Chapter 28: Double
Everyone turned their heads to look.
In a corner, a bald man with a face full of excess flesh was raising a sign with a bid.
"Who is that guy?" someone asked.
"I don't know," another replied.
"Where does he get the confidence to bid a billion?"
"The key point is, he's daring enough to challenge the Sun and Tang families right now?"
Whispers filled the room as people speculated.Huxley, who had just taken over Billy Bruno's position, was still relatively unknown. At least, those who hadn't interacted with him wouldn't recognize him.
Clayton Cain, who was about to stand up, froze momentarily. He turned to look at Huxley, then shifted his gaze to Chasel Mills, his expression darkening instantly.
Chasel Mills seemed to notice his stare and smiled back at him!
Clayton Cain's face grew even more grim.
"Mr. Cain, should we raise our bid?" asked his assistant.
Clayton Cain waved his hand dismissively.A billion was already squeezing their profit margins significantly.
If they raised the bid any further, they wouldn't be able to talk about profits. The Tang and Sun families might not be able to come up with that much money right now.
But if the Sun and Tang families couldn't afford it, how could Huxley possibly manage?
At that moment, even with Clayton Cain's high intelligence, he couldn't fathom any possible scenario.
The only explanation he could come up with was that Huxley had been pushed by Chasel Mills to make a deliberately high bid, knowing he didn't have that much money. The aim wassimply to annoy him.
The Sun and Tang families were determined to secure the Qingshui Mountain City project, and this was no secret among the upper echelons of Verdant City.
It wouldn't be hard for Chasel Mills to learn this information. By intentionally inflating the price, he was trying to force Clayton to raise his bid, which would ultimately mean spending several hundred million more even if he managed to win the project.
The profit margin would be razor-thin, or even non-existent—just a futile effort.
Chasel Mills, you really think you have this all figured out!Unfortunately, you've miscalculated!
A cold smile crept onto Clayton Cain's face.
With no money, no power, and no influence, no matter how clever you think you are, in the end, you'll just end up empty-handed, or worse, burn yourself with your own fire!
Immediately, Clayton stood up and said calmly, "Anyone can talk, but as far as I know, Huxley Mr. Campbell, you wouldn't be able to come up with ten billion, let alone even one billion, would you?"
"I have the right to request the organizers to re-evaluate your financial standing."
Clayton sneered.
At the same time, he looked at Chasel Mills with the gaze of someone in power, filled with mockery.
You think you can play games with me?
"Do you really think I'm going to raise the price and take a loss of several hundred million?"
How foolish.Suzaku noticed the expression on Clayton Cain's face and couldn't help but smile slightly. He leaned over to Chasel Mills and whispered, "Aurelian, I think he's misunderstood!"
Chasel Mills nodded in agreement.
He looked at Clayton Cain with a hint of sympathy.
Sometimes, being too clever backfires!
Did you really think I was trying to deliberately inflate the price to trick you?
Unfortunately, you've got it all wrong!
You're not even worth the effort for me to scheme against you!To Chasel Mills, money was just a string of numbers.
Even if it was two billion or three billion, what would it matter if he secured the Qingshui Mountain City?
Profit or loss didn't concern him at all.
However, Chasel Mills had to consider that this was a key tourism project that the Verdant City government wanted to develop to boost the local economy.
So, he certainly wouldn't act recklessly.
He had hired professionals for this!
When faced with Clayton Cain's request for a re-evaluation of funds, the organizers hesitatedfor a moment before giving their response.
"Alright, let's have both parties undergo a re-evaluation of their assets!"
Everyone else watched the unfolding drama with keen interest.
Clayton Cain's team quickly wrapped up their asset verification. Now it was Huxley's turn.
Huxley felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "Mr. Mills, even if I pledged all my venues, I wouldn't even reach a billion..."
As he saw the staff approaching, he turned to Chasel Mills for help, desperation in his eyes. After all, he had quoted the price based on Chasel's advice."Those who aim for great things must remain calm and composed. Why are you panicking?" Chasel Mills replied coolly.
Huxley thought to himself, "How can I not panic?"
If he couldn't come up with the money, they would become the laughingstock of Verdant City. Worse yet, they would offend the influential figures and the city government, who were all heavily invested in this project.
If that happened, establishing themselves in Verdant City would become nearly impossible.
Clayton Cain's gaze remained fixed on Chasel Mills, and seeing Huxley's anxious expression only made him smirk inwardly.Sure enough, he hadn't guessed wrong! Chasel Mills, now let's see how you save face.
For men, what matters most is their reputation.
Clayton Cain could already imagine how embarrassed Huxley would be after this incident, and when he returned, Huxley might not even need them to deal with Chasel Mills—he would handle it himself.
With that thought, Clayton adjusted his glasses again, a confident smile spreading across his face.
At that moment, a staff member approached Huxley. "Mr. Campbell, could you please cooperate with us?"
Huxley rubbed his bald head and glanced at Chasel Mills.
Chasel was the backbone of the situation.
Since Chasel seemed so calm, Huxley believed he wouldn't intentionally put him in a difficult position.
"Please hold on for a moment; someone will come to assist you," Chasel said lightly.
He had already sensed the hurried footsteps approaching.
"Hold on for a moment? Do you really think dragging this out will help?" Clayton said coldly. "Don't even talk about a moment; even if you had a day, ten days, or even a year, can you bring in a billion?""I suggest that anyone who disrupts the auction and causes trouble should be kicked out immediately!"
As soon as Clayton Cain spoke, the security guards sprang into action. After all, Clayton was a rising star in Verdant City and the public face of the Cain family group, enjoying a peak of popularity.
It was clear that Chasel Mills and Huxley couldn't possibly come up with the money; they were just setting themselves up for humiliation. Anyone with a bit of sense knew that at this moment, they had to side with Clayton Cain.
"What if I could bring in a billion?" Chasel Mills slowly stood up, looking at Clayton with a half-smile.Clayton's cold smirk remained unchanged. At this point, did Chasel still dare to show off? He was truly asking for trouble.
"If you can bring in a billion right now, I'll double it for you!" Clayton sneered.
Could Chasel Mills really come up with a billion immediately? What a joke! Even with the combined efforts of the Sun and Tang families, after more than six months of preparation, they barely managed to scrape together that amount in liquid assets.
Unless Chasel Mills was a god, it was utterly impossible.
Of course, Clayton wasn't foolish; he emphasized the word "now" heavily, making it clear that it was limited to the present moment.
However, just as Clayton Cain finished speaking, a voice suddenly rang out from the entrance of the bidding hall. "One billion! I'll bid one billion. Sir, you might want to get ready for that twenty billion in funds!"