Messing With Her? Are You Crazy! novel Chapter 1771

With that, he murmured an order to his partner and walked away. The rest of the security detail remained firmly planted at the door, treating The Raven like a maximum-security threat. Standing in the center of the room, The Raven hid his trembling hands beneath his sleeves, his knuckles turning white from the strain. The absolute degradation of the moment made his entire face flush crimson. A few minutes later, the guard returned carrying a brand-new bidding device. He offered it with both hands, maintaining his flawlessly respectful demeanor. "My Lord Raven, your new terminal has been connected to the network." The Raven snatched the tablet from his hands with vicious force. But just as he turned back toward the room, the guard glanced at the device and casually added, "By the way, My Lord Raven... please handle this one with care. Any damage to Project Zero-Transit property must be compensated at full market value." The Raven snapped his head back, glaring daggers at him. The guard simply offered a slight bow, smiling politely. "I wish you the best of luck in the auction, My Lord." Without another word, he stepped back. The door slammed shut, and the lock engaged once again. The Raven gripped the terminal so hard the plastic creaked under his fingers. For a split second, he had the overwhelming urge to smash this one against the wall too. But he forced the destructive impulse down, burying it deep in his chest. He didn't care about the cost of a broken tablet. And he knew the guard didn't care about the money either. It was a calculated reminder. He no longer had the untouchable VIP status of an Obsidian Sun executive. Even a lowly security guard could quote the ship's rules and demand out-of-pocket compensation like he was a common thug! His face a mask of pure rage, he walked back and collapsed into the chair facing the monitor. The moment he saw the latest bid, his breathing hitched. The price for AWS-14 had officially broken through the fifty-two billion dollar mark. That kind of money was a massive hit, even for a juggernaut like Obsidian Sun. But he had no other choice. He ran his thumb over the edge of the terminal, his eyes turning darker by the second. Back in the auction hall, the adrenaline had reached a fever pitch. As the bids smashed past fifty-two billion, a wave of buyers finally started dropping out. The bidding lights flickered off, one by one. Wanting the asset was one thing; actually having the liquid capital to back it up was another. At this altitude, the only players left at the poker table were the true apex predators of the global underworld. These were the syndicates backed by bottomless offshore accounts. They knew they weren't just fighting over a muscular test subject. They were fighting for the neural mapping and genetic blueprints locked inside AWS-14. If they could extract that data, map out the entire biological pathway, and successfully engineer the legendary eternal phalanx... the fifty-two billion they spent today would return to them a thousand times over. Whoever controlled that tech would leave rival syndicates and global superpowers eating their dust. The temptation was simply too intoxicating for any top-tier organization to walk away from. Inside the private VIP suites, frantic financial calculations and desperate board meetings were taking place. Everyone wanted to push their chips all-in. Just as the crowd assumed the momentum would finally slow down at this astronomical height... a new bid exploded onto the massive screen. [Anonymous Bidder 01: Sixty billion dollars.]