Auction venue 0067

  The auction hall of the venue is very large, with more than 40 buyer seats, because these days are transitional periods, and now the auctioned items are the most artistic antiques on the black market.

  It was past eleven and the auction hall was packed with people. Many buyers couldn't find seats and had to stand. With so many people, it was inevitable that there would be some noise.

  The thin monkey said that those who can come in are all wealthy masters, they are not professionally trained soldiers, but people from all over the world who have no discipline and think they have huge assets.

  However, with ten minutes left until twelve o'clock, they not only closed their mouths but also seemed to have put their phones on silent mode or turned them off. The venue was quiet in a somewhat eerie way.

  Soon, the auction hall rang with the midnight bell, and the beautiful cheongsam lady announced that there were a total of thirty-five items for sale.

  It wasn't until half past one in the morning that the items were auctioned off one by one, including ancient calligraphy and paintings, pearls and precious jewels, as well as some rare decorative pieces. As I focused my attention on the auction stage, the thin monkey suddenly tugged at my sleeve and then gave me a sideways glance, indicating for me to look outside.

  I followed the direction of the thin monkey's indication and looked over, suddenly holding my breath, with my eyeballs almost popping out.

  Seat No. 113 had been occupied by two people at some point, both of whom were familiar faces - Qi Xie and Zhao Si.

  My eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and all I could think was, when did these two get together?

  Bai Sheng once said that the power behind Qi Xie was very strong and mysterious, it's understandable that he could come to a place like this, but when he got together with Zhao Si, it became somewhat difficult to understand.

  Qi Ye still looked the same, low-key and ordinary in his attire, with a deep and solemn expression, looking like a problematic youth that made people want to hit him. However, Zhao Si seemed very interested in the items being auctioned off, his eyes fixed intently on the items on the auction stage.

  That was exactly the twin fish jade pendant I was going to bid on, and they were calling out prices. Who would have thought that Qi Xie and Zhao Si would appear? In an instant, I lost the mood to pay attention.

  Could it be that Qi Xie and Zhao Si have been in contact all along? I don't know how they hooked up, but this time they came to sell something.

  This is what I most want to know, and there's another question, I want to know if Qi Xie saved me?

  For Qi Xie, it's no longer a matter of owing him my life, he's more like a reborn father to me. He has saved me countless times, if not for him, I would have died thousands of times over.

  "Watch it, don't be looking around all over the place, people will stare at you." Little Skinny Monkey patted my forehead with his hand and said in a low voice.

  Target me?

  The thin monkey said, "There's a downside to this underground trading place. As long as you have money, you can come in. The boss behind the scenes only cares about making money and doesn't care what kind of person you are. Most people who come here are rich, but that doesn't rule out other types, like spies or private detectives. If you stare at someone, once you leave, you'll definitely be taught a lesson. You might even disappear in Beijing. There's a rule here: don't stare at others."

  "Otherwise, no one would know how he died."

  After hearing this, I shrank my neck and felt a bit scared. This damn thing is selling something, it feels like they're out to sell their lives.

  So, in order to be good for myself, I put my attention on the auction.

  "Next is Lot No. 33, a mysterious colored double fish jade pendant, returned from abroad, non-oriented auction." The man on the stage made a brief introduction and then announced: "Now start bidding, starting price: 18 million."

  The price was announced, and the auction hall fell silent, eerily so, as if those people's gazes and thoughts were not on it.

  I couldn't help but feel suspicious, could it be that the information I found online was incorrect?

  However, when I heard that the final price was 18 million, I couldn't help but show an excited expression, and I felt like I was floating on air.

  The thin monkey stared at me and said, "Be careful."

  The man on the auction stage saw that no one raised their paddle, so he furrowed his brow even deeper and announced again: "Now starting the bidding, with a starting price of 1.8 million."

  Still no one made an offer, and no one spoke up.

  The buyers under the stage, some looked at the auctioneer with an ambiguous smile on their faces; others looked around to see if anyone would make a bid, and when their eyes met, they would exchange a silent knowing smile, regardless of whether they knew each other or not.

  I couldn't help but curse in my heart, what's going on? When I searched online, the estimated price was also over 10 million, why didn't anyone grab it for just over a million?

  If I had known earlier that things on the internet are deceitful, damn it, I wouldn't have gone to check.

  Now the jade pendant is sold out, I don't know how much is left after being extorted by Xiao Shou Hou.

  I took a look at Xiao Shou's face, and he was surprisingly calm, looking at the jade pendant on the auction stage without any other reaction.

  Finally, even I thought the price was going to stay that way. The man on the auction stage looked embarrassed, took a deep breath and announced for the third time: "Now starting the bidding, with an opening price of 800,000."

  Still, no one responded. At this time, the bidders below the stage stopped looking around and everyone's eyes were focused on the auctioneer, watching how he would end it. In those eyes, there was ridicule and sympathy. Not a single person made an offer. How ridiculous and pathetic is that?

  The man's face turned bright red, just about to drop the auction hammer, and turn around to leave the stage. At this moment, someone in the audience suddenly raised a sign and shouted: "I bid..."

  The man who shouted the price was sitting several rows in front of me. His loud voice drew everyone's attention in the auction hall. He proudly turned the sign in his hand to show it to the people around him and said loudly, "I bid 10 million."

  The jade screen with a starting price of 18 million, he only bid 10 million, which is obviously making trouble and being malicious.

  Damn it, I cursed in my heart. It seems that the market price of this fish jade pendant is all hearsay. At the same time, I also took a look at the person who called the price, a middle-aged man with a fat bald head, giving me the first impression that he was a nouveau riche and his quality couldn't be put on stage.

  The auctioneer on the stage should be familiar with this bidding middle-aged bald head, so he said politely: "Sorry, Mr. Lin, your bid is lower than the starting price, so it's invalid."

  The middle-aged man with the surname Lin smiled brightly and said, "Oh, I saw you calling out on stage and no one was paying attention to you, it was quite embarrassing, so I thought I'd help you out. It turns out I was wrong, they're all more valuable the further back the auction items are, looks like the club owner put the valuable things in the wrong position."

  When he mentioned "valuable auction items", he intentionally emphasized his tone, causing the whole room to burst into laughter.

  The auctioneer reluctantly said: "The more precious things are, of course, put at the back for auction. For those who have eyes but no beads, it's all the same wherever they are placed."

  The bald-headed man with the surname Lin suddenly changed his tone to a stern one, loudly questioning: "A precious auction item, why is the starting price so low? Is it really worth 1.8 million and qualified to be placed in the back?"

  The auction item is speechless.

  However, that bald-headed Lin was unyielding and had a sharp tongue.

  "I brought my own appraiser, can't they see that the goods are of poor quality? You use low-end products, starting at a price of less than one million, but the bidding starts at 1.8 million, is this to rely on the reputation of the club to deceive buyers and cheat them out of their money? Or is it intentional to use low-quality works to create hype, deceive everyone's emotions, and attract attention? Whatever your purpose, this behavior is extremely vicious. As a person in the auction industry, I, Lin Dongsheng, despise you. No matter how big the backstage is or who is backing you, you cannot manipulate buyers at will. And you, Chen Tianlong, are known for your discerning eye and have excellent appraisal skills, can't you see that the goods are not worth the price? Has the top appraiser Chen Tianlong become blinded by money, where has his basic professional ethics gone?"

  The words became increasingly severe, from questioning the auction items to the image of the club and finally to Chen Tianlong's personal morality. Chen Tianlong was so humiliated that he couldn't utter a word of rebuttal, his face pale and his hands clutching the table. The emotions of the bidders in the audience were also stirred up, with some jeering, others sneering, some scolding, and some gathering in groups to exchange their contempt for the club and Chen Tianlong... The entire auction was thrown into chaos.

  I took a glance at the thin monkey, seeing everything that was about to happen. I remained exceptionally calm as the surroundings reached their most chaotic point. When Chen Tianlong's whole body trembled so hard he almost fell off the stage, someone raised the sign in his hand and shouted loudly: "I bid 20 million!"

  Hearing this number, I still couldn't help but wipe away sweat and get a little excited. It seems that there are still people who appreciate antiques.

  Because the man's shout was in the front row, I couldn't see what he looked like at all, only saw his back, wearing black clothes, with a head of red curly hair, and I was surprised that it was a woman.

  At this critical moment, he's really showing his style.

  I couldn't help but feel a little curious about that woman, her back figure was particularly enchanting, and I couldn't see her front face which made me itchy, she shouldn't be the type who would scare people to death with one glance.

  Chen Tianlong on the stage was like grasping a straw, pointing at the red-haired woman and shouting repeatedly: "This lady bid 20 million, this lady bid 20 million."

  Everyone in the room suddenly noticed the woman who had called out the price, and the room fell silent once again. The bald-headed man with the surname Lin jumped up like a chicken that had been stung by a wasp, stood up and pointed at the red-haired woman in black clothes, shouting: "Impossible, this is impossible, you must be a shill, this thing is only worth 10 million, definitely."

  Chen Tianlong had regained his composure and said solemnly, "Mr. Lin, please mind what you are saying. You are slandering us without any evidence, we can take legal action against you."

  I secretly smiled to myself, wondering how this bald head would react. Of course, in such a large club, with the background of the boss behind the scenes, he definitely wouldn't be as arrogant as before.

  Only saw the bald head with the surname Lin, his eyes were somewhat cunning, it could be seen that he was a slick guy. Realizing that his previous words had lost their image, he immediately said: "I take back what I just said."

  After finishing speaking, he turned his gaze towards the red-haired woman and said: "Beauty, are you sure you want to spend 20 million to buy this thing?"

  Damn it, at this moment I really want to curse, this person is obviously looking for trouble, and also cut off my financial road. If it weren't in a place where I don't know anyone, I would definitely scold him to death.

  However, the red-haired woman coldly opened her mouth and said, "Are your eyes nearsighted without glasses or is there water in your brain? What's the point of me holding up a sign?"