While Arlan was admiring Jennifer Lawrence's beauty, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated. It was a notification from the mysterious app!
Arlan heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing it. He thought that the app was already gone. Because of the time difference between Maharlika and France, he only claimed his reward now. 'I shouldn't rely too much on the app. There might come a time that it will be gone forever.' He thought in his heart as he clicked the [Yes] button.
[Congratulations! You claimed x1 Ten-fold Multiplier Card(can be used once)]
A black card quietly appeared in his hand. 'What's this?' He furrowed his eyebrows while looking at the black card.
[Do you want to use your Ten-fold Multiplier Card?]
[Yes]
Arlan didn't know what the card was used for, but he still clicked on the [Yes] button in hopes that the mysterious app would give him some clues. However, after clicking [Yes], the black card in his hand suddenly disappeared and the mysterious app didn't give him any explanation.
'What the hell? What was that card for?' Arlan grumbled in his heart. He had a lot of questions, but he needed to focus on the auction since it was already about to start.
"Arlan, follow me. I already reserved our seats." Peter led the way for them and he brought them to the front row seats.
There was a podium at the front and the auctioneer was already there. It was a middle-aged man dressed in a navy blue suit. He was wearing a pair of glasses and he was holding a black fountain pen in his hand. He was chatting with a woman in her forties who seemed to be the bookkeeper.
Soon, all the seats were taken and the auctioneer started the opening remarks. "Good evening guests! I am Franklin Aubert, your auctioneer for tonight. This time, we will..."
"And so ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce our first auction item. A diamond bracelet of a noble lady during the Renaissance Period..." The image of the first auction item was displayed on the wide screen behind the auctioneer.
This antique was valuable, but it didn't catch the eyes of the billionaires. Some guests bid for the bracelet and it was later sold to a rich lady for 123,000 dollars.
"That bracelet would have been more expensive if they had identified its owner." Arlan muttered while shaking his head.
"You're right, but items like that are difficult to appraise without sufficient documents." Peter nodded his head in agreement.
The next three auctioned items were also antiques. One was a jade vase owned by a Japanese warlord. It had some history to it and was sold for 2.42 million dollars. The other items weren't as valuable, but they were sold for 400,000 dollars and 800,000 dollars respectively.
More items were auctioned and one antique even caught Arlan's attention. It was the spare battle sword used by the Chinese General, General Meng Tian during the reign of the Chinese Emperor, Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty. Meng Tian was born into a family of military generals. His most noteworthy contributions were the attacking of the Huns in the North of the Qin Dynasty and the construction of the Great Wall.
When the sword was displayed, Arlan was attracted by its beauty. "What a nice sword!"
"This sword was once used by the Chinese General, General Meng Tian during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. This sword was his spare battle sword during the time he led his army to attack the Huns who were at that time enemies of the Qin Dynasty. There are scratches on the surface of the blade and also some cuts on its handle, but they are proof that this sword had once been to the battlefield." The voice of the auctioneer was filled with emotions as he explained the origin of the sword.
"The bidding starts at 4 million dollars, ladies and gentlemen."
"4.2 million dollars!"
"I have 4.2 million dollars from the gentlemen at my right."
"5 million dollars!"
"You heard it, ladies and gentlemen. We are now at 5 million dollars!"
Arlan raised his hand and shouted. "6 million!"
Peter who was sitting beside Arlan was surprised by his sudden bid.
"We have a new bid, everyone! We are at 6 million dollars from the gentleman here at the front row." The auctioneer scanned the crowd, looking for more potential bidders.
Some people bid for the sword, but Arlan always increased the bid. He later got the sword for 37.3 million dollars which was 5 times the price of the most expensive sword sold in an auction!
"Great!" Arlan smiled from ear to ear. Everyone clapped their hands and some people seated near them even congratulated him for getting the sword.
"I didn't know that you also like swords." Peter muttered while smiling brightly at him.
Arlan shook his head at his words. "I don't, but I think this sword would look amazing in my villa's hallway." He chuckled while saying those words.
Suddenly, Arlan's phone vibrated. "Hm?" He took out his phone and saw that it was another notification from the mysterious app.
[You purchased an ancient sword for 37.3 million dollars. You received 373 million dollars cashback from your Ten-fold Multiplier Card!]
Arlan's eyes widened when he saw this message. He finally knew how the Ten-fold Multiplier Card works, but it was already too late. He had already used the card. 'Too bad. If I knew that it was like this, I would have used it before bidding for the Salvator Mundi.' He was filled with regret at the missed opportunity.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now move to our next auction item, the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci." The image of the painting was displayed on the screen.
The painting depicted an image of Jesus Christ in a blue Renaissance dress, making the sign of the cross with his right hand while holding a transparent crystal orb in his left.
"It's finally here..." Peter smiled when he saw the painting displayed on the screen. He then turned his head to Arlan and asked. "Do you also want to bid for it?"
"Of course!" Arlan grinned. He didn't have the confidence to get the painting before, but after getting the 373 million dollar cashback from the Ten-fold Multiplier Card, he was confident that he could get the painting.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m