106: independent sovereign islands

The meal lasted two hours.

Whether it was visual, gustatory, or psychological, everything was extremely satisfied.

After the plates were cleared.

The waiters tactfully retreated to the floor below, leaving this cloud-top space entirely to the two of them.

At this moment, light snow began to fall from the sky.

Under the illumination of the searchlights, the snowflakes were like falling stars, scattering profusely over the city that never sleeps beneath their feet.

Jiang Yuan walked to the suspended glass railing and lit a cigarette.

The cold wind howled, but it could not disperse the calm in his eyes.

Alisa walked over with his coat, gently draped it over his shoulders, and then hugged his waist tightly from behind.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

She pressed her burning face against Jiang Yuan's back, greedily inhaling the unique, cold scent on him, mixed with the smell of tobacco, which made her a bit intoxicated.

"It is quite beautiful."

Jiang Yuan exhaled a smoke ring, watching the swirling snow filling the sky and the neon lights below.

"However, I prefer it a bit quieter."

He stubbed out the cigarette butt, flicked it away casually, and watched the spark instantly get swallowed by the wind and snow.

"Let's go, time to head back."

"This kind of weather is perfect for going back and having a hot drink."

Alisa nodded obediently, curling up in his arms.

The afternoon, a few days later.

Manhattan, Upper East Side, York Avenue.

Sotheby's Global Headquarters.

Today, there was a private "Spring Auction" held here, not open to the public. The invitees were all top collectors from all over the world, and the entry requirement for capital verification was 100 million USD.

Jiang Yuan and Alisa were sitting in a VIP box on the second floor.

The view here was the best, and the privacy was excellent; the one-way glass allowed them to see every corner downstairs, while the people downstairs could not see them.

He really felt that the walls at home were a bit empty and wanted to buy something to hang up. This mindset was about the same as an ordinary person going to IKEA to buy decorative paintings, except he was browsing Sotheby's.

"Jiang, what do you think of this one?"

Alisa held the catalog, pointing to Monet's "Haystacks" currently being displayed on the big screen.

"The starting price is 50 million. This is a masterpiece of Impressionism; it would definitely show good taste hanging in the living room."

Jiang Yuan leaned over to take a look, swallowed the dessert in his mouth, and shook his head:

"No, the colors are too heavy."

He pointed to the painting: "Look at that light, it's painted like it's dusk and about to rain. It looks depressing hanging in the living room. I'm already lazy as it is, and seeing this would just make me want to get out of bed even less."

Alisa was amused by his reasoning: "But this is a masterpiece of Monet's depiction of light and shadow... Alright, how about this one? A Picasso abstract painting, very stylish."

Jiang Yuan glanced at the pile of twisted lines and was even more amused:

"This one is even worse. To be honest, I still can't tell which way is up on this painting. If I hang it at home and a guest asks me what it is, I won't be able to answer. How embarrassing would that be?"

This honest attitude of his, without any pretense, actually made Alisa find him authentic and adorable.

Compared to those fake gentlemen who pretend to be "deeply moved" when they clearly don't understand, Jiang Yuan's straightforwardness— "if it looks good, it looks good; if it doesn't, it doesn't"—was the true mindset of a big shot.

Until the auction was almost over.

An oil painting of sunflowers with extremely intense colors and full of vitality was pushed up.

The golden tones were like a burning flame, or perhaps the brightest sunshine at noon.

Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up, and he sat up straight.

"Hey, this one is nice."

He pointed at the painting and smiled:

"It looks warm, which matches the lighting in our place perfectly. Seeing it every day when I go out will definitely put me in a better mood."

Alisa checked the price; at this moment, the bidding downstairs had already reached 80 million USD, and several parties were nearly fighting over it.

"This one is indeed beautiful, but the competition is a bit intense. That's a representative of the Rockefeller family, and there's also that..."

"Who cares who they are."

Jiang Yuan wiped the dessert crumbs off his hands, picked up the bidding device nearby, and wore the relaxed smile of someone wanting to finish work early and go home to eat.

"Let's save them some time."

Saying this, he didn't hesitate at all and casually entered a number.

100 million USD.

When this round number popped up on the big screen, the auctioneer downstairs, who was still passionately calling out bids, had his voice cut off abruptly, like a duck whose neck had been squeezed.

The whole venue was in an uproar.

Those old money families who were still haggling over one million at a time all looked up at the second floor.

Who the hell is this?

Buying a painting like buying groceries, rounding it up just because it's troublesome?

"Alright, done."

Jiang Yuan clapped his hands, ignored the commotion downstairs, stood up, and stretched.

"Let's go, home. I'm hungry. Let's have the chef make hot pot tonight; you have to eat something spicy in this weather."

Two days later.

New York cleared up.

Jiang Yuan drove that Bugatti La Voiture Noire, taking Alisa for a joyride to Long Island.

Finally, the car stopped on the coastal road under the Montauk Lighthouse.

The two sat on a huge reef, holding hot dogs and beer they had just bought by the roadside, watching the sunset slowly sink into the horizon.

This scene felt a bit discordant.

A multi-hundred-million-dollar supercar was parked nearby, yet two people with net worths in the hundreds of billions were sitting on rocks gnawing on hot dogs.

But Jiang Yuan was enjoying his meal.

"The taste is alright, just not enough sauce."

He took a sip of beer, looked at the ocean, and felt relaxed.

"Jiang."

Alisa leaned on his shoulder, watching his profile gilded by the setting sun, and couldn't help but ask:

"How do you feel after wandering around New York these past two days? Do you feel a bit... bored?"

"It's alright."

Jiang Yuan swallowed the last bite of the hot dog and said with a smile:

"Although it's a bit noisy, there are plenty of good places to eat and have fun. What, are you afraid I'll get bored?"

"I'm afraid you'll find it not exciting enough."

Alisa leaned in mysteriously, that mischievous expression appearing again.

"My dad called me just now and said there's a game tomorrow at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas."

"If it were an ordinary gambling game, I wouldn't call you, but this time it's different."

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow: "How is it different? Can it make people fly?"

"It can't make you fly, but it can make you a 'King'."

Alisa lowered her voice, her tone filled with excitement:

"This is the annual 'Whale Game'. Besides the betting having no cap, the grand prize the organizers put up this time is a bit scary."

"It's an island."

"What's so special about an island?" Jiang Yuan was unimpressed; an island is something you can buy easily if you have money.

"No, no, no, this one is different."

Alisa held up a finger and shook it:

"This is an island located on the edge of the high seas that possesses independent sovereignty. In other words, whoever wins gets that island as their private nation, not subject to any legal jurisdiction."

Hearing the words "independent sovereignty," Jiang Yuan's hand holding the beer paused.

A hint of genuine interest finally appeared in his eyes.

Money, he had plenty of it now; those numbers given by the system had almost lost all meaning to him.

But owning a "small nation" that completely belonged to him?

Build whatever he wanted, play however he wanted?

This sounded exciting.

"That's interesting."

Jiang Yuan put down the empty bottle and clapped his hands.

At this moment, that voice in his mind, which only he could hear, also rang out very sensibly.