The Auction That Shook the Nation

It started with a single, quiet news ticker on a business channel:

"Delhi's Prime Heritage Auction to Include Plot 92 — Base Price ₹90 Cr"

No one cared at first. These heritage land auctions happened once every five years.

Mostly billionaires from Mumbai and Delhi showed up to flaunt wealth, boost brand value, or please ministers.

But then the bidding list leaked and one entry on it froze every screen:

Bidder #X – Registered as: Xylon Holdings Pvt. Ltd.Status: Pre-approvedLocation: TelanganaBackground: Unknown

Within hours, Twitter ignited.

"No way Spend King is stepping into Delhi now.""This guy's about to go national!""Plot 92 is near Parliament. If he wins that.... he owns the capital."

In Warangal, Nishanth stood before a massive LED display board inside Xylon HQ. His team of silent strategists, most from humble backgrounds, had gathered.

Adarsh read the report aloud.

"Plot 92 — 19 acres. Unused government storage land. Now declassified. Three major real estate families are gunning for it. Including Shekhawat Group."

Nishanth just asked:"How many lives can that land touch?"

"If converted properly? Over 12,000 people. We can build commercial floors, tech startups, and housing above."

"Good. Prepare a three-phase plan. No logo on the project. Call it: The Citizens' Campus."

"Understood. And the budget?"

"No limit."

Adarsh smiled,"What do you want to do when Karan shows up at the auction?"

Nishanth's reply was soft:"Let him bid first."

Meanwhile, in Delhi, Karan Shekhawat stepped off a chartered flight with his father.Dressed in a charcoal suit and escorted by five assistants, he looked sharp but inside, he was spiraling.

His father hissed near his ear as they entered the guest wing of the auction venue:

"This is national ground. If Xylon takes this from us, we lose northern credibility."

"We'll outbid him."

"How?"

"I've liquidated ₹150 Cr from our buffer accounts."

"And what if he goes beyond?"

"He won't. Even ghosts bleed eventually."

The minister's eyes narrowed.

"Then make him bleed in public."

The next morning, the auction hall at New Delhi Trade Centre was flooded with power.

Old-money tycoons in custom suits,Oil-backed businessmen,Government liaisons,Media influencers.

Supriya ,now in Delhi for a startup internship also stood outside with a press pass, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Spend King himself

She didn't expect to be allowed inside.But when she scanned her pass, the guard nodded.

"Special entry."

She blinked:"What?"

"Your badge is marked Xylon-Verified Guest."

Her heart dropped.

"He knew I'd come?"

Inside the hall, the names of registered bidders scrolled across a gold-lit screen.

One by one:

-Bajaj Holdings

-Luthra Estates

-Shekhawat Consortium

-Amreya Urban Dev

-Bidder #X – Xylon Holdings Pvt. Ltd.

People began whispering.

"Is he here?""Anyone seen him?""Check that guy in black!""No… that one's too short.""Wait, is that....?"

No one knew.

Nishanth sat in silence, in the last row, wearing a mask and navy blazer. Not because he was hiding. But because the moment wasn't right yet.

The auctioneer raised the mic.

"We begin with Plot 92. Prime government-cleared land. Starting at ₹90 crore."

Shekhawat's assistant raised his tag : "₹95 crore!"

Luthra Estates: "₹97 crore!"

Amreya Group: "₹100 crore!"

Shekhawat's turn again: "₹120 crore."

Murmurs filled the hall.That was an aggressive jump.

But expected.Then a long pause.No one moved.Until a card silently lifted from the last row.No hand spoke. No assistant whispered.

Only the display screen updated: Bidder X: ₹150 crore

The entire room gasped.

Karan's head whipped around:"WHO BID THAT?"

The screen didn't respond.

Just one line glowed:

Bidder X. Xylon Holdings.

The tension inside the auction hall was electric.

One moment, Karan Shekhawat sat with confidence — a slight smirk, chin raised, hand ready to raise his bidding paddle.

The next, his fingers trembled."One-fifty?" he whispered.

His father leaned closer,"Do you still think this is luck?"

Karan grit his teeth,"I'm not backing down."

He raised his paddle again :  "₹160 crore!"

 Gasps echoed around the chamber.The auctioneer's eyebrows rose, but she nodded.

"₹160 crore offered by Shekhawat Consortium. Going once''''''"

A calm silence followed.Karan sat straighter.He looked around, trying to find the face behind Bidder X.

Nothing.

Then, just as the auctioneer raised her hand—PADDLE UP.

Bidder X: "₹200 crore."

The hall exploded.

Phones buzzed. Mouths dropped. A few gasped aloud. Even the security at the rear turned to each other.

"Did he say…?"

"₹200?"

The screen confirmed it.

Bidder X — ₹200 Cr

Karan slammed his fist into the seat handle:"Is he INSANE!?"

Supriya, seated five rows away with her pass around her neck, couldn't breathe.That number. That calmness. That confidence.It was him.

"He's here."

She didn't know how she was sure. She just was.Her eyes scanned the hall.But all she saw were faces sweating, gasping, whispering.

Not his.

On the far end of the hall, in the final row, Nishanth sat motionless.No media. No allies. No flash.Just power.

He wasn't here to win.He was here to end the auction before it began.

The auctioneer's voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

"₹200 crore.... going once."

Silence.

"Twice...."

Karan's hand didn't move.He couldn't.Even his father remained frozen.

"Sold. To Bidder X."

A small stamp echoed through the mic.Just like that, the capital belonged to the ghost of Warangal.Backstage, reporters rushed to find the Bidder X exit route.Nothing found.He was gone.

A shadow that dropped ₹200 crores like change and vanished without a headline.

But Supriya?

She stayed seated.

Her eyes were on her lap.Her hands shook.Because in her heart, the truth wasn't just a theory anymore.It was a confirmation.

Nishanth was the Spend King.

And she had walked away from a man who now owned the skyline she dreamed of.

Later that night, Karan locked himself inside his hotel room.

Screens flashed Spend King edits.Meme pages roasted him for losing by ₹40 crores.Influencers edited reels saying:

"Shekhawat folded. Xylon didn't even flinch."

He threw his phone at the mirror.It shattered.The reflection cracked too.

His voice trembled as he whispered:"I'm going to find you and when I do.... you'll wish you stayed a ghost."

Back in Warangal, Nishanth stood before the peacock feather sculpture now completed in the Xylon atrium.

His staff stood silently behind him, a few with teary eyes.

"Sir," Adarsh said, "You just changed Indian auction history."

Nishanth didn't turn around.He spoke softly."We're not done."

He tapped into the system.

[INFINITY SPEND PROTOCOL]

₹200,00,00,000 SPENT– NATIONAL MILESTONE ACHIEVED

— National Press Access: UNLOCKED

— Political Respect Tier: UNLOCKED

— Private Jet & Island Option: UNLOCKED

— Identity Reveal Timer: OPTIONAL – Now Available

Would you like to reveal your identity to the world?

Nishanth stared at it.His finger hovered.

Then....He tapped "LATER."

"Not yet. The humiliation isn't complete."

TO BE CONTINUED........