Next, the three warehouses were also of the type that showed all the contents, and they were all bought by some locals.
Compared to foreigners, the auction prices of these warehouses that displayed all their items were almost transparent, so only locals could profit from them.
Soon the auction arrived at the warehouses filled with boxes and oiled paper packages, and everyone became cautious. Because compared to the previous auctions, the current auction was more like gambling.
"Alright, this is the fifth warehouse we are auctioning today." Finally, half an hour later, the auction came to the warehouse that Leonard had been watching earlier.
"The auction starts at 10,000 euros, with increments of 1,000. Does anyone want to bid 11,000 euros?" Leonard immediately raised his hand, and then the auctioneer pointed at him and said, "Alright, we have 11,000 euros now. Anyone wants to bid higher?"
Soon, there were whispers from behind. Apparently, not everyone noticed the mark during the previous observation, so everyone hesitated about whether to gamble or not.
"Me!" At this moment, the only female in the venue raised her hand, and from her accent, she was also a non-local.
Obviously, for many foreigners, it is unacceptable to return empty-handed after traveling all the way. So, naturally, some are willing to take the risk and gamble.
"Great, we already have 12,000 euros." The middle-aged auctioneer immediately waved his arms to liven up the atmosphere. For him, having only one buyer was just too disappointing, so he was naturally excited when he heard about the competition.
"Alright, we have 12,000 euros now. 12,000 euros, the next bid is 12,000 euros. Anyone willing to follow?"
"I will continue to follow," Leonard said in a very standard but rarely used German broadcasting accent shrugging his shoulders quite American style and muttered, "I've been driving all day to get here; I don't want to go back with an empty car."
"So now it's 13,000 euros, 13,000 euros, this is a low price. Anyone willing to raise to 13,000 euros?" When the auctioneer heard Leonard's confirmation of a follow-up, he immediately yelled out loud.
However, compared to the previous auctions, everyone was obviously more cautious this time. Because compared to the previous warehouses, there was just too little information revealed about this warehouse.
Considering that the reserve price for a warehouse is at least 10,000 euros, everyone would weigh their options carefully before bidding and also observe the attitude of the people around them.
Eventually, when Leonard raised the auction price to 15,000 euros, no one continued to bid.
That's because no one knew if those boxes were empty or filled, and the oiled paper packages were wrapped too tightly that nothing could be seen inside.
Of course, Leonard's naive demeanor also scared many people off. For everyone, coming here for the auction is about making money, not fighting egos, so they felt there was no need to compete with such a hot-headed novice.
The auctioneer, after repeatedly asking and finding no one continuing to bid, pointed to Leonard and said, "Alright, this warehouse belongs to you now."
Compared to the previous warehouses with an average price of over 20,000 euros, this warehouse could be considered significantly cheaper. When it was time to pay, Leonard paid 10,000 euros, and Pierce father and son paid the other 5,000 euros.
Leonard was more optimistic about this warehouse, so naturally he paid more money to get a bigger share of future profits.
However, everyone became excited about the next warehouse.
That's because although this warehouse was also covered with oil cloth, one corner of the oil cloth had been lifted for some reason, revealing the wooden box underneath.
Looking at the apparently mottled exterior, the overall grass-green wooden boxes seemed well-preserved and were likely used for transporting weapons.
Taking into account that the warehouse belonged to the military, the contents of the boxes were more or less predictable.
In an instant, a bidding frenzy began. After trying their luck just twice, Leonard Ethan and his party were outbid.
They realized that the warehouse's price had already exceeded their entire budget for the trip after just a few bids. In the end, a robust looking local managed to acquire the property for 63,000 euros.
However, the next warehouse went unsold, as it was completely empty except for some items in the corner covered with canvas, clearly not worth 10,000 euros.
After the auction, the bidders who hadn't won anything grumbled and drove away, while those who had successful bids backed their vehicles to the entrance to load their goods, intentionally blocking the view for others.
With Leonard Ethan and Pierce's help, the large iron gate moved slowly along its tracks to reveal a warehouse as large as an indoor basketball court.
"Alright, get the lights down first," Old Pierce parked the car at the entrance, waving for the two young men to fetch the LED lights he had prepared from a shipping container.
Once the lights were in place, Old Pierce pressed the remote control and the entire warehouse was instantly illuminated as bright as day.
Standing at the entrance, the group could clearly see the interior's reinforced concrete columns and beams, as well as the aged light fixtures on the ceiling.
On the ground, much dust had gathered on the cracked concrete floor. As the wind blew in from the open door, the dust billowed and dispersed into the air.
It had to be said that this was good news, as a dry environment was better for preserving the things inside.
Three of them donned gas masks and work clothes and began walking in while examining the oiled packages and boxes' contents.
"Red scarves, blue scarves, red scarves—" after opening more than a dozen oiled packages, Leonard Ethan found an entire row of neatly stacked, brand-new red and blue scarves on the shelf.
Looking at the packaging and conditions of the scarves, it appeared they had never been used and had been placed in the warehouse right after production.
"I have the same thing—each box contains ten wooden signs with a German letter on each. These must have been the banners used by those people in their parades," Pierce said with a dejected tone.
Indeed, while these items with distinctive historical features will always have collectors, they are undoubtedly niche collectibles. The quantity found by Leonard Ethan and Pierce almost equaled the entire annual shipment across Europe.
This finding of items with low value significantly dampened everyone's spirits, but each person continued meticulously flipping through oiled packages and wooden boxes.
According to Old Pierce, his years of treasure hunting experience taught him that only boxes used to store important items would display various badges.
Sure enough, when they reached the second shelf of oiled packages, Leonard Ethan found something different.
"—Another blue...wait?" Seeing another blue textile in the package, Leonard Ethan sighed and prepared to flip through it before moving on to the next package, but after he moved the fabric, some golden tassels emerged.
"I think I found some flags, Mr. Murphy." Leonard Ethan shouted after unfolding the fabric. "Can you tell me what these flags are?"