NOVPUBThe prince’s favorite toys are worth 35 million StellarCoins?!
Daniel twitched a corner of his mouth, sighing inwardly.
As the saying goes, ’All roads lead to Rome’, but some people are born in Rome, and they live in palaces, no less.
35 million, a number that many can’t earn in a lifetime, is just toy money for them.
But this piqued Daniel’s curiosity even more about what was inside the container that was worth so much.
The bidding soon began.
A new treasure hunter was the first to bid, "2000 StellarCoins!"
This was met with ruthless mockery, "Only 2000 for a container from DubaiXpanse? Do you look down on DubaiXpanse or its princes? I bid 4000!"
Someone else immediately doubled the bid, "6000 StellarCoins!"
"7000 StellarCoins."
And so on...
The price quickly rose to 10,000 StellarCoins.
At this point, the number of treasure hunters placing bids significantly dropped.
All they could see were textiles, and they couldn’t ascertain their worth.
The only attractive point about the container was its origin - DubaiXpanse.
This wasn’t enough to stir up the gambler in these treasure hunters.
But the older treasure hunters had a higher risk tolerance, so now it was their turn to bid.
Matt, ignoring the newer treasure hunters, confidently bid, "15,000 StellarCoins!"
If they were going to play, they might as well go big.
This was a freight container from DubaiXpanse, after all.
If it contained gold, silver, or jewels, they would strike it rich.
The triplet brothers didn’t back down either. The eldest shouted, "18,000 StellarCoins!"
The Abel Allen brothers went even higher, "25,000 StellarCoins!"
They had been out of business for a while, and finally came across a decent container, so they decided to go all out.
This hefty bid caught the attention of Matt and the others.
Well, well, well.
A significant increase in the bid all at once.
Wilson had yet to bid and was beginning to hesitate.
He hadn’t chosen to team up with Matt and Emilia today, so he needed to bear the risk himself.
After much deliberation, he couldn’t help himself, "27,000 StellarCoins!"
He didn’t dare to raise the bid by too much.
No sooner had he placed his bid than Matt countered, "30,000 StellarCoins!"
The triplet brothers also immediately followed suit, "31,000 StellarCoins."
Although they only raised the bid by 1,000 StellarCoins, the confidence in their voices made it clear they weren’t backing down.
Abel continued to raise the stakes, "35,000 StellarCoins!"
This was a surprise for the other treasure hunters. It looked like the brothers were determined to win this container.
Wilson, hesitating, silently stared at the container.
If the container only held carpets, then the current bid was a sure loss.
He didn’t dare to continue bidding, but instead, quietly observed the others.
Emilia looked at Matt and asked, "The current bid is almost there, right?"
Matt shook his head, "Not enough, there’s definitely more than just textiles in that container. Can you see a reflective color in those rolled-up carpets?" 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
He handed his telescope to Emilia.
Taking the telescope, Emilia peered into the container and indeed saw a small flash of red among the goods.
"But what does this prove?"
Frowning, Matt explained, "The tycoons in DubaiXpanse love supercars. Some even ship their favorite cars when they travel to other countries. Although we can’t see what’s inside the container, if it contains a supercar, its value will skyrocket!"
Emilia was puzzled, "You also said that cars are their favorite things, so would they really bury them under these piles of carpets?"
The whole scenario didn’t make sense.
Who would put their most beloved possessions in an environment where they can easily get damaged?
Even the tycoons of DubaiXpanse wouldn’t do such a thing, or so Emilia thought.
Yet, Matt was hell-bent on raising the price, dismissing Emilia’s doubts and shouting, "40,000 StellarCoins!"
At the same time, he glared at the Abel Allen brothers, boldly proclaiming, "You guys might as well save your breath, this container is mine!"
But Abel and Allen were not so easily dissuaded. At Abel’s cue, Allen raised his hand and shouted, "45,000 StellarCoins!"
He even couldn’t resist taunting, "Think you’re impressive just because you’re loud? If you have the guts, bid higher!"
This put the triplet brothers in a dilemma.
They exchanged glances, the second one questioning, "Abel and Allen are clearly clashing with Matt, should we get involved?"
The eldest brother pondered, the current price was bordering on a high-stakes gamble and the risk was indeed significant.
The youngest brother suggested, "The price has now reached a critical point. Everyone’s straining at the leash because they’re all gambling on the wealth of the DubaiXpanse tycoons."
"So, let’s raise the price a little bit, testing their real limits. That way, we can minimize our own risk."
The elder two brothers looked at their younger brother, surprised and said, "About time you started using your brain, little brother!"
The youngest brother scratched his head sheepishly and laughed, "So that’s why my head’s been itching lately, it’s the brain growing."
The triplet brothers did just as the youngest suggested.
They didn’t raise the price much, only 500 StellarCoins.
"We bid 45,500 StellarCoins!"
This was only because there was a limit to how little they could increase the bid, otherwise, they would have gladly increased it by just one StellarCoin.
Matt and the Abel brothers both dismissed this, viewing it as a last-ditch effort from the triplet brothers to stay in the game.
Matt continued to up the ante, "50,000 StellarCoins!"
Abel wasn’t one to be outdone, "55,000 StellarCoins!"
In this fierce bidding war, the triplet brothers only added another 500 StellarCoins.
"55,500 StellarCoins."
This cycle continued until the price had soared to 80,500 StellarCoins.
Yes, that last 500 was still from the triplet brothers.
Annoyed, Matt shouted at them, "Hey! Are you guys in or out?"
"Are you messing around or do you actually want to bid?"
Abel and Allen glared at the brothers as well.
The triplet brothers huddled together and the youngest one retorted, "You bid your way, we’ll bid ours. How are we causing trouble?"
Allen couldn’t help but yell, "Why do you guys only increase the bid by 500 StellarCoins every time? It’s so irritating!"
The youngest brother retorted, "Isn’t 500 StellarCoins the minimum bidding increment? Did we break any rules?"
Matt and Allen were speechless.
Although the brothers didn’t break any rules, their tactic of only increasing by 500 StellarCoins in this intense bidding war was certainly annoying.
Allen shouted at Matt, "Matt, next round, I’m only going up by 500."
Matt immediately got Allen’s point, and declared, "Same here."
Once again, the bidding continued from all sides, each time with an increment of only 500 StellarCoins.
This situation was driving Robert to despair.
Although no one was breaking the rules, at this price point, an increment of 500 was just as good as none.
It seemed like the auction could last until nightfall just to determine the winner.
What’s more, his commission was inextricably linked to the auction price of the container.
Now that the treasure hunters were no longer recklessly bidding, the price of the container would never reach astronomical levels, resulting in an unexpected reduction in his potential earnings.
As Robert was preparing to inject some provocations into the situation, Daniel spoke, "100,000 StellarCoins." He said, "It’s just a container. If you can’t get this one, there’s always the next. Is there any need for such dithering, wasting everyone’s time?"
"I bid 100,000 StellarCoins. This container is mine now, you guys can fight over the next one."
Robert looked at Daniel, as if he was looking at a savior.
What a good Samaritan!
He had thought this auction would drag on for a long time, but this kind-hearted individual had put an end to it.
A hundred thousand StellarCoins, it had met Robert’s expectations for this container.
Excitedly, he announced, "Now Daniel has bid 100,000 StellarCoins. Do any of you want to bid higher?"
Matt, the triplets, and Abel Allen’s groups were all hesitant.
In the past, Daniel’s sudden bidding would trigger everyone’s excitement, followed by an endless surge in bids.
But after the last auction, they had all learned their lesson.
No one could guarantee if Daniel’s bid was because he truly valued this batch, or just to lure others into a bidding war.
Allen whispered to Abel, "Bro, should I try to gauge Daniel’s intention to see if he’s really interested in these goods?" Abel glared at him, "How many times have I told you, no matter how close we are privately, we are competitors in the auction, don’t make things awkward for Daniel."
Allen hurriedly explained, "I didn’t mean that. I meant, if Dan really wants this container, we can just give up. After all, we can’t outbid him."
