Chapter 304: Asset Investigation

All kinds of emotions were mixed together on his face, making Hanson Charlotte completely lose his poise. He pointed a thin and skinny finger at Lin Yun while screaming crazily, "You cannot possibly bring out 20,000,000 golds! You are just ruining the auction! I request for the Black Horn chamber of commerce to intervene and investigate his assets!"

Hanson's words reminded the others.

He had indeed bid 20,000,000 golds...

Although the young man sitting in the fifth row came from the Merlin Family and owned a very profitable business, he was only in his twenties. Was he truly able to pay 20,000,000 golds?

This seemed irrational.

Hanson Charlotte had been able to bid ten million because the Charlotte Family had been slowly consolidating their wealth and power as they longed to return to being one of the peak forces of Okland. They wanted to display their foundation and power through this auction, it was a joint decision made by the entire Charlotte Family.

But the Merlin Family...

They couldn't do such a thing. Let alone a youth, even Patriarch Ofran would have to fight the Elder Council for a few months before being able to transfer 20,000,000 golds.

How could he bring out so much money?

At this moment, everyone was looking at Lin Yun, the initial shock turning to doubt.

"Yes, I also think that the Black Horn chamber of commerce needs to intervene. You should at least investigate the assets of the guests. Otherwise, anyone would be able to bid several million golds for nothing. How could the auction continue in that case?" The speaker was a wealthy businessman who was close to the Charlotte Family.

"Indeed, the Black Horn chamber of commerce has to give us an account of whether he actually has such resources, or else we won't participate in the next auction..."

With someone taking the lead, there would naturally be sheep that followed. The auction was now echoing with opposing voices.

Ross couldn't help looking at Lin Yun. "Cousin Mafa, if you don't have enough money, I have one million on my Crystal Card..."

Ross' words were very tactful.

After all, they were both children of the Merlin Family, so they should inevitably stand together in front of the Charlotte Family. Not to mention, Ross was still hoping to get that map from Lin Yun.

But being tactful couldn't change the worry and suspicions he held.

"Don't bother," William sneered on the side.

William was the only other person in this auction hall that didn't consider a sum of 20,000,000 golds an issue.

He had followed the rise of the Gilded Rose, so how could he not know how wealthy his younger cousin was?

It was hardly an exaggeration to say that the current Gilded Rose was basically casting gold coins. Not only were they widely expanding, but they were also earning thousands upon thousands of golds each minute.

Not to mention, his younger cousin was an expert at accumulating wealth. William could only watch helplessly as his cousin somehow constantly amassed more and more wealth without needing his help.

Not long ago, William heard Solon of the Sage Tower say that his cousin had fished up a few dozen spirit mana crystals the first time he went to Oddrock City.

Indeed, spirit mana crystals!

With a dozen spirit mana crystals in hand, how could he worry about twenty million golds? Such a joke.

"Alright, sit there and watch the play." William patted Ross' shoulder, not a wisp of worry on his face.

"Watch the play?"

"Yes, just watch."

While the two of them were bickering, a few of the people in charge of the Black Horn chamber of commerce gathered together and started discussing nervously.

Naturally, the discussion regarded how they should investigate the assets of that youth.

After all, the matter was blowing up. Even if the Black Horn chamber of commerce didn't want to intervene, they would still have to. The assets of that youth had to be investigated properly, and the only question was how.

Usually, the investigation would be conducted based on the VIP rank. Ordinary guests would be directly investigated by having the guests show proof that they could pay on the spot. If they couldn't prove this, their bid would be cancelled and they would be expelled from the auction. Of course, this was only the treatment for ordinary guests. When Bronze or Black Iron VIPs had to be investigated, the Black Horn chamber of commerce wouldn't bother inconveniencing them.

The Black Horn chamber of commerce's intelligence network covered all of Noscent. There were very few secrets hidden from them.

Including the Charlotte Family coming to an agreement.

The fact that the Charlotte Family had been hibernating for a few centuries to suddenly display their power today shocked everyone, but the Black Horn chamber of commerce could get information on their properties anytime they wanted. That was one of the reasons the Black Horn chamber of commerce was one of the peak forces in Noscent.

As for Silver and Gold VIPs...

VIPs of such ranks didn't need to have their assets investigated. Their VIP rank proved everything. Even if they didn't even have a copper on them, as long as they had their VIP Voucher, they could bid 1,000,000 golds in an auction and the Black Horn chamber of commerce would help them settle everything if they couldn't produce the money immediately.

This was because being a Silver or Gold VIP meant having a huge background and extraordinary power. For them, the Black Horn chamber of commerce would be willing to spend a lot of money to make them owe them a favor. Sometimes, this kind of favor was far more significant than a few million golds.

Now, the six people in charge of this auction were already sitting together, and the discussion was led by the Archmage in charge.

If it had been a less extreme situation, the discussion wouldn't have been necessary. After all, that young mage had already spent close to 20,000,000 golds on the previous seven items and had paid every single coin. This reached a high enough credit rating to support his last bid of 20,000,000 golds.

But...

This matter was blowing out of proportion. Those 20,000,000 golds were a slap in Hanson Charlotte's face, making him fly in a rage. Even the other guests were asking for that young mage's assets to be investigated. Although the Black Horn chamber of commerce was powerful enough, it wasn't powerful to the point of being able to go against the wishes of all the guests in the auction hall.

This might be unfair to that young mage, as he had proven his wealth but would still be forced to face an asset investigation. It was just as Hanson said... The world wasn't always fair.

On one side were the 9th Rank High Mage of the Watson Family and the guests of the auction hall, while on the other side was a child of the Merlin Family in his twenties. Only a fool wouldn't be able to pick the logical side.

Thus, the discussion was overwhelmingly biased towards investigating the youth's assets right off the bat. Moreover, the reasons were justifiable.

"Our Black Horn chamber of commerce has to take responsibility for our customers. How could we not doubt a VIP guest who is only qualified to sit in the hall, yet still bid twenty million? It's only an investigation of his assets. Moreover, from his previous bids, he should be able to support his claim. Once the investigation is over, we can personally apologize to him.

Of course, they didn't mention what treatment that young mage would suffer if he couldn't support his claim.

"I approve."

"I also approve..."

Soon, of the six people in charge, four agreed to proceed with the asset investigation.

"Alright..." The Archmage nodded and stood up from his seat. "Since everyone is in favor of investigating his assets, Ritch, you should go and set it up."

Of the six people in charge of the auction, Ritch was the one with the lowest qualifications and power. In normal circumstances, Ritch wouldn't even have the qualifications to stand here. But before the auction, Hulad himself had appeared to introduce him, hoping that his disciple would get to gain some experience from attending this auction.

Hulad was highly respected in the Black Horn chamber of commerce, and since he'd already spoken, others wouldn't go against his wishes. And thus, Ritch smoothly became one of the people in charge.

But Ritch knew how to conduct himself. After gaining some power over the auction, he didn't cause any of the problems that youths would often cause. He always acted modestly and worked diligently. He even took the initiative to deal with the odd jobs, and when the other five did something, he would earnestly learn from them. In a dozen days, the other five, including that Archmage, were all full of praises for Ritch.

But today...

After the Archmage arranged the work for him, Ritch didn't immediately go to do it as usual. He instead stayed there with an awkward expression. "This..."

"Hmm?" The Archmage frowned, he looked at Ritch with some dissatisfaction. "Still not going?"

"This... Sir Luther... I think we shouldn't investigate Mafa Merlin's assets..." Ritch hesitated for a bit before managing to speak his mind.

"You think?" The Archmage's frown deepened. His tone was a lot less polite this time. "Is that a joke? Since when is it your turn to think? This is 20,000,000 golds we're talking about. Can you afford to take responsibility if something happens?"