Chapter 154: A Distinguished Identity
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 154: A Distinguished Identity
"Number Eighty-Eight!"
The moment that voice spoke, the entire auction hall fell silent once more.
Though he had only made one prior purchase—a completely useless gemstone—the sheer badassery and imposing presence he had displayed during his debut had left a lasting impression on many.
So, when he placed a bid again, the audience couldn't help but speculate whether he would drop another staggering price.
Miss Fairy’s beautiful eyes sparkled with anticipation. She wondered to herself: Could handing out flyers really have hooked such a big fish?
She began to look forward to it as well...
"Number Eighty-Eight bids..."
The voice was calm and unhurried, carrying the leisurely ease of someone in a high position. Yet, as his words fell, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck the room!
"Ten million... and one thousand!"
"Number Eighty-Eight bids ten million and... eh? One thousand?"
Miss Fairy, who had been ready to use a massive bid from Number Eighty-Eight to whip the crowd into a frenzy, suddenly froze. She wondered if she had been hosting for too long and was hearing things out of sheer exhaustion.
Did Number Eighty-Eight just use such a badass tone to place such a... pathetic bid?
"One thousand?"
"I think it really was just a thousand."
"Number Eighty-Eight only added a thousand?"
"Unbelievable. Is this a flea market clearance sale or something?"
The audience snapped out of it. Realizing that the Number Eighty-Eight they had been anticipating had cowardly added a mere thousand, a wave of boos erupted.
Inside Box Number One, Lorenzo was laughing so hard he could barely stand up straight.
"A thousand? Hahaha! He only added a thousand?"
"Damn, I thought he was some kind of big shot, but turns out he’s just another country bumpkin who’s never seen real money!"
"No wonder he spent a fortune on a useless piece of junk earlier!"
"Quick, place a bid. Add a million directly. Humiliate him!"
"Box Number One bids eleven million!!"
"Whoa!"
As the new bid from Box Number One appeared, the entire auction house let out a collective gasp.
This was what you called badass.
Adding a million at a time—that wasn't something a weakling adding a thousand could compete with!
But before the crowd could even process the shock, Number Eighty-Eight calmly spoke again:
"Eleven million... and one thousand."
"Again?"
Lorenzo let out a disdainful sneer and barked at his confidant, "Keep going. Add a million every time. I want to see how long this bumpkin can endure this humiliation!"
"Twelve million!"
"Twelve million... and one thousand."
"Thirteen million!"
"Thirteen million... and one thousand."
"..."
"Twenty million!"
"Twenty million... and one thousand."
"..."
"Dammit!"
As the price continued to climb, the audience finally realized something was wrong.
Why was it that as the bidding went on, Number Eighty-Eight’s voice remained perfectly calm, while the bidder in Box Number One was starting to sound frantic and enraged?
Who was actually humiliating whom?
"Number Eighty-Eight is intentionally driving up the price!" someone finally realized.
Inside the private box, Lorenzo—who wasn't entirely stupid—finally caught on. He slammed his hand down, shattering the tea table in front of him, and roared at Miss Fairy:
"Is your auction house just going to ignore this kind of malicious price-gouging?"
"Please calm yourself, guest. Number Eighty-Eight has not violated any rules," Miss Fairy explained respectfully.
While adding only a thousand at a time was indeed a petty way to drive up the price, no auction house would be foolish enough to ban the practice. Furthermore, she hadn't set a minimum bid increment before the auction began. Therefore, forget a thousand—even adding a single dollar would be perfectly within the rules.
"Then aren't you afraid he’ll actually win the bid and have no money to pay?" Lorenzo sneered.
If the guy actually had enough money, why would he play like this?
He was clearly just some nouveau riche bumpkin with limited funds trying to spite him! Did he think spending a million on a piece of junk made him a somebody?
"This..."
Miss Fairy hesitated. Indeed, the biggest fear for an auction house was a "deadbeat" bidder who drove up the price only to be unable to pay when the hammer fell. Usually, prestigious auctions verified a bidder's credentials beforehand to avoid this.
But this was the black market, after all...
"Please wait a moment, guests. The auction will be paused for three minutes."
After a moment's thought, Miss Fairy halted the proceedings and gave a subtle nod to someone offstage.
A few moments later, there was a knock on Muen’s door.
"Come in."
"Sir," the waiter said as he entered the room, bowing respectfully. "Please provide proof that you possess sufficient assets to continue bidding."
"Oh? I thought this was a secret auction. What, do you make a habit of prying into your guests' privacy?"
Muen didn't even look up, casually swirling the red wine in his glass.
"Our deepest apologies, but as this auction involves a massive sum of capital, we must perform necessary risk management."
The waiter bowed deeply. "There is no need for you to reveal your identity, sir. You only need to prove you have the funds."
"Funds? As for cash on hand, I believe I only have a million."
"In that case, I must ask you to leave," the waiter said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. A million and he wants to act like a king? Does he think I'm some pushover—
"Is this enough?"
Muen casually flicked a crystal card between two fingers.
The waiter caught it deftly.
But the moment he saw the card, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
It was a black crystal card, engraved with a golden tulip—understated, yet radiating luxury.
As a professionally trained waiter, he recognized the card's origin instantly.
This was... a Black Crystal Card issued by the Imperial Bank!
This card was reserved for the absolute top tier of the Empire. Through an anonymous account at the Imperial Bank, it allowed for almost unlimited overdrafts!
To date, the Imperial Bank had only issued one hundred of these cards!
In other words, anyone holding this card was undoubtedly among the elite few at the very peak of the Empire—the kind of person who could make the entire continent tremble just by tapping their foot.
Furthermore, the Black Crystal Card had the strictest security measures; it was nearly impossible to trace the owner. Forget this auction house—even their boss behind the scenes wouldn't dare...
With this card, forget a few tens of millions for Ancient Dragon Heart Blood—he could easily buy the entire auction house!
At that point, forget being a pushover; the waiter would be lucky if he wasn't forced to eat dirt.
"Do I have the 'credentials' now?" Muen asked airily, each word striking the waiter’s heart like a hammer.
"Yes! Of course you do!"
The waiter’s back was instantly drenched in cold sweat. The professional composure he had trained years for vanished into thin air. Trembling, he held the Black Crystal Card out to Muen with both hands, forcing a professional smile.
"We apologize for the intrusion, sir. As a token of our regret, you will receive a twenty percent discount on any items you purchase here today."
A twenty percent discount was no small matter in a place like this. For instance, if Muen spent a hundred million on a treasure, he would only need to pay eighty million—a full twenty million saved.
This was the maximum discount the waiter had the authority to offer.
"Hoh, quite sincere, aren't we?"
Muen took the card back. "Not that I particularly care. I just want to get on with the auction."
"The auction will resume immediately! Immediately!"
The waiter wiped his brow as he prepared to scramble out of the room. He had to leave quickly and spread the word that a top-tier VIP was sitting here, lest anyone offend him and ruin them all.
"By the way."
Just then, Muen turned back.
He placed a finger over the lips of his mask and let a kind smile curl at the corners of his mouth.
"I wouldn't want a fourth person to know about this."
Muen pointed to himself, then to the waiter, and finally to the space behind the waiter.
"So, keep it a secret. Understand?"