After another fifteen minutes, a middle-aged man walked to the stage acpanied by a beautiful lady. The man had short white hair and sharp, aged eyes.
Suddenly, the entire hall became silent as they all had recognized his presence.
"I would like to ask for all of your attention so that the auction can start." The man said with a deep voice.
No one opened their mouths and the middle-aged man immediately started the auction. "And now, the annual auction of the Temple has begun. 165 items would be auctioned in this event.
"For the first item, we have a bright red gem from Three-Eyed Lion. It's perfect to be the eye of staff, especially for those who have Fire Affinity. The starting price is 50 million Zils, and any bid can't be lower than a hundred thousand."
Each person received a stick with a number on top of it, so the moment he finished his words, some of them immediately raised their sticks.
"50.1 million."
"50.2 million."
The bid continued to rise. Theo was staring at the hall as this was the first time he had participated in an auction. He wasn't that aware of the procedure.
But still, having the first item to be fifty million Zils shocked him. It was truly a huge amount for an auction.
Seeing Theo's expression, the Mythical Rank Expert beside him explained, "There are three types of auction that the temple usually holds: open auction, member auction, and grand auction.
"This one is an open auction. Basically, they let others buy tickets to participate in this auction. That's why many young lords are participating in this auction since money can easily solve it.
"As for the second one… The member auction is exclusively held for Gold and Diamond Tier Experts. The setup is quite similar. Gold Tier Experts will be below and Diamond Tier Experts will be on the second floor.
"Unlike the first one, this auction is auctioning Material Cards, Equipment, or Skill Cards most of the time.
"Last but not least, the Grand Auction. This auction usually es every five years. Obviously, the item that is auctioned in this event will be powerful. There is even an item that can give you around 80 to 100 Free Attribute Points in the last event. It's sold for a whopping 26 Billion Zils.
"People always prepare for this auction because this is the biggest auction that is hard to e by."
Theo nodded in understanding. "I see. No wonder."
"Also, this type of event is usually fast-paced, especially the first 50 items since they're among the worst. See… It's already the third item. And it's not even a minute." He pointed at the front.
"Hmm…" Theo frowned. "Not many fights?"
"Yeah. At the same time, not many people are interested in them. If there are enough people interested in the item, the price will naturally go up and the bid will last a bit longer.
"Usually, the last few items are among the best and they're basically the eye-candy of the people here.
"The situation will be chaotic as they're trying to use their own influence to stop others from bidding.
"There are many outes for that. First, you can be hunted down by a colossal group. Second, your own influence might be destroyed because of them. Third, the other party might force you to fork out all your money, preparing for the next battle."
Theo thought for a moment and asked, "In that case, can't we use the money to strike someone?"
"Obviously." Maya was the one who answered this question. "As I said earlier, cash flow is a pretty big deal for a pany. If they don't have a good cash flow, they're bound to have some problems within the pany."
"You can somehow weaken them and strike them with your own influence."
"Yeah. That's why they send their younger generation to participate in this auction, and most of them are acpanied by an elder from their family or pany. This is to see whether they're rash enough to bid high prices or not. A pretty convenient way to judge their ability." Maya smirked.
"I can see that."
"Though, to be honest, this is also an event to get lower tax." Maya sighed.
"Tax, huh… Now that I think about it, you're supposed to give me that much. Even though I exchange it for another reward, the cut is too big."
"Tax, dude. You're rich, so you get taxed. The same applies to the pany. As I said earlier, the cash flow… Because the temple is releasing a large number of special items, the people who pete here will prepare a significant amount of money.
"The government uses this event to get taxes from the pany. On the other hand, the pany will also prepare to buy a few useful things to lower their tax.
"To be fair, if you're rich, just make a pany and hire a good accountant to lower the tax for you. That's better." Maya explained with a poker face as though she had dealt with this stuff many times.
"Well…" Theo looked away and asked, "That means the contract…"
"Obviously, before taxes." She smirked. "I believe you're taxed there, right?"
"Yeah, but the number is lower than this country."
"I can't deny that. Though, this place has a bigger playground."
"Mhm." Theo nodded with a serious expression. "Is there anything you like to say regarding the auction?"
"Not really."
"Then, do you have a target?" Theo narrowed his eyes, remembering the thing they talked about earlier.
"I have many people courting me. Some of them are friends, some of them are enemies."
"Wait a minute… Your policy, don't tell me…" Theo came to a realization.
Maya didn't say a single thing. She only winked her right eye as the answer.
Theo admitted defeat in this one. It turned out the reason why Maya always told others that those who could 'push' her down would be the person she married was to make enemies.
She beat these enemies and absorbed their panies, creating a bigger empire called the Starry Group.
In other words, she only wanted to justify her action to absorb other panies. And she believed she had enough power to defeat them. This was why the Starry Group could grow rapidly.
"Devil." Theo shook his head helplessly.
"you're the last person I want to hear that from…" She stuck her tongue out.
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