Chapter 45: Watch Me
Chapter 45: Watch Me
Translator: Vicky_ Editor: Vicky_
Two days later.
It was morning. Locomotive Storage Co. bustled with activity.
Williams was just a small town, but it was also a tourist hotspot. Every year, many people visited the place on vacation, so it was rather common for good stuff to pop up here. Each storage auction in Williams drew many treasure hunters.
This time, it had drawn even more of them. The bet between Li Du and Andrew had been leaked. It was now the talk of the town amongst the treasure hunters of Flagstaff.
Knowing that they would be battling it out at Locomotive Storage Co., many people had come to watch the show. There were even people who had come all the way from Phoenix.
Of course, these people weren’t there just for the entertainment. They wanted to take part in the auction as well. It would be best, naturally, if the value of the storage they bought exceeded whatever those two bought. If they could get the most valuable stuff, then they were sure to get famous.
Many newbies had come as well. For them, it was a chance to watch and learn, and a shot at getting famous.
When Li Du and Hans reached the storage company, more than fifty people were already waiting, and there was still one and a half hours until the start of the auction!
The crowd was large and rowdy. The treasure hunters greeted each other in a cacophony of voices.
"Hey, Ali, long time no see. You’re here today too?"
"Of course! There’s something good to watch today. A big-shot from the Hundred Thousand Club is going to trash a noob."
"Noobs need to be taught a lesson. Actually daring to challenge Andrew. He doesn’t know what’s good for him."
"I heard that the noob was the one who proposed the bet."
"Then it’s not about knowing what’s good or bad for him. He’s just tired of living."
Andrew arrived just as the auction was about to start, at half past nine. His modified Mustang vroomed all the way to the parking lot. Then he stepped out of the car, holding his head high.
Li Du, watching the scene, laughed, and said, "No wonder this guy is called ‘Sky Eyes.’ He really is rolling his eyes towards the sky all the time."
Members of the Hundred Thousand Club were celebrities in a small place like this. Once he arrived, people gathered around to greet him.
Andrew responded to them indifferently. Seeing Hans and Li Du, he smiled coldly and made a mafia-like, cutthroat gesture towards them.
The provocative gesture lit up the atmosphere instantly.
"Cool, Andrew is really incredible!"
Someone glanced over at Li Du. "That’s the noob who challenged Andrew? He looks like an idiot."
"It wasn’t a challenge, it was a death wish. This guy wants to be famous so much
that he’s gone mad. Surely he doesn’t think that he’s the son of Fortune?"
"If the noob was Fortune, he still wouldn’t be able to beat Andrew. He’s really asking for it."
A merry looking auctioneer walked out. He was a middle-aged black man who spoke very fast. "Everyone get ready to go in. There are eight storage units up for auction today. Yes, that’s right. Eight storage units. Everyone line up.
"Everyone knows the rules. No entering the unit, no touching anything, no throwing anything into it. But there are too many people today so we’re going to change it to small groups. One group has five people and can stay at the doorway of the storage unit for one minute. Are there any questions?"
There were no questions. Hans told Li Du that if there were more than a hundred participants, they usually broke them up into groups. Otherwise, at one minute per person, it would take a few hours to look at just one unit. That was too much wasted time.
Hearing this, many people let out groans. No one liked participating in groups. There was little privacy. If you even rested your eyes on an object for two seconds, it’d be noticed by the others.
The initial nine units had become eight. Li Du’s heart skipped a beat. Seeing that it was the last one which had been pulled, he let out a sigh of relief.
Having looked through the storage units, he lowered his voice and said, "It’ll be difficult today. There are too many people. The prices will be higher."
Hans winked at him. "Watch me."
He’d prepared two suitcases for today. He and Li Du each held one.
Holding the suitcase, Hans walked into the crowd and bumped into a burly man.
Just like that, he burst out, "Watch it, mate! Watch where you’re going! For heaven’s sake, don’t waste the eyes God gave you!"
The burly man didn’t look very friendly. "What are you raving about, Big Fox?"
Hans cried out, "I’m raving? You bumped into my money case! Do you know what’s in there?"
He opened the case— bang, displaying the tidy stacks of brand new dollar bills filling it to the brim. The sight was mind-blowing.
Seeing all that money, gasps came from the crowd.
Hans made an evil expression and pointed at Li Du. "My partner has another case of it!"
"You intend to buy all the storages out?" someone asked.
Hans smiled. "Of course. As long as we don’t have a loss, then we win, right?"
This was similar to using money to crush one’s opponent in gambling. It was an underhanded way, but it was a way to win.
Andrew didn’t take it lying down. He held a cigar in his mouth, took a hundred dollar bill from his wallet, lit it, and used the flames to light his cigar.
"Cool!" Cheers rang out from the crowd.
The auction hadn’t even started and the two of them had already started going at it. The crowd was ecstatic at this turn of events.
The auction for the first storage unit began. The auctioneer held up his hand and called, "Storage unit 15! The starting bid is two hundred dollars. Two hundred dollars. Two hundred dollars…"
Hans nodded immediately. Seeing this, the auctioneer pointed at him, saying, "Someone has agreed to two hundred dollars. Yes," he pointed at someone else who raised their hand. "Someone’s taken it, so now it’s three hundred dollars, three hundred dollars, three hundred dollars…"
Another person accepted the call and the auctioneer continued to raise the price while Hans continued to follow up on it. The price swiftly rose to one thousand dollars, then one thousand and five hundred dollars, then two thousand dollars.
Andrew mocked them, saying, "I have no idea how idiots like you earn money!"
A fat man had placed the bid for two-thousand dollars. He had come to join in the fun. Seeing Hans following up on the bids, he joined in with more gusto.
But when he accepted the price of two thousand dollars, Hans kept his mouth shut.
The fat man was stunned. He cried out, "Hey, why aren’t you bidding anymore?"
Hans jeered, "I’m not blind. This storage worth two thousand dollars? It’s not even worth five hundred!"
Shouts of disapproval rang out from the crowd again. "Vincent, Big Fox has played you for a fool!"
Hans started bidding again when it came to unit 16. This time, Hans and the others stopped bidding after the price reached 1,500 dollars.
The middle-aged man who had made the last bid said contemptuously, "Damn, it’s not even at two thousand dollars and you’re done? Big Fox, deep inside, you’re still that wretched pauper. Paupers can’t make money!"
Hans ignored him and clutched tightly onto the suitcase in his lap.
The third storage unit was opened. After everyone had lined up and looked at it, the auction call began. "This seems like a good unit, so the starting price is one thousand dollars! One thousand dollars! One thousand dollars! Does anyone want it?"
Hans raised his hand. "Two thousand dollars!"
Li Du nodded. There were quite a few instruments in this unit, and they were rather well maintained. They could sell them for at least 5,000 dollars.
Andrew didn’t even bat an eyelid. He just rubbed his nose and yelled, "Five thousand dollars!"