Master of Masters 69

Chapter 69: Master in Disarray [Wien, 72%]

He Yue’s first painting was acquired by an anonymous insect through a “sky lantern” bid. After the starting price for the second painting was announced, no one bid for a long time.

The anonymous insect didn’t bid either, and even Kano just looked nervous, his hand on his paddle but not raised.

He Yue looked at the quiet auction house and the auctioneer trying to liven things up, a bit bewildered. “Why did it suddenly go cold and get passed over?”

“They’re probably afraid the anonymous buyer will light another sky lantern.” Wien explained.

Lighting a sky lantern meant he would follow to the end, making it pointless to raise the price. Some bidders would reveal their intention to follow to the end from the start, acquiring the item at a very low price.

However, the anonymous bidder didn’t reveal his intention from the start, but followed Kano, raising the price to a considerable amount before “lighting the sky lantern.”

“It wasn’t just about bidding from the beginning, what does he want?” He Yue listened to the auctioneer’s repeated calls for bids, feeling a bit sad that his painting might be passed over.

At that moment, the anonymous bidder’s assistant raised a red paddle.

“This bidder withdraws from this item. Is there anyone else who wants to bid?”

The bidders were silent for a second.

Several bidders raised their paddles, quickly raising the price. The selling price of the first item was not low, and with the anonymous insect no longer indicating his intention to monopolize, the price of the second item rose quickly.

Following the trend was very common at auctions. Even if the insects were initially just interested in He Yue’s novel style, they would now, with the affirmation of an unknown big shot, compete for the ownership of this painting.

The bidding price reached five hundred thousand, yet there were still many insects raising their paddles.

He Yue watched as his painting was bid on again and again, the insects, who had no connection to him, unhesitatingly raising their paddles, their emotions running high, making him a bit confused.

“How did it come to this?”

Wien looked at the constantly rising numbers on the big screen and explained, “They’ve been waiting for the big shot to withdraw. If they don’t get this one, and he lights another sky lantern for the next one, the other insects won’t have a chance to bid.”

This wasn’t an auction based on the painting’s value, but a psychological game.

The red withdrawal card on the table of the female insect assistant representing the anonymous insect was particularly eye-catching.

Why was he helping him?

Did they know each other?

As Wien had predicted, for the third painting, the anonymous bidder indicated a sky lantern at an even higher price. Then, for the fourth painting, he explicitly withdrew, driving the price even higher. For the last painting, he didn’t bid at all, until the very end, when he outbid everyone by a factor of two, setting a new record for the day.

The entire auction unfolded before He Yue like a lively drama, every move manipulated by the anonymous big shot.

The biggest beneficiary of this auction was He Yue. His paintings became a hot topic on the optical network, gaining a lot of attention and publicity.

The moment He Yue opened his optical device, marketing accounts were all over the place, promoting the auction and pushing his paintings to the top of the trending topics.

At a glance, it was all about money. Without spending money on marketing, no one would care about the rich’s auctions. But now, the insects on the optical network were all paying attention and leaving many comments.

The most common one was [Where can I see these paintings? I also want to see what a million-dollar painting looks like].

There was also [I saw the replay of the auction, the style is really unprecedented, I feel like it’s worth even more].

And occasionally, [Who is this anonymous bidder? He raised the price so high in just a few bids].

Of course, there were also doubts [How much can a few paintings sell for? It’s clearly just hype].

He Yue scrolled a few times, and the few questioning comments disappeared, either buried by other comments or specially dealt with.

Even with a 30% commission to the auction house, the remaining 70% of the auction price of the five paintings was a considerable sum.

After the auction, He Yue intercepted the anonymous insect’s assistant.

“Hello, I’m the artist of these paintings. May I have a few words with the gentleman you’re representing?”

The assistant’s gaze lingered on He Yue for a few seconds, sweeping over his long hair and his well-fitting suit. His expression was complex, with an indescribable mystery.

He took a step back and bowed politely to He Yue.

“Hello, Master. I’m Mr. Arnis’s assistant. The president is on a business trip to Area D and is very busy lately. He might not be back for a while.”

He took out a brand new business card from his briefcase.

“This is the gentleman’s business card. If you’d like, you can contact him.”

The white card had a good texture, the exquisite gold-stamped font forming his name.

[Arnis Wright, President of Yiai Group, one of the richest insects in the insect race.] The system introduced.

(Is he one of the conquest targets?)

[It seems so, but the host needs to meet him for the system to identify his identity and value.]

He Yue put away the business card and said to the assistant, “Alright, thank you.”

This conquest target was not only very successful, but also very intelligent. The way he played the auction today was enough to show his sharp business acumen and decisiveness.

A hunter’s excited glint appeared in He Yue’s eyes.

How interesting.

The president’s female insect didn’t hesitate, easily signing the check and taking away He Yue’s paintings. He Yue had never received the auction payment so easily before, and he was a bit dazed looking at the long string of numbers on the receipt.

This feeling was a bit strange, as if he had been tipped by a rich man.

A delivery mecha with the auction house’s logo was parked at the villa’s entrance.

He Yue approached, puzzled, and asked, “Is there a problem with the auction?”

“Hello, Master. The bidder, Mr. Arnis, filled in this address for delivery. Please check and sign for it.” The female insect in the delivery uniform had been waiting for a long time and handed He Yue the signing tablet.

The auction house had packaged the paintings very carefully, without any damage, every corner of the boxes intact.

He Yue opened the five boxes one by one, and inside were the five paintings he had sent to the auction house. Not just the three Arnis had bid on, but also the two that had been bought by two other insects at a high price.

“This is…”

The female insect, seeing He Yue’s confusion, quickly explained, “After the auction, Mr. Arnis privately contacted the other two bidders and bought the other two paintings at a high price, so the auction house sent all five paintings to you.”

As expected, this insect wasn’t just trying to collect the three paintings, nor was he trying to inflate the price for investment. He was just showing off his wealth at the auction, bringing attention to He Yue as a new artist. And now, these paintings that should have been sold were back in He Yue’s hands.

He Yue felt his scalp tingle.

“Did Mr. Arnis leave any message?”

The female insect checked the delivery notes and replied, “Yes, he did. Mr. Arnis left a message saying he hopes you can exhibit these paintings together, as a private collector willing to display precious artworks for public appreciation.”

How did he know he was going to hold an art exhibition?

He Yue frowned. He and Wien and Knasch had been preparing for the art exhibition, but they hadn’t announced it publicly.

Wait a minute…

He Yue read through the delivery slip from beginning to end.

How did he know the villa’s address?

It was so easy for the president to investigate his personal information…

He Yue sighed helplessly and signed his name in the recipient’s section.

The five paintings were lined up against the wall, and the three of them stared at them for a long time without speaking. The situation was indeed a bit comical. The paintings He Yue had put up for auction had returned to him, and he had also inexplicably received a huge sum of money.

All of this was thanks to the mysterious president.

He Yue searched on his optical device, trying to find some news about the famous President Arnis.

There was a lot of news about him, mostly about the company’s major moves, such as product launches, acquisitions of new industrial chains, and so on. As for his private life, the information on the optical network had clearly been censored, almost no trace of it could be found.

There was only a short report from a long time ago about “President of Yiai Group adopting many masterless female insects,” which mentioned Arnis’s name.

(Can you adopt masterless female insects in the insect world?)

[Some male and female insects are very much in love and insist on a one-on-one relationship, so they choose to adopt rather than mark masterless female insects.]

There was no more information about Arnis on the optical network. But from the many masterless female insects chosen by the chairman to now the president of Yiai Group, He Yue could roughly imagine a difficult story.

This high and mighty conquest target was even more interesting.

He Yue, along with Wien and Knasch, inspected many venues. With millions in his hands, he could finally choose the central venue in the most prosperous area without hesitation.

A for-profit exhibition required multiple levels of approval, and Wien had gone through a lot of trouble, using his connections at the research institute to bribe one person after another, finally getting all the approvals. With bloodshot eyes, he handed the approved application, stamped with a bright red “Approved” seal, to He Yue.

“We just need to submit the application to the final department the day after tomorrow, and we can confirm the time and place with the venue! I’ve already taken care of the person in charge of that department. After submitting the application, I’ll have to treat him to dinner as a formality.”

“Thank you for your hard work, doggy.”

He Yue held the wrinkled application, which had gone through so many levels of approval, and wrapped his arms around Wien’s neck.

Knasch stood at the side, arms crossed, his tail wagging unhappily.

The fox hadn’t worked as hard as Wien, not pulling all-nighters or running between different project teams, promising to work for free. But the fox had also done a lot of work, enduring the discomfort, and using his fluffy fox tail to gain a lot of goodwill.

“You’ve worked hard too.” He Yue grabbed the fox’s tail and pulled him closer.

The ear clips on the fox’s ears swayed as he was pulled, the tassels on them also swaying. He tucked his tail between He Yue and Wien, and rested his head on He Yue’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around his waist.

“Thank you both, I really want to make this art exhibition a success.” He Yue rested his head on Wien’s chest, his hand holding the application wrapped around his neck, his other hand ruffling the fox’s ears.

The feeling of getting closer and closer to what he wanted to achieve made him look forward to the day of the art exhibition even more.

His paintings were very clever, with strong appreciation value and storytelling. The comments under the replay video of the auction were increasing daily, with new comments every day, the popularity only growing.

The news of the art exhibition and the fact that the million-dollar paintings from the auction would also be exhibited spread quickly, gaining widespread attention. As expected, the insects left comments like [Can I really see a million-dollar painting for just a few dozen?], further raising expectations.

The strength and appeal of He Yue’s paintings were successfully marketed with Arnis’s help, and thanks to Wien and Knasch’s handling of the tedious approval process, he had secured the right to hold the exhibition in the city center.

These days, He Yue had painted a special piece for the art exhibition, and the news on the optical network had already generated a mountain of comments.

He Yue called Wien to the studio and placed a soothing eye mask on his bloodshot, dark-circled eyes.

The cool sensation relaxed his nerves, and his dry eyes felt comfortable. The faint herbal scent filled his nostrils, very relaxing.

“I know doggy contributed his own project for this art exhibition, and he’s been working on several projects at once.” He Yue stroked Wien’s head. “It wasn’t in vain, we got the approval. Does doggy want any reward?”

With his eyes covered, Wien couldn’t see the gentle smile on He Yue’s face. He heard He Yue’s soft voice, and his heart gradually warmed up.

He patted his chest.

“I want Master’s mark here.”

He Yue froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“Everything the other insects get from me, you want to get too, right?” His teasing tone was full of amusement, hitting Wien’s jealous spot.

He whispered in protest, “Not just that… Master said, you like pierced… the fox’s ability prevents him from playing this game with Master, I can.”

He Yue teased him, “This is a needle in the chest, aren’t you afraid?”

“Master gives it to me, no matter how much it hurts, I won’t be afraid.”

He Yue led his hand to the table and gently pushed him. “Lie down, pull up your clothes.”

Wien obeyed, and was about to take off the eye mask when He Yue stopped him.

“This is a soothing patch from Master, how can you disrespect Master’s kindness?”

Wien immediately retracted his hand and obediently placed it at his side. “Master, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

The patch covered most of the light, only a sliver of light visible through the edge of the gauze. He opened his eyes, searching for his Master’s figure through the gap, only seeing a swaying shadow.

The blocked vision brought a lot of anxiety, especially when He Yue applied a cold alcohol swab to his chest. He panicked and tried to grab He Yue’s hand, but only flailed in the shadow.

He Yue, of course, wouldn’t miss the opportunity to play with his sense of security. He didn’t take off the patch, but gently patted the back of his hand.

“Don’t be afraid, trust me.”

Wien calmed down, his hands gripping the edge of the iron table, feeling the cold piercing gun against his chest, the needle aimed at his skin.

“It will hurt a little, don’t move.”

As a medical doctor, Wien wasn’t afraid of this simple piercing. He had seen much more gruesome and serious injuries and scenes at the base, which was close to the front lines.

Even so, his heart was pounding.

The emotional connection was the main factor. The one piercing him was his Master, not some other doctor. The meaning of the mark surpassed the pain of the piercing itself, making him incredibly excited.

“Hiss…”

Wien let out a soft cry of pain, his hands gripping the edge of the iron table tightly.

“One more, don’t move.”

Compared to Wien, who was excited by the emotional and physical pain, He Yue was exceptionally calm. His skillful movements were precise, his face calm and composed.

He often played the piercing game, and at Castle, some friends even came to him for help with their prey’s minor surgeries.

“Be careful with the wound for the first seven days, don’t get it wet. If there’s any inflammation or pus, treat it immediately. The piercing needs to be healed slowly, and once it’s healed, you can wear decorations.”

He Yue took off the patch, which had been mostly absorbed, and smiled faintly, patting his head. “Good performance, good doggy.”

He had completely forgotten the special nature of a female insect’s body, treating Wien’s body as a human’s. A female insect didn’t need seven days, probably just one or two was enough.

Wien sat up, the wound on his chest stinging, slowly turning hot and red, a sign of swelling. The swollen pectoral muscle made his already ample chest even more prominent, squeezed together, leaving no gap.

His hand touched his burning chest, and he lowered his head and said:

“Master, doggy’s chest is hot and swollen now, it can make Master very comfortable…” The usually honest doggy’s teasing words made his ears burn red.

He Yue’s hand touched one side of his chest, the red and swollen wound spreading from the piercing, the burning heat from his palm making him smile playfully. He was curious how this doggy would try to please him and asked, “How comfortable? What are you going to do?” Wien clenched his fists and said cautiously, “Does Master want to let doggy choose?” This made He Yue even more curious.

“Try it?”

Wien, having received permission, shed his worried facade, jumped off the iron table, and lifted him up, sitting him on the edge.

Wien braced his hands on the edge of the iron table beside He Yue and asked seriously one last time, “Master, can I do anything?” It was just his chest, He Yue couldn’t imagine what he could do.

“Anything.” He lifted Wien’s chin with one hand and brought it closer, his lips brushing against his ear. “What bad ideas does doggy have?” His voice was close, his warm breath against his ear, the seductive tone making Wien’s red ears look like they were about to bleed.

“I will… satisfy Master.”

Wien pulled on He Yue’s clothes and leaned closer.

His penis pressed against Wien’s swollen chest, squeezed by the soft, warm muscles. The swollen muscles compressed the space, squeezing him tightly, and Wien deliberately hunched his shoulders, using all his strength to squeeze.

A magical sensation washed over him.

The burning skin was dry, the swollen muscles soft, different from the enclosed, wet mouth, and also different from the wrinkled, stretched ass. The muscles Wien had worked so hard to train now had this function, squeezing his penis tightly, yet not at all as uncomfortable as hard bone.

“Ugh… you…!” He Yue moaned, his hands on Wien’s shoulders.

His waist gave way, and Wien held his lower back with one hand, his other hand free to squeeze his own pectoral muscle.

He Yue’s legs unconsciously wrapped around Wien, holding him even tighter.

The pierced wound now had another purpose. It made the skin burn, the already ample muscles even fuller, the already small space even tighter.

He Yue, lost in the sensation, grabbed Wien’s hair and moaned with pleasure.

Wien held his waist with his strong shoulders, lifting him completely off the table, only the tips of his long hair brushing against the surface.

“Wi… Wien, put me down…”

On one hand, he was being tormented by the enveloping sensations, his mind in a state of chaos. On the other, his suspended body made him wrap his legs even tighter, afraid of falling. The tense nerves amplified every sensation, especially the feeling of being squeezed by the muscles.

“You won’t fall, Master, I can hold you.”

His beloved Master was in his arms, and he was so satisfied and mesmerized that he would never let go. He became even bolder, leaning closer and licking his Master’s now incredibly sensitive waist.

He Yue’s deep V-line, licked by Wien’s wet tongue, made him lose his mind even faster.

Wien wasn’t satisfied with this, holding his chest with one hand, leaning forward and hugging him tightly, or leaning back.

The pulling became more frequent and rapid, and He Yue’s broken syllables disappeared, replaced by moans that followed the rhythm of their movements. He had never experienced a well-built muscle and an injured, swollen yet still-serving female insect before, and this special treatment threw his mind into chaos.

His dazed, hazy eyes made him look incredibly wanton, tears welling up at the corners of his upturned eyes, making anyone who saw him want to make him even more of a mess.

Wien, encouraged, worked even harder.

He heard his Master’s voice become broken and then laced with sobs, his body and penis trembling violently.

His Master couldn’t even control his pheromones, filling the entire room with an enchanting floral scent, growing richer and richer. The floral scent in Wien’s nose was the most intense, and thus, the most moving.

He Yue shuddered violently, his “pheromones” splashing onto Wien’s neck.

Tears streamed down his flushed cheeks, and he couldn’t wipe them away, his body limp as he fell back.

“Hey, Master, be careful!”

Wien was startled and supported his back with his other hand, pulling him back into his arms. He was terrified by this near-fall, his heart pounding even faster.

Thankfully, he was strong enough, and He Yue, with his slender male insect body, was easily held in his arms.

He Yue struggled to wrap his arms around his neck and pulled himself up, his entire body hanging on him. His chest pressed against Wien’s burning muscles and the prominent soft needles.

“I can’t believe it, doggy… I thought you were an honest guy, but you’re so excessive.” His voice, laced with the afterglow, was like a gentle feather, tickling one’s heart. His scolding tone, softened by his orgasm, lacked its usual severity.

Wien held his waist with one hand, his other hand supporting him, preventing him from sliding down.

“It’s because of Master… that I can’t help but become a bad dog.”

Anyone would become a bad dog.

Wien thought.

He Yue punched his back, but without much force, it didn’t hurt at all.

“You dare to blame me?”

“No, I don’t dare, it’s all doggy’s fault.” Wien knew his Master was teasing him, but he immediately started coaxing him.

The pierced wound on Wien’s chest was now even more painful and itchy, the surrounding skin also red from the friction.

He held He Yue tightly, gently patting his back, carefully soothing his gradually calming emotions.

Wien’s attention was inevitably drawn to the gradually healing wound and the reddened skin on his chest.

Those were the marks of his Master’s approval.

[Wien, 72%.]