Chapter 523: Soo Drops (bonus chap)
Michael calmed himself down. He was sure that he was not the only person who wanted those 20 drops. He could already see the Major Factions planning to give it their all to try and obtain all 20 of those drops for themselves.
Now, if it was just a matter of money, then he was sure that he could contend with them in some way. He had a lot of funds back in the Nation of Reborn, with hundreds of millions of gold coins located in their treasury, ready to be spent.
However, this auction was different. If he wanted to get those Soo drops, then he needed to contend with the Major Factions with his strength as well.
Now, he might be talented and strong for his own realm, but he wasn’t delusional enough to believe that he could defeat the Major Factions all by himself. They definitely had fighters whose cultivation levels were very far above him. Just Alaric, Aerith, and Bobby alone–he knew that those three were close, if not right at the top of the Body Formation realm.
And it wasn’t just them. The Magic Tower and the Knightly Court were from very large organizations whose strengths were incredibly deep. They were probably even stronger than the Legacies.
"Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Barnaby, why do we care about Soo when we know that the Major Factions are the ones who will end up winning them anyway?
And my answer to that is DO NOT WORRY. I will be taking away FIVE drops and allowing the Minor Factions to contend with them, without the Major Factions interfering."
Barnaby’s controversial decision led a lot of companies from the Minor Faction to become excited. Meanwhile, the Major Factions had an understandably less than positive reception to this because they felt that they deserved all 20 of those drops.
"Now, before you go on and complain, I shall tell you that it’s not me who suggested this. It’s the Mermen themselves! This was one of their conditions in selling off 15 drops of Soo."
After hearing this, Michael’s perception of the Mermen changed.
They’re not here to participate. They’re here to be entertained, he realized. Letting the Minor Factions fight for the Soo would add a lot more excitement during the auction.
This would allow the Minor Factions to show off their strength without worrying about the Major Factions stomping them through force. It would be boring if the one who kept winning were the Major Factions.
But this is good. This is my chance, Michael thought. Those five drops are all I need to make a substantial upgrade to my Drone.
He was a lot more confident in winning against the Minor Factions. Their strengths were similar to him, and if they were stronger, then it was only by a little margin. As long as he played smart, then he could find the winning play in the end.
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Of course, Michael wasn’t the only one thinking that.
At the layer right below the VIP suites were the rooms for the top 10 Minor Factions in Metropolis. Of course, this included the Rising Six.
That included the Pyramidic Cuisine.
Beau Rigaud sat in her seat, her bountiful blonde hair curling up over her shoulders. She blankly stared at the glass wall, seemingly looking over Barnaby and the auction venue itself.
But in truth, she wasn’t concentrating on the auction at all. Even though Barnaby was announcing something completely exciting that would definitely benefit her and her company, she couldn’t help but think of something completely outside of the auction.
After all, just before the auction started, she received a message that her newly created recipe: the Terracotta Meat and Mud Juice, didn’t receive the top sales of the day. They got second.
She thought that she would be able to use the successful debut of her new recipe to bolster her rankings in the Golden 500, therefore keeping her spot as the best star of the Rising Six.
However, her plans were spoiled because of an unknown refreshment company taking over the Entertainment District completely.
She had never accounted for this. Never in a million years would she have ever anticipated this situation.
Someone was able to beat her. It wasn’t Reena from Spice Vise. and it wasn’t any of the other Rising Six either.
It was from an unknown company who mysteriously got the royals’ attention for themselves. She hadn’t even gotten the privilege of cooking for any of the royals yet!
As she thought about it more and more, a smile crept up on her face.
Despite losing to this unknown company, she wasn’t mad. She was intrigued! She was curious to see the mastermind of the whole situation for herself!
She had no doubt that someone like that could rival that of the Rising Six.
Yet, they remained in the shadows all this time.
She crossed her legs and looked at the auction venue.
"They’re here," she guessed. "Where are you?"
She scanned all of the rooms surrounding her, trying to peer through the tinted glasses, hoping to see a glimpse of this mysterious company.
To be honest, she was more interested in meeting this guy rather than getting the Soo!
"Miss Beau. Are you listening?"
One of her attendants called out to her. It was at that moment that she realized that her team was still brainstorming ways to try and win the auction.
They had to be strategic in how they used their resources properly. They had to know when to bid or when to let go.
"It doesn’t matter," Beau said to them. "As long as we get that Soo, we’ll have an advantage over every other Rising Six. They won’t be able to catch up to us."
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Right next to her booth was none other than Spice Vise’s private suite.
Vishna sat in his chair, while Reena paced back and forth through the room.
"Calm down, daughter."
Reena looked back at her father, her eyes seemingly lit afire. "This is our chance, pa! If we get those Soo, we can overtake the other Rising Six and become one step closer to Beau."
Of course, Vishna knew this all too well. However, he wasn’t as excited or as worried as his daughter.
"That’s only if you can defeat the other companies vying for the Soo."
"I know how to deal with the Rising Six, father. I’ve studied them. This is what I’ve been preparing for," she said with determination.
"They’re not the ones you have to worry about," Vishna said, chuckling.
Reena stared at her father in disbelief. "The boy again? Father, I don’t even think they’re in this auction at all. They didn’t have time to get the ranking."
Vishna shook his head. "They got it. Today."
"WHAT?!"
Of course, knowing how much her father loved to talk about Michael and his company, Reena did a little bit of research all on her own. And she found out from public records that they were ranked 450 in the Golden 500.
She knew just how impossible it was to move up 50 ranks in the span of a single day!
And he’s saying that they made it?!