Scratching her chin, Elspeth said thoughtfully, “I still need a 500-year-old ginkgo, but it can only be bought from the auction. We’ll have to wait until evening.”
He scanned around. “Are you hungry? We’ll grab a bite if you’re hungry.”
Similar to a small commercial street, the underground black market had all sorts of facilities within, including food, drinks, and entertainment, but the prices were sky-high. Checking the menu in front of her, Elspeth was flabbergasted to see that just a plate of pasta was priced at 100 dollars.
She didn’t even bat an eyelid when paying one million for herbs but felt it was daylight robbery when the pasta cost one hundred. Bearing the pain, she ordered the pasta. Just then, she saw a familiar person at the next table when she returned the menu.
Isn’t that… Arthur? Isn’t he in Damoria? What’s he doing here? she wondered.
However, the important thing now was he shouldn’t discover them here. In a hurry, she came up with an idea and fished out two pairs of sunglasses from her bag. After putting on a pair, she shoved the other into Callum’s hand.
“Arthur is around. Put it on quickly.”
Callum understood it and put the sunglasses on obediently. “Why is he around here?” he whispered.
Actually, he had caught sight of Arthur earlier, too, but he wasn’t sure. It seemed like he had been right all along.
“What else could it be? Most probably, he’s also here for the auction. Do you think he’s here for the ginkgo, too?”
At the thought of this, Elspeth’s heart raced nervously.
“It’s okay. The Winthrops are loaded.”
“It’s not about the money. If Arthur is up to some hanky-panky, it will be tough to get the ginkgo this time.”
She thought about it, and all of a sudden, she came up with a great plan.
At the auction, she looked around, and as she expected, she saw Arthur seated not far away with his head lowered and reading something. The almost unnoticeable smile on his lips made her worry, though.
While she was uninterested in the items that were auctioned in the beginning, Callum was rather engrossed in the auction and even bought a few pieces of jewelry for her.
Thanks to his cold, his voice sounded different from usual, and that prevented Arthur from recognizing him.
Soon, it was time for the grand finale of the day—ginkgo.
Staring at the ginkgo leaves locked in a glass incubator, Elspeth lit up.
“500-year-old ginkgo. Starting price at 1.5 million!”
Sure enough, Arthur, who had done nothing earlier, was just waiting for this, and he raised his paddle decisively, calling the price 1.5 million more than the starting price.
After that, every time he called a price, Callum would follow closely and call a price as well, but each time only a dollar higher.
Yes, only a dollar, which seemed like he was making enemies with Arthur on purpose.
Noticing this weird competitor, Arthur twirled his head and stole a look. Elspeth hurriedly ducked, and Callum was wearing sunglasses. In addition, the surrounding was dark, so Arthur couldn’t recognize them.
He stared in their direction thoughtfully before looking away.
Both of them continued to bid. In the beginning, others were bidding as well, but soon, many gave up as the price went up. In the end, only Arthur and Callum were left to bid for the ginkgo.
As though losing patience, Arthur called directly, “100 million.”
That amount was way over the value of the ginkgo, and Elspeth tapped Callum. “That’s enough. Give up the bid.”
Ignoring her words, he raised his paddle. “200 million.”
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