Chapter 146: During the Auction! (2)

God of Illusions

It wasn't long before the thirty minute break ended. After experiencing the first half of the auction, everyone was now looking at it in a new light. As Xie Guangyun had predicted, the three bosses had maintained contact with some people outside as well. Therefore, the coming second half of the auction would be much more interesting than the first half.

“Thank you everyone for your support. Just moments ago, I have signed contracts with the five bosses. Now, let us see who will be the ones to get the five remaining rights.”

“Next, we shall move on to the sixth round.”

Yun Jingshuang immediately slammed his hammer down. Almost instantaneously, Jin Erpan made his move.

“500 million!”

At this point, Jin Erpan was no longer bidding for the sake of inflating the price. Only five more rights were left for grabs and both he and Lin Lang must obtain one each. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to explain themselves later since both of them already had a right allocated to them respectively.

This time, the crowd behaved as if they were on drugs. Even a bid of 500 million wasn't enough to shake them now.

“550 million!”

“600 million!”

“700 million!”

One price after another was called out. The bosses who stayed during the break earlier could no longer compete. It was only at this moment that they understood the true meaning behind the break earlier.

“One billion! Feel free to keep bidding, everyone. I, Jin Erpan, will keep fighting until the end!”

Jin Erpan’s declaration failed to make anyone give up. The price still increased unceasingly.

“Two billion!”

Once again, Jin Erpan howled. This time, he was able to scare the competitors off. After all, two billion had surpassed even the total price of the first five rights. As of this moment, everyone was regretting not fighting over the rights earlier.

“Two billion going once—two billion going twice—sold!”

Yun Jingshuang’s hammer landed, concluding the sixth bid. He maintained a relaxed look on his face, yet his heart was racing like the roaring sea. He had been expecting to make some profit off this, yet he had never expected the profit to be this huge!

At this point, he was having trouble processing his thoughts. After all, this sum of money was equivalent to a top tier gold grade puppet!

“Excuse me, can we have a ten minute break?”

Just as Yun Jingshuang was about to slam his hammer down once again, a boss stood up and asked. Many people looked up expectantly when they heard him. These were the people who were itching to bid as well, but did not have the funds to do so.

“I disagree. We already had a break earlier. There is no need for another one.”

Lin Lang stood up and rejected this suggestion. The bosses who had left to gather money during the break earlier immediately voiced their agreement with this. If they gave the others a chance to gather more money, the price of the rights would only increase. This was not a good thing for them. All gazes converged on Bai Xiaofei. They could see that of the two standing on stage, Bai Xiaofei was the only one who could make the call.

“A break is not possible. However, you guys are allowed to leave temporarily. I believe there is still enough time for you guys to do what you want.”

With Bai Xiaofei’s announcement, the two opposing groups calmed down. However, Bai Xiaofei’s words also made one thing clear: the competition for the remaining rights would be extremely intense.

Over twenty bosses left the room. Unsurprisingly, when Yun Jingshuang slammed his hammer down to resume the auction, the other bosses with sufficient money started bidding madly.

“Two billion!”

Immediately after the hammer landed, a huge bid was made. This huge bid did not dampen the zeal of the other bosses at all. With such a scary price as the starting bid, an intense competition started between the bosses.

“Four billion! If anyone can offer a higher price, I will wait for the next round!”

A trembling boss stood up and announced his stand. Four billion was the maximum amount he could afford.

“4.1 billion!”

Unfortunately, making a stand did not always work. Without sufficient money, one could only watch from afar. Perhaps, this person was trying to do the same thing as those before him, to strike while the iron was hot. Unfortunately, everyone there already understood one thing: the price would only keep increasing…

At this moment, Bai Xiaofei signaled Lin Lang with his eyes. After receiving the signal, Lin Lang couldn’t hold himself back anymore and immediately stood up.

“Six billion! If anyone wants to continue playing along, bring it on! Let us see who the gutsier one is!”

Their initial arrangement was to have Lin Lang started bidding during the final two rounds. However, from how things were progressing, that was no longer required.

“6.5 billion!”

“7 billion!”

“7.1 billion!”

“8 billion!”

After two increments of a billion each, Lin Lang successfully scared off the other bosses. With this, he obtained the seventh right. In truth, Lin Lang was definitely not capable of paying so much. After all, his shop was only a small one...

Fortunately for him, he was now Bai Xiaofei’s accomplice. Back then, Fang Ye had gone to various bosses persuading them earnestly. Ultimately, only the bosses of the four small stores were willing to invest in this plan. From their initial small profit to the favoritism Bai Xiaofei was showing them currently, their decision had proven to be a wise one.

As of this point, the promise Fang Ye made them back then could be considered to have been fulfilled. After all, even if they were to quit right now, this cooperative right by itself was already enough to net them an insane amount of profit. Eight billion was a sum they wouldn't have been able to make by themselves even if they worked for a lifetime.

“Only three rights are left. For those with comparatively smaller or newer stores, my advice is to withdraw from the competition. With the current price of the rights, it is already pointless for you guys to get them. With the scale of your businesses, you guys will not be able to make a return of capital even after getting it.”

Before the start of the eighth round, Bai Xiaofei reminded them kindly. He had no intention of being accused of scamming others.

Unsurprisingly, Bai Xiaofei’s reminder calmed a number of people. On the other hand, the bosses of the larger stores became even more excited. For them, Bai Xiaofei’s reminder was a signal.

“And now, let us start the bid of the eighth right!”

Once again, the hammer landed. The bosses reacted like race horses at a starting line. The moment they heard the signal, they charge forth.

“5 billion!”

“5.1 billion!”

“…”

The bids didn’t stop coming. Ultimately, the bid was concluded at 8.6 billion with a swing of Yun Jingshuang’s hammer. This was when the bosses that left earlier returned. Everyone became anxious when they noticed that an additional guest had arrived as well. This additional guest was the boss of the Thousand Aroma Restaurant.

In the Starnet Academy, only the Hundred Flavor House was acknowledged by the masses. This placed the equally famous Thousand Aroma Restaurant in a predicament. Those who pursued taste would all go to the Hundred Flavor House. Yet those who sought comfort would find the Thousand Aroma Restaurant too expensive.

The Thousand Aroma Restaurant was a chain restaurant that enjoyed great popularity in the mainland. But they were finding it difficult to grow their business within the academy. Losses were made nearly every year. If it wasn’t for the capability of their main branch, the academy branch would have been out of business long ago…

Just earlier, someone went looking for this boss and sold sold him the news about the cooperative rights to him. Initially, he did not regard this news with importance. However, he was still willing to give it a try. And thus he was here to see for himself what sort of miracle this legendary new student could bring.

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