"Is this the VIP area? Not bad at all!"
This was already an auction full of wealthy individuals, even the regular seats were extravagantly luxurious and classy, not to mention their highest-standard private box.
The auction venue was a massive circular plaza, with a lavish auction stage in the middle. Surrounding it were other participants' seats, and from the walls, suspended small rooms extended out, which were special boxes designed to accommodate VIPs. Fang Jueyu and his companions were in the finest one.
Wang Cong, coming from an affluent background, had attended numerous auctions of varying scales with his father, Wang Lin, but he had never witnessed anything of this magnitude.
In this small room of several tens of square meters, almost every conceivable piece of equipment was present. To ensure confidentiality, there were no staff members here, but there was a highly efficient intelligent robot that could completely replace a server for certain technical services.
Of course, there was no need to mention some essential hardware facilities, and the walls were adorned with numerous valuable paintings.
At the very front of the room was a special one-way glass through which they could clearly see the outside scene, but those outside could not see inside. Fang Jueyu noticed that many other VIP areas also seemed occupied as several faint light shadows were visible through the black glass.
They had already arrived a bit late, and soon the venue was almost completely filled. However, everyone wore various masks, giving the auction an oddly mysterious vibe.
"Hey, here she comes!"
A path stretched from the central auction stage to another room, and a stunningly sexy woman walked down it to the stage's center, a face very familiar to them.
"Whoa! It's Scarlett!" Wang Cong immediately stood up in surprise. The host of this auction was Scarlett! She wore a black long dress, blending beauty with allure.
"Isn't she supposed to be filming Avengers? What's she doing here as an auctioneer?" Fang Jueyu was equally surprised. "Oh right, Avengers has already concluded."
"Master, there's nothing surprising about this. Auctions of this level often invite highly popular actresses to serve as auctioneers. Scarlett's commission for this event will likely be over 10 million US Dollars!"
"Wow, earning 10 million in a day, that's really treating money like it's nothing!"
"Shut up!" Wang Cong glared at Fang Jueyu. "Who are you to say that? Aren't you the biggest spender here?"
"Hahaha," Fang Jueyu laughed awkwardly. After today, Wang Cong might have a new understanding of his recklessness with money.
"Welcome everyone to today's auction. I'm your auctioneer, Scarlett!" Scarlett stood on the auction stage, dazzling as if she were on a theatrical stage.
The audience erupted into applause immediately. Despite Scarlett being just an actress, in the hearts of many billionaires, she was considered a goddess. Her appearance undeniably elevated the atmosphere.
"After two days of pre-show, you should be well aware, there are 72 items in this auction. Of course, some very special items haven't been previewed!"
"Is it those items identified by numbers?" Fang Jueyu quickly connected the dots.
"You've all been waiting eagerly, so let's warm up with the first item, the 5715 Patek Philippe watch!"
Another voluptuous lady presented a beautiful box on the auction stage.
"This watch was specially designed by Patek Philippe to celebrate their 175th anniversary, taking over 100,000 hours from development to assembly and limited to eight globally, with only seven ever entering the market!" Scarlett began to introduce the watch.
"This thing has some collectible value, Old Fang, do you want it?" Wang Cong asked.
"You like it? If you want it, I won't compete with you," Fang Jueyu replied.
"Forget it. It's obvious this is your first auction." Wang Cong had quite a bit of experience. "In a regular auction, the first item is usually a headliner, with prices quite high. I didn't come prepared with much money, I can't spend too much here."
"Alright, if you fancy something, let me know in advance. If you don't want it, I'll just buy everything!" Fang Jueyu said.
"Wait! What do you mean by buying everything?"
"Just buying everything at the auction!" Fang Jueyu said nonchalantly. "Even if I don't need it, I can give them away or keep them for future generations!"
Fang Jueyu was fully intent on spending a fortune this time!
"Are you crazy? This isn't some supermarket clearance sale! What will others do if you buy everything?" Wang Cong exclaimed.
"Is there a rule that says you can't buy every item at an auction?" Fang Jueyu asked. If that's the case, he'd have to rethink and focus on the higher-value items.
"Well, no," Wang Cong thought it over. Considering Fang Jueyu's personality, he could definitely pull such a stunt. With 72 items up for auction, he could easily use tens of billions of dollars. Buying them all would be a breeze!
"Now, the starting bid for this commemorative Patek Philippe is 3 million euros, with each increase no less than 100,000 euros. Begin bidding!" Scarlett struck her gavel.
The price climbed slowly and soon surpassed 4 million euros. This watch had appeared at other auctions before, fetching a sky-high price of 46 million yuan. Given this auction's caliber, the price was bound to exceed that.
As the price exceeded 5 million euros, the rate of increase slowed down, and there were fewer bidders.
"6 million euros!" Fang Jueyu directly entered this figure on the LED display outside his room.
"6.1 million euros!" Someone hadn't given up on raising the bid. Although the price was somewhat high, it was still worth it for a commemorative watch.
"7 million euros!" Fang Jueyu impassively added another 900,000 euros.
At this, many people's attention shifted towards him. Raising by 200,000 euros once was already incredible, but who ever saw someone add ?
"7.1 million euros!" Another reluctant bidder increased their offer.
"Is this guy crazy or just too rich?" Even in the VIP section, others weren't bidding like that.
"He must be crazy. Who raises by that much at once? Doesn't he know auction strategies?"
"I wouldn't be so sure. Perhaps he just doesn't care about this amount of money, hahaha!"
"Old Fang, bidding like that is a loss for you. If others only go as high as 7.5 million, wouldn't you end up paying an extra 500,000 euros for nothing?" Wang Cong quickly reminded Fang Jueyu.
"Is buying this watch for 8 million a loss?" Fang Jueyu asked.
"Not too much of a loss, but it's about the watch's max value. Any higher and it's not worth it."
"Then it's settled!" Fang Jueyu calmly sipped his tea. "I'm a bit of a perfectionist. If something isn't a round number, it just bothers me!"