Chapter 433: World's Unevenness

"An eighth-tier? Isn't that the same level as King of Clubs?" Jian Changsheng's eyes widened in shock. "Is that kid really that powerful?"

"How strange... where are all these eighth-tier individuals coming from in this world? What's the background of this Golden Society?"

"It seems the kid doesn't bear any ill will towards the Twilight Society. He probably let us go because of the poker cards... Could he be one of our seniors from the Twilight Society?"

"Impossible. That ugly kid is definitely not among the high-ranking members of the Twilight Society," Heart of Nine replied with certainty.

Jian Changsheng fell into thought.

"This is a loss," Heart of Nine said, annoyed. "We didn't get any information on the special envoy, we didn't get the gold, and we were beaten up by a little brat... Damn it, this is truly ha ha ha ha!!"

As Heart of Nine spoke, he began to laugh uncontrollably, his eyes wide with surprise, one hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

Jian Changsheng stared at him in shock, about to say something, when the next moment he, too, burst into uncontrollable laughter!

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"

Smack—

He decisively slapped himself across the face.

"What's happening?!" Jian Changsheng, clutching his face, spoke in disbelief. "We..."

"Damn it, is this white dust the culprit?"

Heart of Nine also noticed the comical white dust on both their noses. He assessed his physical condition and said with a grim face, "It seems we've been controlled by that ugly kid's ability... The white dust must be the mark he left on us. What exactly does he want?"

"Didn't he say? He told us to protect the special envoy..."

"Isn't the special envoy an eighth-tier?!" Heart of Nine snapped, clearly annoyed and showing no intention of cooperating with the clown. "Why would we need to protect him? And we're members of the Twilight Society; why should we take orders from him?"

He scoffed, adjusted his clothing, and then walked directly onto the street. Seeing this, Jian Changsheng reluctantly followed.

As soon as they stepped onto the street, they were drawn by the commotion nearby.

On the other side of the street, dozens of vehicles continuously pulled up. Countless banknotes were being packed into boxes and delivered, wave after wave, into the Red Dust Restaurant. Moreover, the people delivering the money were running extremely fast, as if afraid of being outrun by others.

"How much money was delivered this round?"

"Time is too tight, and the banks aren't open at night. This round only yielded ten million..."

"Ten million?! It's not enough! Go raise more money! If the banks aren't open, go directly to the bank managers. Even if they're asleep, drag them out of bed! The government has special people handling public relations."

"And those second-tier consortiums we have good relations with, go borrow from them. You must raise another twenty million for me within half an hour!"

"Damn it, how can those loan sharks from the Big Dipper Consortium have such abundant cash reserves?!"

"Hurry, hurry! Everyone get moving!"

Even though it was late at night, the entrance of the Red Dust Restaurant remained brightly lit and noisy. This fervent scene of money delivery utterly bewildered Jian Changsheng and Heart of Nine... They had never witnessed such a bizarre sight!

"What's going on? Have the directors of the five major consortiums been kidnapped?" Jian Changsheng couldn't fathom what was happening inside and asked in disbelief.

"Damn... how can one strange thing after another happen today?"

Heart of Nine's gaze fell upon the Red Dust Restaurant. After a brief hesitation, he waved his hand, "Let's go take a look."

They bypassed the bustling main entrance of the restaurant, then used the cover of night to slip past several layers of security set up by the consortiums around the establishment. They quietly approached a window at the edge of the conference hall and peered inside.

Inside, a figure wearing a golden mask sat in the center of the hall. Below them were five consortium directors, their foreheads beaded with sweat. Box after box of banknotes were stacked beside them, nearly reaching the ceiling.

"For the ninety-eighth item, a golden circlet, please make your bids."

As the words fell, the directors turned to look at their subordinates. Nearly every one of them had a trusted aide specifically responsible for recording the auction details: partly to keep track of how many items they had acquired, and partly to estimate how many items their rivals had obtained. Some even drew charts of the transaction prices for all ninety-eight items so far, analyzing the optimal bidding range for the current trade...

This was no longer a casual small-scale auction during a banquet. Under Chen Ling's impetus, it had transformed into a gladiatorial arena for the five major consortiums!

"That's it?" Jian Changsheng asked suspiciously. "After all that, they're just auctioning gold? And the gold isn't even large, just a small amount... At most, it's worth over a hundred thousand, right?"

Seeing such a grand display outside, Jian Changsheng had assumed something major was happening inside. Now, it seemed they were just casually auctioning off a bit of gold? For the five major consortiums, it shouldn't warrant such seriousness.

Heart of Nine was about to say something when, inside the hall, Chen Ling slowly pulled out a sheet of paper and calmly spoke:

"The highest bid for this item is 1.7 million."

"How much??!!"

Jian Changsheng and Heart of Nine simultaneously wide-eyed, almost convinced they had misheard.

"1.7 million?? For a golden circlet?! Are they insane?" Jian Changsheng felt his values collapsing.

Heart of Nine also gaped, then slapped his thigh. "Damn, this is much faster than stealing money..."

"How did this special envoy manage that? What kind of magic potion did he give the five major consortiums?"

Not long ago, Jian Changsheng and Heart of Nine had agonized over a fifteen-yuan bowl of beef noodles. Now, right before their eyes, a random piece of paper pulled out by Chen Ling was worth 1.7 million... At that moment, they suddenly understood the vast disparities of the world.

They watched as the special envoy amassed a fortune in a way they couldn't comprehend. As the word "million" echoed in their ears again and again, they couldn't help but swallow.

Outside the dim window, two streaks of white clown dust were evenly smeared across their stunned faces, a strangely poignant and comical sight.

When the one hundred ninth item was sold for 2 million, they seemed completely numb. At this point, Chen Ling also announced that only five items remained.

As soon as he spoke, the eyes of the five consortium directors flashed with shrewdness... They knew it was time to decide who would win this "battle."

At this moment, Chen Ling's gaze also became subtle. He was the only one present who clearly knew the true transaction volume of each consortium.

There were a total of 114 items for auction. Excluding the 11 items he used for self-promotion, there were actually only 103 genuine items. Currently, the Big Dipper Consortium had purchased the most items, with 29. Next was Paradise with 28, followed by Huadu with 25... As for Whale Shark and Tripod Deer, they had a combined total of only 16 items, effectively abandoning the competition.

Chen Ling's gaze swept over Mu Chunsheng, Pang Shan, and Zong Wen one by one. Seeing the ulterior motives in their eyes, he secretly sneered.

"And now, the final auction... begins."