บท 132: Impossible price, impossible item -128
The room erupted into a flurry of whispers and intense gazes as the auctioneer announced the starting bid. Alexandra Ricci felt her heart pounding in her chest, knowing that the Lovecraftian Locket, SCP-427, was perhaps the most dangerous item of the night. She glanced around the room, gauging the reactions of the other bidders. The stakes were high, and she needed to secure this object for the Foundation.
She was far more focused on the potential danger of this object. While the rest of the room was focused on the value and sheer impossibility of it all.
Tony Stark, still riding the high of his recent purchase, looked intrigued but hesitant. He leaned towards Alexandra. "This is getting out of hand, Alex. A locket that can turn people into super soldiers or monsters? This is becoming crazy!"
Alexandra could only nod her head at his words. Yeah, the world was quickly headed towards crazy and far sooner than it would have been without her system.
However, that said, the bidding would surely be fierce once people got over their shock at the item itself and the sky-high starting price.
The bidding started slowly, with a few cautious offers coming in. "10.5 billion," called out one of the tech billionaires. The tension in the room was palpable as the numbers began to climb.
"11 billion," came another bid, this time from Norman Osborn, who was visibly determined to win this item. His eyes gleamed with a mixture of fear and desire, knowing the potential power and danger the locket held.
Tony hesitated, then nodded to himself, deciding to join the fray. "12 billion," he called out, his voice cutting through the murmurs. The room quieted for a moment, everyone realizing the gravity of the situation.
Yet this time, they weren't about to let Tony get what he wanted. And the next bid of 12.5 billion was quickly called out.
While the bids might be rising slowly, that was only because even a rise of .5 was a massive amount of money, though Alex knew that soon enough, people would stop being so cautious, and the bids would truly explode in size.
It didn't take long before the next bid was called. "13 billion." Shouted a voice with a clearly European accent. The man seemed to belong to a small group of people whispering to one another.
When Aesthetic Sandra saw this, she quickly realised that it had already begun. People had started to form small interest groups, pooling their resources and wealth together, something that was bound to happen and that would quickly skyrocket the price.
"15 billion!" Norman Osborn's voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed his growing desperation. After all, he was one of the people who sought this object not just for wealth but to save his own life and the life of his only son.
Such desperation can push people to do many things. Many of his stories pushed him to become a villain, one of the violence of the vile, and now it would push him to pay any price at all.
Tony had his own thoughts about the matter, no doubt, and also raised a bid of "$20 billion!"
"25 billion." Came a voice from a coalition of tech giants, their collective wealth staggering.
The tension in the room was palpable. The sheer magnitude of the bids being thrown around was staggering everyone present. Alexandra knew she had to stay in the game. She couldn't let this item fall into the wrong hands.
"30 billion," she called out, her voice steady and resolute.
Osborn's face twisted with frustration and determination. "35 billion."
Alexandra glanced at Tony, who seemed unsure about pushing further. She took a deep breath, knowing she had to secure this item. "40 billion," she announced.
"45 billion," Tony shot back, refusing to back down.
The auctioneer was thrilled. "We have 45 billion! Do I hear 50 billion?"
There was a brief silence, the tension almost unbearable. Then, from the corner of the room, a representative from an Asian conglomerate raised their hand. "50 billion."
The room erupted into gasps and murmurs. Never before had such a sum been offered at an auction. But the bidders were far from finished. Alliances formed rapidly, with groups pooling their resources to make a final push.
"60 billion," Alexandra's voice was clear and commanding.
"70 billion," Osborn countered almost immediately, his voice filled with urgency.
"80 billion," came a bid from the European consortium, their representatives now visibly tense.
The stakes were higher than ever. The room seemed to vibrate with the energy of the fierce bidding war.
"90 billion," Alexandra called, her heart pounding in her chest.
After this bid there was a pause in the frenzy. Everyone knew what the next bid would be. Yet none was willing to break into the triple digits. The amount so staggering that even the wealthiest people in the world would end up bankrupting themselves to be able to continue.
So there were still groups of people who had the necessary wealth, but they were not those who might the next bit; it was someone who clearly didn't have the wealth: "100 billion." The resigned voice of Norman Osborne came.
Alexandra knew immediately what had transpired. He had given up, given up acquiring it on his own. This meant that now he was not bidding for himself but for his friends or rather his military connections. He was now living with the expectation that the military would foot the bill in the hope of being able to create an army of super soldiers.
He liked it was wrong. Do you wish the military budget could easily handle such an enormous amount of money? Heck, Nick Fury would definitely fork out that amount of money, if not many times over, to get his hands on this necklace.
Now, it was no longer individuals who were bidding but people representing the interests of entire nations and continents, as evidenced by the rapid search in prices that followed Norman's bid.
"A 100 billion? There is no way Norman can afford that." Tony said from beside her.
"No, he can't, but I'm pretty sure that he has already given up. He is not bidding with his own money but with his military buddies' money." Alex explained, and Tony instantly knew what had just changed in the room.
"Damn… this is a mess; I don't want the military to have the ability to make monsters because there is no way they won't be making them," Tony said, as he knew well about the military from his own work with them in the past.
In his mind, there was no doubt that they would primarily want to create super soldiers, But they would naturally also be creating an army of disposable monsters, something he didn't wish to see.
If possible, Tony would have loved to possess this item on his own, but he also realized that he couldn't possibly hope to compete with the military or entire nations. While he might be the world's richest man, most of his wealth was tied up in nonliquid assets.
And one of those assets, his company had suffered heavy losses, and while he was certain that they would rise far beyond even the previous peak of star prizes as soon as he made some announcements, he also knew that he couldn't possibly wait until then. He would have to sell his stocks for a penny on the dollar if he wanted to continue bidding.
He looked around the room, closely eyeing loads he thought might be able to come out as the final winner, no matter who he considered to be the most likely case. None of them pleased him. All of them would surely cause enormous damage with something that could be used for causing a lot of good.
He couldn't have a curse on his breath that something like this item even existed. It didn't make any logical sense, and it definitely shouldn't be sold to the highest bidder was far too dangerous.
These were the thoughts that were mirrored in all members of the foundation. Should they know about this? After all, their very mission is to ensure these dangerous objects do not see the light of day.
Still, he wasn't entirely out of it yet and would do his best to continue bidding as long as possible. "110 billion." he called.
Alexander was personally happy that at least one major conglomerate wasn't here competing for this item. Blackstone, the world's biggest investment firm, wasn't here tonight.
The reason for that was that O5-3 had decided to make them his first target in ensuring the foundation's wealth and economic power.
As such, he targeted them for a large meeting and managed to force them to call through some back channels. As far as Alex knew, half of the decision-makers were dead, and the other half were firmly under foundation control.
Having their wealth could be handy for this, but then again, she was determined to pay any price to get this object and to be the winner. Naturally, though, she had no intention of actually paying that price. Now, foundation personnel were moving to the location, and as soon as they were all gone, the place would be raided, and the objects secured and then swiftly contained.
Still, the price continued to increase with bit after bit coming in larger and larger alliances or from Osborne, who had taken charge of buying it for the military.
"150 billion" Alexandra called out and outbid a Chinese billionaire who seemed intent on getting it.
"Are you able to afford this, Alexandra? The price is getting rather crazy." Tony asked from the side before making his own bid. "160!"
"It's fine, Tony. My brother has had a lot of time to make some smart investments, so he had a lot saved up for a rainy day." She explained, and it wasn't really a lie. Not just Alex, but the entirety of the O5 core had a staggering amount of wealth hidden away.
After all, many of them have been around for centuries, and if they couldn't become rich with that much time, they had been wasting. And everyone there was someone Alexander had personally chosen, so they weren't fools.
That didn't mean they wouldn't want more money; after all, their personal funds and the Foundation funds were two different things.
"170," Osborn called in a casual tone; after all, he wasn't the one throwing around money; he would only need to be able to foot .5% for now.
"180 billion," Alexandra bid, her voice steady, knowing the Foundation's mission depended on securing this item.
Tony, seeing the fierce competition and realizing the stakes, hesitated. "200 billion," he called out, his voice echoing through the hall.
The room was electric, the sheer magnitude of the numbers being thrown around staggering everyone present. The auctioneer struggled to keep up, his voice almost hoarse from the excitement.
"210 billion," came a bid from the Middle Eastern contingent.
"220 billion," Osborn's voice echoed, his face strained with urgency.
"230 billion," Alexandra called out, her resolve unshaken.
The numbers continued to climb, the bids coming in rapid succession. The room vibrated with the energy of the fierce bidding war. As the numbers climbed higher and higher, it became clear that this was a battle of unprecedented proportions.
Tony, seeing the fierce competition and realizing his limits, glanced at Alexandra with a mix of admiration and frustration. "How can she keep going?" he murmured to himself.
"250 billion," Osborn shouted, his voice carrying the weight of military backing.
"300 billion," came the counter from the European consortium.
"350 billion," Osborn's voice rang out, desperation clear in his tone.
"400 billion," Alexandra responded immediately, her determination stronger than ever.
The room was silent, the tension almost unbearable. Everyone knew the next bid would push them into unprecedented territory.
"450 billion," came the bid from the Middle Eastern contingent.
"500 billion," Osborn's voice echoed, the desperation clear.
"550 billion," Alexandra responded, her determination unwavering.
Tony, seeing the fierce competition and realizing the stakes, hesitated. He had reached his limit. "I can't go any higher," he admitted, stepping back.
The room vibrated with the energy of the fierce bidding war. The auctioneer struggled to keep up, his voice almost hoarse from the excitement.
"600 billion," Osborn's voice rang out, breaking the tension.
"650 billion," Alexandra countered, her voice unwavering.
The room was silent, the tension almost unbearable. Everyone knew the next bid would push them into unprecedented territory.
"700 billion," came the bid from the Middle Eastern contingent.
"750 billion," Osborn's voice echoed, the desperation clear.
"800 billion," Alexandra responded, her determination stronger than ever.
The room fell into stunned silence. The amount was astronomical, beyond anything anyone had ever seen at an auction. The bidders conferred in hushed whispers, weighing their options, but it was clear that many had reached their limits.
The auctioneer, barely able to contain his excitement, raised his gavel. "800 billion, going once... going twice..."
"850 billion," Osborn's voice rang out, breaking the tension.
"900 billion," Alexandra countered, her voice unwavering.
The room was silent, the tension almost unbearable. Everyone knew the next bid would push them into unprecedented territory.
"One trillion," came the bid from the Middle Eastern contingent.
Alexandra knew she had to make the final push. She took a deep breath and shouted, "1.1 trillion."
The room fell into stunned silence. The amount was astronomical, beyond anything anyone had ever seen at an auction. The bidders conferred in hushed whispers, weighing their options, but it was clear that many had reached their limits.
The auctioneer, barely able to contain his excitement, raised his gavel. "1.1 trillion, going once... going twice... sold to Miss Alexandra Ricci for 1.1 trillion dollars! Congratulations, Miss Ricci."
The room erupted in applause and murmurs of disbelief. Alexandra had secured the Lovecraftian Locket, SCP-427, for a staggering 1.1 trillion dollars. As the gavel struck, Alexandra felt a mix of relief and frustration. The item was now in her hands, but the true challenge lay ahead.
Tony approached her, a mix of admiration and concern on his face. "1.1 trillion, Alexandra. How are you going to pay for that?"
Alexandra gave a determined smile. "I'll figure it out. Please, Tony, while I could afford it, I am hardly going to spend that much, these people, they will happily give me the item and the money I spent so far once my men arrive."
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