160: Dreams shattered

Haishizi wandered aimlessly among the stalls with a gloomy expression.

He was pondering whether to bid on a warehouse he knew something about in front of Qin Yun.

He was also worried that Qin Yun would interfere, making it difficult for him to secure the warehouse he favored.

Haishizi suddenly noticed someone bidding on the warehouse he had his eye on.

Anxious to the extreme, he hurriedly squeezed to the front of the crowd.

Having just ruined something that should have belonged to Haishizi, Qin Yun felt refreshed, his steps light.

He knew that with Lyon, the organizer, backing him, it wouldn't be appropriate to bid too frequently at this kind of auction.

Qin Yun decided to buy only three items for himself, none of which would be related to the information in the safes.

While looking for good items, he saw Haishizi anxiously squeezing toward the stall for Safe No. 93.

He sneered inwardly.

What time did he think it was? Haishizi still hadn't grasped the situation.

He would absolutely not allow Haishizi to win anything good in his presence.

Fearing Qin Yun would interfere again, Haishizi secretly gave some instructions to a secretary beside him.

He gave the secretary a five-million-dollar limit to bid on his behalf.

This way, Qin Yun certainly wouldn't notice.

He would be able to get what he wanted.

Qin Yun's attention had been on Haishizi the whole time; seeing him whispering to the secretary, he roughly guessed what was happening.

Such petty tricks were considered unrefined even in ordinary Warehouse Auctions.

Haishizi still wanted to rely on such opportunism; he was simply being too naive.

He would never allow this man's scheme to succeed.

For a better revenge, Qin Yun immediately used his Profound Vision Treasure Eye on the safe.

He saw that the safe's treasure aura was blue, and the color wasn't particularly vibrant.

A plan instantly formed in his mind.

After the auction began, the bidding for Safe No. 93 was lukewarm, not nearly as intense as the one Robert had bought.

After a minute, the highest price was only two hundred and sixty thousand.

Seeing this, Haishizi was very excited.

With a little trickery, he could secure Safe No. 39 without paying too high a price.

He gave the secretary a look, crossed his arms, and watched the show with a smile.

Receiving the signal, the secretary raised his hand and increased the price to three hundred thousand.

Everyone around fell silent.

Even the person who first bid on Safe No. 39 frowned, eyes full of hesitation, and said nothing.

When only one second remained on the countdown, Haishizi was so happy he almost jumped for joy.

Then, he heard a voice that filled him with despair.

"I bid three hundred and fifty thousand."

How could Qin Yun let Haishizi get this safe so easily?

So, he placed his bid at the very last second.

To fall from heaven to the bottom of a valley—Haishizi must be feeling incredibly miserable right now.

Seeing Qin Yun interfering again, Haishizi coughed violently several times.

He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth so hard that he bit his lip until it bled.

After glaring fiercely at Qin Yun, he waved his hand for the secretary to continue bidding.

Haishizi's hatred for Qin Yun had reached its peak; he decided that no matter the cost, even if it meant offending Lyon, he would deal with Qin Yun in Belgium.

Seeing Qin Yun bid, everyone once again witnessed Qin Yun's keen eye.

The enthusiasm for bidding instantly surged to its peak.

Soon, the price for Warehouse No. 39 reached 2.8 million.

Robert noticed the situation and joined the competition without a second thought.

After several rounds of bidding, Warehouse No. 39 reached 3.9 million.

Qin Yun saw that the secretary Robert had instructed was getting nervous and knew the price would soon reach the limit Haishizi had set.

The items in Safe No. 39 were worth at most one or two hundred thousand dollars.

Even if they had significant utility value in Belgium, they were worth at most five or six hundred thousand.

Fearing No. 39 would end up stuck in Robert's hands, he secretly shook his head at him.

As an Agent and the Person in Charge attending this auction alone, Robert immediately understood Qin Yun's meaning.

It seemed this warehouse wasn't worth much; Qin Yun was using it to fleece Haishizi for a large sum.

So he shook his head, muttered that there was nothing good, and withdrew from the bidding.

"Four million."

After Qin Yun added a hundred thousand, his eyes remained fixed on the secretary.

At this point, the only bidders left were he and Haishizi's secretary.

The secretary kept clenching and unclenching his fists, but he still quickly added another hundred thousand.

Seeing this, Qin Yun had roughly guessed Haishizi's limit.

It was probably between 4.8 million and 5 million, certainly not exceeding 5.5 million.

"Four and a half million."

Qin Yun gave the secretary a provocative look and directly added four hundred thousand.

Everyone present noticed this man who looked like a Professional Manager, and they all looked at him with scrutinizing eyes.

Who exactly was this person, and how did he dare to compete with Qin Yun?

The pressure shifted to the secretary, who looked to Haishizi for help.

Seeing his boss nod, he finally raised his hand: "Five million!"

After shouting out the limit his boss had set, the secretary felt completely drained of strength.

His back was covered in cold sweat; he felt more exhausted than if he had survived a major battle.

This was five million dollars, roughly ten years of his salary.

If he messed up, he would surely face Haishizi's wrath.

Qin Yun shook his head and gave up on bidding.

It was just a safe with a blue treasure aura; Haishizi should be very happy to have won it for the high price of five million.

"Do you think there'll be anything good in this safe?"

"I think it's unlikely. There aren't that many good things at an auction. Although Qin Yun's eye is sharp, even he has his failures."

"I'm a bit confused by Qin Yun's objective. He's been controlling the pace of the bidding the whole time. That guy competing with Qin Yun looks like a newcomer, no match for Qin Yun at all, yet Qin Yun gave up..."

"Damn, now that you mention it, Qin Yun was just using his strength to bully that rookie. Let's see what's inside before deciding."

"Whenever Qin Yun makes a move, the price gets driven up high. The celebrity effect is truly something else."

...Everyone was curious about what was in the safe, as it would affect their strategy for dealing with Qin Yun's bids.

Setting aside what they were doing, they all went to the other side of the vehicle window to see the result.

After winning Warehouse No. 39 for five million, Haishizi had a bad premonition.

He opened the safe; inside were ten stacks of cash and many exquisite postcards.

Seeing this, Haishizi nearly fainted.

They had heard that this safe belonged to a high-ranking official; he hadn't expected it to contain such things.

The key was that he had been played for a fool, spending five million on something worth only a hundred thousand dollars.

Everyone around burst into laughter upon seeing this.

This was too hilarious; a five-million-dollar safe only yielded this?

"You can't use all those postcards yourself. Why not give each of us one as a souvenir?"

A youth dressed in flashy clothes whistled and mocked.

The crowd, which had just calmed down, burst into laughter again.

Many people wanted a postcard as a reminder of the lesson.

Overcome with shame, Haishizi left the cash in the safe and walked away.

He didn't have the face to stay there any longer.

Haishizi now realized that Qin Yun had seen through his little trick and set a trap for him.

The most important thing now wasn't worrying about the money.

It was how to deal with the targeting of a Warehouse Auction expert like Qin Yun in the upcoming auctions.

He had to go back and consult with The Consortium and veteran Warehouse Treasure Hunters for a strategy.