A carefree soldier king in the city

Chapter 211 Bidding

In fact, many foreign governments had already lodged representations with the HX government regarding this issue, hoping that the HX government would return these cultural relics to them. The HX government's response was simple: they were unaware of these foreign artifacts and did not know the veracity of the information, so they were powerless to do anything. Therefore, these countries had no choice but to send representatives to the auction to see for themselves. If they were genuine, they would reclaim what rightfully belonged to them, no matter the cost. These items were true reflections of their countries' early civilization, and they could not easily fall into the hands of others. Of course, these countries had made several preparations.

The auctioneer smiled slightly and said, "Sir, I'm truly sorry, I'm only in charge of the auction for this event, and I know nothing else. Although this artifact belongs to your ancient country A, it's from a hundred years ago. It's perfectly reasonable for someone to have acquired it and put it up for auction now. Ladies and gentlemen, every piece of art in this auction is protected by law. The starting price for this gold mask is eighty million US dollars. The highest bidder wins. Let the bidding begin!"

However, after the auctioneer finished speaking, the entire room fell silent, and no one was willing to make a bid for a long time.

Inside the room, seeing that no one had made a bid yet, Huang Mengting and the others said, "It's extraordinary, but no one dares to take it!"

Chao Bufan smiled slightly and said, "How could such a good thing not be wanted? Someone will make an offer later."

As soon as he finished speaking, the auctioneer picked up his gavel and said, "Since no one else has said anything, let's move on to the next item."

Just as the wooden mallet was raised, ready to strike the table, a voice came from a small room on the second floor: "Eighty-five million US dollars!"

Finally, someone made a bid, and the auctioneer quickly put down his gavel. Almost simultaneously, all eyes in the auction hall turned to the room on the second floor.

With one leader taking the lead, there's no fear of a lack of followers. The auctioneer seized the opportunity and announced loudly, "Eighty-five million taels...eighty-five million taels..."

"Ninety million."

The bid came from an antique enthusiast at the event. After all, this gold mask was ownerless and protected by law, so anyone could bid for it, right? Besides, if the government of the artifact wanted to take it back after the auction, the price would definitely be much higher.

"Ninety-five million!" The voice came from the room on the second floor again.

"One hundred million."

The man from ancient Country A could no longer sit still. He quickly raised the sign in his hand and shouted, "One hundred and fifty million!"

"One hundred and sixty million!"

"One hundred and eighty million!"

"Twenty million!"

The man from ancient Country A bid two hundred million, causing an uproar in the room. Several seconds passed without anyone raising the price further. The auctioneer, with a smile, announced, "Two hundred million... two hundred million..."

"Three hundred million!"

A sound came from a room on the third floor, causing another uproar. Everyone looked up at the third floor again.

All artworks in this event were offered with a reserve price at the time of auction, with no upper limit. Therefore, for most antique enthusiasts participating in this auction, not only were the starting prices prohibitive, but the prices offered by the bidders were also astonishing. After several rounds, the price of this gold mask skyrocketed to 300 million M yuan—an astronomical figure that most antique enthusiasts in HX wouldn't even dare to dream of.

When the man from Country A heard someone bid 300 million, his eyes twitched, and he raised his paddle, shouting angrily, "350 million!"

"Wow!"

The crowd erupted in another uproar, all eyes turning back to the man's face. Some thought, "With such a high price, surely no one will bid higher!" It seemed this man from ancient Country A wouldn't give up until he'd "snatched" their ancient artifacts back!

In another room on the second floor, a voice came through a microphone: "Four hundred and fifty million."

The audience gasped once again, many looking up in disbelief. If someone had already bid such a high price for the very first artwork, what would happen to the artworks that followed? This seemed to be an unprecedented auction.

The anger on the man's face from the ancient country A intensified considerably. He was carrying out a national mission, how could he return empty-handed? He had already sat down, but he stood up again and held up a sign, indicating, "Six hundred million... six hundred and fifty million."

Instead of the expected commotion, the entire venue fell strangely quiet.

On the third floor, in the room where Chao Bufan was, Huang Mengting and the others all showed surprise and delight. Even Xiao Guitou, Bailing, and Baihe, who had returned, were watching the bidding frenzy intently, overjoyed.

Chao Bufan, looking quite ambitious, laughed and said, "Six hundred and fifty million US dollars, hmm, that's about right. If I bid any higher, I'm afraid I'll be shooting myself in the foot."

He quickly sent a telepathic message, saying, "This price is acceptable; don't raise it any higher."

It was unclear who he was talking to, but the room fell silent. Half a minute later, the auctioneer announced loudly, "Six hundred and fifty million once... six hundred and fifty million twice... six hundred and fifty million three times... sold."

"Snapped!"

The wooden mallet slammed heavily on the table, marking the perfect end to the bidding for the golden mask. The man from Country A, finally having won an item from his own country, breathed a sigh of relief, a smug smile spreading across his face. He quickly whispered a few words to a companion beside him, who then got up and left. Clearly, he was going to pay.

With the first artwork sold perfectly, the auctioneer clicked on the monitor again, and the second artwork to be auctioned was then displayed to the audience.

The second item up for auction was a crown.

The auctioneer slowly began, “This is an imperial crown that was specially made for the emperor of a certain empire three thousand years ago. I believe that everyone here is already familiar with this item, so I will not elaborate further. The starting price is 500 million M yuan, and the highest bidder wins.”

When the image of the artwork was displayed, the entire audience was stunned, but no one uttered a sound.

It's clear that this radiant crown is incredibly expensive. Made of pure gold and adorned with rubies, emeralds, and thousands of diamonds of all sizes, it's priceless in itself, and a price tag of 500 million US dollars wouldn't be unreasonable.

"Five hundred and fifty million," a man from country Y called out, raising his bidding paddle.