"60 million USD," called out the No.009 bidder, breaking the silence.
"70 million USD," countered the No.015 bidder, his voice filled with determination.
The bidding war had begun, and it quickly escalated into a fierce competition. Bidders raised their paddles eagerly, each one determined to emerge victorious and claim ownership of the prestigious Private Island.
The auctioneer's voice rang out, announcing each bid as the numbers climbed higher and higher. The atmosphere in the room was electric, with excitement and anticipation filling the air.
I nod at Vince when the amount reaches 100 million USD.
He raised his paddle with a No.003 written on it while saying "110 million USD."
"120 million USD" No.014 immediately countered.
"130 million USD" No.007 also countered.
The auction hall became silent for a moment. Til the auctioneer, Ms. Lilian Cruz said "Okay, No. 007 bid 130 million, is there anyone willing to bid 140 million? Please raise your paddle if you have one."
Vince looked at me with pleading eyes.
"No! 110 million USD is already a high price for that private island. No more than that." I told him in a serious tone.
"Brother Blaze, why don't you let Vince have it?" Greg tried to help Vince.
"No!" I replied sternly.
"But I want it!" Vince stubbornly said.
"Don't make me freeze your bank account." I threatened him.
He looked away from me and started sulking.
Greg also shut his mouth.
The auction hall remains silent.
The auctioneer continued, "130 million going once, 130 million going twice, 130 million going thrice."
"Sold, for 130 million USD!"
After saying that, she knocked the hammer down hard, making a crisp crash.
Then, she turned her palm toward the rich man and said with a smile,
"Please use your applause to congratulate No.007 for winning the Private Island tonight at 130 million USD!"
The scene thundered with applause.
And that rich man, too, was thrilled to no end.
At this time, the auctioneer said again, "Next, please I ask our staff to help him confirm with the finance or his family to complete the transfer as soon as possible."
No.007 bidder immediately picked up his phone and dialed an overseas number.
The phone was quickly connected, and he immediately raised the phone to his ear and said, "Quickly pay the auction house 130 million USD ..."
Everyone then waited in silence for the confirmation of the arrival of the money.
Five minutes...
Ten minutes...
Fifteen minutes...
Then the time reaches twenty minutes.
The auctioneer received a prompt from the finance staff informing her that the money had not arrived.
"No! This can't be! What's going on? I surely have a large sum of cash in my account. I think it's your system's fault!" No.007 bidder said angrily.
"I'm so sorry but rules are rules. Our staff checks everything and the systems are doing good. Now we will let the 2nd highest bidder take this chance. His previous bid is 120 million USD" The auctioneer said.
No.014 bidder excitedly stepped onto the stage and gave his card to the staff to process the payment.
While the No.007 bidder stomped and walked out of the auction hall cursing someone on his phone.
10 minutes...
20 minutes...
The same thing happened to the No.014 bidder his payment didn't go through.
Vince immediately looks at me while raising his brow.
I smirk at him and nod.
The auctioneer then said "I'm so sorry bidder No.014 you missed your chance. We need to call bidder No.003 now to try it out."
Vince got up from his seat and walked towards the stage.
As he stepped on the stage he gave his card to the staff without saying anything.
Bidder No.014 got down from the stage and also angrily walked out of the auction hall.
After a minute a prompt indicating the transfer had been successful was received by the staff and they hurriedly informed the auctioneer.
"Tonight winner of Private Island is bidder No.003 for a price of 110 million USD. Let's all give him a round of applause.
A wave of applause and excitement swept through the room as Vince received the documents for the Private Island.
The staff leads him to the corner for the process of transferring the titles.
The auction had come to an end, leaving behind a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction to those who managed to win bids. While those who didn't, leave the room with a gloomy look.
The attendees began to depart, and we also made our way out of the hall.
As I entered my room, Vince and Greg hurriedly followed me in.
"Bro, you did something right?" Greg hurriedly asks me.
I give him a side eye while saying " What do you think?"
"Yes, you did it!" He said happily while making a thumb-up gesture.
Well, I indeed tampered with the bank accounts of all the attendees not just those two bidders. I changed the withdrawal limit of all their bank accounts and made sure that they could only change it back by tomorrow morning.
While Vince at the side is in his own world grinning from ear to ear as he stares at the documents that signify he now owns a private island.
Greg and I look at each other and then snicker.
As we walked up to Vince, he jumped, clearly surprised. Chuckling at his startled reaction, we teased, "Hey, kid, got our treat?"
Vince hurriedly put the documents in the safe and then looked at us while asking,
"Do you guys want some pizza?"
"Come on Bro, do you know other food? Is pizza and burger all you know?" Greg scratched his head while saying that.
"Then don't if you don't want to. I already ordered it anyway. Just stare while we eat." Vince taunt Greg.
"Of course, I must have my share of the pizza. It's the first time you're gonna treat us. With your stingy attitude. I can't wait to try out your first treat!" Greg countered.
"I treat you many times already!"
"You didn't! and when was that?"
"You're using my credit card, you idiot!"
"Huh? I thought that was from Brother Blaze."
"There's my initial VL written on the card."
"I thought that was a bank code."
"Enough you two, someone's knocking on the door that must be the pizza delivery." I stopped them from arguing.
Vince peeked at the hole in the door and saw who was outside then opened the door after confirming it was indeed the pizza delivery.
After some time, Vince and Greg bid me goodnight as they returned to their rooms.
Tomorrow we'll going to visit the Private Island which is now owned by Vince.