Chapter 433: Stormy Wealth Accumulation

"I know that over the years, you and Mu Chunsheng have had many frictions, and your opinions on profit distribution are not unified... If he really finishes off our Paradise, he will become the most powerful consortium in this city. Who do you think his next target will be?" Pang Shan’s voice was very calm, as if he were just stating a fact.

Zong Wen pondered for a long time and began to seriously size up Pang Shan.

"How to form an alliance?"

"In the following auction process, we will take turns bidding high prices." Pang Shan’s eyes flashed with sharp light. "For example, starting from the next round, we two will take turns bidding 1.2 million. If Mu Chunsheng wants to win the item, he must write down a number greater than 1.2 million every round! There are over a hundred items in total. No matter how much money Mu Chunsheng has, he can't buy every single one at a high price."

"In other words, among the first fifty items, we two can basically divide the majority of the items evenly. Even if Mu Chunsheng buys twenty items regardless of the cost, and the transaction price is extremely high, under such a burden, he will be unable to compete for the dozens of items that follow... When the number of items in his hands is far less than mine, and he gives up the idea of competing with me, we can control the quantity and price of each other's transactions, allowing my transaction volume to be relatively higher... In this way, I can buy the most items at the lowest possible price."

Zong Wen immediately spoke, "To put it plainly, you just want me to pay for you, right? What good does this do me?"

"We can sign an agreement first. For the next five years, our two consortiums will prioritize cooperation and will never do anything that harms each other's interests. After I gain the Envoy’s friendship, I will use this relationship to promote your relationship with the Envoy... It's equivalent to you spending the least amount of money to be on good terms with the Envoy, just a little later than me."

Zong Wen thought seriously for a long time and shook his head. "Not enough... Besides that, I also want several of your Paradise’s properties in the lower city, including..."

As time passed second by second, the interest games between the consortiums became more heated. The auction war, which originally only involved Beidou and Paradise, now had the other three consortiums gearing up through "vertical and horizontal alliances."

At the same time, dozens of cars stopped at the entrance of the Red Dust Hotel. The subordinates of each family brought boxes upon boxes of silver notes, rushing to the banquet hall, as if they were all racing to send money to Chen Ling.

The five major consortiums gathered the most wealth in the Red Dust main city, and the Red Dust Hotel at this moment was like a blood-sucking octopus in the night, greedily and playfully funneling the wealth of the five major consortiums into it... The banquet hall at this moment had become the center of the storm for the entire Red Dust Domain!

In the busy and gunpowder-filled hall, only one golden mask stood indifferently in the center of the high stage, overlooking the noisy scene below.

Chen Ling’s second purpose for the break was to urge the major consortiums to join forces. After all, if only Beidou and Paradise participated in the bidding, their financial power wouldn't be enough to support frequent high prices, and there wouldn't be much room for behind-the-scenes manipulation. But if all five major consortiums participated, it would be different...

Two people fighting to send him money—how could that be as satisfying as five people fighting to send him money??

As the major consortiums basically reached an agreement and the first batch of funds was basically in place, Chen Ling tapped the table with one hand.

*Thump*—!

A pale lightning bolt streaked across the window behind him, and a low, unquestionable voice rang out slowly:

"The auction continues."

Seeing this, everyone sat back down in their respective positions.

"Item number six, a golden bottle. Please place your bids."

This golden bottle was well-crafted and not light in weight. If it had been before, it could have sold for over 300,000. The directors narrowed their eyes, thought for a moment, and quickly wrote down their prices.

The five sheets of paper were delivered to Chen Ling, who scanned them lightly:

1.4 million, 1.4 million, 1.45 million, 1.55 million, 1.6 million.

It was clear that after the funds were in place and the camps were distinct, the bids of the five major consortiums were much bolder... But for Chen Ling, it was still far from enough.

Chen Ling pulled out a sheet of paper with an expressionless face, displayed it to everyone, and spoke calmly:

"The highest bid for this auction, 2.2 million."

What?!

The five major consortiums were slightly startled. This price was somewhat beyond their expectations... At the first moment, they all began to suspect the other camp, thinking this might be the other side’s bidding strategy, or that after they united, their bidding had become bolder.

The hearts of the five directors began to calculate frantically, pondering what this price meant, while planning their next bidding strategy... For a time, the atmosphere in the hall was incredibly oppressive.

This scene fell into Chen Ling’s eyes, and he naturally laughed inwardly. Now that all five major consortiums had entered the field and had conflicts of interest with each other, it was the best time to manipulate them. As long as Chen Ling wanted, he could influence any director’s bidding strategy through "behind-the-scenes operations."

On the surface, this was a game of financial power and psychology, but in the end, it was just a money-making field played in the palm of Chen Ling’s hand.

"Item number seven..."

Under Chen Ling’s inducement, the price of the seventh item reached as high as 2.25 million, and then basically stabilized at around 2 million. Occasionally, there were some excessively low fluctuations, but Chen Ling no longer deliberately manipulated them, unless the price cooled down below 1.7 million, or if the number of items in one of the two camps was pulled too far apart, he would then intervene to influence the price.

This was a race of financial power. Chen Ling had to ensure that no one fell too far behind; only if they saw the hope of winning would they be willing to continue throwing money.

Items were sold one by one, and the night gradually deepened amidst the heated bidding.

……

Meanwhile,

"Hiss... where is this place?"

In a corner of the street opposite the Red Dust Hotel, Jian Changsheng lifted his head from a trash can, his face full of confusion.

Beside him, Heart 9 also stumbled and fell from a tree branch with a *thump*, his body covered in leaves and soil, looking incredibly disheveled.

"Damn it, that kid threw us at least two kilometers away!"

The two climbed up and patted the dust off their bodies. Jian Changsheng recalled the bizarre event that had just happened and couldn't help but speak:

"What's the deal with that kid? Did the Special Envoy bring a child along?"

"Bring a child? Which child can take me out in one go?!" Heart 9 recalled the space he had fallen into after entering the room, which felt like a funhouse mirror, and that terrifyingly small cannon-like punch. His expression was incredibly ugly.

"That kid has at least Tier 7 strength... No, maybe more, likely Tier 8!"