The Fiery Auction

Kent spoke the truth. Since the Earthstar anomaly, humanity had been forced to huddle inside the Star Cities, barely stabilizing their footing after several decades.

While human strength had grown significantly, it was still insufficient to counter the monsters and reclaim lost territory, especially as the creatures kept growing stronger and more numerous. Moreover, many native beasts from the numerous otherworlds connected to Earthstar had already entered the planet.

The situation was only going to get more dire. To launch a counterattack, humanity would need more time to develop.

Of course, that didn't stop humanity from dreaming of such a future, and Kent himself shared that vision.

Song Xiaolong from the National Security Consortium knew this well but had a different idea. He intended to control strategic resources, like the Red Fire Ore, within the National Security Consortium, ensuring they weren't wasted. If misused, these ores could be exhausted quickly.

Kent, however, had a different approach. Building a teleportation array was important, but with his enormous potential, he wasn't convinced that new ways to construct arrays or acquire materials wouldn't emerge in the future. Worst-case scenario, he could ask the Skyfire Kylin for more. After all, the Kylin was a powerful being with vast experience and travel history, so Kent doubted it only had access to one vein of Red Fire Ore.

As everyone had no further comments, Yu Hewei spoke up: "Let's officially begin the auction now. Today, we have twenty billion pounds of low-level ore and two million pounds of mid-level ore for auction. Each time, we will auction two billion pounds of low-level ore or two hundred thousand pounds of mid-level ore."

In other words, they were auctioning ten thousand tons of low-level ore and one thousand tons of mid-level ore per session, which wasn't much at all.

"However, the method for constructing the teleportation array will be auctioned separately. There will be one auction per day for it. Please keep your eyes on it and bid accordingly."

Yu Hewei clapped his hands with a smile and continued, "Alright, let's start. The first auction item is two billion pounds of low-level Red Fire Ore, starting at 200 million credits. The bidding increments must be no less than 10 million credits. The floor is now open."

One credit was equivalent to one dollar on Earthstar, and one credit could buy a block of low-level Red Fire Ore that contained abundant fire energy, which was quite a good deal. Even though the starting price could be 300 million or 400 million credits, no one would oppose it—after all, this was a strategic resource and energy fuel. However, if the starting price was too high, the bidding competition would be limited.

Kent wasn't the type to be overly concerned with the price. He remembered the online comments about rich people who "had a mine at home." It was probably a wealthy, extravagant player.

"250 million," Song Xiaolong from the National Security Consortium raised his paddle first.

"280 million," Elder Ye Guangquan from the Ye family followed up.

"300 million," Elder Hua Shan from the Hua family adjusted his beard.

…

After several rounds of bidding, no one raised their price further. The final bid was 430 million credits.

"430 million, going once."

"430 million, going twice."

"430 million, going three times."

"Sold!" With a loud thud of the gavel, the Wind Thunder Consortium secured the first batch of Red Fire Ore at 430 million credits.

Yu Hewei maintained his smile and proceeded, "Next, we have the second auction item: 200,000 pounds of mid-level Red Fire Ore. The fire energy contained in one piece of mid-level Red Fire Ore is a hundred times that of a low-level piece, and it is purer and more refined. Ordinary uses don't require mid-level Red Fire Ore, but for building teleportation arrays, feeding beasts, or forging weapons, the higher the quality, the better. Therefore, its base price is 1 billion credits, with a minimum increase of 10 million credits per bid."

The total fire energy in 200,000 pounds of mid-level Red Fire Ore might seem like only one-tenth of what was in 20 billion pounds of low-level Red Fire Ore, but its purity was a hundred times greater.

So, the base price of 1 billion credits wasn't too much.

"120 million," Song Xiaolong raised his paddle again. He was highly interested in the Red Fire Ore and intended to buy all of it.

However, others had the same idea, so the only way to win was to raise the price.

"130 million," Elder Huang Guyuan from the Huang family added.

The Huang family was one of the top ten families of Earthstar City, extremely wealthy, with assets worth trillions. The Huang family had a particular interest in mining and had built their fortune on it.

…

The final bid came to 190 million credits, and the National Security Consortium secured the mid-level ore.

The auction process continued without any changes, with rounds of low-level and mid-level Red Fire Ore being auctioned.

By the end of the twenty rounds, the total amount raised was an astonishing 6.5 billion credits. Kent wasn't surprised; if Red Fire Ore were only being sold as fuel, the auction would likely have raised about 3 billion credits alone.

"Now, all the Red Fire Ore has been sold. There is only one item left: the method to build the teleportation array. I'm sure you've all been waiting for this, but there is only one copy available, and it has already been patented. This auction is authorized by my friend Kent. Once you win the bid, you may not share it with anyone else—it's for your family's use only and may not be traded," Yu Hewei emphasized.

There were no objections.

"Alright, the starting price for the teleportation array construction method is 1 billion credits, with a minimum increase of 100 million per bid."

"1 billion?" Even with the presence of such powerful families, many in the room were shocked. It was an audacious price, but after thinking about it, it was worth the starting price. This was a strategic technology, and if used correctly, its value would exceed 1 billion by far, possibly even generating hundreds of billions.

"Yes, 1 billion credits. And when you build the teleportation array, Kent will have teleportation privileges. You cannot refuse his use, but of course, Kent will pay the teleportation fees."

That wasn't a problem.

Unless one were at odds with Kent, letting him teleport once wasn't a big deal—after all, Kent would be paying the fees.

"Alright, let the bidding begin," Yu Hewei said.

"1.5 billion," Song Xiaolong from the National Security Consortium spoke up. He was determined to get the teleportation array method, especially since they had already secured the Red Fire Ore.

However, he had underestimated the determination of the other bidders.

"1.6 billion," Elder Huang Guyuan from the Huang family raised the price. They had a mining business, and if they could build a few teleportation arrays, they could transport the mined ores quickly into the city without needing a large workforce for protection. One person with a space ring could handle it.

"1.7 billion."

This time, it was Peng Xianyu from the Wind Thunder Consortium. The Wind Thunder Consortium was also wealthy, with its business focused on training mercenaries. They had built several large mercenary groups, hunting monsters in the wild to gather resources. Having a teleportation array would greatly improve their combat efficiency.