Season 3: Chapter 44: Auction (3)
"Hey. Come out for a sec."
The fundamentalists all stepped out of the auction hall and gathered near the restroom.
"Ah, what are we going to do?"
"Did we even cause any real damage?"
After their defeat to Ju-Hyeok, complaints erupted from several fundamentalists.
"Ah… my points…"
Although the strategy was collective, they suffered the losses individually.
"Don't worry."
The one who appeared to be their leader consoled them.
"We've lost a lot, but we still have over 5,000 points combined."
Indeed, they hadn't lost all hope yet. Joint bidding was possible in this auction. Individually, the fundamentalists didn't have many points. Together, however, they amounted to a significant sum since they were so numerous.
Even if each of them had only 500 points, ten people would already amount to 5,000 points. And there were twenty-five of them.
"Almond hasn’t used all his points either. If we can bring Almond's total below 5,000 and defend with our own 5,000 points, we have a chance."
The odds were certainly there.
"What odds… it’s like making it to the World Cup semifinals," someone grumbled in frustration.
"So are we not going to try!? And how can you compare it to that? That depends on other people each time, but we can control this ourselves!"
The fundamentalists nodded.
"Yeah, it’s better than that."
"Right, exactly."
"Suddenly, it seems doable, doesn’t it?"
For them, Demian was not something to be easily given up on just because the odds were low. They had to struggle as much as they could.
"Look. Just now, Almond was baiting us with the auction items and pulling out, screwing us over, right?"
"That's right."
"But Almond must want something too. There's no need to give up on all the auction items. From now on, let's only participate in auctions that look enticing."
"What? How do you know what he finds enticing?"
The leader grinned and muttered, "The guy’s on a livestream."
***
"Now, this next item is special, right? A first edition specially provided by Police Inc. for this auction!"
Swoosh!
As the moderator pulled away the cloth covering the item, he exclaimed, "The Sa-Yul combination is well-known, right?! It’s an action figure depicting a joint attack from Sana and Yul!"
Although it wasn’t a limited edition, a first edition still held considerable collectible value. It was different from the mass-produced prototypes that would come out later.
Moreover, an action figure meant a moving figure. Although tastes varied, for a novice collector like Sang-Hyeon, nothing was more attractive than something that moved on its own. It was electronic and pressing a button would make it move automatically.
Zzzing.
Click.
"Wow."
Sang-Hyeon's eyes sparkled since he had experienced a significant victory with the Sa-Yul combination. He felt this was a worthy purchase.
Tap. Tap.
He nudged Ju-Hyeok and whispered, "This. This one."
"… Ah. You want this?"
"Yes."
Instead of answering, Ju-Hyeok nodded.
"Let's start the auction. Since it's the first edition, we’re starting at 200 points!"
Click!
Ju-Hyeok raised his sign first.
"There! An immediate 100 point raise!"
As expected, the fundamentalists followed suit.
"Number 92! A 100 point raise! It’s already at 400!"
"Of course, it’s a limited edition. Another 100 points up! It’s at 500 now!"
Ju-Hyeok believed that they couldn't follow beyond 500. According to his estimates, the average personal assets, excluding the top 1%, were around 700 points.
Following beyond 500 was too risky and the fundamentalists had played that way until now.
"Following with 600! Number 51!"
"…?"
Ju-Hyeok felt something was off. Raising by 100 at this point was unusual. He decided to test the waters by raising just 50 points.
"Number 14! A 50 point raise! 650!"
"Ah! But! Number 51 raises again by 100! 750!"
Another 100 this aggressively?
‘They probably don’t even have that much.’
Did number 51 really have 750 points? If he stopped now, it would soon become apparent. The problem was that Sang-Hyeon wanted this item.
"… Hey. You really want this, right?"
Ju-Hyeok asked again with a hesitant voice. In his view, a figure going up to nearly 1,000 points was absurd. After all, expensive electronics were selling outside for under 1,000 points.
"Yes."
Sang-Hyeon nodded. He seemed indifferent, as if going over 1,000 points wouldn’t be an issue.
— Fundamentalists are relentless
— Can’t we just stop here? lol
— Does 750 even exist???
While reading the chat, Ju-Hyeok realized something. It wasn’t that their words contained a hint. Their very presence was the hint.
‘Ah.’
Those guys were watching the stream.
Ju-Hyeok raised the points again and sent a private message to Sang-Hyeon.
[Ju-Hyeok: Tell me not to bid wastefully anymore. We won’t spend more than 800. They’re watching the stream.]
"Ah, but spending more than 800 seems too much. Let’s stop here."
"Exactly, right?"
As expected, the fundamentalist who had been raising by 100 each time changed their increment.
"Number 51! A 10 point raise! It's at 770 now!"
Although not certain, Ju-Hyeok felt it was worth a shot.
"Just raise one last time and if they raise again, let’s buy something else."
"Okay~ Let’s do that. It's overdone."
Ju-Hyeok raised by just 10 more points.
"Number 14! 780!"
Now, the price was at 780 points. A slight tension filled the air.
"780...! Do we have any more!?" the auctioneer asked once more and started the countdown.
"5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"
Ding!
A notification rang on Sang-Hyeon's phone.
"Congratulations! Number 14! You’ve won the Sa-Yul combination figure!"
"Wow!"
Sang-Hyeon seemed pleased. However, Ju-Hyeok was not entirely satisfied.
‘It didn’t reach 1,000 points, but this doesn’t feel great.’
He felt like they had been played. It was an oversight by Ju-Hyeok for not considering that they would watch the stream.
‘No matter how many points we have, if they come together...’
Though Almond had significantly more points, the outcome could be unpredictable if the fundamentalists united.
It was hard to imagine Almond not getting Demian, but Ju-Hyeok didn't want to spend more than 2,000 points on Demian. Spending the least on Demian and getting more valuable items would naturally be better.
‘What to do…?’ Ju-Hyeok pondered.
The stream continued.
‘The stream…’
"!"
A simple yet clever strategy came to Ju-Hyeok’s mind.
***
"Wow, we really got him."
"He nearly spent 800 points, huh? Great~"
The fundamentalists felt jubilant.
"Watching the stream was a brilliant idea."
"Exactly. Whatever Almond wants is bound to be mentioned first on his stream. We just have to watch for that."
Since it was impossible for the streamer not to stream, their logic was sound.
"We just need to enter the bids for items that Almond wants and cause him losses."
"Okay."
Since their strategy was to only enter bids for items that Almond wanted, they ignored the next item that came up. Even if Ju-Hyeok placed a bid, they didn't bother to compete. They knew it was just a lure.
"Look at that cunning guy, trying to bait us continuously."
"Stay put. We don't even want it anyway."
The fundamentalists did not take the bait from Ju-Hyeok. After all, everything was openly discussed in the stream.
“I’m trying to bait them, but they're too scared to bite,” Ju-Hyeok mocked them as being too scared while pretending not to know.
"Bullshit~"
The fundamentalists chuckled.
“Uh. I need to buy that.”
Almond's voice could be heard. He wanted the current item.
All the fundamentalists prepared themselves.
“Let’s set a limit this time before entering.”
It was Ju-Hyeok's voice. Hearing that they were setting a limit, the fundamentalists' faces brightened.
“I'm okay with going up to 1500 points.”
1,500 points!?
“Oh. That much?”
“Yes, I really want this one.”
“Well, yeah. We have a lot of points. Might as well use them where we want. I’ll set 1,500 as the maximum.”
Expressions of dismay and delight spread across the fundamentalists' faces. It was certainly good news that they could potentially take up to 1,500 points from Almond.
"Hey. None of us have 1,500 points individually."
The problem was that they didn't have 1,500 points individually.
"We'll have to do a joint bid."
They decided to proceed with a joint bid from this point onward.
***
"Let’s start the bidding at 200 points!"
Almond's side entered the fastest, raising the bid by 100 points.
"Ah! Number 14 raises by 100 points! It’s 300 now!"
Then, the fundamentalists started to rush in.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
They began to raise the price without hesitation.
"400! 500! 600!"
Knowing that the enemy was thinking of going up to 1,500, nothing held them back. Eventually, the price exceeded 1,000 points.
"1,000 points!!! This is the first time bidding has crossed a thousand at the start!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
The bidders nodded in agreement. Only a few could participate if the bids exceeded a thousand points. It was the same for the fundamentalists.
"You and me. Let's go in."
It was now a joint bid.
Swoosh!
The signboards shared among them glowed with the same color.
"Oh!? A joint bid!? Numbers 43 and 19 are bidding a whopping 1,100 points!?"
The fundamentalists had raised to 1,100 points. Almond's side also responded by raising 100 points.
"Number 14 is going to 1,200!!"
That was a staggering amount, but the fundamentalists did not hesitate.
"This time, I'm going in."
One more joined the joint bid, and they started raising again.
Click!
Three signboards glowed with the same light.
"Wow! Now three are jointly bidding!? To 1,300! Do we have 1,400!?"
“Gulp.”
The fundamentalists swallowed dryly. They had nearly reached 1,500. It was a tense moment for both sides.
"Do we have 1,400!?"
There was a brief silence from Almond's side. Could it be… an ominous feeling hovered among the fundamentalists.
"Counting down… Ah! Number 14! Are you following!?"
Almond's side raised their signboard.
Click!
"By 50! The bid is rising by 50 to 1,350!"
“Phew.”
Almond's side had raised to 1,350. They also considered raising by 50 as they were close to 1,500.
"Do we have 1,400?! Will you go higher!?"
It would only be 100 more after 1400 to reach 1,500. It wouldn't be strange to withdraw here.
"Hey. What do we do? Go up to 1,400? Or just drop out now?"
The fundamentalists, wrapped in uncertainty, asked each other. The other side could suddenly withdraw.
"Hey. Do you think the ones who were thinking of going up to 1,500 will suddenly drop out here?"
Opinions were divided. Some said to go higher, and others said to drop out.
"You never know. It’s only a 100 point difference from our position. It’s better to play it safe."
"Yeah."
Those advocating to go higher felt frustrated.
"Damn it…"
Thump! Thump!
Hearts were racing.
"If not, we’re starting the countdown! 5! 4…"
The auction was about to conclude. What to do? Should they push a little further? Or should they stop? There could possibly not be another chance like this.
Then…
“Ah, please don’t raise. Those annoying guys… Let’s take it here. Even if we take it here, it’s still a win.”
These words came from the stream.
‘They want to take it here.’
‘They think taking it here is a huge win.’
The auctioneer's countdown continued to decrease.
"… 3! 2!"
Swoosh!
The fundamentalists, as if by agreement, flashed their eyes and raised their signboards.
"Wow! A joint bid! A 50 point raise to 1,400!" The auctioneer looked at number 14 and asked, "Do we have 1,450!?"
Almond's side did not move their signboard. Were they being deliberate? It was possible. After all, they were near 1,500.
"Alright! The countdown begins!"
The countdown resumed.
"5!"
Until then, all the fundamentalists thought they would come in with a 10 point increase.
"4!"
Then, a sense of unease began to arise.
"3!"
Why had he suddenly made that remark precisely at that time?
"2!"
And why was he now so silent?
"Ah…"
Someone among the fundamentalists sighed.
"Damn it, he said he’d buy it! He said he’d go to 1,500!"
"What the hell!?"
Shouts of frustration erupted, but time passed impartially.
"1!"
The auctioneer's countdown concluded.
"Sold!!! The first joint bid is successful!"
At that moment, all the fundamentalists heard the stream.
“Pffft…!”
It was the sound of someone trying not to laugh. This mockery probably caused a certain post to appear on a community forum shortly afterward.
[Serious Analysis Needed: Are the points Almond received at the last challenge booth problematic??]