Fierce Competition, No Mercy Given

[Respected buyers of the auction house, welcome to the Apocalypse Trading Auction. We hope all players can successfully bid on their desired items. When bidding, you can click on the bid panel to place your bid. At the highest bid, the auctioneer will count to three. If there are no further bids, the hammer will fall, indicating a successful auction!]

[All life essentials owned by participating buyers will be converted into life essentials. A bottle of 500ml drinking water and a portion of 250g food constitute one life essential. If food is insufficient, double the amount of drinking water can be used as a substitute, and vice versa.]

Alex waited patiently for the auction to commence, as did others, all fully focused.

[First auction item: Golden-tier Blueprint: Fortified Walls. Starting bid: one hundred life essentials. Increment: ten life essentials per bid. (The auction house will deduct two percent of the final bid as commission.)]

Buyer number one raises their paddle.

The virtual auctioneer's mechanical voice chimed in: "Buyer number one raises their paddle, offering one hundred life essentials."

Soon after, buyer number three also raised their paddle.

The virtual auctioneer continued: "Buyer number three raises their paddle, offering one hundred and ten life essentials."

Alex, as buyer number eight, hadn't made a bid yet, observing as the price of the golden-tier blueprint soared, quickly surpassing the two hundred life essentials mark.

And judging by the momentum, it seemed poised to reach three hundred.

Buyer number nine raised their paddle, making the first bid of three hundred life essentials!

The auctioneer announced: "Buyer number nine bids three hundred life essentials."

Suddenly, lone wolves in the public channel were in uproar.

"Damn! Three hundred life essentials! That's three hundred bottles of water and one hundred and fifty pounds of food! How long could one survive on that?"

"Oh my god, three hundred bottles of water and one hundred and fifty pounds of food! This guy's a tycoon!"

"I know this buyer number nine, he's Benjamin!"

"Wow, this big shot is too terrifying. Where did he get so many resources from?"

Meanwhile, Buyer No. 9 posted a message in the buyer chat channel: "I, Benjamin, am placing an order for this gold-level blueprint. I dare anyone to challenge me? If you buy it today and I catch sight of it later, I'll demolish your house and tear you apart!"

Buyer No. 5 raised their paddle, ignoring Benjamin's threat.

"Three hundred and ten essential life supplies!"

The auctioneer's mechanical voice rang out, "Buyer No. 5 raises their paddle, three hundred and ten essential life supplies."

Buyer No. 5 also posted a message in the auction chat channel: "Who's Benjamin? I'm not interested in knowing. I, Daniel, am also very interested in this gold-level blueprint. Sorry, can't let it go."

After Buyer No. 5 revealed their identity, there was a commotion in the public channel.

"Oh my, it's Daniel!"

"Daniel is the most famous rich kid around here! No wonder he can offer over three hundred life supplies, that's impressive!"

"Daniel, Daniel, I want to be your lackey, just feed me and I'm good."

"Get lost, who do you think you are to just want to be Daniel's lackey? Look at what you are! Daniel, I'm strong, I can help you with chores!"

Daniel naturally saw the cheers and praises in the public channel, and he thoroughly enjoyed being admired by everyone.

He was born deserving the best!

No one could oppose him.

And he didn't believe anyone could surpass him.

Especially in terms of wealth!

Benjamin continued to send messages in the auction chat channel: "You're impressive, Daniel, right? We've got a score to settle!"

Daniel also replied directly: "Mr. Benjamin is determined to pick a fight with me, and I won't back down. But I'm not a pushover either, bring it on! As for the gold-level blueprint, highest bidder wins!"

The two who directly exposed their identities didn't yield to each other in the auction chat channel.

Alex glanced at these two familiar names.

They were the two prominent figures mentioned in the public chat channel just now.

Like other buyers, he was not interested in joining the fray, only observing as the number of essential life supplies needed for the gold-level blueprint kept skyrocketing.

Perhaps the price was too high, or maybe some people wanted to swoop in at the last moment, but the final price stagnated at three hundred and fifty essential life supplies.

And the one raising the paddle was Daniel.

It was reasonable, and also impressive, how abundant the resources were for their faction.

The virtual auctioneer's prompt began to sound: "Buyer No. 5 bids three hundred and fifty essential life supplies, are there any other buyers willing to bid?"

Benjamin cursed loudly in his villa.

His team could no longer afford to bid with more essential life supplies.

Continuing would likely threaten their survival.

The auctioneer prompted again: "Since there are no other buyers bidding, three hundred and fifty supplies going once..."

A hint of contempt curled at the corner of Daniel's mouth.

Heh, he was the famous Daniel after all, what couldn't he get if he wanted it?

Who's Benjamin, what rubbish, not even worth mentioning.

Daniel even felt like laughing out loud.

He loved this feeling of overlooking the masses, he was the dominant ruler!

But, at that moment!

The voice of the virtual auctioneer rang out.

"Buyer No. 8 bids four hundred essential life supplies."

It was Alex, making his move at the last moment.

"What?"

Daniel was taken aback.

He didn't expect that someone was waiting to swoop in at the last moment.

And not only that, but they came in with fifty essential life supplies at once.

You see, at this point in time, almost all survivors treasured the supplies they had on hand.

These were necessities for their survival!

Not only Daniel, but even the people in the public channel were in an uproar.