Chapter 294: Bidding(1)
Many in the crowd didn't understand the way of the bidding, so Lewis had to give an example.
He explained, "If I bid a million low soul stones and it turned out to be the highest bid, I will get the first turn to pick up the golden key. There is a chance that I may succeed in picking it up, but there's also a chance of me failing."
"If I failed to pick it up, I would only need to pay 100,000 low soul stones as my attempt bid, and if I succeeded, I would need to pay the full amount I had bid one million low soul stones."
The crowd finally understood how the bidding would be done, so they thanked Lewis.
Lewis waited for a few more seconds and finally announced the beginning of the bidding.
Since the bidding didn't need to be said out loud, Lewis ordered the guards who weren't attempting in the auction to hand all those who wanted to bid a paper and quill filled with enough ink for one-time use.
Time flew by. It took a few minutes for the guards to prepare enough quill for the participants in the auction. They then began handing over the paper and the quill who asked for it when they passed over the crowd.
Lewis began counting the total number of participants who had asked for paper and quill. He couldn't help but suck a breath of cold air, as the total number of participants had come at 3759.
Since there was a test, there was also a chance of everyone failing to pick up the key. But even if everyone failed, the adventurer would still earn more than three hundred million low soul stones.
Aakesh was expressionlessly watching the process of the auction. Seeing thousands of participants attempting a bid brought no reaction on his face as he had expected the thing to go this way.
It was also the reason he had chosen such a low-price bid for something like the golden key. If he were to place the lowest bid at 1 million low soul stones, it still would've been less, but he would've never gotten this many citizens to participate in the bid.
The only issue with these many citizens attempting to pick up the golden key was the time taken for the entire process to end, but Aakesh didn't worry about it. According to him, the majority of these more than three thousand participants wouldn't even be able to stand there for a few seconds.
"Please note down your bids with your names," Lewis announced since everyone had gotten their fair share of paper and quill.
Five seconds later, Lewis ordered the guards to take the paper from the citizens.
A few minutes later, there was a bundle of folded papers on the stage. Lewis then ordered the guards to create the list of bids with their names sequentially.
Time flew by, and a few more minutes passed.
Lewis finally had the list of the first hundred citizens' names and their bids sequentially on the paper.
He couldn't help but frown, seeing the bids and names on the paper. He recognized everyone, but what made him frown was that he wasn't in the top three bids.
But since he had a job to do here, he calmed himself down, thinking that the three names above him would fail to pick up the golden key.
"Here, I have the names of the hundred highest bids. As I call your name, arrive on stage and take your attempt," Lewis announced.
The crowd stopped doing whatever they were doing and focused on Lewis to find out who had bid the most and how much they had bid.
Lewis didn't wait as Aakesh had specially ordered him not to waste time and complete the process as fast as possible.
"John Robinson has bid one hundred and fifty million, becoming the highest bidder," Lewis announced.
After his announcement, the door of one of the VIP rooms opened as John stepped out of it. Even though he had bid a large amount, he didn't care as long as he won the golden key, and if he failed, he only needed to pay 100,000 low soul stones.
It took a jump for John to appear on the stage from the VIP room. Lewis greeted him, but he ignored it since he still remembered the answer Lewis had given him when he had asked for his help.
Lewis didn't care if John didn't respond to his greeting, as the relationship between them had already gotten ruined.
"Remember, if you leave the key, your attempt will fail," Lewis warned John before he attempted.
John expressionlessly nodded and bent down to pick up the golden key.
The next moment, veins appeared on his body, as despite using his full strength, he couldn't even budge the key.
John didn't give up as the position of the Townhead was at the stake. If he gave up at this time, there would be no one more stupid than him.
Time flew by, and sixteen seconds passed. John still hadn't even been able to budge the key, let alone pick it up.
His face had turned pale from all the strength he had put into picking the key up, but nothing had happened and his effort had been proved to be a waste for now.
John, who had lived in the comfort provided by his father since young, didn't have the will to continue anymore. The moment the thought of giving up emerged in his hand, his hands left the key as he crashed down the ground with a loud crashing sound.
John wasn't even able to stay there for half the time, Elsie had persisted for.
Many in the crowd, instead of feeling sympathetic for John, heaved a relieved sigh as John failed in his attempt. They still had a chance to pick up the key.
Lewis also felt the same, so even before John could stand up, he called out the name of the second-highest bidder.
"Harry Weller has bid eighty million, becoming the second-highest bidder."
John didn't even have the will to stand up, so he continued laying on the ground.. After the announcement, another door of the VIP room opened, and Harry Weller also jumped on the stage like Lewis and John.
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