The entire venue turned from unruly to complete silence in moments, thanks to Tina's antics. After judging that everyone was focused on her, Tina began to speak in a loud voice, addressing the crowd.
"Gentlemen, we possess quite a few Eclipse Orchids, but I'm not sure if there's enough for you all to share." She started, flashing her practiced business smile. "Thus, to give everyone a fair chance, we'll be conducting the trade in the style of an auction!"
Aster quickly understood Tina's plan.
She kept quiet about how many orchids they had, creating a sense of mystery. The more orchids they sold, the more others would think that the next one could be the last, pushing the bidders to go all out.
They walked away from the portal and moved to the opposite side of where the medical tent was placed, setting up their auction spot without wasting any more time.
"Let's start with the first one we picked up! It's already been with us for 16 hours, and we used the best harvest methods to preserve it, ensuring it will remain in perfect condition for at least 24 hours!"
Lory pulled out one of the Orchids from the first batch and displayed it for everyone to see while Tina continued her pitch. "... Now, let's start the bidding for this one! Starting at 5 million with increments of 1 million!"
The starting bid was half of its regular price, but with only 8 hours left in the orchid's life, the others hesitated.
"5 million!" Finally, one of them raised their voice.
"7 million!"
"Twelve!"
"Fifteen!!!"
And with that, an intense bidding contest began, pushing the price from 10 to 29 million Tels before the orchid was sold. Tina smiled, earning 19 million over the regular price with just one item. Her plan was working better than anticipated!
The first batch of orchids sold within minutes, averaging 25 million Tels each. It wasn't anything crazy yet, as both Tina and the bidders were still gauging one another.
"Then, let's proceed to the next one!"
About five minutes later, after selling exactly 12 orchids, Lory approached Tina with a concerned expression and spoke softly but clearly.
"Tina, I ran out of orchids."
"Mr. ***, let's pool our resources and split the orchids afterward. 250 million!"
Within moments, the price ballooned. A fierce battle of wits and intimidation began, with some even forming alliances in their desperation to secure the orchids.
"405 million going once! Going twice! SOLD!"
"""YEAAAH!!!"""
In the end, a coalition of five small labs won the bidding war for the batch of orchids. They cheered, elated by their victory. Tina watched the scene unfold, barely able to contain her laughter.
"Then, let's move on to the next one! A batch of three orchids this time, harvested eight hours ago! Starting bid of 40 million, with increments of 2 million!"
"..."
Afterward, with the buyers unable to gauge the true number of orchids left, all 100 orchids were sold at impressive prices. By the end of the auction, the average price had soared to 75 million per orchid. Tina and her party earned a staggering 7.5 billion Tels in a single day.
Aster turned to the group, grinning. "Since this is all thanks to Tina's wits, we'll each take 1 billion flat, and she can keep the rest!"
No one objected—except for Tina herself. Read exclusive content at M V L
"No way, darling. I'll just take a billion like the rest of you. You can hold on to the rest!" She whispered playfully as she wrapped her arms around Aster's chest from behind. "In exchange..."
"Gah! Stop that, you vixen!"
Kali, unable to watch the flirting any longer, rushed over to separate them.
"You may have multiplied the value of the orchids, but it's still just money! You're pushing your limits too much!"
"Huh? I belong to darling, and darling belongs to me!" Tina growled in retaliation. "What gives you the right to butt into our relationship?"
"You're not even in a relationship yet, you delusional woman!"
As usual, the two clashed, but Aster didn't bother intervening. He was used to their antics by now and knew they wouldn't let things escalate beyond control. After all, they were adults who knew when to stop—most of the time.