The Innkeeper

Chapter 1794: Twist

Gasps were heard around the Inn. Walking people froze midstep. A hundred million rooms watching the auction ordered popcorn when they saw Mary summon one as well.

Since this was the end of the first segment of the auction, viewership was at its peak, though some were beginning to leave since what they could watch was basically over. The moment the second chameleon appeared, though, that all stopped. In fact, in a matter of seconds, viewership peaked.

It was a shame Lex didn’t get income from viewership, otherwise he’d be raking in the MP.

Z and Harry leaned forward in their seats, alarmed by the sudden and unexpected change to the auction, but Lex didn’t move. Since they were literally in the same hall as the auction stage, they could look right at the chameleon that moved, and arrive at a moment’s notice if there was need.

The danger didn’t come from the actual chameleon, despite his level. No, the danger came from his system. Lex wanted to see how things would play out, but if it started to look bad, he was prepared to take out that reptile as quickly as possible, preferably in a single hit.

The longer the fight went on, the more chances there were of something going wrong. As such, he began to use the green energy he got from being a paladin.

That energy was a great supplement for Lotus, and let it recover faster from the effects of Lex going into his Lotus form.

The chameleon was looking out into the darkness, not daring to look at Mary. He had mustered up the courage to come up on stage, in front of hundreds of millions of people, interrupting the auction being conducted by a literal Dao Lord. That did not mean, however, that he was foolish enough to push his chances more than he had to.

"Young man, behind you is a legitimate auction entry by an independent guest, verified by the Inn, being bidded on by countless guests. Do you realize that you are causing a scene?" Mary asked, her tone and expression all relaxed and amused, as if she didn’t mind the interference at all. She was adapting to the situation quickly, making sure that it looked like she was in control of the situation rather than letting the Inn develop a bad reputation.

After all, if word got out that just anyone could interrupt Inn events, guests would lose faith in the Inn.

Lex narrowed his eyes as he studied the chameleon in excruciating detail. Something wasn’t right. His expressions... his soul fluctuations... they were almost as if...

"She... she is not an auction entry!" the chameleon said as he fought his body’s instinctual urge to kneel due to the presence of a Dao Lord right behind him. "Her name... is Helsi, and she is my sister. Someone attacked my home planet while I was gone and... and killed her. They are auctioning off her body like she is some ’thing’, but she’s not!"

Lex stood up from his seat, his expression growing stern as he continued to observe the chameleon. This is not what he expected.

BillyBobBrat: #fakenews this whole thing reeks of being orchestrated.

RoboBunny: aww, he came up to save his sister’s body. That’s so sweet. How could someone do that to her?

RubicsHexagon: ^ you were just bidding for that ’body’. Also, I still want that body. Get that chameleon off stage. Better yet, auction him off too!

HighSchoolPhysicist: That’s not how quantum teleportation works. This is so fake. They’re putting on a show to drive views. Should have known.

The chat was blowing up, many of them doubting the veracity of the chameleon’s claims, though there were also a lot of them who were touched by the chameleon’s bravery and admired his courage.

"Look, I only found out where Helsi is a few minutes ago, otherwise I would have approached you before the auction. I... I understand that this is not your fault but... can I file a dispute? This body does not belong to whoever put it up for auction! Your Inn has a pretty good reputation for being fair to guests. I’m a guest too," pleaded the chameleon. Truthfully, he would have tried to take away Helsi if he could manage it, yet the moment he appeared on stage, he felt his ability to leave the Inn disappear.

Everyone who came to the Inn used the gold keys, and without the Inn’s power to send a guest back, they would be trapped there.

Lex’s frown deepened, because this wasn’t going the way he would have anticipated. Unless this was a part of an even more elaborate trap by that system user.

Lex waved his hand and teleported Liz over, directly bypassing her own permission. She too had been watching the auction alongside Levi, and was startled when her surroundings changed.

"Liz, ask Nemo if that chameleon is telling the truth," said Lex. Although everyone claimed that a system was the only weakness a system had, he’d seen otherwise. Sovereigns had a pretty significant influence on systems, to the point where they could directly ignore systems entirely or even influence them.

"Hey Lex, that guy is telling the truth," said Nemo, who was sitting in the center of Liz’s forehead as a tattoo. "It’s quite sad what happened to him. I can’t imagine losing a sister like that - mainly because I don’t have any family. I imagine it’s like losing a friend, and I don’t think I’d like that."

"Yeah, I wouldn’t like it either," said Lex in a low voice. He had been expecting a sudden system user who appeared in the middle of the auction to cause trouble. He hadn’t anticipated that the guy would be here for genuine reasons.

Unless... this too was a part of someone else’s plan, and even this system user himself was just a pawn.

"Mary, according to Nemo, the chameleon is telling the truth," Lex said, speaking directly to her through his mind. "I’m removing Helsi from the auction. You carry on normally."