Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

In the meantime, within the Auction Nexus, the main event in the Grand Auction Hall had already started.

It was far different from the Market Bazaar, Apex Auction, and Survivor’s Exchange.

Gone were the rowdy exchanges and quick trades of the bazaar or the common bargains of bulk resources.

Here, the competition was fierce due to the number of participants present…

The hall itself was shaped like a grand theater, with tiered seats circling a wide stage at the center.

An auctioneer dressed in black formal wear stood at the center.

This time, instead of a beautiful woman, the Auctioneer was a dignified man who had a clear and deep voice.

‘Nothing’s interesting…’ Shane thought as he felt a bit bored already. Although many items seemed important, his shelters could already produce or procure them from other Neutral Shelters.

Still, everywhere Shane looked, the seats were filled. The items were still popular for many Survivors.

Most of them were also in disguise, wearing heavy armor, robes or cloaks, masks, and other means to hide their identities…

Even Shane’s own group was still hiding their appearance for various reasons.

In any case, the bidding had already gone through thirty-five items. Most were bulk necessities, like bundles of steel-tipped arrows, crates of bread and dried meat, barrels of clean water, and even toolkits of hammers, nails, and saws.

After a quick break, they also started selling ammunition, firearms, sacks of medicinal herbs, stacks of iron swords, spears, and other weapons.

The bids for these items rarely passed 15,000 points, and Shane didn’t bother bidding on them. His shelter was already stable in supplies, and he also wanted to save some points in case there were some game-changing items to be sold later on…

Of course, Reylin, Raze, and the others still competed and bought a few of the bulk items, as they also wanted to share the burden of running the shelter.

At this time, Shane still had over 650,000 points, so he was hoping that the next item that might catch his interest wouldn’t exceed that price.

“Lot Thirty-Five! One hundred crates of medical bandages and disinfectants!” the auctioneer called.

The bidding was quick as the survivors used their BidLink Communicator to raise the price, but Shane stayed silent.

His core members occasionally glanced at him, but they understood.

With that in consideration, they decided to participate since he wasn’t joining. No one wanted to fight Shane for such goods after all.

Then came Lot Thirty-Six.

The stage attendants showed something huge. It was hidden under a black cloth.

‘What is this big thing?’ Shane mused.

Then, with a dramatic gesture, the auctioneer pulled away the cloth—revealing a stone monument…

Well, it wasn’t a beautiful as his Spirit Stone Monument, but it was decent.

The moment Shane’s eyes locked on it… It seemed that it had some good effects.

“This is called the Civilization Monument, a Cultural Landmark! Once installed in your territory, it increases Culture Points, attracting wanderers, nomads, and survivors seeking a new home. Raises population growth and boosts morale.”

Shane sat forward as he knew that this was a good item.

This wasn’t just some decoration.

Culture Points were rare to obtain, yet critical for elevating a shelter’s standing.

A shelter with high culture attracted more survivors, craftsmen, and specialists—smiths, doctors, teachers, builders, and even talented fighters who had nowhere else to go. With his New Genesis Shelter expanding, this monument could change everything.

The auctioneer wanted to hype this item even more, so he had to repeat his explanation in case there were others who weren’t paying attention at first.

“This monument is not just stone. Yes, you heard it right… It is a legacy. Once again… Just place it in your shelter, and it shall draw survivors to you. Travelers will flock, nomads will seek shelter under your banner, and your population will rise with every passing week. For shelters aspiring to become true bastions of civilization, this is a chance you cannot ignore!”

Everyone was finally excited…

Even those who were previously getting bored finally straightened up in their seats.

The survivors understood the value. Supplies could be easily consumed, weapons could break, but population… population was power. More hands meant more growth, more defenses, more soldiers.

“Opening bid… 5,000 points!”

Immediately, the others excitedly bid while the rest monitored the bidding in their BidLink Communicators.

“Ten thousand already…” Someone muttered.

“I just bid 15,000. I’m sure this will reach higher than 20,000…” Another survivor said.

“Well… It tried 18,000… And it was already beaten. So fast.”

The bids climbed fast, and Shane monitored the bidding progress through the device. Well, he was waiting for it to calm down.

‘It should slow down soon…’

Shane mused as he was hoping that this item wouldn’t exceed more than 50,000 points.

After all, he already had something similar, and it seemed too much of a waste to obtain another. Furthermore, he already had amazing sculptors that could probably recreate something like this. The only concern was the effect that could invite other Survivors to his shelter.

Because of that, Shane immediately set his budget to be less than 50,000. If it exceeded that, he would just give it up.

Soon, the item reached 20,000 Points… Then, 22,000 Points, it seemed like it wasn’t stopping any time soon.

The numbers climbed higher and higher, and when the bidding slowed down, Shane finally joined the battle.

“Let’s do thirty-five thousand to stop the others…” Shane muttered as he placed his bid through the device.

The previous bid was 27,000, so he wanted an immediate increase to deter the other bidders.

Raze and the others turned to Shane…

This time, Shane nodded at them, implying that he planned to take the item with him.

Reylin, who was also considering taking the item, decided to give up because of that…

“Well, I only have 60,000 Points left. You can win this, Sir Zombie.” Reylin muttered as she could probably check the Market Bazaar later if she wanted to use up all her points before the event ended.

Then, as expected, there were only three bidders left.

In the end, Shane had to fork out 46,000 Points in order to get the Civilization Monument.

“Forty-six thousand points! Going once! Going twice! … Sold!”

With a knock of the gavel, the item was his.

‘I hope you can really bring me a lot of talented people…’ Shane thought to himself as he couldn’t help but recall his shelters.

He hoped that they were all doing well while he was away.