Chapter 545 Exorbitant Price
Following Jonathan’s words, everyone turned to look at him. None of the people who came here to fight for the opportunity to become the first to pray were fools. After waiting for so long, they knew that there was something wrong outside, since no one had come in yet.
Seeing Desmond looking as though he had absolute conviction, everyone realized it was the doing of that scion. Despite their tacit understanding, none of them pointed it out.
After all, the reputable families who wanted to seize the spot for the first prayer were all sitting here. As for the rest, even if they came in, they would lose to those reputable families during the bidding.
Besides, those people at the foot of the mountain said they were here to be the first to pray, but in reality, nearly all of them came to build bridges and get acquainted with those prominent families.
Those people couldn’t get themselves into business receptions, so the current ceremony became their golden opportunity to get to know those prominent families.
If those opportunistic people were allowed to enter, the people in the temple would get harassed. Thus, now that there were only a handful of people inside, they could enjoy the peaceful surroundings.
As a result, it made Jonathan, who came into the temple alone, particularly eye-catching. Many people turned to look in Desmond’s direction, intending to see how he was going to react, and Desmond didn’t hold back at all.
“Hey, you brat. How did you get in here?” Jonathan found a seat in the back. Just as he was about to sit down, he heard Desmond’s voice and immediately looked up.
“Me? I walked in.” Jonathan’s indifferent voice shocked everyone in the temple. In Summerbank, there were not many people who dared to speak to Desmond like that.
Sizing Jonathan up closely, everyone was wondering about his identity. Who’s this man? Since when do we have such a brazen man in Summerbank?
When Desmond saw how unfazed Jonathan was, the former’s expression turned grim. “I know you didn’t fly here. Where are my subordinates?”
“Your subordinates?” After a moment, Jonathan nodded. “I got it. You’re Desmond Jensen who asked those people to block the road, right? Your two subordinates attacked me, so I crippled one of them, and the other one is probably busy saving that person.”
Right after he said that, the atmosphere in the temple suddenly became tense. The onlookers all shared the same thought. In spite of knowing Desmond’s identity, this man still dared to take action against his subordinates. Does this young man have a death wish?
Meanwhile, Desmond’s expression was as dark as coal. He reached out to the bodyguard next to him and forcefully pulled out a dagger before charging toward Jonathan.
Beside him, several bodyguards also set off and surrounded Jonathan. Just then, the young monk standing on the stairs spoke. “It’s time. The spot for the first prayer is up for grabs. The opening bid is five million!”
The moment the voice of the young monk sounded, the crowd was shocked.
Everyone knew that spot was merely a gimmick of Triplex Manifesta to get money from people in the name of offerings. In exchange, Triplex Manifesta would grant them a favor. All of it was just a deal, and this kind of mean was what the reputable families needed.
As soon as that young monk announced the price, a pot-bellied man raised his hand and shouted, “Ten million!”
Everyone looked at the man, and they all recognized that the man was from the Ximenez family’s company in Summerbank. Recently, the company owned by the Field family, which was the Ximenez family’s long-time business rival, was facing some problems. The Ximenez family wanted to acquire the Field family’s company, but they had failed several times.
They probably came to grab the first spot for that acquisition matter. However, that spot was not something that could be bought with just ten million.
“Fifty million.” Sitting in the front row, a short-haired girl with a cigarette in her mouth raised her hand and shouted, “Everyone knows the rule. The bid for that spot in Triplex Manifesta has never been lower than fifty million, so just skip those unnecessary bids. Let me start, and we shall compete.”
“Fifty-five million.”
“Fifty-eight million.”
“Sixty million!”
After that short-haired girl spoke, although the people around her looked unhappy, they continued to bid one after another.
In that small courtyard, there were only about twenty to thirty people, but the price of the bids was increasing quickly. Even the atmosphere in those auction houses that could accommodate thousands of people was not as tense as that in the temple.
Seeing that the price was rising fast, Desmond hesitated for a while and finally gave up on dealing with Jonathan. He hurled the dagger in his hand toward the bamboo chair at the side, yelling, “D*mn it. My family will be the one who gets that spot this time! Eighty million!”
He added, “Everyone, how about giving this spot to the Jensen family? All of us are doing our best to thrive in Summerbank. Give it to me this time, and I’ll help you out in the future.”
Judging from the situation just now, if Desmond did not stand up to stop the bidding, the price might soar to ninety million.
The fund he could use this time was one hundred and twenty million at most, and that was all he could afford to pay.
If he could get that spot with less money, he naturally wanted to save some money for his family.
As expected, after Desmond said that, the bidders present hesitated and seemed as though they were about to back down.
Although those reputable families were here to grab that spot to solve their tough problems, it would be too great of a loss if they were to go against the Jensen family just to solve those problems.
After giving it a thought, they chose to give up.
Standing on the steps, the young monk furrowed his brows.
“Sir, you’re breaking our rules at Triplex Manifesta. You can’t coerce other people into giving up.”
Although the young monk was only about thirteen to fourteen years old, he spoke to Desmond without the slightest fear as he looked at Desmond calmly.
Jonathan’s pupils constricted slightly as a burst of spiritual energy instantly surged into his eyes.
This young monk is a cultivator!
The spiritual energy of the young monk moved slowly in his body and formed a cycle of its own, and the spiritual energy that was released from his body was extremely thin.
If it wasn’t for the teen’s extraordinary collectedness that caught Jonathan’s attention, there was a chance Jonathan couldn’t have discovered the young monk’s secret now.
Triplex Manifesta is really something.
As Jonathan sat at the back, his lips curled into a smile.
Previously, he came here for the life-saving pill, but now Jonathan was truly interested in Triplex Manifesta.
A trace of displeasure appeared on Desmond’s face when he heard the young monk’s words.
However, Desmond eventually flashed a menacing smile after recalling the fact that his father had warned him not to offend the people from Triplex Manifesta.
“I checked the price of the bid for every auction held by your temple. Although eighty million is not much, it is about to catch up with the average price for that spot. Give it to me on the Jensen family’s account. I will give more offerings in the future.”
“Except for the first few times when this spot was sold for less than seventy million due to lack of popularity, the final bid for it is around ninety million in every subsequent auction.” The short-haired girl sitting in the front row spoke again. “The Jensen family is not the only one who can get that information. Can I bid ninety-five million and not give that spot to you?”
Desmond shot a cold look at the short-haired girl.
“Leslie Hart, you’re here to pick a fight, aren’t you?”
Hearing his words, the short-haired girl finally turned around. “Desmond, your method may work on others, but it won’t work on me. If you want that spot, you need to keep bidding!”
