The lights suddenly came back on, and the previously noisy hall quickly quieted down. It didn't take long for everyone to assume it was just a power failure and that everything was fine now that it had been resolved.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening." At this point, standing at the auctioneer's spot was a blond gentleman with blue eyes, speaking fluent Chinese with great politeness as he bowed courteously.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, wondering why the auctioneer had changed after the unexpected power outage during an otherwise normal auction.
"Let me introduce myself; my name is Cole Hovde. You probably haven't heard of me before, but that's not important. As long as you all recognize me from now on, that will suffice. I suppose you still do not understand what I'm doing here talking to you..."
