Chapter 224 : 224: Shannon and Finn
After leaving the dean's office, Charles couldn't stop thinking about what Dean Jamie had just said.
The so-called "Dawn" organization had quite a reputation in the world of Beast Master; many people had heard of it.
However, Jamie didn't know much more information about the "Dawn" organization. He only knew that if someone could successfully complete the "Reaper's Scythe" challenge.
The "Dawn" organization would actively reach out to those who succeeded, and at that point, Charles could try to seek information about the "Constellation."
Especially who is betraying Genosha and collaborating with the "Constellation"!
In fact, Charles didn't care about that. What he wanted was simply to find out who was involved in the case of the missing children within Genosha!
As he thought about this, he made his way to the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association.
Celestine had replied to him, saying that she also had items she wanted to bid on, and they could go together.
For the past few days, Celestine had been holding back from disturbing Charles.
She understood that Charles had very important matters to attend to, so she had to suppress her longing.
They had agreed to meet at the entrance of the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association building.
Soon,
Charles spotted Celestine's figure.
It seemed that, worried about affecting Charles, Celestine had dressed very simply today, wearing a thin trench coat that tightly wrapped around her curvaceous body.
"Why the change in style today?" Charles asked, somewhat puzzled.
In his memory, every time he met Celestine, she would always dress up meticulously, wearing eye-catching clothes.
He hadn't expected her to change her style today to something so simple and casual.
"Does it look bad?" Celestine asked, gazing into Charles's eyes.
Charles answered seriously, "No, it looks good. This style suits you well too."
The two entered the lobby of the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association's Genosha branch together.
The atmosphere inside was somewhat strange. A young man dressed in a lavish gold suit was speaking sarcastically in the lobby: "A little Genosha branch like this doesn't even have private booths? Am I supposed to go to the first floor and sit with those lowly people?"
Danel bent over, his face filled with apology, and began to explain, "Mr. Shannon, please be understanding. There are quite a few participants today, and all the private booths on the second floor are fully occupied. We simply have no other booths available."
"No other booths? Then have the others leave and make room for me!" The young man referred to as Mr. Shannon spoke with a very arrogant tone.
Hearing this, Danel's eyes twitched. He knew that the booths on the second floor were reserved for supreme-level members only.
Many people were interested in today's auction, and almost all of Genosha's supreme members had come.
Originally, there were extra booths, but other important guests had been arranged on the second floor, leaving no booths available now.
"Mr. Shannon, the situation today is quite special. How about I clear out an area for you on the first floor so you can sit alone?" Danel desperately tried to think of a solution.
The young man in front of him was named Shannon, and he was someone Danel couldn't afford to provoke.
Not only was he a genius Beast Master from the Stone Kingdom, but he also had a close relationship with the biggest shareholder of the Seven Kingdoms Merchant Association, the Gao family.
If Danel had known that Shannon intended to attend this auction, he could have made arrangements ahead of time.
But now that he had just received Shannon's message, Danel truly had no other options left.
Next to Shannon was an ordinary-looking young man, around eighteen or nineteen years old, who frowned and said, "Shannon, let's just sit on the first floor, it's fine."
Shannon immediately replied, "No way! I finally found you, and sitting on the first floor would be too embarrassing. We have to go to the private booth on the second floor!"
Charles glanced over at the situation but didn't want to get involved; this had nothing to do with him.
He simply took Celestine and walked toward the entrance of the private booths on the second floor.
"Wait, who are those two? They seem to be heading to the second floor as well?" Shannon noticed Charles and Celestine, his eyes lighting up as he quickly inquired.
Danel turned around and immediately said, "Mr. Shannon, they are supreme-level members with exclusive booths on the second floor."
"I see, then have them give their booth to me," Shannon said casually.
He had noticed Charles and Celestine earlier and found their attire very ordinary, with no one else around them.
They didn't appear to be from prominent families, and at their age, they were unlikely to be high-level Beast Masters.
In Genosha, there were only about three or four people he couldn't provoke.
Clearly, in Shannon's mind, Celestine and Charles were people he could easily bully.
"This... this won't do, Mr. Shannon. They are also here to participate in the auction today," Danel said, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
If Danel couldn't handle Shannon, he certainly couldn't handle Charles!
"Just have them go to the first floor. Why all this nonsense? They're not royalty from Genosha, so why can't they give up their booth?" Shannon said dismissively.
Before Danel could respond, he took two steps forward and addressed Charles directly:
"Hey, kid, pretending not to hear me? How about you give me your booth, and I'll give you twenty gold coins?"
Charles stopped, slowly turned around, and stared at Shannon's arrogant face, asking curiously, "You're not from Genosha, are you?"
Shannon was momentarily taken aback and replied, "How do you know? What does it matter whether I'm from Genosha or not? Twenty gold coins is a good deal."
"Here's the deal: I'll give you thirty gold coins if you shut your mouth and get lost," Charles said directly.
He despised arrogant people who looked down on others.
There always seemed to be someone high and mighty, acting incredibly proud.
Charles just wanted to quietly attend the auction in the private booth on the second floor.
He never expected that someone would target his booth and speak so disrespectfully, offering him twenty gold coins to leave.
"You! Fine, are you from the Genosha royal family? How come I didn't know about you?" Shannon's first reaction was anger, but he quickly calmed down.
He looked at Charles's demeanor and attitude, which didn't resemble that of an ordinary person.
At that moment, the young man beside Shannon tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Shannon, this guy is not simple. He is Charles, the apprentice of Ezra."
Shannon's pupils constricted suddenly; he had heard of the name Ezra.
Before coming to Genosha, his father had warned him not to provoke the royal family or people like Ezra and Jamie once he arrived.
He never expected to encounter Ezra's apprentice right after arriving in Genosha!
Shannon's expression stiffened slightly, and he forced a smile as he said, "Oh, so it's Mr. Charles. I was just joking earlier. I was a bit curious about you; you didn't take it to heart, did you?"
Charles didn't respond. He glanced at the person beside Shannon.
Celestine seemed to sense Charles's gaze and leaned closer to his ear, whispering, "I know that guy. He's Finn, the strongest level-four Beast Master from Aredale Academy!"
The strongest level-four Beast Master? Finn?
Charles hadn't heard that name before. Ever since arriving in Genosha, he had been very busy and hadn't had the chance to learn about any renowned geniuses in the area.
Now it seemed that Finn was indeed someone formidable.
Especially earlier, when Charles had glanced at him, he noticed Finn first scanning the surroundings and then focusing on the vital points on Charles.
"Is this an instinctive assessment of the environment to plan the most effective route for an attack?" Charles thought to himself.
With a neutral expression, he shifted his stance, placing his right foot back, his heel slightly lifted, while his gaze locked onto Finn's throat.
Finn maintained a straight face and adjusted his stance as well, moving closer to Shannon and hiding the left side of his body behind him.
"Shannon, this Charles is not simple. He gives off a strong vibe—very strong," Finn said heavily.
In the beginning, he hadn't thought much of Charles. No matter how highly praised Charles was on Genosha's network, he would simply laugh it off after reading the comments.
But seeing him in person today, Finn was surprised that Charles had noticed his intentions and changed his stance.
That stance not only facilitated an attack but also provided a defensive advantage.
To achieve such a level in an instant, the combat experience and awareness were truly remarkable.
As Shannon listened to Finn, his shock intensified. He knew his friend's strength, and the only person who could elicit such a comment from Finn was someone he had only seen once before!
Now, Charles was the second.
"Shannon, what are you doing here?" A surprised voice came from the entrance, breaking the silence.
Zane stepped inside and immediately recognized Shannon in the hall. He rushed over and continued, "Why didn't you let me know you were coming to Genosha? I could have prepared something to welcome you!"
Shannon furrowed his brow slightly, leaning back a bit as he replied, "Zane, are you here for the auction too?"
"Yeah, my dad is interested in something, so he sent me to check it out," Zane explained. He sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off and glanced around, quickly spotting someone who made him grit his teeth—Charles!
Surprisingly, Zane seemed oblivious to Charles's presence. After taking a deep breath, he said to Shannon, "What a coincidence! Just go to the Taylor family's booth. It's been a while since we last met, so let's catch up."
Shannon felt reluctant; he wasn't particularly fond of Zane. Besides, Finn wasn't too keen on being around unfamiliar people either.
To his surprise, Finn took the initiative and said, "Shannon, let's go."