Chapter 248: Chapter 242: Face Slap! Definitely an Expert

Aurora Sinclair continued picking out stones, completely ignoring the stares from the onlookers, while Alvin Morgan and the two Morgans acted as her haulers, being ordered around every which way.

It was quite the scene.

At Beta Morgan’s prompting, Silas Morgan found a moment to secretly film a short video on his phone, even adding some text.

[Beta: La la la… La la la… I’m a happy little stone-hauling lackey…]

[Beta: (Shared a video)]

[Silas: Risked my life for this pic. Tips of 200 accepted. (Photo)]

[Delta: Transferred 200]

[Alpha: Transferred 400]

[Charlie: Transferred 200]

[Beta: Alpha’s the man! (Awesome!)]

[Alpha: Tell the boss to take it easy. Don’t want him to throw out his back.]

…

After Aurora Sinclair finished picking out her stones, someone immediately came to settle the bill. The total was 30 million.

“Would you like to have them cut now?”

She thought for a moment and shook her head, leaving the staff member handling the payment stunned. It seemed they had never seen anyone do that here.

“Do you have any cutting tools?” Aurora Sinclair asked.

“Ma’am, you’re going to cut them yourself?”

Aurora Sinclair nodded.

Beside her, Silas Morgan was so shocked that he choked on his own spit. Coughing, he asked in astonishment, “Ahem… Aurora, are you sure?”

“Yes. They’ll be easy to cut.”

Silas Morgan glanced at his boss again. Even through the mask, he could sense Alvin’s calm and unconcerned demeanor.

In no time, word that Aurora Sinclair was going to cut the stones herself spread through the area.

Most of the people nearby—whether they were selecting, examining, or cutting stones—were drawn to the commotion.

They all wanted to see how this young woman would go about cutting the stones.

Kane Hughes glanced at the rough stones, a flash of disdain in his eyes. “Looks like we have an expert on our hands,” he said, his face a mask of calm.

“What expert? She’s just a gold digger who’s being kept,” his apprentice scoffed.

“He’s earned so much money, what’s 30 million?” Terry scoffed, carefully holding the stone he’d just spent 120 million on as he prepared to go watch the show.

Aurora Sinclair found it difficult to work with her mask on, so she took it off, revealing an incredibly ugly face to the crowd.

The crowd’s gazes toward Alvin Morgan instantly turned strange. Terry, in particular, felt a shiver run down his spine.

’He sure has… unique tastes.’

Aurora Sinclair paid no mind to the jeers and sarcasm from the crowd. With a calm expression, she picked up the stone that Kane Hughes had just dismissed as “brick-grade” and began to examine it carefully.

’She looks like she knows a thing or two, at least.’

Kane Hughes’s face fell as he watched her. ’Is she trying to make a fool out of me?’

His apprentice sneered loudly, “My master already determined that’s a worthless brick. What could you possibly get out of it? You’re wasting everyone’s time.”

The surrounding onlookers began to mutter amongst themselves.

But Aurora Sinclair deftly picked up a cutting wheel and made a small incision in the stone. The first cut revealed exactly what had been predicted—worthless rock. It had no translucency, and its texture was incredibly coarse.

The jeering from the crowd grew louder.

“Tch, the master already said it was a dud. Can’t believe some idiot still had to try.”

But then Aurora Sinclair adjusted her angle and made another cut. Suddenly, a distinct layer was visible. The outside was dross, but the inside was ice-type jade, its limpid quality as clear and crystalline as ice itself.

“Holy shit…” Beta Morgan blurted out, nearly dropping the stone he was holding.

Alvin Morgan shot him a look.

Beta Morgan immediately shut his mouth, holding his breath as he watched the cutting wheel in Aurora Sinclair’s hand.

He watched as she swapped the cutter for a brush, working away at the spot where the jade was exposed. With every stroke, the material beneath grew clearer and more translucent.

Aurora Sinclair examined the color, translucency, and fissures once more before carefully choosing a direction to make her next cut.

With each cut, more of the crystalline jade was revealed, stunning the crowd into silence. They stared dumbfounded at the treasure taking shape in her hands.

When Aurora Sinclair finally finished stripping away the stone’s outer layer, revealing a piece of ice-type jade the size of a pigeon’s egg, the surrounding crowd erupted.

“It’s a strike! It’s a strike!”

“It’s ice-type jade! It’s really ice-type!”

“Young lady, I’ll offer 5 million!”

“I’ll offer 8 million!”

“I’ll offer 10 million!”

…

The bidding from the crowd had already soared to 50 million.

Standing to one side, Kane Hughes felt his cheeks burn with humiliation.

His expression had turned grim, and he stared at Aurora Sinclair with a dark gaze, his hand hidden in his sleeve clenched into a tight fist.

’I can’t believe it. This young woman is actually a true expert?’

Surrounded by the crowd, Aurora Sinclair shook her head. She placed the cool piece of jade in Alvin Morgan’s hand and took another unremarkable raw stone from Beta Morgan.

This time, after examining the stone, she didn’t immediately start cutting. Instead, she used a small brush to scrub the surface, periodically shining a light on it to reveal a lush, vibrant green inside.

This time, before she even started cutting, someone in the crowd offered 5 million for it.

Aurora Sinclair glanced at the bidder and shook her head. “This one’s no good.”

She made a cut through the middle of the stone, revealing that the green was only a thin layer. It was a waxy ice-type jade.

Still, someone insisted on buying it, saying they wanted to show their support.

The waxy ice-type jade sold for 5,000 International Coins.

Aurora Sinclair continued to cut her stones. Half of her raw stones yielded ice-type jade, and one even produced a high ice-type, making every wealthy merchant at the scene lose their composure.

Terry, in particular, went straight to Alvin Morgan and offered 200 million for it.

The raw stone containing the high ice-type jade was quite large. If carefully worked, it could be made into numerous pieces of jewelry, which could then be resold for a profit of at least 1 billion.

Just as Alvin Morgan was about to refuse, he saw Aurora Sinclair nod. “Fine.”

Beside them, Beta Morgan was so shocked that the last two raw stones in his hands dropped to the ground.

Terry never expected her to agree. He froze, then asked in a loud, incredulous voice, “You’re really selling it to me for 200 million?”

Aurora Sinclair nodded and said sternly, “Don’t cause any more trouble.”

Terry nodded vigorously, his face ecstatic. He had his subordinate transfer the money and then carefully accepted the high ice-type raw stone.

With two raw stones remaining, Aurora Sinclair decided not to cut any more and prepared to call it a day.

“Young lady, what about the last two?” someone in the crowd asked impatiently.

But she plopped down on the ground and shook her head. “I’m tired.”

The crowd: …

“Then when will you cut again?”

“Exactly! Your cutting skills are incredible. Can you take a look at mine for me?”

“Yes, yes, young lady, please take a look at mine…”

The wealthy merchants in the crowd all began taking out the stones they had picked and placing them in front of her.

Eager expressions were on every face, with no trace of their earlier mocking sneers.

They clearly all regarded Aurora Sinclair as an expert now; even Kane Hughes’s gaze had turned serious.

’This young woman’s technique is brilliant. It’s obvious she’s had specialized training.’

’There aren’t many people in the world with this level of skill. Other than The Phantom Trove, I can’t think of anyone else who could produce such a disciple.’

’Could she be from The Phantom Trove?’

At this thought, Kane Hughes’s gaze grew fervent, as if he were looking at a massive gold mine.

“Hmph, what’s the big deal? No matter how skilled she is, she’s no match for our master.”

“Exactly. So what if she cut open one high ice-type? Our master has done that before, too.”

A flash of jealousy crossed his apprentices’ eyes as they spoke with disdain, trying to flatter Kane Hughes in the process. This time, however, they earned a harsh glare from their master.

“What do you two know?” Kane snapped. “She picked fifteen stones. The worst one was a waxy ice-type, half of them were ice-types, and one was a high ice-type. Have you ever seen anyone with such a high success rate? Even I couldn’t guarantee results like that…”

The more Kane Hughes spoke, the brighter his eyes shone. He finished with a sigh of admiration, “She is an absolute master, and she must have been taught by one.”

***

The crowd was so insistent that Aurora Sinclair had no choice but to sit in Kane Hughes’s workshop and appraise their stones one by one, even helping them make the cuts. Some gambles paid off, while others were a total loss.

It was nine losses for every ten gambles; very few people actually made a profit.

To get on her good side, Kane Hughes gifted her a piece of Warm Jade from his private collection and asked for her contact information.

Seeing this, the others quickly pulled out their phones to add Aurora Sinclair as a contact as well.

Even after the group left the stone-gambling area, people were still enthusiastically chasing after them, asking for Aurora Sinclair’s contact information.

In the end, Silas Morgan’s phone was filled with the private numbers of more than a dozen tycoons, all of whom were ranked in the top 50 of the world’s wealthiest people.

Silas Morgan stared at the string of contacts on his phone, all sending him smiley-face emojis.

He silently took a screenshot and posted it in the Morgan brothers’ group chat.

[Silas: I’ve peaked. From now on, call me Silas “The Tycoon Reaper” Morgan. (LOL)]

[Elec: Badass, little Silas! Did you just infiltrate the circle of top billionaires?]

[Thunder: Little Silas, the Madam says to send her the contact info of everyone on your screen.]

[Wind: The Old Master says the Madam is truly a virtuous wife.]

[Silas: …]

Suddenly, Beta Morgan sent a voice message to the group, but the voice that came through was Alvin Morgan’s.

“Aurora is indeed very virtuous.”

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