Chapter 390: The Unforeseen Bid

“36?”

Whoosh! Without the host’s cue, silence reigned in the grand auction hall—until he shouted, and every eye turned toward booth 36.

They hadn’t expected an outsider to bid at that moment.

Keep in mind, the remaining three bidders were all international giants. Whether it’s the Ross Consortium, the Buffett Family, or the Child Family, these are top-tier organizations.

Daring to intervene amidst them meant this bidder was no ordinary player—perhaps even from another premier international consortium.

Yet once everyone got a clear look at the bidder’s face, their doubts only deepened.

“Which consortium is this guy from? I’ve never seen him before.”

“Exactly! If he were from a well-known consortium, I’d recognize him. The circle is that small.”

Someone in the hall couldn’t help but remark.

There was no denying it—the room was filled with veteran collectors who’d done their homework before the auction, yet this young man was utterly unfamiliar.

His youth was truly staggering! Of course…

While foreign bidders and netizens were puzzled, Long Kingdom netizens grew increasingly disappointed.

Simply put,

seeing that this young man had a foreign appearance, they instinctively assumed he too was from a foreign consortium. With that assumption, they lost any reason to keep watching.

Whether it’s three foreign consortiums or four battling over Long Kingdom treasures, it hardly makes a difference.

“Damn, this is boring! And that Wenmo Group—stop bragging about being the top collector in Long Kingdom. It’s disgusting.”

And so,

after snapping out of their stupor, Long Kingdom netizens quickly vented online and withdrew from the forum.

Even Sun Xin’s weathered face couldn’t hide his discomfort; he hastily found an excuse to leave his seat, unwilling to stick around any longer.

He knew exactly what was coming. Had he bid a few more times, it might have been forgivable—but he’d only bid once. Not to mention, the Long Kingdom leaders watching the auction would have plenty to say, and even he felt uneasy about it.

“Hmm? Now that’s interesting!”

A true big shot always operates on a whole other level from ordinary folks.

Even as the atmosphere grew noisy with speculations about bidder 36’s identity, representatives from the three major consortiums remained cool as cucumbers.

They simply glanced over and continued raising their paddles, undeterred.

“Two hundred and ten million!”

After a brief pause,

Peter from the Ross Consortium submitted a new bid.

“Two hundred and twenty million!”

Moments later, the Child Family offered their price.

“Two hundred and thirty million!”

The representative from the Buffett Family eventually joined in, refusing to back down.

Yet once the bid reached 200 million M Gold, all three became noticeably more cautious.

After all, even the most precious Long Kingdom relics must justify their price; bidding recklessly wasn’t an option.

“Two hundred and fifty million!”

To the consortium representatives’ surprise, their round of bids had barely ended when booth 36 jumped in again with an immediate increase of 20 million M Gold.

This bid roused even the composed representatives from the three top houses, who couldn’t help but steal extra glances at the young man wielding the 36 paddle.

Especially Peter from the Ross Consortium—his brow furrowed ever so slightly.

“Two hundred and sixty million!”

For ten seconds, then thirty, even a minute passed until, after the host’s repeated reminders and a countdown, Peter finally raised his paddle again.

A fresh round of bidding began.

Time flew by, and before long it was noon in Yan City, Second Ring.

Qi Jianwen and Zuo Ping stood silently before the large digital screen. Minutes later, dejected, they turned and headed for the exit. “Who exactly is this young foreigner? In the end, he outbid the three giants with 400 million M Gold to secure the Yongle Encyclopedia!”

Near the door, Zuo Ping glanced back at the screen and remarked.

It turned out that

just moments ago, the much-anticipated Christie’s auction had finally drawn to a close.

The final bidder at booth 36 triumphed over the three international giants, bagging the Yongle Encyclopedia for 400 million M Gold.

This set a new record for Christie’s! The Yongle Encyclopedia became the most expensive artifact ever sold at an auction.

“We just got word that some new information has emerged.”

Qi Jianwen halted and let out a sigh.

“What did they say?”

“They say this young man represents a newly registered foreign company. Insiders believe it’s highly likely that this company was set up by another major international consortium.”

Thus,

the possibility of the Yongle Encyclopedia returning to the country might remain only theoretical.

Qi Jianwen finished speaking, shaking his head in resignation.

He was utterly convinced by this news.

Simply put,

if it weren’t for international giants, who else could boast enough funds to nonchalantly push the bid to 400 million M Gold? Without this young man, the other three might never have reached 300 million.

“This…”

Zuo Ping paused, clearly sharing Qi Jianwen’s thoughts.

After a moment,

he finally spoke again, “Leader, what now? Domestic public opinion is spiraling out of control!”

“What choice do we have? We owe it to the public to let off some steam—especially considering Wenmo Group’s shady tactics with the priceless Yongle Encyclopedia. Make sure to have someone investigate this in the next few days!”

With that,

Qi Jianwen left the conference room without looking back.

It was clear his mood had hit rock bottom—he didn’t want to hear another word about the auction.

“Sigh! How is it that nothing in Long Kingdom ever goes our way…”

Watching Qi Jianwen depart, Zuo Ping muttered under his breath before following him out.

Unbeknownst to them, while Qi Jianwen and Zuo Ping wallowed in dismay and countless Long Kingdom netizens aired their grievances, high above in Haishi’s central business district, Xu Hao had already issued several commands.

“Manager Fu, is the chartered plane ready?”

Glancing at the clock, Xu Hao turned to look at Fu Qiong.

“Leader, it’s all set!”

Fu Qiong quickly nodded from beside him.

“Good! What’s the status at the auction hall?”

Xu Hao nodded slightly before asking,

“Leader, we’ve confirmed that all funds have been transferred to the auction’s transit account, and our experts are currently inspecting the items.

As long as the Yongle Encyclopedia checks out, it’ll be discreetly shipped back to Mingsha City along with the Silk Road Landscape Scroll.”

Fu Qiong replied.

“Good! Then handle things here! I’ll call General Zhu again!”

After one final confirmation that everything was in order,

Xu Hao exhaled in relief.

Though he wasn’t physically at the auction, he cared more about it than anyone else. Twenty-four hundred million Dragon Coins was well within budget,

and he had even allocated more than that.

It was all to bring this treasured Long Kingdom relic back to Mingsha City, so the city could truly boast its own top-tier treasure.

“Got it, Leader!”

Ever sensible, Fu Qiong turned and left the hall immediately after Xu Hao finished speaking.

Xu Hao then casually picked up his phone and dialed Zhu Qiang’s number. Beep, beep, beep. The call connected quickly, and soon Zhu Qiang’s voice came through.

“Brother Hao!”

“Qiangzi, is everything set at the airport? Once you receive the items, place them in the great hall behind the altar and wait for my return.”

Glancing at the wall clock,

Xu Hao’s voice dropped noticeably.