Chapter 1789 - Crazy Struggle
Chapter 1789: Crazy Struggle
Translator: Hellscythe_ Editor: Lucky Old Cat
One hundred thousand Gold? Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he shook his head.
In reality, he, too, was very tempted by the Magic Crystal vein.
However, despite all his efforts, he had managed to raise only a little over 124,000 Gold. After deducting the amount he spent on the Book of Undying, Fire Resistance equipment, and rare materials, he had just a bit more than 90,000 Gold left. He didn’t have the slightest chance of winning the upcoming auction.
As the various major powers in the first-floor hall were marveling over the Magic Crystal vein’s high price, the occupants of the second-floor rooms started calling out bids, one after another.
“One hundred thousand Gold!”
“One hundred ten thousand Gold!”
“One hundred twenty thousand Gold!”
After the first bid appeared, the price of the Magic Crystal vein increased rapidly, the scene stupefying the various first-rate Guilds present.
Despite the minimum increment being set at 1,000 Gold, the various superpowers and major corporations were raising the price in 10,000-Gold increments as if 10,000 Gold were no different from 10,000 Copper. In less than a minute, the price had already reached a staggering 200,000 Gold.
Only after the price reached 270,000 Gold did the price increases decline to 2,000- or 3,000-Gold increments. Even so, this was still plenty frightening to the various first-rate Guilds present.
“Damn it! Why are there so many people competing for the vein?!” Nine Dragons Emperor frowned as he watched the price ramp up. Turning to Martial Dragon, he asked, “How are things coming along on Blood’s side?”
He had prepared only 210,000 Gold for this auction. Including the Magic Crystals he had on hand, his funds came to roughly
250,000 Gold. Just now, he had mortgaged several golden Lands in Black Dragon City, netting an additional 140,000 Gold and putting his total at 390,000 Gold. This was already ten times the amount a first-rate Guild could produce in short notice.
However, the various superpowers and major corporations were like bottomless pits as they continuously hiked up their bids. Now, the price was already close to 300,000.
Moreover, he knew full well that the various superpowers were still only probing each other’s depths. They had yet to truly make a move.
Despite the restraint of the various superpowers and major corporations, the price of the Magic Crystal vein was already approaching the limit of his budget.
“Pavilion Master, Blood Dragon has already asked the Guild Elders for a loan. The Elders feel that this is a good purchase and are willing to lend us 60,000 Gold. If we succeed in the purchase, they want 10% of the vein’s shares as interest. If we fail, they want 30% interest,” Martial Dragon said helplessly.
Although they all belonged to the same Guild, the Guild Elders each operated their own faction. Although their factions were not strong individually, when they banded together, they were a frightening force to behold. Meanwhile, this combined power was under the Great Pavilion Master’s control. Hence, Pavilion Masters like Nine Dragons Emperor and Phoenix Rain could not command these Elders; they could only try to rope in these Elders to their side.
“Those old bastards actually have the gall to ask for 10% of the shares?!” Nine Dragons Emperor turned ashen upon hearing the loan conditions. The Guild Elders had outright asked for a quarter of the shares he would be getting. “Fine! I agree to their conditions! However, tell them that 60,000 Gold is too little! I will also need all of their Magic Crystals! Otherwise, I’ll just give up on the auction!”
Although 60,000 Gold was a significant sum, it was still insufficient for him to compete against the various superpowers. Only after he and the Elders pooled everything they had would they stand a chance in the auction.
While Nine Dragons Emperor was raising funds, the price of the Magic Crystal vein had already increased to 352,000 Gold. At the same time, the various superpowers and major corporations were also doing their best to gather more funds. However, this price had already rendered the crowd in the first-floor hall utterly speechless.
“It seems some Guilds and corporations are already approaching their limit.” Lu Xingluo smiled when he noticed the rate of bidding slowing down. Turning to his bodyguard, he said, “Let’s begin, then.”
“Understood!” Zhong Langcheng immediately keyed in a series of zeroes on the bidding interface.
Five hundred thousand Gold!
The moment this price appeared, the entire auction venue went into an uproar. Even Shi Feng’s mouth twitched involuntarily when he saw this bid. With that kind of money, he could already build two cities in Star-Moon Kingdom.
Seeing this price also allowed him to understand just how frightening the various superpowers were. The difference between himself and them was not something that he could easily bridge just by having more information on God’s Domain.
…
“Why does the Starline Corporation have so much money?!” Nine Dragons Emperor felt like puking up blood when he saw this amount. Although the Starline Corporation was strong and had annexed quite a few first-rate Guilds, it had also spent a lot of money to develop its Guild, far more than what super-first-rate Guilds had spent. Logically, the corporation shouldn’t have that many Coins to spare.
At this moment, let alone Nine Dragons Emperor, even the representatives of the Sacred Temple, Battle Wolves, Pantheon, Nine Heavens Pavilion, and other Super Guilds were taken aback by the Starline Corporation’s bid. Although they, too, possessed that much money, spending it would no doubt cause their Guild a cash-flow shortage in the near term; the Starline Corporation’s Guild would definitely suffer an even greater setback.
Shortly after Lu Xingluo placed the bid of 500,000 Gold, Mu Lingsha also clenched her teeth and topped it.
Five hundred and ten thousand Gold!
This price likewise stunned the various superpowers present. Although Unyielding Soul was a super-first-rate Guild, as its development in the Dark Night Empire had not gone smoothly, the Guild should not have that much money to spare.
However, what the various superpowers did not know was that, in order to contest for the management rights of the Magic Crystal vein, Unyielding Soul had long since mortgaged many of its properties and was prepared to duke it out with the Starline Corporation. After all, if the Starline Corporation acquired the Magic Crystal vein, Unyielding Soul’s development in the Dark Night Empire would be doomed.
Hence, Unyielding Soul had accumulated a total of 625,000 Gold’s worth of Coins and Magic Crystals to compete with the Starline Corporation.
“Hahaha! You want to compete against the Starline Corporation in terms of financial strength?” Lu Xingluo sneered at Mu Lingsha’s new bid. “A pity. Truly a pity. The Starline Corporation might not have as powerful a background as a super-first- rate Guild like Unyielding Soul, but we do have High-level Energy!”
In order to acquire the Magic Crystal vein, the Starline Corporation had traded 400,000 Gold’s worth of High-level Energy with the Secret Pavilion. Of course, it had stipulated that Unyielding Soul would not be invited to the internal auction. Including the 300,000 Gold the corporation raised, Starline had a total of 700,000 Gold prepared to purchase the vein.
At this stage of the game, even the various Super Guilds were incapable of taking out 700,000 Gold, which was why he was confident of acquiring the Magic Crystal vein.
After some back and forth, the price eventually reached 630,000 Gold, the bid being placed by Lu Xingluo. This figure caused many of the superpowers present to give up on the auction. They also could not help but marvel at the Starline Corporation’s financial strength.
…
“Aqua, I wish to borrow money from Zero Wing. I am willing to use a few plots of golden Land in the Dark Night Empire as collateral. These Lands are worth around 70,000 Gold in total. I wish to borrow 60,000 Gold. I will pay you back in five days with 30% interest. If I fail to repay the loan, these golden Lands will be Zero Wing’s,” Mu Lingsha said after making some calculations.
At this point, she could tell that the price of the Magic Crystal vein was already close to Lu Xingluo’s limit. After all, the man was no longer as decisive when placing his bids. Meanwhile, through Aqua Rose, she had learned much about Zero Wing. Hence, she knew that Zero Wing had prepared quite a lot of funds for the auction this time—several times more than the average first-rate Guild, in fact. Hence, it should be possible for Zero Wing to lend her 60,000 Gold.
If she had these 60,000 Gold Coins, she would have a greater chance of winning against Lu Xingluo.
“This…” Aqua Rose was slightly troubled as she turned to look at Shi Feng, unsure whether she should agree to this request or not.
“Miss Mu, how about this? I can lend you 100,000 Gold’s worth of funds. However, Zero Wing does not need any collateral or the 30% interest. We only want to borrow some manpower from Unyielding Soul. What do you think of this proposal?” Shi Feng suggested.
Although he had thought of using this opportunity to acquire some of the Magic Crystal vein’s shares, the percentage of shares he could obtain in the end would most likely not amount to much. In that case, the number of Magic Crystals Zero Wing could get from the vein would be a drop in the bucket, given Zero Wing’s current Magic Crystal shortage. Meanwhile, earning an additional 18,000 Gold from the 30% interest would not help Zero Wing by much, either. Rather than these negligible benefits, it would be far more meaningful to borrow Unyielding Soul’s strength, instead. After all, it was normally impossible to borrow the strength of a superpower without paying an exorbitant price.
“You don’t need any collateral or interest? You’re willing to lend us 100,000 Gold in exchange for only manpower?” Mu Lingsha’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Shi Feng, her mind finding both Zero Wing’s financial strength and Shi Feng’s proposed conditions inconceivable.