There's a folk saying that describes extravagant spending: "spending money like water."
I feel like I'm not just spending money like water, but like the Huangguoshu Waterfall.
I've only ever seen such a huge sum as one billion yuan before today, when I was visiting my grandfather's grave.
Even though I'm the one shouting this number out, it still feels incredibly unreal.
My plan today is very clear: to lure Qu Xuelin out through the auction, then take down the "King of Hell" and force him to come to me.
As for how to win the auction, that's quite simple.
The Jiang family's Tianxia Group is incredibly wealthy, and for Jiang Man, the eldest daughter of the Tianxia Group, obtaining billions in loans here would be no problem at all.
So no matter how much money we spend to buy the "King of Hell's Tumor," as long as we expose that it's a fake, we can get our money back without any loss.
Although I had mentally rehearsed the events several times, my heart still pounded wildly when the amount of 1 billion was actually announced.
This stunned even myself, let alone number four.
Even the host on stage was stunned for a couple of seconds when he heard my bid. He's a man of the world, so he wasn't just shocked by the number. He probably didn't expect me to raise the price so dramatically: "Number 52 bids one billion! One billion for the first time!"
Number Four's arrogance vanished instantly: "Ten billion ten million!"
Hearing that offer, I knew that one billion was his target price. Seeing that he had lost the courage to continue the fight, I decided to cut my losses quickly: "One billion!"
"Dude, does your family print money? How can you bid like that?"
The middle-aged man next to me was completely shocked: "If you have money to burn, why donate some to me? We don't need to throw it away like this!"
I ignored the middle-aged man's nagging and instead focused on number four at the very front.
"Number 52 bids 1.2 billion! 1.2 billion for the first bid! 1.2 billion for the second bid! 1.2 billion for the third bid! Sold!"
"Thump!"
As the auctioneer brought down the gavel, the auction of the "King of Hell's Tumor" came to an end. This fake, which we made for 20 million, eventually changed hands again for 1.2 billion.
In fact, there are many such cases in the antique trade. Some people use fake antiques to go through auctions, spend hundreds of millions of yuan to buy the items back, and then after a period of time, they sell them at half price or 30% off, citing cash flow problems.
Buyers who acquire antiques at low prices naturally think they've gotten a great deal, but in reality, it's all a trap.
After we won the bid, a staff member came up to Jiang Man and politely said, "Madam, congratulations on successfully winning the bid. Please come with me backstage for the handover."
Hearing what the other person said, I lowered my voice and said to Jiang Man, "After you get the things, wait for me backstage. I'll go check out that Number Four's background."
After the auction ended, everyone began to leave. I greeted Jiang Man and quickly walked towards the crowd, my eyes fixed on the figure of number four.
The entrance to the auction house was behind us, but Number Four walked towards the auction stage, which made him stand out because he was going against the crowd.
Most of the people attending the auction wore masks to avoid revealing their identities, which made it easier for me to hide my identity.
I had just made my way through the crowd and spotted him when he walked into a small passageway next to the stage.
As I watched the other person disappear, I couldn't help but frown.
Why is this guy going backstage?
Could it be that Fengmen Village also knew that the "King of Hell's Tumor" was valuable, so they arranged for a shill to be planted there?
But that doesn't make sense at all, because the way this guy raised the price just now didn't seem like a coordinated effort.
With that thought in mind, I quickly followed, but as soon as I got close, a man with a holster on his waist blocked my way: "Sir, I'm sorry, you can't go through here!"
I pointed to the passageway: "Why can't we go in? I clearly saw someone else go in just now!"
The man looked at me coldly: "This is the VIP passage, and you do not have VIP status. Please step back!"
I glanced at the other person's holster and at Number Four, who had disappeared down the corridor, and gritted my teeth in resentment.
Before I could say anything, a hand was placed on my shoulder, and then the man smiled and said, "Sorry, this is our first time in Fengmen Village, and we don't know the rules here!"
When I saw Wang Qing arrive, I stepped aside with him and said, "The situation is not quite what I expected. We can't get in through the passage these guys are using!"
Wang Qing remained noncommittal: "I've already been keeping an eye on that Number Nine, but I don't know if he's one of Qu Xuelin's men."
"That number nine is closer to the VIP passage, how did you manage to keep an eye on him?"
Before Wang Qing could answer, I noticed Jiang Man, led by a staff member, also walking in that direction: "There's still a chance, I'll go in and take a look first."
"etc!"
Wang Qing grabbed my hand and handed me a bottle about the size of a thumbnail. He said quickly, "Find a way to sprinkle this stuff on that guy. As long as he gets this on him, I can find him."
Seeing that Jiang Man was about to enter the passage, I took the bottle and followed her. This time, with the people from Fengmen Village leading the way, the guard didn't say anything and let us in.
Behind the auction was a large, luxuriously decorated space, with display cases filled with all sorts of snacks, wines, and drinks.
At the far end of the hall is the area for collecting auction items.
When I arrived at the back hall, many people had already left. Apart from those who stayed to collect their auction items, there were also some guests eating and resting.
I looked around and saw that everyone in the hall was dressed in the same clothes and wearing the same mask. I couldn't tell whether Number Four was still there.
After verifying her identity, Jiang Man quickly brought back the "King of Hell": "So, did you find him?"
I shook my head: "I haven't had any contact with that number four, nor have I paid attention to any physical characteristics of him. Besides, he has a normal build, so it would be difficult to find him among these people."
Just as I was worrying about what to do, someone suddenly walked up to me and politely said, "Friend, I see that you have acquired the auction item, Yama's Tumor. May I have the honor of seeing it?"
Hearing the other person's voice, a feeling of joy immediately welled up in my heart.
You search high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly!
Unexpectedly, before I could even go to find the other party, this number four was already waiting for us here.
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