50: Dragon head of the Chinese zodiac
They had already started visualizing the scene in their minds: a barrage of firepower, and then the opponent, to save their lives, would have their Bodyguards raise their hands in surrender.
And then it would be harvest time; they wanted all the auction items and the people.
At that time, they would take the money and fly away, from then on surrounded by beauties, living life to the fullest.
Living a life of debauchery.
Thinking of this, a yearning smile involuntarily appeared on their faces.
Meanwhile, on the other side!
Wang Shaojun, escorted by his Bodyguards, stepped out of the rolls-royce phantom.
He looked up at the magnificent hotel in front of him, where several security guards in suits stood at the entrance, seemingly checking the incoming guests.
It seemed that the hotel had been booked for the night to host an auction.
When Wang Shaojun and his group entered, just as Butler Wei had said, the security personnel, seeing his demeanor, had no intention of verifying his funds.
Instead, the Bodyguards were stopped and checked for weapons.
After a series of procedures, Wang Shaojun entered the hotel with Butler Wei.
The three Bodyguards returned to the car; with Butler Wei present, they were not too worried about Wang Shaojun's safety.
The auction was held in a large hotel ballroom; upon entering, eighty percent of the people were Caucasians.
There were also many people of East Asian descent, but he didn't recognize any of them; they were the type who were wealthy but not famous.
He casually found a seat, and each seat had a handheld number plate.
Wang Shaojun glanced at the blonde beauty next to him; from a distance, her face was angelic, and her figure was very hot.
But up close, he could clearly see the black spots on her face; although very small, they really detracted from her beauty.
It had to be said that foreigners aged really quickly.
Listening to their conversations, Wang Shaojun was glad his English wasn't too bad; he could understand the general meaning without Butler Wei needing to translate.
After about ten minutes, the number of people entering gradually decreased, and over a hundred people had gathered in the hall, all of them wealthy magnates without exception.
After all, those without money couldn't even get in.
Just then, the screen above the auction stage lit up, and a woman in an evening gown walked onto the stage with a microphone.
The next moment, a beautiful voice emerged, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!"
Then came an opening speech.
Two minutes later, she finally got to the point.
The big screen displayed the first item for auction, a bronze statue that appeared to be an old artifact eroded by time.
Wang Shaojun wasn't particularly interested in such things.
What surprised him slightly was that the starting bid for this item was a million US dollars.
This was just the starting bid; indeed, gold in times of chaos, antiques in times of prosperity.
Not only that, but it eventually sold for three million US dollars.
The next few items' final bidding prices were all at least a million US dollars, with the highest even soaring to over ten million, but none of them interested him; they were all obscure antiques.
He was neither a collector nor did he make money from this, so he naturally had no interest in participating in the bidding.
Just as he was feeling bored, the auctioneer's voice on stage suddenly rose.
And the big screen behind her once again displayed the next item.
Seeing the image on it, Wang Shaojun immediately straightened his body.
He murmured, "How can this thing be auctioned here?"
"Gentlemen from the East, I presume your presence here is due to this artifact, and I believe you are more aware of its value than I am."
"So, without further ado, the next item for auction is the dragon head among the twelve zodiac animal head bronze statues, as shown on the screen. The starting bid is ten million US dollars, and each increment must not be less than one million."
Wang Shaojun never expected to encounter this on his trip.
Most importantly, it was the dragon head.
This item, no matter how he looked at it, had to be acquired.
As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, many people could no longer hold back, and those participating in the bidding included not only people of East Asian descent but also many Caucasians.
They naturally knew the significance of this item to the East, and it was clear they were trying to cause trouble and drive up the price.
In less than three minutes, the price directly soared to thirty million US dollars, a threefold increase.
And there was no sign of stopping; Wang Shaojun didn't rush to bid, but instead observed the situation in the hall.
"Thirty-three million!"
"Thirty-five million!"
"Thirty-seven million!"
"Forty million US dollars!"
... "Eighty million! Stidson, we are determined to get this item. How about we talk after the auction?"
Continuous bidding, all within ten minutes.
The auction price even reached eighty million US dollars, which, when converted, was over five hundred million, and it was still cash flow. Not everyone could come up with such a sum.
The bidder was a middle-aged man of East Asian descent, accompanied by several companions; it seemed they were bidding together.
Unfortunately, the Caucasian man didn't seem to give them any face.
He said disdainfully, "I have nothing to talk about with you. The highest bidder wins. If you don't have the money, just give up."
He then raised his number plate and softly called out, "One hundred million US dollars!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall erupted in an uproar.
"Holy crab! One hundred million US dollars, that's insane! Is this bronze statue really worth that much?"
"You don't understand, the meaning is different. Once you understand it, you'll know why those people from the East are willing to pay such a high price for it."
"That guy Stidson always looks down on people from the East. It's hard to say who will get this artifact."
One hundred million US dollars—more than half of the people present had assets that didn't exceed this amount.
For them, this was already an astronomical price.
"President Wei, one hundred million US dollars is already the limit we can bear. Any higher, and our capital chain risks breaking."
"Alas, there's nothing we can do. We have the will but not the power. One hundred million US dollars is no small sum. That bastard Stidson, we haven't offended him, have we, for him to treat us like this?"
"Alright, now is not the time to talk about this. How about this: I'll bid another ten million. If he still bids, then there's nothing we can do."
Saying this, he raised his number plate and bid again.
"One hundred and ten million."
But before three seconds passed, a familiar voice rang out again, "One hundred and twenty million."
The auctioneer was a little excited; she never expected such a price to be reached.
In her opinion, eighty million was already the peak; one hundred and twenty million US dollars was simply a pleasant surprise.
She looked around at everyone, trying to calm herself down.
"Number 38 has bid one hundred and twenty million US dollars. Is there any higher bid?"