Chapter 623 - 48: Planar Journey

Chapter 623: Chapter 48: Planar Journey

"Sixty million!"

Cheris’s voice, though soft, carried clearly throughout the entire auction hall.

The hall fell silent once again at the sound of her sweet voice.

Everyone’s gaze subconsciously shifted toward the VIP box belonging to the Shaping Domain.

However, only silence emanated from that box.

The auctioneer stood center stage, his hand tightening slightly around the wooden gavel.

He took a deep breath, keeping his voice steady:

"Sixty million gold pounds! Are there any higher bids?"

No one spoke.

And no one answered.

The auctioneer’s gaze swept across the floor, then over the various VIP boxes.

He knew full well it wasn’t because no one had the money.

Who among the people present wasn’t fabulously wealthy?

Especially those in the boxes; far too many of them could produce sixty million gold pounds.

The highest-priced item today had even gone for far more than sixty million gold pounds.

But the value of a plane varied greatly.

The Kronos plane was a treasure the Shaping Domain was determined to acquire.

But to everyone else, it was just an ordinary plane.

Sixty million gold pounds far exceeded the intrinsic value of this plane.

No one was willing to offend the leader of the Society of Truth over a plane so weakly connected to their own interests.

After all, Lady Douglas had already made her stance perfectly clear.

"Sixty million gold pounds, going twice!"

The auctioneer’s voice rang out again.

Just then, a voice choked with fury came from the Shaping Domain’s box.

"Douglas!"

York’s voice emerged from the box, laced with irrepressible anger:

"You’re doing this just to oppose us!"

The people in the hall all pricked up their ears, their eyes darting back and forth between the boxes.

’This is going to be a good show.’

Cheris, leaning against Murphy, let the corners of her mouth curve up slightly upon hearing this.

She lazily raised her eyes toward the Shaping Domain’s box, her voice tinged with a casual mockery:

"Oppose you? York, what an interesting thing to say."

"This is an auction. The highest bidder wins. I made a bid, and you didn’t. Isn’t that perfectly fair?"

"Or what, was I supposed to let you have it after you made a low bid?"

"Even if I agreed, the people from the Silver Tower might not have."

York’s voice grew even more furious:

"Fair? You know perfectly well what this plane means to us!"

"Besides, you have absolutely no use for this plane!"

Cheris let out a light laugh. It was a crisp sound, yet it carried an undisguised contempt.

"I know."

"But so what?"

She paused, then added, "In any case, you still don’t have the money."

"You can’t even come up with sixty million, yet you want to talk to me about its ’meaning’?"

York fell silent.

The people in the hall all wore subtle expressions.

Someone couldn’t help but chuckle under their breath.

’That Lady Douglas... she really doesn’t pull any punches.’

Of course, these thoughts merely swirled in their minds. At most, they would let out a small laugh; no one was as direct as Cheris.

A few seconds later, York’s voice rang out again, this time laced with a grim threat:

"Douglas, don’t get too smug. I’m going to take this matter to the Speaker for arbitration."

Cheris blinked.

"Go on, then. Go on."

Her voice was cloyingly sweet, yet it sent an inexplicable chill down the spines of those who heard it.

"It’ll be the perfect opportunity for the Speaker to arbitrate—how the people from the Shaping Domain start throwing a tantrum when they can’t afford the price at an auction."

"I’d love to see what the Speaker has to say about that."

A suppressed roar of fury came from York’s box.

Then, the door to the box was thrown open violently.

York strode out, his face ashen, followed by a few flustered attendants.

Without a backward glance, he walked straight toward the elevators.

The crowd watched him leave, their faces a mixture of different expressions.

Some were gloating, some were lost in thought, and others were secretly relieved they hadn’t provoked that Lady Douglas.

The auctioneer stood on the stage, watching York’s retreating back and sighing inwardly.

’What a pity.’

’To think the people from the Shaping Domain wouldn’t continue to compete with the leader of the Society of Truth.’

’But then again, it was hardly surprising.’

Many people present could indeed produce sixty million gold pounds.

But that didn’t mean it was a small sum.

Once spent, it would tie up a significant amount of their liquid capital.

And the Shaping Domain had invested heavily in bloodline research over the years with little to no return, leaving them even more strapped for cash.

They certainly couldn’t spare sixty million.

The auctioneer’s gaze subconsciously shifted to the box where Cheris was.

’That Lady Douglas was right, after all.’

’The Shaping Domain really is a bunch of paupers.’

He retracted his gaze, cleared his throat, and resumed his professional tone.

"Sixty million gold pounds, going for the third time!"

The gavel fell with a crisp CRACK.

"Sold!"

"Congratulations to Lady Douglas on acquiring the development rights certificate for the Kronos plane!"

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

A round of polite applause echoed through the hall.

Leaning against Murphy, Cheris smiled faintly.

A glimmer of satisfaction shone in her emerald eyes.

"Darling, you see—"

Her voice was soft and sweet, with a hint of flirtatiousness:

"How simple was that?"

Murphy replied, "Mm."

The auctioneer stood on stage, a professional smile fixed on his face.

But his mind was racing.

’This was only the first item up for auction.’

’There are still three more plane development rights certificates to go.’

’By convention, four or five certificates are put up at every auction.’

’Lady Douglas took the first one, so what about the remaining three?’