The End of the Auction
No one seemed able to predict how the second vehicle auction would end.
Strange. I could already see the finish line pretty clearly.
There was no need to overcomplicate it. Shift your perspective just a little, and the answer practically wrote itself.
"Seoni Moon bids seventy-five million Rena."
"O-Wang Company, eighty million Rena!"
"Partner & Tofu Company, eighty-five million Rena!"
"Excellent. Can you all feel this heat? The raw desire for this two-seater classic car, the pride of every company on the line! Who will claim final victory? Even I can barely wait. Currently at eighty-five million Rena… any higher bids?"
First up was Wang-ko, head of O-Wang Company.
He had stepped forward himself, and knowing his personality, there was nothing left to deliberate. He was the kind of fool who always charged straight at first place with everything he had. Secure the two-seater classic car just to play it safe? Wang-ko would never settle for something that half-hearted.
"O-Wang Company is bowing out first. The rest of you can fight it out."
He wisely stepped out of the chicken game and instead fanned the flames between the remaining two companies. That left the two leaders with even deeper headaches. Rim-ani and Angdu locked eyes, their gazes sharp enough to cut.
"Seoni Moon calls ninety million Rena."
"…Partner & Tofu Company, ninety-five million Rena."
Once the numbers climbed that high, the murmuring around them grew louder. Angdu kept sighing, pulling Tu-nyang-i and Hanamon in for hurried whispers.
Hmm. Looking at the situation, it would probably wrap up around a hundred million Rena. Rim-ani's expression was starting to look uneasy too.
Predicting this ending hadn't been difficult. Wang-ko and Rim-ani were actual company heads. Angdu was only a temporary stand-in for NS Namsin. That meant she was far more likely to choose stability over a reckless gamble. If she overreached for the sports car and ended up with nothing, she would have no excuse for NS Namsin.
It was no laughing matter. Disappoint a hyped-up company fandom with back-to-back failures? The scrutiny on temporary leader Angdu would turn merciless.
In a situation like this, of course she'd pick the safe option. At least securing one vehicle would be the next-best outcome, even if it wasn't ideal.
A moment later, my prediction landed exactly as expected. Seoni Moon called one hundred million Rena. After a brief hesitation, Rim-ani shook her head and declared she was out. The two-seater classic car went to Seoni Moon.
The public opinion that had been simmering just moments ago was now one spark away from exploding. For stream viewers high on dopamine, nothing was more thrilling or addictive than a Gald Cup. Just imagining the opening of that one-on-one guillotine match was enough to send a shiver down the spine.
Rim-ani and Wang-ko locked eyes, their stares razor-sharp. This was the final showdown with both companies' pride—and their fandoms'—on the line. Sensing the charged atmosphere, Rena-ttang introduced the final vehicle of the day in a more solemn voice.
"They say the main character always appears last. Yes, that's exactly right. Here comes the star that will close out this vehicle auction! A beautiful silver streamlined body that gleams, a thunderous exhaust note that makes your heart race just hearing it. Not only does it boast top-tier speed, but every six hundred seconds of cooldown it can teleport anywhere—an incredible special ability. Which company will claim this vehicle? No more stalling. We begin immediately. Starting bid is again thirty million Rena. Call your bids!"
"Seoni Moon, sixty million Rena!"
"…!"
Whether it was lingering attachment to the sports car or just a bold probe, Seoni Moon took a swing. It didn't matter.
"Partner & Tofu Company goes to eighty million Rena."
Rim-ani jumped the bid by twenty million in one go. Wang-ko refused to be outdone and fired right back.
"O-Wang Company, one hundred million Rena! Catch me if you can!"
The moment the two-seater classic car had hit one hundred million Rena, the sports car was always going to clear that mark. So both company heads raised the price with swagger. This was where the real fight began.
So who actually has more money?
Even I couldn't predict this one cleanly. Thanks to the butterfly effect of V-Live Company existing, every company had been grinding harder than before the regression, and I had no idea how deep their pockets really ran. Partner & Tofu Company had two more members on paper, but O-Wang Company had three male streamers. On top of that, the notoriously ruthless PUBG streamers—including the women—totaled five.
You can't just compare raw numbers. Once a PUBG streamer starts making money, they practically scorch the earth around them.
In the end, the only way to know was to open the lid. A battle of quality versus quantity, maybe?
"O-Wang Company, one hundred twenty million Rena!"
"Partner & Tofu Company goes to one hundred thirty million Rena!"
Fans and streamers alike were sinking deeper into the frenzy. Before long the bid had hit one hundred fifty million Rena.
"…"
Was he finally nearing his limit? Wang-ko's expression darkened. Across from him, Rim-ani felt the scent of victory in Wang-ko's silence and her lips twitched into a smirk.
That was when I quietly rose from my seat, walked over to Wang-ko, and whispered.
"Don't forget the offer I made you."
"…!"
"No way!"
Rim-ani must have heard something through Dananyang, because the moment she saw me standing close to Wang-ko her expression turned wary.
Hmm. That almost hurt my feelings. I was just a humble finance professional who always believed in free and fair trade. And this time it was a completely interest-free loan!
Honestly, I didn't care about interest at all. My goal was simply to heat the competition a little more and drive the auction price higher. The more the winning company bled, the longer the wound would last.
And if I had my way, that company would be O-Wang.
After all, in the Arena battles still to come, the most dangerous opponent would inevitably be O-Wang Company with its swarm of PUBG streamers. So I was quietly rooting for them to take the final bid.
I might get a little side-eye from Partner & Tofu Company, but they're not Mu-yang Group yet. I can live with that much.
The moment they became Mu-yang Group, Partner & Tofu Company's identity would be wiped clean anyway. Park Bong-sik's weight class was simply that massive. I had calculated all of that from the start—deliberately waiting and taking the seat right next to O-Wang Company.
"So fifty million Rena is doable?"
"Of course."
"Backroom deals and dirty tricks… you're exactly the kind of talent the PUBG scene needs."
"…"
Could he please stop saying that already?
With the verbal agreement sealed, Wang-ko confidently called one hundred sixty million Rena. But Rim-ani refused to fold easily. She gritted her teeth and matched him at one hundred seventy million. Wang-ko answered without blinking: one hundred eighty million Rena.
"Ugh! This is so unfair. It's basically a two-on-one!"
Rim-ani protested, but Rena-ttang was only delighted that more resources were being burned. She had zero intention of stopping it. Inter-company loans were perfectly allowed, she declared, siding with us completely.
"Then wait just a second. I'm not sitting still either."
With company pride on the line, Rim-ani stomped off toward Seoni Moon and returned a moment later wearing a bright expression. Naturally, Wang-ko's face darkened in turn.
With the fifty million Rena I had loaned him, Wang-ko could bid up to two hundred million. Whose side would victory smile on?
Of course I still had room to lend more, but even a first-place fanatic like Wang-ko seemed to find anything beyond two hundred million Rena too heavy. It was the kind of sum an entire company might scrape together only after nearly two weeks of nonstop mining.
"One hundred ninety-five million Rena!"
"Two hundred million Rena!"
"…"
Wang-ko's final, desperate bid. Then a stretch of silence. Rim-ani's face had gone completely rigid.
"Two hundred million! Even I never expected a number this high. Double the classic car's final price! A full two hundred million Rena. Any higher bids? Starting the countdown now. Ten, nine, eight, seven…"
It was the kind of moment that made your palms sweat. Would Rim-ani open her mouth? The count dropped to three, and she lowered her head. Wang-ko thrust his arm skyward in triumph. At the same instant the final number left Rena-ttang's lips, her hand pointed straight at O-Wang Company.
"Congratulations! The sports car has been sold to O-Wang Company for a staggering two hundred million Rena!"
Waaaaah—!
Thunderous cheers and applause poured toward O-Wang Company. Their fans flooded the chat with pure joy after the blood-boiling duel.
In the end, what O-Wang Company walked away with was a luxury item purchased for two hundred million Rena… and a fifty-million-Rena debt.