Chapter 435
Chapter 435
Three hundred units of fake weapons, arranged in thirty rings; thirty lots with a minimum purchase price of 5 million. Will the clan heads be able to buy them?
As an investigator with a “supercomputer” in his head, Kyon had no difficulty in calculating that the annual income of the clans is on average 200 million. However, it should be borne in mind that they do not have the right to accumulate wealth in treasuries, like the august families, because their life is a continuous struggle. And yet, even they have a kind of financial cushion. In addition, today is a day for big money spending, and recently there was a black market where the clans sell their loot. And one should not forget about Valeera, who gave them a ring with money, which contained at least 350 million spheres, earned from the sale of metals.
«And the first lot goes to the gentleman at number six for twenty-five million and five hundred thousand!» – Kyon solemnly announced, pointing to the head of the clan of the 6th rank.
Isaac frowned in displeasure. Apparently, it will not be possible to buy weapons “on the cheap”. One egghead, clearly not a member of the clans, almost bought the lot for 25 million! If we start from this price, then there should be enough money for 10 lots, and that is largely due to Arpha: in her ring, in addition to 262 million divided into seven, there were another 100 million that the old man quietly appropriated for himself.
When the lots from the 2nd to the 4th were sold, each of which became more expensive by a million, the audience under the balconies began to grab their heads, because it was about crazy money for them. It became clear to the heads of the clans that the real struggle begins from this moment.
For a long time of cooperation, the leaders of the shadow clans have established an unspoken parity, according to which, instead of emptying each other’s wallets in an idiotic way, they concede the lot to a competitor, thereby demanding a mutual concession at the next auction. Now everyone seems to have forgotten about this agreement. Why?
There are many reasons: the undermining of trust due to the raid and the escape of Arpha; the desire to take advantage of the financial advantage in order to buy more weapons than clans of lower income; the desire to strengthen the clan, which means to increase its income and strengthen, or even increase its position in the ranking system of the criminal world; this is a good opportunity to put a spoke in the wheels of some individual crime bosses.
The auction administration knows about the «parity» strategy, so it puts up a deliberately high initial price. Kyon went even further: one participant with a concealment bracelet is his subordinate. His task is simple: to increase the minimum purchase price of the lot, playing on the greed and arrogance of the heads of the clans.
In fact, the leaders of the clans below the 3rd rank have repeatedly tried to silently agree not to raise the bid above a certain level and buy lots in turn, but the heads of the first three are not at all interested in equal conditions. Why, if they just have more money? One must realize his advantage. Isaac stood out particularly. He brazenly outbid and bought the lots, as if he had an endless supply of money.
{Suspicious generosity! Was it possible that there were more than 262 million in Arpha’s ring, and he appropriated the surplus for himself?! Lying bastard!} – the others began to guess.
As a result, lots from the 5th to the 15th went for 32-35 million, and from the 16th to the 29th for 36-38 million.
«And the last thirtieth lot goes to the gentleman at number one for forty million!» – the man in the golden mask loudly proclaimed.
The auction participants gasped in surprise. The price is 8 times higher than the original one! 40 million! The money that the clan heads spent on each lot clearly gave an idea of how much influence they have on the capital. Many crime bosses with a lower rank felt their inferiority.
{Damn it, how much money did Arpha carry with her?!} – all the heads of the clans swore. If there had been no raid, they would have divided her property on the spot, but everyone had to take the old man’s word for it. It seems that he has deceived everyone significantly!
Behind the mask of composure on Isaac’s face, annoyance and irritation were hidden. He bought only 8 lots and already felt robbed, because he had spent all the clan’s reserves! Moreover, he will have to borrow from his people. What humiliation. But it’s worth it. In a few years, everything will pay off, and the weapons will remain. The strength of the clan will increase significantly – this is what is important.
«Dear sirs, I am sure that you can’t wait to get the lots purchased for many millions into your hands as soon as possible. They will be brought to you now. And I, using my authority, declare a fifteen-minute break. Thank you for your attention.» – Kyon bowed out unhurriedly.
Fifteen minutes should be enough for the payment, because any normal rich man divides his fortune into portions, which greatly simplifies the calculation of money. In addition, any amount of money can be felt unmistakably by scanning.
It seems that the confident tone of the masked man convinced everyone that he had the right to decide when the break would come, so some of those present went up to go to the restroom.
The auctioneer, one of the most important representatives of the underground auction, gritted his teeth with anger. No matter how important this guest is according to the authorities, he goes beyond all boundaries. First, he went on the stage to sell his lots out of turn, and now he announces an unscheduled break and in fact wants to receive money not after the end of the auction, but at the beginning of it. Unfortunately, it’s too late to change anything: some participants have left the auction hall, and it would be stupid to stop them.
The words of the man in the golden mask seemed somewhat offensive to the heads of the clans, as if the guest from Saturn did not trust them. Even if they are mostly criminals, he should have behaved more politely with such respected customers. However, since they wanted to get their hands on expensive weapons as soon as possible, they did not object, but instead they patiently waited for the auctioneer’s assistants to bring them the lots.
A minute before the end of the break, Kyon met two beauties backstage, next to them were two big serious men with their arms crossed on their chests, and the auctioneer was standing in front of them.
The representative of the underground auction came up closer: «Mr. “Weapon Master”, I am happy to inform you that we have earned nine hundred and ninety-two million from the sale of thirty lots! I congratulate you on a huge profit!» – he shook his partner’s hand.
Kyon sold 300 units of fake weapons, getting the approximate cost of a small town for them. Considering that the weapon hits the lord phasers at the beginning stage, it is equivalent to three hundred lord phasers. If someone asked if 300 lord phasers of some town were more valuable, then any sane person would answer unequivocally – yes.
«The auction commission for you personally is only twenty percent. We will make the exact calculation after the event, so you will have to stay with us.»
«The participant number two bought six lots with a total value of two hundred and three million. Let’s not count pennies, but just settle up without too much fuss.»
«Oh… You are very generous, but I need to get an answer from my superiors…»
«I’m not in a hurry.» – Kyon lied.
The auctioneer made the call and received approval. He took the ring with the money that belonged to the Ravenfeather clan, and gave all the other rings to the masked man.
«Let me make sure that there are two hundred and three million.» – with a serene look, Kyon stretched out his palm.
«Of course.» – the man agreed. As soon as he handed over the ring, suddenly the whole room plunged into impenetrable darkness. When the light returned, the masked man was still standing nearby, but something had changed… The vibrations of pure energy came from him, and his gaze… He looked at everyone present as if they were dead.
…
Twenty minutes have passed since the beginning of the pause. All the participants of the auction asked the same question: where is the auctioneer? What is the reason for the delay? Subtle signs of anxiety began to appear in the behavior of those present. Nothing like this happened in the past.
Isaac called Edward’s bodyguards again and sighed again in disappointment. The little bastard is still having fun with some woman. The mood fell below the baseboard. A few shots from the new weapon could improve the mood, but in the «buffer zone» it is impossible.
Finally, the same man in the golden mask appeared on the stage. When he took it off, the people present twisted their faces in disgust, because he turned out to be incomprehensibly ugly… In addition to his monstrous appearance, there was something alarming about him: there was a grave gloom in his eyes, as if the reaper of death was looking at his victims. There were also vibrations of pure energy coming from him.
«Despicable», – Kyon spoke up with undisguised contempt in his voice. – «I am incredibly amazed by the fact that such mediocre degenerates were able to subdue the entire criminal syndicate of Dantes. Some kid just cheated you out of a billion. Honestly, if I were you, I’d die of shame right now.»
The auction participants froze in shock, staring blankly at the speaker. Such flagrantly offensive behavior of the guest of the auction, the practitioner of a pathetic superior phase in the presence of a huge crowd of lord phasers and royal phasers, who were also the criminal authorities of the capital was an incomprehensibly absurd phenomenon. They simply could not believe what they had heard.
«Couldn’t I have heard properly?» … «He called us… degenerates?» … «Is this some kind of test?» … «Maybe he’s sick? I would not be surprised…»
«What does all this mean?!» – Isaac asked furiously, jumping up from his seat. His loud voice echoed throughout the hall. There was excitement and even fear in it. Because of this, everyone present also began to come to their senses and looked around in confusion in search of danger.
The intuition of the head of the Black Star clan shouted to him about the deadly danger. There are many reasons for this: the grandson does not come for too long; huge expenses on lots, for which they immediately asked for payment; the strange disappearance of the auction staff in the last 5 minutes… And now this.
«Is it clearer this way?» – Kyon asked, snapping his fingers.
~BOOM~
Thirty rings with fake weapons inside, bought at the price of an average city, spewed out their contents, which turned into a firework of metal fragments that splattered the surrounding people.
«W-what was that?!» … «Did the rings with weapons explode?!» … «Were the clan heads deceived?!» … «B-but the administration of the underground auction would never do that!» – the audience shouted, more and more succumbing to panic.
The heads of the clans stared with reddened eyes at the iron filings – all that remained of the miracle weapon, for which they had given almost all their savings.
«DID YOU THINK TO FUCK WITH US?!» – Isaac barked indignantly, jumping down with a bang. He was followed by enraged members of his clan. Diego also jumped down, followed by the others. Their faces were contorted with rage.
The excitement in the hall has reached a critical point. Those present looked fussily at the exit, others were looking for at least some representative of the auction, others cursed and called the auctioneer or the guards to explain what was happening. But no one responded.
Kyon tried to get the opponents down from their balconies. Now is the time to end: «As I said earlier, today’s auction is unique because your souls will ascend to heaven. I’m glad that all of you, vile scum, are here today. Burn in hell!»
Isaac rushed forward to grab the rascal by the neck, but at the very last moment the scoundrel disappeared with a light pop, and then something happened that no one expected…
The auction turned into a miniature department of hell.
~BAAAAAAAAAAANG~
A powerful explosion turned the auction into a miniature branch of hell. Hundreds of tons of earth, granite, marble and dust burst out of the ground, which resembled a miniature volcanic eruption. The orange mushroom rushed into the sky, and every resident of the capital could see it. The shock wave knocked out all the windows within a radius of 500 meters from the epicenter. The sound wave spread to the entire Dantes.
Many citizens of the capital were scared to death, and even the royal phasers were shivering from the booming roar, roughly estimating what kind of powerful attack caused such an effect: probably the work of an imperial phaser at the middle or at the finishing stage!
Meanwhile, Kyon, carelessly chewing gum, indifferently watched the explosion, at the top of one of the towers of the city. A second earlier, he had escaped from the thick of things by teleporting to his clone. Here it is – the first implementation of the most amazing escape technique in the world. It took more than a month of hard training to create it.