The Auction's Mastermind
In a mess like this, no company was going to want a mini tractor.
Especially not after watching Oh Yeong-jun of Akatsuki get thoroughly humiliated right in front of them.
But from Rena-ttang's perspective as the auction host, she somehow had to get the vehicle sold. Only then could she achieve her top priority: reclaiming the surplus currency the streamers had been hoarding.
"So, Seo-a, how about you just take it for the seven thousand Rena you bid last? That seems about right, doesn't it?"
"Excuse me? Come on, that's not fair. Strictly speaking, Akatsuki's entire fortune doesn't even reach thirty million Rena. That was a bluff they jacked the price up with. Without that, thirty million would have been enough, wouldn't it?"
"But by that logic, Seoni Moon bid up to thirty-five million. Thirty million is really too low."
There it was — exactly the opening I'd been steering toward.
I clapped my hands together as if the realization had only just hit me.
"Aha! Then let's compromise at forty million Rena. Akatsuki's bid was a scam from the start, so Seoni Moon's thirty-five million was the real high. This is the reasonable call, right?"
"……"
Rena-ttang's brow furrowed. Her goal had been to vacuum up as much of the residents' currency as possible, so a lower-than-expected price was clearly getting under her skin.
But she'd already conceded the point, and finding a hole in my logic wasn't easy. In the end, she had no choice but to accept it.
A moment later, I watched her head tip in a slow, reluctant nod — the kind that looked almost like a surrender.
"Here's forty million Rena. Thank you so much for the excellent vehicle!"
"……Seo-a, you're being extra annoying today."
"Ehehe! We've got a whole family to feed. Gotta save wherever we can."
I paid with a pile of gold Rena from my inventory and received the vehicle registration from the operator standing beside me. The mini tractor would be delivered after the entire auction wrapped up.
Everything according to plan.
I'd snagged the mini tractor for a bargain. If Akatsuki hadn't barged in and stirred up chaos, Seoni Moon or someone else would have chased it up to around fifty million Rena — maybe even sixty.
But Oh Yeong-jun had overplayed so hard and jacked the price so fast that everyone else had just shaken their heads and dropped out. That was how we'd been able to snatch the mini tractor for a mere forty million.
Thanks to that, I've still got a hundred sixty million Rena left in reserve. If I use this well…
Honestly, it was enough to snag another vehicle if I wanted. But as the saying goes — too much is as bad as too little.
Remember the original goal.
Sure, the special abilities on the remaining two vehicles were attractive, but they weren't the essential kind. By any honest measure, they were pure luxury goods.
On top of that, with every company's pride on the line, the prices were going to inflate well past actual value — that much was obvious. Unless a vehicle would actively help us make money going forward, the way the mini tractor would, there was no reason to burn excessive cash on a luxury item.
As long as we own even one vehicle, the pride of being a vehicle-holding company is satisfied. From there on, pure practicality.
If the special-ability vehicles were luxury goods, then the Mythic gear that would appear later as endgame content was closer to a necessity. Once the Arena content replaced Purge Day and companies started settling things through force, the ones loaded with Mythic equipment would have an overwhelming edge.
And the Arena prize money was enormous. Keep using those winnings to chase more Mythic gear? That was money making money — pure compound growth.
So I need to make the other companies burn as much cash as possible on the vehicle auction.
Having only two vehicles left felt almost disappointing. I had three targets to mess with — O-Wang Company, Partner & Tofu Company, and Seoni Moon.
Still, better to aim at O-Wang and Partner & Tofu. Seoni Moon is the weaker of the three.
In the end, Rena World was always going to settle into an O-Wang Company versus Mu-yang Group showdown in the late game. The leaders of those two companies simply operated on a different scale, and they played Minecraft with the most genuine passion. Kim Hak-do running things like a second season, or NS Namsin with the Seoni group — the gap in playtime alone was insurmountable.
"Then we'll begin the second vehicle auction right away. This one is a two-seater classic car. Picture it, everyone — that crimson body, that modern design. And these days, do any of the important people drive themselves? No. A loyal secretary sits up front and drives, while the boss rides comfortably in the back all the way to the destination. Forget the car somewhere else? No problem. You can summon it from anywhere. Plus, the trunk lets you store valuables safely. So — how about becoming this vehicle's owner?"
Honk, honk—!
The moment Rena-ttang finished, the operator drove the car past the front seats. A longer, sleeker body than the mini tractor, a noticeably higher top speed, and stable cornering. The eyes of every company leader lit up.
It wasn't just the special ability they wanted. More than anything, each company's pride was on the line.
The heat of Purge Day was cooling off, and saving face with massive construction projects took far too long. To win over the fans, you needed dopamine hits — and nothing was more popular than competition against other companies.
Beat the other side. Prove our superiority. Was there any proposition more thrilling than that?
That was why every eye was locked on today's vehicle auction: a pride match fought with raw wealth.
And Rena-ttang had already hinted this might be the last vehicle auction. Fail to buy one now, and you might go down as a company that never owned a vehicle for the rest of Rena World's run.
Fan sentiment was already boiling. As streamers, they couldn't ignore it. They had to win this auction somehow.
Bad Potato Company had already been eliminated. Lethal Company and Akatsuki had been exposed as broke. V-Live Company had already spent big. That left a three-way fight: O-Wang Company, Partner & Tofu Company, and Seoni Moon.
Sharp looks flew back and forth — Partner & Tofu in the center, O-Wang and Seoni Moon flanking them on either side.
"The two-seater classic car starts at thirty million Rena. Come on! Shout out those bids!"
Rena-ttang was hosting with extra fire, clearly trying to make up for the mini tractor's disappointing sale price.
"……"
But nobody raised a hand. Everyone was watching everyone else.
The three company leaders' heads had to be spinning right about now. If they knew how much each other actually had, they could bid cleanly — but those numbers were locked down tight.
They'd love to go all-in on the final sports car, but they also have to account for the possibility that another company is sitting on more cash. So they can't just walk away from the two-seater classic.
Anyone could see the sports car was the crown jewel of this auction. But nobody could be sure who'd walk away the final winner. So the leaders needed at least a minimal safety net.
Secure the two-seater classic cheap, and that was the best-case scenario. If that wasn't possible, jack the price as high as it would go and dump it on a rival. That way, you could reliably knock one competitor out of the race.
It was basically the hot-potato game you saw on variety shows.
"Thirty million Rena! That's a steal — is there really no one? Come on, this isn't right…"
"……"
The spectators were getting bored. These people were being way too careful.
So I gave them a little nudge, casually raising my hand. I'd already brought the popcorn — no point sitting around being polite.
"V-Live Company, thirty million Rena. Looks like everyone wants the sports car, so would it be alright if we just took this one off your hands?"
"Seoni Moon, thirty-five million!"
"Not a chance — O-Wang Company, forty million!"
Lighting the fuse worked. Bids started flying from every direction.
Yes. This was how an auction was supposed to feel.
Partner & Tofu called forty-five million, then O-Wang answered with fifty — and the silence stretched.
Everyone's heads had to be pounding by now. What if you bid higher and the other side just folded? Then the sports car was gone. Would you have to settle for snagging the two-seater classic on the cheap? But looking at fan sentiment, bringing home the sports car was the real priority…
I decided to ease their burden a little.
No — a sale price this low was unacceptable. You people needed to bleed for this.
"V-Live Company bids sixty million Rena. Aren't you all being a little too timid?"
"……!"
One by one, everyone was starting to understand.
The one running today's auction — without a doubt — was us. V-Live Company.
Tens of thousands of viewers watching this very moment.
I was the main character.