Chapter 306: 248 Soon, two more competitors arrived, both older than Chai Ren. At this point, Boke and the butler had already stood on the simple platform. It seems that everyone is here now. What followed was the usual routine, various welcomes, introductions, and boasts about the ’product’. Looking at the interested looks below, Chai Ren couldn’t tell if these people were truly ignorant about the iron mine, had the audacity to tackle the problem or were just acting for Boke’s sake. Or maybe there were some people there just to fill up the numbers? Well, there were certainly some. Both Chai Ren and Liu Qian were aware of this. However, they weren’t overly worried. If the price was too high...no one is foolish enough to afford these several hundred million-dollar transfer fees. "Alright, now that the introductions are over, anyone who buys this iron mine will absolutely make money. The starting bid is eighty million dollars, and each bid must not be less than one hundred thousand dollars." Boke said what he himself found to be embarrassing. Then, getting into the spirit, he personally took on the job of an auctioneer. He had worked as an auctioneer for two years when he was young, so he was naturally up to the task. "One hundred million dollars." Chai Ren preempted others with a bold move. He couldn’t be outperformed. The others were not surprised, as this was all too predictable and certainly not frightening. "One hundred and ten million dollars." "One hundred and eleven million dollars." "One hundred and twelve million dollars." "One hundred and..." The rich among the crowd calmly added one or two million dollars each time. Boke had originally purchased the entire iron mine for 1.3 billion dollars. He had made an initial payment of 200 million dollars and had agreed to pay the remaining 1.1 billion dollars over the next ten years, depending on the progress of the mining. Therefore, the mining rights in Boke’s hands were valued at around 250 million dollars by their own company. They still had a long way to go, it seemed, so they were just bidding for fun. This was just its pure value, after deducting various risks, it amounted to no more than two hundred million dollars. If it wasn’t for the incredibly complicated and chaotic situation in the African country and the need for many other investments, this iron mine couldn’t be bought without at least two billion dollars if it were in a safer country. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 "150 million dollars," Chai Ren once again directly raised his bid to 150 million dollars. He was impatient; there was no interest in bidding at such a low price. "153 million dollars." "154 million dollars." "..." Seeing the minor increments, Chai Ren directly bid: "One hundred and eighty million dollars." In response to this, no one else took the liberty to bid. One hundred and eighty million dollars was close to reaching the bottom line. "Anyone else willing to bid higher?" Boke said with a smile, reminding the ostensible "actors" that it was time for them to make a move. No sooner had he finished speaking than one man said, "190 million dollars." Chai Ren looked at him and calmly replied, "Two hundred million dollars." "210 million dollars." "220 million dollars." "230 million dollars." "..." Mmost others ceased to bid because the price had turned the project into a high-risk one. Only Chai Ren and the cheerful, chubby man continued the bidding war. "290 million dollars." "Three hundred million dollars," Chai Ren said through gritted teeth, looking like he couldn’t bear to pay any more. "You win," the other man capitulated, holding his hands out in a "magnanimous" gesture. "You’re too kind." Chai Ren chuckled, clasping one hand in the other before his chest in the traditional Gongshou salutation. The man chuckled in return. A bead of sweat ran down Liu Qian’s forehead; three hundred million dollars was equivalent to his entire fortune. "Master Chai, do you think that guy is Boke’s stooge?" Liu Qian leaned over and whispered. "No worries, things have settled down, and just FYI, as long as the price doesn’t exceed four hundred million dollars, I must win the bid," Chai Ren confidently declared. "Can you make money that way?" asked Liu Qian, full of concern. He had seen the report from Chai Ren’s company, where the highest bid was only suggested at 260 million dollars. Despite the fact that he has a classmate over there and his father holds a high position of power, the risk seems too great. Where did Chai Ren get his confidence from? Especially, considering that this isn’t domestic.’ "We’ll discuss this later," Chai Ren didn’t say more. "Alright." Boke walked forward to shake hands with Chai Ren, saying, "Congratulations." "Thank you, and congratulations to you too, for earning three hundred million dollars. As long as the exploration report comes out and confirms the actual reserves, you’ll have no problem getting your money," Chai Ren responded. "Alright, I’ll make sure my people cooperate with you," Boke nodded. There would certainly be no problem with the reserves, as long as there were no issues with the situation leading to a cancellation of the purchase. "Thank you." Next, those who participated in the auction came forward one by one to hand over their business cards. Their attitudes were worlds apart from before, which stood to reason; a man capable of coming up with three hundred million dollars was definitely worth knowing in this era. It was then that Chai Ren realised that there were actually three steel corporations present, a mining equipment manufacturer, and one textile corporation. Curiously, the last suspected "plant" was not from the textile corporation, but the mining equipment company. This left Chai Ren wondering at the overly enthusiastic mine equipment salesman. Don’t tell me you just came here to sell mining equipment, and took advantage of the opportunity to act as a plant. The more Chai Ren thought about it, the more likely it seemed. And frankly, he was right on the mark... This was merely an expression of intent. They would invite them back to party once the contract was signed. After having lunch together, they chatted and got acquainted with their ’new friends’. Liu Qian’s group then left. They had a lot of arrangements to make: contracts, exploration, other calculations - and there were many items on the agenda. Of course, this was all Chai Ren Company’s business. Liu Qian was just practically on a tourist trip, at most he would contribute some money in the end and take a share in the stocks. On the way back. Chai Ren and Liu Qian, cheerfully chatting away. Chai Ren also shared his plan. The iron ore is an asset. An asset that comes with many privileges. He had even promised shares to the president’s son of that country. And to top it all, thanks to their connections, they’d have priority access to many of the country’s mineral resources, once the iron mine was built up, bringing in taxation and employment opportunities. This would be highly beneficial to the president of the African country. Upon hearing the reason, Liu Qian’s face scrunched up. He nodded in assent, saying nothing. ’Do you think I’m going to fall for this?’ He wanted to express his doubts, but he just didn’t have the guts to voice them out. Chai Ren didn’t say anything else. When it comes to matters like these, less is generally more. And there was no way he was going to have a heart-to-heart with Liu Qian. It wasn’t just his second-generation status that brought him where he is now. Also, his motives played a large role. He had more than enough money already, and more power was out of the question. His main aim in investing in overseas mineral resources was singular. He wanted to be one of the suppliers for the country’s scarce resources. Indeed, this would undoubtedly benefit him, his family, and even the country. The money wasn’t as important as guaranteeing a consistent stream of income. That was why he had been focusing a lot on investing in resource-based enterprises and foreign minerals. It’s all for his family’s reputation. By now, his family had reached the pinnacle of power. What mattered now was maintaining their position, with money-making as a secondary objective. There were many other methods too, but the key was always to work towards benefiting the country, with addressing resource scarcity being one way. Of course, that wasn’t something he’d tell Liu Qian. Such things were to be done, not talked about. Just then... Chai Ren’s bodyguard suddenly wore a serious expression and said, "Young Master Chai, someone’s been tailing us." "Oh? Where?" Chai Ren was taken aback and quickly asked. "Just at our right rear, that black off-road vehicle. It’s been visible after several turns," the bodyguard explained with a bit of pride, as if saying: I’m the one who discovered the danger this time. "Drive faster, Brother Yuan, and shake them off," Chai Ren hurriedly instructed. He wanted to ask why the fighter hadn’t noticed them, given his sharp alertness, but he refrained. The fighter might just have been caught off guard. After all, he was also driving. The fighter shook his head. "There’s no need. Given the present traffic, it’d be almost impossible to lose them. There are three cars following us. Besides the one at our right rear, there’s also a white Toyota passenger car to the front-left and a black Volkswagen off-road vehicle at the third spot in front." Chai Ren was surprised. He hadn’t expected the fighter to know about it already, and this much. So, he asked calmly, "So, Brother Yuan, what do we do now?" The co-driver/bodyguard, once again, hung his head in shame, his face turning red. "It’s fine, our people will handle it," the fighter said. Chai Ren was shocked. "Your people? What do you mean?" He knew that the fighter had acquaintances here, but he wondered. Was this the sort of thing they’d help with? Did they meddle in other people’s business? The fighter didn’t respond. Just then, the co-driver/bodyguard exclaimed. "Young Master Chai, take a look!" "What is it?" Chai Ren asked, puzzled. He followed the direction where his bodyguard was staring intensively. The car at the right rear had already advanced near their car, half a position behind the off-roader driven by the monkey. They were all waiting for the traffic light to change. All the cars around them had stopped. A Westerner in a casual outfit stepped out and swung the back door open, instantly landing a punch inside. Due to the angle, Chai Ren and others could not clearly see what was happening, but Monkey, who was following them, saw it all. Two men at the rear seats got punched in quick succession, and they instantly passed out. He couldn’t see what was happening at the driver’s seat, though. A sound of glass breaking. A hole on the front windshield showed that someone inside the car had actually fired a shot, a suppressor was attached. The fight ended in five seconds. The signal turned green. The Westerner then drove away, disappearing around the intersection. As for the two other cars tailing them, Liu Qian and Chai Ren hurriedly looked around and, sure enough, all... were under control? In no time, many pedestrians started gathered around, gasping in surprise. Some were even calling the police. No way. This has to be fake. Liu Qian and Chai Ren could only watch in bewilderment as the ’robbery-like’ situation played out like a drama in front of them. "Brother Yuan, are those your friends?" Chai Ren stammered. It became clear why the fighter hadn’t been worried - he was prepared all along. "Yes, they are," the fighter answered. A basic trailing operation like this was unable to escape the fighter’s eyes, especially when there’s even a Command Room as support. The moment he noticed something unusual, he asked for assistance immediately. The Command Room responded promptly, gathering information about their followers’ numbers and backgrounds through database information and ’shared’ surveillance. Subsequently, they swiftly arrived at a resolution plan. The personnel that took action belonged to the second batch of fighters sent to the United States meant to investigate the organization behind the money laundering. They carried out their own tasks, but they stood ready to take action whenever needed. Yet, the security company tasked to guard his cousin wasn’t involved. "Did you notice them from the start?" Chai Ren asked again, feeling that his question was quite absurd. "Yes," the fighter replied. "Who are they?" Chai Ren asked. "A professional kidnapping gang," the fighter explained. "Where will they be taken?" asked Chai Ren, gingerly. "I’m not sure." Chai Ren and Liu Qian were chilled by the fighter’s statement. How could you not know? Trying to trick us? Could it be that they’ve been killed? The mouths of everyone in the car, however, remained firmly shut. A mixture of complex emotions flashed in their eyes - fear, relief, respect, curiosity. But one thing was certain - this man was far from ordinary. A bodyguard? Heck, no one would believe that. He dares to take action openly on the streets of New York, knowing their identity and showing no hesitation at all. Now, the fate of those guys was unclear. This is incredibly preposterous. Felt like these guys were even more outrageous than the kidnappers. PS: Thanks to reader Zhang Bao for his rewards and the votes from all of you. Thank you for your support!