The excitement of everyone was contagious.
The atmosphere at the site was more heated than ever before.
Seeing that the timing was right, Robert ordered the container to be opened.
As the container door swung open, those at the front were about to swarm in but were driven back by a choking plume of smoke.
"Damn, what the hell is this?"
"Is it on fire?"
This sudden turn of events caught Robert off guard.
Hastily checking the interior of the container, his face fell considerably after a quick scan.
The container was charred black inside, and all the cargo had been reduced to ashes.
It must have been the high temperatures a few days ago that caused some items to spontaneously combust, incinerating all the goods inside.
The fact that it hadn't spread to other containers was a small mercy in an unfortunate situation.
He was initially hoping to make a substantial commission from the remaining two containers, but now the situation looked grim.
"This cargo is toast."
"Even the container is burnt to a crisp; there's no way the contents are okay."
"Of course, even if there were metal objects, they'd be warped by the heat."
The treasure hunters were buzzing with discussions.
Many of them, seeing the state of the container, couldn't help but shake their heads.
In the crowd, Joseph Thompson was coughing so hard his eyes were watering.
In an attempt to get a better look, he had forced his way to the front, only to be greeted by a cloud of smoke.
"Fuck! Fuck!" Joseph Thompson shook the ash from his hair while cursing loudly, his entire figure stained black by the smoke.
Angrily, he shouted at Robert, "Robert, what the hell is this?!"
"You dare to auction off something like this, are you playing us for fools?"
Robert was also feeling frustrated.
With the current fervor of the crowd, the bidding for this container could have matched, if not surpassed, the previous one.
That would have been a sizable commission, but now it was all turned to ashes along with the cargo.
He apologized sincerely, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm very sorry."
"Our port has always been diligent with the safety control of containers. We didn't expect such an incident."
"As a way to show our apology, we will give a 20% discount on the final price of the last container, regardless of who wins the bid!"
Such a decisive way of handling things caused Daniel to see Robert, who was otherwise known for bluffing, in a new light.
Indeed, upon hearing this, the mood of the treasure hunters eased somewhat.
A staff member behind Robert whispered, "Should we remove this container now?"
Robert turned back, his eyes wide, "Why should we?"
The staff member looked baffled, "It's in this state, should we continue the auction?"
Robert sneered, "Do you know why you can't become an auctioneer?"
"Because you fail to see through human nature."
He turned back, looking at the crowd.
Despite the fact that the goods inside the container were burnt beyond recognition, with many treasure hunters swearing in frustration, some were still closely observing the container!
Robert's smile grew satisfied, "These treasure hunters are no different from gamblers in casinos. Given a chance, however slim, they'll stake it all."
"This is the insatiable betting spirit of gamblers."
Although the staff member nodded in agreement, he still found it hard to believe.
Would people still bid for a container that's been burnt to such a mess?
Daniel pushed his way to the front.
Even though the items were unrecognizable due to the fire, Daniel was able to identify them through his system.
As he prepared to observe, he saw Robert approaching the crowd.
"Alright!"
"Since the container has turned out this way, there's nothing much to see. Everyone, feel free to start bidding!"
Once his words fell, people started looking at each other.
True, the container was destroyed, but it might contain the collectibles of the E-country tycoon.
If there was anything that survived the fire, it could still be worth a decent sum.
Although the chance was slim, no one wanted to let it slip away.
However, given the unusual circumstance, nobody knew how to start bidding.
In the crowd, Joseph Thompson was the most indecisive.
He knew there was a high probability that the robbed treasures were in this container, but he wasn't sure if they were damaged by the fire.
After much hesitation, he bid, "10,000!"
At this, the other treasure hunters were flabbergasted.
Allen shot him a bewildered look, asking in surprise, "Joseph Thompson, have you lost your mind?"
Bidding ten grand for a pile of unidentifiable, damaged items.
If that's not foolish, then it's insanity.
Joseph Thompson, not one to take insults lying down, retorted, "You're the one who's lost his mind. Bid if you dare, or shut up and stand aside."
Allen pursed his lips, muttering, "If I did bid, then I'd really be the fool."
Just when Robert was about to announce that Joseph Thompson was the only bidder, suddenly, Emilia raised her hand.
"15,000!"
On hearing Emilia's bid, Joseph Thompson turned to her and yelled, "Are you fucking crazy? You want this too?"
Emilia gave a seductive smile, "You've made a bid, can't we? You're being a bit too domineering."
Daniel was somewhat puzzled, as he hadn't yet seen any value in this container.
In the live stream room, someone commented, "I know this woman, she's a shill!"
"Really? How do you know?"
"There's a vlogger who analyzed previous Container Hunt auction shows. No matter what the item is, whether or not anyone bids, she always raises her voice. And most of the time, she doesn't compete to the end. She just raises the price and then gives up."
"Fuck, that's disgusting."
"I understand if they do this with ordinary goods, but with this mess, she isn't scared of scaring people off and getting stuck with it?"
"Who knows? Maybe she's trying her luck."
Daniel learned all this from the conversation in the live streaming room.
He glanced at Emilia.
He'd have to be careful not to be fooled by this woman in the future.
The bidding war between Emilia and Joseph Thompson stirred up the enthusiasm of some straightforward treasure hunters.
In just a few exchanges, the price of the container had been raised to 30,000.
This was for a batch of goods that had been burnt to a crisp!
Just because of Robert's introduction, everyone was unwilling to give up that tiny chance.
For the first time, Daniel witnessed the craziness of gambling!
His gaze fell on the container, he was curious to see what was left of value in the stuff these people were frantically bidding for.
...
[Item]: Container
[Age]: Modern
[Condition]: Heavily Damaged
[Details]: Contains goods from the city of Lomand in E country, most of which have been burnt to rubbish.
[Appraisal]: A must-have item! You'll regret it if you don't grab it!
[Market Price]: 0
[Buyback Price]: 10 million StellaCoins.
...
Seeing the evaluation given by the system, Daniel was stunned.
A must-have item, he would regret it if he didn't grab it?
Was it really that dramatic?
What surprised him most was seeing an item for the first time where the system-given Buyback Price was higher than the appraised market value.
Daniel couldn't help but ponder, "What on earth could this be? It's worth nothing on the market, but the always stingy system is offering such a high price."
He couldn't figure it out.
Just then, Joseph Thompson, looking at everyone with a smirk, said, "30,000 StellaCoins, anyone else bidding?"
"To be honest with you, I've set my eyes on this batch of goods. Better give me some face!"
People thought about it, Joseph Thompson was a local hoodlum with a bit of a reputation.
To provoke him for this slim chance of making money didn't seem worth it.
With that in mind, many people gave up on bidding.
Robert glanced at Joseph Thompson, quite dissatisfied.
Obviously, many people still wanted to bid, but because of this jerk's words, they backed off.
It seemed that this container could only go for this price.
Just as he was about to announce the result, Daniel scoffed, "Just because you have a bigger face than your ass, we should give you face?"
Before Joseph Thompson could get angry, Daniel raised his hand, "I'll bid, 31,000."
Just one thousand StellaCoins more than Joseph Thompson's bid.
Joseph Thompson's face darkened, showing extreme displeasure, "Very well."
"I want to see just how gutsy you can be!"
With that, he gave a new bid, "35,000!"
Daniel continued to follow, "36,000."
Joseph Thompson: "40,000!"
Daniel: "41,000."
"45,000!"
"46,000."
"50,000!"
"51,000."
Each time Daniel bid, he only raised the price by a thousand over Joseph Thompson's.