Chapter 99: This Kid Is Not Only Trendy, but Also a Chunibyo

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: This Kid Is Not Only Trendy, but Also a Chunibyo

Rian Sinclair was in no rush to make a bid. She wasn’t particularly interested in this mineral vein, but if she could acquire it within her expected budget, she wouldn’t mind making a move. Although the diamond yield was already known, extraction would be extremely difficult, making a short-term return on investment highly unlikely. The current bid had already surpassed one billion US Dollars, yet people were still raising the price.

Rian pursed her lips and turned her head. "Quentin, send me photos of that island in Babayan Kalechi, including a few of its surrounding area."

Quentin Sinclair nodded, pulled out his laptop, and began to search. The Undercity security only checked for weapons at the entrance; laptops weren’t confiscated. A moment later, information and photos of the island were sent to her phone.

Rian took out her phone and examined the incoming images. The sea was calm, and a mountain range stood squarely in the center of the small island. Her mind raced. She activated her X-ray vision, but without seeing the actual location in person, she couldn’t guarantee the ability would work on a mere image. As expected, she saw nothing hidden. It was just a picture. For some reason, however, an idea began to form in her mind.

Down in the main hall, bidders were still fighting over the price, but once it crossed the three-billion mark, many gradually dropped out. Without a quick return on investment, acquiring the vein meant they might lack the capital to mine it. Liquidating other fixed assets to fund the extraction would leave them with no way out if things went south. The crowd of competitors thinned until only about ten people were actively bidding.

Rian knew it was time to strike. She tapped lightly on her tablet.

To her surprise, the auctioneer’s voice faltered for a second before announcing, "The guests in our two private VIP rooms must have a telepathic connection! Both have bid 3.5 billion. Will anyone else raise the price?"

Sitting in her private room, Rian hadn’t realized that Scott Sutton in VIP Room 1 had also joined the fray. But so be it. It was just a battle of wealth, after all. Scott’s sudden entry intimidated two of the remaining ten bidders into withdrawing, their spots naturally filled by Rian and Scott.

Once a bidder in the hall pushed the price to 4.8 billion, the remaining floor bidders fell silent for a moment, likely weighing their options. Taking advantage of the pause, Scott raised his bid. Rian didn’t counter immediately; she wanted to see if anyone in the hall was still willing to fight.

Hearing the price break past 5 billion, the floor bidders remained completely silent. With Scott entering the mix, they were unsure of how to proceed. Still, the allure of the mineral vein was too great, and someone eventually raised the price again. The bids skyrocketed, exclusively driven by the heavyweights sitting in the front row. After all, developing a mining vein required immense time, energy, capital, and manpower. Smaller companies simply couldn’t handle it.

The auction price now reached 6.9 billion. Only three bidders remained in the hall. Counting the two in the upstairs VIP rooms, five people in total refused to give up on this vein. Those left were all incredibly wealthy. Instead of making incremental raises, they threw in bids hundreds of millions at a time, pushing right up to their limits.

The frantic pace finally slowed when the price hit 15 billion. The two VIP guests were taking their time between bids, waiting for the floor bidders to tap out first. Once the price broke the 20-billion barrier, two floor bidders shook their heads and backed down. The remaining man on the floor thought he had won, only to hear the auctioneer’s voice ring out.

"24.9 billion! Bid goes to VIP Room 1. Any higher takers?" The auctioneer held her gavel in one hand and made an inviting gesture with the other.

The man in the hall stayed silent. Now, Rian slowly entered her bid. The auctioneer steadied herself. "26 billion! VIP Room 2 offers 26 billion."

Rian waited for Scott’s counteroffer. At this point, it was just the two of them fighting for the island. The auctioneer’s voice betrayed a hint of nervousness. After all, the man sitting in VIP Room 1 was her boss, while the guest in VIP Room 2 had been personally invited upstairs by him. She couldn’t help but wonder if the boss was shooting himself in the foot.

As the price soared past the 25-billion mark, many in the hall couldn’t help but shake their heads. Even massive corporations that acquired diamond mines had to go through a long process: extraction, cutting, polishing, advertising, and selling. The time it took to see a return was agonizingly slow. While a typical vein might take twenty to thirty years to fully mine, this massive deposit would likely take over fifty years to empty. Because of this, many weren’t prepared to fight a protracted war.

Lounging lazily on the sofa, Rian finally heard the auctioneer speak. "30 billion! VIP Room 1 bids 30 billion and activates a Privilege Card! Thank you, Demon."

Based on the auctioneer’s words, Rian assumed "Demon" was Scott’s English name. Demon? Tch. This guy wasn’t just edgy; he was full of adolescent cringe. But what exactly did the Privilege Card do again? Whenever Rian had a question, she just asked.

The auctioneer had been standing perfectly poised on stage, waiting for a counter-bid from VIP Room 2, but a long moment passed in complete silence. She struck her wooden gavel for the second time. One more strike, and the lot would go to VIP Room 1. Then, she saw the question pop up on her tablet, and her polite, professional smile nearly cracked. Of all the things she could have anticipated, she never imagined that the esteemed guest in VIP Room 2 had absolutely no idea how the Privilege Card worked. The guest had even assumed it meant she was barred from bidding and had thrown some shade at her boss in the process.

The auctioneer tried her best to keep her voice steady. "The guest in VIP Room 2 seems unclear about the effects of the Privilege Card. If a bidder wishes to continue competing against someone who has activated it, their next bid must increase the price by one hundred times the item’s starting bid."

Hearing the auctioneer’s explanation, Rian’s eyes darkened in thought. What was the starting bid again?

Quentin leaned in. "Miss, the starting bid was 100 million."

Rian nodded. That meant her next bid had to raise the current price by 10 billion. She tapped lightly on her tablet. The auctioneer, realizing VIP Room 2 was submitting a bid, glanced at the number on her screen, took a quick sip of water, and smoothed out her voice.

"50 billion! VIP Room 2 bids 50 billion."

The moment Rian’s price dropped, hushed discussions broke out across the hall. Just how much liquid capital did this person have? Could they have liquidated their fixed assets? If things went wrong, wouldn’t they be ruined?

Resting her chin on her hand, Rian considered the figure. Fifty billion was hovering right around the vein’s total estimated value, which was still within her acceptable range. She just didn’t know if Scott was willing to keep pushing. The total value sat at about 50 billion US Dollars. If rare diamonds were discovered, that value might multiply—but was he willing to gamble on that chance?

Suddenly, Rian’s phone rang. It was an unknown number, but she had a good memory. She recognized it as the number Scott had used when he messaged her about the Privilege Card earlier.

When she answered, Scott’s usually calm and composed voice showed cracks of disbelief. "Rian, are you a degenerate gambler?"

Rian had been fully expecting him to curse her out, only to hear that instead. Tch, how boring. She didn’t even know how foreigners cursed when they were really angry. Did they just drop F-bombs left and right? Just kidding.

"Well, do you dare to gamble?" she replied.

Rian’s words pierced Scott’s ears. He fell into deep thought. Did he dare? His expression remained indifferent. As silence fell over the line, he already knew the answer in his heart.

"Rian, I admire your guts. So, how about we take a trip to Fortune’s Landing together and have some real fun?"

Rian didn’t reply right away. Fortune’s Landing? It was a tempting offer. "Thanks for the suggestion."