaller, only the size of a briefcase.

Following procedure, Final once again introduced:

“The second item is a hard-to-classify oddity called the Fake-Scent Mask.

It will tailor a false scent for the wearer. For example, the person you love most might smell like a corpse, or clean water might smell like pus.

With scent acting as an anchor for emotions and memory being tampered with, long-term wear will destroy relationships and survival judgment.

The wearer will constantly doubt whether the world is rotting or if their own nose is the problem.

So far, no clear beneficial use has been found. But according to the owner, in specific situations, its clever use can help resist strong control-type effects from mysterious sources, through intense irritation of smell.”

Chen Miemie frowned slightly.

He really couldn’t underestimate this mysterious world.

This Fake-Scent Mask seemed harmful and pointless at first glance, but as the owner said, in the right moment, it could be a lifesaving artifact.

For instance, it would be very effective against Bobo.

With it, the wearer could easily resist the strange fragrance of grilled chicken, feel no appetite, and escape from Bobo unscathed.

The Fake-Scent Mask only received one vote and was eliminated directly.

Then came the third, fourth, and fifth items. Chenpi never cast a single vote and even made a few cynical remarks from time to time.

It wasn’t until the sixth item appeared that things changed.

In an even smaller box lay an extremely thin, flesh-colored thread.

If not for the fact that everyone present had some strength, they might not have been able to see the thread clearly in the box.

Final’s voice echoed at the same time:

“This oddity, though called an item, is more like a living creature.

This thin thread is made of an unknown material. It cannot communicate, and whether it has its own consciousness is unknown. Its name is the Bone Roommate.

It will burrow into the owner’s bone marrow cavity to reside, feeding on calcium, and then secrete substances that reinforce the bones.

The owner will feel something wriggling inside their bones.

Imagine this: each of your bones is its apartment, and it crawls inside them every moment.

This item is primarily strange. It has no obvious effects, neither good nor bad.”

Hearing Final’s introduction, Chen Miemie couldn’t help but think of the second seat in the Silver Moon Court, of the Architect framework—the guy who would casually release bone spikes to attack people. If this thread were inside his bones, what would happen? He was a little curious.

Upon hearing this, Chen Miemie realized that Final’s seemingly detailed explanation had actually concealed quite a bit.

For example, when it came to the [Bone Tenant], he only described what it would be like inside a body, simply summarizing it as harmless—but he didn’t say a single word about how to get it out.

[Chenpi] showed the first glimmer of interest, raising a slender arm to cast her first vote.

Neither Stone Whisperer nor Mr. Kong had any intention of voting—in their eyes, something useless, no matter how novel, held no value.

Their refusal to vote immediately provoked the green-haired loli.

[Chenpi] started making wild gestures from her chair. “What’s with that look? Do you even know how to judge treasure? Vote for it!”

Such blatant disregard for fairness was so routine that not a single spectator even batted an eye.

“[Chenpi] is always like this,” Gongshu Key remarked.

Chen Miemie finally understood why the things [Chenpi] voted for always ended up in the top three.

Under her combination of threats and physical force, the [Bone Tenant] passed unanimously.

The evaluation continued.

When the eighth item appeared, Chen Miemie felt, for the first time, a flicker of thought: “I kind of want to take this one home.”