Chapter 432: Vertical and Horizontal Alliances

"Pang Shan actually bid 1.5 million on the first item... What exactly is he trying to do?"

This question appeared in the minds of the directors of the Whale Shark, Dinglu, and Huadu consortiums simultaneously... They had originally thought this was just a small-scale auction, mainly to repair their relationship with the Envoy, but now it seemed things were not developing in that direction at all.

This was basically playing with their lives!

The three of them almost instantly thought that it must be Paradise manipulating everything behind the scenes, and that they were targeting Beidou. If that was the case, Mu Chunsheng would certainly not let it go... This great war might have only just begun.

"1.5 million, an unexpected price." Meanwhile, Chen Ling spoke "at the right time," his voice not as chilling as before, even sounding somewhat gentle.

"It seems I misjudged. Among you, there are still those who bring sincerity."

As soon as these words were spoken, the minds of the directors of the major consortiums became active. They glanced at each other secretly while calculating in their hearts whether they should join this "slaughter" without gunpowder.

"The second item, a golden snake eye. Please place your bids." Chen Ling’s voice rang out again.

However, this time, before Chen Ling’s voice had even faded, the Beidou Consortium had already handed in a price Mu Chunsheng had written down long ago. After a moment of hesitation, the other consortium directors also handed theirs in.

800,000, 940,000, 1.05 million, 1.1 million, 1.55 million.

Unsurprisingly, Mu Chunsheng’s bid became the highest of the session... As for the prices of the other consortiums, they were all affected by the price of the first round, each multiplying several times over.

Seeing this, Chen Ling knew his plan had worked.

He had modified the highest bid of the first round, which meant the first item couldn't be sold and was destined to be secretly stuck in his hands. But this price also acted like a bomb, directly detonating the suspicion and competition between the five major consortiums.

The fuse Chen Ling had buried among the five major consortiums had been lit. Next, he only needed to operate slightly to control the entire auction situation. If he wanted, he could even influence the thoughts and emotions of the directors through the details of his design.

Relying on the value of gold itself, no matter how heaven-defying his sales techniques were, how much money could he make?

Only by playing with human hearts could he silently drain their blood and wealth.

"The highest bid for this auction, 1.55 million." Chen Ling announced calmly.

Hearing this, Mu Chunsheng finally leaned back in his chair, sneering at Pang Shan, seemingly in provocation.

Comparing financial power with our Beidou Consortium? Who do you think you are?

As the heart-python spat, Pang Shan was now immersed in unparalleled shock. He felt Mu Chunsheng’s gaze, and his heart sank immediately... Damn it, is his goal to ruin Paradise?!

It made sense; the two families had always been at odds. If Beidou gained power, the first thing they would do was kill their Paradise.

Thinking of this, a look of determination appeared in Pang Shan’s eyes. He pulled his subordinate over, whispered something, and finally looked at Chen Ling on the stage with a dark face, as if waiting for the next round of bidding to begin.

For the third auction, the final transaction price was 1.61 million, won by Pang Shan... As for the Beidou Consortium, their final bid was 1.6 million, still suppressed by ten thousand.

Chen Ling looked at Mu Chunsheng, whose eyes were nearly shooting sparks, and knew the main conflict had been drawn out by him. In reality, this third item was just a pure gold pendant; in terms of value, it was far inferior to the previous golden wine vessel and golden snake eye, worth maybe only seventy or eighty thousand.

But having encountered two major consortiums in heated friction, the value of the item itself was no longer important. In the eyes of the two directors, they were fighting for something much more long-term... And this was the situation Chen Ling wanted to see.

A golden pendant worth over 70,000 sold for 1.61 million—a full 23-fold increase! This terrifying profit was enough to make anyone gasp.

But Chen Ling knew very well that the price couldn't stay at this level forever. Right now, Pang Shan and Mu Chunsheng were both hot-headed. After a while, when they calmed down, the auction price would gradually cool off... Even if the two had enough tacit understanding, they could suppress the price to a level both sides could accept.

Sure enough, the price for the fourth auction was only 1.45 million, finally taken by the Beidou Consortium.

Having won two items in a row at high prices, the silver notes the Beidou Consortium had brought this time were nearly exhausted. Although it wasn't a huge amount of money, it was enough to let Mu Chunsheng’s brain cool down. While urging his men to send money quickly, he stared fixedly at Pang Shan, wondering what he was thinking.

For the fifth auction, Pang Shan seemed to see that Mu Chunsheng was low on cash and took the item for only 1.2 million.

Just when everyone thought Chen Ling would continue to the next round of bidding, Chen Ling said lightly:

"Fifteen-minute break."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the five consortium directors below became colorful, especially Pang Shan and Mu Chunsheng. The two looked at each other, their eyes flashing with sharp light, not knowing what schemes they were both plotting.

This fifteen-minute break was naturally not set by Chen Ling at random. On one hand, he saw that these directors hadn't brought many silver notes to the banquet and needed time to raise funds; only if they had enough financial power could they bid more fiercely later.

As for the other hand... Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

In the hall, Mu Chunsheng had his son push him straight toward Su Xiaohong, the director of the Whale Shark Consortium. Pang Shan, seeing this, had an ugly expression. After a moment of thought, he picked up a glass of red wine and walked slowly toward Zong Wen, the director of the Huadu Consortium.

Zong Wen seemed to see Pang Shan’s intention, his eyebrows raising involuntarily...

"You..."

"Form an alliance?"

"Oh?"

"That guy Mu Chunsheng has gone mad. He wants to solve the biggest threat, Paradise, before he dies of his illness... Since that's the case, I absolutely cannot let him get the Envoy’s help."

"Interesting... But why should I form an alliance with you?" Zong Wen shrugged. "The Huadu Consortium and the Beidou Consortium have cooperated for many years. Strictly speaking, he and I are the allies. If he wants to mess with you, what does that have to do with me?"

"It was you who swapped the sandalwood Buddha. It was you who wanted to use the Envoy’s blade to kill Mu Chunsheng."

"??? No! It wasn't me!"

"Whether it was you or not, right now, he is convinced it was. Otherwise, do you think that with your alliance relationship, he would go to Su Xiaohong first?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zong Wen fell into silence. He looked out of the corner of his eye to the other side; Mu Chunsheng seemed to have reached a preliminary consensus with Su Xiaohong, and his gaze also glanced here involuntarily.