Bab 121: Auction
"Enough, I'm done!" Blake waved his hand and tossed the Tang sword onto the ground.
"Unless I can move fast enough that you can't react, there's no way to break through your shield. But man, that was fun! I've never swung so many strikes in one go!"
"Actually, you've improved a lot compared to last time. A few times, your moves almost caught me off guard, but as you know, when you change your strikes, you have to switch direction. I only need to slightly move my shield left or right, or up and down."
Captain America was right—using a shield for defense naturally gave an advantage, especially if you controlled your posture well. The shield could easily cover half your body.
"So, Cap, how was your experience in Africa the other day? Those terrorists were pretty ruthless, huh?"
A few days ago, Cap and Alexei went to Africa to eliminate an illegal militia that had been capturing young men to mine diamonds in East Africa.
"Alexei was way too reckless. He completely ignored the planned strategy and nearly hurt the innocent miners!"
Captain America sounded frustrated. Alexei had insisted on joining the mission, even though Cap had originally wanted Blake to come along.
"Hahaha!" Blake laughed, knowing how reliable Natasha's so-called 'father' could be.
"Don't worry. I gave them some money. Alexei, Melina, Yelena, and Antonia are off on a world tour. He probably tagged along because he wanted to test his strength against you. You know, back when he first became a super-soldier, they called him the Soviet Captain!"
Cap nodded, understanding the reference. He had done a lot of catching up on world history after World War II.
"Is Antonia doing okay now?" Cap had been at the base for some time and had heard Antonia's story.
"The psychologist said she should travel more, see the world. Alexei may be unreliable, but I believe he can provide some of the fatherly affection that Antonia missed out on."
"As for the diamond mine in Africa, we've arranged for people to take over the operation. After covering the cost of the equipment, we'll only charge a small management fee. The rest of the profits will help build schools and hospitals in the area, and the remainder will be distributed to the local families. You can rest easy!"
Captain America smiled and nodded. Blake and Tony were more thoughtful than he had imagined when it came to these matters.
Money in this world no longer had much meaning for Blake. The resources that the Red Room had once controlled were astronomical. Blake was slowly learning how to spend that money responsibly.
For example, there had been an auction recently with several ancient artifacts and paintings. Blake bought them all.
Now, Christie's was holding another auction at the Grand Palais in Paris. This time, two national treasures—the bronze heads of from the Zodiac—were up for sale.
The twelve zodiac animal heads, originally part of a set, were placed in the imperial gardens as decorative water clocks. These bronze heads were arranged in a circle, each corresponding to one of the twelve traditional time periods. Every two-hour period, a different animal head would spout water, and at noon, all twelve would spout simultaneously in a spectacular display.
Unfortunately, due to historical events, the twelve animal heads were scattered across the world, and the complete set has yet to be reunited. Blake was determined not to let this opportunity slip by.
Apart from these two national treasures, there was another major item up for auction. Christie's had kept it under wraps, creating a lot of intrigue as even photos of the item had not been released.
"How about it? Still wondering what the final auction piece is? It's about to start, so we'll know soon," Tony said. He had little interest in auctions like this and usually sent Pepper in his place if he wanted something. This time, Natasha had accompanied Blake.
"I don't know. Something feels off today, like I'm anxious for no reason. Maybe it's my time of the month!" Blake mumbled under his breath.
Natasha chuckled and gave him a playful pinch. "Well, you can explain exactly what it feels like to me when it happens, 'cause I've never experienced it!"
As they chatted idly, the auction officially began.
Blake wasn't particularly interested in the famous paintings or antiques being auctioned off, so he continued talking with Natasha quietly until the bronze zodiac heads were brought out.
The first item up was the rat head.
"The next auction piece originates from the East. Designed over 200 years ago by the Italian artist Giuseppe Castiglione, supervised by the French, and crafted by artisans of the Chinese imperial court..."
Though the history of the zodiac heads was well known, the auctioneer still gave a detailed introduction on stage.
"This item starts at 3 million euros. Bids must increase by at least 200,000 euros. Let's begin!" The auctioneer's hammer fell, marking the start of the auction for the rat head.
"3 million! Bidder number 121 has offered 3 million!"
At first, Blake didn't rush to bid, preferring to let the price rise while watching for the serious competitors. Soon enough, the price for the rat head reached 8 million euros.
As the number of bidders dwindled, Blake finally raised his paddle.
"10 million!"
He increased the bid by 2 million in one go, signaling his strong intent to win. The auctioneer gasped in surprise.
"10 million! Bidder number 66 has offered 10 million! What an impressive bid, it seems Mr. Blake is determined to secure this item."
"Recently, Mr. Blake has made headlines with his purchases at several auctions, reclaiming many artifacts that were scattered across the globe. I personally admire his sense of pride, but we must continue the auction. Is anyone willing to bid higher than Mr. Blake?"
The auctioneer's speech was long-winded, clearly aiming to provoke more bids and raise the price further. Blake only frowned slightly but remained silent.
"I bid 11 million euros!"
Sure enough, after the auctioneer's speech, bidder number 146 raised their paddle.
Blake glanced at the bidder—like himself, they had black hair and dark eyes.
"He's Japanese," Natasha whispered in Blake's ear. "His name is Kohei Ryouguchi, the eldest son of Shunsuke Ryouguchi, a major shareholder in Ryouguchi Heavy Industries. Their family has deep ties in both the Japanese military and the yakuza, a status comparable to Stark Industries in the U.S."
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