My SSS-Rank Skill and System is too OP in Modern Cultivation world-Chapter 160: Plans over Polished Marble

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Kent's heart kicked. An item tied to the thirty-three-rune coin? Maybe a sister artifact, too big an opportunity to miss.

He answered, "Give me thirty minutes. Silver Muse will be airborne."

"Good. Come fast. Many level-B bidders will be present."

The line cut.

Kent exhaled. So the quiet morning turned fast. He told Nima and Xian Yu, "Old man, Little Sis, I need to meet Jade Monroe. Auction prep."

Nima pouted. "Again? You'll miss lunch!"

"I'll pack some carrot buns," he promised.

He hurried to the shed, checked the bacteria tank was stable, SP feed climbing quietly. He locked the shed, set an alarm trigger if temperature spiked. Then he and Auri boarded Silver Muse.

As the skimmer lifted, Kent glanced once at the cube through the open shed door. A faint pulse of teal pulsed, alive, feeling, earning.

He smiled, throttled up, and shot toward Nexus office, curiosity and ambition racing side by side.

Silver Muse glided over the eastern rooftops like a silver dragonfly. Kent kept one hand on the throttle rune, the other on the rune compass that pointed to the Nexus office. His heart still beat fast from Jade Monroe's call. Auri perched on the backrest, tail-flame flicking small sparks that drifted into the morning air.

Down below, market stalls opened for business. Bakers spread sweet-bun scent across busy lanes. Spirit-herb vendors arranged bundles of green leaves on bamboo mats. Barely a few months ago Kent himself had stood among them selling boiled eggs.

The Nexus office rose ahead, white marble pillars, jade-green banners hanging from a circular roof. Kent slowed the skimmer and touched down on the small landing pad reserved for visiting craft. The hull kissed the rune anchors with a soft thunk. Almost at once two Nexus attendants hurried forward, bows clipped at their belts, to help tie Silver Muse's mooring lines.

Auri hopped onto Kent's shoulder. "Chip?" he thrilled, asking if he could follow.

"Stay close," Kent said. "This talk may be important." He smoothed his tunic, checked that the Soul-Slasher dagger rested easy at his side, then stepped down onto polished stone. The attendants bowed, but he hurried past them into the main hall.

Inside, carved phoenix beams met high overhead, and thin sunlight spilled through colored panes, painting red and gold stripes on the mosaic floor. Jade Monroe waited at the far end under a hanging scroll of mountain peaks.

He wore traveling clothes today, dark trousers, a fitted jade coat, soft boots laced for speed. At his waist rested a slim box, likely holding documents. A single hairpin kept his long hair in place, but strands already slipped free as if in a hurry.

"My bro, Kent," he greeted, voice low but firm, "thank you for coming quickly."

Kent bowed. "Nexus leader, you said something about a new rune?"

"Walk with me," he answered. He turned and led him down a side corridor, quieter and dimmer. Auri fluttered overhead, but Jade did not object.

Kent's pulse drummed. The phrase "matches the rune pattern" kept swirling in his head. He imagined shards of a greater device, maybe even a direct upgrade for Silver Muse. "Stay calm," he told himself.

The Nexus office hall lived up to its name. Its ceiling was a single curved sheet of spirit-glass that mirrored the sky and doubled the sunlight inside. Rows of low tables stood below, each bearing sealed crates or rune-screen stands.

Soft yellow lamplight washed over velvet-draped pedestals. Most were empty; only one held a display dome. Inside sat a disk of pale crystal, about twenty centimeters across, edges carved with a ring of tiny slots. It reminded Kent of a sun made of frosted ice.

Jade motioned to the pedestal. "Arrived from the northern marsh relay this morning. Courier reports it was dug out of a flooded shrine."

He tapped the dome. Runic locks released with a hiss. Jade lifted the dome off, stepped aside.

"Take your time."

Kent pulled on thin inspection gloves, set Auri on the pedestal's edge, and leaned in. Up close, the disk's center carried thirty-three faint glyphs in a perfect spiral. Each glyph looked older and more exact than the ones on his repaired coin.

Kent swallowed. "These are identical… just deeper. And there are additional slots. Like a mother array ready to accept smaller keys."

He removed a monocle lens from his satchel and studied the disk. Minute cracks filled with ghostly green light traced through the crystal.

"Auric channels," he breathed. "They route energy outward."

Jade folded his arms. "Can you link your coin to this?"

"Looks made for it. I'd guess the coin acts as a portable power seed, but this disk… it's the hub."

Kent closed his eyes, imagining Silver Muse's rune lattice. What if the coin went into the cockpit console and this disk installed under the keel? Even more lift for less fuel. Maybe weapons ports.

"I need it," Kent muttered before he could filter the words. He looked up, cheeks hot. "I mean, professionally, it would complete research."

Jade's chuckle was low. "I expected that. Estimated opening bid tonight sits at two hundred thousand dollars." He raised an eyebrow. "Cash only. No stones, no favors."

Kent's stomach dipped. Two hundred K USD. He had maybe thirty thousand liquid after buying seeds, parts, and farm stuff. SP could not be exchanged into dollars.

He forced calm. "Will there be many bidders?"

Jade crossed the hall to a scroll table, unfurled a parchment dotted with names. "Four clans plus one private collector. All heavy pockets. They like novelty pieces, even if they can't decipher them." He tapped Kent's name already penciled in the margin. "You still hold the rune designer title. If you attend, they'll assume you know its purpose. That may raise competition or scare them off." A ghost of a smile. "Depends on how loudly you talk."

Kent considered. If price soared, he would be locked out. If it crashed, he could scoop the piece for less.

"I could partner?" Kent ventured. "Offer you fifty percent blueprint rights for half the cost."

Jade moved a storage vial from one shelf to another. "A tempting pitch. But my funds lock to convoy budgets. I can front sixty thousand dollars as a personal investment, nothing more until next month."

That still left one hundred forty thousand. Kent chewed his lip. Loans from local banks demand collateral. He had farmland… mostly ash and seedlings. He had Silver Muse… priceless but new tech. Hard to evaluate.

Jade watched him wrestle. "Think swiftly. Auction gates open at sundown."

Kent thanked Jade and left the preview hall, Auri perched on his shoulder. Outside, the Nexus courtyard buzzed, traders hawking scaled fruit, apprentices carting crates.

Kent walked the outer ring path, mind racing. "I need cash, hours, and no pawnshop will trust unknown tech."

He hit the skimmer pad rail and stared at Silver Muse's shining hull.

An idea flashed: lease rides. Merchants would pay well to test-fly a top-tier craft for an hour above the city. But rules forbade civilian passengers without insurance.

What else? Farmer's market? Not enough time to harvest.

He sighed, hands on hips. Auri chirped softly, trying to soothe.

System overlay pinged mid-vision, his noon colony summary popped up (silent mode but manual check):

Bacteria Farm SP since 06:00: 79,200 SP

He glanced at the fortress-like Treasury wing. Jade's sixty K pledge could be contract-signed within minutes. He still needed more money to compete.

"I do have one more asset,"

he realized: the pumpkin spirit-wine keg he'd harvested but never opened. Rare brew matured by thunder soil. Collectors drooled over spirit wines.

He pulled out his phone, scrolled contacts until he found Chef Han from Spire Restaurant.

Han answered on second ring. "Carrot master! Your sample sold out in two hours."

"Chef, I have a very limited keg of thunder-pumpkin spirit wine. Aged underground. Deep amber color. Want a first look?"

Silence… then an eager exhale. "Price?"

"Market sets price. I can bring three jars within the hour."

"Done. Bring to back dock. Cash ready."

Kent pumped a fist. Spirit wine could fetch twenty to thirty K per jar wholesale.

He sprinted to Silver Muse, Auri flapping behind. Onboard, he loaded three small ceramic jars from his system storage, cool, heavy, glowing faint gold. He lifted off, heading downtown.

Spire Restaurant's roof garden smelled of basil and smoke. Chef Han, round and bright-eyed, met Kent on the helicopter pad. Two sous-chefs trailed him with a collapsible cart.

Kent unlatched the skimmer cargo hatch. He withdrew one jar, wiped dust from its seal, and twisted the cap. A puff of sweet, warm vapor rose, pumpkin, cinnamon, spark of ozone.

Han inhaled. His knees almost buckled. "Thirty-five thousand each," he blurted.

"Forty," Kent countered. "You'll list at ninety-plus per serving."

"Fine! Forty. But let me taste." Han dipped a silver spoon, sipped, eyes rolled back. He snapped fingers; a sous-chef produced a briefcase. Neat stacks of fresh bills nestled inside.