564: Fundraising

Listening to Martin's words, Li Yang was silent for a moment, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest as his mind raced.

Let's try it first.

Anyway, even if he didn't win it in the end, the money wouldn't disappear into thin air; at most, it would just be a moment of false excitement.

Once this thought emerged, it was like it took root in his heart, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

"Alright."

Li Yang finally nodded, a flicker of determination in his eyes.

"Then let's try."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately opened his personal light screen and brought up the encrypted communication channel with the Blue Star Management Department.

"It's me, Li Yang."

He was concise.

"Transfer all available funds, including the operating funds for daily expenses, every star coin that can be moved, not a single one left behind."

The person on the other end was clearly startled by his words. After a brief silence, a cautious confirmation came through.

"Captain Li Yang, are you sure you want to transfer all liquid funds? If so, the projects on the three planets might be affected, and the profits for the subordinates..."

"I'm sure."

Li Yang's tone was unequivocal.

"The projects can be temporarily slowed down. I'll find a way to compensate them later. Now, transfer it immediately."

"Understood."

As the communication ended, Martin wasn't idle either.

He kept his word, directly transferring all the funds he could use, including the reserves for maintaining asset operations, into Li Yang's account.

In less than half a minute, a series of transfer notification sounds rang out densely on Li Yang's light screen.

[Transfer received: 230,000,000 star coins]

[Transfer received: 150,000,000 star coins]

[Transfer received: 420,000,000 star coins]

The numbers kept jumping, and with the 100 million funds prepared earlier, it finally stopped at a heart-pounding figure—900,000,000 star coins.

Li Yang looked at the string of numbers, but he knew very well that a large portion of it wasn't his own money.

Martin's entire fortune, plus all the funds from the management departments of the three planets, had almost been drained by him in one go.

The truly personal funds belonging to him were only a little over 200 million.

"This is my entire Family fortune on the line, you know."

Martin looked at him and smiled, without a hint of regret.

"If you really manage to bid for it, you'll owe me a big favor."

Li Yang gave a wry smile.

"We'll see, you never know..."

Just then, a detail he had overlooked suddenly flashed through his mind.

Wait—

After paying off the planetary loan, the Imperial Supreme Bank seemed to have given him a new credit notification.

He quickly brought up the bank's light screen interface and found that line among the dense terms.

[Special Credit Limit: 1,000,000,000 star coins]

[Maximum repayment period 200 years, 0 interest]

[Remarks: No usage restrictions]

Li Yang was stunned for a moment, then reacted.

This meant he could still use a loan of a full one billion star coins.

In this way, his total available funds instantly soared from 900 million to nearly two billion star coins.

This figure was already enough to make him an undeniable competitor in any Auction.

Li Yang slowly clenched his fist, his gaze returning to the 'Flawless Enhancement Potion' quietly suspended on the Auction stage.

Two billion star coins... perhaps he really could win this potion.

On the stage, the host's voice had already broken the brief silence.

"Venue 62, VIP 331, bids three hundred million star coins!"

As soon as the words fell, the numbers on the light screen instantly refreshed, and the previously calm Auction hall became restless.

"Venue 1335, VIP 45, bids four hundred million star coins!"

The bidding speed was astonishingly fast, as if the shocking starting price earlier was an insignificant number.

Seeing this, Li Yang took a deep breath, lightly tapped his fingertip on the light screen, and brought up the bidding interface.

He glanced at the current highest bid, four hundred million star coins, then quickly calculated his total available funds in his mind, and finally typed a new number into the input box.

"Confirm bid."

Almost at the same time, the host's slightly excited voice rang out again.

"Venue 999, VIP 115, bids—eight hundred million star coins!"

At this, the entire Venue 999 seemed to have been muted.

Eight hundred million.

The number itself wasn't enough to cause despair, but the key was this:

It appeared too early.

Normally, for an item of this caliber, the initial bidding would slowly test the waters between one hundred million and two hundred million, and then gradually increase.

But Li Yang's move, directly raising from four hundred million to eight hundred million, doubling it, was akin to dropping a giant rock into a calm lake.

Immediately, except for the areas where the two Champions were located, which remained calm, everyone in Venue 999 almost simultaneously looked in Li Yang's direction.

"Oh my god, I never thought he could come up with so much money!"

"Indeed, I just asked my Family, and we can only mobilize up to one billion star coins at most; any more would affect the normal operation of the Family's assets. I never thought someone without Family support could come up with so much money..."

Whispers rose and fell throughout Venue 999, and many people looked at Li Yang with shock and curiosity.

These people, who had met Li Yang once, had secretly looked up his information before the Auction began.

Although some confidential information was blocked by the Imperial authorities, basic information could still be easily retrieved.

Originally from a planet.

Not a native citizen of the Empire.

No prominent Family background.

Although his industries developed rapidly, within the Empire's vast commercial landscape, they could only be considered an emerging force.

For such a person, under normal circumstances, being able to produce one or two hundred million star coins for an Auction would already be quite astonishing.

But now, he started with eight hundred million.

What did this mean?

It meant that either there was an unknown, massive capital chain hidden behind him, or he had truly put all his Family assets, even at the cost of overdrawing future development, into this one potion.

"Originally from a planet, not a native of the Empire, no Family support, and he alone can come up with so much money..."

Someone murmured in a low voice, filled with complex emotions: envy, shock, and a hint of indescribable awe.

"Could this be money he acquired through abusing his public office?"

In a corner, someone whispered, cautiously throwing out a guess.

As soon as these words came out, they immediately drew dissatisfaction from a companion nearby. "You're overthinking it. Didn't you see his profile? He's the initiator of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Department, politically clean as a sheet of white paper, not a single stain. His money most likely came from his three planets. Haven't you heard of Blue Star? It's basically full of human citizens, and tourism is very popular."