The Raven slowly lowered his head, staring at the final transaction receipt glowing on his terminal.
That hundred and thirty billion physically stung his eyes.
As he glared at the digits, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Why... why exactly one hundred and thirty billion?
Earlier, The Sterling Sovereign had countered every raise without a microsecond of hesitation.
Even his final leap to one hundred and twenty billion was a casual, ruthless fifteen- billion-dollar spike.
That kind of aggressive posturing proved he didn't care about a gap of a few dozen billion.
Moreover...
He was The Sterling Sovereign.
The undisputed king of the Obsidian Dark Web.
There was absolutely no way the capital at his command capped out at a hundred and thirty billion.
So why did he suddenly fold the second the bid hit that exact number?
Why did it land so perfectly, so surgically, right at the absolute ceiling of Obsidian Sun's available liquidity?
It was almost as if...
They had meticulously calculated exactly how much cash he had access to.
Could it be... that woman never had any intention of fighting him for Specimen Fourteen?
She was simply waiting.
Waiting to milk him dry.
Draining every last available cent from his accounts, drop by agonizing drop.
The realization turned The Raven's face a terrifying shade of ash. The suffocating pressure in his chest threatened to crack his ribs.
Just then, The Lead Auctioneer on the stage seemed to receive a new directive through his earpiece. His smile widened, his demeanor growing even more animated.
His voice echoed with fiery passion. "Let us congratulate Anonymous Bidder 01 on successfully acquiring our special asset-A.W.S-14—for the historic sum of one hundred and thirty billion dollars!"
"This magnificent biological asset officially belongs to Anonymous Bidder 01!"
The auctioneer immediately led a thunderous round of applause.
Instantly, clapping erupted from every corner of the massive hall.
The crowd cheered, some out of genuine awe, others masking their investigative curiosity.
After all, this price had shattered every conceivable ceiling of wealth.
"Congratulations! A massive
congratulations to Anonymous Bidder 1! From this moment forward, the final ownership rights of Specimen Fourteen reside with y he auctioneer clapped gleefully.
Every single word, every sharp smack of applause.
you!"
Felt like needles plunging into his heart, like brutal slaps across his face.
They weren't celebrating his victory.
This was... a public humiliation!
Congratulations?
Congratulating him on spending a hundred and thirty billion to buy back his own stolen property?!
That auctioneer... he was clearly following The Commodore's direct orders to mock him, to publicly humiliate him.
The Raven gasped for air, his fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his skin, his eyes burning crimson.
The auctioneer's voice cut through
the noise once more. "Given the sheer scale of this transaction, wez ask Anonymous Bidder Ot to check- their terminal and complete the fund settlement within the designated timeframe."
The moment he finished speaking, the terminal in The Raven's hand buzzed lightly.
A payment interface popped onto the screen.
[Transaction Confirmed.]
[Living Asset: AWS-14.]
[Final Price: $130 Billion.]
[Please verify settlement account and finalize payment.]
The Raven stared at the prompt, his gaze turning deathly cold.
In the past, whenever Obsidian Sun desired anything aboard Project Zero-Transit,
when did they ever have to follow standard protocol?
Based on their longstanding partnership, if Obsidian Sun wanted an item or needed to commandeer ship resources they simply billed
to their joint ledger content belongs fo FindNovel.net
The tab would be settled later during a multi-project audit.
That was a privilege reserved strictly for top-tier partners.
But now...
It was gone.
Every single one of Obsidian Sun's VIP privileges aboard Project Zero-Transit had been annihilated.
Right now, he was just another faceless, ordinary bidder.
Forced to follow the same humiliating process as everyone else: verify the account, confirm the transfer.
Not a single step could be skipped.