I understood. The materials in the empty room had both good and bad quality. The good ones could yield top-grade pieces and had already been thoroughly examined, knowing exactly where and how to cut them to impress and encourage clients to spend money.
The owner of the empty room wouldn't let these prime pieces fall into others' hands, so they used pre-arranged proxies to buy back these stones.
Besides these top-grade pieces, the other uninspected rough stones were likely what the robbers like Brother Shun had stolen. Buying them at a kilogram price might result in a profit, but at a minimum of 300,000, the possibility of a profit was virtually nil.
Combining these points, the empty room created a celebrity circle. Clients could only enter through introductions, allowing the empty room to learn about their assets and personalities. Moreover, they required clients to prepare 2 million in cash each, with a limit of 2 million per client. This seemingly fair rule actually blocked the clients' path; they couldn't buy everything with their actual wealth, and thus, they couldn't uncover the scam.
...
For the third auction item, the cut revealed flowers.
In jade, any color other than green is called "flower." This piece was lavender, and while its texture wasn't as good as the first item, it was still worth several million.
After the cut, Brother Shun's expression was grim. He complained to me, "If you were so confident, why didn't you tell me to prepare for a bid?"
I shook my head and said nothing more.
...
If guests were allowed to be so determined and bid without hesitation, these premium jade roughs would still be snatched away. Therefore, it wouldn't be that simple.
These "ghosts" were tools of the game.
They were called tools because they served the planner's purpose, and I was certain the planner was within this game.
For the subsequent auctions, I watched Qin Sisi without inhibition. Her actions caught my eye; sometimes she touched her ear, sometimes her nose. When she touched her ear, a "ghost" in the venue would bid 1 million. When she touched her nose, a "ghost" would decisively make a "bid." At that moment, even if the client bid, Qin Sisi, who controlled the rhythm, would still hand over the auction right to the "ghost."
The clients' attention was on the stones, so they naturally wouldn't notice who raised their hand first. With a delay of one or two seconds, and under Qin Sisi's eloquent explanations, the prime roughs were naturally snatched by the "ghosts."
Indeed, Qin Sisi was not just a staff member of the empty room's celebrity circle; she controlled everything, was adept at reading emotions and pacing, and made the wealthy individuals, who were proud to be part of the celebrity circle, willingly spend their money.
The game was understood, and the planner was found.
...
The "Snatch Three" activity was still ongoing. I instructed Brother Shun a few things and then retreated into the shadows.
The reason there was more than one "ghost" in this venue was due to the rules. Each person had a limit of 2 million. The ghosts who had to abide by this rule were essentially out of the game after one successful bid. Therefore, multiple ghosts were needed to control the situation.
Now, hiding in the shadows, I wanted to know which ghost Qin Sisi was controlling.
Finally, it was the seventeenth auction item. As I had instructed, Brother Shun started the bidding at 300,000. I surveyed the room, and as expected, guest number 39 bid 500,000. This guest had the "ghost" mark on his arm. He called out 500,000.
Based on the information from Old Ghost, this seventeenth item had a trick to it. I knew that Qin Sisi also knew. Moreover, Qin Sisi needed two ghosts to control the game, but she was late. Before she could touch her ear, Captain Li Dazhi's hand was already raised. He said with a forced smile, "Bid." Qin Sisi frowned, sensing something was amiss, and quickly moved her hand towards her nose.
However, just then, I had already walked up to guest number 39 and poured a cup of water on his neck. His reaction was almost instinctive: "What are you doing?"
"Sorry, my hand slipped."
By the time guest number 39 realized something was wrong, it was too late. Brother Shun had already excitedly stood up and shouted, "I bid, I bid!"
A few people in the venue started to panic. They were all "ghosts" who knew the score. The seventeenth item should not have fallen into outsider hands. My gaze swept over the "ghosts" and quickly locked onto Qin Sisi. This woman was not simple at all. Despite my intervention, her expression remained unfazed.
When I returned to Brother Shun's side, a veiled lady with a national mask respectfully brought a lacquer pen on a tray to Brother Shun. Brother Shun looked a bit nervous, his hands trembling. He handed the lacquer pen to me, "Brother, it's up to you."
"Don't worry, I've got this."
Taking the lacquer pen, I confidently marked the cutting position.
After the cut, the entire room was stunned. From a thirty-odd kilogram rough, a rare red jadeite was revealed.
There's a saying in jade gambling: "A thousand green jades are easy to find, but one red jade is hard to come by." This "red jade" is red jadeite, which differs from red agate or rubies; it possesses a unique zesty glow, highly prized by collectors.
Red jadeite rarely has a glass-like texture; ice jadeite is already considered top-grade. The piece we just cut came from a rough from the Mu Luan Gan mine, which often produces red jadeite but with many cracks. Therefore, during the "Snatch Three" auction, many people didn't pay much attention to this item. Now that it was cut, even if it wasn't ice jadeite, it was close, with an ice-waxy texture, and it had no cracks.
Most importantly, there was plenty of material. We're rich!
Brother Shun was momentarily overcome, on the verge of tears. Li Dazhi pulled him, "Don't get emotional. We can't let others look down on us."
This statement was perfect for the face-conscious Brother Shun. He suppressed his tears and smiled faintly, "Right, we can't lose face."
...
Pride comes before a fall. Having benefited, there was no need to linger. Li Dazhi advised us to leave. Someone escorted us out through the emergency exit, and Brother Shun and I got into the car. We drove straight to the shop. He locked the gemstone in the safe while I waited outside to avoid suspicion.
During this time, I thought about my next move. Although I had successfully acquired the stone from the empty room, what should I do next? How could I set up a plan to break the game? Upon careful consideration, I, who had felt so accomplished moments ago, suddenly felt a bit foolish. Had I exposed myself too soon? Would the empty room retaliate?
Just as I was at a loss, Brother Shun came out cheerfully, "Let's go, brother. I'll take you to a great place."
"Where are we going?"
"Just follow me. Don't worry, I guarantee you'll have a good time tonight. My treat."
Brother Shun took me to a nightclub, leaving me speechless. Perhaps my behavior when looking at girls at the empty room had led him to misunderstand me. He had found a treasure, so he treated me to a place like this, and it seemed like there were additional services.
"Brother, how old are you this year?"
"Twenty-two by East Asian reckoning."
"Did you graduate from college?"
Hearing Brother Shun ask this, I felt ashamed. I hadn't gone to college. Even if I had, this wouldn't have been my graduation year. So, I continued to play my role and said with a smile, "My family is poor; I didn't go to college. My father is ill, and it's good enough that my mother can feed us."
Brother Shun's expression became awkward. "Did I ask too much?"
"It's fine."
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No, I haven't even held a girl's hand."
Brother Shun laughed heartily, "Tonight, we'll have some fun."
Then, after a few more drinks, Brother Shun went to talk to the owner and brought me to a private room. He told me to wait there and left alone. I didn't wait for Brother Shun, but instead, a girl wearing a glittering miniskirt and carrying a black handbag appeared. She was tall, wearing sandals, and her exposed toenails were painted black. I looked at the girl's slightly haughty face and then shifted my gaze to her collarbone.
"You're not even brave enough to look at my face?"
The girl said, throwing her handbag beside me. She then took a wine glass from the wine rack, poured herself a glass of red wine from my bottle, and leaned against the soft, large bed, swirling her glass, her eyes filled with temptation.
To be honest, when the girl first entered, my heart couldn't help but skip a beat, and I had impure thoughts, wondering if I should just let myself be corrupted by this world tonight. But after seeing the girl's collarbone, my thoughts completely changed. I placed my wine glass on the coffee table in front of me, looked at the girl seriously, and asked slowly, "Are there services like this?"
"Isn't that obvious? Sir, if you have money, you can do whatever you want."
"I might not have been clear enough. Let me ask again, does the empty room offer services like this?"
"I don't know what you're talking about?"
"We met not long ago. Who sent you? Qin Sisi? Or are Brother Shun and I being followed? What are you trying to do?"
The girl sighed, "I underestimated you. I originally wanted to play around with you, but I didn't expect you to see through it. How did you recognize me?"
"You're too thin, and your collarbone is very distinctive. When I was at the empty room, I wondered what kind of person a girl with such innate pride would become. I must admit, you're more beautiful than I imagined."
"Slick talker, you don't look like a good person?"
"We're all the same, all the same. A decent girl wouldn't be following me to a place like this in the middle of the night."
The girl downed the red wine in her glass. "Then let's not hide anything. The contents of the handbag are for you. Take a look."
Inside the handbag were folded papers, color printed. I opened them and saw the shape of the rough, the cutting position, and the texture, clarity, and color inside. Based on the annotations, they were almost identical to the two pieces I had obtained at the small motel. However, this document had more information, and the image of the cut-open jade was particularly stunning.
The reason gambling is associated with jade is that before it's cut, the interior is completely unknown. However, according to this information, the empty room could clearly grasp the cutting position and know the texture and clarity of the cut-open jade.
Achieving this was possible only under one circumstance: those so-called uninspected roughs were fake. The ability to forge them was truly beyond imagination, fooling even the master craftsmen.
Usually, counterfeits couldn't escape the eyes of master craftsmen, who could tell at a glance if there was something fishy inside the stones. However, this time, even these master craftsmen were deceived.
This meant that the empty room was not a smuggling group at all; they were simply swindlers. They didn't go to Myanmar to directly select firsthand goods. They forged materials domestically, built up their reputation, lured wealthy clients into the celebrity circle, and then, through Qin Sisi's controlled performance, convinced these clients that the empty room could yield raw materials worth tens or even hundreds of millions.
Because of this belief, the empty room could repeatedly and incessantly harvest these clients' wealth. Impressive!
"Miss, how did you get this information?"
"Old Ghost gave it to me. We're on the same side."
"What do you want me to do with this information?"
The beauty smiled, "I don't know. As a tool of the planner, I really don't know much. What about tonight? Are we sleeping in the same bed, or do you have other plans?"
"Miss, what's your name?"
"Xiao Luo."
"Miss Xiao Luo, please tell Old Ghost that the mission will be completed."