Chapter 389: Auction Day Turmoil

Look at the auction scene—Netizens of the Long Kingdom are getting frantic!

If Sun Xin doesn’t start bidding soon…

The entire auction has turned into the turf of the Ross, Buffett, and Child consortiums—a situation the people of the Long Kingdom simply can’t accept.

After all, no one wants to see our precious treasure being snatched away by a few foreign consortiums right before everyone’s eyes!

“What’s going on?”

“Is Sun Xin planning a last-minute move?”

“Maybe, but even if he intends to win with a final bid, he should participate earlier, shouldn’t he?”

One minute, two minutes… too bad.

As time passed, the three groups took turns bidding, and the price had already reached 160 million M-Gold.

Meanwhile,

Sun Xin remained motionless, his expression as calm as ever. No one knew what he was thinking.

“Could something be wrong with Sun Xin?”

At that moment,

the people of the Long Kingdom grew increasingly dejected and uneasy, even developing a nagging premonition.

All their earlier certainties began to crumble—especially the belief that Sun Xin would clinch the win with a final bid.

Sometimes, an auction is all about momentum. Even if he planned a last surge, he couldn’t remain idle until the end. Bidding 80 million already leaves little room for later moves. On the other hand, “What’s Sun Xin up to? He was so aggressive for the Silk Road Landscape Scroll, determined to win, yet when it mattered most he looked more like a mere spectator.”

In Yan City’s Second Ring,

Qi Jianwen slammed his fist on the desk.

As a department leader, his observational skills far exceeded those of ordinary people—he had already spotted a flaw in Sun Xin’s bidding strategy.

“Leader, I suspect this time he only brought 80 million M-Gold!”

Beside him, Zuo Ping’s face darkened.

“Only 80 million? For something this valuable, he brought just 80 million? Is he kidding? What did he say before? He promised he’d give it his all!”

Qi Jianwen abruptly turned, his face a fiery mixture of anger and frustration as he glared at Zuo Ping.

At that moment,

Qi Jianwen felt utterly mocked.

They had taken great measures—even offering Sun Xin a host of concessions and favors—to secure the return of the Yongle Encyclopedia.

So what now? If you were planning to give up, you shouldn’t have promised to give it your all.

That way, they wouldn’t have high hopes and might even try to cool off the auction deliberately.

But look at this!

Stoked by sensational self-media reports, the emotions of the Long Kingdom’s citizens had reached a fever pitch. If the Yongle Encyclopedia ended up in someone else’s hands, it wouldn’t just be the loss of a priceless treasure, but a blow to the nation’s confidence and pride.

“Leader, I reckon Sun Xin never expected the starting price to be this high, so…”

Zuo Ping’s voice grew even more subdued.

Sometimes, once you see the key issue, everything becomes crystal clear.

“Hmph! Then let’s wait for him to come back!”

“Leader, what now? The public’s emotions are on edge. If we don’t manage this properly, I fear…”

After a brief pause, Zuo Ping took a deep breath.

“Here’s what we’ll do: contact the relevant department heads immediately and work to cool things down! Especially on the forums—delete any inflammatory posts. Let everyone believe this is just a normal auction. That way, our Long Kingdom will have another chance to reclaim the Yongle Encyclopedia in the future.”

Turning on his heel,

after pacing for a moment, Qi Jianwen declared,

“Alright then!”

At the same time,

in Haishi,

Xu Hao stared at the screen for a long while before turning to Fu Qiong.

“Where are our people seated?”

“Leader, our bidders for the Yongle Encyclopedia are in the front row, holding No. 36 cards! Just like the three companies registered earlier, this company’s base is in the New Country. As long as they don’t scrutinize the equity structure, it’s clearly a foreign enterprise! And even if they do, chasing down Qiansheng Investment would take two or three months—by then, the Yongle Encyclopedia would have already reached Mingsha City.”

Upon hearing this,

Fu Qiong quickly replied, “Understood!”

Xu Hao nodded slightly.

After a moment of contemplation, he added, “What’s with Sun Xin? If he doesn’t join in, our guys can start their bids!”

As the Dean of Mingsha Academy and a senior researcher at the Ancient Architecture Research Institute, Xu Hao’s administrative rank was formidable.

He clearly understood the purpose behind Sun Xin’s presence at the auction and who was backing him.

“Leader, perhaps Sun Xin is just out of funds,”

Fu Qiong hesitated before replying, “Out of funds?”

Xu Hao raised an eyebrow in disbelief, “Even though Wenmo Group is the leading private collector in the Long Kingdom, its scale isn’t as vast as one might imagine. From what I know, Wenmo Group’s cash flow is only a few hundred million. Bidding 80 million USD was already their limit! Now with bids nearing 200 million, he simply can’t keep up!”

Fu Qiong pressed on, “And there’s no financial backing behind this?”

Xu Hao rubbed his brow, “Maybe not! Regulations dictate that relevant departments provide indirect support via taxes or other means—not direct auction funds, which would violate the rules.”

“Got it! Since Sun Xin isn’t making a move, let our team start bidding—each bid should be 10 million M-Gold more than what Peter from the Ross Consortium offers!”

After a brief moment of thought, Xu Hao made his decision.

Just because Sun Xin is short on funds doesn’t mean he’s completely broke! Ever since news of the Yongle Encyclopedia auction broke, Xu Hao had mobilized funds from all quarters—even reallocating money borrowed by Third Brother.

It was safe to say that this time they could go head-to-head with the three consortiums.

“Understood, Leader!”

Beside him, Fu Qiong nodded and picked up her phone, dialing a number. “Hello! Notify the scene—it’s time to start bidding!”

“190 million!”

At the auction hall, the bidding among the three consortiums continued.

But unlike before, their bidding was no longer frantic; each call was followed by a long pause for thought.

It wasn’t that these three consortiums couldn’t muster more funds—they were simply weighing the asset’s true value. After all, 200 million M-Gold translates to a staggering 1.4 billion Dragon Coins.

“190 million for Lot 17! Any higher offers?”

The host on stage bellowed passionately.

“190 million? Geez, they’ve been silent for so long—I doubt anyone will top that. It all depends on whether the other two consortiums can outbid this offer!”

Seeing this,

the mood among the Long Kingdom’s citizens plummeted from eager anticipation to utter despair.

After all, no one is foolish.

Nobody likes being strung along like this!

“Everyone, disperse! Stop watching—this only makes you sadder!”

“Exactly! Let’s scatter; our Long Kingdom’s prized treasure is getting snatched by those foreigners. Sigh… it’s just heartbreaking!”

“This Sun Xin—he’d be better off not showing up at all! Sitting there is nothing but embarrassing.”

“Absolutely!”

On a forum, someone commented exactly that.

Once the comment went live, the replies in the thread shot up into the thousands.

Perhaps out of sheer disappointment—or maybe simply to avoid further sadness—within moments, scores of Long Kingdom citizens logged off the forum.

Just when it seemed like more people were about to shut down their screens at the auction hall, the host’s voice suddenly took on an unexpected tone, and he raised his volume considerably!

“Huh? Lot 36 has just bid 200 million! If we aren’t mistaken, this is his first bid.”

ps: Brothers, after adjustments, regular updates resume tomorrow!