Chapter 340.2: Auction in Turmoil

Meanwhile, across the ocean, in the office of a CIA project team.

Fick watched helplessly as the auction item was taken by a mysterious buyer, kicking the table in frustration. "Damn it!"

It was the third time he had done it that day.

The table legs were almost crippled from his kicks, yet it didn't ease the frustration within him.

4 million silver coins!

Where did such a massive bid come from?

"The timing was too rushed, and it coincidentally happened during the temporary one-day suspension... There was simply no room to do anything within that short amount of time." The trader sitting in front of the computer wore a pained expression.

He had been working non-stop for nearly 24 hours straight, and now, he encountered such a frustrating situation, leaving him mentally and physically exhausted.

A colleague sitting nearby shook his head. "... We've almost bought up all the silver coins from the speculators. No matter how much we raise the price, it's useless without transaction volume."

"We haven't run out of bullets, yet the battle is already over... Shit, I've never been so frustrated with a market!" The trader scratched his head.

"What's even more frustrating is that we’re not the only ones placing bids in USD! Others are also competing with us in the same currency!"

"Damn it, couldn't they wait a bit longer? We would still sell it to them in the end! Why fight amongst ourselves?"

Complaints filled the office.

Working 24 hours overtime for a result like that was unacceptable to anyone.

The trader looked towards Fick, the lead on the case. "What do we do now? The auction is over, but we've spent a fortune on a bunch of worthless digital coins... Should we sell when the market opens?"

Fick's face darkened, crossing his arms, pondering for a while before suddenly speaking. "No need to rush to sell... The auction might not be over yet."

Spending millions of dollars on a bunch of worthless digital coins, even with his influential connections, couldn't guarantee his safety.

Losing the auction was, at most, a tactical setback.

However, choosing to cut his losses and selling the coins would mean that he had actually failed. Even if he minimized economic losses for his benefactors and superiors, it wouldn't salvage his own career.

He only had one path now. He had to prove that the string of numbers in their account had value.

As for how he would do it... It was quite simple.

As long as the buyer who took the auctioned item showcased their purchase, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, it would show his superiors and benefactors that the silver coins indeed could buy something valuable, and the real reason for not securing the purchase was due to insufficient support from the top level. He probably wouldn't be demoted just for a tactical loss but could even gain greater support from the headquarters!

Truly valuable things couldn't be hidden.

By keeping an eye on industry-related news, one could always find some clues.

Thinking about the possibility, Fick gradually calmed down, regaining his confidence.

A single failure wouldn't count for much.

They still had 3 million silver coins in their account!

There might be another chance in the next auction.

"... But when will the next one be? There's no new announcement on that website," the trader whispered.

The people in the office exchanged glances, murmuring softly among themselves.

"It doesn't matter when the next one is!" Fick raised his voice, interrupting the whispered conversations. "... What matters is that we should establish a regular mechanism for acquiring silver coins."

"Not only should we refrain from selling what we have, but we must also continue buying at the right price, ensuring our account has enough silver coin reserves."

"This way, when the next opportunity arises, we won’t be thrown into such chaos.”

Having said that, he changed his tone.

"In the end... The reason for this failure wasn't our lack of effort but the insufficient support from the headquarters! If they had followed our advice and started buying silver coins a month ago, this wouldn't have happened!"

Glancing at the people in the office, his voice was resolute, almost fanatical.

"Everyone, this is a gift from an extraterrestrial civilization. Those frantic bids are evidence; the value behind this far exceeds mere money! And it's not just us who have discovered this!"

"I'll prepare a report right away, proposing it to our headquarters, and seek support from Congress to increase our budget!"

"In any case, in this competition, we absolutely cannot lag behind others!"

The office was filled with noisy discussions, everyone's expressions varying. Some nodded in agreement, while others thought he might have gone mad.

Staking their career or even an entire professional life on something so uncertain.

Even Fick himself felt that he had gone crazy.

Similar scenes were playing out globally.

It wasn't just intelligence agencies observing the auction; industry giants with vested interests were also watching.

That included those in the burgeoning new energy sector and the titans dealing in oil and natural gas.

Although the auction price for the item might not compare to an art piece they had at home, it had the potential to disrupt markets worth trillions. It might even completely change the entire industry!

At the very least, they needed to figure out what that auctioned item was, who took it, and how they intended to use it?

Intelligence agencies worldwide were burning the midnight oil, working tirelessly.

Everyone was brainstorming ways to investigate the identity of the mysterious buyer.

And the mysterious buyer was not idle either, working equally hard, trying to reverse-engineer that mysterious film in the laboratory...

...

Meanwhile, in the wasteland.

The brightly lit Dawn City Square had completely embraced the night.

When midnight finally arrived, stalls offering beer and food gradually closed.

People who had drunk their fill walked arm in arm, heading home. Those who had drunk themselves into a stupor lay on the roadside, waiting for the guards to haul them to the station to sober up.

Looking all around, no one could tell they were in the wasteland! It was basically heaven!

Not far from the square, in the banquet hall, the sounds of clinking glasses were gradually coming to an end.

Looking at the banquet table that seemed to have been swept by a typhoon, Chu Guang hummed a tune he had picked up from somewhere, enjoying the lingering aftertaste of the banquet's end.

It was also the last bit of the good times he would have after the war was over.

Just by seeing his current lazy appearance, no one could link him to the manipulator stirring up a storm in the other world.

"Master, the auction has ended," Little Seven whispered in his ear.

Chu Guang casually replied, "Oh, got it."

Waiting for a response that never came, Little Seven asked curiously, "Huh? Master, aren't you curious who eventually got it?"

Chu Guang smiled. "What's there to be curious about? I know more about the silver coins in their pockets than they do."

Since the Alpha 0.1 version, he had developed the habit of checking players' inventories. Now, in the Beta version, with New Alliance's digitized management deepening, there was no reason to abandon this excellent tradition.

Not only did he manage to recover 4 million silver coins, he managed to lock up the liquidity of at least 30 million silver coins along with it.

Locking up some excess liquidity would allow more silver coins to be released to industries that needed it. Otherwise, it could cause inflation.

If anyone couldn't understand it, they could interpret the silver coins in the cloud gamers' pockets as fixed term interest-free deposits.

The New Alliance's treasury gained 4 million silver coins, and the Alliance's central bank had an additional credit balance of 30 million silver coins.

The former could be used for investing in public utilities, building new settlements, and covering fiscal deficits caused by wars. The latter could be lent to businesses in need of money, aiding in expanding production on the supply side.

Whether it was a business managed by players or NPCs, or even the cloud gamers who weren't involved in the game at all, everyone benefited.

After all, no one lost out!

His move definitely brought about a win-win situation!

As for the specifics, Chu Guang was too lazy to calculate for the time being; he just wanted to enjoy the banquet.

It had been a long time since he relaxed.

Ever since announcing the start of the northern campaign 2 months ago, he hadn't had a moment's rest.

Now, the tension in his mind had finally eased slightly.

As for troublesome matters, they could be considered after the night passed.

Watching the last player staggering away from the banquet scene, Chu Guang raised his glass towards his departing figure.

"Enjoy to your heart's content!"

"The honor belongs to you!"

"This is the reward you deserve!"

Don't blame me for suspending the silver coins trading platform.

This is to protect you guys.

After taking a sip of wine from the cup, Chu Guang set it to the side.

If it wasn't it being a special day, he wouldn't have touched alcohol.

Xia Yan, who was a bit of a lightweight yet fond of drinking, had already slumped onto the table, grinning foolishly with her mouth open.

Xiaoyu was staring at the cake on the plate, eating it with a face full of happiness.

But Pai, sitting next to her, wasn't that ladylike.

Having her first taste of such exquisite delicacies, she had cream and chocolate scraps all over her mouth. Before swallowing what was in her mouth, she excitedly exclaimed. "Wow, what's this! Darn it, it's too delicious!"

Xiaoyu smiled slightly, feeling proud. "Whipped cream! And chocolate! Desserts are a specialty of Dawn City!"

"What about that, what about that?" Holding a fork, Pai looked eagerly at another plate on the table.

"That's roasted deer leg... But it's better not to eat meat together with cake; it might be too heavy!"

Although Xiaoyu earnestly imparted her experience of tasting food, Pai didn't listen. She had already stuffed a big piece of meat into her mouth.

However, she struggled to swallow the delicacy.

Touching her slightly bulging stomach, and feeling perhaps she couldn't eat anymore, Pai finally put down the cutlery in her hand and leaned back on the chair. "

Wahh

, I don't get it. Why do you have so many delicious things?"

Xiaoyu asked curiously, "Don't you have those where you come from?"

During their previous conversation, she learned that Camp 101 was a place similar to Baker Street. However, instead of an exploitative old mayor, they had many knowledgeable people there. They invented many useful things, leading peaceful lives.

Honestly, Xiaoyu felt a little envious.

Especially hearing that they were taught to write and do math when they were very young, and even learned more advanced knowledge as they grew older.

That was an experience she had never had.

If it weren't for her Big Brother Chu, she'd probably still be worrying about how to lift the heavy iron pot onto the stove and wouldn't have learned so much interesting knowledge.

"Sigh," talking about her home, Pai sighed, "Although synthetic food is still edible... We don't expect much from the taste."

"Are you eating nutrient cream?" Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"It's not exactly nutrient cream... Our life is a bit better than ordinary survivors' settlements, but we can't really call it affluent in terms of energy and resources." Speaking of this, Pai suddenly remembered the big gift they received from the administrator earlier.

There seemed to be a lot of delicious things on that truck!

Thinking that the folks at the camp could also share these tasty treats, Pai felt as happy as if she had eaten honey.

What Master said was right.

Sharing with others can make even simple food delicious, let alone such delicacies!

Stealing a glance at the administrator, who was dozing off at the table and already almost asleep, Pai made up her mind.

As a representative of the visiting group, she had to sign a fantastic agreement so that everyone in the camp could enjoy such delicious food!