hsntnovel Chapter 60: The Deception Was Clearly Understood
Chapter 60: The Deception Was Clearly Understood
*Smack!*
As the hammer fell, the host excitedly congratulated them: "Congratulations to Mr. Lionel, Mr. David, Mr. Fahad and Mr. Ma for winning the bid for the Mech All-Domain Energy Diversion and Stabilization System for 115 billion."
The next item up for auction is also one of the core technologies of the mecha: a fully enclosed life support system.
This system is the core technology for ensuring the survival of mech pilots. It includes a complete set of modular technologies such as fully enclosed airtight design, oxygen supply circulation, temperature control, radiation protection, and long-term standby survival, which can ensure the long-term survival of pilots in extreme environments such as space, high temperature, low temperature, and radiation.
There are four slots available, with a starting price of 1 billion international currency, and each bid must be at least 10 million international currency.
No sooner had he finished speaking than David immediately raised his paddle and bid, "120 billion."
"121 billion / 125 billion".
Lionel and David simultaneously raised their paddles to bid, one beaming with excitement, the other looking pale and radiant.
Because it was Lionel who coined the figure of 121 billion.
Unsurprisingly, Starlink's Ma and David ranked first and second with 130 billion and 127 billion respectively.
Lionel then glared at Lee Jae-hyuk and Yamada Tatsuhiko, warning them not to bid.
However, while Lionel stopped Lee Jae-hyuk and Yamada Tatsuhiko, he couldn't stop another person from entering.
Mohammed Reza Khamenei Farshichian slowly raised his paddle and calmly bid, "131 billion."
Mohammed Reza Khamenei Farshichian, president of the Saadat Holding Group in Iraq, is responsible for coordinating the family's and the country's secret overseas assets, circumventing restrictions on capital flows imposed by international sanctions, and procuring high-end technology and military equipment for the family and the country.
That's why no one was surprised that Reza would have funds involved; even Lionel ignored him and simply raised his paddle to bid, "132 billion."
"133 billion, 134 billion, 135 billion."
As expected, David, Fahad, and Starlink all placed their bids. Then, everyone's attention turned to Reza, to see if he would follow suit this time.
After pondering for a moment with his eyes lowered, Reza raised his paddle again with a playful expression and bid, "150 billion!"
After saying that, Reza looked at Lionel with a provocative expression, which blocked Lionel's airway that he had just managed to clear.
Because Reza's maximum available funds are only around 150 billion.
Therefore, Lionel either has to give up the bidding or increase the cost by another 30 billion.
For Reza, either he could acquire a core mech technology, or he could take advantage of Lionel's misfortune and cause him trouble; either way, he would be making a profit.
After all, the reason why Iraq was sanctioned internationally was because of the Squid Group's machinations: after the establishment of Israel in 1948, the Squid Group lobbied the United States to fully support Israel's unification of the West Asian heartland, while the Anglo-Saxon Group valued the oil interests in the West Asian heartland and opposed offending the entire West Asian heartland for Israel's sake.
As for the other three...
Fahd and David clearly had other deals with Zhou Luming, so they didn't care whether the cost was a few billion more or less.
As for Starlink, it can be summed up in two words: rich!
Faced with a choice between saving face and securing the prize, Lionel ultimately gritted his teeth and chose the option that was most important to them, raising his paddle with a determined look and declaring, "151 billion."
"..."
After a brief pause, the host proceeded with the scheduled inquiry: "Mr. Starlink Ma, Mr. Fahad, Mr. David, do you all need to purchase the technology?"
"Um."
After the personnel were confirmed, the host began the countdown: "10, 9, 8... 2, 1, bang~ Congratulations to Mr. Lionel, Mr. David, Mr. Fahad and Mr. Ma for winning the bid for the fully enclosed life support system for 151 billion."
The next item up for auction is also one of the core technologies of mecha: heavy-duty hydraulic and electric hybrid driving technology.
This system is the core technology for mecha locomotion, including a dual-mode switching scheme, a flat-ground silent cruise algorithm, wartime burst heavy-load dash control logic, and gait adaptive algorithm source code.
There are four slots available. Because this technology is the core of mecha core technologies, the starting bid is 10 billion international currency, and each bid must be at least 100 billion international currency higher.
"..."
Starlink Horse waited a moment and realized that Lionel and the others didn't want to be the first to bid, so he was the first to raise his paddle and bid: "160 billion."
Now that Starlink has stepped forward, Fahad also chimed in, saying, "170 billion."
"..."
David and Lionel exchanged a glance, and then David raised his paddle and bid, "180 billion."
"Phew~"
Lionel breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw David make the first bid, and then raised his paddle to bid, "190 billion."
However, the next second, Fahad turned to Reza and said with a smile, "Reza, I'll lend you 50 billion without interest, you can pay it back within three years."
As expected, after Fahd finished speaking, Reza immediately raised his paddle and bet everything: "200 billion."
"This is blatant price gouging!"
Lionel suddenly stood up, glaring angrily at Zhou Luming, who was secretly broadcasting live to Guo Yi and the others from the corner: "Zhou Luming, you..."
"First of all, I did not stipulate that you cannot lend money to each other during the auction."
Before Lionel could finish speaking, Zhou Luming stood up and interrupted, "Secondly, you don't have to buy it; I'm not forcing you to."
Finally, threatening the organizers or anyone else in any way is strictly prohibited; otherwise, the auction will be cancelled and all transactions will be void.
"..."
Lionel swayed slightly in anger, then raised his head slightly and sat down, feigning composure...
If Zhou Luming were to find an excuse to cancel the auction and void all transactions, he would offend everyone, including the rest of the Squid Consortium.
So he could only sulk and secretly pray that Starlink would give up.
Unfortunately, this area is not under Yahweh's jurisdiction, so Starlink Ma unsurprisingly raised his paddle and bid: "210 billion."
"240 billion, 250 billion."
As expected, Fahad and David once again occupied second and third place, pushing Lionel to fourth. Then, David imitated him and said to Reza with a smile, "Reza, I'll also lend you 60 billion without interest, and you can pay it back within three years."
"..."
Reza gave David a deep look, gave him a slight, open nod, and then raised his paddle to bid: "260 billion."
Starlink didn't give Lionel a chance to look at him, immediately raising his paddle and bidding, "270 billion."
"Phew~"
Lionel let out a heavy sigh, then changed his tune and shouted out a high price: "350 billion."
"..."
David and Fahad exchanged a glance, first announcing their respective prices, and then saying to Reza separately, "105 billion in interest-free loans, to be repaid within five years."
Reza nodded and raised his paddle again, bidding, "360 billion."
"370 million."