"One point three eight billion dollars!"
The auctioneer's voice thundered through the grand hall.
"One point three eight billion, going once!"
"One point three eight billion, going twice!"
"One point three eight billion, for the third and final time!"
"Sold!"
As the gavel smashed down, the freshly synthesized S-Rank Neural Repair Serum officially belonged to Dante Varga for an earth-shattering 1.38 billion dollars.
Deafening applause ripped through the venue.
Over a billion dollars for a single vial of medicine was a frankly absurd level of luxury.
Even for the unfathomably wealthy tycoons aboard Project Zero-Transit, that was not an amount they could casually throw away.
And yet, everyone knew the serum was absolutely worth it.
Inside the VIP suite.
Serena stared at the final payout on the screen, her cold, beautiful eyes literally sparkling with glee.
Leaning back against Nicholas, she drummed her fingers lazily across his chest, a nonchalant smirk curling her red lips. "It seems Mr. Varga knows exactly how to spend his money."
Nicholas looked down at her, his dark eyes brimming with his usual limitless indulgence. "Satisfied?"
Serena's smirk deepened, and she tugged lightly at his collar. "Mr. Sovereign, did you forget what I said? Every single penny from this auction is going toward a massive surprise for my Patron."
"So... shouldn't I be the one asking if you are satisfied?"
Nicholas caught her hand against his chest, bringing it to his mouth to press a gentle kiss to her knuckles.
"Immensely." His gaze was intoxicatingly dark, a pleased smile playing at his lips. "Beyond satisfied."
Serena jutted her chin, looking incredibly smug about her hard work. "Well, you'd better be. I went through a lot of trouble to make you happy."
Nicholas burst into another bout of low laughter.
Down on the stage, the auctioneer swiftly pivoted the narrative, officially concluding the spontaneous sale.
Then, one by one, the lights across the massive hall began to cut out.
The previously rowdy venue plummeted into a terrifying, breathless silence.
Every single person knew that the real bloodbath was about to begin.
The auctioneer's expression turned dead serious. "Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for the absolute crowning jewel of tonight's auction."
At his words, the colossal steel vault doors behind the stage groaned open.
Six heavily armed elite guards marched onto the platform, flanking a massive, climate-controlled lockbox.
The silver-white casing was heavily wired, tethered to an array of environmental and thermal monitors.
It was visibly reinforced with three distinct layers of defense.
The exterior bristled with heavy
industrial locks, while the fet
itself was coated a high grades containment membrane.
To top it all off, the vault was fitted with a localized self-destruct mechanism.
The slightest sign of forced entry would instantly obliterate the contents inside.
The suffocating level of security made One thing agonizingly
clear whatever was inside wel
weapon of mass consequence.
Thousands of eyes burned a hole into the center of the stage.
After executing a grueling triple-biometric bypass, the auctioneer finally popped the
lock.
The core component-a Cryo-Containment Module was slowly revealed to the crowd.
Suspended in the vacuum was a single vial of pale blue liquid.
The fluid looked impossibly pure.
Under the harsh glint of the spotlights, it radiated a haunting, dreamlike azure glow.
Resting perfectly beside it was a yellowed, decaying laboratory label.