"A rare treasure? Don’t tell me it’s another Copper Beast Head?"

"Yeah, to be called a ’rare treasure,’ it would have to be on the same level as a Copper Beast Head at the very least!"

"I wonder what this rare treasure being auctioned this afternoon is?"

The auctioneer’s words caused an uproar from the crowd; after all, the phrase "rare treasure" was simply too enticing.

"Haha, it seems everyone is very curious about this last-minute addition. Well, I’ll give you a little preview. The item added to this afternoon’s auction is a manuscript by the master, Picasso! That’s right, you heard me correctly—an entire manuscript! And a very large one at that! Alright, for lunch, we at Sotheby’s have prepared a sumptuous meal for you all. You may go and enjoy it now!"

"Picasso’s manuscript? Isn’t this supposed to be a Huaxia-exclusive auction? Why is some foreigner’s stuff showing up?"

The buzz of discussion from the surrounding crowd never ceased, and the fat man in front of Fang Chenyi began to grumble under his breath.

Hearing this, Fang Chenyi, who had already stood up to leave, suddenly had an idea. He reached out and tapped the fat man on the shoulder.

"My friend, are you interested in that Picasso manuscript?"

The fat man paused at the question, then shook his head with some disdain.

"Not interested, not interested at all. They say art has no borders, but I really can’t appreciate stuff from foreigners. What about you, young man? You’re not going to let even the foreigner’s stuff get away?"

Everyone knew that the bid Bai Menghan had just made was definitely on Fang Chenyi’s behalf, which was why the fat man asked. After all, the young man before him had just casually bid over two hundred million euros in one go!

In truth, his entire net worth was probably less than the amount this young man had just casually thrown around.

"Haha, I’m not interested either. Here, my friend, give me your phone number. It’s too crowded to talk here. Let’s speak on the phone later. I have a small matter I need your help with."

The fat man was clearly taken aback. He couldn’t understand why Fang Chenyi would seek him out and ask for his help.

It was the first time they had ever met; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them strangers.

Of course, while he thought this, he couldn’t say it out loud. After all, this young man threw around two hundred million euros without batting an eye. There was certainly no harm in getting to know such a person.

With that in mind, the fat man’s face broke into a smile as wide as a Maitreya Buddha’s. He let out a chuckle and softly recited his phone number.

Fang Chenyi laughed after hearing it, then led Bai Menghan and Demo Did out of the hall.

Of course, no one actually left the hotel. Instead, they took the elevator to the complimentary lunch area.

Seeing the exquisite dishes on the tables, Fang Chenyi paid no mind to the people around him and began to feast.

Bai Menghan, by his side, was much more ladylike.

After lunch, they returned to the hotel room arranged by the auction house. Sinking into the soft sofa, Fang Chenyi took out his phone and dialed a string of numbers.

The phone rang for a while before the other party answered. Fang Chenyi chuckled and said:

"Hehe, my friend, I hope I’m not disturbing your rest."

The fat man on the other end of the line knew it was Fang Chenyi the moment he heard his voice.

"Haha, not at all, not at all. I just got back from lunch myself. Young man, you mentioned before that you needed my help with something. You can tell me about it now."

This time, Fang Chenyi didn’t hold back and directly explained his entire plan. At the end, he laughed into the phone and said:

"Once this is done and we’re back in the country, I’ll be sure to treat you right, my friend!"

At two in the afternoon, Fang Chenyi received a call from the auction house, informing him that the auction would begin promptly at two-thirty in Conference Room One and that he should prepare to enter in advance.

After he hung up, Bai Menghan, who had been reading by the hotel’s floor-to-ceiling window, stood up and walked over to Fang Chenyi’s side.

"Yi, what price do you think the manuscript will ultimately reach?"

Fang Chenyi lightly booped Bai Menghan’s nose and said with a laugh:

"Haha, I can’t say for sure what the final price will be, but I can guarantee we won’t lose money on it. Come on, it’s about to start. We should head over."

As the two of them left the room, Demo Did happened to be coming out of the room next door with his entourage. "Oh, Boss, I was just about to come get you."

Fang Chenyi smiled and waved his hand dismissively, and the three of them strode toward the auction hall mentioned on the phone.

When they walked into the auction hall, they were stunned by the sea of people before them.

In this large conference room, which was more than twice the size of the previous one, there were now hundreds of new Western faces.

The crowd, which had previously been eighty percent Huaxia People, was now less than thirty percent.

Not only was the room packed, but on either side of the auction stage were two enormous electronic screens displaying a grid of video windows.

Fang Chenyi didn’t even have to ask to guess that these were buyers who couldn’t make it in person on such short notice.

Seeing this lively scene, the corners of Fang Chenyi’s mouth turned up slightly. ’The more, the merrier,’ he thought. ’I was only worried there wouldn’t be enough people. With a crowd this size, I’m going to make a killing today.’

「Two-thirty.」

The same auctioneer from before walked onto the stage right on time. Looking out at the massive crowd, his heart swelled with excitement. This was, without a doubt, the biggest event of his entire auctioneering career.

He cleared his throat and began his opening remarks.

After the opening, the first lot was presented: a large blue-and-white porcelain vase.

Clearly, the Westerners in the audience weren’t interested in this item. So, despite the large crowd, the only ones bidding were a few of the Huaxia buyers.

Apparently under company orders, the auctioneer moved through these items swiftly. The moment the bidding stalled, he would immediately call it—"going once, going twice, sold!"—without a single unnecessary word.

Of course, if there wasn’t a good reason for this haste, an auctioneer who rushed things like this would probably find this to be the last auction he ever hosted.

"Oh, dear ladies and gentlemen, I know you’ve all been waiting impatiently! Haha, to be honest, I can’t wait either! Next up, it’s time for today’s most heavyweight treasure to make its appearance! Please, prepare yourselves! Alright, let’s have our staff bring out the grand finale and show it to everyone!"

As the auctioneer’s words fell, the crowd, which had been largely indifferent until now, suddenly perked up. On the large screens beside the stage, many more small video windows began to appear.

As for our hero, Fang Chenyi, feeling the atmosphere in the room grow tense, he was inwardly speechless. ’Isn’t this just some old junk I found while rummaging through trash?’ he thought. ’Is it really worth making such a big fuss...?’

[To be continued...]