Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 297: For Your Majesty (112)

Dragon Raja 5

Zero fell silent, scribbling on the paper. Everyone listened to the sound of the pencil scraping against the paper, waiting.

She had been scribbling and drawing since the auction started, and no one knew what she was recording. Perhaps she was noting the order of the bids, or perhaps she was calculating the cash she could access.

Only Lu Mingfei knew that Zero was drawing shadows on the comic book version of “The Last Supper,” and the air was so hot it felt like it was about to catch fire, but she insisted on finishing the little comic book before speaking.

“Your Highness Romanova,” Bunin cleared his throat, “if you are not prepared to continue bidding, item number three will belong to Mr. Semyon.”

Zero finally finished. After drawing the shadows, she added two small halos to Semyon and Mikhail’s heads and showed the drawing to Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei hadn’t figured it out yet when Zero sighed, “I give up.”

The dramatic turn of events stunned everyone. Wasn’t it about the dignity of the Tsarist family? Wasn’t it about not allowing themselves to lose anything? The speed at which they gave up was as swift as that of a pragmatic Italian.

“Three hundred and fifty million US dollars once, three hundred and million US dollars twice, three hundred and fifty million US dollars three times. The winner of the net is Mr. Semyon.” As Bunin’s gavel fell, the girl carrying box number three walked up behind Semyon.

To Lu Mingfei’s surprise, the hard-won winner remained silent, as did his ally Mikhail.

Bunin clapped his hands lightly, and the door behind him opened, revealing another passageway with scarlet walls.

“Take a one-hour break. VIPs who need to exchange chips can use this time to discuss. Of course, for those who want to drink and relax, the service here will be even better than above.”

Guided by the waiters, the guests passed through a passageway into a new space, the air-raid shelters of City 023, which were interconnected like a spider web. While the air-raid shelters were not as spacious as the venues above ground, they were still fully equipped with spirits, sofas, and lounges.

Most of the guests looked somber. The price of the third item was an unusually high point, which meant that the competition would be even fiercer. It was unclear how many of them would perish before the next winter without this item.

“Their goal was off-exchange trading,” Zero whispered as they walked down the corridor.

Lu Mingfei paused for a moment, then shook his head to indicate that he didn’t understand.

“They bid low for the goods and then sell them to those who couldn’t buy them at a higher price outside the auction hall,” Zero said. “For some people, the contents of those boxes are a lifesaver; for others, they’re there to make money. They know there won’t be enough stock this year.”

How did you figure that out?

“It’s unlikely that both of them needed the goods, but they continued to bid after bidding on the first item. A reasonable explanation is that they were trying to drive up the price of subsequent transactions. They bought the item for $145.5 million, and if the subsequent transaction price was much higher than that, that would be their off-exchange reserve price.”

“So they didn’t really want to buy second item, they just wanted to be shills.” Lu Mingfei realized.

“They probably didn’t have the money to buy a second one, but those two are good actors; they’ve been pretending the whole time. I’ve looked into their backgrounds, and both of them have run into some business problems, so they probably can’t afford that much money.”

“Bunin can see the balance; if he doesn’t have enough money, why would he let those two continue bidding?”

“The money on the card may not actually be their money; it could be borrowed at exorbitant interest rates,” Zero said casually. “According to the practices of the financial black market, without sufficient collateral, lending them US dollars and depositing them into an anonymous account at a Zurich bank can result in interest rates as high as 30 per day.”

Lu Mingfei understood, “But you made them take their charade for real.”

“The Romanov family’s involvement made them feel they could push the price to new highs. When Semyon offered $350 million, he was certain I would continue to buy, or even offer a price as high as $400 million,” Zero said. “The two greedy guys set up a brilliant scheme, but they got themselves into their own trap.”

What if they refuse to accept your offer of 300 million?

“Then buy it. Three hundred million is nothing to me.” Zero shrugged.

Lu Mingfei thought about it and realized it was indeed an overwhelming attack. From the moment the game started, Semyon was already a beast in a cage, while Zero stood outside the cage, watching him struggle.

He suddenly remembered what the little devil once said: in the face of true power and strength, trickery is nothing more than a clown’s performance.

“So you don’t need to worry. If you want to save Miss Christina, you don’t necessarily have to buy that thing on the market. There are at least two that will be traded off-market,” Zero said calmly. “Those two guys are in a hurry to sell the goods right now. Unsecured loans on the black market are charged on an hourly basis. Every hour they delay, they will receive an exorbitant bill.”

Lu Mingfei was stunned. Zero’s scheme against Semyon and Mikhail wasn’t just for fun; it was because she already knew Lu Mingfei’s plan and had paved the way for him.

“I’m going to the restroom, you know what to do.” Zero patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder and turned to leave.

Just as Zero had predicted, as soon as they left the venue, Semyon and Mikhail dragged the monk-like Gregory into a lounge and locked the door.

Lu Mingfei, who had been pondering things, was now completely relaxed. He walked to the bar, ordered a glass of wine, and slowly sipped it while waiting for Semyon and the others to finish talking with Gregory.
Even if Gregory buys one of them, he’ll leave one for Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei can afford the price of 350 million, and even raising it to 400 million wouldn’t be a problem. He’s a rare big spender at this auction, and Semyon and Mikhail have no reason not to sell to him.

Anyway, the money came from Bunin and his daughter, and it had nothing to do with him.

He drank cup after cup, and when he got to the third cup, Lu Mingfei became alert; it seemed like he had been waiting for too long. Lu Mingfei pushed the door open, but it remained locked, and the haggling inside seemed far from over. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed blood seeping from under the door.

“Someone come here!” Lu Mingfei roared.