After the slave owners went bankrupt, they all wanted to keep me as a mistress.

What surprised Mu Qiu even more was that he could actually see the risks of these slaves betraying him and escaping.

He had previously visited a subhuman slave market, where the subhuman slaves were said to be the most loyal to their masters, with very few running away or betraying them. This made Mu Qiu give up on buying slaves from there without hesitation.

No one likes a slave who betrays them, but a slave who runs away is a different story.

If the slaves successfully escape, all the money previously invested in them will be considered a loss.

Of course, he couldn't voluntarily break the slave contract with them; such a loophole wouldn't work.

However, the system only stipulates that the contract cannot be terminated voluntarily. He could easily buy them items that can terminate the contract and place them in a place where they can easily find them.

Moreover, Mu Qiu wouldn't just release the elven girl after buying her.

Mu Qiu wanted to continue investing in her, investing heavily in her, so that when she ran away, he could lose even more money!

This is a Moon Elf worth a million gold coins, so it's only reasonable to house her in the most luxurious manor, provide her with the highest-grade monster meat, equip her with the finest gear, and hire the top professional mentors, right?

"Starting bid—100,000 gold coins!" the auctioneer shouted.

"One hundred thousand!" a fat man adorned with jewels shouted impatiently.

"One hundred twenty thousand!"

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

The bidding skyrocketed instantly, the numbers soaring like wild horses, igniting a frenzy throughout the venue, with greedy eyes almost scorching through the layer of light.

Mu Qiu remained languidly tucked into his chair, his right hand holding a crystal glass filled with amber-colored wine on the low crystal table beside him, while his left fingertips held a sharp-edged imperial gold coin engraved with intricate patterns.

"She's a legendary Moon Elf, after all. Who does she think she is, with tens of thousands of gold coins?"

He lowered his eyes, his gaze seemingly falling on the swaying liquid in the glass, yet also seemingly penetrating it to fall on the eight-figure sum of system funds.

When a mysterious figure in black robes hoarsely shouted "Two hundred thousand," a brief silence enveloped the entire room. The auctioneer excitedly raised the gavel, and the figure in black robes exchanged a glance with her companion, patted her chest lightly, and a hint of relief flashed in her beautiful eyes—

"one million."

A clear, calm, even slightly languid male voice, transmitted through the specially designed amplification array in the private room, resonated throughout every corner of the auction hall.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a piece of ancient ice being smashed into a boiling pot of oil, instantly freezing all the noise.

At the same time, Mu Qiu flicked the gold coin lightly with his thumb.

"Ding--!"

A crisp, metallic vibrato, like a deity plucking the strings of a harp, echoed leisurely beneath the deathly silent auction house dome, lingering for a long time.

Everyone's gaze, as if drawn by an invisible thread, was drawn to the lofty "Starfall" VIP box.

Behind the crystal window, the figure wrapped in purple velvet was blurry yet noble, like a god in the clouds casting a casual glance.

The auctioneer's mouth gaped open, a gurgling sound coming from his throat, and the gavel hung in mid-air, forgotten to fall.

In the corner, the mysterious man in black robes, holding up a sign, froze in place, his face filled with astonishment.

Within the cocoon of light, the elven girl slightly raised her head, and for the first time, her empty eyes regained focus.

Like a frozen lake that has been dormant for thousands of years, a pebble is thrown in, creating a small ripple.

"One million once! One million twice! One million... three times! Sold! Congratulations to the esteemed guest in the Starfall VIP room! She is yours!"

The auctioneer's roar, tinged with ecstatic elation, finally brought down the gavel, marking the birth of a record-breaking price.

The heavy magic door to the private room slid open silently.

The auction house manager, hunched over, held a palm-sized magic prism that shimmered with a dark silver aura in his hands—the core hub controlling the [Anti-Magic Cocoon].

Behind him, two fierce werewolf guards carefully carried the floating cocoon of light, as if carrying the most fragile treasure in the world.

Mu Qiu remained slumped in his seat, not even lifting his eyelids.

He casually waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly. The steward immediately understood, respectfully placed the control prism on the low table beside him, and then silently withdrew with his guards.

The heavy doors of the private room were closed, isolating it from the outside world.

With no outsiders around, Mu Qiu slowly sat up straight, rubbed his hands together expectantly, and then looked at the magic prism in his hand, frowning.

"How do I use this thing? Such a big auction house, and they don't even provide an instruction manual?"

Chapter Two: What is Magic Loan?

Mu Qiu transmigrated here a month ago.

He didn't know how he had transmigrated. He only remembered waking up to find himself deep in a dark and gloomy underground city, with a faintly glowing six-pointed star pattern remaining beneath him.

After a brief moment of shock, his will to survive overwhelmed everything, and he mustered his courage to search the surrounding area.

Everywhere you look, there are pools of congealed, blackened blood, scattered limbs and severed bodies, and piles of grotesque monster corpses.

After a careful search, Mu Qiu finally understood his situation.

He transmigrated to a different world of swords and magic.

The good news is that there seems to be a very powerful group of adventurers ahead conquering this dungeon. They have almost wiped out all the monsters on their way here, so he is safe for now.

The bad news is that he was physically transported, not through a soul transfer. He knows nothing about this world, and it seems that he was summoned here by someone. However, he cannot find the person who summoned him, nor does he have any so-called "contract" or "sensation." Perhaps it was just as soon as he was summoned here.

Mu Qiu searched the corpses of several adventurers who were clearly novices and found seemingly useful items such as "Adventurer's Handbook," "Shallow Dungeon Map," and "Monster Girl Must-Eat List," before hurriedly leaving the dungeon.

He originally wanted to take a look at the adventurers' equipment, but due to weight restrictions, he had to give up this tempting idea.

After stumbling and falling out of the dungeon, his disheveled appearance caught the eye of a kind-looking middle-aged man who mistook him for a novice adventurer who had escaped death and took him to the nearby Blackrock Town.

In the taverns and inns of the town, Mu Qiu learned through subtle means that a riot had broken out in the underground city. Monsters that should have been entrenched deep in the twentieth floor had suddenly appeared on the fifth floor, causing heavy casualties among the new adventurers.

Fortunately, a high-level adventurer group was nearby and rushed to the dungeon to provide rescue.

With the few dozen silver coins he obtained from looting corpses, Mu Qiu temporarily settled down in Blackstone Town. During this month, he spent almost all his time in the town's only bookstore, eagerly absorbing all the knowledge about this unfamiliar world.

It wasn't until three days ago, when he was strolling around town, that he accidentally encountered a slave trader, which activated the "Slave Owner System".

Upon discovering that he could borrow a thousand gold coins from the system, Mu Qiu unhesitatingly gave all of his last dozen or so silver coins to the slave trader as a consultation fee, and learned some information about the slave market from him.

The other party also told him that a grand auction was about to be held in Glorious City.

It is said that the grand finale item is a rare elven slave!

So Mu Qiu hired a coachman from the town and traveled a long distance to Huiguang City.

The first thing I did upon arrival was to spend over 300 gold coins to buy myself a new outfit. I also exchanged 120 gold coins for a purple gold coin at a premium from the black market, and redeemed a protective crystal worth 300 gold coins from the system shop as a self-defense item.

When he was dressed in this expensive outfit and bought goods at a premium in the auction house, the receptionist treated him like a noble young master without a second thought, and was extremely respectful. After tossing the receptionist a few gold coins, he met the auction house manager.

Upon meeting the manager, Mu Qiu expressed his interest in the elven slave and casually tipped the manager a purple-gold coin. The auction house manager immediately treated him as an honored guest and invited him to the Starfall VIP box on the top floor.

Up to this point, everything has been going smoothly.

No one would doubt that a young man who could casually pull out purple gold coins as tips and easily produce millions of gold coins was not a true nobleman.

With fair skin and no calluses on his hands, he was clearly a wealthy young man who rarely spent time in the sun and didn't need to do housework. This further proved that he was a pampered young master.

The fact that there were no bodyguards around indicates that the bodyguards were hidden in places they couldn't detect.

If you can't detect any magical aura on the other party, it means that the other party either has an extremely powerful background or possesses a very high-level hidden crystal.

Mu Qiu doesn't need to prove to them that he is a nobleman. He only needs to stand there, and everyone will regard him as a true nobleman.

In such a remote and impoverished place on the border of the empire, no one would question his identity.

But now, a problem has arisen.

He had only been in this other world for a month. Although he had seen this kind of magic in books, he had never come into contact with such a high-end magic prism in reality and had no idea how to use it.

Call the person in charge in and ask him how to use this thing.

The thought flashed through Mu Qiu's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

He is currently in the Orion Empire, the most powerful human empire on this continent.

The empire possesses the most powerful imperial guard and a vast bureaucratic system. Nobles are high and mighty, and even if a baron dies mysteriously on the border, the capital will send people to investigate.

Even though he has no martial arts skills now, with his noble attire, as long as the auction house wants to continue doing business, they would never dare to cheat him.

But if the auction house discovers he isn't a nobleman, then things could change.

If it were a reputable auction house, they might patiently explain to him how to use the magic prism.

But if they wanted to do something underhanded here, even a layman like him might not be able to detect it...

As a newcomer, Mu Qiu naturally couldn't risk his life by betting that the auction house's people were trustworthy.

Thinking of this, Mu Qiu couldn't help but look up at the elven girl inside the cocoon of light:

Do you know how to use this thing?

Inside the cocoon of light, the elven girl slightly raised her chin, her empty gaze piercing through the membrane to the prism in the boy's hand, remaining silent.

"I must have been an idiot to ask her such a question."

Mu Qiu slapped his forehead.

He felt like he had just acted like a hacker trying to steal someone's account and then asking for their password.

What normal person would answer that question?

Just as Mu Qiu was about to conduct his own research, a cold, emotionless female voice rang out.

"......magic."

Mu Qiu was slightly taken aback.

Looking up, he met the elven girl's still empty gaze.

She parted her lips slightly and spoke softly, "Infuse your magic into the bottom of the prism."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Mu Qiu fell silent.

magic?

He's a time traveler, and he's spent the entire past month in bookstores. Where did he get this magic?

[Oh no! Host, you have no magic power and cannot form a slave contract!]

Just then, the system's voice suddenly rang in my mind.

"How about this, I'll lend you some magic power, and you can return it to me after you return to Earth, what do you think?"

Ok?

Can magic even be used to get loans?

And it won't cost him anything; he can pay it back when he returns to Earth.

Mu Qiu Yi Le.

Once he returns to Earth, he'll be invincible. What's the point of having this little bit of magic now?

Is this system for charity?

"Alright, alright! Lend me your magic!"

[The host has been provided with 100 magic power and an increased magic power cap.]

"Only one hundred magic points? But it's fine, since I got it for free anyway."

Mu Qiu smacked his lips in dissatisfaction. Feeling the magic power surging within him, he picked up the magic prism and injected a barely perceptible amount of magic power from its bottom.

The next second, the prism flashed.

"Om-!"

The suspended cocoon of light emitted a soft hum, and the flowing magical film vanished instantly, like dewdrops in the sunlight.

Without any support, the elven girl in the cocoon of light fell silently like a delicate doll with its strings cut, crashing heavily onto the cold, hard obsidian ground.

His silver hair was spread out, and his body was slightly curled up and trembling due to the impact and weakness, but he stubbornly did not make a sound.

At the same time, Mu Qiu also felt that he had established some kind of connection with the girl in front of him.

However, this connection is not stable; it can only roughly sense the other party's location. It was probably a function designed to prevent slaves from escaping.

Chapter Three: Slaves Get Wages? Are You Crazy?