“Everyone please be quiet. The bidding for the golden chain will officially begin with a starting price of one million gold coins! Additional bids must be at least ten thousand gold higher.”
In real life, with one million dollars you could buy a luxury car or even a house, but in the game world one million was this piece of equipment’s starting price. This sort of starting bid clearly revealed the disparity in wealth between players. Before they opened the Money Exchange System, everything was fair in the Mystic Moon world. Everyone chose different paths but they all started from the same starting point. Once the concept of money was introduced, Mystic Moon became the same as the real world, in that everything was now controlled by the rich. For the rich, they could casually spend what was a normal person’s entire life’s income on an item that could allow them to reign over everyone else. They could establish a team for their own command. They could make crowd after crowd of men and women follow them. All of this would not be happening without the power of money.
In this world, or any other world, there would never really be a sense of fairness. For those affluent people, the price that Lord Fortune shouted was unbelievably low. For all those wealthy people, it was merely a number.
‘One million and two hundred thousand dollars!!”
“One million and three hundred thousand dollars!”
“One million three hundred and thirty thousand dollars!”
……
……
As expected, as soon as Lord Fortune called out the price, the whole auction hall was flooded with bidding calls. The competition was even fiercer than before when the Cursed Earring was being auctioned. Then again, the Cursed Earring was only useful for players of Magic Profession. This Gold grade Lunar Chain, on the other hand, was precious to players of any profession.
Even with a bottom price as high as one million gold coins, there were still so many people bidding for it. The people watching from outside were shocked as there were simply too many rich people, who they would normally never be able to meet, gathered in one place…… And then there were those who were even richer still, for instance…
“Ten million!”
Just as the price had reached two million, a woman’s voice calmly echoed through the auction hall. The quiet voice made the noisy room go silent in just a matter of seconds. The person who had called out her bid slowly put down her auction paddle. To be able to call out a bid of 10 million, there was hardly anyone else in China who had the ability to do that.
The Loulan Queen — Li Xiao Xue! Her bid caused many people to suck in a breath of cold air. And almost everyone put down their auction paddles.
Li Xiao Xue hadn’t been a part of the virtual world for long. However in just a few years, she had made a name for herself. It didn’t matter what kind of auction it was, as long as she was there, no one had ever stopped her from getting what she wanted.
There were many wealthy families in China, however the Li family was the richest of the rich. There was a rumour that the Li financial group controlled nearly half of the wealth in China, although it was entirely plausible that the rumour had been fabricated or exaggerated. Regardless, it was clear that the Li family had an undeniably powerful position in China’s economy.
This was every player’s nightmare… The big miss of the Li family apparently wanted this item, and so had begun to bid for it.
As soon as she got involved, there was no other way for anyone else to beat her. Even the Yan Huang Alliance’s Long Tian Yun would not be able to beat her,
“To be able to yell out ten million… No matter how rich her family is, she shouldn’t be so corrupted! It’s such a waste of money. No matter how much money she has, if she spends it like this, she’ll go bankrupt.” Ling Chen said as he rubbed his head……However, he was quite excited- the ten million that the big miss of the Li family had just yelled out would be going straight into his account!
Ten million gold coins!!
“No, actually, exactly the opposite.” Beside him, Yun Meng Xin shook her head, “Even though Li Xiao Yun spends money like it’s nothing, she definitely isn’t spoiled. It’s just the way she likes to get things done. No time wasted and no need to negotiate. She never wastes her family’s money and not only that, but she is actually a business genius. Li Xiao Xue was involved in operating and managing the Li financial group since she was fifteen. Five years after, the Li financial group’s total revenue was multiplied by five times. And it was because of her, The Yun Family lost its ability to sit alongside the Li Family.
“Twelve million!”
However the bidding didn’t cease completely after Li Xiao Xue’s involvement. A tall, tanned, middle aged man called out an unbelievable high price. He turned towards Li Xiao Xue and nodded, “I am the guildmaster of the Black Flames Alliance. I’m very fond of this chain, if the Loulan Queen can pain herself to let me have this chain, I will forever remember…”
“Thirty million!”
Pfft…
Ling Chen spat out the tea in his mouth.
The Black Flames Alliance was one of the ten most powerful guilds in China and its guildmaster was also no ordinary person. Even Long Tian Yun wouldn’t dare to take his words lightly. Yet Li Xiao Xue hadn’t spared him a single glance and before Hei Yan Lie Feng could finish his sentence, the price had already risen to thirty million. Li Xiao Xue called out the price without even blinking. It was as if this insanely large amount of money was worth hardly anything to her.
The players became chaotic, both inside and outside the auction hall. Li Xiao Xue never gave anyone face and she didn’t need to. The guildmaster of the Black Flames Alliance’s froze in his place. He knew that he wouldn’t stand a chance competing with the Loulan Queen. He stared at the gold chain on the screen for a while, then decided to carry on, “Thirty three…”
“Fifty million!”
Wha…
The number shook the crowd.
He was rendered speechless after hearing Li Xiao Xue’s two words and didn’t even bother finishing his own sentence. This was the Loulan Queen. The Li financial group’s precious daughter. She rarely appeared in the public, and usually didn’t talk much. Nevertheless, she could make anyone go silent with just a few words, no matter how high-powered they were. The people of the higher society had always wondered who this extraordinary, legendary woman would marry.
As for the Yan Huang Alliance, they did not even bother offering a price despite how keen they were for the gold chain. They knew that there was no point in trying to compete with the Loulan Queen.
Fifty million, done and dusted. Since there was no one who would pay that much for a Lunar Chain besides Ms Li.
“Fifty million once!”
“Fifty million twice!”
“Fifty million third and final time!”
Fifty million for goodness sake! Lord Fortune’s whole body trembled uncontrollably. He knew that the golden chain would definitely be sold at an exorbitant price, however, he’d never dreamt that anyone would pay fifty million for it. Although Lord Fortune had experienced many unthinkable episodes in his life, he was still shocked by the unthinkable price.
“S… Sold!! Congratulations to you young lady! This priceless treasure now belongs to you. Believe me, you will never regret the decision you made!”
This fifty million dollar deal was now officially closed.
“Big brother… Big brother, your heart is beating so fast all of a sudden. Are you okay?” Shui Ruo had been leaning on Ling Chen and realised that his heartbeat was abnormally paced. She pressed her small palm onto his chest and asked worriedly.
“It’s okay, I’m fine. I think I drank way too much tea.” Ling Chen quickly shook his head… fifty million, that’s FIFTY MILLION! How could he stay calm! If it weren’t for his strong mental capacity, he would’ve been screaming and roaring by now. Cash cow! An absolute cash cow! I must become friends with the big miss Li, Even if it meant that I must give my body. Ah… Ling Chen clenched his fist tightly, and thought to himself.
He never doubted that after this auction, the money he earned would be more than enough to pay back the Azure Dragon Mayor. However he never would have thought that he could earn fifty million gold coins with just a golden chain. He was literally now an ultra millionaire!
“So, are you guys close with Miss Li?” Ling Chen turned around asking the girls. Yun Meng Xin was the daughter of the Yun financial group, Xiao Qi was the princess of the Battle Alliance and Su Er was the daughter of the Mayor of Beijing. Each of them came from an exceptional background. Though the upper class wasn’t small, it wasn’t big either. There would’ve been many chances for them to meet Li Xiao Xue.
“We’ve met a few times, but we don’t know each other very well. After all, the Li family’s power was mainly focused in the South, whereas we are centred more on the North side,” Yun Meng Xing answered.
“Er, I’ve only met Li Xiao Xue once, but we didn’t speak. Big Brother Ling Tian, is there a chance that you… fancy her? Well I guess she’s got a great figure, she’s undoubtedly beautiful and she’s extremely rich. I don’t see any reason a man wouldn’t fall for her.” Xiao Qi chuckled, moving closer towards Ling Chen.
Ling Chen laughed dryly.
“Oh no no no, of course not!” Ling Chen denied, “I was just curious, that’s all. I can never be worthy of such a person.”
“No way!” Xiao Qi rebutted, “Big Brother Ling Tian you’re so powerful. If one day you bested the Sword Emperor and became first on the Heaven Rankings, there will be no girl out of your league in the whole of China.”
Ling Chen didn’t reply. An hour later, he pulled out his communication device and without anyone knowing, sent a secret message, “Gui Ya, I want anything you can find regarding the Loulan Queen, the more the better. Give it to me three in three days.”
Below, the auction continued. “Right now it’s already eleven a.m. With nine unique items already sold, the auction today is truly ardent and exciting. Later on, we will take a short break. Might as well listen to some relaxing music and have some rest. After the break, we will present to you the real surprise of this auction. Please do not go away.” Lord Fortune finished speaking and glided backstage. At the same time, calm and peaceful music sounded throughout the auction hall, soothing everyone’s chaotic heart.
The whole auction hall went quiet, the silence before the storm. Everyone knew what the final surprise would be but still, no one left. Even if someone were to chase after them with a stick, they would not step one foot out of this building.
Did you know? If all of our readers clicked just one Adf.ly button every day, there would be at least one bonus chapter every week!