Inside the private suite.
Serena's slender fingers casually traced the edge of the bidding terminal.
It was as if the skyrocketing bids echoing outside were nothing more than a trivial distraction.
Nicholas Blackwood gazed down at her, his long fingers catching a strand of hair that fell over her shoulder, idly twirling it around his fingertips.
"Still raising?"
The man's voice was deep, laced with indulgent amusement.
Serena glanced up, an elegant arch in her brow. "Of course."
Nicholas's expression didn't shift, his smirk lingering. "If you want it, keep pushing." His tone was entirely casual.
As if the current bid of one hundred and five billion dollars being shouted outside was merely a hundred bucks—a completely insignificant sum.
Serena looked at him, her lips slowly curving upward.
Her gaze discreetly swept toward the hidden listening device situated not far away.
Then, she let out a soft chuckle. "Who said I wanted it?"
Despite her words, her actions told a different story.
Her finger had already landed back on the bidding terminal.
An instant later, the auction screen refreshed with a new number.
[The Sterling Sovereign: $120 Billion.]
"One hundred and twenty billion! One hundred and twenty billion!"
"Another fifteen billion on top!"
"This is insane! Absolute madness!"
"The Sterling Sovereign is dead set on Specimen Fourteen."
"Is Anonymous Bidder 01 going to follow that?"
The Raven stared at the newly updated figure, so furious he could barely pull air into his lungs.
He slammed both hands onto the table, his eyes locked furiously on the bidding
screen.
One hundred and twenty billion dollars.
The Panacea was still bidding!
He even started to suspect if she already knew that he, The Raven, was the one hiding behind the anonymous bidder profile.
Was that why she was striking harder and harder each time?
Was that why she dared to ruthlessly drive the price to astronomical heights without a second thought?
Because that woman knew he simply couldn't abandon Specimen Fourteen.
That was why she was so fearless.
That was why she was toying with him so recklessly.
The Raven's knuckles whitened as his grip tightened.
But he had no time to verify this theory.
There were no other buyers left in the auction hall willing to bid; it was just him and The Sterling Sovereign now.
The second he stopped, Specimen Fourteen would fall straight into their hands!
"One hundred and twenty billion! One hundred and twenty billion!" The
Lead Auctioneer gripped
his gaze sweeping across the room. "Do I hear a higher bid?"
Dead silence answered him.
Everyone was waiting.
Waiting to see if Anonymous Bidder 01 would continue the fight.
"One hundred and twenty billion dollars, going once." The Lead Auctioneer dragged out his words, his voice vibrating with excitement.
The Raven's breathing grew ragged, the terrifying image of The Overlord flashing through his mind.
"One hundred and twenty billion dollars, going twice!" the auctioneer yelled out.
The veins on the back of The Raven's hands bulged beneath his skin.
His base had been destroyed. His core access had been hijacked.
Obsidian Sun's partnership with Project Zero-Transit was now completely frozen thanks to this smuggling scandal.
If he lost Specimen Fourteen on
top
peline
of all that, letting it fall into the hands of another faction, especially into the hands of that woman, The Panacea.
The Raven closed his eyes.
A suffocating wave of rage and humiliation threatened to drown him entirely.
Money spent could be recovered somehow.
But if Specimen Fourteen was taken
away, how could he ever retrieve the leaked data and the research breakthroughs that rival factions would extract?