Chapter 94: This Stone Gambling Convention is too difficult; only Lin Meng has full confidence

The eldest brother was the focus of attention, and naturally the women beside him attracted plenty of scrutinizing gazes.

However, most of those gazes were contemptuous, even laced with strong hostility.

Although Lin Meng had been mentally prepared, she still felt speechless.

If every gaze were a sniper rifle, she would already be riddled with holes.

"It's about to start; you can move freely in the raw stone area for the preliminary round. This is your camera."

As Ye Chenjing's voice sounded, Lin Meng also found herself holding a camera.

At this moment, the remaining four Stone Gambling experts representing the Ye Family had already entered the raw stone area, and seeing this, Lin Meng followed suit.

The preliminary round allowed great freedom, with nearly a hundred people moving back and forth in the raw stone area; young attendants like Lin Meng were not uncommon, so she didn't stand out.

Lin Meng symbolically took a few photos among a pile of raw stone materials, then began to wander freely through the vast raw stone area.

Nearby, one could occasionally see a few elders gathered together, wielding professional tools, repeatedly studying and commenting on a piece of raw stone in minute detail.

Scanning the entire raw stone area, everyone who came for Stone Gambling was fully equipped and professional in their technique.

Lin Meng glanced around; this time she finally got a close-up view of the professionals' Stone Gambling process.

However, in her view, these actions all seemed superfluous.

Lin Meng stood still, slowly closed her eyes, and calmly mobilized the spiritual power within her body.

The next second, when she opened her eyes, her gaze—which had seemed calm—was now blazing with light, as if she could see through everything at a glance.

In the front rows of the VIP spectator seats, Ye Chenjing's gaze remained fixed on Lin Meng.

He couldn't fathom what she intended to do; she carried no professional tools, didn't approach the raw stones for close observation or study, and simply stood alone and quiet in the center of the raw stone area.

Sun Yao stood behind Ye Chenjing; he was the only one on the team who knew Lin Meng's identity, and he too eagerly awaited to see how this Stone Gambling genius, who had suddenly appeared and then vanished in Yun Cheng, would pick out the good stones from among so many raw stones.

Seeing Lin Meng remain motionless, Sun Yao grew a little anxious.

"General Manager, why hasn't Miss Lin started yet? Should we remind her that there's a time limit for selecting raw stones?"

Ye Chenjing frowned in thought, and at that moment he suddenly saw Lin Meng close her eyes.

But soon after, she opened them again.

In less than three seconds before and after, Ye Chenjing felt a strong sensation, as if Lin Meng had become a different person.

Those eyes were still captivating peach-blossom eyes, yet now they carried a layer of mystery that made his heart flutter whenever he looked at them; only after he withdrew his gaze did that throbbing and faint unease gradually fade.

At that moment, Ye Chenjing suddenly felt that perhaps he could truly look forward to Lin Meng's performance.

Her spiritual power spread out, and Lin Meng quickly grasped the situation of the tens of thousands of raw stones in the venue as if they were the lines on her palm.

Afterward she easily withdrew her spiritual power, glanced at the still-busy and hesitant Stone Gambling experts, and knew everything in her heart.

This Stone Gambling Convention was essentially a treasure hunt in a mountain of stones; among the tens of thousands of raw stones, fewer than a hundred contained valuable material.

What's more, many of these raw stones had been rigged, deliberately packaged to look like valuable material.

The traps were too numerous to count.

If Lin Meng didn't have spiritual power, she would probably be just as clueless.

Those counterfeit raw stones initially did produce spiritual power fluctuations, but they quickly disappeared.

They looked like treasure, but once a gray slice was cut, anyone with slightly less experience would be led astray.

Lin Meng had just personally witnessed several old experts gathered around a stone that had been meticulously packaged as empty, passionately examining it together, and ultimately concluding that it was extraordinary.

Watching those busy old men and women, Lin Meng let out a soft sigh, then double-checked the codes of the few raw stones she had selected, and walked out of the raw stone area holding a camera that had barely taken any photos.

"How did she come back?" Sun Yao watched Lin Meng do nothing, stroll a couple of steps, and leave, feeling anxious inside.

Although Ye Chenjing said nothing, his heart also felt a beat of unease.

"Could he have bet on the wrong treasure? No matter how skilled, it's impossible to finish with just a casual glance like Lin Meng did—at least pick up a raw stone and have a look."

"You have to know that there are tens of thousands of raw stones on site, and the allotted time for appraisal and selection is two hours."

"In a team effort, being able to pick out three raw stones in two hours is already considered excellent."

"Lin Meng only glanced a few times, strolled a couple of steps, and really already had a conclusion?"

At this point, Lin Meng had already returned to the VIP area with leisurely small steps, sat down, and slowly sipped a mouthful of top-grade Longjing tea.

"Mm, the treatment in the VIP area is indeed different; this tea is really good."

Ye Chenjing was infected by Lin Meng's relaxed aura; his originally tense heartstrings gradually loosened, and he couldn't help but chuckle:

"Do you like it? I'll send you some later."

Lin Meng: "Very good, very good." This advantage was hers to take, for at this point she had full confidence in the Stone Gambling Convention.

The two hours passed quickly; Lin Meng took a nap in the middle, and now she is full of energy.

The four Stone Gambling experts invited by the Ye Family have already returned to their respective seats.

Seeing them with heads down and silent, it seems their gains over these two hours were merely average.

The host then immediately announced:

"Please have all participating teams and individuals return to their own rooms, finalize the results, then report the codes of five raw stones along with their bidding prices; the highest bidder wins."

As the host's words fell, the venue stirred into commotion.

Most of the Stone Gambling experts shook their heads and sighed.

"We've lost this time; two hours simply aren't enough."

"Why is this year's Stone Gambling Convention so difficult? In previous years, just a few thousand raw stones were enough to get by, but this time they've dumped tens of thousands of raw stones on us to pick from—even if I had Sun Wukong's doppelgänger technique, I couldn't finish in two hours."

"Ah, I give up; I'm an individual contestant, and five raw stones is no small number—I refuse to be a sucker."

"..."

Lin Meng followed Ye Chenjing out of the venue, hearing the complaints around her, and the curve of her lips could not be suppressed.

Ye Chenjing caught her subtle expression; his stern face showed a hint of surprise, his brows slightly raised, and he thought, 'Could it be that she actually has a chance to win?'

Back in the private room, the four Stone Gambling experts immediately wore frowns of worry.

General Manager, we're afraid we'll disappoint you; nobody got advance notice, this Stone Gambling Convention is practically child's play.

There are tens of thousands of raw stones; I estimate at most only one or two thousand contain anything valuable—how are we supposed to find them? We need enough time.

And these bastards are truly despicable—not only did they make us search for a needle in a haystack, they set all kinds of traps; I'm certain at least half of these raw stones have been tampered with, using every trick from fake skins to false fog, all means employed, for fear we'd pick the genuine article.

Lin Meng listened on the side as the four little old men ranted nonstop, giggling away.

Ye Chenjing sat as steady as a bell, but at that moment he suddenly fixed his gaze on the four and slowly uttered a few icy words.

So you mean, there's nothing we can do?

The four opened their mouths, only feeling their old faces flush with heat.

Lin Meng blinked, thought for a moment, then spoke:

Actually, we can't blame the seniors either; this Stone Gambling Convention really is asking too much.

Ye Chenjing raised an eyebrow.

And what about you?

Lin Meng smiled and handed over a few strings of numbers, while glancing at the four elders; her eyes shone with four bold characters: We're different.

She said, "Of course I lived up to the mission, hehe."

The four elders: "???"