Five minutes passed by quickly enough, and the doors of the club closed. The big screen in front lit up as the emcee took the stage to speak.


    "I hereby announce that the private auction will now begin! First up, we have an ancient painting speaking of a time far, far away. The piece was created by a well- known artist from Dasha, and it is named ''Where Mountains Lie''."


    "Bids start at five hundred thousand dors. Alright, let''s begin!"


    "Six hundred thousand!"


    "Six hundred and fifty thousand!"


    "Seven hundred thousand!"


    "Nine hundred thousand!"


    ''Where Mountains Lie'' was indeed a famous painting, but it was not worth too much on the market. That was why no one called out after nine hundred thousand dors.


    That was a price that far surpassed the original price of the painting.


    However, the painting originated from Dasha and ended up overseas for some reason. Other foreigners might not see much value in it, but it meant a lot to Wilbur as a man born and raised in Dasha.


    Wilbur raised the card in his hand, calling out, "I''ll offer a million dors!"


    "One million dors, going once."


    "One million dors, going twice."


    "One million dors, going thrice. Sold!"


    The hammer sounded through the air, and ''Where Mountains Lie'' was sold to Wilbur for a million dors. Following that, Wilbur spent another three million dors and five million dors on a jade vase from the Amethyst Dynasty and a bejeweled copper mirror from the Morin Dynasty.


    At the same time, thedy in the hat smiled from where she was watching by the full-length windows in a private room upstairs. "Interesting. It seems like this Dashan man really is something else."


    Just then, a polite-looking man in a suit appeared behind the woman in the hat. "Madam Marie, this Dashan man has bid three items now. You know what happened before... I''m a little worried about whether or not he has the money for the items."


    "If he was just bidding for fun and refuses to pay, we would be making a loss from this auction— and Mr. Albus Jonan''s illness might get worse."


    Madam Marie watched Wilbur through the window, unsure of what to do. Wilbur''s straightforwardness and confidence did give Marie for, but it would be a great blow to her if he refused to pay after bidding.


    Madam Marie''s father had once been the head of the Jonan n. Due to some reasons, he faced jealousy and backstabbing from other family members, which resulted in him losing his position as head of the n and having his power overthrown by other members with ulterior motives. In the end, all the n''s money and assets were secretly transferred away, and the once-great Jonan family was now merely a shell.


    On top of that, Albus Jonan, Marie''s father, had fallen gravely ill upon finding out what happened to the n. The medical fees spent on him grew by the day, and the n was running out of money to afford his treatment.


    With no other choice, Marie had to put her father''s prized antiques up for auction. She had nned to return those antiques to Dasha if the Jonan n had never fallen, but things were looking extremely grim, and this was all she could do.