Chapter 22.1
Bai Jing intended to solve the one with skylights on it first.
The half-bet rough stone, which had been cut several times, was only about three or four centimeters thick and had a flattened cylindrical shape, with a few tiny cracks on the other side of the cut surface, which didn’t look promising to a lot of the people in the crowd.
The Stone Solver was about to get his hands on it when Bai Jing whispered, “Master, I’ll solve it myself.”
He had tested this rough stone with his sense perception ability and only the thin layer of the cut near the opening was green, almost like a thin layer of green skin. But if it was possible, he still wanted to solve it himself, even if it was only a little jadeite.
The automatic stone-cutting machine placed on the table was about fifty centimeters high, adjustable in height up and down and white all over.
The body of the machine was made of a very light polymer material, which made it light and flexible overall and easy to operate.
After a few fiddles with the machine, Bai Jing understood how to operate it.
He stood the flat rough stone up, pressed the sensor button and the mechanical grips on both sides held the rough stone in place without the slightest wobble.
Although he was a quick learner, the people around him could see that he was a novice, causing them to whisper.
The stone cutting machine used to cut the rough stone employed laser cutting technology and was also equipped with an automatic infra-red recognition system, which automatically identified the cutting point by drawing a line on the rough stone with a special material, thus making it quick and easy to cut with the laser knife.
In this age of high technology, it wasn’t difficult to decipher the stone. The most difficult part was to identify the direction of the jadeite inside the rough stone and to draw the exact cutting line.
It was a test of experience and eyesight to ensure that one or two cuts produced jadeite, while not damaging the flesh of the jadeite inside.
Many stone solvers didn’t use the infra-red recognition system to locate the jadeite in order to keep their hands on it. Instead, they cut it manually with a laser knife so that if they discovered that something was wrong in the middle of the cut (e.g. that the rough stone would produce jadeite), they would be able to correct it in time.
After Bai Jing had secured the rough stone, he drew a line less than a centimeter from the opening and pressed the cutting button.
The laser blade had no edge, just a blue laser beam with a cold glow, like the sharp blade of a swordsman.
The ‘blade’ stabbed straight into the skin of the rough stone, splitting the flat piece of rough stone into two with a single stroke.
The crowd rushed to look closer, with some looking up at the holographic projection screen, only to see that the cut line was drawn with extreme accuracy:
The part of the rough stone with the skylight was smooth and lustrous green, without a single crack, while the other half was covered with tiny cracks.
This cut had completely separated the skeins!
This, this ……
Everyone looked on in awe. Even the Stone Solver looked at Bai Jing with a little bit of admiration; even he might not have been able to cut so accurately.
The rough stones dealer was also taken aback. Was this teenager a master?
However considering his opponent’s rusty operation, hmph, maybe it was just a coincidence.
“Little young master, your technique is really good. However, this rough stone is considered a betting collapse, right?”
The rough stones dealer looked at Bai Jing mockingly, but in his heart, he was a bit pleased.
Luckily he didn’t buy this rough stone. So what if it was cut well? It was just a thin layer of green skin. He could get more of this for only 2,000 to 3,000 starcoins!
“Sigh, it still collapsed in the end.”
“30,000 starcoins down the drain!”
“This young master is still too young. Even the rough stone dealers didn’t bid on it but he did. What is he trying to do here?”
The onlookers shook their heads.
By now, there was no more doubt about this half-bet rough stone worth one and a half million starcoins. It had simply collapsed beyond repair.
The skylight was opened at such a coincidental angle that the top intact bit, the jadeite came through, creating the illusion that there was no crack, when in fact the lower half was all cracked and only a ‘thin layer of green skin’ piece could be solved.
They were about to leave when they noticed that the teenager had put the cut-down rough stone aside and fixed the scrap on top of the stone cutting machine.
‘He’s still not giving up.’ This was the unanimous thought in the crowd’s mind.
Bai Jing didn’t cut it with a single stroke as he had done earlier. Instead, he drew a line a centimeter from the cut.
There was so much damaged jadeite from the cracked locks that if he didn’t cut carefully, he might not be able to cut even a thin layer, which would render it worthless immediately.
In that case, he had to cut it out quickly and in one go without causing too much damage to the flesh of the jadeite. 30,000 starcoins was still starcoins and should never be wasted.
But this time, he couldn’t let anyone doubt it again.
As the blue laser beam fell, unsurprisingly, what was revealed was white stone.
The crowd couldn’t help but shake their heads in disbelief, with the rough stones dealer snorting disdainfully, just about writing the word ‘contempt’ on his face.
Jin Mao and An Ge were equally nervous. As Bai Jing’s friends, they certainly hoped that he would be able to unravel jadeite to smack the crowd in the face.
Not to mention the fact that this was also a matter of a Stone Gambler’s most valued betting rate.
The Gambling Guild, a huge organization second only to the Imperial Ministry of Military Affairs had access to every light brain’s transaction records.
All rough stones sold within the Empire had to be registered with a corresponding number and their holographic projection entered into the system’s database.
Any time a purchase of a rough stone or the sale of one was made, where a transaction was conducted using a light brain, each transaction would be fully tallied and then the rate of betting increase would be calculated automatically.
In the past, there had been cases where disciples of certain aristocratic families used the rules to cheat and made their own people buy the jadeite at a high price, only to be detected by the quantum analyzer and given the punishment of being stripped of their status as Stone Gamblers and banned from gambling on stones for life.
Since then, no one had dared to challenge the authority of the Gambling Guild.
Bai Jing’s gambling collapse would definitely lower the rate of his betting increase, which would be detrimental to his fledgling career.
The blue laser blade glowed coldly again, and the second cut fell, slicing off another centimeter of thickness, revealing the cut surface to be still white and flaky.
“Ugh, it’s just a piece of scrap, just slice it straight down the middle and forget it!”
“It’s pointless, it won’t produce any jadeite. Let’s go…”
“That’s right, what’s there to see in a piece of scrap? I might as well pick one myself.”
After two consecutive cuts without any signs of jadeite, many people became impatient and left the stall in twos and threes, heading for the next stall.
Wang Ping’s smiling face became anxious. Just now he had already lost a piece of rough stone that cost over a million starcoins. If this piece of scrap collapsed again, how was he to do business? Sigh!
Bai Jing paid no attention to the reactions of the bystanders and continued to cut the rough stone a third time.
“Quick look, it’s jadeite!”
“A great gain, an absolute great gain!”
“Amazing, who would have thought that a piece of scrap could produce jadeite?”
“It’s up- it’s up–“
Wang Ping, the stall owner, heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of the jadeite and shouted hurriedly.
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My social anxiety would never allow me to solve stones at a store like that.