The grand auction offered several flexible ways to participate.
You could attend in person.
Or take part remotely over the network.
Wang Dong, of course, chose to participate remotely.
The specific auction format was much like the one Wang Dong and the others had experienced earlier, when they were in the Freedom Light Federation.
There was only one difference.
The grand auction held once every five years by the New Song Kingdom had an extra step.
All bids had to be made using "Auction Coins."
These "Auction Coins" had to be exchanged in advance through the auction's organizers.
The advantage of this arrangement was that it standardized the unit of measurement and simplified the bidding process.
It also made it easier to handle various forms of collateral auctions when necessary.
Origin Coins could achieve a similar effect.
But there was one catch.
Large Origin Coin transactions usually had to be linked to a Kindling Network account, which was essentially the same as making a "transaction under your real name."
"Auction Coins," on the other hand, were entirely anonymous.
This was convenient for quite a few people.
As for the drawbacks...
Anyone with a discerning eye could see them.
Unlike Origin Coins, an official currency backed by the entire Kindling Human Civilization,
"Auction Coins" were, in effect, a virtual currency.
The only thing backing them was the New Song Kingdom's Merchant Consortium Alliance.
The "Auction Coins" were obtained by exchanging real wealth with the grand auction's organizers.
They could lose all their value at any time, vanishing into thin air and becoming utterly worthless!
And besides,
during the exchange process,
the grand auction's organizers were bound to skim off a share.
But there was nothing to be done.
After all, the organizers of the grand auction—the New Song Kingdom's Merchant Consortium