Chapter 589: Automobile bidding starts
"Now, will my assistants please deliver our items to the truck?"
Upon Barnaby’s request, muscular men with broad shoulders and chest came out of backstage carrying chunks of iron ore on their back.
Judging from the looks of effort in their faces, everyone could have a feel of how heavy those ores were.
One by one, they began loading the truck with more and more ores.
"The ores have already exceeded what normal carriages can transport. And they’re still going!"
"I think they’re filling it up to the brim."
"Are they crazy? Will it even move after taking in all of that weight?"
But as the space inside the truck got filled, everyone’s doubts were quickly dispelled.
Even though such heavy ores were loaded into the truck, it still hadn’t caved in from the sheer load that it had taken. Normally, entire carriages would crumble at this point.
"Let’s take these for a ride, shall we?" Barnaby said, snapping his fingers and getting the truck transported to the Pocket Dimension.
And just like the car, the truck started at the very edge of the road.
The driver turned the engine on and pushed on the gas pedal.
It wasn’t long after that did the truck start moving at a pace equal to that of a horse’s pace.
"It can still move after all that?!"
"It’s even faster than a normal carriage with no passengers or load!"
"Am I seeing it wrong or is it still speeding up?!"
The truck’s start may have been slow, but as it got going, its speed increased higher and higher until it was just below that of a normal car’s speed.
This baffled everyone. Even though the truck was filled with an extremely heavy load, it was still moving at a speed that only birds and eagles could achieve in the skies!
"Now that you have seen its capabilities, it is time for us to talk business," Barnaby said, letting the stage close back up.
"Now, our seller is willing to auction up twenty of these sedan cars and ten trucks in total. We will be auctioning them off as a set, meaning that only one company can obtain all thirty of these automobiles."
Hearing those words got a lot of people worked up.
People already knew that the automobile was something that even the Major Factions were interested in, meaning that once they joined the bidding, then practically everyone else was out of the running. The resources that they were willing to bid were far too much for even the Minor Factions to afford.
Many wanted the automobiles to be auctioned off piece by piece. That way, other companies who weren’t in the Major Factions had a chance to get at least one for themselves.
Though, this would lead the profits gained from the automobiles to be a lot less than what it would have sold for if it was tied up in a set.
But of course, this was a business. Barnaby prioritized profits, not only for himself, but for the sellers of the items.
So, he chose to sell it altogether, knowing that the Major Factions would shell out more money for it.
"Without further ado, please start the bidding at one million gold coins!"
It wasn’t long after that did the knocks echo out through the auctions.
Meanwhile, Michael was barely half-listening to the presentation of the automobiles.
Although he’d get a lot of money for it, he wanted to prioritize the Drone upgrades—or more specifically, his dilemma.
Still, he couldn’t decide. Both options had their own pros and cons.
He was so concentrated on thinking about it that he didn’t hear Shiena calling out to him at the last minute.
"Lord Michael!"
Finally, he snapped out of his stupor and turned towards her. "Sorry, what is it?"
"I have been made aware that you have been called to a meeting with the Rising Six. They have been unable to reach out to you since they couldn’t find our VIP suite anywhere, but our Shadow Orcs informed us of the situation.
Would you like to accept, Lord Michael?"
Normally, he would have declined since he wanted to concentrate on his Drone upgrades. But after thinking about it, having a second opinion might enlighten him on some things.
After all, they were pretty strong Maugnetics. Maybe they had some opinions on whether it was better to have offense or defense during fights.
"Alright, I’ll go over there and meet with them," he said.
Sheina then walked over to the wall and knocked on it.
Just then, a magic circle appeared on where she knocked and created a portal to another Pocket Dimension, presumably a room where all the Rising Six had gathered.
He thanked her and stepped on over to the portal, immediately transporting him to a large room with a circular table in the middle.
The six people that were already sitting on the table looked towards his direction, surprised at his appearance.
"Michael!"
Reptar was the first to greet him, immediately going up out of his seat and clamping on his shoulders. "We were trying to find you! It’s good that you’re here!"
Erlos came towards him too and offered a milder greeting.
Then, Phim and Tenzing, the two people he hadn’t met personally, also got up off their seats and introduced themselves to him.
"It’s nice to finally meet you! Phim, from Angelic Crafts."
"The name’s Tenzing! You need anything from the Mountain Movers, just say the word!"
He greeted both of them. And even though this was the first time he met them, it felt like he had already known them before.
This was probably due to the fact that he already fought against their Aubilities.
After greeting the two, he went over to Reena, who he was most familiar with out of all of them.
Yet, instead of greeting him, she just turned her head away from him.
"Umm...hello?"
"Hi...," she replied, keeping her face away from him.
He thought they’d gotten closer after what happened during the game. But it looked like the opposite happened. She couldn’t even look at him!
Then, Michael turned to Beau.
And to be honest, seeing her so soon after the fight felt a little bit awkward. He held out his hand for a handshake and said;
"Hey. It’s nice to—"
And before he could even finish his words, Beau took his hand and pulled him closer towards her.
He was completely caught off-guard and came face to face with... two mounds... that felt like marshmallows.
The other Rising Six were shocked into silence.
Meanwhile, Reena had her jaws completely on the floor, with her entire head as red as a tomato.
"HEY!" she screamed, taking Michael away from her. "What are you doing?!"
Beau shrugged and pulled Michael closer again, burying him again in her chest.
"What am I doing? I’m expressing my interest in him, that’s what."
Hearing those bold words immediately made Reena lose her words. "Wha—...I’m...you..."
Beau looked down at him and smiled. "You beat me. You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for someone to do that. And now that I found you, I think it’s only natural that I try to keep you for myself!"